New Year's Hike

I wanted to start the year in the redwoods, 'cause, well... what could be nicer?  Redwoods are not only majestic and beautiful, they remind me of my favorite parts of childhood: camping among them and playing endlessly day after day on our summer explorer trips.  We'd take off with no particular destination in mind, explore little-known parts of California, stay in favorite places as long as we wanted, wear the same clothes every day, and spend our best days under the redwoods.  In these wonderful forests we would climb on fallen logs that even laying down were taller than my Dad, pick blackberries, build clubhouses in burnt out caverns in the trees, catch snakes in the rivers, and have so much fun that returning to the fog and routine of a San Francisco school year was never appealing.

This made the lovely hike even nicer:  great company (thanks, Mom)

And this was a happy bonus:  stumbling upon the ladybug trail, where thousands of ladybugs congregate:

Happy 2017!