Experts spending their time exploring

Nature Deficit Syndrome...

 while I believe in just getting out and exploring Nature. 

 

Here in Sonoma County there is no lack of nature and naturally beautiful places to explore. 

 

As the mother of three boys, I am a big believer in using nature to wear down their energy and tame their testosterone. 

My friends tease me by leaving messages on my home phone saying that they are trying to reach the Director of Camp McAfee. 

 

 

Today, Camp McAfee is closed.  We really need a day to hose down the equipment, repair the brakes and tires on the mountain bikes and wash and dry the towels.  I need to restock the sunscreen and snacks and fold the mountain of laundry in my bedroom.

 

We have been stockpiling our nature exposure so that when school begins and days get shorter we can reach into our memory banks full of nature and pull out a mental fix. 

 

This week we spent several great days at the Willow Creek Addition to the Sonoma Coast State Park. 

We have been biking the trails from the top of Willow Creek Road in Occidental all the way to the confluence of the Russian River and Pacific Ocean at Jenner.  I love this piece of land. 

 

 

 

 

 

Dense tracts of redwoods, open grasslands with seed heads waving in the ocean breezes.  Valleys full of bright sunshine and dense fog pouring over the hilltop and filling the hollows.  As a new addition to the state park, Willow Creek is managed by Land Paths.  Users need to get a permit before they hike, bike or ride their horses here, so the expanse of land feels almost like our private wilderness.  Occasionally, we run across a hiker or biker.

 

 

 

 

 

On the banks of the river there is a walk-in state campground that provides the perfect headquarters for Camp McAfee. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

  

 

 

 

The only problem is the volume of boy toys that could be used in this spot and the walk-in logistics.  

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 We arrive with my Yukon Denali XL filled to the brim; kayak on top and five bikes hanging from my bike rack.  Boys pour out of every door and the stuff spills out behind them --  bike helmets, fishing poles, life vests, paddles, trail runners, sleeping bags and, of course, sunscreen!

 

What is a list of Sonoma County hikes without a winery garden walk? 

Some wineries feature formal gardens or edible gardens or even hikes to the picnic tables at the top of the hill.  One of my favorites is Matanzas Creek in early summer at the peak of lavender season. 

 

 

 This garden experience is visceral

with fragrance in the air, the sweep of your eye across the strong lines of the brush of shade and then sun against your skin as you wander along gravel paths through shaded gardens into expansive views over lavender fields to the mountains beyond. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

  

 

 

 

 I take all of my house guests here and many want to revisit every year.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

This walk won’t wear you out, but if you add it to a tour of other winery gardens you can definitely reach my goal of 10,000 steps a day... 

And every step will be spectacular.

 

 

 

 

 

 It’s raining today.  There is rain, and then there is RAIN. 

I love living in western Sonoma County.  It is so beautiful.  Around every corner of the road there is a unique micro environment with its own flora and fauna and climate. 

My ridge top location is an amazing banana belt – above the valley fog and about 5 degrees warmer than the valley during the heat of the day.  But like clockwork every afternoon, our coastal influence kicks in with the ocean breeze and the drop in temperature.  I may sport a tank top during the day but rarely am without a sweater or sweatshirt at night.  I use a down comforter year round.

So what does all of this have to do with rain, you are probably asking? 

Well, all of this beautiful Sonoma greenery is a result of one thing – water.  In the summer it’s fog and in the winter it’s rain.    And as the clouds meet the coast and rise up into the coastal mountains, the air gets cooler and more water falls.  This is West County RAIN.  Several years ago we had 109”.  Keep in mind that this is only falling in about four months. 

I don’t mind walking or running on wet surfaces or in light drizzle, but I’m not into running in West County RAIN.  

For these days I keep a treadmill.  When I was younger, I was like a gerbil on a treadmill.  I could just run, and run, and run some more.  Nowadays, I keep wondering “When will this be over???!!!”  So I have developed a few tricks that I will share with you. 

Treadmill Tricks for Outdoorsy Girls

• My treadmill is next to a large window.  I open the window and turn on the ceiling fan, so my room feels cool and outdoorsy. 
• I turn on the lights so that it is bright and I am alert. 
• I plug in my iPod and crank the most upbeat songs that have the fastest beat that I can keep up with at a walk or run. 

