• Saturday, July 24: Muir Woods National Monument, Marin County, Sausaleto, etc.

Muir Woods was designated a national monument by Theodore Roosevelt in 1908. Thus the old-growth redwood forest there was preserved from logging and is now one of the few places where you can visit an old-growth forest.

Muir Woods is located 12 miles north of the Golden Gate Bridge off the Highway 101 Muir Woods exit. Roads to the park are steep and winding. Parking spaces are limited and the lot fills quickly on most days, so getting there early is important. We may meet somewhere for breakfast and then drive as a group to the park. There is a choice of trails: a half-hour loop trail, a one-hour loop trail and an hour-and-a-half loop trail. The park is open from 8 a.m. to sunset and there is a $5 per person entry fee. Last year we arrived before the 8 a.m. opening time and parking was free.

If we leave the park at an early hour, those who are interested can meet in Sausalito for a late lunch or early dinner. If anyone is interested, before we go to Muir Woods, we can meet at the north parking area of the Golden Gate Bridge to take a sunrise picture of the bridge. (What do you say? Are you a glutton for punishment?)

Muir Woods is a 150-mile round trip drive from Milpitas.

AUGUST• Saturday, August 7: Colma—Cypress Lawn, Pets’ Rest, etc.

The city of Colma, California has a population that exceeds 1.5 million—a tiny fraction of those occupants are alive. Colma was the location chosen by the city and county of San Francisco for relocat-ing its cemeteries. In the late nineteenth century, burial within the boundaries of San Francisco was prohibited by the state legislature. As a result of the mandate, all the occupants of its many cemeteries were moved to the new “City of Death” 15 miles to the south.

Colma has numerous cemeteries, many of which are specifically ethnic or religious in nature—and there are even a couple of pet cemeteries. The best parts of Colma, in my opinion, are the Victorian-era cem-eteries of Cypress Lawn, Gate of Heaven etc. The last camera club group that visited Colma left with big, satisfied smiles. The group continued to smile when they dis-covered that the possibilities for local din-ing were almost as plentiful as the grave markers.

Colma is about a 90-mile round trip drive from Milpitas.

Meet-up: TBA

• Friday, August 13 – 16: Mendocino week-end/Art show

Every year some of us go to the small, but charming town of Gualala in the beautiful Mendocino region of California. We stay at the rental cabin of a member of the Golden Hills Arts Association, who graciously invited us to stay there a few years ago—and now we can’t seem to break the habit! You couldn’t find more suitable ac-commodations, unless you payed an arm and a leg for commercial lodging in the area. The fun in-cludes a potluck-style barbecue held next to the campfire ring in the large yard of the cabin, and trip to the local art gallery (and the possibility of entering this year’s Gualala Arts Center show) plus a ton of touring and recreation—and great photo opportunities of this beautiful coastline.

Among the attractions are the quaint towns of Men-docino, Elk, Ft. Bragg, etc. The boating is spectacular on the numerous rivers in the area and there are plenty of places to take pictures including the Pt. Arena Lighthouse, the harbors in Mendocino and Ft. Bragg and in the vari-ous state and local parks that line the coastline—including historic Ft. Ross. If you haven’t been to Mendocino, you’re sure to love it!

Cabin accommodations are limited, so sign up early! There will be a pre-trip meeting in advance of this trip for the benefit of any new people. We will discuss trip logis-tics, answer questions and perhaps arrange entry into the Gualala Arts Center open show.

More details TBA

Above: Pt. Arena LighthouseLeft: Gualala RiverBelow: Mendocino Coastline

• Saturday, August 21: Mission San Jose, FremontJust a short drive from Milpitas is Mission San Jose de Guadalupe. It became part of the chain

of California Missions on June 1, 1797. Most of the missions were spaced a day’s horse ride apart and the heavily traveled horse path that connected them was called “El Camino Real”—in English, the King’s Highway. Mission San Jose was considered the gateway to the Central Val-ley, a wild and often dangerous territory in those days. There were as many as 2,000 Indians at the mission in the 1830s, making it the largest settlement in the north. When the California Gold Rush occurred this particular mission settlement became a trading post for the miners who flocked into the central valley. After gold fever cooled down Mission San Jose went into neglect and disrepair. A large earthquake destroyed the adobe mission complex and a wood-frame church went up on its site. The present mission sanctuary was constructed in 1985 and built to look like the 1809 version.

