Help with government shutdown needed

[john borrelli]

So I had the idea of doing a little national parks project. Flewmyself, my wife and my camera to San Francisco with plan to go to Yosemite, with reservations at a lodge at Yosemite for three days which were to start today NOT! So the government decided to close Yosemite, apparently, and also all the national parks, which apparently include Muir Woods, Golden Gate Park, etc. We decided to stay in San Francisco, we got a one year refund for the lodge, and if the closure ends in a day or two I could get a day,s photography in.

I don't know the area around here that well, does anyone out there know places I could try that are state parks but not national parks or national parks that you can be around but not in to do some photography. Any advice would be appreciated. Apologies for the typos, using my wife's IPad.

[drew.saunders]

California State Parks: http://www.parks.ca.gov
State Parks, SF Bay area: http://www.parks.ca.gov/ParkIndex/#region-11
Marin County Parks: http://www.marincountyparks.org/depts/pk
San Mateo County Parks: http://www.co.sanmateo.ca.us/portal/site/parks
Santa Clara County Parks: http://www.sccgov.org/sites/parks/Pages/Welcome-to-Santa-Clara-County-Parks.aspx
East Bay (Alameda and Contra Costa County) parks: http://www.ebparks.org
Santa Cruz County Parks: http://www.scparks.com

That will get you started.

Mount Tam is a state park, so go there instead of Muir Woods in Marin.

If you really want big redwoods, under the San Mateo link, look for "Sam McDonald" and "Memorial" parks, they actually link up, and you can add a trip to the town of Pescadero and the parks and beaches nearby. Also for redwoods are "Portola Redwoods" state park (which has camping facilities) and Big Basin Redwoods SP.

Just the state parks can keep you busy for a few weeks.

Consider giving to the CA State Parks foundation at http://www.calparks.org just to save on entry fees. That's a separate organization.

[drew.saunders]

And another thing, if you're a meetup.com member, you should look at our local LF meetup group: http://www.meetup.com/SFBayAreaLFers/ just to get some ideas as to where we've been to in the past couple of years. You should be able to see the photos from those locations and see which look appealing. We've mostly done county or state parks.

[jp]

head down the coast to Point Lobos. Could keep you busy for several days.

[AtlantaTerry]

So I had the idea of doing a little national parks project. Flew myself, my wife and my camera to San Francisco with plan to go to Yosemite, with reservations at a lodge at Yosemite for three days which were to start today NOT! So the government decided to close Yosemite, apparently, and also all the national parks, which apparently include Muir Woods, Golden Gate Park, etc. We decided to stay in San Francisco, we got a one year refund for the lodge, and if the closure ends in a day or two I could get a day's photography in...

Why did this catch you unawares? This possibility has been in the news for a couple weeks now. How could you prepare for a trip and not know that the national parks might be closed?

[Drew Wiley]

You can simply walk into Muir Woods by parking on the main road (if you have a rental car). Might be a nice time to go, since the tour bus herds will be gone, though Oct is one of my least favorite months on the coast - gets hot and that lovely diffuse fog is rarer this time of year. Golden Gate is a conglomerate of many features, most of which you can simply walk into, regardless. Pt Reyes is nearly all open highway access, with many trails. The visitor center and possibly Bear Valley trailhead will be closed, but not much else. Alas, Yosemite will be unaccessible except the Tioga Pass road from the east up to the summit. Otherwise, a pretty long backpack from most directions. There will be tons of spectacular scenery available elsewhere in the Sierras, with fall color popping up pretty nicely by now. Yosemite Valley itself is just a small part of the sum. And Muir Woods is just a tiny trampled portion of wonderfully photogenic Marin County, right across the Golden Gate bridge.

[c.d.ewen]

head down the coast to Point Lobos. Could keep you busy for several days.

Agreed. Go down Highway 1 and you'll run out of time/film before you want to.

Charley

[Drew Wiley]

Hwy 1 either direction. Take time to get off the road and onto the many opportunities on the beach or in the woods. Just be aware of what poison oak looks like!

[Darin Boville]

Hwy 1 either direction. Take time to get off the road and onto the many opportunities on the beach or in the woods. Just be aware of what poison oak looks like!

