Summer days at the California beach. This is typical Northern California beach weather for July/August….foggy mornings with the fog lifting later in the afternoon for an hour or two.
My daughter and I had planned a day trip to go hiking at Yosemite but the weather was way too hot to enjoy a day on the trail up in the Sierras so we went the opposite direction and headed for the coast instead. The cool weather was a welcome relief!
We got out our California map and scanned for a new place to explore.
Point Reyes National Seashore! We packed a lunch and zipped down the highway. Two and a half hours later we were at the Pacific Ocean with our toes in the sand.
Point Reyes is much larger than we imagined but after a quick stop at the Visitor’s Center at Bear Valley, we had a map and a plan. It wasn’t far to North Beach where we ate our lunch surrounded by the sound of roaring waves. The fog was lifting but you still couldn’t see very far up or down the beach.
Next stop was the Point Reyes Lighthouse…..we walked the 4/10 of a mile from the parking lot to the Visitor’s Center and then descended the 308 stairs down to the lighthouse on the point. It was windy! It was cold and misty!
But, that was the price to pay for a fabulous viewpoint of this part of the California coast.
See? I made it the 308 steps. Going down was the easy part though and huffing back up the stairs reminded me that I need to do more hills in my weekly workouts.
Amanda was like a gazelle with her super long legs and she made it up with little effort. Ahhh…to be young again.
The rocks alongside the stairs have a bright orange lichen on them. What a pop of color on a rather gray day!
Tucked in the nooks and crannies were wildflowers where they were fairly protected from the strong wind that was blowing.
We had one more stop for the day.
At last the sun came shining through and the fog lifted, allowing a wider view of the coast. The wide sand beach at Drake’s Beach was perfect for a long walk before we started the car ride back home again.
What a great day with Amanda! We both enjoyed the adventure of a new place, exploring the facets of a Northern California beach in the summer.
We have not made it to the ocean yet this summer. We have big plans to go later this month but we had the opportunity to do some dirt, gravel, and sand gathering this past weekend up in the Sierra Nevada. We took a day trip to Grover Hot Springs State Park which is a complete blog entry all on its own. I will save that for later in the week.
For this post I will share a little of our nature study using the Outdoor Hour Challenge for Sand and Soil from the Summer Sizzle ebook series. We used the creek running next to the picnic area to enjoy some rock, sand, and gravel observation time. This is an interesting geological area which we are planning on going back to explore some more.
This was a creek that meanders a bit and we tried to find some animal prints but we had no luck. There wasn’t much sand on the banks but it was more like gravel or pebbles. There were little fish and lots of insect larvae in the small pools along the banks.
The creek was very shallow and perfect for sticking hot toes in while you explore the smooth rocks of varied colors.
We used an empty water bottle to collect a bit of “dirt” which is mostly decomposed granite gravel and a bit of the “soil”. My hubby found that doing this left his hands super dirty with a fine dusting of soil. He of course used this as an excuse to wash his hands in a waterfall.
I am going to wait until after our beach excursion to do the up close observation with the hand lens, having Mr. B compare the dirt we collected from the creek with the sand we collect from the ocean beach. I think this will make it a bit more interesting and give him something to record in his nature journal.
Summer nature study is at its best when you can combine it with an outdoor family adventure. It becomes just an extension of what you do to make your time outdoors more enriching. We didn’t take nature journals or field guides this time but the atmosphere was one where we were always alert to find something interesting.
Like the rock in the photo above….just one of the many interesting rocks that we saw on the hiking part of our day. We also saw some wildflowers, a few butterflies, heard and observed quite a number of birds, and ended up sitting in the natural hot springs. Yes, this was a great day….more soon!
Don’t forget the Summer Photo Challenge! Here are the details and here is the Pinterest Board.
Every reader of the Handbook of Nature Study (the book) knows who Anna Botsford Comstock is….the esteemed author of our nature study guide and lessons. She wrote the words that have touched my personal life in such a profound way, changing how we view the world in our own backyard. She may have touched your life in a similar way through the pages of the Handbook of Nature Study as you worked through the Outdoor Hour Challenges.
