It takes roughly an hour to make the long, winding drive from our house out to Peninsula Campground at Folsom Lake, although sometimes it feels more like half the day. The last 11.5 miles take you along a twisting one-lane road full of blind corners; I’ve had more than one close call when someone came rocketing toward me, using the whole road. But even with that occasional risk, and even though — especially when the lake level is low — once you arrive at Peninsula you can clearly see (and hear) everything across the water at Granite Bay, I still feel like it’s worth the journey. I was out at Peninsula a couple of days ago with the Big Guy, and we saw only a handful of people, none of them within shouting distance. It was a beautiful spring day with a light breeze; the wildflowers were in bloom; and it was possible to enjoy the quiet and listen to the sights and sounds of birds, insects, and other small creatures going about their business.

House Finch

Purple Lupine

Western Fence Lizard on… the fence

Sticky Monkeyflower