A hike in Pulgas Ridge

Today we decided to begin to explore the hiking options in our own town of San Carlos. We checked out Pulgas Ridge, because of the apparent off-leash dog area.

We were delighted to find that this preserve offers are large natural area full of trees, unpaved paths and scenic views. We even encountered a few deer while venturing along the trails. The off-leash area is a circular paved path in the center of the park that is approximately one mile in length. We didn't pass many dogs (or hikers for that matter), but Cooper was able to romp around with one black lab.

Happy to have found a local option for hiking and off-leash play!

Natural Bridges State Park in Santa Cruz

We enjoyed walking around Natural Bridges State Park today down in Santa Cruz, which is an approximate one hour drive from our house. The beach is lovely, with its famous natural bridges and coastal meadows.

In addition, during this time of year the park is home to thousands of monarch butterflies that flutter around the eucalyptus trees. We were able to enjoy these beautiful creatures in the lovely setting while walking along a wooded trail.

Pumpkin festival in Half Moon Bay

Half Moon Bay is the place to go in the fall. Every weekend cars line up to enjoy the Pumpkin Festival, and it is well-worth the traffic. Families gather from all over the Bay Area to enjoy the pumpkin weigh-off, fine art, local wine and more.

We stopped at one of the farms along Highway 92 to pick out a few pumpkins for carving and some funny-shaped gourds, and also introduced Cooper to a larger version of himself (aka, a horse).