Headed off to Monterey where Jon and I often went for our anniversary. The weather was almost perfect. I had tickets to the Monterey Jazz Festival which was being held at the fairgrounds with a hotel room just a block away. I even took my bike for some riding along the coast drive. The ride and scenery were great as always.
After Monterey, I drove just north of Santa Cruz to Big Basin State Park, just taking in deep breaths of the wonderful smell of pine and crisp, cool air. Since it was a Sunday, most of the
campers had left and the camp area was nearly deserted. Actually, it was too quiet for me since I was by myself to set up camp and enjoy the evening. I rode my bike all around the park, on every 
road to every campsite, some group camping and some tent cabins. In all there are six camping areas, general store, park headquarters, campfire area and visitor center/museum. It's all surrounded by groves of redwoods and trails.
I arose early the next morning and decided to go for my usual 4-5 mile jog and chose a trail to go. I never take anything with me at home because I'm only gone one hour. I headed up the hill and decided to take the Berry Falls trail. After about a mile, I came to a warning sign. I thought hard about the warning and decided to go back to the car and get water and food in a day pack and start over. I ran all the way back to the car, packed up crackers, a sandwich, water bottle, sun screen and trail map and headed back up the hill.The hike was everything beautiful and peaceful with just the sounds of the wind and chattering squirrels. It was a hard hike but well worth the work getting to the falls.
The first set of falls ran over a large rock face which was really unique. Then they continued down, down, splashing until the big fall over a few hundred feet to the bottom of the ravine. The falls were breath-taking. I'm sure in the spring they are more dramatic with more water flowing over the ledges, but even in September, the falls were wonderful and the sound of the splashing water was majestic. I stayed there for some time, ate my little lunch and had a moment with God.
By the time I hiked back, total round trip of 10 miles, my feet were so sore and I was exhausted. The sign said the hike took 6 hours and I did it in 4 with a lot of jogging along the downhill slopes.
Tuesday and time to head home and back to the real world. I left the secluded comfort of the forest slowly in the car, just wishing for the beauty of the redwoods to last in my memory during the days ahead. I know it will!
Happy Anniversary Honey
I miss you!
