Podcasts about natural bridges

This episode takes us to Bryce Canyon National Park in Southern Utah, home to the world's largest concentration of hoodoos—towering, otherworldly rock formations sculpted by millions of years of erosion. Bryce Canyon's breathtaking amphitheaters, vivid red and orange cliffs, and pristine dark skies make it a treasure of the National Park system.We're joined by Jim Ireland, the park's superintendent since 2021. With nearly 30 years of experience in the National Park Service, Jim's journey began with a youth internship at Petrified Forest National Park during high school and has taken him to parks across the country, including Natural Bridges, Kenai Fjords, and Timpanogos Cave. A Bevinetto Fellow and former state coordinator for Utah's 13 national parks, Jim brings a wealth of knowledge and passion for public lands to his current role.In this episode, Jim reflects on his career, from his early days as a GS-1 federal employee to moving around the country to work at different parks. He shares insights into Bryce Canyon's unique geology, the park's world-class stargazing programs, and its growing offerings, like expanding the biking trail and adding cross-country skiing. We also explore his personal side, including building a camper van with his son, his favorite hikes, and his love for old-fashioned sanded lemon drops—a must-have desert hiking snack.You can follow Who Runs This Park on TikTok, Instagram, Facebook or YouTube, can email us at info@whorunsthispark.com or check us out online at whorunsthispark.com. Sign up for the Who Runs This Park's newsletter at linktr.ee/whorunsthispark. Who Runs This Park is produced by Maddie Pellman with music by Danielle Bees.

From the hoodoos of Bryce Canyon to the cliffs of Capitol Reef, there is no shortage of beauty in Utah. Still, the stunning landscape of Utah goes far beyond the “Mighty Five.” A wealth of National Monuments, Historic Parks, Recreation Areas, and Historic Trails can be found within its borders, and in the southeastern corner of the state sits one unit that receives barely over 100,000 visitors per year. Natural Bridges National Monument protects a collection of canyons and a trio of natural rock bridges. Those who do make the trip to the Monument find a delicate and desolate landscape that tells an intricately woven story of the people who called it home, of time, and above all else, of water. Use code PARKS30 for $30 off of a $500 or more booking at www.rvshare.com.

Lena Pace has worked all over this country. On a floating ranger station in Glacier Bay National Park and Preserve, to the desert of Lake Mead National Recreation Area, even the south shore of Long Island at Fire Island National Seashore. Now she will spend her time in the red rock of Arches, Canyonlands, Hovenweep and Natural Bridges as the superintendent of the Southeast Utah Group of National Parks. And: a USU researcher wants to know why pinyon jays are rapidly declining. Plus: a ski event in our region brings together hundreds of women and femme skiers to celebrate their common love for the sport. // Show Notes: // Full interview with Lena Pace: https://www.kzmu.org/lena-pace-new-nps-superintendent-of-se-utah-group-on-this-week-in-moab/

On the latest This Week in Moab, we have a conversation with Lena Pace, the new superintendent of the SE Utah Group of National Parks. Pace has worked all over this country: on a floating ranger station in Glacier Bay National Park and Preserve, to the desert of Lake Mead National Recreation Area, even the south shore of Long Island at Fire Island National Seashore. We hear about her work experience, her impressions of the Moab area, and what's ahead for Arches, Canyonlands, Hovenweep and Natural Bridges.

This episode features an original composition by Dr. Jevgenij A. Raskatov, an associate professor in chemistry and biochemistry at UCSC, who can make stringed instruments sound both mysterious and incredibly moving at the same time. We take you to a “bear”-celebrating street festival in San Francisco that randomly helps us round out our coverage of global affairs. And we visit Natural Bridges in Santa Cruz for Welcome Back Monarchs Day. Due to a broadcast glitch, last week's DJ Bumbacat mix didn't make the radio version. So we'll be replaying that in the second hour.

