Calaveras Big Trees State Park

One of the most beautiful things about living in Northern California are its state parks filled with protected redwood trees. We ventured over to the Calaveras Big Trees State Park, located 4 miles northeast of Arnold, California in the middle elevations of the Sierra Nevada. Calaveras became a State Park in 1931 to preserve the North Grove of giant sequoias. On this day, we chose to hike the North grove trail to the Grove Overlook trail and circle back down towards the entrance. The North Grove is quite the popular trail because it includes the 'Discovery Tree'. This tree was noted by Augustus T. Dowd in 1852 and felled in 1853, leaving a giant stump which is the only remainder of its former glory. It measured 24 feet in diameter at its base (wow!) and was determined by ring count to be 1,244 years old when felled. If you're ever in the area, make sure to check it out and learn more about redwood forests, the neighboring wildlife, and the surrounding area's gold-mining history. 

Summer Dreaming

The California coast line...It is absolutely stunning. What else can I say? These photos were taken on a past trip to the Marin Headlands for a beach and hiking trip. The headlands are one of the most unique areas in the Golden Gate National Recreation Area because it covers various types of histories from the Miwok Indians to the Military, including historic Fort Barry and Fort Cronkhite, the NIKE Missile site and the 150 year-old Point Bonita lighthouse. Other attractions include varied hiking trails, dog friendly Rodeo Beach, and astonishing views of the coast and San Francisco. The trail itself was amazing since it wrapped around the coastline next to the water. Z and I were able to watch the sunset over the ocean as our little morbidly obese pug rested on the trail from exerting himself too much. Finnegan really loves going on these hikes, but tends to overheat easily. We stop to take little breaks for him so that we are not at fault for pug abuse and have some water for him to drink at hand. Poor little puppy face!

Outfit Details:
Tan Cardigan // Forever 21
Green shift dress // Vintage
Brown Woven sling-back shoes // Vintage
Market Bag // Etsy
Sunglasses // H&M

You can always gauge how energetic or tired Finnegan is based on the position of his tail. Usually when he is tired, his tail hangs limply or is positioned at half mast like a flag from a pole. I was looking online how other pug owners are able to hike with their fatty pugs (Gaw! I know I'm such a freaky crazy pug lady!), and found this hilarious blog post about using a pug stroller. I don't know if I am quite ready yet for that kind of dedication into Pug Lady-ness, but I am sure Finnegan would not mind being paraded around in his own carriage...he is after all--Prince Finnegan. Bow down.