This part of Fremont is very picturesque and the grounds around the mission have some nice little surprises—including an adjoining graveyard, a convent (off limits to outsiders) and some nice groves of trees. Nearby is the campus of Ohlone College—perhaps a side trip would be warranted, just to quench our curiosity.

Meet-up: TBA (Most likely a breakfast location.)

SEPTEMBER• Fri., Sat. Sun. September 3, 4, 5: Reno Balloon Races / Vir-ginia City Camel Races

The Reno Balloon Races are held over three days (weather permitting) and those who go can book rooms at a nearby Day’s Inn, near Virginia Street and Inter-state 80, will be within a mile of the balloon launch site. (Or book a room at one of the big casinos—and do it in advance, because Reno fills up fast before this event!)

On the day of the balloon event, call for a 4:30 a.m. wake-up call from the front desk, dress quickly and go out to see the “dawn patrol” pre-dawn lighted balloon spectacle and then find a location to shoot the big mass launch at sunrise. If you don’t get there before the faint light of day shows on the horizon you might miss the action! After the balloon race is over we can go get breakfast at a nearby hash-house.

During the afternoon (after your nap) we can take a side-trip up to Virginia City to see a bunch of whackos ride camels and ostriches.

We suggest that you obtain breakfast or dinner at the Atlantis Casino in south Reno—this es-tablishment lays out a wonderful buffet-style gluttony fest—or take in a Basque dinner at Louie’s in Reno (or one of the Basque restaurants in Gardnerville, south of Carson City).

Reno is a 500-mile round trip drive from Milpitas.

• Saturday, September 18 (maybe): Autumn Moon Festival, San Francisco

I’ve yet to pin down the dates for the an-nual Chinatown Autumn Festival—it’s based on the Chinese lunar calendar—and may have to be shifted to another date on this schedule.

The Autumn Moon Festival is a real crowd pleaser and goes on through the whole weekend. It includes a parade, Chinese mu-sicians, performers and various attractions. Great for people shots, this event is much more interesting than the Chinese New Year’s parade (which tends to be overcrowd-ed—and the crowd at this event is more friendly). And the Dragon Boat Races are happening simultaneously at Treasure Island on the days of the festival. Free shuttle busses take you from Kearney street directly to Treasure Island and back all day long.

Very few events offer better photo opportunities for candid pictures of people.San Francisco is a 100-mile round trip drive from Milpitas.

OCTOBER• Friday, Saturday, Sunday, October: Mono Lake / Lundy Can-yon (aspens in the Sierras) Bodie etc.

Mono Lake is a desolate and picturesque body of water east of the Sierras. At several points along its shoreline large tufa formations jut up into the sky, offering spectacular fore-ground elements for every landscape pho-tographer east of the Sierras. Last year’s trip included a night shoot at the South Tufa area.

The main attraction during this time of year is the local aspens. Lundy Canyon offers some of the most spectacular views of the golden, orange and rose-colored trees. There are other places to get great pictures, too: June Lake, Bodie, Sierra roads, and various roads east of Mono Lake.

You may seek lodging in Lee Vining, Bridge-port (close to Bodie State Park) or camp in Lundy Canyon. Camping this time of year, however, will be a frigid proposition at best.

Lee Vining is a 450-mile round trip drive from Milpitas (via Highway 108 through the Sierras).

Pre-trip meeting TBA.

Top: Aspens at Lundy Canon.Above and left: Mono Lake.Right: Bodie State Park ghost town.

