Feb 26, 2004

Look outside the box

It's officially cookie time for the Girl Scouts of Santa Clara County. What's the first thing you think of when you hear the words Girl Scouts? Well, if you are like most folks, "cookies” is probably the first thing that comes to mind. The real story here is not about how many boxes of thin mints that are sold, but how selling Girl Scout cookies turns girls into entrepreneurs.

What do Wall Street and cookie sales have in common? For girls, selling cookies is a skill-building activity—taking orders, handling money, tallying sales and distributing orders—that helps teach and reinforce money management, decision-making and goal setting.

With 9,500 girls selling cookies in Santa Clara County, chances are you're going to run into a girl that is trying to make a difference for herself and make a difference for others with the money that she earns for her troop.

A girl might be selling cookies today, but all too soon she will be budgeting, buying cars and choosing stocks. So the next time you buy a box of Girl Scout cookies, remember there's an important life lesson outside every box.

March South Bay Mobile Blood Drive

There is currently a serious shortage of donated blood in the Bay Area. If you would like to donate blood, remember that scheduling appointments in advance means less waiting time for you. To schedule an appointment, call 1-800-GIVE-LIFE or visit BeADonor.com. To donate blood, you must be 17 years or older, weigh at least 110 pounds, and be in general good health. Mobile Blood Drive events are being scheduled. Call 1-800-GIVE-LIFE, or visit BeADonor.com to locate an event near you

Time to plan a tour of nature's raging waters

Thundering waterfalls headed for peak flows in California state parks

After several months of winter rains, the more than 20 waterfalls found in California state parks are beginning to crank up and roar. Some are headed toward becoming blasting, rampaging torrents of water cascading hundreds of feet over cliffs with a deafening roar. Others appear as delicate and fragile streams of water dancing down the face of rocky cliffs with hardly a sound.

Whichever you want to see, it is time to begin making plans to visit one or more of the 24 waterfalls in or near 16 of California's state parks. Those falls range in size from a mere 10 feet to more than 600 feet, from small streams of water to massive currents of more than 100 million gallons a day.

California state parks feature an incredible variety of waterfalls from one end of the state to the other. Some can be found by a short walk and others can take a lengthy hike. It's always a good idea to call before you visit, because conditions can change.

Here's a sample of what visitors can discover in the Bay Area and surrounding areas:

Big Basin Redwoods State Park [SANTA CRUZ and SAN MATEO COUNTIES], 23 miles north of Santa Cruz, has several waterfalls. The first set of waterfalls is the most popular in the park. The group consists of Berry Creek, Silver, Cascade, and Golden Falls. The falls can be accessed by taking the Sunset/Skyline to the Sea Trail loop. The loop is almost 12 miles/six hours in its entirety and can be strenuous in areas. Hikers should be warned that they will need water, snacks, and a park map. Also, hikers should start early in the day to ensure that they will have enough daylight to safely complete the hike.

The best time of the year is spring. After all of the winter rains, the falls are flowing at their peak. Also, by springtime the Big Basin Trail Crew has been able to clear any trees that may have fallen during the winter.

Berry Creek falls is probably one of the most photographed waterfalls in Northern California. It is approximately 70 feet high and there is a viewing platform so hikers can sit and appreciate the beauty. Hikers are reminded to respect the area and stay on designated trails. The other waterfall in the park is Sempervirens Falls, easier to reach and accessible by vehicle or by hiking. There is limited parking on Sky Meadow Road near the falls and a newly constructed path, approximately 150 feet, that leads down to the falls. If visitors choose to hike to Sempervirens Falls, they are advised to take is the Sequoia Trail, which starts near Park Headquarters and is approximately one and a half miles to the falls. Best time to visit is either winter or the spring. Sempervirens Falls has a newly constructed viewing platform. Visitors are advised to stay on the platform and not go in the falls. The park phone number is (831) 338-8860.

Limekiln State Park [MONTEREY COUNTY], 55 miles south of Monterey on Highway One, has a waterfall, Limekiln Creek Falls that flows year round in Limeklin Creek. It's best visited in the spring. The water flows 100 feet over the face of a cliff encrusted with moss and limestone. It is a half-mile walk on a marked trail from the day use parking area up through the redwood canyon to the falls. The park has seasonal bridges, so visitors may have to ford the stream off-reason. The park phone number is (831) 667-2403.

Pfeiffer Big Sur State Park [MONTEREY COUNTY], 26 miles south of Carmel on Highway 1, is home of Pfeiffer Falls. The beginning of the Pfeiffer Falls trail is just a short distance from the Big Sur Lodge at the park's entrance. During the easy half-mile stroll to the falls along Pfeiffer-Redwood Creek, visitors will see some of the finest redwood groves in the Big Sur region. The 60-foot waterfall at the end of the trail is a scenic highlight.

Best time to see Pfeiffer Falls is in the spring. The park phone number is (831) 667-2315.

Julia Pfeiffer Burns State Park [MONTEREY COUNTY], 37 miles south of Carmel on Highway One, has McWay Falls. The wheelchair accessible Overlook Trail leads from the park's day use and parking area to an observation deck with views of the falls and coast. This scenic waterfall drops 80 feet off a cliff onto the beach nestled in a picturesque little cove. Although there is no access trail to the bottom of the falls, the overlook view of the cove and the Pacific Ocean is stunning. McWay Falls flows throughout the year, so any sunny day is a great time to take in the view.

The Overlook Trail ends on the terrace of what once was the lower level of the Brown House built in the late 1930s. The foundation of the house remains as do the rail tracks of the "tram" that serviced the house and allowed access from the road to the house. The first electricity in Big Sur was generated from a pelton wheel which is housed in a building off the Overlook trail, near the beginning of the trail close to the parking lot. The wheel provided electrical service to the residences here but was not distributed beyond the Brown property. The park phone number is

(831) 667-2315.

Mount Tamalpais State Park , in MARIN COUNTY north of the Golden Gate, has Kent Canyon Falls, with a vertical drop of approximately 10 feet. The falls are located ½ mile west of Frank's Valley on Muir Woods Road. Peak flow of the waterfall is between December and March. There is no official trail that leads to the falls, just some "social" trails. The park phone number is (415) 388-2070.