We stopped about half way down Lagunitas Road. I took a picture of
Elizabeth and Susie near where I had taken a similar picture many years
ago. The Acorn Woodpeckers and the lizards were the same as then.
My daughter, Elizabeth, and I took Susie the puppy for a stroll along Lake Lagunitas and up to the top of Pilot Knob. I took a lot of pictures with my new lightweight camera and Elizabeth found a lot of lizards. It was a glorious 70 degree sunny day and we had a blast!
11:20 - Lagunitas Parking Lot
We left the car and headed toward the picnic area. The water was really
rushing through the sluice. It looked like a 19th century mine was in operation!
At 11:30 we walked up to the dam. Even though the day was gloriously sunny,
we didn't see any Western Pond Turtles that usually lurk on the log chain.
We did see a cormorant and a couple of pied-billed grebes. From the trail
near the ranger's house we could see red-breasted mergansers out in the
middle of the lake.
We stopped about half way down Lagunitas Road. I took a picture of
Elizabeth and Susie near where I had taken a similar picture many years
ago. The Acorn Woodpeckers and the lizards were the same as then.
Elizabeth captured a sagebrush lizard using my hat. Then the trick backfired when the lizard started crawling down her neck. I wish I could have gotten a picture, but I was too busy helping the lizard back to his home on the tree stump.
1:15 - Pilot Knob Trail
We turned left to the Pilot Knob Trail. We saw a bunch of Hound's Tongue
at the beginning of the trail. The trail shifts to Oaks and Douglas Fir as
it winds its way to the top of the hill. We turned left again and scrambled
up the steep trail to the real top of Pilot Knob.
1:40 - Pilot Knob viewpoint
Wow what a view today! To the east we could see the Bay, the Richmond-San Rafael
bridge, and even Mt. Diablo. To the south, Mt Tam was shining next to Lake
Lagunitas. To the west, Pine Mtn glistened green on the horizon beyond Bon Tempe Lake.
Awesome. Elizabeth had a ball chasing lizards. I found it great to just sit,
soak up the sun, and relax. I wished that we had more snacks with us. At 2:05
we left and headed down the hill. We stopped to take a look at the giant madrone
half way down on the right. We made it back to the car by 2:40. All in all a nice day!
Here's what we saw:
Birds
Pied-billed Grebe,
Double-crested Cormorant,
Red-Breasted Merganser,
Turkey Vulture,
American Coot,
Acorn Woodpecker,
Scrub Jay,
(Chestnut-backed Chickadee),
(Red-breasted Nuthatch),
American Robin,
Band-tailed Pigeon,
.
Butterflies
.
Mammals
.
Mushrooms
Turkey Tails,
Scarlet Waxy Cap,
Witches Butter,
Rosy Russulas
.
Reptiles & Amphibians, etc.
Sagebrush Lizard,
Western Fence Lizard
.
Shrubs
Huckleberry
.
Trees
Coulter Pine,
Douglas Fir,
Coast Redwood,
Coast Live Oak,
Tanoak,
California (Bay) Laurel,
Toyon,
Madrone
.
Wildflowers
Star Lily or Star Zigadene,
Milk Maids,
Hound's Tongue
.
