 This post features a campground instead of a hike. We went to Hendy Woods to go tent camping with my three-year old daughter for the first time ever! It was great to be camping here again, where I went with my mother back in 2016.
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 The last time I went to Calaveras Big Trees State Park, I kept thinking about how much I wanted to come back with my family. Well, we finally make it over the long Presidents Day weekend! Although it's about a two-hour drive for us from Livermore to Arnold (pretty long for a 2-year old to be in the car), it was well worth it. The photos from this blog post are all taken by my husband. Click "read more" to see more photos of the sequoias.
 This is a throwback post to a hike that I did about 7 years ago, at a state park in my home state of Louisiana: Lake Fausse Pointe State Park.
 This was a return trip for me and my daughter to Caswell Memorial State Park. Last time, my daughter was not in the mood for hiking, so we mostly hung around the lovely picnic area. This time, I brought my toddler backpack carrier, so we were able to complete a longer loop, going along the aptly named Majestic Oaks Trail!
 Caswell Memorial State Park, in Ripon, CA, is pretty magical in autumn. It is an example of riparian oak woodland, which once flourished throughout California's Central Valley. This ecosystem is threatened and still declining, so this forest really feels special. The oak trees are majestic (no matter the time of the year), and there is a wild grape vine that runs rampant in the park; the leaves of the grape vine turn yellow and red in the fall, which really adds to the golden feeling of the forest.
 The last time I went to Uvas Canyon County Park was in the spring when the waterfalls were at their peak. In late summer, there is less water in the falls, but it is still really lovely and it is way less crowded. Although this hike is very short in terms of distance, there is plenty of elevation change, so it feels harder that it should--especially if you are carrying a toddler in a carrying pack! Nonetheless, this was a great hike for bringing our daughter, and we saw lots of other families too with little ones. Definitely a great place to bring children of all ages.
 Over the long weekend, I did something that I have never done before: I drove to the Sierras in the winter to hike in the snow! I am from Louisiana originally, and I moved to California in 2005 where I lived first in the Davis-Sacramento area and then in the greater San Francisco Bay Area. I have never had to deal with driving in the snow, and the idea of taking a winding mountain road in icy conditions just terrified me. But I have been hankering to see the sequoias for a while now, and so I planned and I waited until just the right conditions to visit Calaveras Big Trees State Park. Boy, am I glad that I that I went for it; it was MAGICAL.
Click "read more" to see more photos after the jump. It was insanely beautiful.
 Photo credit: Christel Dawkins This guest post will have a new voice, that of Claire’s mom, a 71 year-old, lifelong hiker from Louisiana. I am also a painter and have a special fondness for camping and the out of doors. Bad knees have slowed me down, but the love of adventure keeps me going. Click "read more" to read about my four hikes.
 This 3.5-mile hike is a great introduction to Del Valle Regional Preserve. It takes 1-2 hours depending on how fast you go, and it offers great views of both the reservoir and the surrounding hills. I was lucky enough to catch the golden light of the late afternoon on a stunning October day during an Indian summer.
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