Path of the Padres the Finale

The conclusion of the path of the Padre hike and photos are in a random order
as you can see the pontoon boat taking us back to where we started
we all were ready to enjoy sitting after such a long hike!






I could not pass up the photo opportunity that my
husband gave me while he was resting on the rock
is he not a cutie pie!




my co-worker Rebeca and her husband Keith we all had such fun together!!



If you ever get the chance to take this hike I recommend it the park does this only once a year on weekends
in March.

path of the Padres Part 4

In my continuing sharing my path of the Padre hike I took two weeks ago
here are a few more photos not in any order the top photo is of the group of fun folks that took the hike the youngest was 13. we are on a bridge that the park service built
especially for this hike a few years ago because the park service wanted towns folk and travelers to enjoy the beauty and history of the path of the Padre hike. some beautiful wild poppies the fields were covered I never saw up close how wide a poppy can open up till I took this hike

the next post will be the final chapter in the path of the Padre hike.

Path of the Padres Part 3

As I continue to show the photos of my hike of the path of the padres I
wanted to share more photos

the stream is actually where the Padres would bath the town of Los Banos was really named Arroyo De Los Banos which really means
the canyon of the baths most folks now a days think Los Banos means "The Bathrooms" which in fact it could but that is not the true name. the baths is surrounded by Sycamore grove and according to the rangers is still one of the oldest in Ca state park history.

along the hike there are some soft rock and though this photo is not very clear it is a grinding stone where the Native Americans would crush acorn
and plants.

Of course the land is fenced off and
there is private land and I thought
this cow looked pretty.

Path of the Padres Part 2

when you take this hike you cross a property line and go out of the State Park property
I thought the sign was interesting as it hung on a barb wire fence




















The photo of our guide Richard he reminded my husband of his late grandfather. he has been with the park service since 1965!
The pontoon boat ride to where we will begin the hike this boat ride goes for about 3 mi my coworker sitting next to me with the visor on the other folks next to me were a nice couple

I will continue with a few more photos
in the week to come

Peace

" There can never be peace between nations until there is first known that true peace which is within the souls of men"
Black Elk


my daughter created this peace sign with some of the photos she has taken of her and her friends and when I saw it on her wall I just had to take a photo of it! her zest for life and her bohemian
spirit astounds me. I learn something from both my children everyday.

another saying that comes to mind when I saw this art was this:

No God, No Peace
Know God , Know Peace

Know

" At the center of your being you have the answer
you know who you are and you know what you want"

Lao Tzu

Path of the Padres part 1

Yesterday I embarked on a bit of a time traveling journey
I have always wanted to take the hike known in my part of the woods
as "Path of the Padres"

it is called this because it was the path through the Diablo Range taken by the Padres
as they came from mission San Juan Bautista 35 miles along the Los Banos Creek and into the Central Valley in the early 1800's. My journey began with a pontoon boat ride for about 3 miles
to shore there we stopped and looked at the Tule that the Native Americans used to make skirts, boats, then we went to shore and began our 5 mile hike, along the path we saw beautiful wild flowers, eatable plants, came to a spot where the Native American tribe would crush acorns into a sandrock and continued our journey. Our lunch stop was located were the historic "baths" deep pools in the creek carved in bedrock which gave Los Banos it's town name. In 1805 the mission Padres and accompanying soldiers washed and rested here in Los Banos del Padre Arroyo simply known now as Los Banos Creek.

The canyon floor was is covered with 576 acres of old growth sycamore forest described by the Fish and Game biologists as the largest and most intact natural community left of it's kind in California.

I will continue more of this blog with photos later this week