Looking for incredible coastal views? Make your way to the Boardman Corridor. Officially known as the Samuel H. Boardman State Scenic Corridor, the 12-mile stretch of the southern Oregon coast is known for its big views, beaches and hiking trails, all found off a series of pull-outs alongside U.S. 101. On this week's episode of Peak Northwest, we get into all the best sights to see at the Boardman Corridor, as well as some tips on navigating the sometimes confusing trailheads and parking areas. Here are some highlights from this week's show: What exactly is the Boardman Corridor? Arch Rock and Natural Bridges are two of the most popular attractions in the area – for good reason. The Thomas Creek Bridge is a major feat of engineering. A trio of beaches offer opportunities to get to the sand, with varying levels of difficulty. Subscribe to Peak Northwest on Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, Spotify or anywhere you listen to podcasts. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Irish and Celtic Mini episode to promote a Kickstarter for the Irish & Celtic Music Podcast #617. Heather Dale, The Buccaneers, Sliabh Notes, Emerald Rose, Celtic Stone, RavensWing CELEBRATE CELTIC CULTURE THROUGH CELTIC ROCK AND ALBUM PIN Support the Irish & Celtic Music Podcast by making a pledge in our Kickstarter. You can get an album pin, a physical CD, a tote bag, a t-shirt, sponsor an episode, become a producer for an episode and lots more. Make a pledge right now. GET CELTIC MUSIC NEWS IN YOUR INBOX The Celtic Music Magazine is a quick and easy way to plug yourself into more great Celtic culture. Subscribe and get 34 Celtic MP3s for Free. THIS WEEK IN CELTIC MUSIC 0:04 Heather Dale "Mordred's Lullaby" from The Trial of Launcelot and The Secret World of Celtic Rock 3:14 Support Kickstarter - WELCOME 4:39 The Buccaneers "Farewell to Nova Scotia" from Prairie Shanty 8:16 Sliabh Notes "Art O'Keeffe's Slide/The Star above the Garter/Taidhgín an Asail's Jig" from Along blackwater's banks 11:35 Emerald Rose "Fire In The Head" from Songs for the Night Sky 14:56 Celtic Stone "Galway Races" from Natural Bridges 17:47 Album Pins - CLOSING 19:15 RavensWing "Alasdair Mhic Cholla Ghasda" from The Secret World of Celtic Rock The Irish & Celtic Music Podcast was produced by Marc Gunn, edited by Mitchell Petersen with Graphics by Miranda Nelson Designs. Promote Celtic culture through music at http://celticmusicpodcast.com/. WELCOME IRISH & CELTIC MUSIC MINI PODCAST I'm Marc Gunn, and I launched a Kickstarter for the Irish & Celtic Music Podcast on Thursday. I want this launch to be super successful. So I'm gonna give you a 6-Pack Mini episode to inspire you to make a pledge. The campaign only goes for two weeks. I'm gonna bring you an extra mini episode every 2-3 days plus, the main show which comes out every Thursday. I'll tell you more about what's on the album in a moment.  You can find a link to all of the artists in the shownotes, along with show times, when you visit our website at celticmusicpodcast.com.  Album Pins - CLOSING I hope you enjoyed the show. One of the main things I'm funding with this campaign is an Album Pin. Album pins are lapel pins. But each album pin is themed to a specific CD. So when you own the album pin, you'll also get the associated album, so you can wear your album on your sleeve. This year's design reminded me of my compilation, The Secret World of Celtic Rock, that I released at the start of 2005. So I decided to use that as an excuse to re-release the physical CD as well. So you're gonna get the album and the enamel pin if you choose that reward.  There are lots of other rewards to check out. Follow my link at celticmusic.org/celticrock to make a pledge. THANK YOU PATRONS OF THE PODCAST! Because of Your kind and generous support, this show comes out at least four times a month. Your generosity funds the creation, promotion and production of the show. It allows us to attract new listeners and to help our community grow. As a patron, you get music-only episodes before regular listeners, vote in the Celtic Top 20, and you get a private feed to listen to the show.  All that for as little as $1 per episode.  HERE IS YOUR THREE STEP PLAN TO SUPPORT THE PODCAST Go to our Patreon page. Decide how much you want to pledge every week, $1, $5, $10. Make sure to cap how much you want to spend per month. Keep listening to the Irish & Celtic Music Podcast to celebrate Celtic culture through music. You can become a generous Patron of the Podcast on Patreon at SongHenge.com. #celticmusic #irishmusic #celticmusicpodcast    

Did you know it's monarch butterfly season? In this episode, Isabel chats about where you can see them. Disclaimer: Sponsored by the Division of Student Affairs and Success and produced by our student podcasters, UCSC Slugcast supports free expression of ideas. Please be aware that the views and opinions expressed by speakers are that of the speaker alone and their appearance on the program does not imply an endorsement of them or any entity they represent. Similarly, views and opinions of University employees or students are their own and do not necessarily reflect the views of Slugcast, the Division of Student Affairs and Success, or the University.

