BRT Insights - WW Kayaking & Hiking

JimH & I took a quick morning hike at Lagoon Valley Park near Vacaville, CA. We hiked a trail that begins at very low elevation (220 ft) and gains 750 ft of elevation over the 1.5 mile distance up to Tower 4 (see online map and pdf map below). The trail is totally exposed to the sun. Its a great cool season hike, but in summertime I'd hike there only in the earliest morning hours.



We parked at the lagoon and took the trail that goes south-east up to Tower 4. We got grand views of Lagoon Valley and the Vaca Mountains to the west. We saw a few foolish flowers of star thistle, a purple thistle and mustard still blooming on this winter day, but the scene was mostly a dry, golden brown landscape waiting for the rainy season to begin. Along the way we discovered that hiking with a gps helps ensure that you don't get lost, but suddenly you are on your own if the gps is lost. At the summit we got views of Vacaville to the east and Cement Hill to the south. Fortunately by retracing our steps on the way back we were able to relocate the "escaped" gps unit.

Lagoon Valley Park - Road map, topographic map, satellite map and pdf map.

• The tool on the left zooms in and out. Point on the red markers to see the names.
• Map user instructions. Click and drag to reposition this interactive map.
• Map=roads. Satellite=satellite map. Terrain=3D shaded topo map. Topo=topographic map.
• Full-Screen Maps - Lagoon Valley Park.
• PDF map: Lagoon Valley trail map - monticellocycling.org



Coordinates - landmark (marker).
N 38.33506 W 122.00939 - Parking 1. (A)
N 38.33521 W 122.00766 - Parking 2. (B)
N 38.33260 W 122.00950 - Parking 3. (C) (elevation 220 ft)
N 38.32651 W 122.00904 - Parking 4. (D)
N 38.33726 W 122.00332 - Tower 1. (E)
N 38.32832 W 121.99747 - Tower 2. (F)
N 38.32853 W 121.99646 - Tower 3. (G)
N 38.31907 W 121.99266 - Tower 4. (H) (elevation 968 ft)



• More photos: 2011-12-24 Lagoon Valley Park

Going Back Home.

We made our traditional stop at Betty Lou's Bar & Grill in Vacaville, CA for some dark beer, lasagna and the SF 49ers football game.

More information:
• Hiking in Solano County - Vacaville wiki.
• Hiking, Biking & Camping Trip Reports & Photos - BRT Insights.
• Canon PowerShot A490 camera. Photos edited with IrfanView software. Video edited with Windows Movie Maker and YouTube tools.

Tags: Lagoon Valley Park, hiking, trail, Vacaville CA, Solano County, California.

Labels: hiking

Biking and hiking in Sonoma County, California, USA.

JimH & I got an early start and headed out for some biking, hiking and birding at Tubbs Island in San Pablo Bay National Wildlife Refuge. The local tide chart said that low tide would be at 6:25 AM and high tide would be at 11:56 AM. Along the way we stopped at Skaggs Island Road (Napa-Sonoma Marshes Wildlife Area) (A) and found lots of ducks and shorebirds feeding on the mud flats and in shallow water. The birds were quite far from the road, so it took binoculars to see anything interesting. There were no birds in sight at the Sonoma Creek vista point (B).

Road map, topographic map and satellite map - San Pablo Bay NWR.

• The tool on the left zooms in and out. Point on the red marker to see the name.
• Click and drag to reposition this interactive map. Map user instructions.
• Map=roads. Satellite=satellite map. Terrain=3D shaded topo map. Topo=topographic map.
• Full-Screen Maps - San Pablo Bay NWR.



Coordinates - landmark.
N 38.15504 W 122.38104 - Napa-Sonoma Marshes Wildlife Area. (A)
N 38.15629 W 122.40641 - Sonoma Creek vista point. (B)
N 38.15328 W 122.43617 - Tolay Ck Tubbs Island trailhead. (C)
N 38.12180 W 122.43370 - San Pablo Bay. (D)

Tolay Ck Tubbs Island trail

We planned to bike the Tolay Ck Tubbs Island trail and stop to observe birds along the way, but that was a total failure. A very small amount of rain the previous day left the trail muddy. The incredibly sticky mud totally clogged up our bikes in less than a mile, so we dragged the bikes back to the trailhead. On a dry day the bikes would be a great way to cruise this trail looking for birds, but don't even think about it if the trail is muddy.


Hiking the trail worked a little better, but we often had globs of mud sticking to our shoes. After a little bit of unintentional wandering off of the trail, we had lunch at the fork in the trail overlooking Tubbs Island Setback. By the time we got there it was high tide and there were not any birds in sight. Then we hiked down to the shore of the bay just for the satisfaction of saying that we made it all the way out there. On our way in we had talked to a guy who was hiking out and he had seen lots of birds earlier in the morning closer to low tide. Apparently the birds come out to feed in the mudflats at low tide, so if you go there wanting to see birds be sure to check the tide tables and plan your biking/hiking accordingly. I was surprised to see the last few foolish flowers still blooming on this cool day in late November. We also saw a few groups of fishermen who were hoping to catch some striped bass in Tolay Creek.




