Salinas River Walk Photos and Sky Journal

An Unintentional River Walk

I didn't mean to go for a river walk today. It was raining when I left the house about 2:40 and I only intended to shop at Smart and Final downtown and come right home. By the time I left the rain had stopped and it was a gorgeous afternoon. As I drove up 21st Street, I saw a photo I wanted to take so I parked on Spring. That photo didn't turn out, but I kept walking to 20th. I noticed there that the sky was quite different on the east side of the street than the west side. The east side was dark and gray.

The East Side of 20th and Spring Street Is Gray

The west side was bright blue with only fluffy white clouds. Just by turning your head you'd get a different sense of what the weather was like. 

The West Side of 20th and Spring Is Bright and Blue

I took a few shots I will share in another post of a surprise I found, and then I started home on South River Road. That's when I noticed what a lovely day it was for a photo walk along the river. 

The Salinas River Between Navajo Avenue and 13th Street

I parked on Navajo right where it curves to parallel the river. Then I strolled up to the 13th Street Bridge. After taking a few photos from the bridge, my camera battery died. That meant the walk back to the car was much faster than the walk to the bridge. This photo was taken very close to where I parked. You can see the Derby Wine Estates Building across the river. 

Looking Across the River to Derby Wine Estates Building

It appears the city planted some colorful shrubs on the slope. I assume the mustard is wild. From this view, you only see one channel of the river. Vegetation and sandbars keep you from seeing the other channels from here.  

Colorful Shrubs Combine with Wild Mustard to Beautify the Slope

One thing I can't show you is the sound. The trees chirp as you pass them. The birds and bunnies scamper along the ground so fast they are almost impossible to photograph, but I heard the brush rustle. Birdsong accompanied me all along the way. This is one of the last shots I got before my battery died.

Looking North from Salinas River Trail North of Niblick Road

I finally got to the bridge after taking over a hundred photos. You can the see the whole width of the river from the bridge, but I couldn't capture all of it in the shots I took while my battery was still alive. I was facing south toward Niblick Road when I took this shot. It will give you an idea of the river's width.  

View of Salinas River Looking South from 13th Street Bridge

Sky Journal February 11, 2017

This was a day of swift weather changes. I took my first photo at 12:19 PM. Doesn't it look like a beautiful day?

It's a Beautiful Day to the East at 2:19 PM

This is the same scene at 2:30. It doesn't seem too much different except for that creeping gray cloud to the left of the oak tree. 

Gray Cloud Is Sneaking up to the Tree, 2:30 PM

When I stood facing the tree and turned left to look south, I saw a much different picture that was more accurate in predicting the weather. It was taken only seconds after the one above.

Gray Rain Clouds Approaching from the South at 2:30

 

Sure enough. Although I was hurrying to leave on my shopping errand, I couldn't beat the rain. The drops started to come just as I took this photo at 2:40 before I got into the car. 

At 2:40 the Rain Began

My entire walk took an hour and fifteen minutes. I highly recommend this walk for anyone who likes to photograph the river and the critters who live near it. 

*****

Photos of Proposed Parking Lot Site at Larry Moore Park

West Side of Salinas River Trail through Larry Moore Park

These photos are from my walk to see what parts of Larry Moore Park would be developed if the plan now proposed for the park is implemented. I walked the Salinas River Trail, part of which you see here at the extreme right of this photo. To the left are the river  and some of the trees at its edge. This photo was taken near the south end of the park, across from where I believe the proposed parking lot will be. If the parking lot goes in, the right side of the photo might be part of the driveway into it.

Site of Proposed Parking Lot at Larry Moore Park

This is what's on the east side of the trail between the trail and the homes on Riverbank Lane. I and my shadow are looking at the place I believe is  where the parking lot will be if they develop it where currently planned. I am assuming it would end just before that large tree in the background. At the extreme right of the photo are some of the homes homes that would be across from the parking lot. I'm looking at what would be the wider end of the parking lot.

