Gray Whale Cove in Half Moon Bay, CA

Usually I go hiking with a smaller group of people as part of Meetup, but some groups do not limit how many people can come on a hike, hence hundreds of people sign up. This weekend it was the first time I experienced hiking with a hundred and something people. I didn't like it, so together with my friend, we branched out pretty much at the very beginning to go a different route.

Instead of hiking up the mountain, we chose the easy route of going straight to the Gray Whale Cove Trail, which a relatively easy and short. It stretches right along the ocean beside Highway 1. Traffic and cars make the search for peaceful and relaxing atmosphere a challenge, but the views are still amazing.

To get to the trail, you can park along Highway 1, which is what I would have done if I didn't come with a group. Instead, we parked at the Farallone View Elementary School about a mile and a half inland and then hiked to the trail. Unfortunately, one section of the trail had mud, serious mud. My sneakers were very unhappy, but eventually they did get a nice bath when I got home.

After the hike we were starving and decided to check out the nearest seafood restaurant that turned out to be great! Barbara's Fishtrap is a cash only restaurant right on the beach with amazing views of the harbor, quick service and excellent food!

Finally, before heading back to Fresno, we decided to stop by the beach, just to check in. I even took my shoes off and tested the water out. Cold!

McKenzie Table Mountain Preserve - Discovery Hike

McKenzie Table Mountain Preserve is located north-east of Fresno, about 30-40 minutes. It is privately owned and only allows guided hikes to the public for a fee. Today the Open Preserve Day was sponsored by REI and was absolutely free.

My friend and I decided to sign up for a Discovery Hike, a docent-led 4 mile round trip hike. It is very easy and pretty much flat along the way. The views are not as great as you could get if you went on a Table Top Hike, but is still very peaceful.

Wildflowers were not at the peak of their bloom, but still there were plenty there!

Our docent turned out to be a biologist who was truly interested in her field, so very often she would spot a little frog or a millipede that would draw her attention and show it to us. Among a few finds was a western spadefoot toad (no, I would not have remembered the name if I did not write it down ;), some sort of weird cricket (gosh, I love crickets! #justkidding), a tadpole, a western toad, milkweed, more tadpoles, a white cow and a big fat tadpole.

Western Spadefoot Toad

Big fat cricket!

Tadpole

Baby Western Toad

Milkweed

Tadpole heaven

Super little baby toad

White cow!

Big fat tadpole

I don't think I have had a hike where I learned so much!

We also decided to go to watch the Bird of Prey presentation, but I was hugely disappointed. Those poor birds were captured from the wild to be shown to the public. The woman presenting the birds kept saying that she had a falconry license and was allowed to capture only 2 birds a year. Are you kidding me??? Why would any reasonable person decide to capture an animal from the wild to keep it in the cage? Why not rescue them from a rehab facility? Why would California even allow this kind of thing? Another disappointment in humanity. I get that these birds are used for educational purposes, but I am also certain that there are enough of them injured that cannot be released and need help (to the woman's credit, one of the owls was a rescue). 

Wild animals should remain in the wild.

Here is a decent article showing what can happen if you interfere with nature. And another article to consider when getting an exotic pet. I understand that many animals live longer lives in the captivity, but do you think it is worth it for them? Would you want to live a long life in prison? I wouldn't.

Wuh-ki'o Trail

What do you do on your birthday that also falls on Easter? You go hiking!

Wuh-ki'o Trail is located in Sierra National Forest, about an hour away from Fresno, CA. It's a really nice drive, really! The trail itself is only 7 miles round trip, but to get to the intersection where the trail begins, you have to hike another mile or so round trip. Your total will range from 8 to 9 miles. My journey was only 8 miles long since I decided to turn around before reaching the end of the trail.

The trail goes through meadows and rolling hills. It is relatively easy as it does not gain too much elevation, but it is a bit lengthy, so I would rate it as moderate. The first part of the trail is called the Bridge trail and it leads towards the bridge (duh!).

I encountered lots of insects and cows...

...as well as beautiful wildflowers.

On the way home, I stopped at a local Whole Foods Market and bought a bottle of champagne, strawberries and a creme brulee desert to celebrate my birthday. Sometimes it just works out...

Back to Chicago, IL

Last week I had an opportunity to attend an American College of Healthcare Executives (ACHE) Congress in Chicago and got to enjoy the windy city's culture yet again. My first visit to Chicago happened about 10 months ago during my cross country trip relocating from New York to California. I actually wrote about this trip on this blog. I visited Chicago back in May of 2016 when the weather was starting to warm up. This time there was no hope of taking off my coat: rainy and miserable with gray skies day after day. I just did not have the courage to venture out exploring the city, but being centrally located this time (Hilton), I checked out a couple of interesting cultural places.

First of all, if you are visiting Chicago, you absolutely must go to Second City, one of the best comedy clubs I have ever been to. The show was truly incredible. Improv was just fantastic!

Another place I found interesting was The Jazz Showcase where you can listen to students performing as well as experienced and well-known jazz artists. Usually Monday through Wednesday they have students, but don't be discouraged, they are very very good even in their first year! Be sure to come 15 minutes before since it is on a first come first serve basis, and you will be able to get great seats in the front if you choose to.

Finally, because of some connections, I was able to visit Chicago Symphony Orchestra (CSO) from behind the scenes while they were rehearsing. I snapped a couple of pictures of the incredible architecture from the inside.

Just several days in Chicago were filled with its amazing culture, something that I miss in Fresno, but warm weather is still my priority. Maybe next summer I will be back...

Wind Wolves Preserve near Bakersfield, CA

About two and a half hours south from Fresno there is a Wind Wolves Preserve famous to be "the west coast's largest non-profit preserve". Indeed, at 93,000 acres, it stretches out miles and miles away from where you started. The rolling hills are green at this time of the year and appear to have a smooth cover of grass and wild flowers.

Given this is one of the wettest years in California, I expected to see more wildflowers, but only a few areas had plentiful spots of white, blue and yellow plants.

We took a long hike along the dried out river on the way back. Surprisingly, there was really no water even with the amount of rain we got this year. Sheep, however, did not mind.

On this hot winter day (did I say hot and winter in the same sentence? Yes! We are in California!) there was lots of sunshine, and my sunblock from last year just did not do the trick as I realized having come home.

Back to the trail... We started out on the Tule Elk Trail that has a pretty significant elevation in the beginning, but the flattens out and leads to the valley.

At about a 4.25 mile mark, we transitioned to the El Camino Viejo Mountain Bike Trail for a short period of time, and then merged into the San Emigdio Canyon Trail completing the 8.5 mile loop. It was a moderate hike for me because of the initial elevation gain, length and heat.

Here is the map of the Wind Wolves Preserve in case you decide to check it out.