This Wandering Camera started with an innocuous conversation that turned into a morning excursion.  A few weeks back, my husband and I went to get haircuts during a cold and wet morning.  The lady who cuts my hair is usually very quiet.  However, the weather outside got us talking about Muir Woods.  She had visited Muir Woods recently after a rainstorm and loved how the forest transformed into a wet and misty place.

I am one of those few people who love winter.  When we lived in southern California, we used to come up to San Francisco during the winter months to enjoy the crisp and cold, wet and windy weather, often visiting Muir Woods as well.  Sadly, even though we live so much closer to it now, we haven’t gone there once since we moved up here to northern California.  After having that chat with her though, it was inevitable that we visit.

I would have loved to photograph the forest after the rain, but I happily settled for an early morning cloud layer before the sun broke through it.  Muir Woods is about a 70-mile drive from our place.  So, to get an early start, we woke up while it was still dark outside.

The place was exactly as we remembered it.  I even recognised a couple of the mighty coastal redwood trees by the markings on their trunks from our visits all those years ago.

Even though the redwoods dominate this landscape, we saw many other plants growing in the forest under the shade of the tall trees.

After a couple of hours, the sun was high enough to come through the forest foliage.  Only a few rays could penetrate the thick canopy of leaves high above us.

I love how dramatic the fall leaves look against the dark background of the redwood trees.

As the sun continued to rise, some of the early morning magic started to dissipate, so we decided to head back.

Downpour – a marker and colour-pencils drawing

Although we didn’t get to walk in the rain, it was still wonderful to visit the forest.  We had a fabulous downpour last week and it is continuing into this week.  Both my husband and I love to walk in rain and snow, they make us ecstatically happy.  We will be revisiting Muir Woods very soon, this time hopefully wearing our wet-weather clothing.

I will be going into my winter hiatus soon to enjoy my favourite season, so there won’t be a Wandering Camera next month.  We will resume again in January.

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