Redwood Highway - Nov. 25, 2013

Walking Distance: 6.1 miles
Walking Time: 2 hours, 0 min. (2:05 - 4:05 p.m.)
Start and End Point: 4050 Redwood Highway, San Rafael, CA

Today's walk started from a Subway sandwich shop in a small shopping center off the Redwood Highway in San Rafael, CA. (Redwood Highway is a frontage road that runs parallel to Highway 101.)

From 4050 Redwood Highway (the intersection of Marin Center Drive and Redwood Highway), I walked south, on sidewalks, toward the Marin County Civic Center/Civic Center Drive.

When I'd almost reached the point where Redwood Highway turned into Civic Center Drive, I saw a large sign adjacent to an old set of railroad tracks indicating that a Sonoma-Marin Area Rail Transit (SMART) train was in the works and would run through the area (connecting communities and providing transit options in the region) sometime in the near future. This sign had been posted for awhile; and I believe it might be a few years before railcars for this new train have been tested and are in operation. I'm hoping there will be Bay Trail access arrangements that complement these plans.

Back to today's walk. I turned around, a bit south of the SMART sign, at the South Fork(s) of Gallinas Creek just past old railroad tracks (at the intersection of Redwood Highway and McInnis Parkway, at the northern end of Marin County Civic Center complex). The Creek with not terribly visible close to the road, but in the distance (east, toward the Bay) I could see a great white egret standing in shallow water.

After turning around, I walked north on Redwood Highway, passing my starting point. As I was headed toward Smith Ranch Rd., I passed the Cat Chateau and Luxury Cat Boarding, Joe's Cafe (4150 Redwood Highway), Happy Garden (Chinese) Restaurant, and Jimbo's Hot Dogs. In short, small businesses which I'm always interested in seeing.

These local businesses give a community a unique sense of place that I don't get with bigger chains. I also passed an office building with attractive, drought-tolerant (or at least a nod to local Mediterranean) landscaping -- with clusters of dark grapes ripening on vines, lavender plants, and neat beds of packed, amber gravel. With water being scarce this year, I was inspired to emulate this design at my house. And, I hope others will be too.

I walked east on Smith Ranch Road to John F. McInnis County Park, and stopped to watch a hawk flutter into a tree along the way.

Once in the park, I found another trail (solid green line on the Bay Trail map) near the old railroad tracks -- a more northerly stretch of the same tracks I'd seen further south; and I walked back on this more peaceful, shaded trail with occasional views of the creek and ducks, that led me back to Redwood Highway (Frontage Road).

I'd seen a family of quail crossing this same trail a few years ago, but it was too late in the day to see much this evening. I did however, enjoy seeing some great views of Mount Tamalpais in the distance as the sun set.

Wildlife Sightings:
11 little brown jobs (LBJs); 11 ducks; 1 red-tailed hawk; 8 pigeons; 7 crows/ravens; 2 clouds of ankle-to-eyeball gnats; 1 great egret; 1 sea gull with bread in beak being chased by 2 crows

San Rafael - 3rd St., cont. - April 14, '13

Walking Distance: 2.2 miles
Walking Time: 59 min. (5:33 - 6:32 p.m.)
Start and End Point: Montecito Plaza Shopping Center, San Rafael, CA

This segment was a continuation of my walk on 3rd Street from earlier this afternoon. I walked east on 3rd Street, which soon turned into Point San Pedro Road. Most of this walk was on sidewalks along Point San Pedro Road, with a few transitional areas (packed dirt/asphalt shoulder). This stretch of road was shown as a broken green line on the 2012 - 2013 Bay Trail Map set.)

I passed San Rafael High School on the left, and a light industrial and yacht/marine services area on the right, with signs promising live bait and bargain slip rates. A residential neighborhood followed as Point San Pedro Road curved to the left.

There was a stiff breeze this afternoon, and I watched as some birds had to work harder to land on telephone wires above me. This may have been good news to sailors out on the Bay. As is often the case, the sporadic gusts would diminish as the sun went down.

In the meantime, I enjoyed walking through a sheltered "tunnel" of trees and flowers along one stretch of sidewalk.

I chose to end this walk before dark as I'd already walked a fair distance earlier today. I eventually turned around at the intersection of Point San Pedro and Summit Ave. -- the road leading to the Marin Yacht Club.

