An L.A. Times article raves over the odorous wonders of Bumpass Hell in Lassen Volcanic National Park. Here’s how the story goes: In 1865, a pioneer named Kendall Vanhook Bumpass, who had discovered the site the year before, guided a…
National parks
Watching some waterfowl at Don Edwards National Wildlife Sanctuary
by tmangan • July 10, 2007 • 2 Comments
When the folks at work said I’d get to keep my job, there was a catch: Sundays and Mondays off rather than Saturdays and Sundays. There was one upside: a three-day weekend when the new schedule kicked in, which gave…
Bad air at Mammoth Cave
by tmangan • May 24, 2007 • 1 Comment
National Parks Traveler notes that a pollution advisory has been issued. Well, today comes word that pollution levels at Mammoth Cave are so bad the superintendent has warned park visitors. Levels of ozone and particulate pollution at the park are…
Pinnacles revisited
by tmangan • April 1, 2007 • 2 Comments
OK, back to nature. Last weekend I went along with the FOMFOK hiking group on its annual Pinnacles National Monument trek, which is always great fun amid good people (or good fun among great people, depending on how muddy the…
Another Tomales Point hike
by tmangan • July 30, 2006 • 0 Comments
In the past two weeks I have discussed the following with Seagull, my hiking visitor from China: The fundamental contradictions of American culture (standing for freedom, keeping slaves, for example). The Marketplace of Ideas theory (people will buy the good…
Coast Trail, Palomarin Trail Head, Point Reyes National Seashore
by tmangan • March 27, 2006 • 3 Comments
My feet are sore, my thighs are stiff, so I must’ve done something right yesterday. I drove 90 miles to the southern end of Point Reyes National Seashore to hike 5.5 miles up the Coast Trail to a place called…
Return to the Pinnacles
by tmangan • March 19, 2006 • 1 Comment
Seems like it’s rained every day for the last three weeks. I was so fed up with hiking in the mud that I skipped my morning hikes all week, so I was ready for some trail time this weekend. Mike…
Cool Tomales
by tmangan • November 27, 2005 • 1 Comment
Three weeks back, I slogged though mist, rain and fog to Tomales Point at Point Reyes National Seashore. I saw all there was to see, provided it was less than a hundred feet into the fog. I knew a return…
Cold Tomales
by tmangan • November 7, 2005 • 0 Comments
On a sunny day, the route to Tomales Point is breathtaking. The roar of the Pacific Ocean crashing against the cliffs. Cool breezes all the way from Japan. Elk the size of stallions grazing on a hillside. Yesterday wasn’t one…