• More photos: 2011-11-25 San Pablo Bay National Wildlife Refuge.

On the Way Home.

We stopped at La Michoacana Paleteria Y Pasteleria (504 Broadway St, Vallejo, CA) to get some pastries and champurrado. Then we had dinner at Betty Lou's Bar & Grill in Vacaville, CA. The daily special was savory chicken, tamales, tomato olive Feta cheese green salad and some really great Tempranillo wine. We had some walnut pie and decaf for dessert.

For more information:
• Biking, Hiking & Camping Photos & Trip Reports - BRT Insights.
• Canon PowerShot A490 camera. Photos edited with IrfanView software.

Tags: biking, hiking, Sonoma County, San Francisco Bay Area, San Pablo Bay, National Wildlife Refuge, California.

Labels: biking, hiking

I took a quick bike ride through the UC Davis Arboretum and got some more practice with my new camera. Fall leaf colors were not yet appearing on the trees, but there were lots of flowers and scenes to photograph. Just like my last trip to UCD Arboretum I started at the Teaching Nursery, Storer Garden and Oak Grove, and then I continued past the Boathouse and Lake Spafford.

Road map, topographic map and satellite map - UCD Arboretum, Davis CA.

• The tool on the left zooms in and out. Point on the red marker to see the name.
• Click and drag to reposition this interactive map. Map user instructions.
• Map=roads. Satellite=satellite map. Terrain=3D shaded topo map. Topo=topographic map.
• Full-Screen Maps - UCD Arboretum, Davis CA.



N 38.53112 W 121.76199 - UC Davis Teaching Arboretum.
N 38.52996 W 121.76259 - Storer Garden.
N 38.52938 W 121.76284 - Shields Oak Grove.
N 38.53015 W 121.75977 - Boathouse.
N 38.53742 W 121.74813 - Lake Spafford.

My new camera is doing a great job on macro setting for flower closeups.

Click on the photos to see the larger image. Use the back button to return.




• More photos: 2011-10-30 UCD Arboretum, Davis CA

I'm quite impressed with my new camera. It is much better for closeup photography than my old camera. Late October is not the peak season for colorful flowers, but the Storer Garden is still a target-rich location for photography.



For more information:
• Biking, Hiking & Camping Photos & Trip Reports - BRT Insights.
• Canon PowerShot A490 camera. Photos edited with IrfanView software. Video edited with Windows Movie Maker and YouTube tools.

Tags: UCD Arboretum, Davis CA, biking, Yolo County, Sacramento Valley, California.

Labels: biking

I carpooled with WarrenW & LauraW to meet up with a group from Tuleyome. Andrew Fulks led the hike at Stebbins Cold Canyon Reserve and explained some of the history of the place along the way. Tuleyome has recently acquired some land in the upper watershed and is doing some great expansions of the trail system in the area. The weather was cool and overcast with occasional light rain. This fall weather was delightful after being too hot and too dry for too many months through the summer. At the end of the long summer dry season Cold Creek was entirely dry. We hiked the Homestead Trail ~1 mile up along Cold Creek to the historic homestead, stopped for a break and then returned. Afterwards we had a great barbecue at Lake Solano County Park.

Road map, topographic map and satellite map - Stebbins Cold Canyon Reserve.

• Click and drag to reposition this interactive map. Map user instructions.
• The tool on the left zooms in and out. Point on the red marker to see the name.
• Map=roads. Satellite=satellite map. Terrain=3D shaded topo map. Topo=topographic map.
• Full-Screen Maps - Stebbins Cold Canyon Reserve.


N 38.50889 W 122.09733 - Trailhead (A)
N 38.49525 W 122.10033 - Historic Homestead (B)
N 38.49236 W 122.02832 - Lake Solano County Park (C)

Hiking the Homestead Trail at Cold Canyon.

Click on the photos to see the larger image. Use the back button to return.
• Hiking up the Cold Canyon trail.

• Last flowers of the year. California fuchsia - Epilobium canum.

Barbecuing at Lake Solano County Park.

• Barbecue at Lake Solano County Park.

• More photos: 2011-09-25 hiking at Stebbins Cold Canyon Reserve.

• Previous trip report: Cold Canyon hiking and wildflowers 11april2010.

For more information:
• Calflora: Epilobium canum
• California fuchsia - calflora.net
• California Fuchsia (Epilobium canum) - ecnca.org
• Hiking, Biking & Camping Trip Reports - BRT Insights.
• California Hiking Trails - Statewide Information.
• California Maps - Atlas & Gazetteer by Delorme, 2008.
• Olympus Stylus 720SW camera. Photos edited with IrfanView software.

Tags: hiking, Stebbins Cold Canyon Reserve, Cold Creek, Lake Solano County Park , Solano County, Sacramento Valley, California.
Tags: Homestead Trail, topographic map, hiking trail map.

Labels: hiking