The Presidio

Now, I'm fairly certain I'm not going to live in San Francisco forever. It's glorious, but my family is all the way on the east coast, and given my tendency to wander - it's just a safe assumption. So, while I do live here, I try and get as much enjoyment out of it as possible. One of the greatest things about this city is how quickly one can go from a wholly metropolitan environment to a surprisingly natural one (particularly given the city's small size: 7 mile X 7 mile square). I live quite near one of San Francisco's largest protected areas, the Presidio. I've taken to going on long weekend walks through the Presidio, among other SF locales that are pleasing to the eyes (you don't have to go far...). Anyway, just thought I'd share a few photos from yesterday's trek.

Does this look like a city to you? Me neither. And actually, I'm always surprised at how silent it gets on these trails. Sometimes you can hear the faint rumble of traffic, but mostly, it's like hiking anywhere else.I'm also fascinated by west coast flora. I can't remember seeing anything like this back east, or even when I lived in Colorado. Let me know if you know what this is, although I will be consulting my own plant expert - my mother.
This is Mountain Lake (where's the mountain?). Again, I never left the city. Also, I hit every "scenic overlook" listed in the website above, but I felt too touristy to take a picture there. Everyone else either looked like a hardcore weekend biker or a hardcore hiker. I tend to take off in a hoodie and jeans. Meh! I should probably learn to be less self-conscious about looking like a tourist - I'm not self conscious about much, but for some reason, that's one of my weaknesses. Good times anyway. Last weekend I went on a 15-mile walk that included crossing the Golden Gate Bridge (for the first time!) - I'll probably post pictures from that sometime soon. There's just so much to see - it's a bit overwhelming.