I have specific playlists that I continually update that are designed for walking or running (and for horseback riding I also have walk, trot and canter playlists).   135-150 beats per minute.  Check out my next blog for my treadmill playlist.  In the meantime, I'm taking requests...

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

1. Welcome to the World / Kevin Rudolph 3:05

2. Just Dance / Lady GaGa 4:04

3. I Kissed a Girl / Katy Perry 3:01

4. Love Lockdown / Kanye West 4:30

5. Love Sex Magic / Ciara feat. Justin Timberlake 3:42

6. You spin my head / Flowrider 3:29

7. Love Shack / The B-52's 5:22

8. Circus / Britney Spears 3:14

9. Make Over / Christina Aguilera 4:13

10.TiK ToK / Ke$ha 3:20

11.Give It Up to Me (feat. Lil Wayne) / Shakira 3:04

12.Piece Of Your Heart / Natasha Bedingfield 3:47

13.Who Knows / Natasha Bedingfield 3:46

14.I'm In Miami Trick / LMFAO 3:48

15.Supaman High (feat. OJ Da Juiceman) / R. Kelly 4:24

16.Run This Town (feat. Rihanna & Kanye West) / ... 4:35

17.Piece Of Me / Britney Spears 3:34

18.I Can Transform Ya (feat. Lil Wayne & Swizz Be... 3:49

19.Replay (Iyaz Feat. Sean Kingston Cover) / Gifte... 3:11

20.The Little Things / Danny Elfman 3:27

21. S.O.S./Rihanna A Girl Like Me  4:00 

22. Let it Rock/Kevin Rudolph feat. Lil' Wayne     3:58 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Mountain Boys

 

Tahoe was one of the reasons we chose Sonoma County when we moved from New York. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I was looking for a west coast home that was similar in feeling to our semi-rural Westchester County, NY lifestyle, but I also wanted to be close enough to enjoy our Tahoe cabin. 

For a while I thought about moving to Tahoe.  When I asked our broker what mothers with young infants do in the winter, the answer was "They take their kids to McDonald's."  I decided I needed to explore other options in the Bay area.  We discovered Sebastopol and fell in love with the area.  But Tahoe is still very much a part of our Sonoma Lifestyle.

Last week, we hosted a group of boys up at Tahoe for what we are calling the “Polar Bear Birthday Party”.  On top of the generous amount of snow already on the ground, it snowed several feet when we arrived. 

  

Skiing, sledding, snowball fights

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

and even rowing and dips in the lake were part of the activities. 

  

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

My job was to keep the troops fueled and clothed in dry gear.  I was driver, scout, spotter and chef d’equipe.  I was also responsible for medical treatment.  It was a full-time job.  The extreme sports resulted in bumps, bruises and black eyes.  The good news is that it was easy to apply ice to the injuries.

  

 

I live in Sonoma, but I am raising mountain boys.  You can recognize a mountain boy just by watching the way they move – their confidence in their bodies and the way they connect with the earth.

Growing up in LA, we used to say, “Where else can you live in the city and still be a couple of hours away from beaches and mountains?”  Now, living in Sonoma County, I say “Where else can you live in the country and still be close to small towns, major cities, beaches and world-class mountains?” 

 

 

 

  In my mind, Sonoma County is one of the best places in the world to call home.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Last week during Ski Week, I decided to make it a “Hike, Bike and Ride Week” staycation in Sonoma County. 

Finally sunny, the warmer weather lured me into getting out and taking advantage of the Sonoma trails. 

WE ARE SO LUCKY to have so many great outdoor spaces in all directions!

 

I hiked Annandale State Park with a girlfriend on Presidents Day.  The next day I rode my horse at the Sonoma Coast with my niece and her big baby --  a huge 4 year old Hanoverian dressage prospect.  My menagerie of hikers, bikers, dogwalkers and horseback riders assembled at both Spring Lake and River Front Regional Parks.  Killing time during baseball practice in Forestville, I walked with my walking buddy,  Deneen, three dogs and her boys on mountain bikes at Steelhead Beach on the Russian River.  During my son’s Pony Club day at Redwoods Pony Club in Novato, I slipped across Bahia Dr.  for a hike at Rush Creek/Bahia Wetlands Trail.  

What a great week!  I could do this all the time.  I live here.

