01/30 - Strawberry Canyon, Art Show and UC Botanic Garden

On a day which started with dense fog and warmed so that we kept removing layers, 14 humans and Oscar the dog walked from the parking lot off Grizzly Peak Blvd, down the fire road, then up Strawberry Cyn Rd to the UC Botanic Garden. There we were joined by Jeanne, Casey and Juanita. Lunch on the deck of the Julia Morgan building was followed by a visit to the exhibit of work by the Northern CA Society of Botanical Artists, with an intro by Lee. Finally we had some time to wander in the garden. Trail mileage was a bit over 4 miles. Garden wandering varied from minimal to a half mile or more.

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1/23 Mt Diablo

After weeks of rain, a dozen of us made our first 2019 visit to Mt Diablo on a beautiful day. Altho it started out a bit on the nippy side, it soon warmed to a beautiful springlike day. When we started, it was possible to see the line of the Sierra, but it got hazier as the day progressed. We walked from the Curry Pt parking area out past Balancing Rock. 4.5 miles. The manzanitas were just beginning their display, but we were not disappointed!

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01/02 - Redwood Regional Park

There were 9 of us on the first hike of 2019 - a 3 mile loop in Redwood Regional Park: out East Ridge Trail, down Prince Trail, return via Stream Trail. It was a brisk (cold) morning and a lovely one to be out and moving. The wonder of the day was a mass of swarming lady bugs at the junction of Prince and Stream trails.

https://www.flickr.com/gp/momcat_ksw/C38549