How to Cross the Creek

It's been two days since my wildflower walk on the Snead/Rambouillet Trail, and I'm wondering if this part of the walk contributed to my emergency room visit yesterday. I had been trying to figure out how to cross the creek.  

The trail is more like a series of small trails emanating from the housing developments which surround the open space in the middle between them. I always enter from Oxen Street on a paved path with low stairs built in. A narrow dirt path parallels this. After taking the path or the stairs down the hill, I come to a creek. From the main path there is a wooden bridge that crosses the creek.  

From that main  path,  I could see a creek on my left. I decided to take the paved path to the other path I thought connected to it, but instead I was blocked by the creek.

Since I wasn't wearing boots, I took the path back in the direction I usually take it until I reached the turn-off to a dirt path that I believed would meet the other path I wanted up near a pond. It's the path to the right in this photo. You can see the path I want to be on to the left.

The dirt path became quite steep and narrow where it follows the curve of the creek. You can see how the path leans in a slope between the trees.  I have pointed to the path with the green pin.

The path on the hill had a dangerous slope and I almost fell, B. Radisavljevic

I wanted to get to where I thought I could get on the path I wanted, so I stayed on the dirt path even though I knew the slope and loose rocks were risky for me. Since I saw the woman and her children ahead of me, I knew help would be close should I slip. I figured I'd come back by the wider level path once I was across the creek. But that didn't happen. The path again dead-ended into the creek. There was only one place to cross the creek without getting wet.

Unfortunately, I didn't want to risk the slope it would take to get to it. I was between two steep places,  but I chose to go back the way I came. As I expressed my opinion about the lack of bridges to cross the creek from the paths, the mother explained that the golf course used to be very close to where we were walking before there was so much development around the open space. That's why the trails have no bridges across the creek. People used golf carts to cross the creeks where the trails stopped. Those on bikes still have no problem getting across the creeks.

After I left the the trail and went back to my car, I continued on to shop for groceries before going home. My back began to hurt just after I made it into the house with the bags of groceries. I can't help  but think it was the effort to keep from slipping on the slope that caused my back to go into a spasm. Fortunately the medications they gave me at the emergency room yesterday are helping and I'm  almost back to normal just before midnight tonight. I think I've learned I need to be more careful.

Related articles

• Trail
• On the Froom Ranch Trail in San Luis Obispo
• The Birds, the Bees, and the Flowers on the Snead/Rambouillet Trail
• Surprised by a Hidden Trail

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?

The Birds, the Bees, and the Flowers on the Snead/Rambouillet Trail

Revisiting the Snead/Rambouillet Trail

I previously walked this trail on March 18, but at that time I didn't know its name. Evidently the official trail entrances are on Snead and Rambouillet, but I entered on Oxen near Brahma. If you walk across the street from the sign toward the tree on the other side and then turn left on the sidewalk, you will almost immediately see the entrance to the trail on the right. I showed you the entrance in Surprised by a Hidden Trail on March 19. You see stairs leading from the sidewalk down to the trail.

Last week it was dusk when I walked and I didn't have much time to explore. Today I walked in late afternoon while the sun was bright. As one walks down the steps into the forested open space, the first thing one notices at this time of year is the display of colorful wildflowers on either side of the stairs.

I wasn't the only once to notice all those flowers. You could hear them almost before you could see them because the bees were very busy gathering pollen. I caught this one on a clover blossom. They were also doing the rounds of the vetch, but I didn't see many on the lupines and poppies, which were also abundant.

The birds were also quite active. I could hear the woodpeckers in the trees, but I couldn't see any. I did see lots of scrub jays like this one. They didn't seem eager to be captured by my  camera, but I finally found one who decided to show off a bit instead of playing hide and seek in the branches.

Open Space to Explore Nature is Important for Children

As I walked, I couldn't help but regret the suburb of Los Angeles I grew up in didn't have any wild places where kids could walk to a place nearby to explore nature. We had a park with a playground, a tennis court, a cement slab where we could skate, some ball fields, and some trees. There were no "wild" areas to explore. There were no creeks or ponds where one could see ducks and catch tadpoles.

The children lucky enough to live in the neighborhoods around these trails have all of that. Here are a couple of ducks that were resting in the shadows beside the creek. I also saw tiny tadpoles in another park of the creek, but they were too small to photograph.

The ground squirrels I saw wouldn't pose for me, either, but I saw them. They would dive into a nearby hole before I could even see them clearly. Nevertheless I did my best to catch them on camera, and when I got home I found there was one who did not manage to escape my zoom lens. It's not a very clear shot, but it proves I saw him.

 Nature's Playground: Activities, Crafts, and Games to Encourage Children to Get Outdoors

If you'd like to encourage your children to explore nature, one of these books might be a good place to get some inspiration. 

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 Sharing the Joy of Nature: Nature Activities for All Ages Sharing Nature®: Nature Awareness Activities for All Ages How to Raise a Wild Child: The Art and Science of Falling in Love with Nature

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Do you have any wild places children near you can explore within walking distance of their homes? What sort of wildlife do you see most where you live?