Dick Jordan's New MarinTV "Short" Airs

Dick Jordan's latest short film, "Painting" Maine, airs on MarinTV (cmcm.tv) this month.

Here's the schedule; all shows will be carried on Comcast Channel 26 in Central/Southern Marin.

• Thu      9/8/2016      5:00:00 pm
• Sun      9/18/2016    7:00:00 pm
• Thu      9/29/2016    7:30:00 pm 

If you're not a Comcast subscriber or won't be able to see it live or record it, you can watch it on Dick's Tales Told From The Road YouTube Channel.

"Lassoing the Sun: A Year in America's National Parks"

How would you like to have someone give you enough cash to spend a year visiting a different national park each month?

Sounds pretty neat!

And that's exactly what Mark Woods did after winning a writing fellowship. He then recounted his year-long travels in his recently released book, Lassoing the Sun: A Year in America's National Parks.

If you're like Dick Jordan, reading Wood's memoir will evoke memories of your own national parks visits. (Click here to read Dick's review of the book.)

S.P. Taylor Speed Hiking

If you've been loafing your way through summer as a couch potato, you may not be up for tomorrow's Fall 1 hike in Samuel P. Taylor State Park where we'll be racing the clock to do the pre-lunch hike.

Samuel P. Taylor State Park Hike (9/6) Preview

We kick off the 2016 Fall 1 College of Marin Hiking series by heading halfway between East Marin for a couple of short hikes in Samuel P. Taylor State Park.

Here's Wendy's description of this hike: "Today we explore the redwood habitat, visit the Pioneer Tree which is over 500 years old, and learn some history of the area at the mill site. We’ll also see one of Marin’s few 'ghost trees,' a white redwood. We’re doing two separate loops, so you can leave your lunch in the car. We'll have a civilized lunch today with picnic tables and restrooms!"
 
(Click here for a recap of the hike we did on September 2, 2008 Here's an album of photos from past hikes).

Directions to trailhead: Take Sir Francis Drake Boulevard to the main entrance of Samuel P. Taylor State Park.

Click here for a Google Map showing the park entrance. Click on teardrop icon to get driving time and directions from your location.

Parking fee: $8 unless you have a State Park Pass (or a day pass from the California State Parks Foundation).

35 minutes from College of Marin. Carpoolers can meet at St. Rita’s at 9:20 a.m.

Restrooms at trailhead and at lunch.

Weather forecast: As of Friday, September 2nd, the National Weather Service forecast for Tuesday's hike was partly sunny, with a high near 78, although it could be somewhat cooler in places that are under the shade of the redwood trees. (Click here for an updated weather forecast.)

More on this hike:  Hikes "D7 Creek – Ox Trails History Loop" and D8 "Pioneer Tree – Barnabe Creek Trails" in the Martins’ book, Hiking Marin, show the area where we will be hiking.

Here's the route we'll follow and the hike profile.

(Click here to view and download the brochure for Samuel P. Taylor State Park; the trails are shown on page 4).