We gathered at Henry Coe State Park yesterday to show our support for California State Parks.  

Two television news crews reported on the scene.    What I have to say is that these lands are a public trust run by the state government.   They are not an asset that can be closed or sold off.    The $15 vehicle license fee is a fine way to offset the costs and if other compromises are needed so be it.   But closing 80% of the parks is neither a reasonable nor effective solution to anything and would be a huge violation of public trust.

Our mission of taking a photo for the SOS Weekend campaign complete, we set off  hiking to see some sights, soothe our souls and get a little exercise. 

More photos at http://www.flickr.com/photos/jackieannpatterson/

Tags: Henry Coe, State Parks

The budget committee voted to remove General Fund support for state parks.  Yikes! 

That means that incredible lands like the photo shown above may be closed to public access which deprives us all of two benefits:  1. Access to affordable, wholesome, uplifting fun at a time when families may not afford other recreation and 2. Erodes the protected status of these precious open spaces.

The good news is that there is an alternative to sitting back and letting our wild lands be taken from us (and I fear eventually turned into some form of development):

The budget committe also voted to recommend a new State Park Access Pass which would give a year’s unlimited access to state parks for $15 per vehicle — an outstanding deal!  This proposal needs to pass a final vote of state legislature.   Please nudge your representative - click here for an automated form.

Then reward yourself by visualizing your last fun trip to a CA state park…either hiking, camping, or maybe a beach.  Better yet, treat yourself to a visit to a state park this weekend. 

(Photo Credit: Montana de Oro State Park - California Poppy by docentjoyce)

Tags: State Park, State Park Access Pass

Henry Coe State Park is a rare and precious combination of wild lands on the doorstep of a major metropolitan area.  Its been one of my favorite places since a backpacking trip deep in the park when a rottweiler-sized cat came down to the stream across from camp to get a drink…and ran once it realized people were about.   Watching the big cat drink was a wonderful sight to behold — and not one I’d particularly expect to see at park headquarters.

Unfortunately, our access to Henry Coe State Park is threatened by the CA budget crisis withdrawing funding for state parks.    I’m not only concerned about not being able to use Coe — I’m also worried that a closed park is less likely to be preserved as it becomes an easier target for development.

SOS is an organization committed to keeping our state parks open.   They have called for a show of support for the parks in the form of visiting a state park sometime on the weekend of June 20-21, 2009 and taking photos of ourselves with banners for a video they are producing.

I plan to be at Henry Coe State Park Headquarters to take the photos and I want you to join in.   Everyone is welcome for the photo.    

Henry Coe State Park HQ is off 101 near Morgan Hill, 60mins from Redwood City. Click for general directions.  Click for google map  The HQ has restrooms and drinking water available.

If you want to be photographed with a sign, you can print your favorite of the signs on the SOS Weekend page.    If enough people RSVP by Thursday 6/18 to say they’ll be there, I’ll have a larger banner made up.

If you would like to coordinate carpools, feel free to leave comments on this post.   Please understand that this website is open to the public and I won’t necessarily know everyone who comments.   I’m already in a carpool down and will meet y’all there.

We do plan to hike after the photos.    If you’d like to hike too, please bring water, decent shoes, snack/lunch and your sense of personal responsibility.  This isn’t an organized event, but I’m happy to have new friends and acquaintances share the trail.

Hope to see you Saturday!

(Henry Coe photo source: http://www.flickr.com/photos/nkinkade/)

Tags: Henry Coe, hike, State Park

Great 7 mile hike yesterday up to Eagle Rock in Little Basin for Sempervirens. 

Thanks to Emmanuelle for leading the way.

Check out Rick’s awesome photos by clicking here.

Here’s a few shots I took along the way:

Joe spotted Venus in daylight.

As you can see from the logo on the signs at the entry, Little Basin used to be Hewlett-Packard’s corporate retreat.   They sold it to Sempervirens and POST, who must foot the bill until California can afford the gift of Little Basin as an extension of Big Basin state park.    Meanwhile, its open to HP, Sempervirens and POST.

The thing I like best about hiking with Sempervirens is all the neat people I meet.   If you would like to join us on a hike, click here.   Please consider joining  in the preservation of these very special redwood forests.

Tags: hike, little basin, Sempervirens Fund

The “mystery bird” on Windy Hill is indeed a white-tailed kite.   Here’s a photo from my hike this weekend when it made a close fly-by and then perched in a tall oak.

Thanks to Ron Pavellas for identifying the species.

Tags: birds, windy hill

Sempervirens docent Karen DeMello led a fun interpretive hike at Little Basin — filling our imaginations with scenes of the redwood forest and sounds from the Nutcracker Suite.    What a treat!  

Little Basin started as HP’s corporate retreat.   Hence the garage door mock-up on the amphitheater stage.  We learned on the hike that HP’s first customer was Walt Disney, who bought audio oscillators for Fantasia, which coincidentally features the Nutcracker Suite.  (clip)

Nice that all of this forest and history can be preserved by Sempervirens and POST.  They are the land trusts who bought Little Basin.  The eventual goal is to make it a state park, by adding to Big Basin.  

Scott Peden brought a series of maps more than a century old showing how Big Basin State Park has grown as a result of Sempervirens members.  In addition to helping the forest, members get exclusive access to Little Basin before it is opened to the public.  

Click here to join Sempervirens.

Tags: Nutcracker, redwoods, sempervirens

Windy Hill Mystery Bird

This weekend I finally got half-decent photos of the white bird that hunts near the top of Windy Hill Open Space Preserve.    This photo and video below were taken near the top of Spring Ridge Trail on a very still evening.

Please comment or send me email if you think you might know what kind of bird this is.

Tags: Bird, hawk, Raptor, windy hill

Here’s a couple notes to catch up on the hiking scene.   Yesterday, we saw a relaxing coyote and circling red-tailed hawks at Windy Hill Open Space.   No sign of my mysterious black and white dihedral-winged hunters.

The coyote froze in its tracks as we came around the corner for the last long pull up Spring Trail.   After perceiving no threat, it lay down in the tall brown grass and rolled.   As we approached up the trail, it oh-so-casually decided to get up and investigate the smells on the far shoulder of the hill.

Returning down the hill, we spotted two circling hawks.  One sped to attack speed and dive-bombed the oak tree but came away with empty claws.

Another beautiful day in the neighborhood!

Tags: coyote, hawk, open space, red-tailed hawk, windy hill

Please join me this Sunday for a hike on the lovely Tanbark Trail among the redwoods in Little Basin.  I’ll be bringing up the rear of this leisurely 2 mile jaunt with a Sempervirens group.   You get to see the beauty of Little Basin before it becomes a state park.  Right now, the only way to get in is to come on one of these hikes — or join Sempervirens, POST, or HP.    The hike is free, parking is $6 per car.  Click here to sign up and get more details.

Tags: hiking, little basin, preservation, redwoods, Sempervirens Fund

Last weekend in Windy Hill Open Space Preserve we saw a baby rattlesnake, two birds of prey, rabbits, lizards, and stellar (blue) jays.  I’m on a personal mission to identify the birds — one may be a young golden eagle, the other a ferruginous hawk.  I’m inspired to find out even though I’ve never been much of a birder before.  We also saw the oak-studded golden hills of the open space and panoramic views of Portola Valley (follow link to see view in 2nd pic).   Its very dry now as we near the end of summer and it hasn’t rained in months and months.   Here’s a pic from last spring:

Oak at Base of Windy Hill

Critter notes: (more…)

Tags: birds, ferruginous hawk, golden eagle, gull, hawk, hiking, land trust, open space, portola valley, rattlesnake, wildlife, windy hill