The not-so-secret waterfalls of Mill Valley

Just minutes north of San Francisco and the Golden Gate Bridge you can find some very special Marin waterfalls. I say special because they're beautiful and surprisingly easy to get to once you know where to find them.

They're called the Cascade Falls and my friend Jason Mitchell told my friend Carl and I about them back in January of 2011 when we mentioned we were heading to Mill Valley to visit Tyler Florence's West Coast Kitchen store. Carl and I didn't take the time to find them that day because we were headed to SF to look for food trucks.

Over a year later I thought they would fun to visit as hubby and I were taking our nephew Josh to walk across the Golden Gate Bridge and didn't feel like going into the city before or after.

Here's how we got there. From HWY 101:

1. Take the Mill Valley Stinson Beach 1 Exit
2. Bear left on HWY 1 and go back under the freeway
3. Turn right on Almonte Blvd
4. Almonte becomes Miller - Stay on Miller
5. Turn left at Throckmorton Ave
6. Throckmorton becomes Cascade Drive - The trail head is on Cascade Drive

Note it will take you longer to drive from the freeway to the falls parking lot where you'll see this sign than it will to hike to the falls once you've parked. It's important to note because I decided not to carry my tripod in because I thought the hike would be long. It was less than five minutes.

From the lot you'll see Cascade Creek, ferns, redwoods and a foot path to the left of the creek.

Follow the foot path until you reach this bridge.

Cross the bridge.

You'll be able to see the falls to your left even before crossing the bridge.

Gorgeous!

It's definitely a place of peace and serenity. The green ferns, pebbles through the water, mossy rocks, falling water, and the shade from the towering redwoods all combined to create a place of tranquility.

You'll find roughly hewn benches near the falls so you can sit and enjoy the solitude if no one else is around.

The reason I brought my tripod that day was to take long exposure shots of the falling water if we were successful in locating the falls. Instead, I had to hold/lean/press my camera on rocks and trees to brace it since I was feeling too lazy to walk the short distance back to the car to retrieve it.

For the most dramatic view of the falls visit in the winter after it rains when the creek is running full. As the spring and summer wear on the water level will drop and the falls will become less dramatic but, imo, no less beautiful. I loved that you could see through the semi-sheer veils of water as they dropped from the rocks above.

Of course I can't go anywhere without breaking out my macro lens. This lichen was begging to be photographed.

This branch too.

I simply love being in redwood forests and wish I'd begun visiting them decades ago when I first moved to California instead of waiting until last year.

And of course there's a restaurant recommendation. As we drove down Miller Avenue as we were heading towards the falls we passed Grilly's. It's a Mexican restaurant that serves both meat and vegetarian dishes and I have to say they make some awesome nachos. Instead of adding a meat to them I asked if I could have both refried and black beans. I will do this at any restaurant that will let me from now on because it was better than one or the other.

I wish they were closer because their nachos were awesome and they use my favorite fire roasted salsa on the nachos instead of the chopped fresh tomato variety. I will definitely be returning for an encore.

Here are a few more articles about Cascade Falls and the nearby Three Wells:

Cole's Trail Tales: Marin Waterfalls Hike - Cascade Falls in Mill Valley
Towards an Enlightened World: Cascade Falls, Mill Valley, California
Marin Independent Journal: Hike of the week: Now's the time to catch Marin's waterfalls

Please use caution when visiting Monastery Beach

Almost a year ago I wrote a blog post about Monastery State Beach in Carmel, CA. Yesterday I received a private message from someone who lost her family members when they attempted to help help someone else who had been swept into the sea by the waves. The original victim was saved by another rescuer, tragically her husband and daughter didn't survive their rescue attempt.

Both to honor them and to warn others that though the beach looks peaceful and calm things can change in an instant, I'd like to repost the link to the original post: Beautiful and Dangerous: Monastery Beach, Carmel, CA

Please stay safe people. The life you may be protecting isn't just your own but those around you who would try to save you if you get yourself into trouble.

Trailer Gear: Foam mattress or camping pad?

Knowing I'd want to sometimes bring Kitai on trips with me I purposely designed the trailer to have enough room for each of us to have our own beds.

This is the configuration I've been planning on using.

I figured an ultralight, self-inflating, camping sleeping pad would suit my needs perfectly because they're light and partly because I could easily store it during the day leaving the floor open. I'd been considering a Thermarest sleeping pad because some are very highly rated for comfort.

But then I wandered into a Brookstone store and laid eyes (and body) upon a Biosense Memory Foam Mattress Topper. It was like floating on a cloud of comfort. It was CRAZY comfortable.

If I get the foam mattress we could sleep together but I'd have to cut it down and make it a bit more narrow. Google to the rescue. Turns out the best way to cut foam is with an electric kitchen knife. Who knew? I'd make it as wide as the floor space and Kitai and I could share it sleeping together.

Any thoughts? Have you ever used one or both? I'm still leaning more towards the camping sleeping pad for its convenience and versatility but I'm open to suggestions.

Trailer Update: She's done and her name is. . .

The tongue box is skinned and my trailer is done! This post contains the final batch of pictures my builder Fred sent me and a big reveal. Her name is a spin on Glamping, the practice of camping in a glamorous manner, combined with a nod to her petite size . . .

Meet my tiny travel trailer "The Glampette!"

