Family Hike

Our Young Naturalists and their families enjoyed a cool morning hike on the Santa Rosa Plateau yesterday, followed by a picnic snack, frisbee, and a spontaneous game of "elbow tag" under the oaks. About six families joined together to hike the Granite Loop Trail, where we journeyed through chapparal, grassland meadow, over bridges and under sheltering live oak trees. The keen eyes of a couple of trailblazing boys spotted a busy pack rat poking his head in and out of his hole in the leaf-strewn ground. Our trailblazers also caught the attention of a coyote who quickly crossed the path ahead of the group. We also got a close-up view of an upside-down stink beetle (yes, he was in action!).

We look forward to more adventures in this amazing nature preserve, including a ranger-guided hike, an official tour of the visitor center, and nature sketching under the oaks, but this time it was enough to (somewhat quietly) enjoy the peace of hiking along the open trail together.