Although I'm not sure exactly how this design will be implemented, I'm assuming there will be an entrance to the lot very close to what is now the south entrance of the park. Unfortunately I took my walk late in the afternoon when the shadows were long from the trees by the river.

To the extreme right of the photo you can see the slope between the path by Riverbank Lane that serves as a sidewalk and the narrow bit of field to the right of the trail (left side). The planners are hoping that slope will hide the parking lot from the view the residents across the street will see. It will not, however, hide the cars entering and exiting the lot. The path itself will either be part of or very close to the driveway around the parking lot.

It is easy to see why the residents of Riverbank Lane across from the park wish this parking lot would not be built.

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Sometimes You Can't Fight City Hall and Win

Larry Moore Park Workshop, 12-12-2015, © B. Radisavljevic

The Larry Moore Park Workshop

I went to a meeting Saturday morning  December 12 at the Emergency Services Building in downtown Paso Robles. The purpose of the meeting was to discuss the future of what has up until now been a neighborhood park for the residents of the Riverbank tract behind the Walmart shopping center. The residents were notified that Larry Moore Park is now a part of the city park system and will undergo many changes that park users in other parts of the city, unlike Riverbank residents, would like to see. You can read the details of these changes in this article in the Paso Robles Daily News.

When my neighbors and I got to the meeting we found hot beverages and donut pieces available, since many of us had not had much breakfast yet. The first thing we saw besides the goodies was the welcome screen posting the agenda I have shown you in the first photo above. On the wall was the following set of architectural drawings.

Proposed Plan for Larry Moore Park ,  © B. Radisavljevic

Proposed Changes to Larry Moore Park

Refer to photo  above. On the right side you see the park as it is now. On the left is the drawing showing how it may look after the city develops it. You can click to enlarge this photo. Residents heard the city's presentation and then were allowed to ask  questions and try to get answers. After the meeting broke up officially, many people stayed to make suggestions to city staff,  and they wrote the suggestions on copies of the drawings.


Very few of the neighborhood residents want the changes. Development will bring added traffic, noise, and lights into our peaceful neighborhood. There is also no parking except for limited street parking, much of which is used by the residents.

I would rather that this park would not be more developed at all. So  far it's about the only park in Paso Robles that maintains a wilderness area.The Salinas River Trail runs through the edge of the park closest to the river. It is a quiet place to take a walk and be close to nature, even though  there are houses across the street and a shopping center on the other side of the wall and above it as the trail runs just north of the park. The wall and hill keep the view of the shopping center at a distance. That wouldn't work inside the middle of the park where the ball field and parking lots would be.

No one minds keeping the benches for eating a lunch or just resting along the trail or in the park. But building a couple of standard baseball diamonds for scheduled games and putting parking lots right beside the trails where native plants now live does bother me. Some trees will be removed.

 There are other parks in the city with baseball diamonds. There is no other park in the city with a wilderness area and a place to enjoy a quiet walk, where children can explore nature and learn about our native plants. With a baseball diamond and a parking lot right beside the trail, I think the bunnies that often play hide-and-seek with walkers will probably stay out of sight when they hear added the noise.

The city representatives, including staff, at least three city council members, and the mayor, don't appear to share my concern. The backstory seems to be that the city lost a ballpark and needs to put one in some other park and we've been chosen. The input they have asked for is to rank the elements from their list of possible improvements in order of our preference as to what we would like added first, leaving blank any that don't interest us. There is some blank space for added comments. Our choices are these:

• Fitness Stations along the River Trail
• Picnic Tables
• BBQ Pavillions
• Benches along the River Trail
• Second Baseball Field
• Parking Lot
• Other

No United Neighborhood Opposition

We have no choice or voice about the first baseball field and the upgraded "safer" playground. I suspect the neighbors will not agree on what they want to see happen, depending upon how close they live to the proposed parking lot. Those who live right across from the park want to see the first  baseball diamond in the corner of the park closest to the river trail where it will disturb wildlife the most and them the least. They would also like the parking lot near that corner or next to the trail from the northeast entrance.