When the opportunity was offered to me a few years ago to visit and actually stay at her cottage in New York outside Ithaca, I wasn’t able to make the trip at that time. It was on my mind a lot through the years so when a last minute trip involved traveling in New York came up last month, I immediately contacted the family that now owns the cottage to see if it was available during our visit. It was! We made arrangements to stay for three days in the cottage that Anna and Henry Comstock built on the shore of Lake Cayuga.
” During the fall of 1906, we were making habitable The Hermitage, our summer cottage on Cayuga Lake. We put a large window in the living room which gave us a wide view of the lake. This room was given a hardwood floor and was ceiled, to make it warm. Here we set up the wood stove that had been in my mother’s parlor when I was a child. It had a grate and in the evenings we opened up its front doors; this made it as cheerful as a fireplace.” Anna Botsford Comstock
It was just like I imagined it…set in the woods, right near the water’s edge. The birds, flowers, and trees were those that Anna wrote about in her books. It was warm and cozy and somehow familiar.
We sat on the porch and enjoyed the sounds of the woods. The lake glistened as the sunset on that first day. I climbed into bed and thought how it must have been there over a hundred years ago when the Comstocks first built the cottage.
“Harry and I spent weekends there, and on each trip he would walk the mile and a half from Taughannock Station to The Hermitage, carrying on his back a basket filled with materials for fixing the house.The labor my husband performed in and about this place was remarkable.” Anna Botsford Comstock
The next morning I was up early for a walk in the woods. I ventured out alone for the first hike and as I stepped off the porch I heard birdsong and glimpsed a young deer sneaking across the road into a thicket of bushes. The woods woke up as I hiked up the trail and my eyes were trying hard to take in all the sights.
The green of the new spring leaves, the thin trunks of the trees, the rustlings of birds and the cry of the mourning doves. These were Anna’s woods. This was the place that helped inspire her to share her love of nature with teachers and children, bringing them into a relationship with common everyday things in their world.
There was teasel by the trail…new to me in person but familiar through the pages of the Handbook of Nature Study. Advanced preparation does work…I recognized it right away and remember that she had called it ” a plant in armor”.
“He added paths and built a fine wharf and a double-decked boat house, in the upper part of which we swung our hammocks, and from which we enjoyed the glory of many sunsets. The Hermitage was always a place where work was play; we dumped our cares at the Ithaca station when we left, but they were always waiting to jump at us on our return.” Anna Botsford Comstock
I made my way back to the cottage and by this time the boys were up and ready for the day. My husband and Mr. A took out the canoe onto the morning smooth water of the lake. Exploring a new place by water…leaving their cares behind as they paddled across the surface of the lake in the early morning sunrise.
Mr. B and I decided to take another hike through the woods and this time we noticed the wildflowers. These were the wildflowers of Anna’s books…the ones we don’t have in California.
The whole weekend was filled with the opening of eyes and hearts to a magical place, gently teaching us the way of the New York woods in which we found ourselves. One day it rained and we watched the drops fall from our dry spot on the porch. The fragrance of the wet woods was delightful…different than our Northern California woods. The rain stopped and we grilled dinner on the stone fire pit down by the water. We skipped rocks, sat and watched the fisherman go by on their little boats, and we shed our cares, refreshed.
At the end of the weekend, we had made many entries into our nature journals, took lots of photos, and made some memories of our own at this lakeside cottage.
We will always remember our weekend spent on Lake Cayuga at the Comstock’s beloved Hermitage Cottage. Special thanks to Christiana and Alison who graciously opened up their family cottage to our family, making this trip to New York even more special.
I hope my readers enjoyed glimpsing our weekend….we all need to remember to build in our families a rich heritage of outdoor experiences. Who knows who it will touch in the future?
