The Bouverie Preserve

Thanks to my neighbor Ann, I was able to join her on a guided hike through this protected habitat just down the road from us in the foothills bordering the Valley of the Moon…Jack London territory.

We were lucky to have a perfect spring day , lots of wildflowers including carpets of lupin and the goal of a waterfall which has water in it again for the first time in almost four years. 

To get to the waterfall, we  followed  Stuart Creek which dominates the landscape. While we sat and ate our lunch at the foot of the waterfall, a peregrine falcon, whose nesting site had been pointed out to us in a hole in the cliff, decided to fly by and check us out. It is quite magical to watch raptors catch the thermals and   soar in ever widening circles without ever moving their wings.. It  thrilled us with a demonstration of seemingly effortless gliding, silhouetted against the sky and then disappeared …blending in with the rocky cliff face. 

The docents seemed like a nice group of people of varied ages  and ours, a lively white haired lady named Linda, with a deceptively steady pace and a thorough knowledge of the trails pointed out interesting bits of flora and fauna as we climbed up through the chaparral to the waterfall and made our way down beautifully constructed rock steps through the riparian woodland.and back through the oak woodland with its carpets of wildflowers to our starting point.

I asked Linda if it was possible to hike there on our own and she said, "no, but you could become a docent…" An idea which appeals to me. Unfortunately I have to wait until Sept, 2017 for the next docent class. 

We are truly lucky to live in this most beautiful corner of the world….