Drew's not kidding about the poison oak--and it make look very different than what you may know from where you live.

I'm south of you on Highway One. There are *lots* of little beach parking areas along the coast--many well worth stopping at. Lots of hiking in the hills, too.

See http://www.openspace.org and http://www.openspacetrust.org for a few places that haven't been mentioned yet.

Also, make a free appointment and check out Pier 24, a great new photo exhibit venue in San Francisco: http://www.pier24.org

--Darin

[John Kasaian]

If you want classic High Sierra granite there's a bunch around Lake Tahoe accessible by road---or even ski lift. Spurs off 395 will also take you to some spectacular scenery without penetrating into the NPs.

[john borrelli]

I want to thank everyone who took the time to post a lot of good ideas. We did drive along highway one today, and there are possibilities there for sure. Terry, I hear what you are saying, but my work requires me to request vacation time two months in advance. So, we changed our plans to stay in San Francisco (we are fromMassachusetts) rather spend all of our time at the Yosemite lodge. If the government does not reopen Yosemite, we will use our Yosemite Lodge reservations within the next year without a penalty.

My wife likes San Francisco; so, it is not all bad. For people who are coming this way it's odd. If the national park has a road that is a through way, they will allow you to use the road often up to a certain point. then, you can't go further. Parking lots and park entrance ways are closed. however, you can park near the Golden Gate Bridge, for example, on the side of the road. It seems a little disorganized, and I'm holding out hope that Yosemite will be reopened tomorrow, and we can use some of our time at the Yosemite Lodge.

Again, thanks to everyone, John

[nonuniform]

More detailed links to coastal redwoods state parks in Northern California:
http://www.parks.ca.gov/?page_id=24723

[Drew Wiley]

John - some parks maintain their own roads, so have the jurisdictional right to close them - this pertains to Hwy 120 thru Yosemite, even though it is a state hwy.
In other cases, the states have that right. There is no consistent pattern. Some NP's like Death Valley, Pt Reyes Natl Seashore, and GGNRA do not collect entry fees,
and share space with private inholdings, so road access is always open. Around here in the Bay area, one has the ability to walk almost anywhere on designated
public land without a fee. But if you use developed picnic sites or popular parking lots during the busy season, fees might be collected. The wonderful thing here is
that we do have so much open space, with all these different parks interconnected. I live just a few blocks from a 7000 acre park, when I don't want to drive at all.

[Preston]

From our local news in Tuolumne county today, 10/1...

"Facilities in Yosemite National Park are closed due to the government shutdown, but the Highways remain open.

"Things like restrooms and visitors centers are closed, but all of the major roads like Highway 120, Highway 41, and Highway 140 will remain open as through roads," says Yosemite Spokesperson Scott Gediman. "People will be able to drive from point A to point B, but we are asking that people don't stop, no hiking, and that type of thing."


Yosemite Rangers will stop vehicles that try to go to places like Yosemite Village and other popular areas. Many Yosemite workers are going on furlough effective this afternoon. Gediman says law enforcement, emergency services and firefighting efforts will continue in the park."

--P

[ericpmoss]

This is another approach: http://www.amazon.com/Bay-Area-Wild-Celebration-Francisco/dp/0871568829/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1380934907&sr=1-1&keywords=bay+area+wild

[photobymike]

Is national parks the only place in America that you want to take picture of? Why they are crowded, the rangers are rude very rude ..and most i have been in are dirty and not well kept.... NPS does not give a rats ass. Why should they ... i learned that long ago when going to Everglades national park. There are private and state preserves right next the Everglades national park that are even better and free!! Discover America from a different angle and perspective. Florida has some of the best state parks i have ever been too.... have not been to california so no opinion there.....i got more nature out my back door than most people can see in their whole state....

[ericpmoss]

Is national parks the only place in America that you want to take picture of? Why they are crowded, the rangers are rude very rude ..and most i have been in are dirty and not well kept.... NPS does not give a rats ass. Why should they .

Bummer about your experience. It's the exact opposite of mine. The rangers I have encountered have been exceptionally great people. That's in Yosemite, Grand Canyon, Yellowstone, Tetons, Mesa Verde, Bryce, Zion and so on.