Isn's she adorable? She only weighs 554 pounds, well within my car's 1000 lb tow limit.

This is what she looks like now. And, with the magic of Photoshop, this is what she'll look like painted. . .

Eeeeeeeeeeeeeek! She's gonna be so cute!

My plan is to hire a professional auto painting company to lay the base coats and paint the large circle on the sides. The rest, I want to paint myself in a combination of by brush, stencil, and possibly air-brush. I'm an artist by nature with lots of painting experience so wielding a brush and paint isn't new to me. I'd have the pros lay on some clear coat after to protect the hand painted graphics and then she'd be done.

The things I had to consider when coming up with her graphics was the placement of the window, porch lights, wheel, and reflectors. Because The Flirty Blog is a lifestyle, food, and travel resource I wanted to convey those themes along with a fun retro vibe. This is what I've come up with:

You can never go wrong with cake.

And because it was my introduction to Sonoma Wine Country last year that really got the ball rolling on acquiring a travel trailer, I want to pay homage to the many wine growers, makers, and tasty wines I've met there.

Here are close ups of the details.

I opted for a mini canned ham shape so I'd be able to sit up inside with (relatively speaking) plenty of overhead space above the top of my head.

Instead of the hatchback that distinguishes teardrop trailers from all other styles, Fred suggested putting a swing out door on the rear so he could make my access in and out of the trailer easier.

He also added a rain gutter above the door and just beneath it the circular shape is an awning rail in case I want to set up some shade off the back end on sunny days.

The door swings open for easy access.

And just look at all of that empty space. All I see is a blank canvas. What to do, what to do. . .

Because people will see and read the rear while I'm parked at red lights, stop signs, in parking lots, and when I'm parked for the night, I decided to go all out with my branding. I think this little trailer will be the single best form of exposure my blog will ever have to pick up new, local readers.

Here's a close up.

My other option is to add in some advertising/sponsorship space to the trailer so it can earn its keep :) So far I've come up with a plan to turn clients ads into custom stickers (using a service like Zazzle of Cafepress). I can change the stickers for each sponsor on each trip the Glampette takes once she's painted and on the road. Something along these lines:

In this illustration I've added a smaller marquee beneath the larger one that says "The Glampette."

The stickers can range in size from a single standard bumper sticker to smaller 3"x3" or 3"x5" stickers like this:

What do you think? Would you want to advertise your company on The Glampette?

Rates could run per excursion one of two ways:

1. For a sticker on the trailer only
2. A sticker on the trailer and inclusion in the blog post like this: "AAA Widgets sponsored this Flirty Blog excursion."

The latter would be more expensive but if I could find sponsors to underwrite the cost of gas, maintenance for the trailer, and the cost of the rv space at a trailer park or campground I could give them more mention and appreciation in the blog post. Another possibility would be if a company (*hint, hint vineyards*) wanted to provide lodging by giving me permission to park on their property overnight. There are many possibilities.

Good idea? Bad idea? Feel free to share your thoughts in the comments below or by private message.

But back to The Glampette! Her tongue box is skinned. This will make it harder for battery thieves to steal my on board battery, a common problem for RV'ers.

The tongue, wiring for the trailer lights, and safety chains.

I'm still over the moon for my baby moon hubcaps.

And still thrilled we powder-coated the chassis, wheels, and fenders bright yellow.

Here's an undercarriage shot. 

And another.

She's ready and waiting for me. Soon I'll be hitting the road. Of course I'll be taking lots of pictures and blogging all about my trip! This will be my first time driving east of California so it's bound to be quite the adventure.

A minotaur mural in Mill Valley, CA

If you drive down Throckmorton Avenue (x street Madrona) in Mill Valley you may happen upon a bright and colorful reclining minotaur mural painted on the side of a building.

It is the creation of artist Zio Ziegler, a Mill Valley native. To learn who the artist was I Googled the "ZZ"  signature and "mural, Mill Valley" and found this article from 2011 about Zio in the Mill Valley Patch. There's a photo there that shows what the wall was before it became the minotaur.

To see his most recent work check out his blog at ArteSempre.Tumbler.com. Zio sells hand-silk screened t-shirts and hats on his website ArteSempre.com. Or if you're thinking something bigger and more permanent check out the Porsche he was commissioned to paint in this video:

I recently spotted another mural in downtown San Jose. I just have to figure out how to shoot it because it's not at street level which makes it more challenging.

Trailer Update: The interior shelves are installed

This is the underside of the front shelf above the tongue box door. Fred installed them and I'll paint them aqua when I get the trailer home.

It'll look like this!

The shelf has a lip to hold small baskets or bins in place while I'm on the road.

I'll probably paint the tongue box pink too. Or maybe I'll add a decorative design.

To the right of the tongue box door is my DC/USB power strip. It won't be a problem to recharge my camera batteries or cell phone while I'm sleeping at night.

Inside the freshly skinned tongue box.

My view out from inside.

What it will look like painted aqua.

Those are the porch light switches underneath the rear shelf.

The rear overhead shelf.

I'm so excited. It's so cute. Now I just have to find some little bins for them.

I'm very happy for Fred that his tulips are blooming. I could see them through the open trailer door :)

And I'm hoping the freak snow storms are over and done with in the Midwest since I don't want to be driving in snow on my way to or from Michigan.

My next update will be the finished exterior of my tiny travel trailer!