by Margaret Sloan, Sunset production coordinator
Where do I want to be this weekend? First let me tell you where I’ve been and what I’ve done.
The day my nieces were born, I whispered their names to the river otters who swam off shore in Humboldt Lagoons State Park. The day after we got married, my husband and I wandered arm in arm along the bluffs at foggy San Gregorio State Beach (at left). The day our grandmother was buried, my brother and I waded in the streams of Portola Redwoods State Park, telling stories of her to the tall trees.
California state parks, beaches, and reserves have often been the backdrop for the important events in my life. If you’re from California, or have visited our state, I’ll bet that might be true for you too.
And maybe you were as disheartened as I was to hear that 220 of our parks are in danger of being shut down.
But we can help save our parks. How? By going to a state park near you this weekend!
The California State Parks Foundation is organizing a statewide S.O.S weekend of action—the Save our State Parks Campaign—to encourage people to get out and make a difference. They’re having rallies at some locations, but you can also go to any state park, have some fun, wear some green (the official color of this campaign), take some photos, and post them to the foundation’s Facebook page. Oh, and while you’re at it, let the California government know how important the state parks are to you. The foundation’s website makes it easy to speak up.
So where do I want to be this weekend? I want to be in all of California’s 279 state parks, all at once, doing things like celebrating the solstice in Anza-Borrego, camping on Angel Island, or swimming in the cold waters of Emerald Bay on Lake Tahoe.
But I can’t be in all the parks at once. Instead, I’ll be beach-hopping along the San Mateo coast and in the Santa Cruz area with my dad, plein air painting at state beaches like Bean Hollow, Año Nuevo, Wilder Ranch, Natural Bridges, and New Brighton. Look for us. We’ll be wearing green.
The end of the pier at SeaCliff State Beach.
Photo by Linda Preston
