My Home and Backyard As Seen from the Orbit

This is how my home and backyard look from up above.

Photo twitted from orbit by Chris Hadfield

Isn't the Bay Area stunningly beautiful? And it only gets better the closer you look.

I Support California State Parks

There are 279 state parks in California.

McWay Falls, Julia Pfeiffer Burns State Park

In the five years that I have been living in San Francisco I have visited 62 of those parks. That means, statistically speaking, that I visited 12 parks each year, one park a month. At this rate it would take me another 18.5 years to see the remaining 217 parks. (And then there are also many county and regional parks that are worth a visit!)

Mono Lake

California's State Parks protect and preserve "underwater preserves, reserves, and parks; redwood, rhododendron, and wildlife reserves; state beaches, recreation areas, wilderness areas, and reservoirs; state historic parks, historic homes, Spanish era adobe buildings, including museums, visitor centers, cultural reserves, and preserves; as well as lighthouses, ghost towns, waterslides, conference centers, and off-highway vehicle parks." Almost one-third of California's scenic coastline (280 miles), 625 miles of lake and river frontage, and nearly 1.4 million acres are managed by the California's State Park System.

Jedediah Smith Redwoods State Park

Sadly, only about 13 of the state's 279 parks are financially self-sustaining and, therefore, most of them could be closed any time. This brings me to the key point of this post: If you enjoy visiting the state parks and support their mission to protect the beauty of our state, please consider also supporting the parks financially by either donating your money here, or by visiting the parks as often as you can. Please also encouraging others to do the same!

Elephant Seal, Ano Nuevo State Park

A list of California's State Parks I have visited:
Año Nuevo State Park Angel Island State Park Anza-Borrego Desert State Park Asilomar State Beach , Big Basin Redwoods State Park, Butano State Park, California State Railroad Museum, China Camp State Park, Castle Crags State Park, Castle Rock State Park, Corona del Mar State Beach, D. L. Bliss State Park, Del Norte Coast Redwoods State Park El Presidio de Santa Barbara State Historic Park Emerald Bay State Park The Forest of Nisene Marks State Park Garrapata State Park Half Moon Bay State Beach Hearst San Simeon State Historical Monument Henry Cowell Redwoods State Park Humboldt Redwoods State Park Jack London State Historic Park Jedediah Smith Redwoods State Park Julia Pfeiffer Burns State Park MacKerricher State Park Marshall Gold Discovery State Historic Park McArthur-Burney Falls Memorial State Park Mono Lake Tufa State Reserve Montara State Beach Monterey State Historic Park Monterey State Beach Moss Landing State Beach Mount Diablo State Park Mount Tamalpais State Park Natural Bridges State Beach Old Sacramento State Historic Park Old Town San Diego State Historic Park Olompali State Historic Park Pacifica State Beach Patrick's Point State Park Pescadero State Beach Pigeon Point Light Station State Historic Park Point Cabrillo Light Station Point Lobos State Reserve Point Montara Light Station Point Mugu State Park Portola Redwoods State Park Prairie Creek Redwoods State Park  Red Rock Canyon State Park (California) Robert Louis Stevenson State Park Salt Point State Park Salton Sea State Recreation Area Samuel P. Taylor State Park San Bruno Mountain State Park San Simeon State Park Santa Monica State Beach Sugarloaf Ridge State Park Tahoe State Recreation Area Torrey Pines State Beach Torrey Pines State Reserve Trinidad State Beach Tule Elk State Reserve Tomales Bay State Park

