A Walk in the Woods

 Being unemployed sometimes has its perks.  Such as mid-week trips to Muir Woods.  Before loggers put cutting implements (saws?  axes?  large machines that are possessed by the spirit of pollution, which sounds alarmingly like Tim Curry?) to trunk in California, there were two million acres of old-growth redwood forest.  Now, little remains.  The area that became Muir Woods National Monument was left alone due to its inaccessible location, and it was purchased by William Kent and his wife Elizabeth Thacher Kent (who must, according to a quick Google search, be an actual Thacher).  Today, Muir Woods is a major tourist attraction, and even on a cold and foggy Thursday lunchtime visit, it was packed. 

 I snapped a quick iPhone photo of the bridge in fog as my friend Sabrina drove us over.  

The tallest tree is over 252 feet, and the widest trunk is 14 feet.  The oldest redwoods in the park are over a thousand years old, with most of the mature trees aged between five and eight hundred years. 

 It's dizzying to be among such tall living things, especially ones that feel so primeval.  Stepping back into the land of dinosaurs, or something.  It can be a very reverential experience--when you manage to escape screaming children and clamorous tourists (note: it's not just Americans who are loud...I won't name names, mais vous connaissez qui vous êtes).

Fog is an important part of a redwood's viability, since it provides moisture in the summer months, condensing on the tree's needles and falling to the forest floor.  This makes it dark and damp down where we tread.  Moss grows like muppet fur on tree trunks and strange mushrooms sprout in many colors.  Some of them looked delectable.  Others, like these blue-tinged ones, did not. 

We kept thinking about ET.  I wish I'd had some Reese's Pieces.

Yep, the trees are big. (And yep, I'm a huge dork.)

 The foliage of the deciduous trees (as opposed to the Sequoia sempervirens) was starting to turn and fall. 

When informed that the grove would be named for him, John Muir wrote: "This is the best tree-lover's monument that could possibly be found in all the forests of the world.  You have done me great honor, and I am proud of it."

Glancing Blows

You Can Be My Wingman Anytime: Fleet Week Photos

Every Columbus Day weekend, the Navy, Marine Corps, and Coast Guard send their ships, planes, and sailors to San Francisco.  Although it gives the men and women in uniform a well-deserved chance to blow off steam in the original city of sin (trust me, you can find weirder stuff here than Las Vegas), it's also a blatant attempt to recruit more bodies for the military.  Apart from the political, social, environmental, etc. implications of Fleet Week (I won't do it today), it's a lot of fun.  And crowded.  The air show and rehearsals over Friday, Saturday, and Sunday culminate in demonstrations from the Blue Angels and besiege the city with earsplitting, window-rattling, car-alarm triggering fly-bys for four hours or so each day.  It's incredibly obnoxious (and slightly unsettling) when you're not watching the planes but awe-inspiring when you are.  I want to share a few of the photos I took while watching the air show on Saturday with friends, who were kind enough to bring a grill and delicious grub.  You have to have a much better camera than mine to really do it justice, but it was pretty darn cool. 

The opening planes, with patriotic jet trails.

Beautiful weather meant that a lot of people came out to watch.

 

 The support plane for the Blue Angels, making a low pass over the Bay.

 The Blue Angels' finale. 

Glancing Blows

Glancing Blows

Adultery Fridays and the Golden Gate Three Ways

So, it's Friday. Which means a new post at the Foreign Policy Association. This time, I get environmental and discuss why we need green spaces everywhere. For health. Seriously. Also, if you have time, go read the report to which I link in the post. After I read it, I immediately opened all the blinds in the house so that I could see the trees outside. If you're lucky enough to have chlorophyll outside your window, you'll possibly want to do so too. Or please, consider buying a house plant.


I've been doing some (not enough) walking/running around the Presidio and Crissy Field. So, I'd like to share three photos I've taken of the Golden Gate Bridge in various states of fogdom. In order: iPhone with Hipstamatic (topmost), regular camera (middle) and iPhone with Photosynth's panoramic business (below).