2020 - What a Year!

    On this Thanksgiving weekend, though our California family decided it would not be responsible to gather several households together for a Thanksgiving feast, I am feeling very grateful. During the past month we have visited all our California children and grandchildren, just not all at the same time, and mostly outdoors. And I am also feeling grateful for 2020.

    We all know that 2020 has been quite a year to remember, or some say to forget. What an altered world we have lived in with restrictions due to COVID. We have witnessed racial strive, deep discord leading up to the presidential election and continued dis-ease as our current president refuses to concede, and we all wonder how it's all going to play out. Before 2020 ever began I knew it was going to be a year to remember, but not for any of the reasons I already named. 2020 was to be and has been a year of many personal milestones: Rob and my 50th wedding anniversary, the completion of my Doctor of Ministry Degree, retirement from pastoral ministry and my 70th birthday. All those milestones happened in the midst of the pandemic and the deepening polarization of our nation and world, and though some of the celebrations surrounding them were altered, they all still happened, so I will remember 2020 with a tangled mixture of emotion. 

    Our anniversary was the end of March, but fortunately we had planned to celebrate with our children and grandchildren and their significant others at Disneyland in January to accommodate school schedules and lower costs. We are so grateful we celebrated in January because on our anniversary in March Disneyland was closed and travel restrictions were in place. We didn't really plan for anything special to mark the actual anniversary date, but now we have a sweet memory of sharing cake with the couple who  made it for us while being socially distant on the side walk in front of our house on March 28. I completed my Doctor of Ministry in May, but of course there was to be no in person commencement ceremony, but though that celebration would have been nice, no one can take the degree away from me - and we saved money not having to travel. Retirement happened, not with the party some had planned, but with a wonderful celebration and gifts we will always treasure. Travel plans were interrupted and altered for many, but RV travel was considered the safest way to travel in the pandemic, and that had been our longed planned for plan following retirement. Our four months on the road were awesome and safe and now we are enjoying life as campground hosts meeting and helping folks socially distanced, outdoors. And on November 17 I turned 70, not with a big family gathering, but with phone calls and messages from all my children and many other family and friends. 

                                                    

Perhaps you can believe I am now 70, but I can't quite figure out how I got this old so soon!

    We have now been campground hosts for almost a full month and I think we are both a bit surprised at how content we are to be camping in one place. We have explored every trail at Samuel P Taylor State Park and begun to adventure beyond its boundaries. We are able to give directions and advice to people seeking the perfect trail for their family or interests. This is truly a beautiful spot, though I admit that it's a bit cold - 33 degrees this morning. I got an indoor outdoor thermometer for my birthday so I get to see just how cold it really is. My usual routine is to build a campfire around 7:00 and then come inside after for breakfast with Rob. Our campsite gets very little direct sunlight, but it is amazing how the sum warms us if we walk out of the valley of redwoods for a morning hike before doing campground checks at noon. Around 2:00 Rob often builds a campfire and we sit by it reading and responding to campers and other visitors to the park as they go by our site. We are adjusting to the cold by wearing proper clothing, enjoying the warmth of campfires and utilizing LesThora's propane furnace and a small electric space heater, and a cozy down comforter in addition to our quilt on the bed at night. Our daughter Sheila said that there is a common saying in Germany that there is no bad weather, just bad clothing - I think that is pretty accurate.

One of the beautiful trails in our neighborhood.

Another trail - notice how varied the terrain and vegetation is in this relatively small state park.

This picture is taken as I approached Bolinas Ridge for the first time. I thought when I got to this spot I would be at the top, but all I could see was another top.

Looking toward Barnabe Peak from Bolinas Ridge

Looking toward Tamales Bay from Bolinas Ridge

Looking down the road/trail past our campsite

One of the many ferns in the park. At the first of November when we arrived I noticed how thirsty the ferns looked all around the park, but then after the first good rain they all perked up. There hasn't been anymore rain since - California could sure use some more, soon!

A big leaf Maple leaf

    After breakfast on "work" days Rob and I go for a shortish 1 to 2 hour hike before our campground rounds. We save the long hikes for our days off. Last week we hiked an 11 mile round trip from our campsite that took us up on to and across Bolinas Ridge. There was plenty of steep climbing up, but the hardest part was coming down off the ridge on the steep switchbacks of Shafter Grade.

These are 3 gigantic eucalyptus trees we encountered on the Bolinas Ridge Trail. We figure they must have been among the first arrivals during the gold rush era.

Us on Bolinas Ridge

This sign post said it was 1.7 miles to Shafter Bridge, but it was more like 2 miles and it was very steep down. It was amazing to watch bicyclists climbing up it as we walked down.

    

    One of our short morning hikes was to explore the Deer Point Trail across Sir Francis Drake Blvd. from the campground. I think we hiked about 4 miles round trip on that one and turned around when the trail took a steep turn down hill which we didn't want to come back up.

Some interesting rock formations on Deer Point Trail

A view up the mountain on Deer Point Trail

A view west from Deer Point Trail

    Lagunitas Creek which is part of the Mt. Tamalpais watershed runs through the campground. It is quite beautiful and is one of the few remaining spawning areas for Coho salmon. Spawning season has begun which means visitors can look at, but not go down to the creek. We are eager to see the salmon which some have seen already, but we haven't yet. We did however see two river otters which we understand eat the carcasses of the salmon after they spawn.

Reflection on Lagunitas Creek

Fall color on the South Creekside trail very close to our campsite

More fall color on Cross Marin trail, just a short distance from our campsite.

The same fall colors on Cross Marin Trail, but seen from further back

    This week's day off hike was a bit shorter than last week's, but included greater elevation gain as we hiked up to Barnabe Peak from the opposite end of the Barnabe Peak Fire Trail than we had previously done. The sky was much clearer than the first time we hiked up there on November 2. The sunshine on our hike warmed us until we reached the peak to have our lunch in the cold wind. The round trip from our campsite was about 7 miles and though the downhill was steep it was not as bad as what we'd experienced on Shafter Grade.

Mount Tamalpais from Barnabe Peak

Mount Diablo faintly visible from Barnabe Peak

Us on the top of Barnabe Peak with the fire lookout in the background to prove we'd made it.

The beginning of the descent from Barnabe Peak

A buck near the campground on our way back.

     Tuesday of this week our daughter Erin came for the day and we drove to Tomales Bay State Park where we took a short nature hike and then drove as far north as we could on the Point Reyes peninsula. We ate lunch outside at a restaurant at Point Reyes Station where mask wearing is strictly enforced. We were told that while dining outside we were to keep our masks on at the table  unless we were actually eating. 

This picture does not do justice to the beautiful Bay Laurel grove of trees we walked through at Tomales Bay State Park

Elk at the Tule Elk Preserve on Point Reyes

    Monday evening after our long hike we went to San Rafael in search of books at the Good Will Thrift Store, but didn't have much luck finding any. For years Rob has resupplied his reading material at Little Free Libraries, the Friends of the Library Book Sales in Eureka and at Thrift Stores, but since COVID that's all been harder to do and traveling we couldn't always find good sources. Looking on line I found that the Marin County Library has hours of curbside pickup at their many branches, the closest of which is at Point Reyes Station about 7 miles west of here. Tuesday after lunch we found the library, got a library card and even a couple of books. We're both excited about being able to use the library during our stay here. It's pretty easy to order on line and wait for the library to let us know when the books are ready to pick up.

Elsie and Straus together on the bed

Elsie and Straus sharing the same cat bed for warmth