Feral Dog

Dakota's Mobile Dog House

Ahola ! Hello ! Aloha ! Salutations !

Today I am in Bolinas California ! I spent the last few days driving north from Santa Cruz, through the bay area. I only stayed in the bay area for two days before deciding to move on. I had planned on checking out Berkly and Oakland , but decided I will explore that area on my way back down. I feel a need for less traffic and crowds of people. I did make my way to China town and walked around for a few hours. I love the feeling of being in a different culture. The herbal shops are my favorite. There are many shops I don't care for, the mass produced, cheap China merchandise, but mixed in is some of the most wonderful extravagant China art.

I did stop in and have lunch at a Chinese restaurant. I usually feel a little stuffed and over indulge myself on the large portions. I always feel guilty knowing the food ingredients are not from the best sources. Its hard not to get hungry walking by all the multitudes of food shops lining the streets.

After China Town I made my way over the Golden Gate Bridge and continued up the coast. It felt relieving. There is that special combination of land, water, sun, and air, that makes this part of the coast magical. I feel at peace with the spirit around me. I drove into Muir woods along a windy, mountain road eventually up over the mountain range back down the mountain side into a wondrous place. This part of the coast is about an hour away from any big city. Its separated by the mountains so its gives it a feeling of being disconnected from the usual modern today catastrophe, oops, i mean society. The land setting is so spectacular. Its one of the most sacred spots on this planet. First it begins from the mountains, with the towering Mount Tamp at over 2000 feet. As the plush vegetation and trees blanket the descending mountain sides into the valley they are layered with fresh mountain springs. The springs are like blood vessels flowing down to the Ocean full of minerals and giving of life.

Muir Beach

The first place I stopped up the coast was Muir beach. Just over the mountains from San Fransisco. Stinson Beach was the next place I stopped. Stinson Beach is the major tourist spot in this area. During the weekends thousands of cars will make there way over the mountains here for a day on the beach. Stinson beach is on part of the Boloinas Lagoon. A powerful natural vortex for the much life present here in the area. On the other side of the lagoon is the town Bolinas. One grocery store, one hardware, one co-op, one tavern named Smileys, one book shop, one cafe, one smoothie shop, a few gift shops, and one gas station named Bo's gas.

Stinson Beach with Bolinas Lagoon behind it.

Apparently Bolinas locals do not want the area to be over run with the masses from the city. Every time the county tries to put a sign up pointing to the Bolinas turn off, it is taken down by the locals. The usual crowd coming into Bolinas are surfers, a few tourist, and the nomads that travel up and down the coast of California.

I took a few days to explore the coast line north of Bolinas and comb the beaches. I found amazing driftwood, sea mammal bones, and naturally polished abalone pieces. I then spent a day at an amazing coastal lake named Bass lake. Its a 2.5 mile hike into the forest along the coastal edge. It was spectacular ! The lake was surrounded by forest and set in a small valley. The water was so soft and soothing. It was super healing and revitalizing. I would dive down into the water with eyes wide open as the sun beams would flash all around me into the depths of the water.

The next hike I did around Bolinas was with my new friend Sabine who I had met at the local coffee shop. Sabine is one of those beautiful human beings who is illuminating positive energy into the universe where ever she goes. We hit it off really good in our first meeting and she decided to take me on one of those special local hikes that is off the map. It was the best ever. A hidden path along side a creek layered with an abundance of plant life. We identified several wild edible plants on the walk like plantain, stinging nettles, chamomile, horsetail, and salmon berries. It was already spectacular when all the sudden an owl appeared in the tree just ahead of us. He then made flying leap right towards us landing on a tree branch right next to where we were standing. It was a spiritual special moment. We not only spotted a spotted owl in the forest but he decided to hang out with us for a bit. As he was looking us over, with those penetrating eyes and twisting head, we slowly sat down on the ground in front of him. Dakota was with us and sid the same. Curious to identify this new earth creature in front of us. Just as we though it couldn't get any better than this, another spotted owl, most likely the partner of the owl in front of us, glided in from the sky and landed in another tree next to where we were sitting. Wow ! two owls, two humans, and a wolf dog, conjugating in the forest. We sat there for over an hour just taking in the moment. It was one of those times in life that will always be with me. It was a special day and I am very grateful for meeting up with my new beautiful friend Sabine.