Hearst Castle

A list of parks I should visit within next 20 years ;) :
Admiral William Standley State Recreation Area Ahjumawi Lava Springs State Park Albany State Marine Reserve Park Property Anderson Marsh State Historic Park Andrew Molera State Park
Annadel State Park Antelope Valley California Poppy Reserve State Natural Reserve Antelope Valley Indian Museum State Historic Park ParkArmstrong Redwoods State Natural Reserve Arthur B. Ripley Desert Woodland State Park Auburn State Recreation Area Austin Creek State Recreation Area Azalea State Natural Reserve Bale Grist Mill State Historic Park, Bean Hollow State Beach, Benbow Lake State Recreation Area, Benicia State Recreation Area, Benicia Capitol State Historic Park, Bethany Reservoir State Recreation Area, Bidwell Mansion State Historic Park, Bidwell-Sacramento River State Park Bodie State Historic Park, Bolsa Chica State Beach, Border Field State Park, Bothe-Napa Valley State Park, Brannan Island State Recreation Area, Burleigh H. Murray Ranch Park Property, Burton Creek State Park, Butte City Project Park Property, Calaveras Big Trees State Park, California Citrus State Historic Park, California Mining and Mineral Museum, California State Capitol, California State Capitol Museum, California State Indian Museum, Candlestick Point State Recreation Area, Cardiff State Beach Carlsbad State Beach Carmel River State Beach Carnegie State Vehicular Recreation Area Carpinteria State Beach Caspar Headlands State Reserve, Caspar Headlands State Beach, Castaic Lake State Recreation Area, Castro Adobe, Caswell Memorial State Park, Cayucos State Beach, Chino Hills State Park, Chumash Painted Cave State Historic Park, Clay Pit State Vehicular Recreation Area, Clear Lake State Park, Colonel Allensworth State Historic Park, Columbia State Historic Park, Colusa-Sacramento River State Recreation Area, Cornfield State Park, Cowell Ranch/John Marsh State Historic Park, Crystal Cove State Park, Cuyamaca Rancho State Park, Delta Meadows, Dockweiler State Beach, Doheny State Beach, Donner Memorial State Park Eastshore State Park El Capitán State Beach El Escorpion State Park Emeryville Crescent State Marine Reserve Emma Wood State Beach Empire Mine State Historic Park Estero Bluffs State Park Folsom Lake State Recreation Area Folsom Powerhouse State Historic Park Fort Humboldt State Historic Park Fort Ord Dunes State Park Fort Ross State Historic Park Fort Tejon State Historic Park Franks Tract State Recreation Area Fremont Peak State Park Gaviota State Park George J. Hatfield State Recreation Area Governor's Mansion State Historic Park Gray Whale Cove State Beach Great Valley Grasslands State Park Greenwood State Beach Grizzly Creek Redwoods State Park Grover Hot Springs State Park Harmony Headlands State Park Harry A. Merlo State Recreation Area Hatton Canyon Heber Dunes State Vehicular Recreation Area Hendy Woods State Park Henry W. Coe State Park Hollister Hills State Vehicular Recreation Area Humboldt Lagoons State Park Hungry Valley State Vehicular Recreation Area Huntington State Beach Indian Grinding Rock State Historic Park Indio Hills Palms John B. Dewitt State Reserve John Little State Reserve Jug Handle State Reserve Kenneth Hahn State Recreation Area Kings Beach State Recreation Area Kruse Rhododendron State Reserve La Purísima Mission State Historic Park Lake Del Valle State Recreation Area Lake Oroville State Recreation Area Lake Perris State Recreation Area Lake Valley State Recreation Area Leland Stanford Mansion State Historic Park Leo Carrillo State Park Leucadia State Beach Lighthouse Field State Beach Limekiln State Park Little River State Beach Los Angeles State Historic Park (a.k.a. Cornfield State Park) Los Encinos State Historic Park Los Osos Oaks State Reserve Mailliard Redwoods State Reserve Malakoff Diggins State Historic Park Malibu Creek State Park Malibu Lagoon State Beach Manchester State Park Mandalay State Beach Manresa State Beach Marconi Conference Center State Historic Park Marina State Beach Marital Cottle Project McConnell State Recreation Area McGrath State Beach Mendocino Headlands State Park Mendocino Woodlands State Park Millerton Lake State Recreation Area Montaña de Oro State Park Montgomery Woods State Reserve Moonlight State Beach Morro Bay State Park Morro Strand State Beach Mount San Jacinto State Park Navarro River Redwoods State Park New Brighton State Beach Oceano Dunes State Vehicular Recreation Area Ocotillo Wells State Vehicular Recreation Area Pacheco State Park Palomar Mountain State Park Pelican State Beach Petaluma Adobe State Historic Park Pfeiffer Big Sur State Park Picacho State Recreation Area Pío Pico State Historic Park Pismo State Beach Placerita Canyon State Park Plumas-Eureka State Park Point Dume State Beach Point Lobos Ranch Point Sal State Beach Point Sur State Historic Park Pomponio State Beach Prairie City State Vehicular Recreation Area Providence Mountains State Recreation Area Railtown 1897 State Historic Park Refugio State Beach Reynolds Wayside Campground Richardson Grove State Park Rio de Los Angeles State Park Robert H. Meyer Memorial State Beach Robert W. Crown Memorial State Beach Russian Gulch State Park Saddleback Butte State Park Salinas River State Beach San Buenaventura State Beach San Clemente State Beach San Elijo State Beach San Gregorio State Beach San Juan Bautista State Historic Park San Luis Reservoir State Recreation Area San Onofre State Beach San Pasqual Battlefield State Historic Park San Timoteo Canyon Santa Cruz Mission State Historic Park Santa Susana Pass State Historic Park Schooner Gulch State Beach Seacliff State Beach Shasta State Historic Park Silver Strand State Beach Silverwood Lake State Recreation Area Sinkyone Wilderness State Park Smithe Redwoods State Reserve Sonoma State Historic Park Sonoma Coast State Beach South Carlsbad State Beach South Yuba River State Park Standish-Hickey State Recreation Area State Indian Museum State Historic Park Stone Lake Sugar Pine Point State Park Sunset State Beach Sutter Buttes State Park Sutter's Fort State Historic Park Thornton State Beach Tijuana Estuary Tolowa Dunes State Park Tomo-Kahni State Historic Park Topanga State Park Turlock Lake State Recreation Area Twin Lakes State Beach Van Damme State Park Verdugo Mountains Ward Creek Washoe Meadows State Park Wassama Round House State Historic Park Watts Towers of Simon Rodia State Historic Park Weaverville Joss House State Historic Park Westport-Union Landing State Beach Wilder Ranch State Park Wildwood Canyon Will Rogers State Beach Will Rogers State Historic Park William B. Ide Adobe State Historic Park William Randolph Hearst Memorial State Beach Woodland Opera House State Historic Park Woodson Bridge State Recreation Area Zmudowski State Beach

