Rattlesnake Canyon

I recently joined a hiking group through Adult Ed -- something I've wanted to do but have, for some ridiculous reason or another, avoided for years. Fear mostly. Well, now I've finally done it and it turns out to be not nearly as strenuous and frightening as I had anticipated. In fact, it's quite fun and invigorating. I'm meeting some lovely people as well.

This Tuesday our group went to Rattlesnake Canyon, in the hills above the Botanical Gardens in Santa Barbara. The canyon is aptly named as, indeed, I saw a baby rattler along the trail. Alas, no photo of the fellow. But I did get in a few nice shots of the environs during our two-hour trek (below). Tomorrow we head to Gaviota.