The California Coastal Commission and the State Lands Commission continue their land-rights access battle with Silicon Valley billionaire Vinod Khosla over public access to Martins Beach on the San Mateo County coast. For 100 years, Bay Area families have been going to this beach, seven miles south of Half Moon Bay, to fish, swim and picnic. The only way onto this scenic beach is a single road through private property. After Khosla, co-founder of Sun Microsystems, bought the land surrounding Martins Beach in 2008, he restricted access to that road by displaying "No Trespassing” signs, charging parking fees, and locking its access gate. This case represents a big clash between two rights: private property and free access to California’s coastline.
Devils Bridge is the largest natural sandstone arch located in the Sedona area of the Coconino National Forest in Arizona. Sedona is an Arizona desert town near Flagstaff that’s surrounded by red-rock buttes, steep canyon walls and pine forests. It’s noted for its mild climate and vibrant arts community.
Factory Butte is a 6,302-foot summit in the Upper Blue Hills in northern Wayne County, Utah, United States, about 12 miles northwest of Hanksville and about 14 miles east of Capitol Reef National Park boundary. The approach and the base of Factory Butte are made of the clay/silt mudstone of the Mancos rock type, which erodes into sharp rills, deep gullies and badland-type rock (fine-grained clay/mud). The crown of the Butte is Mesa Verde sandstone, which erodes into sheer vertical cliffs.
