by Susan Bancroft | May 8, 2018 | Blog, Hiking, Photography
North Table Mountain Ecological Preserve For a few months of the year, there’s a flat vista rising about 300 feet above Oroville that offers up an intriguing, if short-lived, natural show I find completely irresistible: acres of rugged volcanic basalt rock covered in...
by Susan Bancroft | Jul 20, 2016 | Big Trees, Hiking, Photography
The big trees can be hazardous… I spent so much time looking up instead of at the trail beneath my feet that I stumbled at least 15 times on the ten miles of trails we hiked through Big Basin Redwoods State Park. But you can’t help yourself. As the trails put you...
by Susan Bancroft | Jan 18, 2016 | Big Sur, Big Trees, Hiking, Photography
Note: Julia Pfeiffer Burns State Park (where McWay Falls is located) is open, but the trails on the east side of Hwy 1 are closed until further notice because of the 2016 Soberanes Fire. You can updated information about all Big Sur area parks along Hwy 1 here. “We’ve...
by Susan Bancroft | May 23, 2015 | Beaches, Big Sur, Big Trees, Hiking, Photography
Limekiln State Park was one of the state parks on Highway 1 we hadn’t seen yet, so Susie and I packed ourselves and a cooler into the trusty Element, left the chihuahuas behind (to guard the ranch and bark at the clouds) and headed south on Highway 1. We passed all...
by Susan Bancroft | May 4, 2014 | Geology, Hiking, Photography
This is about the fourth trip Susie and I have made to the trail along Arroyo Seco Gorge, which is about 45 minutes southeast of the ranch by Carmel Valley Road. Each time I like how easily we get to the action: This view is about 150 yards from where we parked the...