[photobymike]

yepper i need to get out more and get some new experiences. i am sure there are good ones and it was bad of me to generalize and lump all people with several bad experiences i have had in the past.

[John Kasaian]

From our local news in Tuolumne county today, 10/1...

"Facilities in Yosemite National Park are closed due to the government shutdown, but the Highways remain open.

"Things like restrooms and visitors centers are closed, but all of the major roads like Highway 120, Highway 41, and Highway 140 will remain open as through roads," says Yosemite Spokesperson Scott Gediman. "People will be able to drive from point A to point B, but we are asking that people don't stop, no hiking, and that type of thing."


Yosemite Rangers will stop vehicles that try to go to places like Yosemite Village and other popular areas. Many Yosemite workers are going on furlough effective this afternoon. Gediman says law enforcement, emergency services and firefighting efforts will continue in the park."

--P

I wonder how far into the park HWY 41 will be open? There is some privately held land at Yosemite West and Wawona, so I'd assume there would have to be some access.

[John Kasaian]

Smokey The Bear and is retinue of rangers have been very present at the Fresno District Fair these past two days, making me think that Smokey is either an essential gov't employee and still on the job, OR he and his ranger pals can't get back into the park 'cause they're locked out.

[Bruce Watson]

I don't know the area around here that well, does anyone out there know places I could try that are state parks but not national parks or national parks that you can be around but not in to do some photography. Any advice would be appreciated. Apologies for the typos, using my wife's IPad.

You're in luck, sorta. Some of the best parks are the coastal redwood parks, and most of them are actually CA state parks, even though the NPS claims them. Long drive north from SF, up near the Oregon boarder, but if you're going to do a national parks project anyway, you'd want to hit these parks sooner or later. Well worth the drive IMHO, these parks are well worth seeking out, photography project or not. Spend some time with these trees, and they'll change you. If you're open to it. Just ask Vaughn.

I was there just a few years ago, and even though I'm 3000 miles away, there's not a week goes by that I don't think about going back. Been like that since I first found them, way back in 1978. I don't get back nearly enough. Sigh...

[Drew Wiley]

John - I'm surprised Smokey is out on parole already. Usually arson convictions require more actual prison time ... but ya know, these overcrowded jails and budget
cuts, etc. People should have known all along. How come a bear that doesn't even know how to drive just happens to be the one always at the fire first?

[paulr]

There are lots places where it should be easy to sneak into the parks. Many of them are bordered by national forest or state forest land, where roads and trailheads will be open. Roads and park institutions can be closed, but you can't close a mountain range. I'd suggest avoiding situations that would require a rescue.

[Drew Wiley]

We've got a catch 22 at the moment here. The NP lands are closed, and the adjacent regional and state parks are under high fire danger watch. So I just did house painting this past weekend. The weather is due to change in a few days, with the dry wind pattern ending, and it should be cool enough to lug the 8x10 again closer to home. Many of our parks are interconnected. In fact, after a three block walk, I could hypothetically be on uninterrupted public land for about thirty six miles, with just one freeway catwalk crossing in route. The most I've ever done in a day around here was 22 miles, but that was with the 6x7, not an 8x10. To do the complete circumference of the Bay Trail requires also using some paved bike paths etc. I don't have much interest in that. In our system,some parking areas collect fees, some don't, but walk-ins are completely ignored. Entering from dissimilar parks, one to the other, is actively encouraged as part of the whole collection. And new open spaces and parks are being added faster than I can personally visit them. The taxpayer base is quite supportive of this, since it's
one of the key amenities of living around here. And crime is low in most of these parks, with the exception of a few pot busts in remoter wooded areas.

[Vaughn]

...Spend some time with these trees, and they'll change you. If you're open to it. Just ask Vaughn...

I'm a changeling, alright! Message me if you have any questions about the redwoods up here. Many nice places in Redwood National Park -- but nothing much better than in the State Parks!

[Bruce Barlow]

I'm screwed, too, wanting to start tomorrow with Grand Canyon and tour north through the parks in Utah. Oh well.

By the way, ALL of the guvmint employees I have encountered in Federal places - NPs, NFs, BLMs - have been WONDERFUL! Friendly, knowlegdeable, and just plain nice. The only grumpy people were outsourcers at a campground. And I have been to a lot of federal places over the past three months.