Virginia City (1997)

Fire Truck (Virginia City) - Nevada  2026

Palm Sunday (Virginia City) - Nevada  1997

Virginia City is over 6000' elevation. Palm Sunday in 1997 was March 3, so there's a definite date for the bottom photo.

Reno (1997)

Reno - Nevada  1997

Hotel (Reno) - Nevada  1997

Scenes from a mini vacation we took in 1997 . . . stayed overnight in Reno and took a day trip to Virginia City.

Monday Sheep Blogging (1997)

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.

Bay / Buckeye

Bay - Marin County  2026

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.

Claw Machines

Claw Machines (H Mart) - San Francisco  2026

Claw Machines Detail (H Mart) - San Francisco  2026

Claw machines seen during a recent quicky trip to H Mart. 

Redwoods, Clouds

Redwoods, Clouds - Marin County  2026

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.

Trees

Eucalyptus - Marin County  2026

Oaks - Marin County  2026

Photo on top taken with a new (used) iPhone 16 Pro Max. Bottom one with a Sony RX100.

Mike's Birthday!

Godzilla, Mike (Tokyo) - Japan  2017

Wow!

Backpack Tent

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.

Monday Heerman's Gull Blogging

Heerman's Gulls - Point Reyes  2026

Heerman's Gulls - Point Reyes 2026

Heerman's gulls were featured in an earlier 2018 post. Very picturesque.

Limantour Beach Wave

Limantour Beach Wave #1 - Point Reyes  2026

Limantour Beach Wave #2 - Point Reyes  2026

Nice. I used a Nikon Z7II with a 40mm (non-zoom) lens. 

Limantour Beach

Limantour Marsh - Point Reyes  2026

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.

Alders

Alders, Road - Point Reyes  2026

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.

Coast Camp - Hiking Out

Coyote Bush, Ocean - Point Reyes  2026

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.

Coast Camp Morning

Morning Coffee - Point Reyes  2026

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. 

Grass, Hills

Grass, Hills - Point Reyes  2026

An afternoon photo . . . nice even overcast light.

Monday Sooty Shearwaters Blogging

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.

Sooty Shearwaters - Point Reyes  2026

Drake's Bay, Headlands

Drake's Bay, Headlands - Point Reyes  2026

 Taken from high up on a bluff . . . sun trying to break through the afternoon fog. The dark specks in the bay are "sooty shearwater" birds. Dedicated post tomorrow.

Wet, Windy Hike (Mt. Tamalpais - August 2026)

Hanna, Hali - Marin County  2026

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.

Camp Sightems

Charging Apple Watch - Point Reyes  2026

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.

Coast Camp Plants

Poison Oak - Point Reyes  2026

California Sagebrush - Point Reyes  2026

Photos taken with a Nikon Z7II / 24-200mm lens.

Eucalyptus / Pond

Eucalyptus - Point Reyes  2026

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.