Exclaimation Points of Zinfandel!
Page Under Construction. In order to define and explore 'The Neverlands' (California Bay Area), Calidocious Inc. offers a series of guided tours to mountain peaks at the perimiter of 'The Neverlands'. One peak is featured each month. (The Seven Hills of San Fracisco are jointly considered to be one of the "peaks"). Each hike is followed by a visit to a restaurant or cafe. The "default" restaurants are Thai restaurants. Fostering a link between Flemish and Thai culture, and also between Flanders and Thailand, is important to Calidocious Inc. because the cultures of the two countries are quite exceptional in that they strive to cultivate gentleness. (Plus both are renouned for their excellent food.) The signature hike is at Pinacles National Monument in May. The hike is held near the time of the Chocolate Festival of Brugges and is nicknamed the "Chocolopolis" hike. Many of the rock formations of the Pinnacles resemble buildings of Medieval Brugges.
|
|
Zoot Rose (Sutro Tower) on one of the 'Seven Hills' of San Francisco. |
|
|
|
The 'Portala Expedition Campsite was the site from which Portola explored the San Francisco Bay Area. It is about a mile from Stanford University. |
|
|
|
Nine hikes to the perimeter of 'The Neverlands', plus one hike in San Francisco, one in Big Sur, and one in Yosemite. |
|
| In addition to hikes at the perimeter of the Bay Area, there is a summer outing to one of the peaks in the High Sierras such as Half Dome in Yosemite National Park. Although most of the hikes are not currently offered as 'Language Outing' day trips, they can easily be done as self guided hikes. . The twelve 'Zinfandale' hikes, clockwise from Mt. St. Helena in Napa, are: 1. Mt. St. Helena 2. Mt. Diablo 3. Las Trampas Park (Sarifornia Hills) 4. Mission Peak Moonrise/Sundown Hike 5. Pinnacles National Monument (Chocolapolis) 6. Ventana Wilderness via Big Sur. 7. High Sierrras/ Yosemite 8. Little Basin Park- Eagle Rock Trail 9. Big Basin Park- Berry Creek Falls Trail 10. Purisima Open Space Preserve (Sarifornia Springs) 11. San Franciso Hills 12. Mt. Tamalpais
Note: The San Francisco Hills, Ventana Wilderness and Yosemite hikes aren't included on the map.
|
January
On Jan.1st, several hiking clubs organize 'New Year's Day' Mt. St. Helena hikes.
|
|
Mount St. Helena State Park- (The inspiration for 'Treasure Island' by Robert Louis Stevenson.) |
|
|
|
Mount Diablo State Park |
|
| February
|
March (Sarifornia Hills)
|
|
Las Trampas County Park |
|
|
|
Mission Peak- The hike is held within a day or two of the full moon, which rises just as the sun is setting. |
|
| April
|
May (Chocolapolis)
|
|
Pinnacles National Park |
|
|
|
Ventana Wilderness above Big Sur State Park |
|
| June
|
July
|
|
Yosemite National Park |
|
|
|
Little Basin State Park |
|
| August
|
September
By fall, most of the creeks and streams of the Bay Area are actually just trickles. However, hiking in the Redwood forests is most pleasant during the late summer and fall because the forests are often rather wet and cold during the rest of the year.
|
|
Berry Creek Falls- Big Basin State Park (picture taken in the Spring) |
|
|
|
Purisima Creek- Courtesy Open Space Preserve Photo by Andy Weber |
|
| October (Sarifornia Springs)
|
November
|
|
Coit Tower on one of the 'Seven Hills' of San Francisco |
|
|
|
Mt. Tamalpais State Park and Water District Open Space Preserve |
|
| December
|
The focal point of all the hikes is the mythical tree "El Palo Alto", which Gaspar de Portola used as his base camp after he 'discovered' San Francisco Bay- (which had been discovered by native americans about ten thousand years earlier.)
Although 'El Palo Alto' was killed by soot from trains early in the last century, several new redwoods have grown to take its place, and are now almost as high as it was.
|
|
The Portola Expedition camped by 'The Big Tree'- 'El Palo Alto', and used the tree as their reference point for exploring modern day 'Silicon Valley'. |
|
|
|
|