Angel Cove Bike Ride

On Saturday, April 2, Wally and I went for a ride up to the Glory Hole Recreation Area at the New Melones Reservoir. We had heard from a friend who does mountain bike riding that the flowers were at their peak. We optimistically packed our bicycles into the Honda Element and headed for the hills, despite the fact that both of us are "out of shape". The weather was cool and partly cloudy, but not threatening rain. Once there, we unpacked the bikes, feeling a little too much like an Element ad; two middle-aged baby boomers indulging their love of the great outdoors... Some of the access roads were gated against vehicle traffic, but bikes were allowed, so we rode on pavement about a mile to the trail head. It's called a single-track trail, in bike parlance, because its quite narrow, unlike riding on fire roads. Fortunately, it wasn't too bumpy or hilly, although I did have to get off and walk several times. We rode through a thicket of very tall manzanita bushes, with their twisted trunks of smooth maroon bark. We had seen lots of wildflowers on the drive up to the foothills, but the real treat was waiting for us on the north side of the Angel Cove Trail.  The effect of the yellow orange poppies and the blue lupines was wonderful, like being surrounded by color. The photos barely do them justice. In the distance we heard wild turkeys. Sometimes I just love living in California. 

Wally and Poppies	TLC on the trail	View of the lake
Bumble Bee on Phacelia	Mustard and Lupines	Motorboat for scale

(Some of these were taken with Wally's little credit card camera, so they are a bit low res.)

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