Two Hidden Nature Gems of Greater San Diego
This morning, when I dragged myself out of bed, my husband told me: "You can't soar with the eagles if you blog with the owls." I'm used to hearing:"You can't soar wit the eagles if you hoot with the owls." A beloved saying from my better half's father and his family. I took the advice and here I am blogging a little bit earlier today :-D
I always get the blues when a Finnish celebration is coming up and I am way out here across the ocean from all the excitement. Tomorrow is Finland's Independence Day and the Finns are getting ready to party. In situations like this, I like to draw strength from nature. I miss the Finnish forests and nature dearly and I get tired of the crowds of people. I have worked pretty hard to find inspiring natural places to visit amongst the semi-desert landscape of Southern California. Here are two of our favorite calm places to visit:
1. Mt. Helix
Our family loves Mt. Helix. It is a place where one can find peace by looking at 350 degree views of the greater San Diego area. The kids love to play in the amphitheater and the stairs. We like to hike along the dirt path around the top of Mt. Helix and sit there and look at the views all the way to Mexico, the Pacific Ocean, San Diego Downtown, the mountains in the east and Cowles Mountain and North County. These pictures were taken on a beautiful blustery day after San Diego had received a few rain showers. It was lovely to see some clouds in the sky!
Stelzer County Park is my favorite parks in San Diego. It hurts to mention this park, as the best part of it is that there has never been many people there. We love the peace and quiet of this park. The old live oak trees provide shade and make our visits comfortable even during the summer. There are two shaded play grounds, a compost and a small native plants garden. If you are lucky, you might even get to watch the park rangers feed their pet snakes in the little ranger station. The Kumeyaay Indians have left behind grinding rocks to the boulders and it is easy to see why they chose to live in the Stelzer park region. There is a little fresh water stream that creates a riparian forest with wild grapevines and oak trees. It is a lovely place to hike!
Sending much love to those friends who are now packing up and getting ready to move! Perhaps, you can find some peace in the above places before you move or sometime over the holidays.
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