Welcome to another episode of the Conversations for Financial Professionals podcast where we are shaping the next generation of financial advice.   Today's conversation features Anabel Diaz, CFP®, MSFP who is a CERTIFIED FINANCIAL PLANNER™ professional who holds a BA in Economics from UC Santa Cruz and a Master of Science in Financial Planning from Golden Gate University. She joined the Natural Bridges team in 2017, where she serves clients in a fiduciary, fee-only capacity. Anabel is also an Alliance of Comprehensive Planners member, along with being a member of the Santa Cruz County Women's Council. We cover a ton in our conversation, such as: -Why she chose the CFP of all the available designations -What she did to prepare for exam including the education provider she used and how long it took her to prepare -How she felt about her failed 1st attempt at the exam and what she learned from it. -What it was like on the exam day and her strategy for tackling questions.   In this conversation you'll learn from Anabel's firsthand experience on what you need to do in preparing for the CERTIFIED FINANCIAL PLANNER™ examination.   Resources: Are you a current or aspiring financial professional?  Click here to join the Jumpstart community! Listen to previous podcast episodes, clicking here. To receive a newsletter digest of Jumpstart community happenings, click here.   Don't forget to subscribe to the show on iTunes to get automatic episode updates for our "Conversations for Financial Professionals!" by clicking here. Want to collaborate? Click here. If you enjoyed this episode on Day in the Life of CFP Exam Taker, please share it with your friends by using the social media buttons you see at the bottom of the post.   And, finally, please take a minute to leave us an honest review and rating on iTunes. They really help us out when it comes to the ranking of the show and I make it a point to read every single one of the reviews we get.   Please leave a review right now, click here.   Thanks again for listening, reading, and watching!  

I am Marcia Sivek and this is BeProvided Conservation Radio. As we enter summer with no real rain from the winter and no forecast of any rain in the future; California is drying up. It is time to be prepared for the worst, especially for those of us living in areas where there is a lot fuel for a fire. So in today's episode, I speak with Grey Hayes as some of you may remember he helped me start this podcast a few years back and did cohost several episodes with me.  I sought out Grey, not only for vast knowledge of ecology, grasslands and nature in general but also because he, for the most part, alone fought the fire to save his home. He lives in the area designated as the CZU Lightening Complex. I want others to hear his experience and heed his advice on preparing for the next fire. It is not if the next big fire will happen, it is when.  I met Grey at Natural Bridges in Santa Cruz on beautiful spring day. You may hear ambients sounds of nature and man!   Enjoy this episode and note you can learn more about Grey and his Community for Nature at www.greyhayes.net.   Visit www.beprovided.com for more podcasts and show notes of today's show.  Background music is Dark Cloud by Ian Kelosky and is licensed from soundstripe.com.  The news clip of Gov. Newsom is from www.cspan.net  (a public domain file).  Enjoy and stay safe and stay healthy.  

Natural Bridges is Santa Cruz's state park, and it is special for many different reasons. It also provides a resource for students to volunteer and learn about their local wildlife. In this episode, Savannah explores Natural Bridges and the Monarch Butterflies, as well as the opportunities there for students.To volunteer, get in contact with Martha at naturalbridgesstatebeach@gmail.comThe Monarch ActThe Roadside Pollinators ActSponsored by the Division of Student Affairs and Success and produced by our student podcasters, UCSC Slugcast supports free expression of ideas. Please be aware that the views and opinions expressed by guests are that of the speaker alone and their appearance on the program does not imply an endorsement of them or any entity they represent. Similarly, views and opinions of University employees or students are their own and do not necessarily reflect the views of Slugcast, the Division of Student Affairs and Success, or the University.

