Another Bay Area Beauty

This weekend I took another gorgeous, gee I love the Bay Area hike, this time at Mt. Tamalpais, or Mt. Tam as it's called in these parts. Of course I forgot my camera but I did have my camera case! Erm.

We did a loop from the Pantoll Ranger Station, going in on the Dipsea Trail and coming back on the Steep Ravine trail, not quite how this link describes it, but you get the idea. The Dipsea starts in woods, then opens up to beautiful rolling hills with wide ocean views. I was smarter this time and wore sunglasses and a hat to protect my still-tortured eyeballs. Oddly, there were far fewer flowers along this trail than I had seen at Point Tomales the week before. Not too many critters, either but lots of furry poop along the trail indicating some little bunny had a life-ending encounter with a bobcat or maybe a mountain lion? The poop didn't seem big enough for that. I get super excited about things like furry carnivore poop.

We came back on the Steep Ravine, which is both steep and a ravine. You work for it, that's for dang sure but you are rewarded along the way with beautiful redwoods, lush ferns, mossy fallen trees and lots of little waterfalls and clear boulder-lined pools to dunk hot sweaty feet. Toward the end you get to clamber up a ten-foot ladder, which adds a Survivor feel to the whole endeavor.

Incidentally, day use is now $6 at Mt Tam, which I'm going to go on record as saying is too much. Not because the park isn't worth it and not because it isn't actually stunningly gorgeous but because these are state parks and state taxes ought to pay for these parks so that they are free. Yeah, I said it. FREE. Nature for the people!

There isn't much happening in the world of celebrity trash gossip, I'm sorry to say. I'm unmoved by both Jennifer Aniston and John Mayer, so I'm meh about their couplehood. I'm generally grossed out by the Lance Armstrong/Kate Hudson merger, so I don't want to talk about that, either.

Okay, there is one thing--Katherine Heigl, what is your damage? First she trash talks the movie that helped make her famous, Knocked Up. Not that I didn't agree with her assessment that the film was sexist but uh, I didn't make a million dollars from it. Now she's opting out of the Emmy competition for her Grey's Anatomy role because the writing sucked. Again, can't argue with you there, Katherine but it is after all, the side your bread is buttered and last time I checked you were not an indentured servant to Grey's Anatomy. Please leave the Criticizing to the Professionals, thank you kindly.