The Sierra Buttes are a dramatic formation fairly close to the SNFC. We didn‘t hike up to the fire tower perched on the peak, but I‘d love to do that another time.
Sierra Buttes
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Site cross section
We had fun exploring the Sierra Nevada Field Campus site from a cross-sectional point of view.
Sierra Valley Preserve
On our second full day at the retreat, we left camp at 4:10am to catch the sunrise at Sierra Valley Preserve, and spend the morning birding. I also did my sharing of “insect-ing” and “plant-ing”.
Pinus
One of the goals for my time in the mountains was to learn to reliably identify a handful of alpine trees. Here are three that I got to know (some more intimately than others).
pub lunch
I stopped in Grass Valley for lunch on my way to the Nature Journal Retreat in the Sierra Nevada.
arroyo hondo
We didn‘t know anything about Arroyo Hondo Preserve before we showed up at the gate; we just saw it on the map and decided to hike there. We were unaware that entry was by reservation, on only two weekends a month. By a stroke of luck, it happened to be one of the right weekends, and they graciously let us in.
This place is a delight! We hiked for a couple of hours, with Allie following her nose (“Smell that? Sulphur!”) to hunt for a hot spring. I don’t know who killed the great blue heron, but their wildlife cam shows several possible suspects.
Due to the construction of a fish ladder under the 101, Arroyo Hondo has one of the only creek populations of southern steelhead trout along on the coast. This is definitely a place to return to.
natural history
It was a first-time visit to the Santa Barbara Museum of Natural History for all of us; we were surprised and delighted by the extent and quality of the collections and the beautiful grounds. The animatronic dinosaurs under the trees are pretty awesome. We got to look at the sun through a telescope! This place is a hidden gem.
gaviota
Alli and I had a lovely afternoon enjoying the best of Gaviota.
Procyon lotor
Yep, it was a raccoon — we heard a lot of chittering and hissing as we tried to sleep.
Eucalyptus conferruminata
Fun gum tree at the El Capitán State Beach campground. The ranger tried to tell me it was a Myoporum but he was nuts.
hashiworks 