The Great Outdoors

This Mother's Day weekend since we couldn't be with our mothers, we decided to spend some time with Mother Nature. We went camping with our friends Janey and Mark! We decided to venture to a new part of the Los Padres National Forest - the destination being a group of natural hot springs! The journey there was a little interesting....we drove along a road that sits atop the Santa Ynez mountains called Camino Cielo, which turned out to be a very bumpy ride. First, the potholes...then, the rugged dirt road for about an hour. Finally, we made it to our campsite, so glad to find Mark and Janey there! The best part about this area is that there were only a few other crazy people willing to make this drive, and we basically had it all to ourselves!!


We went on a 4-hour hike along the Santa Ynez River, which naturally involved a lot of water crossings. At first we tried avoiding the water, but by the end we took the fastest route and got over the idea of sopping wet shoes and socks!

Laura leaping across:

Janey jumping for joy:

Mark charging the river:

Matt, the long jumper:

Along the way, we saw 4 different endangered species AND a rattlesnake! It was all truly amazing to see, but when we encountered the rattlesnake and saw that Mark and Matt were willing to get a little too close for comfort, Janey and I quickly ran in the opposite direction.

After the hike, we searched for and finally found the remote Little Caliente hot springs, where we found two nude bathers! oops! They were thankfully just finishing up their soak, and that left the sulfur-smelling spring just for us! It was HOT and relaxing!

Then we walked to the Mono campground, where we found this really cool dam along the river. It felt sooo nice to cool off after a long day of hiking! Overall, an awesome weekend!