Magnolia Ranch Hike..

Jeff and I spent a few days in Sacramento, CA visiting friends.

Our friend Geno gave us another great tour of the area..We birded, walked the town and took the beautiful hike to

Magnolia Ranch.

It was a chilly morning..

Ice crystals on the path…

The trail meanders through Oak woodlands..

and open grasslands..

Acorn woodpecker habitat..

See the acorns they placed in the holes they made…

It is a great hike with only about 700 foot elevation gain.

A popular trail for horseback riding..

Rolling hills..

Nice views of the South Fork of the American River..

A popular river for rafting…

We take a loop trail away from the river..

Into grasslands…

Then we loop back around again..

passing some cool rock formations..

Back down to the river..

We somehow missed Magnolia ranch so we leave the river and head for the ranch..

There it is..

We take a few photos of this old ranch home..

And the out buildings..

We decide to go inside..

Curtains still hang..

Rock fireplace is crumbling and light peeks through the wall..

Crooked shelves..Polka dots of light..

Looking out..

Time for lunch at the ranch..

I eat lunch and stare at the grasses..

After lunch I get up and walk around and find this large heart rock..

A large fallen tree..

I wonder if birds still use these holes..

Time to continue on..

Its late in the afternoon

The sun is casting long shadows..

Its getting chilly..

Western bluebirds hanging out near the trailhead....

A lovely hike ..

Thanks Geno for showing us a great time in Sacramento!