Contest Winner!

And the winner is...... ANDRIA! Excellent deduction. The picture is of the hole in the fallen tree Nick is squatting on. The sky and trees above are reflected in blood red water stained by the tannins of fallen leaves. Of all the responses, yours was the closest. Many respondents incorrectly guessed that it was some kind of fish. Nice job, Andria!

Archer Taylor Preserve

For today's hike, Nick suggested we go to a place he had been to once before, the Archer Taylor Preserve. He phoned the caretaker in advance, and we were granted permission to go in. This gem is at the headwaters of Napa Creek on Mt. Veeder, about 12 miles west of town. The hike we took was about 3 miles round trip.

We parked in the orchard by the trailhead.

Nick signed us in on the registry.



We entered a grove of immense Douglas Fir and second growth Redwood.

The reserve is in a large volcanic area that was active about 3 million years ago. This volcanic rock tumbled down from above.

Quite a jumble of boulders in the the stream, here.

Because of the darkness, my camera was unable to capture the vivid contrasts in color that we saw.

We came across several massings of ladybugs.

Turkey tail shelf mushroom.

Recycling going on.

Vine maples, I believe.

A banana slug and its chapstick.

Seconds later, Nick spotted a Pacific Giant salamander in this pool at the bottom of the waterfall. It swam under a rock before I could get a look or take a picture. They grow to almost a foot in length, and have been known to eat mice and garter snakes.

Behind Nick is the bottom 25 foot section of the falls which are 110 feet in height altogether. The falls will carry much more water after a few rains.

CONTEST! The best guess of what this is earns a big shout out. (Hint - a Nick photo)

The Devil's Well

Sorry, I just learned that videos taken with a vertical orientation cannot be rotated. About half way up the waterfall is a ledge where the falling water has made a hole that is deeper than this branch is long. We read later that the hole is about 20 feet deep. It is a spectacular spot with views down the falls below and sheer lava walls on three sides.

An odd fungus surrounding these little trees.

Nick embracing some big wild grape vines.

Manzanita above the ravine.

An underside view of a fungus on a fallen tree above the trail. Well, that's all for this trip. I definitely plan to return again and try to do the reserve more justice photographically.