I can understand why since they don't want them as the view from their front windows. Hardly anyone really wants the parking lot inside the current park boundaries, but most recognize the alternative is street parking and we all know that is not sufficient. 

I won't fight for my preferences, since I know I'm on the losing side and may die before they ever finish the construction anyway. What disturbs most residents is what this will do to our  property values, since none of these  changes had been foreseen when we bought our homes.We know this development will forever change the character and peace of the neighborhood. We aren't happy about that. Many  residents also  want to see a financial plan for the maintenance of any improvements. The city is great at getting grants to build things they have no money  to maintain.

Park Photos

Dying Cottonwood Tree at Larry Moore Park,  © B. Radisavljevic

If some of the changes to the park that were discussed are implemented, it's possible that one or both of these two trees which may be in the way will be replaced. This cottonwood tree is almost dead. Most of the green on it is mistletoe. Vandals have destroyed the picnic table next to it. 

Large Willow Tree at Larry Moore Park,  © B. Radisavljevic

This large willow tree is in the center of the park. It is surrounded by poison oak. I would hate to lose either tree just because they are like park landmarks to me. The willow still seems healthy to me, but the cottonwood loses more branches each year, and it struggles to stay alive. You can click any photo to enlarge it.

I will show you more of the park itself in future posts. I have been taking photos of it since I moved here about twenty years ago. Here is a photo album I started about the park on Flickr. The second to last picture titled 365 Jan 7 Beginning of Trail to Bridge, is near one entrance to the park - the one closest to me. Some would like to see a parking lot to the left of the trail there. To see how colorful this portion of the park is in October, see "What's Blooming in Larry Moore Park In October?"

Those who want to stay informed of new decisions and meetings about the park, can visit the City Website for Park Maintenance.   I have given you more current information here than is appearing as I post this. Perhaps they will update it Monday. 

Here is one of my favorite river scenes taken from Larry Moore Parkin jigsaw puzzle form. The same photo is available on many other products from postcards and magnets to mugs and electronic cases. I just like puzzles. 

Salinas River, Paso Robles, January

Watch Out For Poison Oak at Larry Moore Park

Poison Oak at Larry Moore Park in Mid-October, © B. Radisavljevic

As I was walking at Larry Moore Park yesterday, I was surprised to see this clump of poison oak in the middle of the park beside the large willow tree.

This is one tree anyone walking the main path that parallels the river can't miss. It's between that path and the sidewalk next to Riverbank Lane.

Large Willow Tree in the Center of Larry Moore Park, © B. Radisavljevic

Large Willow Tree in the Center of Larry Moore Park,

As one approaches the tree, as children might be tempted to do, it is full of  hiding places. I would be surprised if children did not find it an  attractive place to play. Dogs might also find it an attractive target for their activities.

If you click on the photo to enlarge it, in the lower right corner you will see a green clump with a few red and yellow leaves.  That is the same clump of poison oak I showed you in the first photo. There is likely to be more around the tree I did not notice. Poison oak also grows among the trees near the river and has been known  to grow right onto the trail on the north end of the river trail past the shopping centers and on the other side of the Veterans' Memorial Bridge (aka The Niblick Bridge)

Click here for more information on how to identify poison oak in North San Luis Obispo County,  Show it to your children so they can learn to stay out of it.

If your children play in this park or any park where poison oak is abundant, it would be a good idea to have one of these products on hand to treat it, just in case they do come in contact with it. 