We're back with our third season, with new UCSC undergrad podcasters Meg, Ajith, Sam, and Matt. Listen in on an introductory conversation and get to know them a bit before their own Season 3 episodes, where they will immerse you Arcata's Community Forest, Santa Cruz's Natural Bridges and Pogonip, and Sonoma County's Lagunitas Creek and their experiences of intersecting their human with the nature of those places during the tail end of COVID-19 Year One. We're kind of not stuck inside anymore, it's (or it was) winter outside, and this is still Sheltered Spring. Written and produced by Alex Component loop and sound effect credits: fream by nightingale wet sounding bass by pablo21 funkee harmonics 90 bpm A by skyrider r a i n d r o p by renegadeonthebeat downtempo drums by danke old school drums by pacosferreira driveby hip hop drums by doku soft lo-fi rhodes by thechokehold lo-fi modern hip hop xylobells by thechokehold drums sad rap pop by mefbeats boo 4 disapproval by jayfrosting audience unison yes by unchaz lexie nope by javapimp read my lips no by nuncaconoci dangerous stranger by nightingale overtone 1 by jadrian

I'm heading to the Southern Coast of Oregon to hike the Redwoods and discover Natural Bridge Cove, which showcases you guessed it some natural bridge formations in the ocean.  And this is an exciting episode because I've created a YouTube video (https://youtu.be/ZoeYCSoS9IM) with my dashboard cam where you can actually see some of these places. Last but certainly not least,  make sure to stick around for Something Different as I wedge a whole slice of cake in my mouth in honor of Groundhog Day! Visit www.vandogger.com for episode specific companion information, photos, van gear and more stories.Email: vantales@vandogger.comCredits: “You Live in a Van?!” soundbite by Nephew #1

Noah Justice travels to Arches National Park and Natural Bridges National Monument in Utah where explores how catastrophic erosion has produced these incredible rock structures. At Arches he'll see how sediments were laid down quickly, then were eroded by water catastrophically, leaving behind these arches. He'll show how the simple rate of erosion should have destroyed these arches long ago if naturalism were true. Then he travels to southern Utah to go under some of the largest natural bridges in the world. He'll see how the global flood and subsequent flash floods carved these amazing geologic features. Finally, he'll explore evidence for early Americans living along side dinosaurs here at the monument. To get the full video episode on our VOD platform, go to AwesomeSciTV.com

Noah Justice travels to Arches National Park and Natural Bridges National Monument in Utah where explores how catastrophic erosion has produced these incredible rock structures. At Arches he'll see how sediments were laid down quickly, then were eroded by water catastrophically, leaving behind these arches. He'll show how the simple rate of erosion should have destroyed these arches long ago if naturalism were true. Then he travels to southern Utah to go under some of the largest natural bridges in the world. He'll see how the global flood and subsequent flash floods carved these amazing geologic features. Finally, he'll explore evidence for early Americans living along side dinosaurs here at the monument. To get the full video episode on our VOD platform, go to AwesomeSciTV.com

Join Ben and Meagan as we share all about Natural Bridges National Monument.    Sipapu Bridge Hike   Kachina Bridge Hike   Owachomo Bridge Hike   Camping at Natural Bridges   Hovenweep National Monument   Four Corners   Butler Wash Hike   Bluff Fort Visitor's Center   Southeast Utah Travel Guide   Visit HomeschoolBuyersCo-op.organd sign-up for a free membership. Use the code Yellow for 5000 bonus SmartPoints.   Check out our blog and Etsy shop   Shop through our Amazon affiliate link   Email us at yellowvantravels@gmail.com   Find us on social media: Instagram Twitter Facebook Youtube   **Links in show notes may contain affiliate links**

Arches National Park is now officially certified as an International Dark Sky Park, a place recognized for its quality night skies and commitment to protecting natural darkness. With the addition of Arches, all four parks in the Southeast Utah Group – Canyonlands, Hovenweep, and Natural Bridges – are now certified under the dark sky program. We speak with an Arches representative to learn more, and also head to Public Lands Corner where host Chad Niehaus explores permit acquisition for running sought-after river stretches. [Photo Credit: NPS/Jacob W. Frank]

This week on Santa Cruz Naturalist Emily takes a walk through Natural Bridges State Beach with UCSC graduate student Christa Siedl. Christa introduces listeners to some of the common birds found within the park.