 How do we have all of these great parks?  Let’s thank everyone who supported the ¼ cent sales tax that supports the Sonoma County Agriculture Preservation and Open Space District which helped purchase River Front Park.

What about purchasing a year pass to the Sonoma County Regional Parks for $63.  I see the same cars parked frequently outside of Ragle Park and I wonder why these people use the park so frequently yet choose not to financially support  this gem. 

http://www.sonoma-county.org/parks/p_pkpass.htm

Finally, let’s all support any fundraising efforts that will keep Annandale State Park open.  Like many others, I enter Annandale from Spring Lake where there is no day fee payment facility. 

My friend from Atlanta had a great idea.  She suggested that the state parks allow dog owners to purchase use tags for their dogs.  My feeling is that dog walkers would increase park use and security for their solo hikers as well as all users who would face see more hikers with dogs.  As a bicyclist, dog owner and horse owner, I think we can share the trails. 

A runners' club recently held a fundraiser run.  What are your ideas?

In the meantime, make sure that our elected representatives know how much we treasure our open space in Sonoma County.

 

Monday I was supposed to attend the Land Paths orientation for Taylor Mountain.  But I wasn’t there.  I wasn’t going anywhere.  I have been ambushed by poison oak. 

 

I think I must be dying.

 In my previous blogs, I bragged about how prepared I am for everything, including poison oak.  I learned years ago, the hard way, that poison oak appears when you least expect it.  My first exposure was when I was working in the entertainment industry in LA and I relieved myself in the bushes at a late evening picnic in Flintridge.  I wore loose sweat pants to my trendy office for THREE WEEKS!  When we moved to New York, we discovered after a winter work day of pulling vines from our two hundred year old trees, that poison ivy is still quite strong on the leafless vines and roots.  I am VIGILANT about poison oak.  But last week I was terrorized by an insider.

My son and I went for a walk.  It had been raining and we could hear a hidden waterfall.  I knew that there was poison oak near it, but we couldn’t resist the roar of the water.  After returning home, I told my son to remove all clothes and shoes directly into the washer and hop into the shower with Technu.  My son is careless and he apparently didn’t Technu as religiously as I did.  By the next day he had poison oak patches all over his face, ankles and another spot which will not be named. 

I was fine, I gloated to him because I had done what he should have. 

At bedtime, my insomniac son came in to the TV room and hugged and kissed me goodnight at least four times.  When I woke up in the morning covered with poison oak from my v-neck to the top of my head I remembered that my son had been wearing his favorite jacket when he went to bed.  NO!  NO!  Not the jacket he had worn on the hike.  He didn’t wash it, he just put it back on a day later!!!!  And now who could guess what else in my house was covered with poison oak. 

Tuesday  Covered with feverish rashes, delirious with lack of sleep and steroidal restlessness, I searched the house and washed everything I could find – but I couldn’t remember what I had been wearing when he hugged me.

Thursday  There was no relief to be had for both of us.  We were in the trenches with Poison Oak and losing the battle.  The rashes grew daily and we spent our sleepless nights with creams, showers, ice packs and late night television. 

We received advice from everyone and nothing was left untried.  My favorite became, “when all else fails eat chocolate and cakes”.  It seemed to work as well as the prednisone, Benadryl, homeopathic pills, Aveeno baths and ice packs.

Sunday  Just when we were beginning to make healing progress, I went to the Alameda Antique Market wearing my black fleece jacket.  That night was torturous.  I spent the entire night with all of my windows open, ceiling fan on high and maintaining ice packs on my neck and face.  In the morning, my girl friend called to tell me that her husband had gotten poison oak from me as we transferred her Alameda purchases into her truck.  Thank you, John, for being my canary in the gold mine.  Now I knew what I had been wearing when my son had first covered me with poison oak – my polar fleece. 

Monday  Thank goodness it is the rainy season, and my well water is high, because I am once again washing every pillow, blanket, throw, tennis shoe and piece of clothing either of us could have touched this week. 

Wednesday I am still miserable with this second round of poison oak, but I finally got some sleep last night.  I see the light at the end of the tunnel.  Today I felt confident enough about my eventual recovery that I booked my Taylor Mountain orientation again for next week. 

I am a survivor!

 

                                                       

 

GET YOUR SHOES ON RIGHT NOW AND GO TO THE SANTA ROSA CREEK TRAIL! 

