COMING SOON-- WORKSHOPS
What really goes in the blue bin
--and what doesn't
Deepen your outdoor experience
--Use a topo map and compass
COMING SOON-- PHOTO GALLERY
Browse photos of a coming tour
--or of the tour you just took
ARMCHAIR TOUR!
Movie: Cane Toads: An Unnatural History
--A comedic short documentary that examines the disastrous results of interfering with an ecosystem by bringing in non-native species. Farmers in Australia, frustrated with an infestation of beetles, imported cane toads from Hawaii who wound up not eating the beetles, poisoning all their natural predators and multiplying to the point of becoming a larger nuisance than the beetles ever were.
Book: The Life of the Skies
--by Jonathan Rosen
--New York Times book review says: If Peterson and Sibley [birding guide book authors] provided checklists . . . then “The Life of the Skies” is the essay question, the question being: Does bird-watching offer a bird-watcher an avenue toward greater meaning, like prayer or yoga? For his part, Rosen, a novelist and the author of “The Talmud and the Internet,” has a lot of faith in it as a meditative act. “I can’t think of any activity that more fully captures what it means to be human in the modern world than watching birds,” he writes.
Stories of all the great American birders are included, from Thoreau to Teddy Roosevelt to "Kenn Kaufman, the Jack Kerouac of birding, who in the '70s hitchhiked the back roads of America for sightings."
Music: Appalachian Spring
--By Aaron Copland
--The sound of spring fever on the West Coast, not only in Appalachia! Try the recording by Michael Tilson Thomas's S.F. Symphony.
TOUR TIP
The warmer sunshine feels good, but don't pay for it later. Remember your hat or bandana and a lightweight long sleeved shirt. Apply sunscreen effective against both UVA and UVB, and bring a small bottle so you can reapply during rest breaks. The spot most people forget to protect? The top edge of the ears! Ouch!
CUSTOMIZE
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Let us create a tour just for you!
Learn more today.
ECO-HISTORY FACT
The Eco-History facts revealed in our 3/2/08 tour of the Quicksilver Mine in Almaden were so fascinating that folks demanded we offer it again! Do you know how Bay Area people and the environment have always influenced each other... in this case, from the pre-Gold Rush discovery of mercury ore to today?
Learn the surprising facts as we walk through beautiful landscapes, ghost towns with gardens still blooming today, and see a mercury reduction furnace. See the tour description from the first time we offered it!
The tentative date for this second visit is 6/7/08. If you're interested, let us know. Give your email address, and we'll keep you posted. Remember, if you enjoyed the first trip, the wildflowers and weather will be different the second time!
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Redwood Creek Meditation Walk at CaliforniaNatureTours.com
Redwood Creek Meditation Walk
Redwood Creek, Muir Woods is a great place for a meditative walk through the cathedral-like redwoods -- in September, when tourist season is over, and coastal weather turns warm. The woods are still, the wildlife resting, motionless. On this walk, we'll travel deep into Muir Woods, and each find a place within hearing range of the sound of Redwood Creek flowing over rocks, for a quiet hour of individual meditation, rest, or prayer.
Meditation Walk in Redwoods
In Muir Woods redwoods the trail leads inward © Michael Wetter
- Muir Woods Redwood Creek
- Mediatation walk, sit, be
- Stillness within and without
- 18yrs+, 3m/5k, 4hrs
- Sat 9/20/08, 10am, $25 USD
- Muir Woods in Mill Valley CA
FAQ, Contact David
Redwood Creek Meditation: Rx For City Dwellers
Redwood Creek in Muir Woods speaks softly, peacefully in the stillness of late September, when coastal California rests, thirsting for the rain. Come to Redwood Creek and experience the peacefulness of this long moment in the dry season. This is a wonderful moment in the natural cycle of California, when everything seems to stand still.
Muir Woods can be crowded near the entrance, but walk a mile in and all is quiet. We'll walk slowly, mindfully, and silently for about 1.5 miles, going deep into the forest, beyond the Muir Woods boundary, but still in the redwoods, still on Redwood Creek. We'll each find our own place along the creek for silent sitting meditation for about an hour. Then a bell will chime to call us back to the trail, and bid us to walk back, still silent, to the entrance, where we will end our silent retreat. After, all are invited to share bread, cheese, wine, and fruit for lunch, courtesy of David, at his favorite shady, sandy spot on the creekbank under the alders, halfway between Muir Woods and Muir Beach.
1 Muir Woods Road, Mill Valley CA. ALERT! Park in south parking lot, walk to Dipsea Race Kiosk where Dipsea Trail crosses the road.
Sat 9/20/08, 10am
FAQ, Contact David
DON'T WANT MUIR WOODS REDWOODS WALK WITH MEDITATION AND CREEK?
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Learn more
I've really enjoyed many of David's hikes!
On Montara Mountain we had a stunning 360 degree panoramic view of the coast.
At Point Reyes we swam in beautiful Bass Lake and saw the sublime Alamere Waterfalls.
David is very knowledgeable about Nature and the History of the Bay Area. He's also very attentive to the hikers.
I'll be back-- again!
Mr. M.C.
San Mateo, CA
Thank you David, for your
hike at China Camp.
It was a beautiful setting and we saw deer at close range.
But what made it especially interesting & memorable was your knowledge of the area.
I'm looking forward to
reading the book!
Thanks again and regards,
Ms. A.V.
Oakland, CA
I'm an inquisitive hiker who often wants to know more than previous guides seem to know...
But sometimes I just
want quiet moments.
Somehow, David does both
things just right!
A tour with David really does have something more.
Ms. C.A.
San Francisco, CA
In every walk with nature one receives far more than he seeks.
John Muir
The clearest way into the Universe is through a forest wilderness.
John Muir
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