If your life came to an end tomorrow — would you feel like you’d made the most of it?For episode 59 of the Good Life Revival Podcast, I met up with Kelly Moody, creator of the Ground Shots Podcast and companion blog, Of Sedge and Salt. Since we're both pretty unconventional podcasters who currently reside in California and like to talk about plants & people, we thought it'd be fun to do a kind of joint interview to get to know each other better.Though originally from the deep south, for the last several years Kelly has been based on the west coast while rambling 'round the country in the vintage camper-adorned Ford truck that she calls home. Like me, she's fascinated by the ways that humans relate to their environments, and she is equally passionate about sharing big, challenging ideas.In the end I think our chat serves as a great introduction to both of us, and we covered a lot of fertile ground at the intersections of our common interests. Among other things, we discuss the age-old question of whether to stay where you’re needed or relocate where you fit in; the challenges of working with the land when you lack a permanent residence; the romance versus the reality of #vanlife; and the importance of keeping an eye on Death looming in your rearview mirror as you voyage through life.I left Kelly's camper that day with so much food for thought echoing through my head, and I hope you'll walk away from this conversation in the same state of mind!To learn more about my upcoming Foraging North America online course, click here.If you want to stream my latest album Bliss, you can do that right over here.Today’s theme song is called “Natural Bridges,” written and recorded by yours truly especially for this episode. Subscribers at any tier on Patreon can download this tune along with all the others in my vast podcast music archive!

In this first of three episodes about our Oregon Coast Listener Adventure, Aaron and Brendon share stories from our first two days. The Milky Way Photography opportunities at Secret Beach and Bandon along with the several Photog MISAdventures that occurred. We will finish the Oregon Coast Listener Adventure next week and then the following week hear from all of the participants that joined us out in Oregon.

On this Cyber Monday, I talk about the behind the scenes of recording my first upcoming Milky Way Photography Online Course for Beginners that is coming out Dec. 26th. Stories of recording at locations of Salt Flats, Goblin Valley, Goosenecks, Natural Bridges, Knolls, Crater Lake and Mirror Lake. Expiring tonight at Midnight East Coast Time, get the $50 OFF deal right now at BlackFriday.PhotogAdventures.com https://blackfriday.photogadventures.com/blackfridaydeal_storefront The Course will not be on sale again until Dec. 26th when it launches at $67 which is still $30 off the final price of $97 that will be what I continue to sell the course at from Feb. 1st on.

The weekend before our first Photog Adventures Workshop we hang out with Rafael Pons and Joshua Snow at their Workshop at Arches National Park. Making new friends and having more time in the weekend to kill, we went out to Dead Horse Point for sunrise, spent the day taking the scenic route in Canyonlands National Park and then blitzed down to Natural Bridges National Monument to take in one of the last opportunities for Milky Way Photography in Utah's First Dark Sky Park under the ever photogenic Owochomo Bridge! Sign up for our upcoming Oregon Listener Adventure here: https://listeneradventures.photogadventures.com/listeneradventuresignup Check in regularly at this page for news of our next Listener Adventures: http://photogadventures.com/listeneradventure/

In today's episode, Grey Hayes and Marcia Sivek speak with Dr. Betsy Herbert about her life dedication to forest conservation, specifically redwood forests around the Santa Cruz Mountain Area. Betsy also shares discoveries made about environmental issues while spending a year traveling across the world. We had a great conversation near the shore of the Pacific at Natural Bridges in Santa Cruz, CA.  I love this paragraph below from one of Betsy's blog posts because there is an urgency right now to help protect wild nature. (http://www.betsyherbert.com/newsarticles-blog/) "As an environmentalist, I’ve always held to the notion held by deep ecologists that wild nature, as it evolved through the eons, needs to be preserved as the foundation for life on the planet. Wilderness areas (Earth’s least disturbed places) are a priceless storehouse of our planet’s biodiversity. We need to protect wilderness — or else humans, along with other species that we share the planet with — will perish." Here are more resources Betsy refers to during this conversation: Global Forest Watch Interactive Map: http://www.globalforestwatch.org/map/3/15.00/27.00/ALL/grayscale/loss,forestgain?tab=analysis-tab&begin=2001-01-01&end=2016-01-01&threshold=30&dont_analyze=true Berta Careers - Goldman Environmental Prize recipient in 2015: http://www.goldmanprize.org/recipient/berta-caceres/ The Santa Cruz Mountains Bioregional Council: http://www.scmbc.org - This is a great non-profit with a mission that encourages the preservation and enhancement of regional biodiversity over time through education, the dissemination of accurate scientific informal and assistance in the planning, coordination, and implementation of conservation efforts. Read More articles by Betsy in her monthly column, Earth Matters, in the Santa Cruz Sentinel: http://www.santacruzsentinel.com/environment-and-nature/20170615/earth-matters-travel-pastime-provides-clues-to-the-state-of-the-world  

