We ventured down the mountain each day after a hearty breakfast to do a variety of hikes around the Kern River, which is a spectacular river! We hiked along Mill Creek, where we found newts! The trail was quite picturesque. The wildflowers were just beginning to bloom.
We have a great crew of hikers and climbers! All four of my little (and not so little) mountain goats had a fun time clamoring up boulders and across the stream. Viviana and Dylan formed their usual alliance...for some unknown reason, they now call each other Chuck and Bill. They become quite a team on these road trips, sharing giggles and teasing the heck out of each other!
(the picture of Zack in the rocks is sideways, so I can't post it here until I figure out how to rotate it!)
We also hiked up along the Upper Kern River, where we looked for gold. Unfortunately, all the flakes we found were pyrite, Fool's Gold. John is showing an interest in river kayaking, which sounds pretty scary to me!
We also hiked through the Kern River Preserve, and came across some deer bones. We were too noisy of a group to come across any birds (we were looking for the yellow-billed cuckoo). The kids were having too much fun for me to "shush" them...
So I highly recommend this area for close-to-home exploring! I plan to go back later this year and do some of the hikes which were inaccessible due to the snow, mainly in the Sequioia National Park which borders the cabin area. A lot of the fire service roads are not maintained in the winter, they just close them until the snow is gone. So we'll be going back! Let me know if you wanna join us!
