8/25/09

Green Gulch Farm Trail, Part 2 of 2

Our hike continued for at least 3 or 4 miles after leaving Green Gulch Farms.

Hilly terrain

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and a summer-dormant gray/brown color palette.

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With bits of color, like this, from Mimulus aurantiacus.

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And the occasional poppy, our state flower, Eschscholzia californica.

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I don't know what this little salvia is, but we saw a lot of it.

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There would be more perhaps were it not for the massive, spreading thickets of blackberry. I think this could actually be California's native blackberry, Rubus ursinus.

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Even amid all the dormancy, there is still some color and texture to enjoy.

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And then there are the little things.

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Farther along the path

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There is a place to rest

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And spend the night

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At a cozy cabin

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That that can be rented.

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There are worse places to sleep after a day of arduous hiking.

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Not too far from civilization (Muir Beach).

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8 comments:

Unknown said...

Beautiful pictures, Chuck. I love that you take some nice little detail photos, but that you manage to capture the... expansiveness?... of the terrain in other pics.

By the way, that salvia. Could it be a mint instead? Those whorls of flowers and small leaves, branching structure, etc., makes me think "mountain mint" for some reason instead of "salvia." But admittedly I have no idea... just going with my gut here. :)

Bonnie Story said...

Wow! The brilliant orange Monkey Flower and golden-blend poppy are such beacons in the fog. The Equisetum scares the #%$@% out of me!! It's very, very invasive here in the NW. Was not expecting to see that stuff there {chills}. What a wonderful place the Hope Cottage is. And the cool blue plunge to the misty Pacific just slays me. Another great photo tour, thank you so much Mr b.

EAL said...

I remember those hot but beautiful CA hikes. The cottage looks wonderful.

Christopher C. NC said...

I need to go for a long walk in the wilderness soon, but what did I really notice in this post? The futon sofa in the cozy cabin.

Frances said...

Gosh Chuck, that view from the cabin windows is amazing. Like Christopher's, without a million trees. The textures were beautiful, but those blackberries were too scary, hope you didn't get scratches! :-)
Frances

Becca's Dirt said...

What a beautiful place to hike and see some nature. What a nice blog too. I am now following you.

lisa said...

Yea, what they said. (Beautiful! :)

Brad B said...

Ah a beautiful Bay Area summer day. Monkeyflower is one of my favorite flowers I think just because it gives some color to otherwise dull brown and sage hikes in summer.