Next time I will share our day at Cornell’s Lab of Ornithology and Sapsucker Woods! More connections were made to the Handbook of Nature Study.
“One of the most interesting performances to watch that I know is the way this poppy takes off its cap before it bows to the world. Like magic the cap loosens around the base; it is then pushed off by the swelling, expanding petals until completely loosened, and finally drops off.” Handbook of Nature Study, page 563
Way back when I was planning the challenges for the More Nature Study Book #3, I had no way of knowing what perfect timing I would have with this particular Poppies and Buttercups Challenge. We were treated to two events this week in connection with our poppy study.
1. We took a day trip to Yosemite National Park and even though parts of the park still have quite a bit of snow, when we left the park through the southern El Portal entrance and out Hwy 140 there were millions of poppies blooming along the hills that run alongside the Merced River. It was breathtaking! I have lived in California all my life and I have never seen such a display of poppies…miles and miles of poppies in bloom.
2. The California Poppies in our front yard garden decided to start blooming on Monday. I am serious….Monday, right on cue! We took some time to closely observe the way the caps tip to reveal the petals (see the top photo in this entry). We marveled at the light shining through the bright orange petals. We peered into the inside flower parts and remembered Anna Botsford Comstock’s remarks about sleeping inside a poppy. We observed the lacy leaves and decided to do some sketches and rubbings of the leaves in our nature journals. You can view a previous more thorough study of poppies in this blog entry: CA Poppies-Using the Handbook of Nature Study.
“The insects in California take advantage of the closing petals and often get a night’s lodging within them, where they are cozily housed with plenty of pollen for supper and breakfast..” Handbook of Nature Study, page 564
As part of the advanced study suggestions for this challenge, we are keeping a spring list of wildflowers in our nature journals.
Mr. B also completed an additional notebook page for the Hound’s Tongue wildflower that we saw blooming this week on our hiking trail. This is one of the early wildflowers that we see in our local area. It’s distinctive leaves make it an easy flower to identify. The flowers are almost blue which is unusual and beautiful.
I enjoyed the lupine on the way home from our Yosemite trip. We had a wonderful week of focusing on wildflowers, increasing our desire for spring to really come and stay in our part of the world.
Friday came and we were planning a snowshoeing day, but recent rains had washed all the snow away. It isn’t much fun to snowshoe in one inch of snow. We regrouped and the boys decided that hiking was definitely their choice for the day so we packed up our lunches, camera, binoculars, and map to head to somewhere new for some springtime exploring.
Mt. Diablo is not the highest or most spectacular mountain in California but it is a landmark that many of us have grown up seeing even from a distance. On a clear day it is visible to many who live in Northern California and most definitely those that live in the San Francisco Bay Area. We were hoping to catch a glimpse of the Golden Gate Bridge and perhaps see all the way back up to Sacramento as well. We were not disappointed.
What a treat to see so many early spring wildflowers as we climbed the winding mountain road up to the summit. We shared the road with bicyclists of all shapes and sizes. We visited the information center and observation spots at the summit before heading out to do our hiking.
We chose to hike the short interpretive trail first that circles the summit. This was a wonderful way to view the different habitats, geology, and plants of this interesting place. Hiking is such a great activity with teenage boys. They enjoyed spotting different landmarks from the trail and with the binoculars they viewed quite a few birds too.
Nature study takes the blinders off and makes you see so much more about the wonder we have right in our own part of the world. We enjoyed seeing the different rocks along the trail…this one especially was interesting. We read in the trail guide that it is called chert which was a new rock to us.
The spring wildflowers were so colorful. Mr. A captured this Western Wallflower along the summit trail on the sunny side of the mountain. Glorious.
The next trail we took was in the Rock City area of the state park. This is a place we are going to enjoy exploring in the future because we didn’t have nearly enough time to do all the hikes and climbs we would have liked to on this one afternoon.
There are caves and rocks to climb on….my boys loved it! What is it with boys and rocks? I am guessing the challenge and the adventure have something to do with the attraction. I was content to see them from the bottom and take some photos.
