kevin krewer | Russel Ray Photos

I do home inspections throughout the ten counties in Southern California:

If my home inspection is than 30 miles from downtown San Diego, it’s highly likely that I will find something interesting to do, visit, or photograph.

Such was the case a few days ago when I had a home inspection in Vista, which happens to be where my mother-in-law and her boyfriend live.

I arrived in Vista early so that I could make a leisurely drive to the property I was to inspect. That’s when I found The Vista Conservancy Nature Preserve and Trails:

I know many of you are thinking, “I bet Russel parked the car, took a hike on the trails, and took lots of pictures.” If you were thinking that, well, you would be right. Here are the pictures:

There were many spectacular homes overlooking the trails. These two were my favorites:

Apparently the trails were created in 2002 as part of Kevin Krewer’s Eagle Scout project.

You want to make sure that you stay on the trails, and if you have dogs, be sure to keep them leashed and on the trails with you, because….

….off the trails, sometimes by a matter of inches, you’ll find lots of this:

For those who might not be familiar with leaves of three, there is a saying that is well-known among hikers in the wilderness: Leaves of three, let them be. In other words, keep an eye out for poison ivy and poison oak, both of which have leaves of three leaflets. The picture above is of poison oak.