I'm sure in Utah the changing of the color of the leaves has started and is probably almost completed and the remaining few leaves are mostly brown and withered. Here in our neck of the woods the trees are still a beautiful green and in some cases growing more now than in the summer due to some recent rain. We don't get the beautiful fall colors that can be found in colder climates, unless you're willing to go out and find the very few that are found in the many canyons leading from the beach. I decided to do just that.I have wanted to ride my bike down Sycamore Canyon from Newbury Park to the beach for a couple years but never got around to doing it. So finally I decided it was time. It's about an 8 mile ride each way and I really didn't think it would be too hard.
By the time I made it to the beach, my legs were already feeling week and rather than being able to relax and enjoy the beach for awhile, I had to turn right around and head back so I could pick up Savannah from school. I had just enough time to pull the camera out to snap a couple pictures. By the time I hit the bottom of the canyon on my way back up, my legs were cramping up really bad. I thought that it would be easier to hop off the bike and walk it for a bit, but when I got off, I could barely walk. The problem was that I had played basketball for a solid two hours the night before so my legs were already running on empty. So that was my sign that it's time to start running again. I do not like being this out of shape! Still a fun ride though.
The canyon was really nice and quite cool on the way down. I also found a few leaves that were changing colors. Just past the Native American Interpretation center I saw a road runner. I've never seen one in real life so it was interesting. I saw one more road runner in the canyon along with several woodpeckers, squirrels, a few rabbits and three deer. It's fun to live in an area where we can be so close to the city, the beach and the outdoors too.
