I was off this week, and Joan managed to get Thursday and Friday off. Since my vacation was uncertain until the weekend it wasn't possible to make concrete plans to go anywhere. We therefore decided to take a couple of the local tours, first to Muir Woods, with a brief stop for lunch in Sausalito, then to Alcatraz Island.

Muir Woods, named for the Scottish naturalist John Muir, is a national monument, and is the only free-standing old growth California redwood forest left in the state. It is located in Marin county, about 20 miles north and west of San Francisco. Sausalito is a pretty little town, somewhat reminiscent of the Mediterranean, between the Marin hills and the north-western area of San Francisco bay.

Alcatraz Island, the former federal prison, is now a national park and attracts more than a million visitors each year.

Fort Baker, on the Marin side of the Golden Gate, in the foreground. Angel Island is in the middle distance and the Oakland Hills, around North Berkeley and El Cerrito, are in the far distance.

Closer shot of Angel Island, which has a number of hiking trails and is also a good picnic spot.

The Bay bridge from the Marin Headlands just off the Golden Gate bridge

San Francisco from the Marin side of the Golden Gate bridge. Crissy Field, which was used by the military in WW II and is now being renovated, is in the foreground in the center.

Almost the full 7 miles of San Francisco from the Marin side of the Golden Gate bridge.

The Golden Gate bridge from the Marin side. Most of the traffic is northbound on I-80.

Statue honoring the fallen members of the merchant marine at the rest stop just off the Golden Gate bridge. A couple of the hills that form the Marin headlands are in the background.

Looking across the bay at Mount Diablo, the highest point in the Oakland hills.

The tangled underbrush isn't enough to mask the huge size of one of the root sections of a giant California redwood. I guess this one was about 8 feet across.

Redwood creek, which winds its way through the stand of trees, becomes a torrent in winter, and is a spawning ground for Pacific salmon and trout.

One of the larger trees, with an almost hollow trunk. The core of the inside is empty and there's enough space in the opening for a 6' tall adult to stand within the tree. The space at the base is about 3' wide. How the tree could continue to live from the sustenance drawn up in the remaining portion of trunk is beyond me.

Joan by the trunk of a fallen giant, showing the hollow inside. There was enough space to crawl through the opening comfortably.

A redwood burl, which is one of the means the plant has of reproducing. This burl jutted out about a couple of feet almost all around the base.

Picture of the trail that winds through the monument, and which entrants are supposed to faithfully follow. There is another trail, not as well maintained, to the left and about 30 ' higher. We took that one on the way back. The differences between the light and dark areas show how effectively the high branches block the sun, which is one of the reasons there is so little undergrowth.

Another picture of Joan. In the background is another redwood, probably less than 100 years old, with the now familiar split in the trunk. This might be caused by trees that grow with multiple trunks, one of which dies and splits off, leaving the hole as the only sign of its presence.

Mother Nature's version of "He Ain't Heavy ... He's My Brother"

Picture of me standing next to a redwood that's being supported by another one across the trail.

Picture of Joan standing between a couple of trunks of a cluster of redwoods. By this time, we'd made it all the way along the trail to Bridge 4, and had started back on the higher trail.

One of the rare clearings caused by the collapse of one of the redwoods.

Picture of the cantilever portion - the "ugly" part - of the Bay Bridge. The cluster of buildings that seem to be at the foot of the bridge on the Oakland side is Emeryville, about 3 miles from downtown Oakland. The speck in the sky in the middle of the picture is a helicopter.

The suspension part of the Bay Bridge, with downtown San Francisco and the eastern half of the city.

The entire Bay Bridge, and northern San Francisco Bay.

Picture of Sausalito taken from Aquatic Park as we waited to take the bus to the ferry to Alcatraz.

Picture of Alcatraz from Aquatic Park as we waited to take the bus to the ferry to Alcatraz.

Three-masted tall ship permanently berthed at the pier. It is open for public tours. Alcatraz is in the background on the left, and the Richmond hills are in the far distance.

San Francisco receding as we steam towards Alcatraz for a walking tour of the island. The tower on the left is Coit Tower, built to honor the firefighters who died in the fires spawned by the 1906 earthquake.

Close-up of the Pier 39 buildings, which make a great vantage point for the Blue Angels Fleet Week celebrations. One of the must-see spots for tourists.

The Bay Bridge from the stern of the ferry.

Freighter steaming along the Bay, likely bound for the Oakland docks, which do probably about 70% of the Pacific shipping traffic.

Jonathan Livingston Seagull XX, gliding serenely after the ferry as we head for Alcatraz.

Another shot of the fading San Francisco skyline.

The San Francisco side of The Rock, as it was called, with a warning that anyone assisting a prisoner to escape is subject to imprisonment.

The Golden Gate, taken from Alcatraz. Considering the spectacular views of the Bay, and the fact that you could faintly hear sounds of revelry from San Francisco when the wind was right, imprisonment on The Rock could arguably be called cruel and unusual punishment.

Closer shot of the warning for assisting escaping prisoners. One look at The Rock should be all it takes to remove any thought of helping a fleeing convict.

The sign on the side of the building, just off the dock.

The guard tower on the dock at Alcatraz, about 60 feet in the air.

24-pounder gun, which means that it fired a 24-pound shot, used to defend the fort before the advent of more modern guns. It dates from the late 1800s.

Shot of Angel Island from the Sausalito side of the Golden Gate Bridge.

The water tower on the northern side of Alcatraz island.

Picture of Joan resting under a convenient bench on the way up to the prison cells. It was equivalent to a 30-story climb within about a quarter mile, so it was somewhat stressful.

A typical cell in Alcatraz, measuring about 10' x 5', complete with sink, toilet and fold-down seat on the wall opposite the bed.

Joan cooling-out in a cell open for the public to experience the limited space available to inmates. The headphones are connected to a digital playback device for the walking tour.

Another shot of Joan in one of the cells.

Limited picture of the control room, which monitored all the cell blocks on the island.

View of San Francisco and the bay from a walkway outside the cell block on Alcatraz island. You can clearly see how high up the building is.

Another shot of San Francisco and the bay from Alcatraz.

Shot of the Golden Gate from Alcatraz.