 

 

 

There is a bird party taking place at this migratory rest stop. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I walk the along Santa Rosa Creek from Willowside to Fulton frequently, and I have never seen as many birds as today.  Covering the tops of every tree on both sides of the creek were thousands of robins. The massed song of this multitude was louder than the music on my headphones. 

 

 

Over the din of the robins was the honking of geese as they practiced their migratory pattern, “Honk , Honk.  Out of the way.  Coming  through.  Honk. Honk. Honk.”   Giant clouds of Black Birds rising from the barren fields surrounding the creek were forced to part and allow the geese to pass. 

 

 

I am accustomed to seeing the graceful egrets and their shaggy younger siblings.  Quiet, wary herons.  Clusters of mallards tucked into the calm pools near the reeds.  Sapsuckers darting and pecking at insects in the creek side trees. 

 

 

 

 

 But the last two weeks have been amazing.  I also saw nearly a hundred White Pelicans cruising an irrigation pond.  (I thought I had to kayak for hours in the Estero Americano to catch a glimpse of this creature!)

 

 

 

So what are you waiting for?  These bird parties don't last forever...

 

 

 

 

 

 

Even when I am travelling light, I always keep a few essentials in my backpack. 

• Stainless water bottle
• Water filter
• Swiss Army knife with wine opener tool
• Tech Nu Poison Oak Wipes
• Sample size sunscreen
• Folded wad of clean toilet paper with a Baggie
• Cell phone with GPS enabled
• Chapstick

 

Today I am adding a few local goodies...

• Fougasse bread from Wildflower Bakery
• Cowgirl Creamery Mt. Tam cheese
• Walker Farm assortment of apples
• A bottle of Dry Rosé (Vin Gris) from my friends at Scherrer Winery

 

 Enjoy!

 

 

 

 

Bodega Head captures the essence of the north coast. 

 

Wild, dangerous, breathtaking! 

Earth and water meet and are pounded together by the wind and the rain and the sun.  But what’s great about Bodega Head is that there is a version that is right for anyone.

 

“Bodega Light” is for everyone.  Follow Westshore Rd. to Westside Rd. and up the winding hill to the parking lot at Bodega Head.  Bodega Head is the best place in the county for whale watching. Volunteer docents are at the parking lot on weekends, January to May, to provide information on the whale migration and point out any whales that are in the area. 

 

 

 

Put your windbreaker on, and venture as close to the edge as is comfortable and watch the waves crashing on the rocky shore and coves.  You don’t even need to leave the paving of the parking lot to catch a great view, assuming (and this is a big assumption) there is no fog. Right here we have seen whale families milling around off the rocks.

For “Bodega Beginner” get a good grip on your kids’ hands and follow the unmarked path beginning to the left of the toilets. At the fork turn to the ocean and explore the trail along the bluff to the south tip where you’ll get an excellent view of Tomales Point, Mt. Wittenberg and the Marin Coastline. (The Bodega Bay straddles the Sonoma-Marin County line.) This trail also provides more views to catch whales and you’ll probably see and hear the sea lions which congregate at a small, nearby island to the south.

 

Another version of “Beginner” follows the cliff trail to the north from the parking lot. 

Near the start of this trail is a picnic table where the wheelchair/stroller crowd can enjoy the view.  The trail is an easy hike, but again, if you have small children, keep a firm grip on them.  The cliffs all along the North Coast are unstable.  Every year, people venture too close to the edge and fall.  Or they think they can scale down the cliffs, but they can’t get back up and have to be rescued.  Or they scale down a cliff and a sleeper wave arrives and sweeps them away.  Don’t be intimidated, just careful, because the ocean and cove views are beautiful along this trail, and the wildflower display can be amazing.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Now for a more advanced hiker/walker …

 

 

the trail continues north along the bluff and will bring you to a fork at about 3.5 miles. A trail to the left dead-ends at Horseshoe Cove Overlook, where you can see UC’s Bodega Marine Lab. The trail to the right will take you to Salmon Creek Beach, a little over a mile away. Take this trail downhill until you see a sign marking the boundary of the Marine Reserve. The trail cuts to the left, and you’ll see a sign with the symbol of a hiker. Cut across the paved road of the Marine Lab and continue on through the dunes, following the wooden markers. The trail meets up with the Salmon Creek/Bodega Dunes loop which you can follow north to the Bodega Dunes Campground.