U is for Under the Bridge

I've always been a curious person when it comes to exploring what I consider my territory. Right now that territory is North San Luis Obispo County. One thing I had wondered about every time I crossed a bridge is what that bridge would look like on the underside. I also wondered what might be under the bridge. I finally got a chance to satisfy my curiosity when I moved to Paso Robles. It just so happens that the Salinas River Trail goes right under the Veterans' Memorial Bridge (also known locally and more commonly as the Niblick Bridge, because it crossed the Salinas River on Niblick Road.)

I took these pictures from under the bridge in a wet year, 2011, in April.

That year, 2011, we received a lot of rain and the river had almost left its banks. It's said that one of the homeless people who live in on the islands in the middle of the river drowned that year. I wondered about that when I saw this right under the bridge.








This photo was taken this year, 2015, in January, and there was no water in the river.

Also this year I took a walk that extended all the way to the 13th Street Bridge.


This is the approach  to the 13th Street Bridge from the trail.

This view was taken under that bridge.

 Have you ever walked under a bridge? Both of these bridges are main traffic arteries between the west and east side of Paso Robles. When you are under one of the bridges you can feel and hear the traffic above your head. And, of course,  one always hopes that the "big one" won't come when one is under the bridge. Supposedly they are now retrofitted to be safe in earthquakes. I certainly hope it's true.




T-Shirt EARTHQUAKES GET ME ALL SHOOK UP!

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O is for Oaks, Old, and Open Spaces

I grew up in the suburbs of Los Angeles. My childhood was spent in Bellflower in a typical neighborhood about two blocks from the main street of town, Bellflower Boulevard. I could walk anywhere I wanted to go -- the library, church, school, or shopping. That was all good. This photo shows Bellflower Boulevard as I knew it, and I lived about eight blocks from this part of it. Do you see any trees?

 I went there were buildings and cement except for one local park that was mostly developed -- ball fields, playground, tennis courts, and a picnic area. There were a few trees, but no wild or natural places. There was nowhere to take a hike or a walk that wasn't on a street or sidewalk. Except in the park, most trees were small. You would not have seen anything like this scene (just off Spring Street in Paso Robles) in downtown Bellflower.

Another thing I realized as I was writing this is that most homes were fairly new. Bellflower was founded in 1906. By the time I came on the scene I don't remember ever seeing any homes like this one (on 12th Street in Paso Robles) in Bellflower, though there were some in Long Beach (without the oak). Long Beach had palm trees.

When I moved to Templeton, I found a dramatic change of scenery. My mother also noticed it when I moved her to Paso Robles.  She missed her friends back in Bellflower, but she loved our trees. We have huge oak trees in the middle of town and on almost every street. The example here is typical.

What I love is the open space -- the walking trails that are accessible to those who  want observe the natural world. I live a couple of blocks from Larry Moore Park. It gives me access to the Salinas River whether or not it has water in it. Parts of the park are wild and let nature take its course. Trees fall and are left to decay and support lichens and mosses. One can often see rabbits at dusk and a variety of birds singing in the trees.

I always wanted to do what these children are doing when I was a child, but there simply was no place like this. Those of us in Paso Robles may take what we have for granted, but some towns don't have the opportunities we do.



Paso Robles protected some

open space for its citizens to enjoy -- even if they live in a tract home or apartment. The Snead/Ramboiullet Trail is a good example of this. In this photo on the right, you see part of this trail. People can enter the trail from four different streets that surround it. The trail  is coming from a street with single family homes and apartment buildings. Just across that bridge is a path coming from a large apartment complex. There are such entrances from many neighborhoods all leading into the park from different directions, and all those residents can enjoy the trees, wildflowers, and wildlife to be seen and heard as they walk the trails. There are probably more trails like this I have not yet discovered.  

The longer Salinas River Trail is only about a mile from the Snead/Rambouillet Trail for those who want longer nature walks. The Charolais Corridor connects to it, but is newer and does not have so much nature to see. It does, however,  provide a pretty and safe trail for those walking or on bikes.


