 Los Vaqueros (Spanish for the cowboys) is a reservoir for the Contra Costa Water District. It is open for recreation, although during the time of COVID, the types of recreation are limited mostly to hiking and fishing. Los Vaqueros charges a $6 day use fee, and it is accessible on the north end from the Antioch Area and on south end from Livermore. Los Vaqueros has 60 miles of hiking, and it connects to both Round Valley (to the North) and Morgan Territory (to the South).
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 Last Sunday, I made my maiden voyage to Pachecho State Park, where I took a challenging but enjoyable 5.5-mile loop. I can definitely see myself returning to this park, especially in the spring when the wildflowers must be spectacular.
 The day after going to Coyote Hills with my family, I decided to head back to the marshes for a longer solo hike. I returned to Don Edwards National Wildlife Refuge to explore a trail near the Visitor's Center that was new to me: the 5-mile loop along Newark Slough.
 On Saturday I took my young daughter on a very short hike from the Macdonald Gate, but I was itching for more. So on Sunday I returned to that staging area in Anthony Chabot for a much more ambitious solo hike. This ~9-mile lollipop hike went along the ridge top and then descended into Grass Valley for a nice loop. I really liked the variety on this hike!
 Today I took a rejuvenating morning hike at Reinhardt Redwood Regional Park. I took a loop that was new to me, the 5.7-mile loop (with about 600' elevation gain) of East Ridge and Stream Trails. This loop combined a chaparral landscape along the ridge top with a riparian redwood forest in the valley below. And I was treated to a display of ladybugs!
 This lovely 5-mile loop links two areas of Tilden Park that I had previously only visited separately: the area around Lake Anza and the Nature Area. It was fun to take the Wildcat Gorge as a connector between these areas of Tilden.
 I took a super enjoyable 7.9-mile loop through Windy Hill Preserve today. It was a glorious hike through a beautiful variety of forests and landscapes. It's made me wish I had explored deeper into this park before I moved away from the peninsula!
 Today on a longer solo hike, I made the 9-mile loop around Lake Chabot. This was an extension of the short hike that I took last summer with my young daughter. I am so glad to have finally completed this longer loop, and I have more ideas for another hike when I can make a return visit.
 On Sunday, I took a 6.5-mile solo hike deep into Morgan Territory, a park local to me in Livermore. This hike combined legs of several other hikes that I have done in the park before and it comprised a really good "greatest hits" of the park, or at least the part of the park that is most easily accessible from the main staging area.
 This 8-mile hike through Sunol Regional Wilderness was a welcome return to a beloved park after its temporary closure earlier this spring. This loop, which was new to me, hits many of the highlights of the park: Little Yosemite, the cave rocks, and the old barn in the High Valley. It offers gorgeous views of the distinctive Maguire Peaks, and I saw so many of a favorite flower of mine: mariposa lilies! I love these gorgeous flowers that look like delicately painted china teacups.
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