San Francisco, December 2007
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Our first trip to San Francisco was very productive in terms of pictures and sightseeing, as one can tell from the photo time distribution. In summary, San Francisco is
a beautiful city, and worth spending some time in. San Francisco Zoo: Bigger, has more species, and is more creative. The zoo is located in a park next to the Pacific coast. December 14, 2007 Downtown and Pier 13: We did a lot of walking during the two days, trying to get a look at known points of interest and everything in between. On the first day we went to the Fisherman's Wharf and Pier 39, everyone having told us that we should go there. We found a lot of small shops, people trying to sell us something, and huge carousels. We also found sea lions and watched them for some time. Because of fog, we don't have a good picture of the Golden Gate Bridge. However, there is a picture of the Bay Bridge, taken from a nearby viewpoint. December 13, 2007 || December 15, 2007 |
September 2007 - Fall Hikes: Lake Twentytwo and Gold Creek
   
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This is probably the last major content update before the start of the skiing season, unless I decide for no apparent reason to upload pictures from a bike ride
along Lake Keechelus, which is heavily covered anyway. I will describe the hikes to Lake Twentytwo (September 22) and the less known Gold Creek meadows (September 29). Lake Twentytwo: There are two major differences between hiking in the summer and in the fall: weather. We were lucky this time, as it only rained for the first part, and the sun peeked out for a minute on the way back, allowing some pictures of the clouds. The trail to the lake and the lake itself are located in a "research area" which partially explains why the lake got named 22. It also explains why there are tall trees around. The trail climbs, passing a waterfall, then opens into an open area, still climbing. Finally it reaches the lake and circles around it. September 22, 2007 || Map This Gold Creek: (Again, no luck with the sun, but at least it wasn't raining.) This trail is not covered to an extent that I would like, and I will explain it in detail. For example, I have seen a trail description advising hiking the trail in the spring; I do not recommend this. First, crossing the meadows is twice more fun in the fall than in the summer, and four times more fun than in the Spring. Second, there is a much lower probability of running into snow on the way. Third, the trail crosses gold creek once and smaller streams soon thereafter, and crossing them when the water level is lowest (late summer) is easiest. The trail begins at the gold creek pond parking lot, with several approaches around the pond and to the actual trailhead a short distance away. The trail itself follows Gold creek through a forest with ocasionall views of the nearby meadows. It comes close to the creek on two occasions before crossing the creek. Soon after the crossing there will be a junction with the left fork toward the closer lake and the right fork (which we took) toward the farther lake. This is about 5 miles in. The trail becomes unmaintained soon afterwards, crossing a wetland, and entering the meadows. This, I think, is the best part of the trail. I advise starting this trail early, especially if you are headed toward the lake. This is one of the longer hikes and takes a lot of time. September 29, 2007 || Map This |
Links to Other Photo Sites
- PIAP Photo Albums - Personal Collection of Photos from Western Washington, by Eric D. Blom.
- Washington Hikes - A similar web site with hike information and pictures.
