Garin and Dry Creek Pioneer Parks

This week, I went to Garin/Dry Creek Pionner Parks  with my friend Leslie.  We had so much fun!  We made the best decision ever to get sandwiches from Genova and eat them on a log. 

 I though this sign was funny.  Leslie said that if I fell in while taking the picture she would not rescue me.  I was careful and did not get stuck.

This is the pond.  There were ducks in it.

We walked along the Dry Creek Trail, which had a surprising amount of water in it considering how little rain we have had this year.  We walked from Garin to Dry Creek and to the Ridge Trail.  There were all these strange one person size bridges crossing the creek. (I think we walked on 3 or 4 of them.)  I didn't take any pictures of them. At the time I thought maybe they were cost saving, but now I wonder if they are so that the horses and cattle don't go across them?

View from the Ridge Trail.  Check out the fog.

 Man was it hot.  Leslie took off the bottom part of her convertible pants and I rolled up my jeans. I think I may have to acquire some convertible pants.  I used to have them for traveling, but I realized that you really look like a tourist when you wear convertible pants, so I got rid of them. Who cares if you look silly when you are hiking?

The other side of the ridge trail.

For the first time on a hike I would have drunk all of my liter of water, except I was nervous so I was rationing the end of it.  (Ever since I saw Meek's Cutoff, I have been a little paranoid about water.)

Meyer's Ranch

 We walked down to Meyer's Ranch.  I was hot and tired, so we sat on a log in the shade and ate sandwiches.

View from our lunch log.

Also, the traveling was fun. We drove down Mission Blvd in Hayward to get to and from the park and we were kind of transfixed.  There were tons of businesses with cool 50's-70's signs and a bunch of dive bars that looked rad.  We drove past an awesome bowling alley, which had a restaurant that never closed and a place called Ranch, that had a giant sign with a bull's head on it.  I felt like I was on vacation, as I normally wouldn't go to that part of Hayward and discover all those cool signs/businesses. Also, we drove past cemeteries.  Can anyone tell me if Hayward is to Oakland/Berkeley as Colma is to San Francisco?

The Verdict:  Yes, Yes, Yes, I would come back.  There is an apple festival in the summer. Also a place called Gossip Rock. And a newt breeding ground, and a cottage and a garden and even a peak that we didn't see.  Hilly and not a ton of shade on the ridge trails, however the dry creek trail has a lot of trees. Although, the trail markers were not super clear and we got a bit confused, but we just kept walking and eventually figured out where we were.