Point Lobos State Park

Mt. Eddy/Deadfall Lake Hike in Mt. Shasta Forest

Towards the end of our trip both Anil and I felt that we had been spending too much time in a car and not enough time hiking. Therefore, we decided to change our plans for the last day and instead of going to Lava Beds National Monument we went to Mt. Shasta Forest. There we wanted to go on a 10-mile long hike to the top of Mt. Eddy.

Our plan partially failed, as we only managed to go on a 6-mile hike due to unforeseeable amounts of snow that were still present at the higher elevations. In fact, we even had some trouble getting to the hike’s trailhead, as the last 3 km of the road leading to it were still partially covered by snow. At a certain moment a mountain of snow appeared in front of us, completely blocking the road and forcing us to park our car in front of it and cross it by foot.

Luckily, the trail was not as completely covered by snow as the road was, so we did not have trouble finding our way to Dead Leaf Lakes. There, however, we decided to abort our initial plan of climbing Mt Eddy, as because of the snow we were unable to find the trail anymore. Still, it was a very pretty hike. And if anything, the snow made it probably even prettier. The lakes were truly beautiful and I would strongly recommend this hike to anybody, no matter if you will make it all the way to the top of Mt. Eddy or just go to the lakes. I’m also determined to do this hike again later in the season, when there is less snow.


A snow-covered road:

Anil jumping over a seasonal creek formed by melting snow:

Occasionally, we had to struggle a bit to cross a snow patch blocking the trail:

Views from the trail:

Deadfall Lakes

Mt. Shasta

As soon as we crossed the northern border of California, a spectacular sight of Mount Shasta appeared in front of us. Both Anil and I were truly amazed and deeply touched by the beauty of the mountain, and its sight made us feel happy to be back in our home state, just a few hours away from home. Even though we have seen many amazing places in our lives, we both agree that California is the most beautiful place of them all. Mount Shasta was a small reminder of that.

At 14,179 feet (4,322 m) Mount Shasta ("White Mountain") is the second highest peak in the Cascades and the fifth highest in California. What makes it more spectacular than other mountains of a similar height, is that it stands alone and rises abruptly nearly 10,000 feet (3,000 m) above the surrounding terrain. If it was connected to other mountains, I do not think it would look quite as impressive as it does by itself.

Mount Shasta is a dormant volcano, which is predicted to erupt within the next several hundred years ☺ It is difficult to believe that, looking at its snow-covered peaks:

Boy Scout Hike in Jedediah Smith Redwoods State Park

From Prairie Creek Redwoods State Park we drove further north to Jedediah Smith Redwoods State Park, where we spent the following night. It was already late afternoon when we got there, so we quickly set up the tent to have enough daylight for the hike we had planned.