 

This doesn’t sound like that advanced a hike, but it is easy to get disoriented and fatigued in the deep sand of the dunes, there are no amenities like bathrooms or drinking fountains, and if you choose the “Bodega Hardcore” option, you can go for miles up the Sonoma Coast.  Remember sun screen, it can be hot.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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Emily only hikes to swim. 

 

She is spoiled by our lakefront Tahoe cabin.  She thinks every time she goes out there should be swimming. At our Sebastopol home, she makes do with the horse’s water trough, but when we leave our house she expects a water hole deep enough to swim.   

 

 

Our regular walk is at the bottom of Ragle Ranch Regional Park in Sebastopol.  We park near the dog park and take the dirt trail down past the Peace Garden  and turn left through the gate.  A short downhill from the gate is the first water crossing.  THIS IS NOT A SWIMMING HOLE.    A short distance later there is another bridge and once again THIS IS NOT A SWIMMING HOLE.  Stay left on the trail and wind around through the bottom of the valley. 

The trails have soft footing and are lined with blackberry brambles and willows opening to grassy meadows and lowlands.  Up a small rise and down through trails crisscrossed by the willows’ roots.  Get ready, don’t miss it.  There is a small opening in the brambles on the left.  Peer through it and YES, YES this is finally it!  The swimming hole!  Atascadero Creek skirts the edge of the park and the water flows here all year long.  It looks very shallow, but to the right around the corner is a deep hole where Emily can swim without touching.  She looks at me for our signal.  “Go get in the water,”  I say.  She bounds through the stream to her spot.

On our way back to the car, we encounter other dog parents with their muddy, happy dogs and we exchange knowing glances.  Back at the car, we see many other dog owners with clean, groomed dogs who have stayed in the dog park or walked on the paved trails, but we are not that kind of a family.  My car is always a little sandy, but Emily is happy and that’s what counts to me.

 

 

 

 

 

 

BE AMONG THE FIRST...  Recently we've been exploring the vast expanses of the new Willow Creek addition to our State Parks. 

GET STARTED  Land Paths is the steward for this amazing piece of open space, and after attending a brief orientation on Willow Creek, I was given the combination to the gate lock and permission to use the trails.

There are many ways to explore this spectacular 3,373 acre park that stretches from Coleman Valley Road in Occidental to the Russian River  and the Pacific Ocean.  Fifteen miles of logging and ranch roads cross rolling grasslands, ocean-vista peaks and ridges and forested ravines and connect to the coast at the Sonoma State Beaches.  I can park my horse trailer at the Freezeout Flat parking lot and ride my horse 8 miles to the coast, or I can slip out of my house in the late afternoon for a relaxing walk to my favorite ridge top with its sunset views of the ocean. 

From the Occidental side of Willow Creek, there are logging roads that go down, down, down all the way to Jenner, where you can reward yourself with huge Russian River and Pacific Ocean views and Indian food at Sizzling Tandoor restaurant.  I haven’t taken this trip yet, as I need a non-biking driver willing to drive my SUV with its five-bicycle rack, to the start of Colemany Valley and then wind over to the coast to Jenner to pick us up.   My mom hasn’t given me a firm “no”, so I think I can make it happen.

DANGER   There are also many opportunities for misadventure in this wild and huge and uninhabited wilderness.  One warm summer day last year, we took our boys, then 9 and 11 for a ride on their mountain bikes up one of the logging roads.  The ride became a hot push until we reached our destination – the view at  Islands in the Sky, but instead we were engulfed in a cold, swirling ocean fog.  On the way home we chose a circular return route which became a steep downhill single track that led to my son being catapulted off his bicycle into a patch of poison oak.  Fortunately, hiking with three boys has taught me to keep a well-stocked medical kit in my car and it always includes Tecnu wipes for poison oak!

BE PREPARED AND HAVE FUN On this same day we also ran across a search and rescue training exercise and learned that many unprepared hikers become disoriented and lost on the myriad of unmarked footpaths and deer trails.  So before embarking on your first adventure in Willow Creek, be sure to attend the orientation, download the new map from the website and bring plenty of water.  Your cell phone may also work on some of the hilltops, but don’t count on it.