March 24, 2010 Santa Rosa Plateau Ecological Reserve, Murrieta, CA
What a great day! Almost threatened by rain, but we lucked out as
it began to "mist" a bit only at the conclusion of our hike. We thought we heard thunder,
but most likely the sounds were coming from Camp Pendleton just to the west of
the plateau. Vicki, Carrie, Jan, M.J. Steve, Mark and Carol Jones participated in this
hike. Mark and Carol were ahead of us by about 20 minutes, but kept busy with the map
preparing our path to take.
preparing our path to take.
We met them at the vernal pool which is the third entrance to the park. There is a parking lot there now so no need to park on the street anymore. Mark and Carol were a great help with map readings. Some of us just like to trust and just follow along (we're retired!) Gorgeous plush scenery!
What a jewel in our backyard as it is only about a 15 min. drive from Temecula.The rains have made everything so green. Even a few colorful flowers are beginning to bloom, and this should increase with warmer weather on the way.
The boardwalk at the vernal pool was off limits this round due to worry of shoe contamination so we did not get to look directly into the pool. However, it was nice to see quite a bit of water due to heavy rains so far this winter. We were anxious to begin exploring.
We walked about 2 miles or so on very decent trails to the old Adobe house. This house was used by cowboys in the 1800's. It was complete with old furniture (although we could only peer through the windows) and a horses' stable.
The house is flanked by a huge oak tree, too big for our pictures to capture all of it; this tree is really something to see. It must be over 400 years old.
When we first arrived, we heard the tapping of a busy tiny red woodpecker. He was pecking small holes into a palm tree. There were so many holes, and they were filled with acorns. What a way to store food for later use! This was a sight some of us had never seen before.
We continued on the trail for a bit and picked the right path back toward the cars for the next 2.5 miles or so. Again, we trusted the Joneses with the maps, and that proved to be the right decision. The paths were a bit steep and rocky at some spots, but we safely made it.
On our return path, we sighted a coyote! He was running away from us. Mark told us to watch as he would eventually turn around to spot us. Sure enough, he did. Animals have a great sense of humans within their territory. No mountain lion sightings, but we were prepared to "look big" as the sign warns us to do.
The air was clean and cool; we completed almost 5 miles starting at around 2:30 and returning about 5:00 or so.
With all that exercise and fresh air, we worked up an appetite for dinner. Bread and dips, chicken on the grill, salad, and healthy vegi dish with champagne and red wine hit the spot. Finished up with coffee and a delicious chocolate cake with six candles.................my birthday cake!!!
. Exercise, fresh air, great company and great food made this a day to remember. (MJ)
