One Year Ago: Muir Woods National Monument

What's happening: One year ago I had the incredible opportunity to spend a week with my aunt, uncle, and cousins out in northern California playing tourist. I started writing this blog soon after the trip ended, and as I enjoyed myself so much, I have decided to write about my trip experiences in blog form. 

One year ago today: hands down, unequivocally, one of the best days of my life!!! Due to a variety of logistical factors, Uncle Doug and I decided to spend December 31 exploring downtown San Francisco. My primary goal was to visit Muir Woods National Monument, a beautiful coast redwood forest that is around half hour north of the Golden Gate bridge. Secondary goals, if at all possible, included visiting Fort Point National Historic Site right underneath the Golden Gate Bridge, and San Francisco Maritime National Historic Park nearby. By day's end, Doug and I not only visited all three parks, but also nabbed San Francisco's oldest geocache, caught a sunset in the Marin Headlands, and shot a ridiculous amount of photos and video. Most importantly though, we just had a fantastic time hanging out together!




I took so many photos in San Francisco that I will be breaking this day into multiple articles. You'll have to wait later today to read more!

First up? Muir Woods. It was absolutely BREATHTAKING, and definitely where I left my heart! ;) Let's just say that my uncle redefined for me what "day trip" means ;) (I've never gone two hours away before on a day trip!!) Muir Woods opened up at 8am. From what I hear it's one of the most popular attractions in the Bay Area, and I wanted to walk through that forest with my uncle, but minus as many other people as possible. When my uncle offered to leave Sacramento at 6am, I needed no further invitation to say "yes" ;) So, up at 5 and out by 6... :D :D :D

Muir Woods is not too far from the town of Mill Valley which is right off of 101. The main roads go through the geographical gaps...the towns are built upon the ridges and hills! I always find fascinating the topography of land from where I live, to a well-known location. I know home, I know pictures of all the well-known landmarks at the famous place, but the route between is unknown. I guess my uncle's GPS was trying to take us the most direct route. It led us up this winding, almost one-lane road up the eastern side of this ridge, then down the other side as we descended into the valley where Muir Woods is. It definitely made for some memorable moments. Lots and lots of curves!! And then, poof! There it is. Like a pocket, a treasure, hidden away in this valley. We arrived by 7:45am and started our walk through the woods before most everyone else. That's how it was for the whole two hours we were there; being slightly ahead of the rest of the pack really enhanced our experience.

I'm going to let the pictures do the rest of the talking here. Not many people or places leave me speechless, but Muir Woods does. It's one of the three most beautiful places I have ever visited, along with Point Reyes and Cades Cove. Mesa Verde is also pretty high up on the list!

I hope you enjoyed my pictures!

See you later today...