Rene Cizio's Blog, page 17

Joshua Tree Energy

They say Joshua Tree energy is real. That Joshua Tree National Park is a place of multiple energy vortices. That these strange trees that thrive in relentless desolation will balance your energy. Legend has it that Mormon pioneers named the tree after the biblical figure, Joshua. That the branches of the trees are like arms outstretched in supplication. That they guide travelers and, for this one at least, they have. Maybe you don’t believe in any of that. If so, I’d guess you’ve never been to Joshua Tree. It might change your mind. The Joshua Trees only grow in the Mojave Desert, mainly near the national park, but you can see them on the edges of Arizona, Nevada and Utah too. I first saw them in Nevada near the Valley of Fire State Park, arms raised as I drove past. The trees used to span a wider area, but climate change is shrinking their habitat and the national park has the largest density of them. Plus, the park has a vortex. Or maybe the trees cause the vortex? Either way, there are potent vibrations in the deserts out here. The sun was setting as I finally found my way to […]

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Balboa Park Is More Than the San Diego Zoo

I was looking for a place to walk for a few hours and I found Balboa Park. All I knew about it was it is where you enter the famed San Diego Zoo, but what I found was so much more intriguing. The park has 17 museums, multiple performing arts venues, various themed gardens, shopping, restaurants, street vendors, and historical and cultural attractions. It is easily worth spending an entire day exploring all the park has to offer. You hear all the time about the zoo and sadly, it overshadows the park, so many visitors don’t plan to spend the time they should or even know about it. The only reason I found the park was diligent searching for trails and places to walk. Otherwise, I would have thought it was just the entrance to the zoo and never visited. History Balboa Park is one of the oldest parks in the United States. It was reserved in 1835 and encompassed 1,200-acres of history and cultural spaces. Many buildings and spaces are landmarks from the 1915–16 Panama–California Exposition and 1935–36 California Pacific International Exposition. The park and many of the buildings are National Historic Landmarks and the park is on the […]

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Go Back in Time in Old Town, San Diego

I stumbled upon Old Town San Diego accidentally while looking for a “Saturday Market.” It ended up being one of those delightful days filled with fun and interesting things to see and do. The best part is that I didn’t know it existed until I was there. The reason I went to Old Town San Diego was because I read they had a street market on Harney Street, so I arrived and saw an entire busy district and a park with historical reenactments. I was stunned. Old Town is an old area of San Diego next to a historic state park with 32 historic sites and buildings – so you have two areas: an old city and a historical park. Old Town City The neighborhood has dozens of Mexican-style restaurants, with patios on the streets making a festive environment as you stroll past. Many musicians are playing in the streets, tourists walking about and various street vendors selling handcrafted Mexican-style goods. Mixed in with the restaurants are dozens more little shops and a mix of Mexican food, souvenir shops, and live entertainment. The district is an old one, hence the name. So many of the buildings are ancient and gives […]

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12 Things to Do Near Carlsbad and San Diego

Staying in Carlsbad, California, in between San Diego and Los Angeles is a good choice for anyone who wants to explore beaches, national parks, history and nature. There’s so much to do within a few short hours that it will take you a year to attempt them all. Here are some of the things I saw and did while I stayed in the area for one month. Underwater Park Along the Pacific California coast, there is a different little beach town every 20 miles. Each is unique, but perhaps none more remarkable than La Jolla. In La Jolla (Hoy ya), there’s an underwater park made up of 6,000 acres and four different habitats. There’s a rocky reef, kelp bed, sand flats, and submarine canyon. San Diego created the underwater park in 1970. Within it are the reef, kelp forest, sand flats and canyons. Part of the park is an Ecological Reserve and some are also a Marine Life Refuge. No fishing or scavenging is permitted within the reserve, making it a haven for all sorts of animals who might not otherwise hang around. Two artificial reefs keep the waves minimal and attract wildlife while creating an environment for them to […]

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Kayaking into the La Jolla Sea Caves in an Underwater Park

The La Jolla sea caves In California, are part of an underwater park with a kelp forest and breeding ground for all sorts of sea creatures. They’re accessible to anyone from water, but a few can be reached by land too. Along the Pacific California coast, there is a different little beach town every 25 miles. Each is unique, but perhaps none more remarkable than La Jolla. In La Jolla (Hoy ya), there’s an underwater park made up of 6,000 acres and four different habitats. There’s a rocky reef, kelp bed, sand flats, and submarine canyon. I can’t resist a reason to get in a kayak and explore, so I headed right over. Beach Trail If you don’t like kayaking, in La Jolla, there’s also a 2.5-mile, paved beach trail. It takes you along the coastline, cliffs and allows you to view a few of the caves and sea life from the shore. There are food and drink trucks, jewelry vendors set up under little tents, and even places to rent snorkel and beach equipment on the trail. I walked the trail and it was a great experience. Seals and sea lions lay right off the shore and if you […]

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A Trip Into Steinbeck’s Salinas Valley

