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Highway 1 (more places to go and see) 

Randomly wandered off Highway 1 with wife. Wanted to bike to Big Sur from San Francisco. Carrying some bread and orange juice, juwah. Romantic. Finding hikes along the way and climbing down places. Some random place with not a single soul there.

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Shasta Caverns - (more places to go and see) 

These caverns are around 250 million years old, it was discovered by a wintu Amerindian named James Richardson who was chasing a bobcat up the mountainside, probably for extra money. They blew a lot of dynamite to create these passages to these rooms that were once flooded with water.

I was at a limestone cavern just a few weeks ago, but this one is incredible. You have to take a ferry across the lake to reach it, but I arrived during an off season was it was only me and another friend exploring for two hours. Kind of amazing there is spelunking opportunities in a cave this beautiful. 

The cavern was dripping wet and had little streams of water - and depending on what time of the year you go, there are flocks of bats.

I do not have a very good camera, excuse the quality. Here is a good song for it.

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San Bernardino Mountains – Mount Baldy – PART 1 (more places to go and see) 

Length: 12 miles (turned back halfway)

Trail: Manker Flats Loop

Conditions: Normally a well-maintained trail but … not much if you can do in a snowstorm. If you want to do this, better bring heavy-duty crampons and trekking poles. I couldn’t see past three or four feet at times thanks to the snow and rain.

History: Also known as Mt. San Antonio, or “Yoát” by the Tongva culture that inhabited it. Around the 1700s, the original population was forced by Spanish colonizers to build missions around San Gabriel and San Fernando areas and you can imagine, their numbers dwindled from the conditions.

Notes: I went earlier this year knowing there was going to be a snowstorm, heheh. A friend of mines loaned me all the equipment except cramp-ons. Around halfway, I had to turn back because it was so intense. On the way down, the snow and weather calmed down and thousands of droplets came melting off the pines as the sun lit the sky. Clouds dissipated into sheets that partly cloaked hills and mountains … It was like something out of a dream, but unfortunately, my camera had run out of batteries.

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Hearst Castle, California(more places to go and see) 

A trip I took several months ago with a dear friend I will probably not see again until she returns to Japan next year. Assuming I cannot find a job in the United States a few months upon my graduation.

This was once the home for the media mogul William Randolph Hearst. Personally find him to be a reprehensible character responsible for awful business practices such as yellow journalism. However! He had fine tastes in art and architecture, and surely knew how to live. One side of the house you can see the mountains of Big Sur, and the other side is the beautiful sea, a pool lined with real gold … Man, I heard in the past he had a train that took guests to his manor, and people would leave with fur coats he handed out.

You can trip on a piece of fine art just by walking two steps in this dream manor (I almost tripped into one of Napoleon’s statues, heheheh). Following World War I, Europe was desperate for funds, and sold much of their art to collectors. Hearst became such a prolific buyer; he was accused of ‘plundering Europe.’ From paintings, vases, statues and ceilings, he really did buy up everything he could afford. He even had a zoo inside his estate. After he nearly went bankrupt multiple times, he gave most of them away, but occasionally you can catch a glimpse of a zebra. 

And here is a superior photo of the castle. Source unknown.

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Mercer Cavern, California (more places to go and see) 

Discovered by an American miner who was resting besides a plant on a hillside when he noticed a strange breeze. He used his tools to create a fist-sized hole and thought he struck gold. He hired a geologist to investigate his find after purchasing the claim for one dollar, while he didn’t find precious metals, he stumbled on a cave of “living limestone ” His wife sewed him special gloves so he would not destroy the cavern with human finger oils, which prevents further growth and darkens the rocks. Limestone in Mercer Cavern relies on water to form, human skin oils would cause the water to roll right off. ); These babes take millenniums to form; respect your elders! 

It is incredible how they explored this place in the past with nothing but ropes, for lighting, all they had was a paddle with a single candle held in between the teeth, as the hands were preoccupied with climbing. If you look down, fire to the face! I read that some people’s beards were set ablaze and caused a number of accidents, heh. Anyways, go and enjoy the gorgeous stalactites, speleothems, and stalagmites.

You’ll be climbing down an equivalent of 16 stories. Not recommended for fear of heights. 

(confession this song was playing in my head as i was climb down)

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Big Trees State Park, California (more places to go and see) 

Trail: North Grove Trail

I rarely take photos of Homo sapiens, but it is difficult to appreciate the sense of scale without it. Here are some photos of my travel partner. Big Trees State Park was first reported by a miner chasing a bear for rations; though he came across sequoias so large that the miner forgot about his injured prey. Initially, no one believed him, though when they did, it became an instant attraction. Some one cut down one of the largest trees in the forest in hopes of making it an attraction in New York; though it was a financial disaster, as no one believed such trees could exist.

These sequoias take thousands of years to grow; according to a documentary I watched, they use to be common during the Jurassic period until the Ice Age killed nearly all of them off with the exception of three species in California and Southern China. Even this forest was threatened to being logged; luckily, a group of activist lobbied for it to be saved.

Sorry for the poor image quality, all I have is a cellphone.