Photo an Hour: Muir Woods

Last weekend Eric and I went to Muir Woods National Monument, so I decided to give the whole “Photo an Hour” thing a go.

8 AM: We woke up bright an early and made ourselves a picnic lunch. These are our tasty TIE Fighter and Millennium Falcon sandwiches, bagged and ready to go. Not pictured: tangerines, and spinach, blackberry and walnut salad.



9 AM: On the road! This was my point of view as we drove through Marin.



10AM: We arrived shortly before 10 and managed to get one of the remaining three parking spots at the park. Yikes. We spent our first hour at the Visitor Center, exploring the areas around the boardwalk (the area where you’re able to walk in the Monument) and the undergrowth before crossing Bridge 2 and heading up one of the more mild trails.



11AM: We reached the bottom of Ben Johnson trail, which is a beautiful hike, leading to the stupidly steep DipSea trail that leads to Stinson Beach.



12PM: As we hiked along the Ben Johnson I made a concerted effort to cram myself into every burnt out tree we found. Here I am crawling out from under one of the famed giant Redwoods.


1PM: After much sweating, we emerged from the woods on top of Mount Tamalpais! This was our view from Coastal View Trail. We hiked down some of the foothills surrounding the mountain and enjoyed our picnic lunch in the sun.



2PM: Back into the woods.



3PM: The best sit of my life. One of my feet cramped up on our way back down and I was beat. I just wanted to kick off my hiking boots and put my feet in the cold stream water below this bridge. But I didn’t. No sense in destroying the integrity of our natural treasures for future generations just for my own personal relief, right?



4PM: Back at the Visitor Center Eric was filled with glee when he found his favorite souvenir, a flattened penny-maker.

We had a wonderful time at Muir Woods. Neither Eric nor I had been since we were children and it was so wonderful to rediscover this quiet, beautiful place together. Next time we hope to make it all the way to Stinson Beach!