We set out for a 7-mile long (round trip) Boy Scout Hike, which was both amazing and disappointing. The amazing aspect of the trail were the giant Redwood trees, which made us feel like dwarfs. Disappointment came from the waterfall at the end of the trail, which was supposed to be the highlight of our hike. However, the waterfall was so small that I’m not even sure if it deserves to be called that. I would still recommend this hike, as long as you are more interested in a beautiful forest hike than seeing a waterfall.

The hike took us around 3h and I would consider it to be easy. It was mostly flat and shaded, and it seemed like a nice hike to do with kids.


Redwood Forest:

That's the waterfall at the end of the hike:

Fern Canyon in Prairie Creek Redwoods State Park

Our first destination was Prairie Creek Redwoods State Park in Humboldt County, California, located close to the border with Oregon. This park, along with Del Norte Coast, Jedediah Smith (which we visited later that same day), and Redwood National Park, are managed cooperatively by the National Park Service and the California Department of Parks and Recreation.

In Prairie Creek Redwoods State Park we went for a hike in Fern Canyon. The walls of Fern Canyon are 10–20 meters (33–66 ft) tall and are covered with five different kinds of California native ferns and other moisture-loving plants and mosses. Thanks to these plants the canyon has a prehistoric feel and likely because of that it was used as one of the filming locations for Steven Spielberg’s ”The Lost World: Jurassic Park”, as well as BBC's “Walking with Dinosaurs”.

The hike through the canyon is short (around 1 mile, round trip), but very pleasant. It starts near the beach and it follows Home Creek upstream as the canyon gets narrower and steeper. You can either hike into the canyon and back, or continue on to a trail/stairway that climbs out of the canyon, as we did. At the top, the trail follows the canyon rim and offers fine views into the canyon.

Fern Canyon is worth a visit not only because it is picturesque and a bit outer-worldly, but also because of the road leading to it. To get to the trailhead, you need to drive 9 miles on a scenic dirt road named Davison Road. The exit for the road is located on US Hwy 101, 3 miles north of the city of Orick. Directly next to the highway exit is Elk Meadow, where often Roosevelt elk can be spotted. Unfortunately, we were not lucky enough to see it. Then Davison Road becomes a dirt road, but I’m sure you will not mind as the drive is quite spectacular. All of a sudden you find yourself in a thick and lush green forest, driving on a road that gets narrower and narrower... Also, you will need to ford through several small streams, but worry not, I’m sure you will make it as our tiny car had no problem with it. It was a truly perfect beginning to an adventure that we were about to embark on during next few days.


Fern Canyon

The Pacific Northwest Road Trip

At the end of June Anil and I went for a 10-day road trip through the Pacific Northwest. This trip yet again reminded us how lucky we are to live on the unbelievably beautiful western coast of the US. How amazing it is to visit a rain forest, play in the dunes and hike in the snow-covered mountains during the same short trip!?!

Below is the approximate map of our route and the list of the upcoming blog posts describing in detail our adventures during the trip:

View Pacific Northwest Road Trip in a larger map

Every two days between now and 8th of November, I'll be posting about:

1. Fern Canyon in Prairie Creek Redwoods State Park
2. Boy Scout Tree Hike in Jedediah Smith Redwoods SP
3. South Oregon Coast
4. ATV Fun in the Dunes
5. Meyers Beach 
6. Central Oregon Coast
7. North Oregon Coast
8. Ships in Astoria
9. Cape Disappointment
10. Maple Hike, Lake Quinault, Olympic NP
11. Queets Rain Forest, Olympic NP
12. Ruby Beach, Olympic NP
13. Moss Hike, Hoh Rain Forrest, Olympic NP
14. Hoh Rain Forrest, Olympic NP
15. Second Beach, Olympic NP
16. Lake Ozette Loop, Olympic NP
17. Hurricane Ridge, Olympic NP
18. Space Needle Seattle
19. Experience Music Project, Seattle
20. Seattle Skyline
21. Mt Rainier NP
22. Narada Falls, Mt Rainier
23. Mt St. Helena National Volcanic Monument
24. Lava Canyon, Mt St Helena National Volcanic Monument
25. Historic Columbia River Highway
26. Bridge of Gods
27. Strawberry Island Hike, Columbia River Gorge
28. Portland
29. Crater Lake National Park
30. Mount Shasta
31. Dead Leaf Lake Hike, Mt Shasta Forest

Then, in November, I finally plan to start posting about our last year's Christmas trip to Peru. And afterward, about my summer trip to Europe. Likely these two series of posts will be published on a daily schedule, otherwise, I fear, the blog will never catch up with the real life.

