Part 2 - Sixth Winter at Samuel P. Taylor

Now that Spring has arrived, I'd best be getting to the task of sharing Part 2 in regards to our sixth winter at Samuel P. Taylor State Park in beautiful West Marin County!

Lovely Autumn light, December 13.

` So though I called this part two of our Sixth "winter," part 1 was about Autumn, winter hadn't arrived yet! This picture was taken of the approach to the old railroad bridge that is a part of the Cross Marin Trail, about 3/4 of a mile up stream from our campsite. On the right are visible large rocks and beams being used for the restoration work on the Pioneer Tree Trail.

The Beautiful Connector Trail near our campsite.

Sometimes the bark of a tree catches my attention.

Two Coho Salmon in the creek.

Sadly this season did not have a good showing of Coho.

But there were lots of Chinook, and a good number of Steelhead Trout.

Wild Cat Canyon Creek on Christmas Eve in the midst of a storm.

And the very seasonal and pretty waterfall behind our campsite.

Notice how high and cloudy Lagunitas Creek is.

Christmas morning - a sad day for two trees.

A large Douglas Fir and a Cherry Tree that I loved to see bloom in February in the past.

Power to our campsite went out around 2:00 AM Christmas morning, and around 8:00 AM a maintenance worker found a downed power line not far from us, and then I walked up to the Orchard Hill Campsites to discover the downed trees. Fortunately the campground had been preemptively closed in anticipation of the wind storm that came through that night. The campground closure was extended through New Years to accommodate PG&E and State Park Maintenance crews doing the necessary clean-up and restoration of power. We were surprised that we had power back on the next day, especially since the power outage was limited to our campsite and the campground bathrooms that were not in use due to the campground closure! Clean-up of the affected campsites took a little longer.

Rob standing by the base of the Fir Tree.

The Lumber Jill who cut through the bottom of the fallen tree.

After she cut it, the stump fell back into the hole - made clean-up a lot easier!

See the Lumber Jack way up there in the tree?

He's cutting branches broken by the large tree falling.

Grandson Jacob and his fiancée Emma.

Rob and I joined Jacob and Emma and her family for Christmas dinner in Berkeley.

A Labyrinth on the hills above Fairfax, December 29.

A spot I had been wanting to get to and managed to do it between rain storms.

Beautiful view of Mt. Tamalpais from the Labyrinth.

And San Francisco as seen from the labyrinth.

I should go visit this spot again!

A view of the Bay Bridge from the Larkspur Ferry, December 30.

Tuesday, December 30 was a day off so Rob and I took the bus from right in front of our campground into San Rafael, then caught another bus to San Francisco where we had lunch near the transit center before heading to the Embarcadero to get our Senior Clipper Cards. After that we boarded the ferry to Larkspur where we took the SMART train back to San Rafael and then the bus back to camp. I love that we can use public transportation to travel far and wide in the Bay Area, though we haven't done it a lot.

Loved doing this small puzzle I got for Christmas!

New Year's Day 2026

My "First Day" hike was right here in Samuel P Taylor State Park. I had hoped to join daughter Erin in Big Basin for the the First Day hike she was leading, but it was a rainy day, and I didn't want to drive 3 hours round trip in the rain so I chose to hike up to Barnabe Peak, the only time I've made it up there so far this season. Of course the views I usually get up there were shrouded in fog, but it was still a beautiful hike and a perfect way to start the new year!

I made it to the lookout, only a little wet!

Mount Tamalpais is out there somewhere beyond the fog.

A seasonal creek on the way down from Mt. Barnabe.

Wild Cat Canyon Creek on January 2 after lots of rain.

This tributary to Wild Cat Canyon Creek was running high on January 2.

This is Wild Cat Canyon a little upstream from the little waterfall.

Before this year this portion of the creek was not visible from the Pioneer Tree Trail, but with some rerouting during the trail restoration it now is.

As I write this near the end of March many of our seasonal creeks have dried up. The last rain we had was 1/10 of an inch on March 2. Because of the good rainfall in the previous 5 months Marin County's reservoirs are full, but how long can the water supply last if there is no more rain until October? 80% of Marin County's water comes from its annual rainfall.

January 3, looking upstream on Lagunitas Creek from the campground bridge.

The water coming out of the pipe is from Wild Cat Canyon.

By the end of March, there is still a trickle in the creek, but none coming out of the pipe.

Our third child is now 50!

Another marker that we are old!

Sophia, Shawn, Naomi, Cheryl and Jacob with Shawn's Cake.

Erin's Birthday Cake

Erin blowing out the candles on her cake.

Shawn blowing out the candles on Erin's left over cake.

Erin and Shawn share a birthday 3 years apart on January 6. They were together for the 50th birthday party for Shawn on January 3. On January 6, Erin and her nephew Jacob came up to Colfax so they could go skiing on her birthday. We were there to celebrate with her on the 6th, and then on the 7th we met Shawn and his girls for dinner in Richmond and brought the remains of Erin's cake. Lots of celebrating this year.

Jacob, Rob and Jody playing Hearts on January 5.

It's always "Get Rob" when playing Hearts!

On January 6, Erin, Jacob and I headed up to Donner Ski Ranch so they could ski and I could enjoy the snow. While they skied I spent time knitting in the lodge and going for walks in the area. It has been 14 years since I spent time in the high snow country and since I went skiing for the last time in February, 2012. My last ski outing ended with me falling due to a failed ski binding, and I broke my arm. It was not a bad break, but a good warning that as we age skiing may be more dangerous than when we are young. I loved the snowy mountains and skiing so I wanted to go up with Erin and Jacob to see the fresh snow and to ponder missing it. I was surprised and rather delighted to realize that my memories of it are now sufficient. I feared I might envy them out on the slopes, but I did not. As Erin buckled up her ski boots, I remembered that confined feeling and the small fear I always felt as I prepared to ski - I'm good now with memories! As I walked around in the beautiful snowy landscape with trekking poles to give me stability on the ice I remembered how precarious it was to walk on the icy streets of Kings Beach. I never thought I'd be content to have snow country as a memory, but I am. It was a wonderful day accepting limits and enjoying snow country in a different way. I will be happy if we happen to be at our home near Colfax when it gets its infrequent snow, but I no longer have to participate in snow sports.