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| Sheep - Humboldt County 1997 |
So maybe this was taken in Nevada. Photo is on the same roll of film as scenes from Reno and Virginia City in Nevada. But also locations in Truckee in California. And a few pix taken in Humboldt County!
Going to have to go with Humboldt County, I think. Photo has a northern California look to it.
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| Bay - Marin County 2026 |
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| Buckeye Leaves - Marin County 2026 |
Top photo taken with an iPhone 16 Pro Max.
Bottom one with an Olympus E-M10 / Lumix 12-60mm lens combo. Pretty old, as such digital things go, but actually still quite serviceable. Light weight, too.
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| Claw Machines (H Mart) - San Francisco 2026 |
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| Claw Machines Detail (H Mart) - San Francisco 2026 |
Claw machines seen during a recent quicky trip to H Mart.
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| Redwoods, Clouds - Marin County 2026 |
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| Redwoods, Clouds - Marin County 2026 |
Both photos taken from the same location (front of our house looking south). Top one taken with an iPhone 16, bottom one with a Nikon Z7II.
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| Eucalyptus - Marin County 2026 |
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| Oaks - Marin County 2026 |
Photo on top taken with a new (used) iPhone 16 Pro Max. Bottom one with a Sony RX100.
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| Tent Drying Out (Fairfax) - Marin County 2026 |
I had an unfortunate tent mildew episode some years ago, so I always make sure to get the Big Agnes tent super dry before putting it away.
I got the tent in 2018, so I've had it for a while.
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| Heerman's Gulls - Point Reyes 2026 |
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| Heerman's Gulls - Point Reyes 2026 |
Heerman's gulls were featured in an earlier 2018 post. Very picturesque.
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| Limantour Beach Wave #1 - Point Reyes 2026 |
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| Limantour Beach Wave #2 - Point Reyes 2026 |
Nice. I used a Nikon Z7II with a 40mm (non-zoom) lens.
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| Limantour Marsh - Point Reyes 2026 |
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| Limantour Beach - Point Reyes 2026 |
Photos taken just after my most recent Coast Camp backpack. During my visit there I hadn't been able to go down to the beach. Annoying! So when I returned to my car I decided to drive over to the Limantour beach area, to get some actual beach time in.
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| Alders, Road - Point Reyes 2026 |
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| Alders - Point Reyes 2026 |
Hanna and I hiked this route in 2025, so I knew that it was quite long. Still seemed to take forever.
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| Coyote Bush, Ocean - Point Reyes 2026 |
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| View South - Point Reyes 2026 |
I wanted to avoid the eroded trail that I had come in on, so I was taking the (much longer) alternate fire road out. The road follows the coast for a while before turning inland.
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| Morning Coffee - Point Reyes 2026 |
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| Tent - Point Reyes 2026 |
Very heavy drizzle. I had known that the morning was going to be a wet one, so I'd put most of my stuff into the metal bear box, with the backpack going underneath the table.
It was apparent that the soaked and sagging tent fly hadn't really been staked out correctly.
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| Sooty Shearwaters - Point Reyes 2026 |
One of the most widespread and numerous of all pelagic seabirds, the Sooty Shearwater is an unassuming, dark brown bird with silvery flashes in the underwing. With stiff wingbeats they fly low over the ocean ("shearing" the water), using wind power to glide long distances.
Watching the ocean from a headland or taking a pelagic birding trip are good ways to see Sooty Shearwaters. Populations are larger in the Pacific than the Atlantic, and huge flocks can sometimes be seen from shore along the California coast in fall.
Photo above (with a Nikon Z7II / 24-200mm lens) shows the flock (indeed, quite huge) as seen from a hill overlooking the ocean. Below, a crop showing individual birds.
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| Sooty Shearwaters - Point Reyes 2026 |
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| Drake's Bay, Headlands - Point Reyes 2026 |
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| Hanna, Hali - Marin County 2026 |
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| Hanna, Hali - Marin County 2026 |
So my first Mt. Tamalpais hike didn't work out since the trail up to the lookout structure was way rockier than I had expected. But it turns out that there's a second trail, an accessible one that loops around the mountain just below the summit.