I read “Of Mice and Men” by John Steinbeck in middle school and the story of Lenny and George and it never left me. I wondered a lot about Steinbeck’s Salinas Valley. Later, I read the “Grapes of Wrath,” “East of Eden,” and others. Because of these books, I felt I knew the place, though I’d never been there. That was about to change. As I took the Pacific Coast Highway through northwestern California, it brought me too near to Salinas to ignore. As luck would have it, I’d read that Steinbeck’s boyhood home had just reopened for visitors that week. My mind was made up. The Verdant Valley I’d been staying in San Jose on my way south and the drive to the valley added two hours to my drive, but it was worth every mile. Just last year, I read some of Steinbeck’s journals and became intrigued with the man. Though he based almost all his books in the Salinas Valley, where he was born and raised, he thought little of the place, as young people often feel about their hometowns, and was glad to get out when he could. Eventually, he moved to New York City, but […]

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How to Be a Beekeeper for a Day

All those beekeeper TikTok videos I’ve been watching finally got to me, so when I saw a beekeeping class in San Jose, I was abuzz. Do I plan to become a beekeeper? One day, if I ever settle down in one spot again, I’d love to. Queen Beekeeper Allison hosted me in her bee castle in an unsuspecting subdivision in the San Jose hills. It turns out you don’t need a lot of space to be a beekeeper, just access to flowers, of which California has plenty. We met in her flower-filled backyard, and she told me about the history of beekeeping while preparing the tools we would need to meet the bees. Honeybees, as you’ve heard, have been teetering near endangerment from loss of habitat, parasites, pesticides, pollution, and other causes. Humans can help mitigate a few of these causes, and Allison is doing just that. Adopted by Bees About 10 years ago, she was “adopted” by the bees when they started gathering in her yard and she called someone to have them removed. That person showed up in an oversized “bee mobile” and convinced her to try beekeeping; thus, her sweet story began. To start our lesson, Allison […]

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Absorbing the Energy of the Immortal Redwood Trees

Redwoods are the closest thing to immortal that we have on this Earth. On my road trip from Oregon and along the California Coast, I made frequent stops to hike along the many redwood groves and absorb the energy these immortal trees give off. I’d heard of Redwood National Park and Sequoia & Kings Canyon National Park, but somehow it didn’t occur to me that these magnificent trees would grow elsewhere, but they do. Many remain in small groves all along the northern California coastline. Coast redwoods grow in a narrow area about 470 miles long and 47 miles away from the Pacific coast. Before now, I’d never seen a redwood tree before, but pictures had me longing to be in their presence. The trees are so big it’s hard to fathom. My mind can’t understand it. But my heart does. These immortal trees have been alive longer than anything on earth and will be here after we’re gone too. There is magic in that. The forest they live in is primordial. It’s like going back in time. Finding Redwoods When I learned there was a grove of Redwoods not far from where I was staying in Oregon, I made a quick […]

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How the Hoh Rainforest is an Olympic Peninsula Dream

The Pacific Northwest is wet, so it shouldn’t have surprised me that it contains the Hoh Rainforest, but it’s just not something I expected in the USA. The Hoh Rain Forest is one of four rain forests on the Olympic Peninsula. But it is the only World Heritage Site and UNESCO Biosphere Reserve. It’s also one of the most incredible places you can visit in the Pacific Northwest – a place where there are many unique places. I drove there after spending three weeks in the area and I thought I was prepared, but nothing can prepare you for walking into a living dream. Rainforests The only rainforest I’d previously known of were the broadleaf forests in warmer climates like Puerto Rico and Costa Rica. Those environments are more jungle, the vegetation is tropical, and the animals are more amphibian. But there is another kind: the coniferous forests, with mosses, ferns, shrubs and massive pine trees. In this type of rainforest, things that should be black or brown are also green. I took U.S. Route 101 beyond the Puget Sound along the majority of the peninsula’s shoreline. I passed through Port Angeles, Forks, La Push and up into the northwestern […]

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Six Months a Nomad in the USA

I’m from the Midwest, or I was until I became a nomad. Texas, New Mexico, Utah, Idaho, Montana, Washington, and Oregon have been my home for the last six months. I’ve been traveling solo, living out of rented places and camping in my van on weekends. They used to say I was crazy; now they say I’m “living the dream.” Neither is wrong, but it took a lifetime to get here. When I was 17, I had a brief fantasy that I would get in my blue 1987 Camaro and head west without stopping until I felt like it. I quickly made a few calculations and decided I didn’t have the skills, knowledge, or money to even think about it. So, I stopped thinking about it. Mostly.  Years passed; nearly 30 of them. I’d lived entire lives, but never that one. Occasionally, I’d still think of it and picture myself driving down the road, arm resting across the open window, sun shining. Eventually, like much of the world, in 2020, I started working remotely. Months went by. Then more months. I rarely left my studio apartment in downtown Chicago. I couldn’t. Between COVID-19 and the looting that happened in my […]

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