A Dog's Life

Tromp any trail in Marin and you're bound to run into a dog. Ears flopping, tail wagging, exploring and snuffling, Marin's dogs love the outdoors even more than I do. They can certainly smell more of it than I can. For several years I had a dog, an extremely spirited, smart, and strong shepherd husky mix named Dingo. Like so many other canines in this county, he was a rescue from the Marin Humane Society. Dingo did many a mile with me on fire roads and trails, until a leg injury and a divorce meant I could no longer give him the miles of exercise he needed, and he found a new home. I missed my furry companion (though I'm sure legions of traumatized squirrels breathed a collective sigh of relief that Dingo wouldn't be terrorizing them again; he had a way of yanking the leash out of my hands--I said he was strong--and he could do a pretty good job of climbing trees).

But now I have a new buddy, Dre, 40 pounds of tongue-lolling happiness. That's him in the picture. Technically, he's my friend Catherine's dog, but I kinda think of him as mine too, since I see him several times a week. He trots along beside us as we ride or run all over the county. Lucky dog. Like us, he is allowed on acres of Marin County Open Space lands, so long as he is either on a leash or under voice control (click here for rules). While he would love to run in China Camp, that's a doggy no-no, since that and Mt. Tam State Park forbid pooches from its trails (click here for general details on dogs in CA State Parks). But there's plenty of acreage to go around: he can take to the fire roads and trails all over Mt. Tamalpais, so long as he stays within the Marin Municipal Water District acreage and is on leash (here are the rules and a map). He can run on some of the beaches (Rodeo and Muir beaches, and Stinson's North Beach is always dog heaven) and some trails within the Marin Headlands (click here for the rules). Happy trails, Dre.

This Blogger's Secret Mission

With the sun peeking out after another night deluge, some words of reflection on why I'm doing this blog.

I'm lucky enough to call myself a travel writer and editor. Over the years that I've been doing this "job," I've had the good fortune to scramble over Utah's red rocks and ski down Colorado's snowiest slopes, climbed up Mt. Rainier in Washington State, petted whales in Baja, toured ancient churches in England, pedaled around France and Switzerland, and sprinted out of the way of charging warthogs in South Africa. As a contributor to and now coordinator of California's official tourism publications and web content through Sunset Publishing, I have written about virtually every corner of this remarkable state. While I could post about far-flung places, or just focus on California, I keep my blog much closer to home--in fact, I aim to blog here about nothing more than exactly that: my home, the place where I was born, Marin County, California.

It shocks me how often visitors buzz through this small but stunning county en route from San Francisco to the Wine Country and points beyond. They might make a glancing blow at Muir Woods National Monument after crossing the Golden Gate, or maybe swing through Sausalito to snap a photo of San Francisco's skyline across the bay. But what about the thousands of acres of wide-open parkland they never see--the mystery of Pt. Reyes National Seashore, the golden strip of Stinson Beach, the fun of China Camp State Park's mountain-biking trails, the thrilling waterfalls and miles of trails in Mount Tamalpais State Park and the Marin Municipal Water District (all open to exploring). What about the charming downtown shopping districts of Mill Valley and San Anselmo, the artisan cheese-makers in Pt. Reyes Station, the renovated movie Smith Rafael Film Center with talks by the likes of Sean Penn and Katherine Bigelow in San Rafael?

My goal is to open visitors eyes to help them see this spectacular place I get to call home. To share ideas, news, bargains, happenings, and yes, my favorite secrets. If you feel like sharing YOUR Secret Marin ideas and information, please do--I'd love to read your comments or answer your questions. And if you disagree with anything in my posts, share that too! This virtual world works both ways. Thanks for reading.