California Woods

Sonoma, California. We called mom, dad, and Kendall. Hike? Nicole (our family friend) asked. Sure they said. We got ready, all in our exercise clothes.

We waited for my family to show up. In the car, we drove to the entrance to the park. We got out and walked. Up through the path until we were dumped into the huge trail of rocks, trees, animals, and the hot sun.

It was beautiful. I could smell the freshness of the woods. We walked up the path, higher up the mountain. The gravel crunched beneath our feet. After a while of walking, we were placed down the hill again. Gravel turned to dirt.

We walked down until the contorting trees twisted and covered us. A long, clear, glassy stream followed us on the side. The trees took over the blazing sun, and the air was cool. A couple minutes later, we were back in the sun again. But this time, we were walking on heavier terrain. Rock. We walked up and up the hill, testing our feet on the uneven rocks. Deer were on the grass, frightened by us. They quickly sequestered themselves beneath the bushes and trees. We stopped to take a break. We crashed into a bench looking over the lower mountains. It was beautiful. I felt like I was on top of the world. We sipped water and continued on our journey to the top.

We got there. The trees were visible again. The gravel came back, and just a few feet ahead, a huge shimmering lake was right in front of us. A pure feeling of elation was felt by all of us. We walked up to this amazing site, and saw to our left, a big bridge to the meadows. Making the scene even more pretty. The lake was brown and blue. We took a seat in a crook almost touching the water. We ate our food and started to fuel up.

Down we went. The path different. We walked down the gravel another way, and down the rocks again. After about a mile, we were back on the ground. We looked at our maps. A bit lost. Able to get back. We tried walking up one way, backwards we did not know. We turned around. Went back. We climbed up another hill. Here we are Nicole said. I recognized the sign we passed before. We were back on the gravel again, we could see the path to the parking lot from here. Back in the neighborhood, we got in the car. Away from the beautiful, wonderful, California Woods.

~ Abby G.