Aaron talks about the Listener Adventure where we went to capture the Milky Way at the House on Fire Ruins and Natural Bridges National Monument in Southern Utah. Kathy Henehan and Jeff Pedersen join Aaron for a weekend of photography and we are able to capture one of Kathy's first Milky Way images. Carson LumiLoupe Series Pre-Focused Stand Magnifier https://goo.gl/06R0k6 BelOMO 10x Triplet Loupe Folding Magnifier https://goo.gl/SKAmv1

Utah is home to 10 National Monuments, Bears Ears as the newest addition, but Grand Staircase-Escalante, Timpanogos Cave, Natural Bridges, Cedar Breaks, Dinosaur, Hovenweep, Rainbow Bridge, and Golden Spike have been protected for many years. Take advantage of what the state has to offer by seeing these destinations while they are available for us. See geographic varieties displayed throughout the state and historical landmarks that can take you back to an earlier time.  Perhaps you need a reason to get out and see some of these places? The Utah Symphony is getting in on the action  and has put together a five day long road trip to play shows around Utah in or near many of these monuments, and one in Zion National Park! Tickets available May 31, shows start August 31.

If you have ever worked a night shift in a park, you have experienced the beauty of night sky. Away from lights, campfires, and digital screens, a night sky is one of the true wonders of many parks. Not many people get to experience a truly wondrous night sky, but Chad Moore looks at night skies for a living. Chad is the Program Manager for the National Park Service Night Sky Team. Even if you are not with the National Park Service, the work of the Night Sky Team has great value for your park. Parks have an opportunity, perhaps even an obligation, to protect night skies. Chad and I will talk about his work with night skies, why the National Park Service has a night sky team, and how individual parks can improve their night skies. After talking with Chad I considered what have been my most memorable night skies. The two that come to mind are the overwhelming stars at Natural Bridges in Utah. With so many stars, a night sky is anything but dark. I also thought about the first time I saw the northern lights on a camping trip in north central Oregon. And finally, I recall a surprising encounter with nocturnal wildlife. Walking to an outhouse at night while camping at Canyonlands National Park I turned on my headlamp and found a kangaroo rat bouncing right in front of me. Where was your most memorable night sky? Let’s talk about it. Reach out on Twitter or Facebook, comment on the website or send an email and let me know your night sky story. Chad Moore preparing for a night sky If you are interested in night skies, you may enjoy the book The End of Night by Paul Bogard. You can find the Colorado Plateau Dark Sky Cooperative on Facebook. You can discover great articles about night skies here.

