July in Big Sur

Hot summer day …

Half Moon Bay Ride

Let’s face it. Traveling by bicycle is a lot more fun that traveling by car. It’s safer. It’s healthier. And how else can you cover so much territory and see it in such rich detail?

This weekend, we rode our bikes north from the Monterey Peninsula through the Santa Cruz Mountains to Half Moon Bay, then home again down the coast. A drenching rain turned the roads of the Salinas and Pájaro Valleys to mud holes and soaked us to the skin. But the sun came out in the hills and the warm ride home was memorable. Here’s a little of what we saw:

Alpine Rd. Near the crest of the Santa Cruz Mountains.

Today on the Pine Ridge Trail

Into the Chalk Fire Burn: Vicente Flat Trail

The Vicente Flat Trail is in excellent condition as it leaves Highway 1 and begins its initial 1600 ft. climb.

Cops, Cake & Calochortus: Mother’s Day on “Parcel B”

The little apples: How manzanita got its name.  Woollyleaf Manzanita (Arctostaphylos tomentosa) grows along the side of the “Parcel B” trail.

 

The Right to Hike folks, who’ve been working to maintain public access to the trail connecting Veterans and Quarry Parks in Monterey, have been in a mood to celebrate since the recent court decision confirming the public’s right to use the trail and the surrounding “Parcel B” for recreational purposes.

Spring at The Indians

Fields of Sky Lupine (Lupinus nanus)

Ventana Wilderness Opening Day: Bottcher’s Gap to Little Pines

With the exception of an overgrown patch or two, like this one, the Ventana Double Cone Trail is in pretty good shape as it leaves Bottcher’s Gap and climbs Skinner Ridge.

A Visit to La Cueva Pintada

The army hasn’t allowed the public to visit La Cueva Pintada (on Fort Hunter Liggett) in something like 10 years, so when the San Antonio Valley Historical Association succeeded in navigating the bureaucratic maze and getting permission for a public tour a lot of people jumped at the opportunity.

Garland Park Wildflowers

Here’s a little of what we saw today ….

Sky Lupine (Lupinus nanus) and Coast Goldfields (Lasthenia californica) share a meadow.

Pinnacles Wildflowers

The sun is out and the flowers are blooming at Pinnacles National Monument.

Here’s a little of what we saw today …

This is a field of Tufted Poppies (Eschscholzia caespitosa).

(For a closer look, click on a picture to bring up a higher resolution image, then use your browser to zoom in)