 After tailoring my outings to toddler-appropriate trips to open space parks midweek for the past few weeks, I was really missing a real hike. So I explored a park here in the Tri-Valley that I had yet to explore, Augustin Bernal Park in Pleasanton. I went early in the morning on Sunday to beat any crowd. It was quite a roller coaster of emotions!
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 I've mostly been hiking midweek during the portion of the day that I have parenting duty with my toddler. I'm a bit anxious about hiking on the weekend, and it's nice for her to get out of the house safely with me for some social-distancing-appropriate activities. But because she is a bit big for the carrier and a bit small for real hiking, our outings have been on the short and easy side. We made a wonderful little trip to Bishop Ranch Regional Park in nearby San Ramon. It was perfect for us!
 As I wrote about our recent trip to Tassajara Creek Regional Park, I have been limited recently in my ability to hike. I have only been to the parks mid-week when I have my very young daughter with me. So we aren't really hiking for distance as much as hiking to make close observations about the natural world around us. Today we went to Livermore's Sycamore Grove Park and we had a blast noticing the different wildflowers blooming and wading in the Arroyo del Valle.
 It's been harder to go out hiking since the shelter-in-place orders came down. I can't go for a long hike at all during the week because I am both working from home and taking care of my toddler daughter. And during the weekend, I am reluctant to go out because the parks were packed the first couple weekends of the quarantine: I want both to avoid the folks who are irresponsible and to keep the crowds down so that government agencies don't close ALL of the parks in the area. So mostly, I have been taking very short trips with my daughter to open space parks mid-week. On Monday, we explored Tassajara Creek Regional Park for the first time.
 Every time I go for a hike now, I assume that it may very well be the last time for a long time that I will be able to visit a particular park. Indeed, I came home to the news that the California State Park system has closed all of its parks to vehicular traffic. So I do my best to be very much in the present and to savor every detail. It helps me to focus on my hike, to calm my anxiety in this very nerve-wracking time of global pandemic, and to notice the flowers and the birds with even greater clarity. This trip to Brushy Peak Regional Park was all the more enjoyable for that mentality. I saw so many flowers and heard so many birds. I even saw a coyote!
 After getting the news on Wednesday that the East Bay Regional Park District is shutting down several of its more popular parks for several weeks to help to stop the spread of COVID-19, I decided to make a farewell visit on Thursday to one of my all-time favorite parks: Sunol Regional Wilderness. The weather has been very unpredictable in Livermore. Earlier in the day we even got hail! So when I was finally able to venture out, I got some pretty dramatic lighting as the clouds broke up to let the sunshine pour in. Although I am very saddened that the park is closing, I support the Park District's decision and I did feel a bit of hope watching the beautiful valley flood with light.
 On Wednesday afternoon, my daughter and I made a wonderful little trip to a beloved park local to us in Livermore: Delle Valle Regional Park. It was a golden afternoon after a morning of rain, and we had the park almost entirely to ourselves. We had a marvelous time, but when we got home I saw an email from the EBRPD announcing that it was closing several of its parks (including Del Valle) because folks last weekend were not responsible about social distancing. Although it really saddens my heart to lose access to this amazing place, I understand why the Park District made this call. I hope that this sends the message loud and clear to everyone in the state: enjoy your parks safely or we will all lose this privilege at a time when we desperately need it!
 The shelter-in-place ordinances in both the Bay Area counties and, now, in the whole state of California have been a major adjustment. I am *so* grateful that hiking and walking is compatible with social distancing as we all do our part to flatten the curve, so that we can keep our hospitals from being overwhelmed. Because we have been having intermittent rain showers in the Bay, it's been a little hard to get out, even though we all need to walk in the sunshine more than ever. So when the rain cleared up this weekend for a few hours, we headed over to the Arroyo Mocho Trail, to a segment of it that is in our neighborhood.
 Last Saturday was a particularly mild January day, so I went out to a park that I've long wanted to visit: Ohlone Regional Park. Part of the appeal of this park is that it is so remote. Here is a blurb from the EBRPD website: You have to hike or ride horseback to see this magnificent 9,737-acre parkland, accessible only by way of the Ohlone Wilderness Trail. Its centerpiece is 3,817-foot Rose Peak, just 32 feet lower than Mount Diablo. Surrounding Rose Peak are grassy ridges, profusely flowered in season. The abundance of wildlife includes golden eagles, mountain lions, and tule elk. Murrietta Falls, the tallest waterfall in the Bay Area can be found at this park, but the hike to get there is a real butt-kicker, and the waterfall is only seasonal--there is no guarantee that you will actually see it once you've gone all the way out there. On my hike on Saturday, I only went about halfway to Murrietta falls, to the scenic Williams Gulch. It was such a pleasure!
 One of the nicest open space parks in my current hometown of Livermore is Del Valle Regional Park. I seriously love this park, and have been here now during every season. It's such a large park; however, that I am always discovering something new. This trip, I decided to explore the easternmost side of the park, the Cedar Creek area along the park boundary. I really liked seeing the bright red pop of color of the bark of the incense cedars as I was hiking along! The parts of the park I had previously visited did not have cedars (mostly oaks), so it was really cool to see that difference.
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