• Saturday, October 23: Pow Wow at Auburn (or alternate Na-tive American event)

As the date approaches, we may choose another pow wow in another Gold Country location—perhaps the “Big Time” at Indian Grinding Rock State Park, near the village of Volcano. That gathering is not so predictable, so the Auburn Pow Wow will probably be the one we choose. We had a great time at last year’s event and the photo opportunities were excellent. Vivid colors, pageantry, interesting people and plenty of activities—you couldn’t ask for a better event to fill your memory card with pictures.

Auburn is about a half hour’s drive to the east of Sacramento, so this will require an early-morning start from the Bay Area. (In my opinion, it was well worth the 5 a.m. wake-up call!)

Note: Event sponsors prohibit videography and/or photography during some portions of the event. Please comply with no-photo requests. Most parts of the program are open to photography.

More details TBA.

NOVEMBER• Saturday, November 6: Central Valley wildlife refuge/Locke/Isleton

There are several wildlife refuges in the Central Val-ley. At this point in time I am looking for suggestions as to the best place to visit. Please contact me with your ideas.

On our way home we can stop by for a visit at the town of Locke and some of its neighboring Delta com-munities (such as Isleton). There are several places to have lunch or dinner and see some interesting sights. (Be mindful of the speed limits in the Delta because the local law enforcement agencies love handing out speeding tickets to outsiders—they consider it a visitors’ tax.)

More details TBA.

• Saturday, November 20: Mission Dolores S.F./SF Presidio, etc.Mission Dolores is quite a beautiful Mis-

sion. Located within the city limits of San Francisco, its small adjoining graveyard and modern cathedral building that sits next to it are full of nice visual surprises. The historic exhibits are interesting and the mission itself is lovely. If you haven’t seen this mission, you should because it’s one of the nicest ones in the state.

Since we’ll be in San Francisco, we might want to go to another interesting place after the mission (there isn’t really that much to see there).

Other locations could include the hang-gliders at Ft. Funston, the S.F. Zoo, the Great Highway, the Golden Gate Bridge, or the Presidio. If there are enough interested people, perhaps we can go for lunch, dinner or shoot in another location.

Meet-up: TBA (We’ll meet for breakfast and see the mission in the morning.)

DECEMBER• Sunday, December 5: San Jose Holiday Parade/Christmas in the Park

The San Jose Holiday Parade is a pretty large event; ranked in the top 25 parades in the nation. It offers many great photo opportunities with its numerous marching bands, performing groups, large balloons and floats.

Since the parade begins at about 8:30 a.m., we’ll have to get to downtown San Jose very early to avoid the huge crowd this event attracts. If we do a breakfast meet-up, it should prob-ably be between 7 and 7:30 a.m.

Meet-up: TBA

Other possibilities:

• San Francisco Flower Market or Oakland Produce Market—4 a.m. on a weekday, before work

The action starts early at either of these longtime Bay Area commercial institutions. Trucks from producers begin arriving at midnight and by 3 a.m. the markets are bustling with activity. Forklifts unload and move goods around the market. Buyers from stores, restaurants and other businesses come to look at the produce and fresh flowers and make their purchases. The activ-ity begins to slow down after sunrise and by the time most of us are going to work the workers are hosing off the sidewalks and thinking about “Miller time.”

The San Francisco Flower Market is located on 6th and Harrison and the Oakland Produce Market is located near Jack London Square at the intersections of Third, Fourth and Franklin streets in Oakland.

Individual shop owners may not want you taking pictures on their property, but if you shoot the activities from the street they have less of a say in the matter (they may still choose to intimidate you). If we have to leave the produce market then we can take a 15-minute drive and go to the flower market in San Francisco.

The group will meet at 4 a.m. to begin shooting and finish in time for us to be able to get to work on time.

The Oakland Produce Market is a 70-mile round trip drive from Milpitas; San Francisco makes it an even 100-mile round trip drive.

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