Nicole and her appy, Tessa, have been looking for more trail partners to explore our local area. I've seen Nicole at the start or end of my rides on a few occasions, and she finally approached me about riding together, so here's our first ride together. She was going to show me why Wilder Ranch is one of her favorite places to ride.

Bella, tied to Nicole's trailer at a pull-out on Empire Grade Road in Bonny Doon.

Bella found Nicole's wheel cover to be quite tasty.

Nicole prepares Tessa for saddling.

We crossed Empire Grade at the "twin gates" and went onto Chinquapin Trail. The ferns are all drying up and turning gold.

The meadow is very dry. The Lockheed Fire was just north of here.

On the Eucalyptus Trail, in the Eucalyptus grove, we stopped to admire the view. Yeah, that's the actual ocean - it was a clear day with no fog! What a rarity!!

The vast ocean lies beyond the hillside meadow.

A mountain biker volunteered to take our photo with the ocean view behind us.

The trail/road down to the Enchanted Loop trail is very rocky, so Nicole led me across the meadow.

Her appy is barefoot and she wanted to avoid all those big rocks and stones on the road.

Ocean view beyond the meadow

Dried flowers in the meadow

Okay, let's go

This might be from the Enchanted Loop Trail.

And back up into the meadow

This is probably from the Wilder Ranch loop trail

Look at how nice the view is without the fog - what an incredible day!

Agriculture on the west side of Highway 1.

The hills of Monterey rise up from the coast on the other side of the Bay.

Park rangers meeting with folks at the Wilder Ranch