I didn’t plan to walk too far and wanted to hit the trails on the inside of the park requiring parking in the main lot next to the office. My plan was to start by taking Woodside until it met with Bluff Trail Loop, then along Valley View ending up on Riverside which brought me back to the Parking Lot. Wonderful trail names.
As the name suggest, Valley View does have great views of the valley and the river is clearly visible, churning along in a very muddy state after all of the recent rains.
I passed a family of four with the younger children enjoying the beauties of Nature.They willingly posed for me as I passed them on the trail. Very unusual for me to pass anyone but it was obvious that this little group were not in any hurry and were out to enjoy the beauty of nature.
Further along, a group young adults accompanied by an older gentleman passed me several times. The group had gotten split up and were trying to locate each other and I don’t think they ever did as when I was back in the parking area, they returned in a couple of separate groups.
Along the way, I managed to take pictures of quite a few flowers that were still blooming including several bushes of Lantana. The wild version looks exactly the same as the one we buy in the Nursery.
I completed the hike and arrived back in the parking lot where yet another large group were getting ready to set out. Back by the car, I was greeted by the Roadrunner that maybe I had seen the last time I was in the lot, a couple of days before. Don’t know if it was the same one as to me, all Roadrunners look alike.
Altogether I covered a little over 4 miles and even though I was hot and sweaty and my clothes were totally soaked, my mind was at peace. Nature does that to me.
One thing you can notice from the pictures above are how many trails are so different in texture and shade and even in width. Most are easy walking although they do go up and down. You can guarantee that around every bend is a hill, usually going up.