As I sit at my computer this morning, watching and listening to the rain coming down in bucketfuls, punctuated by occasional thunder and lightning, I’m extremely relieved that I chose yesterday for my outing to Schweitzer Grove Nature Area instead of today! I had been scheduled for a visit with my Facebook photography group last Saturday, but since that was canceled due to rain, I decided to go by myself during the week.

Not a great photo — I shot it to mark the time of my arrival

There are five separate entrances to this undeveloped neighborhood greenbelt, with only street parking available. It sits on the border between Fair Oaks and Carmichael. I was somewhat familiar with the park; back in the late 1980s and early 1990s, when we used to play a lot of disc golf, one of our friends introduced us to Schweitzer, which he had nicknamed “Little Africa.” It made for a challenging course; there were no actual baskets to aim for, and no official course or hole markers. But we played there quite a few times and enjoyed the challenges.

Half of this 17.2-acre park is shaded by a thick eucalyptus grove

I had not been back to this spot in decades, and I’ve learned that disc golf has not been allowed in the park since 2011. There are plenty of dirt trails crisscrossing the park, and I saw a handful of people walking during my visit. The shaded areas are so lovely, I’m sure that if I lived nearby I would be walking through on a regular basis too.

I wasn’t expecting to find a “beach shelter” here!