Arizmendi Bakery A Worker Owned CO-OP

The advent of food Co-Op's helped in putting the democracy of food back into the hands of the people. Arezmindi Bakery is named after a priest (José Maria Arizmendiarrieta) who helped start cooperatives in the Basque Country of Spain.

Arezmendi's is a worker-owned cooperative that opened in 2000 in San Francisco's Sunset District.

On most days the lines for the bakery are out the door at least in the Sunset District. Voted the best bakery in many publications, I have to agree. Get there early, nothing beats warm baked goods fresh outta the oven. If you get there after 11am, try the pizza for $3.00. (Ride your bike and get a discount)! The Arizemendi's website gives you a list of hours, bread schedule and pizza menu.

Pegasus Books in Berkeley

Pegasus Books an Independent Bookstore in Berkeley on Shattuck Avenue offers a selection of well curated books that offer a unique perspective on music, travel and art.

Some Book Titles

Some of the books that stuck out in their featured sections were Rad Women Worldwide, Broad Strokes (15 Women who Made Art), The New Analog, and Railroad Semantics (a series of books about train hopping).

The Art Section

Some Of The art hanging on the wallS includes a cubist like image of a women breast feeding her baby, a photograph of Diego Rivera, and Andy Warhol's print of yellow and red cow's.

Special Events

Check out The Jazz Series on the first Tuesday of every month at 1855 Solono called "Jazz Stories".

Sunset Farmers Market

If your looking for organic fruits and vegetables this is a great stop for a Sunday morning. Nestled between two buildings in a parking lot the market offers a relaxing environment with a smaller feel than most farmer's markets in San Francisco.  My favorite booth is the Fifth Crow Farm booth, although a little bit more expensive they provide top notch quality produce. Be sure to stop across the street for some bakery goodies at Arezmendi's Bakery.

Backpacking Through The Narrows

Hiking the Narrows Top/ Down Overnight is one of those trips that is special and takes preparation and planning. A 16 mile hike with beautiful scenery, the trail weaves in and out of the water through slot canyons.

Reserve a Camping Spot

You need to reserve a camping spot usually about 3 months ahead of time. You will pay for your permit when you pick it up at the visitors center.

Reserve A Shuttle

Be sure to book a shuttle ahead of time, there are two different shuttle times up to the top of the trail with the Zion Adventure Company. For me the earlier the better, if your a slow hiker or at one of the camps further down the trail then take the 6am shuttle. You will park your car at the outfitters and then get it the next day.

Packing

A overnight backpacking trip from top down I packed my stove, tent. sleeping pad, sleeping bag, clothes, hiking stick (for anchoring yourself in the water) flashlight, food, and dry sacks to keep items dry.

Where To Get Last Minute Gear Rentals

After getting our permit we checking into our hotel and headed to Zion Adventure Company to get dry suits and water socks. (the weather was good both days so I didn't use my dry suit and it felt confining). However I ended using the water socks along with my Keen Water Shoes.

Pick Up Your Permit

We got to the Kolob Visitors Center an hour before closing to get our permit (check the hours; this area is on Mountain Standard Time). You'll need to buy a wag bag at Kolob or get one ahead of time. The ranger is sure to explain all the risks once you get there but be sure you know ahead of time. (you can also pick up your permit at the main visitors center).

The Hike

The first day took an exhausting 11 hours to complete 11 miles to get to camp #7. We stopped to take lots of photographs along the way and for a long lunch making it to camp just before sunset. Day two was much easier even though we had to swim across at one point, the last 5 miles took us about 7 hours.

Challenging and worth it, I'm glad I finally made this long awaited trip. The final challenge is ending your day packed into a shuttle with tourist, finally getting your car and stopping for local brews and pizza.

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Bryce Canyon and Capitol Reef

Driving through Utah's Otherworldly southern frontier make for a beautiful way to spend the day. starting at Utah's Bryce Canyon I spent the early morning watching the sun rise over the canyon. Spending the afternoon at the Fremont petroglyphs,pie at the Gifford House. Finally at sunset I watching the light play on the rock formations at the Scenic Drive inside the Park.

Amy's Drive Thru: Vegetarian, Vegan and Gulten Free Options

Amy's Drive Thru in Rohnert Park is a great place to stop before heading to the Russian River or elsewhere. Amy's is the same Amy's Kitchen that sells frozen organic meals found in the freezers isle of your local grocery store. It's first and only restaurant/drive thru opened its doors in July of 2015. With Non-GMO, 95% Organic, and Vegetarian items on the menu its nice to be able to make a conscience choice without second guessing. The menu give you choices from vegetarian burgers, salads, non-dairy shakes, burritos, mac-n-cheese and fries. Here's the menu if your in the area, look for the new opening of their store in Corte Madera coming soon .

Tasty Sweet Potato Tacos in Bolder, Utah

Magnolia's Street Food is a teal bus/food truck in front of the Anasazi State Park Museum in a shaded area with picnic tables and makes a great place for lunch. I ordered the Hibiscus Iced Tea and the Sweet Potato Tacos. The tacos were perfectly cooked and delicious and the tea was a great thirst quencher for the hot weather. You can check out the menu here.

A Ride On A Steam Train

A steam train at Nevada Northern Railway Museum takes you for a 90 minutes ride up to a mine and ends near the engine house for a tour. Departing from East Ely, Nevada the train runs through two tunnels, up to a grade and towards Ruth Copper Mining District. With the choice of the open-air car behind the caboose or coach, I picked the open air car and really enjoyed the sounds of the steam engine, the ding of the railroad crossing and the whistle of the train. The train we rode was the ghost train. Its name was given to the train because in 1941 due to the need of scrap metal for the war efforts the master mechanic fearing the train would be scrapped would order the train to be hidden when war department officials came to visit. Take the tour of the engine house after the ride, our guide introduced to the engine house cats and gave us amazing facts about the repair of trains and the differences between the diesel and steam trains. I was disappointed not to be able to finish the whole tour but it gives me a reason to come back. Some of the other options you have while at the museum are sleeping in the caboose and being the engineer of the train.

Camping with the Bullfrogs, Bullfrog Pond

Bullfrog Pond is a campground run by the Stewards of the Coast, the campground is located in Austin Creek Recreation Area in Guernville, CA. We stayed at campsite 16, it was hard to find level ground for 3 tents so be sure to check with the host before reserving your spot. Our friend Jeremy ended up waking up with the door to his tent facing the sky. The view from the upper parking lot during sunset was phenomenal.  Later under the full moon, we walked down to Bullfrog Pond and listened to the croaking of the Bullfrogs. You can reserve a campsite through Hipcamp which will cost you around $40. On the way home check out Armstrong Redwoods State Natural Reserve.