The boys also climbed Sentinel Rock while I took a rest on a warm sunny corner of the trail. There are steps and a chain rail to assist the climb and the boys spent some time at the top just enjoying the view. While I rested, I was treated to bird song and soft breezes.
We took one last hike out the Fossil Ridge Trail. We didn’t have a good enough idea of where we were going and what to expect when we got there so we ended up hiking to the top of the ridge and then turning around. Next time we will be better prepared and actually see the fossils.
We did observe some beautiful wildflowers and a spectacular view of the San Francisco Bay Area from the trail which made it worth the effort. The flower above is Baby Blue Eyes.
So ends our hiking trip this first week of Spring 2012. What a great way to get ourselves going with the new series of Outdoor Hour Challenges. I feel like making things new and fresh for teens is worth the effort and I want to keep it going in our family. This is the time of their life when they can find interests that will extend into their adult years.
So back to our part of the world… about a three hour drive across the Sacramento River Delta, across the San Joaquin Valley, and up into the Sierra Foothills.
You can still join the More Nature Study Book #3 challenges. We just got started with the very first one this week: Spring Splendor Walk. You can take your walk in your very own backyard if you would like or perhaps at a near-by park. I encourage everyone to get outside this week for just a few minutes with your children to start this season of nature study with some fun outdoor time.
I am linking up to a new to me monthly meme at The Homeschool Scientist. Click over and join in.
Vacation nature study is a great way to learn more about the natural beauty and richness of a new place. We always try to include learning in our travel time and Hawaii affords some unique opportunities.
Especially for coffee lovers. Which I am….a lover of Kona coffee.
We visited two coffee farms on the Big Island of Hawaii and were able to tag along on a coffee tour at both places. The first farm was Mountain Thunder and we drove up the side of the mountain/volcano to try out their organic coffees. We met up with the tour and the first thing the guide showed us were the coffee trees.
Did you know that coffee continually blooms from February to October…at the upper elevation of this particular farm? You can have blossoms, green cherries, and red cherries all on the same branch. You harvest the berries when they are red so with coffee there is no one time harvest, it is a continual process.
We picked a few cherries ourselves, opened them up and tasted the sweet, slimy inside around the bean. There are normally two beans in every cherry (when there is only one round bean it is called a “peaberry”). The red skins are not wasted. They either compost them or make them into “Kona Red” which is a product rich in antioxidants. We were able to taste Kona Red tea and it was light and tasty.
Can you smell the heavenly aroma of coffee beans roasting? We were able to observe the whole process from bean picking to roasting at Mountain Thunder. Afterwards, we tasted coffee, sipping the steaming cups and delighting in the heady fragrance of the,100% Kona coffee. I chose a package of whole beans to bring home and enjoy here in California plus a box of dark chocolate espresso beans (haven’t cracked the box yet…waiting).
Here was the resident cat at Mountain Thunder…..she looks like she needs a cup of the good stuff.
We also visited a coffee farm lower down in elevation. Greenwell Farms is a popular tourist stop and they were geared up for lots of tasting there. This was our second visit but our first time touring the farm. We were able to actually walk out and see the rows and rows of trees.
Here we saw the beans as “parchment” where they are drying in the sheds. They pull back the sliding roof and stir the beans. It was amazing how much work goes into a coffee bean to make my little cup of coffee. I know one of my readers is also a lover of Kona coffee and she drinks Greenwell Farms Chocolate Macadamia Nut Coffee (Hi Ellen!) but I am in love with their Chameleon Blend Kona Coffee.
One last photo especially for Tricia over at Hodgepodge. Can you believe the size of these hydrangeas? These were along the road near Mountain Thunder and I thought of you when I saw them…had to stop to take a photo.
We really enjoyed the coffee farms on our trip but that was not the only opportunity we made for nature study related activities. I will post soon about our ocean adventures.
