Floral Ballet
            Pale pink figures float in the air, dancing together in the breeze. Bright reddish-pink arms rise elegantly above purple petal tutus. Variations of these dancer-like blossoms, some bright red, some pale purple mixed with pink, dot one bush to the next.
            Fuchsias stir the imagination. Seeing a wide variety of shapes and colors near each other in the Fuchsia Dell in Golden Gate Park invariably makes me think of tiny ballerinas suspended in the air.
            Fuchsias are high on my list of blossoms that dazzle the eye. Do you have a favorite flower? Enjoy the visual treasures on offer from nature, and keep putting one foot forward!
            This week’s Hike Notes from the archives, Fuchsia Dell-Golden Gate Park, takes readers to one of the many special feature spots in San Francisco’s Golden Gate Park.
            Check the Home page for the broader background story. Click Insights/Hike Update News for inspiring reflections. Browse hikes on the main Hikes page or on the Hike Search by Area page, and scroll to the bottom of each hike page to see full photo galleries.
            If you’d like to support HikingAutism, check out the Support/Shop page! Check out selected articles and interviews under Media. Click World Walks to see or share favorite family-friendly walks! Stay in touch with Lisa Louis and HikingAutism via Contact. The Links page lists a loose collection of helpful information links. Feel free to share and follow on Facebook at HikingAutism, Twitter at @HikingAutism, Instagram at lisalouis777, and Bluesky @hikingautism.bsky.social
This week’s hike from the archives:
Hike Notes 134: Fuchsia Dell-Golden Gate Park

Urban Pastorale
            Feathery white clouds float above a layer of blue. Cypress trees rise high above their surroundings. Willow tree branches drape in layers over the path ahead. Tree pollen is reflected in yellow on a mirror-surface of water.
            This charming small lake reflecting trees and clouds brings back happy memories from a childhood spent in the Adirondack Foothills.
            And yet we are walking in a city park in San Francisco. Even small areas of nature wield a remarkable power to bring us out of our daily worries, allowing us to take in our surroundings and just be in the moment.
            Make the most of the natural treasures where you live, and keep putting one foot forward!
            This week’s Hike Notes from the archives, Elk Glen Lake – Golden Gate Park, takes readers to one of several charming, tiny lakes in San Francisco’s Golden Gate Park.
            Check the Home page for the broader background story. Click Insights/Hike Update News for inspiring reflections. Browse hikes on the main Hikes page or on the Hike Search by Area page, and scroll to the bottom of each hike page to see full photo galleries.
            If you’d like to support HikingAutism, check out the Support/Shop page! Check out selected articles and interviews under Media. Click World Walks to see or share favorite family-friendly walks! Stay in touch with Lisa Louis and HikingAutism via Contact. The Links page lists a loose collection of helpful information links. Feel free to share and follow on Facebook at HikingAutism, Twitter at @HikingAutism, Instagram at lisalouis777, and Bluesky @hikingautism.bsky.social
This week’s hike from the archives:
Hike Notes 158: Elk Glen Lake – Golden Gate Park

Early Bloomers
            “Look, the dahlias are blooming!” my husband said, pointing to the Dahlia Garden in the distance from where we were taking our easy Sunday stroll in Golden Gate Park. 
            “Aren’t they known for blooming in August?” I thought to myself out loud.
            Sure enough, posters along the Dahlia Garden fence announced the Dahlia Society’s annual show in mid-August, this year celebrating their 100-year anniversary, by chance.
            And sure enough, though barely into July, there were already many fascinating dahlia varieties to look at. I am always astounded by the variety of shapes and colors that share the name dahlia.
            I found the usual suspects that remind me of sea anemones, but on this visit I also saw a white variety of dahlia that reminded me of the feathered bubble hats that were fashionable in the 1960s. An image of Elizabeth Taylor wearing one floated into my mind. It was an odd thought that I mumbled to myself, only to have the woman next to me say she was thinking the same thing.
            Are there flowers that you look at as being almost more intriguing than beautiful? Dahlias are both. Enjoy whatever blossoms you stumble upon, and keep putting one foot forward!
            This week’s Hike Notes from the archives, Dahlia Garden - Golden Gate Park, brings readers to one of the many special areas of San Francisco’s Golden Gate Park featuring stunning flower displays.
            Check the Home page for the broader background story. Click Insights/Hike Update News for inspiring reflections. Browse hikes on the main Hikes page or on the Hike Search by Area page, and scroll to the bottom of each hike page to see full photo galleries.
            If you’d like to support HikingAutism, check out the Support/Shop page! Check out selected articles and interviews under Media. Click World Walks to see or share favorite family-friendly walks! Stay in touch with Lisa Louis and HikingAutism via Contact. The Links page lists a loose collection of helpful information links. Feel free to share and follow on Facebook at HikingAutism, Twitter at @HikingAutism, Instagram at lisalouis777, and Bluesky @hikingautism.bsky.social
This week’s hike from the archives:
Hike Notes 208: Dahlia Garden - Golden Gate Park

Quiet Heroes
            I’ve lived long enough to see news about numerous wars in various parts of the world. When my brothers and friends were of an age young men would be called to serve in the military, we were in a patch of history when the military draft had ended, after the U.S. left Vietnam.
            My immediate contemporaries were less likely to go off to war, but one would be hard pressed to visit a friend or relative’s house without seeing family photos of grandfathers, fathers, uncles, and aunts in uniform.
            With an all-volunteer military for decades, today, many people don’t feel the sense of immediacy about the sacrifices made by those who serve.
            On a recent walk through a shady redwood grove in San Francisco’s Golden Gate Park, a large triangular white memorial stone glowed magically as we walked toward it through the forest. Coming closer, we saw many names carved into the stone, memorializing those who were lost in World War I. The stone monument and its list of names was a quiet but powerful remembrance of those who died over a century ago.
            Smaller stones around the large monument spoke simply and profoundly. A 1918 dedication to Gold Star Mothers and the sons they lost, another stone with the piercing admonition, “Lest We Forget.”
            This calm space brings a visceral sense of appreciation for quiet heroes, remembered collectively by those who stop for a moment to contemplate the reminders carved in stone.
            Do you have heroes, living or already passed? A quiet moment of thanks has meaning, even for those who can no longer hear us. Keep putting one foot forward!
            This week’s Hike Notes, Heroes Grove-Golden Gate Park, leads readers through a grove of old redwoods in San Francisco’s Golden Gate Park, featuring monuments honoring the fallen of World War I.
            Check the Home page for the broader background story. Click Insights/Hike Update News for inspiring reflections. Browse hikes on the main Hikes page or on the Hike Search by Area page, and scroll to the bottom of each hike page to see full photo galleries.
            If you’d like to support HikingAutism, check out the Support/Shop page! Check out selected articles and interviews under Media. Click World Walks to see or share favorite family-friendly walks! Stay in touch with Lisa Louis and HikingAutism via Contact. The Links page lists a loose collection of helpful information links. Feel free to share and follow on Facebook at HikingAutism, Twitter at @HikingAutism, Instagram at lisalouis777, and Bluesky @hikingautism.bsky.social
New this week:
Hike Notes 234: Heroes Grove-Golden Gate Park