My New Bike

The very first bike that I bought in San Francisco got stolen less than three months after I bought it. It was a disappointing experience, but also a good lesson for me on how to protect my bike from theft.

The second bike that I bought (exactly the same model as the first one) stayed with me for four years and only recently it "disappeared" from the locked bike room at my work.

This second loss affected me even less than the first one, as I consider four years to be a reasonable lifespan for a bike in a such city like San Francisco. Though it is somewhat disappointing to know that one of the people who work in the same building as I, stole it...

Two weeks ago I bought myself a bike number three, as I need a bike for my commute to work. All my bikes I bought at Valencia Cyclery, which I just can not recommend highly enough. It is the best bike shop in San Francisco: the staff there is super-nice and super-knowledgeable, and they take time to help you make the right choice. I was always more than satisfied with their services, so if you need a bike, go and buy it from them!

My first two bikes were hybrids (crosses between road and mountain bikes) as I thought I would be biking more often on dirt roads. This time around I decided to buy a proper road bike as I realized that I hardly ever go off-road. The benefit of a road bike is that it is lighter and faster than a mountain or cross bike. With the help of the Valencia Cyclery staff, I chose a super-light carbon fiber Trek Madone 4.5 WSD bike, which looks more or less like this:

It is not black, but is as fast as light and I absolutely love biking on it. I also love how light it is and how easy it is to carry it e.g. up the stairs. So far I only used it in the city and I can not wait to try it out on a longer road trip. But before that happens I need to convince my husband to buy a bike for himself. It would be much more fun to go biking together with him.

Wish me many happy trips and luck in keeping it safe from bike thieves for as long as possible.

UCLA Campus at Night

Below are a few photos of University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) campus that I shot over several summer evenings this year.

It's a very pretty campus. It is very green, there are several gardens, many sculptures and fountains. The buildings represent a mix of architectural styles, but they all fit well together and are all well-kept. I like the most the buildings that were build in the Romanesque Revival style, which were the first structures built on campus.

The location of the campus is pretty good as well. It is located in the residential area of Westwood, bordered by Beverly Hills, Bel-Air, and Brentwood, just a few miles away from the beaches of Santa Monica. It definitely looks like a great place to study.


Royce Hall, one of the original four buildings of the campus, has become the symbol of UCLA, taking inspiration from Italian Basilica of Sant'Ambrogio, in Milan:

Powell Library:

A few other buildings in the Romanesque Revival style:

And some buildings in the modern style:

San Pablo Ridge Loop in Wildcat Canyon

On one summer day Anil and I went hiking in Wildcat Canyon Regional Park, located in the East Bay near El Cerrito. The hike we did was 6.2 miles long loop made by stitching together Wildcat Creek, Mezue, San Pablo Ridge and Belgum Trails. It took us around 3h to complete this hike as it was relatively flat (just 700 feet elevation gain).

The hike was lovely, leading through a series of rolling hills covered with grass and wildflowers. I could imagine that the views from the top of San Pablo Ridge could be quite spectacular as well, if we had been more lucky and got there on a day in which downtown San Francisco was not covered by a blanket of fog. As it is very easy and quick to get to the trailhead of the hike, I'm sure we will revisit this hike on a better weather-wise day.

Wildcat Canyon Regional Park is dog friendly.


Rolling hills of Wildcat Canyon:

Kayaking in Tomales Bay

In June, Anne and Sebastian invited Anil and I to join them and our common friend, Sophie, on a kayaking trip in Tomales Bay. It was a very first kayaking trip for Anil and he was very excited about it.

The day was perfect: it was sunny, warm but not hot, and there was no sign of fog (which is somewhat unusual for that area.) The water was also pretty quiet: there were almost no waves and the current was not too strong. All that made for a perfect first kayaking experience for Anil and very enjoyable trip for the rest of us.

Then, to top it off, Tomales Bay is an amazing destination for kayaking. There is lots of wildlife (mostly birds) and it is completely oblivious to kayaks and people in them. Thanks to that you can get pretty close to any animal you encounter, and you can observe it in its natural environment.

Anil and I definitely had a great time during this little expedition, even though we were unable to make our kayak go straight forward... I guess we need a lot of practice. We definitely should try to go kayaking again some time soon.


A few photos from our trip: