A couple of weeks ago, we decided to take a little hike. The weather has been seriously beautiful....too nice, really, because we need some rain...but that's another story. It was our day off, the sun was shining, and I needed to get away from my garden before I hurt myself...again. Oh, and it was way too nice out to go to the movies, my other garden escape!
We are so lucky to live in an area that provides both coastal hikes and hikes out in the countryside.
We walk several mornings a week at our local beach, so I wanted to head out to "The Valley", which means Carmel Valley, to folks around here.
This is a lovely valley that heads south-east, and is often warmer in the summer, and colder in the winter than here on the coast. On a lovely mid-winter day, it's perfect. Plus, I had been inspired by a pal's FB post, in which she included some very wonderful photos of her recent hike in the valley.
We headed out, and decided to walk a trail in Garland Park, a local Regional wonderland.
I grew up in Carmel Valley, and walked this park all the time, back in the day. We try to visit once a year these days. On this trip, we chose an area that has a trail which runs along Carmel River. It's a very easy hike, with no real challenges.
We parked near the trail head, and even before we even started, I was stunned by this manzanita in the front yard of a home right across the street...I was really excited to see this beautiful specimen!
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| I'm pretty sure this is Arctostaphylos "Howard McMinn", underplanted with rosemary... W.O.W. |
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| A perfect small tree for this area. |
Anyway, back to that hike.
It was spectacular.
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| Yes, please. Nature rocks my soul. |
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| Moss and little maiden hair ferns. Magical... |
We had run into some friends just as we started out, and they told us this trail ran all the way into the village. Perfect! A nice way to spend the day.
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| We weren't the only ones on the trail, though almost. P.S. I love seeing horses out and about. |
It was so great to see the river actually running. With our ongoing drought issues, this river has had times when it was hardly there. They removed tons of silt from the San Clement Dam, and rerouted the river, allowing for habitat restoration to help the local salmon do their thing, and just help nature get back to her normal self.
You can learn more here.
I've always loved walking along a stream....
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| The sound of a river running is just sublime... |
The trail got a little narrow at one point, but in general it was a very easy walk...
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| The narrow part. Horses are not allowed along here. |
We had the place to ourselves, for the most part. Just us, singing, a little dancing and smiling. Lots of smiling.
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| Hi, Baby! It was nice, wasn't it... |
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| Nature is the best, and we were surrounded by her. |
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| I just got a kick out of this massive branch overhanging the path... |
We walked our way to town, where the path goes through a small bit of neighborhood and ends up here, at Rosie's Bridge. I'm happy they have kept the old signage. Bullet holes, and all.
We didn't stop here, of course. We walked into town, had a glass of wine at the local bar, and hoofed our way back to the car, the same way we came.
It was a marvelous day off with my sweetheart.
For information:
Garland Park
