Spring Hiking

April has been full of beautiful hikes.

We explored the ecological succession at Sycamore Grove following the flooding and fired of the past few years with Ranger Eric.

We had a big group and it was so much fun learning with one of the park experts.

I got out for a Bay Area Ridge Trail hike with friends and saw some gorgeous wildflowers (J kept asking if they were weeds or wildflowers and didn't seem to get, or believe, that there isn't really a difference.)

Had a little glimpse of the Bay from one part of the trail--always feels right on the BART.

Daddy-o and I went on a wildflower research hike so I could prep for my last hike of the semester.

The hills around us are still green, but not for long. 

Luckily, there were still plenty of flowers to find.

And a week later, the weather wasn't nearly as nice (we got sprinkled on and it was COLD),

but we had several families willing to brave the weather and come out on a wildflower hunt with us.

Kind of can't believe that this was possibly Peanut's last nature group hike with me and his friends. We'll see if any of his school holidays line up with my hike schedule next year.

It was a good hike, even with the iffy weather.

And we found so many different flowers.

I'm glad to have had another fun semester with everyone. We've got a few new families who came to several of our hikes, some from across the bay. I'm hoping I can get in some hikes closer to them --my favorite local redwood hikes are out their way and I'd love to have more families out that way to plan hikes for so I have an excuse to drive over there.

Spring Snow

We may have just finished Spring Break, but Peanut and I weren't quite done with the snow. Dodge Ridge was still open and we joined another group for one more homeschool ski day. We camped at the group campground just down the road, which was completely empty, and only a little scary being there without Daddy-o (or anyone else.) It was kind of nice not being the one in charge of this group, and Peanut's lesson was later in the day, so we had a slow morning (slower than I'd like since I wanted to get out there before it was completely slushy, but nice to not be late for anything.)

We did a few runs together before lunch, and then, while he was at his lesson, I went to some new areas that I hadn't seen before. Did my first black diamond in a really long time (although it was just a short part of the trail, and not a particularly crazy one, so ended up being pretty easy.) And then, after his lesson let out, Peanut and I went down a couple of blue runs, including a steeper section, together which was a stretch for him and he did great! He's come so far this year. I'm so proud of him for pushing himself and continuing to work at this. Looking forward to a lot of fun in the next few years, but it's time to switch out to warm weather activities. 

 

Spring Break, Part 2

We got a second week of spring break with these two. I'm glad that we had the whole family together for one weekend, and glad that we got to contine the fun for another week. We had a couple of down days and then went camping at Mt. Madonna with a few other families for the last half of the week.

We went to Pinnacles NP for one of the days and did a couple of fabulous hikes.

First up was a loop up to one of the ridges.

We found some awesome view points,

rocks to climb,

and some fun spots to manuever.

It was a fun hike for sure!

And we got some gorgeous weather!

And then, even though some people were pretty tired, most of us did a second hike to go see the caves. They were a little tricky in a few spots, which made it really fun. 

And it got really dark in the middle! I didn't get a picture because I had to use my phone as a flashlight. But it was a great day and we finished it with some really good Mexican food in Salinas--nothing better after a long hike.

Spring camping means wildflowers,

like these Pedros Shooting Stars.

And redwood camping means banana slugs!

We spent our last day at Manresa. Got lucky with good weather there, too. I got to teach a few new people how to play Molkky and Bean and Peanut tried to turn themselves into popscicles in the ocean. Crazy kids.

And our last act of the week was to attend a protest back in Livermore.

Glad we got to have Bean with us before she had to fly back to school.

And glad for the friends and community members who joined us out there. Lots to stand up for right now--we're just getting started.