On the way back into town I enjoyed views of boats in the water with Mount Tamalpais in the distance as the sun was starting to sink lower in the sky.

It's always good to see Mount Tam -- visible for almost a third of my walk around the Bay Trail last time.

Wildlife Sightings:

18 little brown jobs; 2 pigeons; 4 sea gulls; 1 turkey vulture; 3 crows (one was attacking the turkey vulture); 3 black-necked stilts (flying low over water); 3 ducks (mallards)

San Rafael, Shoreline Park - Mar. 3, '13

Walking Distance: 3 mi. (estim.)
Walking Time: 1 hr., 39 min. (4:31 - 6:10 p.m.)
Start and End Point: street parking near entrance to Jean and John Starkweather Shoreline Park

While I am walking around the Bay in a clockwise direction, I occasionally skip segments and then go back to walk them later. After hiking the southern end of China Camp State Park last week, today I backtracked (south) to walk a stretch of Shoreline in San Rafael that I missed.

This area was north of the Richmond-San Rafael Bridge (and San Quentin Prison), and south of China Camp and McNears Beach, and included a few miles of scenic shoreline trails (some paved and some packed dirt). Today's stretch is shown as solid, dark green (asphalt) and medium green (packed dirt) lines on the 2012-2013 Bay Trail Map set.

This afternoon's walk at Jean and John Starkweather Shoreline Park was a beautiful one by the Bay, with a winter bonanza of ducks -- more than 200 sighted in less than 2 hours, and great views of the Bay, the Richmond-San Rafael Bridge, and Mount Tamalpais.

The entrance to this trail was located at the NE end of Bellam Blvd., marked by a sign (Jean and John Starkweather Shoreline Park). I followed a paved (asphalt) path toward the Bay and headed north.

Along the way I could see the Richmond - San Rafael Bridge to the southeast, two small islands in the Bay (part of Marin Islands National Wildlife Refuge). These islands are home to egrets and other nesting birds.

I walked north until I reached a small point and turned around. I then walked south, along a packed earth path for some of that time, then a paved path again, passing some light industrial/office buildings. At the south end of this stretch I reached a small beach. I sat down on a large driftwood log to watch birds for a moment. A gate blocked shoreline access further south (toward a shooting range and San Quentin).

On the return walk (north) back to the car, the sun was setting in the west and I enjoyed watching Mount Tamalpais turn into a dark and beautiful silhouette, surrounded by the sunset.

Wildlife Sightings:
209 ducks, including 20 lesser scaups; 24 little brown jobs (LBJs); 2 red-winged blackbirds; 2 UFO grebes; 4 Canada geese; 4 unidentified brownish shorebirds (UBBs); 7 crows/ravens; 5 bumblebees; 5 black-necked stilts; 1 killdeer; 1 coot; 1 cormorant; 3 sea gulls; 2 mockingbirds; 2 doves

Corte Madera, cont. - Jan. 12, 2013

Walking Distance: 3.2 mi. (estimate)
Walking Time: 1 hr., 34 min. (4:31 - 6:05 p.m.)
Start and End Point: parking lot, Corte Madera, CA

This late afternoon stroll turned into a hustle to get in before dark. This was great for photographing some items at sunset, but not so great for photographing birds.

I started this walk by heading north from The Village Shopping Center to the Bay Trail along the water, passing a small public parking lot (on Bay Trail map). I then passed more stores, including a BevMo, and a car wash.

I turned left on Industrial, and went up and over a combined pedestrian/bicycle overpass that led to a pedestrian/bicycle walkway on the west side of Highway 101. I walked down toward the Marin Rowing Center - turned left, then left again to pathway, past Marin Rowing, and kept following the asphalt trail until I reached the 3rd mast/flagpole (~ .5 mi.?), then turned around.

I started to walk under two big freeway underpasses (a cavernous cement cathedral space, that I'd photographed on my first walk around the bay). But, I turned around and walked back up, to the way I'd come, to Industrial, then taking the same way back to car (in the dark).

I took some really dark pictures of canvasback, teal ducks, a group of white egrets below, and lots of pictures of Mt. Tamalpais (some at, after sunset). Colored street and car lights lit up the foreground as Mt. Tam turned into a shapely silhouette.

