Shoreline Highway through Mt. Tamalpais State Park wound in dizzying fashion along the bay and up the cliffs, as we heade south toward San Francisco. "Should I pull out for pictures?" Andy teased.
"Only if I'm to take them while swimming or flying," I said. "Just drive. I can't look."
But I heard him breathe a sigh of relief when he stopped the car at Muir Beach Overlook. From there, the road had guard rails. The cliff face had functioned as a "gopher hole" lookout during World War II. Four cement bunkers at the top of the cliff wall offered military observation points and gun battery protection for shipping lanes and the old fort. Two soldiers hunkered down in each hole. When the commanding officer was challenged about his request for parkas and lined boots for his soldiers in the summer, he answered, "You have to live here to understand."
Father Crespi named the redwoods for their reddish-colored bark. He called them palo colorado. But it was John Muir who did so much to protect them. "In God's wildness lies the hope of the world--the great fresh, unblighted, unredeemed wilderness," he wrote. I read one sign quoting Estwick Evans. "In wilderness is the preservation of the world." If Muir had been at Muir Woods today, he would either have been ecstatic or devastated. Cathedral Grove was wall-to-wall people.
"Only if I'm to take them while swimming or flying," I said. "Just drive. I can't look."
But I heard him breathe a sigh of relief when he stopped the car at Muir Beach Overlook. From there, the road had guard rails. The cliff face had functioned as a "gopher hole" lookout during World War II. Four cement bunkers at the top of the cliff wall offered military observation points and gun battery protection for shipping lanes and the old fort. Two soldiers hunkered down in each hole. When the commanding officer was challenged about his request for parkas and lined boots for his soldiers in the summer, he answered, "You have to live here to understand."
Father Crespi named the redwoods for their reddish-colored bark. He called them palo colorado. But it was John Muir who did so much to protect them. "In God's wildness lies the hope of the world--the great fresh, unblighted, unredeemed wilderness," he wrote. I read one sign quoting Estwick Evans. "In wilderness is the preservation of the world." If Muir had been at Muir Woods today, he would either have been ecstatic or devastated. Cathedral Grove was wall-to-wall people.
With the help of GPS and a map, I directed Andy into Golden Gate National Recreation Area. "It's a holiday weekend with great weather," he said. "We're going to see a whole lot more people." In spite of crowds, we had great views of San Francisco and the Golden Gate Bridge from the headlands.
"The next big cities will be Tucson and Phoenix, where it will be a lot easier to get around," said Andy, as he gritted his teeth about San Francisco traffic. Even the GPS didn't help much, and balancing a standard shift vehicle like Little Red on San Francisco inclines would rack any nerves.
Shyla showed us true California hospitality with a home-cooked Indian feast at her apartment by the Bay: Alaskan king crab legs with melted butter, chicken and rice biriani, garlic and basil pasta with asparagus and mushrooms, sauteed green beans, marinated wild Alaskan salmon with red peppers. We had enough food for ten visitors... each dish, more intriguing than the one before it.
Shyla showed us true California hospitality with a home-cooked Indian feast at her apartment by the Bay: Alaskan king crab legs with melted butter, chicken and rice biriani, garlic and basil pasta with asparagus and mushrooms, sauteed green beans, marinated wild Alaskan salmon with red peppers. We had enough food for ten visitors... each dish, more intriguing than the one before it.
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