February 26th and 27th - West Hills Park.

On the west side of Santee, is a park that is part of the Mission Trails system. The trail head sits on Mast Blvd across the street from West Hills High School.  We went there on the 26th with Susan and did some quick geocaching.  We didn't do a lot of hiking or work at it too long, though.  We found just at the opening of the trails and another just down the trail along the sidewalk. It was getting hot quickly and stopped.

The next day, a little earlier, Laurie and I returned to walk a bit.  The trail has an immediate branch going right and left.  We walked past this and up the hill.  We just walked to the rock formation you see from the street.  Once there, the land drops into a valley you wouldn't know was there.  It was a fum time.  There were a lot of people walking and quite a few who were doing rock climbing on the huge boulders there.  A quick time out and a short but uphill walk and we called it a day. But it was pretty fun.

The trail head

West Hills High School

Mission Gorge Roan sliding over the ridge

An unexpected valley.  Hwy 52 in the distance

closeup enthusiasts climbing rocks.

January 8th - Walker Ranch Preserve Trail. I took a walk.

I like to take walks every couple of days.  Where we're staying is right alongside the San Diego River. Last year, they opened the Walker Trail.  There had many decades ago been a dairy farm along the river here, and the city had bought the land to turn it into a park and wetlands preserve as a part of the ongoing projects all the way down the river to the ocean.

We had just had a major rainstorm lasting a couple of days. (It never rains in Southern California, It pours, man, it pours) The day was sunny and the river was muddy because of all the runoff.  It is a nice smooth trail with a lot to see.  I walked for a while and took pictures.

Geochaches?  Yes, there are some.  I wasn't interested in collecting finds because I was by myself.  I easily found a couple,and knew we would come back to get them for real.

Along the trail are pieces of history including a sand dredge.  Plaques talk about the history, the wildlife, and the vision for the future.

Here's a site from a local newspaper talking about the history of the ranch and where things are going today.
http://www.eccalifornian.com/article/santee%E2%80%99s-walker-family-leaves-legacy-san-diego-river

Looking down from the bridge on Magnolia Avenue

Just inside the park

The San Diego river

A bicycle repair station

In the distance, the Santee Drive-in movie screens

The river bed used to be flat and dry.  This sand dredge was used on it.

The hills to the north

Side trail leads under Magnolia Avenue.