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A Sunday in Marin Headlands – Part I

2009-04-2013 CommentsBirding, Hiking, Nature, Photography, Uncategorized, Wildflowers

Sunday, 5 April 2009:

A couple of weeks ago, finding myself flying solo due to Sarah being in a metalsmithing class, I decided to head north to Marin Headlands and wander around some of the parts I hadn’t been to in some time.

BW Bunker by you.

Battery Smith-Guthrie(?)

After a pretty drive across the Golden Gate, up Hawk Hill, and the dizzying descent toward Point Bonita, where it feels like you’re about to drive off the edge of the Earth, I parked at a turnout by some of the many abandoned military buildings dotting the hills here.

It was a beautiful day, clear and calm, with the hills flocked in the ultra-green that marks springtime in coastal California.

Headlands by you.

Headlands

I find the concrete ruins of coastal gun batteries endlessly interesting, and wandered around, pondering the bygone time when our coastline fairly bristled with probably hundreds of large guns, all trained out toward see to keep out enemies real and imagined.

Gun mount by you.

Gun mount and view northwest

Gun mount by you.

Gun mount and view east

Some of the mounts obviously housed large weapons, the above I’m guessing were 16″ or larger.

The paths and road winding around the batteries feature lovely views north to Rodeo Beach and Muir Beach beyond it, with a rocky coast to the west, Rodeo Lagoon to the East, and San Francisco to the south.

Rodeo Lagoon and beach by you.

Rodeo Beach and Rodeo Lagoon

Few birds were about, primarily the usual Turkey Vulture and Common Ravens with a scattering of White-crowned Sparrows.

Common Raven by you.

Common Raven / Corvus corax

The north end of the knoll features nice views of Fort Cronkhite, Rodeo lagoon, and beyond.  I turned around here, as the only other option is to hike down to the beach, which I was planning on looping around from a different trailhead.

Fort Cronkhite by you.

Fort Cronkhite

Rodeo Lagoon by you.

Rodeo Lagoon

There were flowers a’plenty here,  Bermuda Buttercup, California Poppy, Baby Blue Eyes, Lupine, Iceplant, Scarlet Pimpernel, Wild Radish, and ….

Broadleaf Filaree by you.

Broadleaf Filaree / Erodium botrys

… Broadleaf Filaree.  This last, a member of the geranium family, is also kown as “Storkbills.”  If you look at the shape of the seedheads to the right of the flower above, you can see why.

On my way back, I moseyed through the ruins of Battery O’Rourke:

Battery O'Rorke by you.

Battery O’Rorke

Battery O'Rorke by you.

Battery O'Rorke by you.

Bunker view by you.

View east from Battery O’Rorke

A nearby sign said:

Construction of Battery O’Rorke was begun in 1902 and completed in 1905.  The fortification was named for Patrick Henry O’Rorke, who had become a colonel at the age of 27.  He was killed in action at the Battle of Gettysburg in 183.

During both World Wars, this battery housed 4 guns with 3″ diameter rifled barrels.  Each weapon could fire shells weighing 15 pounds a distance of almost 5 miles.  These small guns were important because they could be loaded and fired more rapidly than larger weapons.  They were located here to prevent enemy landings on Rodeo Beach.

Battery O’Rorke was abandoned and its guns scrapped in 1946.

(not) Chamise by you.

I don’t know this shrub – anyone?

(not) Chamise by you.

Zoomed-out view of the same shrub as above

A puffy white flowering bush caught my eye throughout my stroll.  I thought it was chamise, but upon checking at home, it is not.  If anyone knows what it is, please comment!

Turkey Vulture by you.

Turkey Vulture / Cathartes aura

Vultures continued to circle overhead, providing for a couple of reasonably good photos, and little else continued to be seen, although a loud “Cheek!” announced that a California Towhee was somewhere nearby.

California Bay(???) by you.

Another unknown bloom, this one from a tree, but not the California Bay I thought it was

As I walked back toward where I’d parked I saw another unfamiliar bloom.  From the leaves I judged it to be a California Bay tree, but yet again upon looking it up at home, it’s not that.  Given that this was an active military base with many humans around, it’s not a given that it’s a native tree.

