We had a friend come in this weekend from Alaska. He’s been to Catalina a couple times before but he hadn’t been into the interior – didn’t really know it existed, which is pretty typical of lots of visitors to Catalina. So, that's where we decided to go.
We don’t get into the interior of the island very much. Maybe once every 8 months – so it’s a big treat for us to take a day and go see the views and look for the island buffalo and fox.
We borrowed a car and just after leaving Avalon, head up the winding steep road into the interior. East twist and turn takes you farther away from the "civilization" of Avalon and offers better and better views of town and the hills and the surrounding ocean.
Our first stop was our neighbors’ garden just at the top of the mountain road, past the reservoir. All visitors are welcome to stroll along the gardens' trail as long as you close t
he gate. He painstakingly and lovingly takes care of the beautiful tear-drop shaped area that is planted with a number of native endemic plants. Many of the plants are identified along the trail so you can learn the names. Some of the plants are in flower and at least 3 gorgeous red-headed hummingbirds were vying for the flowers. There was also a ruf0us-sided towhee scratching, as they always do in the bushes. There are benches on the perimeter of the garden, overlooking the sea. It’s a very contemplative and serene spot.
We passed Haypress Picnic Area and it’s really recovering nicely after the fire we had on the island in May of 2007. The Lions Club of Avalon have taken care of the picnic area. There are some new Torrey Pines and 3 Catalina Cherries that have been planted recently. The small pond is pretty full and the playground equipment, which was not burned in the fire, is being used by a family having a picnic.
Soon after we come across the new Trans-Catalina Trail sign. We stopped again and really couldn’t discern exactly where the trail goes. It officially opens in April so it doesn’t look like there’s been a whole lot of people hiking on it yet. We saw a few other trail signs along the road – but again – couldn’t really tell where the trail was. It’ll be nice feature to the island though, enabling people to hike from one side of the island to the other.
Next stop – the Airport in the Sky...stay tuned
We don’t get into the interior of the island very much. Maybe once every 8 months – so it’s a big treat for us to take a day and go see the views and look for the island buffalo and fox.
We borrowed a car and just after leaving Avalon, head up the winding steep road into the interior. East twist and turn takes you farther away from the "civilization" of Avalon and offers better and better views of town and the hills and the surrounding ocean.
Our first stop was our neighbors’ garden just at the top of the mountain road, past the reservoir. All visitors are welcome to stroll along the gardens' trail as long as you close t
he gate. He painstakingly and lovingly takes care of the beautiful tear-drop shaped area that is planted with a number of native endemic plants. Many of the plants are identified along the trail so you can learn the names. Some of the plants are in flower and at least 3 gorgeous red-headed hummingbirds were vying for the flowers. There was also a ruf0us-sided towhee scratching, as they always do in the bushes. There are benches on the perimeter of the garden, overlooking the sea. It’s a very contemplative and serene spot.We passed Haypress Picnic Area and it’s really recovering nicely after the fire we had on the island in May of 2007. The Lions Club of Avalon have taken care of the picnic area. There are some new Torrey Pines and 3 Catalina Cherries that have been planted recently. The small pond is pretty full and the playground equipment, which was not burned in the fire, is being used by a family having a picnic.
Soon after we come across the new Trans-Catalina Trail sign. We stopped again and really couldn’t discern exactly where the trail goes. It officially opens in April so it doesn’t look like there’s been a whole lot of people hiking on it yet. We saw a few other trail signs along the road – but again – couldn’t really tell where the trail was. It’ll be nice feature to the island though, enabling people to hike from one side of the island to the other.
Next stop – the Airport in the Sky...stay tuned
No comments:
Post a Comment