EDITOR’S NOTE
A Bird’s-eye View
Sometimes you need to step back to get perspective on the world around you. I thought of this one morning as I peered out my window seat at 35,000 feet flying over the Sierra in Northern California. Below me appeared the gray-white granite peaks of the Desolation Wilderness just west and south of Lake Tahoe, their flanks dotted with pine forest, jewel-like lakes nestled in their crevices.
It took me a moment to identify the landmarks, but soon I recognized the lakes I’d hiked among just a few months earlier. My wife and I had backpacked past Loon Lake and Buck Island Lake to Rockbound Lake where we spent three nights basking in the joys of the natural world. From my airplane seat I could see how rugged that terrain was, and I remembered how much effort it took to get to the spot that had become home for a few days. Seeing it from afar made that journey all the more memorable.
When I first arrived in California decades ago, I sought out places to get a bird’s-eye view. The top of Mount Tamalpais (known locally as Mount Tam) in Marin County just north of San Francisco helped me understand the geography of the Bay Area as well as the grandeur of the Pacific Ocean sweeping across the view to the west. Castle Crags State Park in the Shasta Cascade region presented the dominance of Mount Shasta, that dramatic volcanic peak that towers above the surrounding countryside. Glacier Point, the top of Half Dome and Olmsted Point show you Yosemite National Park in ways certain to soothe your soul, as do other peaks and overlooks in the central and southern Sierra and the coastal ranges all the way to Mexico. A step back can make all the difference, as it did recently when I attended the 19th annual Hardly Strictly Bluegrass festival in San Francisco’s Golden Gate Park.
Tucked into meadows surrounded by forest, the multiple stages hosted performances from across the musical spectrum over three days. No alcohol sales are permitted so there’s little rowdiness, music lovers can roam about at will, and it’s free. As I tapped my toes to the Celtic-rock band The Waterboys, I realized what a gift this was to the city from the late Warren Hellman. Tens of thousands of people enjoy this festival every year.
As you contemplate plans to visit California, no doubt you’ll find your own “birds’-eye views” that will help you appreciate the experiences before you. Beach lovers, wine connoisseurs, foodies, fans of opera and theater and dance, cyclists and climbers and surfers and all who love the great outdoors will discover the gifts this state has to offer.
In these pages we help you prepare, with profiles of the state’s main tourism regions, essays on history, cuisine, museums, theme parks and many other topics.
Just about any interest is represented in California. As you immerse yourself in your favorite activities, remember to take a step back from time to time. It’ll give you some perspective and help you doubly appreciate the experience. It might even turn your trip into something you’ll never forget.