The weather was perfect and it has been almost 2 years since we embarked on a short family adventure. The littlest one loves to explore and has shown interest in the outdoors. We also wanted to give the older children a break from social media and video games; of course the parents needed to stay fit . Hiking and a photo/nature walk with the kids seemed like the best thing to do on the last Sunday before it officially becomes Spring.
So we decided to hike one of the shorter trails in the neighborhood at Towsley Canyon Trail Park – it was a mere 1.1 mile trail, but the climb to the top proved to be a little challenging when a toddler is carried on a carrier backpack . Heart rate went up to the 140s during the ascent and we had to stop and rest a few times just to catch our breaths ; the view at the top was gorgeous though and made the little climb worthwhile, plus the feeling of exhilaration for having achieved something no matter how small was an added bonus.
Southern California has been blessed with so much rain these past few months adding more vibrancy to the hillsides which are teeming with various plants and colorful wild flowers. It was a treat to hear and see the creek bubbling with water again.
Along the way we taught the older kids about safety – some plants are poisonous, it almost turned into a mini science class when we asked them how plants defend themselves from ‘predators’.
The hike was completed in less than 2 hours . That is technically not a lot of time , but I honestly think that’s 2 hours well – spent creating scenes and parts of their ‘childhood memories.’