Visit www.growmilkweedplants.com for more information On todays episode I am going to share a few of the expeditions that I took this winter. I said expeditions but what I am talking about is visits that I made to monarch overwintering sites in California. I did not visit all of the more than 100 locations. I visited six locations. The first two were great because of their location in San Diego but didn’t have many monarchs. The last four locations were amazing because they were monarch butterfly honey holes. I’ll try to give you a few tips about the overwintering locations that I visited so that if you retrace my steps you get the most from your visit. Welcome to Grow Milkweed Plants podcast episode two. I am the host Brad Grimm and thank you for joining me today. At the time of recording this episode it is January 30th 2015 and it very near the end of the overwintering season in both Mexico and California. But more importantly, in my opinion, it is nearly the beginning of the Spring migration. The Spring migration is massive. So if you are in southern Texas or Sacramento the migration will be sooner than if you are in Winnipeg or Spokane. If you are patient and you are growing milkweed then I wish you luck is seeing monarchs in your own backyard. Very early in the monarch migration season, on November 13th 2014, I flew down to San Diego. I had collected some data that was published in 2009 by UCSD that there are three overwintering sites in San Diego. The first location is called Grape Street the second location is at the Presidio and the third location is on the UCSD campus. The first location, Grape Street, is at the edge of Balboa park where grape street terminates into a parking lot for a dog park. The second San Diego location is in old town San Diego at the Presidio.  The Presidio is a beautiful location. I was not able to make it out to the third location which is on the campus of UCSD so I won’t be able to comment on that location today. There are two  reasons I was only able to visit two of the three locations in San Diego. The smell of tacos at The Alamo restaurant in old town was amazing and overpowered my desire to search for monarchs and because I was limited on time because and needed to catch my return flight. As I arrived via bus, the Weather in San Diego was fast approaching the hot 70º high temperature. I walked a few blocks to the Grape Street dog park. There are no signs pointing toward the eucalyptus trees for monarchs. I did a lot of wandering around and besides seeing about five monarchs I came to the conclusion that there was not going to be any clusters on this warm November morning. The visit did have some highlights which includes seeing a great horned owl resting high in the trees. It was also good exercise. The official monarch count at Grape Street is 15. I think I may have seen them all this winter.  Back on the bus I made a transfer in downtown san diego and headed to the Presidio that is on a hill above old town. I walked a path straight up the side of the hill and arrived at one of the most beautiful areas for a picnic. Ocean views and shaded lawns made me think that if I were a monarch that that is where I would stay for the winter. Despite the beautiful location and ideal weather conditions there were no monarchs in San Diego besides the few that I saw flying about in gardens. I retreated toward the airport but not before having a couple delicious carne aside tacos and a local brewed beverage at the restaurant I mentioned earlier. The official monarch count at the Presidio Park, Old Town is 30 Turning the dial forward to November 21st. It is only 8 days later and my wife, Ashley, and I go to Santa Cruz California. It is still considered early in the overwintering season but I had heard that there were pretty good monarch counts. I should say that the premise of the trip was to visit the Monterrey Bay Aquarium to view sea life in their world class facility. It is only due to the extreme patience and understanding of my wife that I was fortunate enough to parade her thru the monarch groves on this visit.  First stop. Natural Bridges on the north side of Santa Cruz. The state beach and monarch butterfly trail are delightful during any time of year. Although there is a quiet buzz in the air today. We paid the state park vehicle fee and parked in the main lot near the visitor center. I could see there were others visiting the monarchs. I felt a little under prepared because my camera was about one tenth the size of what others were carrying. But it’s not about the photos you leave with. In fact, it’s not about gaining anything from the experience. For me, what I try to do while under neath the thousands of butterflies, is learn from them. I’m not talking about getting lecture notes from a butterfly. What I am trying to convey is the idea of being more butterfly like myself. Some may say zen or meditation and that is pretty close to what I mean. The monarch butterfly gives us so much by doing so very little. The monarch is able to do what it does best which is be simply amazing and live among us without being destructive or a nuisance. People like me on the other hand do destructive things and call it progress. Lets take farming for example. Some farmers plow under all the native milkweed and grow corn or soy beans. Is that progress? I’m not a farmer and if you are then I am not saying to stop farming. It is a systematic process of changing the natural course of the land. Monarch butterflies on the other hand fly over the field and see that there is no milkweed and simply die off as a result. Wow. that sounded kinda dark. I wonder if that’s a factual representation found in the real world. I’ll let you decide.  