At 1017 acres, Golden Gate Park is the largest park in San Francisco. It’s even bigger than Central Park in New York which is 843 acres. We have brought you pictures from our adventures in the Arboretum, Stow Lake, and the Japanese Tea Garden. Winding around the park between all those areas are a multitude of little unexplored trails and park gems. Well, they’re unexplored by us, at any rate.
This little trail is located near the Conservatory of Flowers.
Wicked as in “cool”, that is. This little gal was named Nightshade by the wonderful staff at the San Francisco SPCA, and we’ve decided to call her Nightshade Jenny, Jenny as in Pirate Jenny from Threepenny Opera.
She’ll need time to get acclimated and has a quiet room to do so, always with one of us in it with her, she’s a shy little thing that one. Hopefully, the pictures will do her justice, she is absolutely gorgeous. But then as Leonardo Da Vinci said, the smallest feline is a masterpiece.
Summertime in San Francisco means a lot of fog. It also means a good sunrise on occasion.
Continue reading “San Francisco Sunrise: Fire and Ice”
I need a lot more practice, but I managed to grab a few night shots of the Embarcadero and San Francisco’s skyline from the pier.
Continue reading “San Francisco’s Embarcadero at Night”
I was digging through some photos and found a sampling worthy of sharing.
Lastech is the first one up. He took the next two photos.
The fun thing about driving around in San Francisco is finding streets we haven’t explored. That way, there’s something new around every corner. That’s how we found these colorful houses.
I’m sorry we haven’t been posting more. Lastech and I are getting used to a new work schedule so the posting times are a tad off these days. We’ll get adjusted soon.
It is almost the first of June and it’s still raining here. We should be well into the dry season already. Sadly, the cold and rain that we’re getting here is turning into horrible swarms of tornadoes to the East. I love the rain, but I hope this ends soon.
The other day, we took advantage of the sunshine and went to McLaren Park to visit the duck pond (reservoir). It wasn’t raining, but the clouds were beautiful. First, we walked up the hill to the water tower where we had a wonderful view of Bernal Hill and downtown San Francisco.
After that, we headed on down to the pond. The pond is where a lot of people take their dogs for a swim and water games. There were quite a few dogs, so the ducks were hanging out under the shrubbery. The clouds were beautiful and so was the pond.
A couple weeks ago, we were wandering around the Golden Gate. Not to be confused with the bridge, the Golden Gate is the strait that connects the Bay with the Pacific Ocean. We started our wandering in the Marina District and made our way over to the cliffs above Baker Beach. We had quite a few lovely sights along the way.
We began our journey at the Wave Organ. The Wave Organ is an acoustic sculpture that was constructed near the Golden Gate Yacht Club. It consists of pipes that run down into the water and the sound is generated by the tides. It was built using remnants of old tombs and tombstones when most of the cemeteries were moved from San Francisco to Colma roughly a century ago.
While on our way back to the car from the Wave Organ, I got this picture of the bridge. It looked so lovely in the evening, that we decided to follow the sun.
The cliffs above the Golden Gate were glowing with shades of lavender. The Marin Headlands are visible in the distance, across the water.
Point Bonita Lighthouse is at the very tip of the Marin Headlands. That is a suspension bridge visible to the right of the light and it is the only access to the lighthouse.
Soon after, the sun began to set. It was the end of another glorious day in San Francisco.
I meant to post this sooner, but we got caught up in a rather heavy rain/hail/lightning/ mess, so I turned the computer off to be safe.
Previously, I posted Conservatory of Flowers in San Francisco’s Golden Gate Park: Part 1, The Lowland Tropics.
Anyone who comes to San Francisco should try and find the time to visit the Conservatory of Flowers in Golden Gate Park. Opened to the public in 1879, it is the oldest building in the park. It houses around 1700 plant species. The orchid collection is said to be one of the best.
This time we’re going to visit the Potted Plants Gallery.
The Conservatory of Flowers is located at 100 John F. Kennedy Drive. It is accessible for motorized and non motorized wheelchairs. Strollers are not permitted inside, but there is a place to park them while you explore. As it is a greenhouse, it will be quite warm and humid inside. As it can be rather cold outside, be sure to wear removable layers. It is open Tuesday thru Sunday from 10am to 4:30pm. The cost is $7 for adults, $5 for ages 12-17, seniors 65 & over, and college students with school ID. $2 for children 5 – 11 and free for children 4 and under. Local residents receive a discount with proof of residency.
Note: On Sundays, John F. Kennedy Drive is closed to vehicular traffic. For those who don’t mind walking, you can just park on Martin Luther King Drive and walk to the Conservatory.
Amazingly, the Conservatory barely escaped disaster more than once. It had to have the dome restored after an 1883 boiler explosion and fire. It also managed to survive the 1906 Earthquake. In 1933 Structural instability caused the Park Commission to close it. The Great Depression meant a lack of funds preventing it from reopening until 1946.
The Potted Plants Gallery is home to hibiscus, cymbidium orchids, bromeliads, begonias, and much more. When I know the name of a plant, the pictures will be labeled. Not everything had a marker, so I was unsure of a few. Should anyone know the name of any of these unnamed plants, feel free to comment. I’ll update if necessary.
I hope you enjoyed some of these. I also hope they give you the urge to visit our fine city and see what it has to offer. I wasn’t born and raised here, however, I can understand the song “I Left My Heart In San Francisco”. 🙂
A friend commented on our blog that it needed more dog. Since we needed to go for a good walk and fresh air anyway, we went out looking for some canines.
Our destination was Fort Funston. It’s located south of Ocean Beach in San Francisco and adjacent to Lake Merced. Fort Funston is part of the Golden Gate National Recreation Area (GGNRA) and operated under the authority of the National Park Service. I should also mention that it’s FREE, and in this economy, “free” is just fine with me.
Fort Funston parking is just off of Skyline Blvd. south of John Muir Drive. If you are coming from the north, it’s about a half mile south of the intersection. If you are coming from the south, you will need to go to the intersection and make a u-turn. The road for Fort Funston is signed.
Fort Funston once housed military batteries. Now, it’s host to scores of dogs and dog walkers. It is one of the premier “off leash” places in the San Francisco Bay Area. Also, due to the Funston Shear, as it’s called, it is very popular with hang gliders. Fort Funston ranks as a Hang III (intermediate) site. There is wheelchair access to the observation deck and upper trails. There is no wheelchair access to the beach.
The main trail to the beach is adjacent to the hang gliding landing zone. There is a dog watering station at the trail head. Fort Funston Dog has all the information you need to go have fun with your dog.
Once at the trail head, you head south to the sand ladder which is made of logs linked together by cables. It makes it easier to descend the dunes without causing erosion.
This trail is steep and full of loose sand. It’s not long but taxing, especially on the way back up. Be sure to make regular stops along the trail to take in the view. Do be sure to carry drinking water with you.
………………………………………………………Once at the beach, you’ll see scores of dog walkers. Some are professional dog walkers and others are just humans taking their dogs out to play in the surf.
……………………………………………..I must point out that the beach can be dangerous. I would advise against wading as rip currents are common, as are sneaker waves: those odd, larger waves that come unexpectedly. Don’t turn your back on the water.
………………………………………………………………………………You don’t need to have a dog to enjoy the beach and trails at Fort Funston: the beach is beautiful and is fun for bird watching. Riders on horseback can also be seen along the shore. All in all, it’s a truly lovely place to visit.
A word of caution: On August 19, a dog named Lenny was out with his human when a man stabbed him. You can find the story here. Lenny survived the attack, thank goodness. The attacker has been identified, but there has been no arrest yet, so be vigilant.