I'm noticing there is a trend now toward more planned cities with more open space. It's harder, though, for the older cities that have already developed most of their land to find places for this kind of open space. Is open space available near where you live? Do children have places close to home where they can get out into nature?

Paso Robles Rural Sunsets on Oak Lane and South River Road

Steeple and Weather Vane in Sunset, © B. Radisavljevic

Photos Before and After Sunset on Oak Lane

I love rural sunsets, and I'm blessed to see a lot of beautiful ones where I live. I left on my walk today in the late afternoon while the sun was still bright, but almost to the horizon. I went back to Oak Lane, that rural area where I photographed the Pig-Up Close and Personal and The Bird on a Bridge from a Bridge. The pig came to say hello, and every dog on the street barked at me. The geese I saw also came to talk to me, although one hissed at me. But it was the sunsets I was waiting to get.


Of course, I had to do something while waiting for the sun to set, so I did take some photos of the animals. The dogs were all very protective of their properties. Some sounded ferocious while wagging their tails, sending mixed messages. But this one took guarding the property very seriously and seemed to be an excellent watchdog. I think any burglar would think twice about trying to get over this fence.

Guard Dog on Duty,  © B. Radisavljevic

I loved watching the geese on one small farm. I even made videos of them, but haven't had time to process them yet. Geese are funny. These seemed curious enough to investigate me, but they reminded me of prim dowagers gossiping and hissing their disapproval of my observing them. What do you think?

The Sunsets

Eventually the sun started to set. This is the photo the top picture was cropped from.

Complete Version of Sunset Photo at Top,  © B. Radisavljevic

I took this photo on the way back to my car. I wanted to capture the sunset behind this statue at the beginning of the Charolais River Trail that leads to Larry Moore Park and the Salinas River.

Sculpture at Beginning of the Charolais River Trail, © B. Radisavljevic

This last photo, just the right size to pin was taken over the fence and captures a new phase of the disappearing sun with different colors.

If you enjoyed these photos, why not  share them. Sharing  buttons are below. 

Poison in the Park

We like to think of our parks as safe places, and, for the most part, they are. But Larry Moore Park is full of poison, especially from February until the end of summer. It's not only poison, but it's lovely poison. You can see it here above. I suggest you click to enlarge these photos so you can see the leaves in greater detail. Those beautiful green lacy leaves are none other than poison hemlock, the same stuff that killed Socrates. See my article Poison Hemlock: Lovely but Lethal for information on how to recognize it at every stage of its life.

I took the photos in this blog post at Larry Moore Park on February 18, 2015, but the park is full of poison hemlock very year. You will also find it all over the North County on uncultivated land and on roadsides, and probably in your yard if you have open space. It smells sinister if you pick it, but you really don't even want to touch it. One mouthful of this plant can kill an adult, but it comes with no warning labels except its smell, and even that is subtle.

Poison hemlock often grows in close proximity to milk thistle, another beautiful plant, but it won't harm you unless you touch its thorns. Wild mustard often grows with one or both of these. You can see the broad white-streaked milk thistle leaves interspersed among the hemlock plants in this photo.

If you see a fern-like bright green plant growing next to mustard and / or milk thistle, it is very likely to be poison hemlock. Teach your children to recognize these plants. Mustard and milk thistle are harmless, but they can warn you that poison hemlock may be nearby. If your children play at Larry Moore Park between back trail and the riverbed, be sure they are warned never to touch the green plants or eat them. Poison hemlock can resemble wild celery, Queen Anne's Lace, and even wild carrot. They are in the same family.

Wild Mustard and Poison Hemlock Together

This last photo shows you just how much poison hemlock invades the park. I was walking that back trail that leads to river access when I took these pictures. The poison hemlock grows not only along the trail, but through all the dead and living trees almost to where the river sand starts. It's a see of green invading the woods - just where children might be playing hide and seek. Look through the trees and you will see it everywhere.

Poison Hemlock Invading Larry Moore Park