Our March trips to Tilden and Pt. Reyes
We’ve had a fun spring with the ESCAPE club: steam train, lighthouse, spring wildflower blooms, and some amazing wildlife watching. Read on to hear about our last two regular trips of this school year!
For our first March trip we stayed extra local (didn’t even get on the highway!) and visited a handful of spots in Tilden Regional Park. It was a really beautiful spring day that started with a short hike and detour into the Tilden Little Farm. We got lucky with timing and happened upon a “Creature Feature” right as it was starting at the visitor center and students got to see and pet a tortoise.
In the afternoon we went over to the botanic garden for a nature journaling session. Students spread throughout the garden, finding a spot sit and to sketch plants or insects. Even with everyone starting with a different art background and comfort around drawing, they were all were really engaged with the activity and produced some really beautiful artwork. After a few minutes, some continued their drawing while others looked for salamanders in the pond or explored the redwood trails. And finally to end the day we rode the Tilden Steam Train! So fun.
Late March took us to Pt. Reyes National Seashore for hiking and wildlife viewing. To start, we walked down the 300 steps to the lighthouse and back up, which feels a bit like training for Yosemite’s Mist Trail. The fog had made it so the visibility wasn’t great, but it does create a certain ambience. The sun started to come out as we ate lunch and then hiked Chimney Rock. Along the trail, there are spots where you can look down and see the elephant seals down below. And there was a special treat at the end of the trail: whale watching! Several gray whales splashed around as they passed through for their spring migration. After the hike, we walked down to the end of the Cypress Tree Tunnel before heading to the visitor center for a picnic and frisbee in the park. Overall, it was a beautiful day with a great group of kids.
It’s been a busy busy few months, but we’re always grateful for the time spent outdoors. To top it all off, we were in Yosemite a couple weeks ago for our big end of year camping trip. That will be its own newsletter, so stay tuned for that! In the meantime, you can check out the videos from both of these trips below. As always, thanks for reading!
Check out our trip to Tilden!
And Pt. Reyes!