Capitola

Big Basin Redwoods

Sunday River, Maine

It's my first time on the ground in Maine, and also my first time attending a Gordon Research Conference.  There are 200 people here with a very high level of expertise on all manner of topics related to atmospheric chemistry.  The schedule is fairly intense, with scientifically challenging technical sessions all morning and every evening.  But they also give us a 2.5 h free time break after every lunch.  This is a ski resort, and on the first day several of us hiked through the woods up to the top of a ski lift (about 1600 vertical feet).  It was a fun hike, but I'm still dealing with itchy mosquito bites.  (To be fair, some of those might have been picked up in New Hampshire, too.)

In the photos are Allen Goldstein (Berkeley), Charlie Weschler (New Jersey), Glenn Morrison (North Carolina) and the photobomber, Nadine Borduas (Zurich).

White Mountains, NH

On my way to a conference in Maine that was starting Sunday evening.  I had to fly out on Saturday to make the start, so I flew to Boston, rented a car, and spent the night at the Black Swan B&B in Tilton, NH.  Sunday's drive to the conference only required about 3 h and the start time was 6 PM, so I had some extra time to squeeze in a few hikes.  The weather was perfect.  The choices turned out to be quite good, too.  (1) Flume Gorge in Franconia Notch State Park (Photos 2-6).  (2) Falling Waters Trail (Photos 7 and 8).  The first photo was taken from close to where I parked for the second hike.

Hearst Castle

The end of our week-long trip to Southern California was a visit to Hearst Castle.  We took the grand tour and also saw the 40-min film, Building the Dream.  We needed to scoot home afterward to get the rental car returned by the 6 PM deadline.  The 3+ h spent at Hearst Castle wasn't long enough for a thorough visit.  But it was a worthwhile outing, nevertheless.

Piedras Blancas

Ragged Point, California

We're taking a few days to drive home from Orange County, staying in San Simeon.  This afternoon, we traveled a bit further up the coast to Ragged Point, where we had previously stayed on our bike ride between SF and Santa Barbara.  We enjoyed a nice walk around the lovely grounds and then had a pleasant dinner.  There were many landslides this year along Hwy 1 in Big Sur, so the road is closed just a few miles north of here.