Dick Jordan's Cuba Documentary in Novato

Cuba, Libre?, Dick Jordan's documentary film that traces the history of travel to Cuba by Americans from the early decades of the 20th century to the present will be shown at Studio46 in Novato from 7:00-9:00 p.m. on Saturday, May 6th.

Click here for further information and to purchase tickets ($20/person online. Seating is limited to 75 and the event will probably sell out.

Here's the trailer:


"Cuba, Libre?" Trailer from Dick Jordan on Vimeo. 
(Click here if the video player does not display)
Dick will be traveling back to Marin from his home in Eugene, Oregon and attending the screening.

Registration for Summer 2017 Begins May 8

Summer registration for Meandering in Marin begins May 8th, course number 2827.  Wendy is only offering Monday hikes through the college this summer. There could be a bigger crunch this time because of the one day offering as well as Meandering in Marin will be on the cover of the summer session catalog. The catalog will be mailed May 1st.

Wendy will continue to do Tuesdays through July (and into August if there is interest), but will be away June 13, 20, 27, and August 21. 

Also other great news - Wendy is  writing for the Independent Journal on Mondays. Here is her first IJ article.

                              Photo credit Denise Castellucci

Mount Burdell Open Space Hike

Mount Burdell Open Space (4/18/17) Hike Preview

This week we head to the Novato area to hike on Mount Burdell.

Here's Wendy's description of the hike: "This loop takes us by Hidden Lake, which hopefully will have water from these later rains. We may see Cream Cups, Tidy Tips, Baby Stars, and Balloon Clover as well as seven or eight species of butterflies. This is the only spot where Bitterroot, the Montana state flower, grows in Marin."  (Click here for a recap of our 2009 hike. Click here for an album of photos from past hikes.)

Directions to trailhead: Take Highway 101 north and take the San Marin Drive exit. Go west on San Marin Drive. Turn right on San Andreas Drive. The entrance to the Open Space will be on your right. (If you come to the dead end of San Andreas you've gone about half a block too far.) There is no parking lot but plenty of curbside parking. There are no restrooms on this hike.

Click here for a map showing the trailhead location. Click on the teardrop to get driving time and directions from your location.

30 minutes from College of Marin.

Carpoolers can meet at 9:15 am at the Park & Ride lot on the east side of Highway 101 at Smith Ranch Road in the Terra Linda area north of the Marin Civic Center and downtown San Rafael. Click here for a map showing the location of the lot. Click on the teardrop to get driving time and directions from your location.

No restrooms on this hike, but you can use the one at the Starbuck's in the shopping center at the intersection of San Marin Drive and San Andreas Drive, just down the street from the trailhead. (Click here to get a map and driving directions.)

Weather forecast: As of Friday, April 14th, the National Weather Service forecast for the day of the hike was a slight chance of rain. Mostly sunny with a high near 68. (Click here for an updated forecast).

More on this hike: Hike "E13 Old Quarry Trail to Mt. Burdell" in the Martin's book, Hiking Marin, shows the general area that we'll be hiking in, although we'll probably turn left at intersection #2 and head directly to Hidden Lake rather than climb all of the way to the summit of the mountain as shown on the Martin's map.

Click here for a Mount Burdell Open Space Preserve map from the Marin County Open Space District's Web site.

Here's the vertical profile and route for the hike.

The Google Earth image below shows where we'll be hiking. (Click on the photo to open a larger image in your Web browser).

Chimney Rock, Point Reyes National Seashore 4/11/17 Preview

We'll return to Point Reyes National Seashore for this hike which we do every year in spring. (Click here for a recap of our 2010 trek. You can also view photos taken on past hikes.)

Here's what Wendy promises for this outing: 
"This is one of Marin's must-see spring wildflower displays which includes some beautiful endangered flowers.

We'll see Northern Elephant Seals at the overlook and take time to learn about their history and return from the brink of extinction. (Click here to watch Dick Jordan's "Saving Seals By The Seashore," a 3-minute "short" which aired on MarinTV.)

We often see Piegon Guiillemots, Eared Grebes in breeding plumage, Common Loons, and Savannah Sparrows on this hike. Bring binoculars if you have them."

Directions to trailhead: Take Sir Francis Drake Boulevard to Olema. Turn right at Olema onto Highway 1, then make an immediate left onto Bear Valley Road.

There are restrooms at the trailhead --- another 30-45 minutes down the road; if you need a restroom break now, take the first left off Bear Valley Road and stop at the Bear Valley Visitor Center.

Continue on Bear Valley Road until you pick up Sir Francis Drake again.

Turn left to follow Sir Francis Drake out to Point Reyes. Go through Inverness.

At the junction with Pierce Point Road, bear left and stay on Sir Francis Drake. Follow signs towards the Lighthouse and Drake’s Beach. You’ll pass the turn to Drake’s Beach on your left.

Keep going until you see a left turn to Chimney Rock. (Sir Francis Drake ends at the Lighthouse parking lot).

Driving time from the College of Marin: One hour, thirty minutes.  

(Click here for driving directions and a map showing the trailhead.)  

Carpoolers can meet at St. Rita's Church in Fairfax at 8:30 am.

Weather forecast: As of Wednesday, April 5th, the National Weather Service forecast for the Point Reyes Lighthouse area was mostly sunny, with a high near 59. (Click here for an updated forecast).

Real-time weather reporting for the Point Reyes Lighthouse is also available (click here). Sometimes it is very windy when we do this hike, so in addition to your rain gear (if the forecast changes), be sure to toss some extra layers and a warm jacket and hat (bring some duct tape to "tie" your hat on your head) in your car in case it is "blowin' like snot" (a sailor's term for windy weather).

More on this hike: The general area covered by this hike is shown in hike "G13 PR Lighthouse and Chimney Rock" in the Martin's book, Hiking Marin and the "Chimney Rock" hike in Tracy Salcedo-Chourre's book, Exploring Point Reyes National Seashore and Golden Gate National Recreation Area.

 Click here to view and print a copy of the park map for the Point Reyes National Seashore.

You can also view and print out a map of the Chimney Rock area from the Point Reyes National Seashore Web site.

Here's the hike profile.

Here's the route we'll follow.

The Google Earth image below shows where we'll be on this outing. (Click on the photo to open a larger image in your Web browser).