Mt. Tamalpais would be my last highpoint of the trip, and probably the easiest, too. I'd stayed the night at my sister's place in San Francisco and decided not to get moving until about 8 a.m. when the worst of rush-hour traffic would be over. Mt. "Tam" is in Marin County, directly north of the Golden Gate Bridge. I negotiated the maze of roads in town until I found Van Ness Avenue (US-101), which eventually feeds to the Golden Gate Bridge, which is always a nice diversion. On the north side, I continued up US-101 to the CA-1 exit, then through the town of Mill Valley and up the main road toward Tam, just following the signs. Mt. Tam has three summits; the highest is the East Peak. Apparently this wasn't always the case as the western peak was graded flat years ago to make room for some facilities. The middle bump is noticeably lower as well.

There are options to make the summit of Tam, one of which includes a hike of about 4 miles with a 1,700-foot gain, but I chose to drive the roads to the upper parking area, which would leave me with a shorter, simpler 0.6-mile round-trip hike to the tippy top. I had my reasons: I didn't want to work up a sweat and get all stinky, then have to smell myself all the way home. When I arrived at the upper parking area, I was the only one there. That genuinely surprised me, since I figured there would always be a stream of tourists in these parts, even if it was a work-day. Anyway, I parked, grabbed a bottle of water and started up the easy plank trail toward the top, where a lookout sits. The planks gave way about half-way up. I made the top in about 10 minutes and moseyed around the lookout. It was shut, so I walked around to the lookout's southwest corner to some natural rock outcrops and the true highpoint. The views are astounding! In every direction there is something gorgeous to behold. To the south is the San Fran skyline and one of the support pillars of the Golden Gate Bridge. To the east is the East Bay Area and the big ships in the bay. The Pacific Ocean was to the west, and more hills and local communities to the north and east as well. I stayed up there about 15 minutes but grew cold in a stiff breeze, so I started down back to my truck.

Once back to my truck, I was done with this trip. I just needed to get back home in Phoenix, about 900 miles yonder. I just drove and drove, and drove some more, eventually getting out to the famously dull Interstate-5. I stopped at the Andersen's Pea Soup restaurant in Santa Nella. Andersen's is a huge restaurant that serves great food as well as good pea soup, and is a very nice alternative to the usual fast-food options on the interstate. We used to always stop there when I was a kid (there's also one on US-101 in Buellton). Then, on home, a long drive. Down I-5 to CA-58 through Bakersfield, the Tehachapis, Mojave and Barstow, then along I-40 to Needles, then along US-95 and CA-62 to Parker, Arizona, then home. Only 870 miles in actual driving and 13 hours. My cat was pissed that I'd left him for 6 days, but he was looked after.