Hanna was coming over for a visit in August . . . Hali and I decided to take her up to the top of Mt. Tamalpais so she could enjoy the view.
Yikes . . . not only was there no view, but the weather at the trailhead was quite intense, very wet and foggy with strong winds.
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| Charging Apple Watch - Point Reyes 2026 |
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| Ramen, Chardonnay, Nikon, Tent - Point Reyes 2026 |
I like the Apple Watch for keeping track of my steps, exercise minutes and so on. But its main use for me is being able to press a button and have my iPhone beep. I'm constantly losing track of the iPhone - I need to use that function two-three times per day.
I took a small charger with me in order to keep the watch functional. (I now have discovered that you can a) turn the watch completely off to save battery life, or b) put it into low power mode. Will have to try those options.)
Ramen meal was quite successful! I packed a small zip-lock bag with some bok choy and a few ounces of pork belly for that umami goodness.
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| Poison Oak - Point Reyes 2026 |
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| California Sagebrush - Point Reyes 2026 |
Photos taken with a Nikon Z7II / 24-200mm lens.
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| Eucalyptus - Point Reyes 2026 |
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| Pond - Point Reyes 2026 |
Walking past the eucalyptus to the beach. Alas, the pond that is usually off to the side had somehow enlarged itself and covered the trail! I had brought water sandals with me - mainly for wearing around the camp - but I never got around to putting them on and wading through the water.
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| Coast Camp - Point Reyes 2026 |
A short mini-hike. I had hiked up to a ridge overlooking the main campground sites, with a view of the tents, the eucalyptus and the ocean.
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| Campsite (Coast Camp) - Point Reyes 2026 |
Getting there was not that easy though. The trail erosion made it quite difficult hiking in - at one point I attempted to scooch through one of the eroded sections and ended up down on the ground. Not a fall, exactly, but still - down on the ground. Luckily two hikers (Wolfgang and Becky) were able to help me up and get me down past the bad section.
Then, on to camp 3 unaided, and some welcome Fritos and beer.
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| Fritos and Beer - Point Reyes 2026 |
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| Skunk in Campground - Point Reyes 2026 |
As seen during this year's Coast Camp backpack. I was sitting in my campground chair when this individual wandered through. My getting up to take a photo led to a swift departure past the campground food box and into the poison oak.
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| Campground Chair - Point Reyes 2026 |
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| Loma Alta, Fog (Fairfax) - Marin County 2026 |
Finishing the hike . . . a loop that took us past the water tanks down towards Glen Drive. A nice view of Loma Alta as we descended.
My Apple Watch gave me a number of flights at least!
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| Hike Stats - Marin County 2026 |
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| Hanna, Labyrinth (Fairfax) - Marin County 2026 |
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| Oak Tree (Fairfax) - Marin County 2026 |
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| Oak Tree (Fairfax) - Marin County 2026 |
Trees seen during our hike. Photos taken with an iPhone 13 Pro Max.
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| Doveweed (Fairfax) - Marin County 2026 |
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| Broken Fence, Barbed Wire (Fairfax) - Marin County 2026 |
"Doveweed or turkey mullein (Croton setiger) is a low growing, native annual that thrives in dry, disturbed, open places . . . Even from a distance it can be recognized by the low, tidy mounds of pale green foliage, themselves evenly spaced out into large patches and fields."
Hanna noticed the Doveweed first. I continue to be intrigued by old fences and fenceposts.
Top photo and plant ID using an iPhone. Bottom photo taken with an Olympus E-M1II.
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| Water Tank, Use Trail, Hanna (Fairfax) - Marin County 2026 |
When I first approached this area last winter I started at the base of the water tank and scrambled directly up the slope in back. This time I wanted to try a "use trail" that I had noticed on a scouting walk earlier in the month. Hanna and I started up.
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| Midway Point on Trail, Hanna (Fairfax) - Marin County 2026 |
It was much longer than I had realized! We finally reached a rock outcropping that proved to be the topmost point. Hanna stood on it and studied the view, somewhat reminiscent of Joe Mundy standing at the top of Mt. Agassiz in 1974.
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| Hanna at the Top (Fairfax) - Marin County 2026 |