Back to the experience at natural bridges. It is a facility that is easily accessible for everyone. I would recommend you visit in December or January. The season may be longer in some years but your prime time for monarchs will be those two months. Either bring a big camera and a tripod or bring no camera at all. but your iPhone is only going to get good photos in the milkweed garden because monarchs are in trees high above you. The official monarch count at natural bridges is 3,400 The following day on November 22nd 2015 Ashley and I parked at Pacific Grove monarch butterfly sanctuary. The site is basically like a wild backyard with tall trees and shady trails. It was raining and despite having an umbrella everything was pretty wet except my tiny camera. We got there early because the main stop is the Aquarium. After homing in on the entrance to the monarch sanctuary we walked a very short distance to the trees where thousands of monarchs were clustering in the cool moist air. At first we walked right by most of the clusters. It wasn’t till we looked where others were looking that we saw them. The pine needles were thickly covered. I wanted to cheer for them like it was a sporting event. Having driven hundreds of miles to see them I felt like I had just won the game or hit the jackpot. I refrained and I kept my voice to a whisper like everyone else. The pamphlet says that loud voices disturbs the environment for the monarchs. So after our necks were throughly tired from gazing up at the tree limbs we departed for a wonderful day indoors at the Monterrey bay aquarium. The official count at pacific grove is 24,122 Turning the dial forward again to January 17th. Ashley and I headed back to the coast but this trip was to go whale watching near Half Moon Bay California. On our route I had cleverly routed us past Ardenwood Historic Farm. Ardenwood is a working farm and part of the East Bay park system. Entry is $3 per person. We visited on a Saturday and after walking the paths for a while we met at the milkweed garden and greenhouse where two employees greeted everyone and talked about monarchs and milkweed. I love hearing other people talk about my favorite subject. Time stands still when I am learning about milkweed. It seemed like the talk lasted only seconds. On the milkweed there was a few caterpillars. I saw a small one and a big one. There was also a monarch laying eggs on the tropical milkweed. I am going to save my opinions about the choice of milkweed that was growing at Ardenwood for a future episode. It was not native milkweed and that is all I will say right now. We headed down well traveled dirt path toward some of the tallest eucalyptus i have ever seen. It was another warm day, maybe 67º and the monarchs were very active. I wouldn't say we saw thousands but there were more than one hundred that were on the move. The location combined with the butterflies makes this mu second favorite place to see monarchs only after Pacific Grove. The official count at Ardenwood Historic Farm is 2,061 monarchs Whale watching was a bust, no whales, but we did have a nice boat ride and a great experience overall. Once on land my wife and I went to Yurba Buena Native plant nursery where I got three new milkweed plants. Two of them are showy milkweed and the third is mexican whorled milkweed. They are still doing well and I will have them in the ground in the next month or two. As we headed away from the coastside we stopped at the golf course in san leandro. We weren’t there to hit balls. I brought my wife to yet another overwintering site for monarchs. Did I mention how patient she is? Very patient.  It is super important to know that this site is on private property. The only days that you may visit to see the monarchs is on Saturdays and there is a process to participate. Ashley and I arrived on a Sunday. With my tiny camera I approached the entrance seeking permission. We were directed to the clubhouse to see the general manager. I pleaded with the GM for access and he must have taken pity on me because he was kind enough to present two waivers that we signed before entering the course. We safely dodged all the golf ball while we took the path to the back of the property. Flying around in the trees was a few hundred monarchs. I felt like it was my lucky day because I was surrounded by monarchs. I just wish I could see that many monarchs every summer; everywhere.  When an acorn falling 70’ from above hit me in the forehead I decided it was time to go. This concludes my season visiting overwintering sites in California. The official count at the golf course is 7,750 monarchs I think there was a larger population being the driving range but given my experience with the acorn I wasn’t going to risk going there without a tour guide.   Thank you for listening to the second episode of Grow Milkweed Plants. Visit www.growmilkweedplants.com for more information and photos of the places I talked about in this podcast. If you are signed into itunes and enjoyed the show then please take a moment to subscribe, rate & review this podcast. On the next episode I will tell you what the total monarch population is in both the Western and the Eastern population and much more.

As a California boy raised on the central coastside I loved the ocean and the forest. One place that was a special treat for me in the winter was the State Beach named Natural Bridges. Natural Bridges State Beach is located in California on the North side of Santa Cruz. There is a butterfly sanctuary for Monarch Butterflies that is open to the public.The Monarch Trail is a place you must go. At Natural Bridges they have a small demonstration garden with Milkweed Plants. Most of the year it is not much to look at but it is educational. On my last visit there were thirteen caterpillars and one monarch chrysalis in the milkweed demonstration garden. Visit http://www.growmilkweedplants.com/about.html to learn more about me; Brad Grimm Now days, I am involving myself in growing milkweed plants and sharing information about milkweed with everyone. By sharing information about milkweed in a clear and detailed way I look forward to the day that Monarch Butterflies return in abundance. So that they may once again dominate their massive migration route between Canada and Mexico.

Sometimes, when we ask people to talk about the ethics of their work and the pathways they have taken to be where they are, they offer up their best linear moves and memories. Many of our listeners are interested in learning the point-a-to-b directions people follow as well as the google maps they rely on along the way.