Headlands by you.

Rocky coastline

Back at the car I drove a quarter mile further west, past another large former bunker that I will have to check out at a later date, and parked at the end of the road.

Iceplant by you.

Iceplant / Carpobrotus edulis (non-native)

Shore- and sea-birds are sometimes visible from this high vantage point, but not today.  I contented myself with enjoying the clear blue skies and pretty views of the Marin Headlands area in all directions.

Point Bonita Lighthouse

Point Bonita Lighthouse

After taking in my fill, I drove down to the Marin Headlands Visitor’s Center to walk around Rodeo Lagoon.  Since this has become a long post already, and I have many photos from the later walk, I will continue in a separate post in a few days.

Continued here

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13 Comments
  1. Reply
    2009-04-20 at 20:47
    montucky

    Wow! What a place to explore and photograph! Your photos are great, as always!

    • Reply
      2009-04-21 at 12:06
      Adam R. Paul

      Thanks, Terry!

  2. Reply
    2009-04-21 at 20:34
    Robin Easton

    What a simply lovely site you have. The photos speak to me of great peace and elegance. Simplicity in life that is so often overlooked. So many beautiful photos here.

    I loved your comment on “WHO ARE YOU” And the lines you stole from your wife. She is an talented write. I could tell, very clever. My best to you both.

    Thanks,
    Robin

    • Reply
      2009-04-22 at 09:57
      Adam R. Paul

      Thank you Robin! I totally agree on simplicity, not that I’m particularly skilled at living simply!

  3. Reply
    2009-04-22 at 04:06
    Clint

    I agree, wonderful site. I have only visited SF one time, but I thought it was a wonderful city and this are you have visited was very interesting to me at the time. It is cool to be able to photograph these old war relics and I was glad you named them so I could read a little bit about the history. Great photos as well.

    Just in case you don’t happen upon my response about Prague I thought that I would post my reply here-

    …I would say that you can pretty much start at the Charles Bridge and walk in any direction from there. The astronomical tower, the Dancing building, Prague Castle, The Jewish Quarter, and a ton of cathedrals are all nearby and within walking distance or a short trolly/subway ride. Be sure to buy the multi day pass because the subways have every block covered and are extremely convenient.

    I would definitely go see Hradcany Castle as it was well worth the 45 minute drive and can easily be booked from most hotels.

    We have heard great things about Karlovy Vary, but that is a bit further out and we only had 2 full days. We will visit that next time for sure.

    • Reply
      2009-04-22 at 10:00
      Adam R. Paul

      Glad you enjoyed, Clint! The NPS page on the military history of the area has a wealth of interesting information.

      Thanks too for the Prague tips – I can’t wait to visit. I have 15 days there, of which 5 are work days, so I should be able to get a good feel for the place.

  4. Reply
    2009-04-22 at 08:29
    Donald Kinney

    Well, that was fun…

    But I was surprised to see you stumped:
    ((quote))
    Another unknown bloom, this one from a tree, but not the California Bay I thought it was
    ((end-quote))
    –Isn’t that just Eucaliptus?

    • Reply
      2009-04-22 at 09:56
      Adam R. Paul

      Umm. Yes. *blush*

  5. Pingback: A Sunday in Marin Headlands - Part II « Adam Paul
  6. Reply
    2009-04-27 at 09:15
    myphotoscout

    I see you covered all the angles. Marin Headlands is one of my favorite places. There are so many different things to see and do here, but its always a bit chilly for my taste.
    Great post Adam!

    • Reply
      2009-04-27 at 21:00
      Adam R. Paul

      Chilly?! You must not live in SF – we go there to warm up 😉

  7. Reply
    2009-04-27 at 15:46
    The Mechanic

    Your mystery tree is probably a wild plum characteristic rose family flower.

    • Reply
      2009-04-27 at 21:02
      Adam R. Paul

      That would make sense – since this was a military base for many years there are lots of human-planted flora here

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