Up until last year I would not have know what this flower was called but we focused on it during the Summer Series of challenges last year. There is something wonderful about being able to name a flower or tree or bird, making it a part of your world. You can own it.
We took two hikes in Yosemite while camping this week, one new and one familiar. We drove up Tioga Road towards Tuolumne Meadows and stopped at Yosemite Creek. We hiked down the creek about two miles, enjoying the sound of water running over the rocks. This creek eventually filters down to fill Yosemite Falls…the iconic waterfall that so many come to see from all over the world. This time of year it is not much more than a small stream coming over the top but come next spring it will be a torrent.
Here is another view of Yosemite Creek which right now is lined with wildflowers. We stopped and took a break sitting on rocks as we took in the sights and sounds of the wilderness. We only saw two other people hiking on this trail the whole afternoon we were out there. It is an amazing experience to have this spot of the wild all to yourself.
Well, unless you count the insects. These Ranger’s buttons had a variety of insects enjoying the summer sunshine. We couldn’t name these critters but it was interesting to watch them do their work.
This trail was also home to quite a few trees that showed signs of bear scratchings. The bark on this cedar tree was roughed up by bear’s claws.
I started calling these “bear curls” since they were where the bear had pulled the tree bark down making it twist into curls. Interesting? I think so.
We also spotted this HUGE fungus on the side of another tree…really high up. Can you believe the size of it? Amazing to see!
The second hike we took was to Taft Point which is off Glacier Point Road. It is a favorite hike for the boys since there are lots of boulders to climb and the view once you get to the point is incredible….and high.
Here is a shot of the boys at the railing which is right at the edge of the cliffs….sorry no photos of the view to the valley or over across the valley to Yosemite Falls since my camera batteries were both dead. I broke my camera when we were at the Grand Tetons and I now have it duct taped shut but the battery door opens up and somehow the battery drains down very fast. I am in the market for a snew point and shoot.
The hike was highlighted by a slithering Rubber boa crossing the trail right in front of us. He was about 24-30 inches long and not in a very big hurry. We were able to get a really good look at him. Funny thing is we were just talking about how we never see snakes while in Yosemite and then we saw this one….weird.
Okay, so if you are not into snakes, how about a pretty wildflower? This is Monkshoodand I have only seen in two places at Yosemite so I was happy to catch it in bloom. The yellow in the background is Arrowleaf groundsel.
We spent some time in the Valley walking the paths under the trees and I was on the look out for some thistles in preparation for the up-coming thistle challenge. I was pleased to find both milkweed and thistles growing right together along the trail. The thistles are in a variety of stages of life…some blooming, some going to seeds, and some getting very dry.
Guess who came along for us to observe? Mr. Dragonfly was enjoying the Bull thistles right along with us. So very pretty to look at!
Here is another insect coming to feast on the thistles…this one was very buzzy and I took a quick photo and then got out of his way.
The Showy milkweed is all producing large seed pods and we found this milkweed beetle crawling on one of the pods. These pods are amazing to see and touch…just like velvet.
So this is my new wildflower for the trip. We identified this lovely lavender flower as Sierra lessingia. We read in our field guide that Mary Curry (of Curry Village) called it Summer Lavender and I would agree with her that because it grows in such large patches in the flat spots along roads and in the valley, it looks like clouds of lavender. I love learning something new and now I can name that pretty flower that grows so profusely this time of year in the Valley.
So there you have our hikes and wildflowers, bears and beetles, dragonflies and snakes. So many things to enjoy and learn about when you get the opportunity to get to know a place….
I keep forgetting that I wanted to post these photos from my son’s camera. We were driving through the national park at sunset and we thought at first that we saw a bison. At second glance we realized it was a bear.
A grizzly bear!
I stopped the car alongside the road…we were the first ones to see it. My son stepped outside the car to get a photo. I made him stay right by the car and none of the rest of us got out. We were not really close but I immediately saw that this was a mama with a cub. A minute later I saw a second cub. By this time there were several cars stopped on the side of the road and they were REALLY close to the bear.
