Great Horned Owl

Nesting Great Horned Owl, McDowell Mountain Regional Park, Scottsdale, Arizona

The first time I saw great horned owl in the wild, it was excitement beyond words. We never saw this bird in the wild before, except some of our neighbors telling us they saw owl in our neighborhood. However, great horned owls are nocturnal birds that are not active by day. They sport a natural color plumage that easily hides them in the wild. They are known to use great secrecy and stealth for preying powers.

My Top 2 San Diego Hike: Mt. Woodson from Blue Sky Ecological Reserve

I Believe I Can Fly :) - near Mt. Woodson Summit

Hiking to the summit of Mt. Woodson from Blue Sky Ecological Reserve is my favorite peak bagging hike in San Diego. One of my first few posts in this blog is Hiking Mt. Woodson (May 3, 2009). That post discusses the several hiking options to reach the summit. Hiking Mt. Woodson is the ALL TIME MOST VISITED POST in this blog. The most researched keyword in this blog in various search engines is Potato Chip Rock.

Me @ Potato Chip Rock

My Top 3 San Diego Hike: Torrey Pines State Beach to LaJolla Shores

The Coast Between Torrey Pines State Beach and La Jolla Shores

There are not that many places in Southern California where one can have an unobstructed beach hike for miles. The sharp cliffs cut off the sights of highway, railroad tracks, power lines and civilization beyond. These sharp cliffs limit road access to about 3 miles of beach between La Jolla Shores and Torrey Pines making this section of shoreline feel so quiet and pristine as if somewhere in a faraway island, not in US 8th largest city. Each time I take this hike I feel so thankful I do not have to spend tons of money for a quiet island vacation. All I needed is to hike away from the crowds of La Jolla Shores Beach and Torrey Pines State Beach. 

For some hiking information:

Distance: 10- 12 miles round trip.

Best Time of Year: Year-round! The weather in San Diego is very mild. It does not get too hot in the summer nor too cold in the winter. It is mostly dry for a very pleasant hike year round.

Best time of day: During low tide ( if you are doing a round trip hike, must start 1- 2 hours before low tide). You can check tide data for La Jolla or Torrey Pines online or using cell phone tide apps. It is important to check tide in this hike since some portions may not be passable at high tide because there may be no beach to walk on since strong waves crash right on the walls of the cliffs.

Precious MOMents

Mom and Baby Elephant

Time flies, was it only last year when I first published this post in this blog at Mother's Day? Now, I am re-publishing these precious MOMents again. The first two pictures here (elephant and gorilla ) were from San Diego Zoo Safari Park, while the rest of the pictures were taken from around San Diego, mostly in La Jolla.

Mom and Newly Born ( barely a day old ) Baby Gorilla

Enjoying Spring Wildflowers

Sea of Yellow Coreopsis

When spring comes, the colors become more alive. So many rejoice at the sight of blooms gracefully swaying with the wind. So many come to enjoy their gifts. 

Squirrel Enjoying Spring Wildflowers

One of those having joyful hearts at such sights are the squirrels. They know, they will have a bounty of food. I am always entertained at how joyful they look harvesting the seeds of the wild bush sunflowers and coreopsis.

Another Weekend @ The Mountains, Valleys and the Ocean

Life is beautiful. We love making the most of it in the beautiful outdoors.  I am sharing in this post some iPhone images from our last weekend hikes here in San Diego.

Saturday, we went hiking at El Capitan Open Space Reserve. The hike is 11 miles round trip with 4000 ft climb.This hike is #6 in my San Diego's top 10 hikes list.

 

Yucca and El Cajon Mountain peaks, between mile 1 and mile 2 from trailhead

( the 4th peak, or the highest peak, was our destination. we had to go up and down several mountains to reach El Cajon Summit )