Wildlife Sightings:
41 ducks (21 mallards, 11 canvasbacks, 8 teal, 1 bufflehead or duck with similar head); 32 coots; 8 black-necked stilts; 2 killdeer; 11 sea gulls; 1 turkey vulture; 8 little brown jobs (LBJs); 4 snowy egrets

Paradise Drive, Foods - Dec. 30, '12

Walking Distance: 2.6 mi.
Walking Time: 1 hr., 19 min. (4:56 - 6:15 p.m.)
Start and End Point: Parking lot, near Paradise Foods (market), Corte Madera, CA

This evening was clear and cool; it was a great evening for walking. I said farewell to Paradise Drive, where I'd been walking for the past several walks. And I moved back to the official San Francisco Bay Trail (shown as a solid dark green line on 2012 - 2013 Bay Trail maps). This meant I was walking primarily on sidewalks and packed dirt trails, set far back from busy streets, near the Bay, in Corte Madera. This separation from car traffic meant I could walk at night without fear of getting run over.

And, night walking meant I could enjoy views of San Quentin Prison and the Richmond - San Rafael Bridge; both were islands of light surrounded by dark sheets of water, soon to be illuminated by moonlight.

From the Paradise Foods parking lot (5627 Paradise Drive), I walked south on Paradise Drive from the Paradise Foods parking lot, back toward where I left off before. I turned around when I reached Westward Drive, and then headed back in the other direction.

I followed Bay Trail signs, and walked on a levee trail (passing a rest area and some possible trailheads in the dark). I made a note to go back and check later to see if I'd missed any trails, or parts of the Bay Trail. I caught sight of bits of objects left behind, under streetlamps, like a little child's shoe left on a post.

I turned around at a stoplight, at the intersection of Tamalpais Drive and San Clemente Drive, where Mt. Tamalpais appeared, silhouetted, in the distance.

I walked back to Paradise Foods, where I bought a very tasty dinner from the deli section of the market. I concluded this adventure with a roasted chicken dinner, salad and dessert in the comforts of my trusty vehicle with some music on the radio. It was magnificent, with a little touch of hobo heaven.


Wildlife Sightings:
1 little brown job (LBJ); 2 balls (basketball in fennel plant, 1 white ball in creek); 1 hummingbird; 3 black-necked stilts (possibly the same three I saw a few days ago)

Mill Valley - Sept. 18, '12

Walking Distance: 3 mi. (estimate)
Walking Time: 1 hr., 23 min. (11:42 a.m. - 1:05 p.m.)
Start and End Point: Parking lot, near 600 Redwood Highway, Mill Valley, CA

Today's walk in southeast Mill Valley (Marin County), followed Seminary Drive (named after a seminary in the area) down one side of a small peninsula, northeast of Sausalito and west of Tiburon, that extended into the Bay east of Highway 101/Redwood Highway.

Shown on the Bay Trail map (right) as a solid red line, and then as a double yellow line (unimproved trail), the walk was on a mix of asphalt path and sidewalks initially, and then packed dirt path/shoulder along paved roads.

From the parking lot, I walked with a friend toward the marsh area almost hidden behind a commercial strip (gas station, car wash, McDonalds). We found the path behind McDonald's (where I'd left off previously) and made our way north to Seminary Drive. Heading right/east on Seminary Drive, we walked along sidewalks and some unpaved road shoulders, continuing to follow Seminary Drive, past some apartment buildings, and along a broad curve -- southwest and then northeast -- toward Strawberry Point (the tip of the peninsula).

Along the walk we had views looking back toward Sausalito and also of Mount Tamalpais (west-northwest of this area). This mountain, also known as Mt. Tam, is approximately 2,570 feet tall, and is visible from most of the Bay Trail in Marin County (and many other counties).

From Seminary Drive, we made a slight right (south) onto Great Circle Drive (a detour from the Bay Trail) and, after a short block, took another right (west) and walked down a short entrance road into Brickyard Park, a small waterfront park with trees, a small playground area, and a few picnic tables and benches. It was a little breezy, but we stopped and sat for awhile to look out over the water, before heading back along Seminary Drive.

Thank you to Sandy for joining me on this walk.

Wildlife Sightings:
13 snowy egrets, 1 great egret; 3 brown pelicans; 10 crows; 3 sea gulls; 8 Canada geese; 2 little unidentified brownish shorebirds (UBBs); 1 cormorant; 3 little brown jobs (LBJs); 2 blue jays; 3 doves