We drove past the Santa Barbara Mission and up a bit further into the hills.
We drove past the Santa Barbara Mission and up a bit further into the hills.
A Torrey Pine. I'd heard of these trees near San Diego, but not really observed one.
Another view of the Torrey Pine.
There were several paths through the gardens and grounds.
We even spotted a cluster of gnomes.
A guide to some of the plants.
Plenty of this colorful plant! (poison oak)
Lovely tree near the teahouse.
We'd chosen to meander this direction first, having been forewarned about the creek crossing.
The idea was to cross the creek, if possible, and continue the loop trail. If we
had to backtrack, it wouldn't be as far. There would be a bridge at the other end of the loop to
cross back to the main area.
Looking good....
Success!
A decorative log!
Woodpecker.
Yes, the rows of rocks are the aqueduct. It was small, but apparently useful for
irrigation at the Mission.
Approaching the bridge across the creek.
The aqueduct here is made of wood, and feeds into the filterbox.
The bridge crosses the dam that held the Mission water supply. You can see the grooves
that held a plate in place to control the water flow.
Looking downstream from the bridge/dam.
More wildlife.
The grove of Coast Redwoods.
Redwood Sorrel.
Wild Ginger - is it edible?
An oak, not sure which kind. The leaves growing close to the trunk were interesting.
Blue-Eyed Grass! Slightly different variant from mine at home.
California Poppies.
Mexican Poppy, a close cousin to the CA Poppy.
Red Buckwheat.
Blue dragonflies zipped around the pond.
And this red one posed patiently for us.
A mallow.