One look at the image on my son’s camera and I could see it was a grizzly bear. We didn’t try to get better photos or get any closer. I really just wanted to give the bears their space.
Grand Teton National Park – Grizzly Bears July 2011
You can see in this photo that other people were not using good judgement and they were way too close to the bears. These are really big bears and I know that there is nothing like a mama bear protecting her cubs….
It was a wonderful experience to see these creatures in their natural environment. The cubs were sort of playing with each other as they romped through the meadow. The mama was walking with that bear sort of swagger that is so distinctive. Amazing to see just how big they are in real life.
The summer crowds at Yosemite can bring traffic jams, noise, and confusion to an otherwise peaceful and quiet place. They come from all over the world this time of year to take in the beauty of Yosemite Falls, El Capitan, and the Merced River. The sign at the entrance station said, “Expect Two Hour Delays in The Valley”. We decided to avoid the Valley for the morning and took the turn to Glacier Point Road.
My favorite wildflower hike is off Glacier Point Road at McGurk Meadow. This is a fairly easy out and back hike which leads to a high meadow, marshy and filled with wildflowers in many places. The marshiness means that there are also lots of mosquitoes and butterflies. The flowers were a little past prime in the meadow but along the edges of the forest we found plenty of color and beauty to enjoy.
Tip #2: Get out of your car and hike a little off the main roads. We hiked less than a mile and were all alone in a beautiful setting.
Alpine Lily at Yosemite National Park – We call them leopard lilies.
Like these leopard lilies that were blazing red in the dappled sunlight of the forest. The bees were buzzing along with the mosquitoes as we hiked through this section. I was hiking with a friend and she was a little nervous about encountering a bear on our hike. We decided to not hike quietly as we followed the trail deeper into the woods so we wouldn’t startle a bear if we came across one.
The California Mule Deer – Yosemite National Park
We were spooked by this buck as he leaped out onto the path past us and then over to a patch of wildflowers that he proceeded to munch as I tried to discreetly take a photo or two.
Crimson columbine – Yosemite National Park
Back to looking at wildflowers….we found lots of Crimson columbine in the marshy areas and we decided it is such a pretty creation.Our field guide tells us they are in the buttercup family. I have one in my nature journal already but I am tempted to sketch it again just so I can use my oranges and yellows.
Corn Lily in Bloom – Yosemite National Park
The corn lilies were blooming all along the trail and it is hard not to overlook their beauty when we slow down to take a look at this common plant. These plants can be quite tall and when you see them in mass…it is gorgeous.
Sentinel Bridge with the Merced River and my beloved pink Roxie bike
Tip #3: If you must go into the Valley, take the walking trail or a bike path to get away from the crowds.
After a quick PB sandwich lunch on the trail, a bottle of water, and a few more photos, we headed into the valley … braving the traffic. We had our bikes along and we wanted to find a place to park and take a slow ride around the bike path which loops around the majority of the valley. We made several stops at the river to cool our feet.
Yosemite Evening – El Capitan and Bridalveil Falls beyond the Merced River
Tip #4: Go early or stay late in the day and you will find the crowds disappear. The middle of the day is a great time to sit at the river and just let everyone else clamor for a spot on a hiking trail or a place on the road.
We ended our day with dinner at the Ahwahnee Hotel (actually sitting outside at the cafe) and then we packed up the bikes and headed home. Above is one last image looking back at El Capitan and Bridalveil Falls in the setting sun. This is my favorite time of day in the Valley.
There are plenty more ideas for day hikes away from the crowds on my Squidoo page: Yosemite For Families. It is possible to enjoy a day at this national park even when there are throngs of visitors. We enjoyed a great summer day in this awesome and unique place.
I told him he should make videos as a business since he is getting quite good at it. I think I watched this one about five times and I’m not tired of it yet. Something about having the photos and videos all linked together make it interesting.
Anyway, check it out….this one is only around two minutes long.
