We have so many hills around here which make hiking a challenge sometimes….wait…a lot of the times. Seems the good things in life never come easy! If we have intent we can do almost anything!
Looking across the valley I had a sense of accomplishment. I wanted to stand there and revel in it a bit. With this achievement was a great feeling of satisfaction and freedom. I’m the little engine that could! And ohhhhh what a view from the hill!
View from the Hill – Taken on my iPhone
A long road to climb but great things await for those who have intent and perseverance.
Amazing all the apps that are available to edit your prized iPhone photos! I have to admit I enjoy it. Here’s an image I created from a hike in Joaquin Miller Park in Oakland, California. I used to practice here when I was on the cross country team in high school and grew up down the street a bit. It’s a beautiful oasis of rustic woodland trails that lead you through redwood groves and oak woodlands across lush creeksides and wet meadows. Hikers, equestrians, bicyclists, joggers and picnickers from all over the Bay Area regularly frequent the 500-acre park.
The park is named for one of the more colorful figures of the 19th century. Cincinnatus Hiner (“Joaquin”) Miller. He was born in Indiana in 1841 and during his life he was a pony-express rider, lawyer, judge, teacher, gold prospector, nomad and author.
During a trip to the Bay Area in 1870, he met California’s first Poet laureat and Oakland’s first librarian, Ina Coolbirth. Coolbirth convinced him to take the colorful pen name of Joaquin Miller. He became well known as the “Poet of the Sierras.”
When he returned to Oakland in 1886, he settled on 70 acres of grassy hillside, which he had purchased parcel-by-parcel in the hills about the “City of the Oaks.” In an effort to create an inspirational artists’ retreat, he erected monuments, built structures for his mother and daughter, and coordinated the planting of 75,000 trees — monterey cypress, olive and eucalyptus. He died in his home in 1913.
The morning was so peaceful by the velvety golden California hills as the fog was parting. Magnificent solitary oaks dotted the hills until I spotted these two close together. Some things are just meant to be.
Laura Macky Photography 