Los Peñasquitos Canyon Preserve, San Diego

San Diego is so dry.  I guess this should not surprise me, but before spending all this time exploring, I had spent most of my time at the beaches where lush plants are everywhere you look.  On recent bike rides and hikes inland, I have seen the diversity of this awesome city.
Los Peñasquitos Canyon Preserve is roughly 20 miles north of San Diego in Rancho Peñasquitos.

Los Peñasquitos, means little cliffs, and the canyon is full of them. There are also more than 10 miles of trails used for walking, running and biking. 

We started out walking, but the drill sergeant said "Come on, let's run just one mile"  UGH!  I obeyed!

There are over 500 plant species, more than 175 types of birds, and a great variety of reptiles, amphibians and mammals evidences the rich bio-diversity of the canyon.  As I sat in this field of straw, Ernesto told me to listen for a rattling noise.  The rattlesnake always gives off a warning before attacking.  What?  Needless to say, I got out of there quickly and kept my eyes peeled to the trail to be sure I didn't step on anything.

We completed a 6.5 miles loop, where there is a "waterfall."  I didn't even take a picture of it, that's how disappointing it was.  Compared to the falls I had visited the last year in Costa Rica, this did not qualify.  

What was amazing were all the huge boulders.

I'm not exactly sure what you call this type of landscape.  Help, anyone?

All I know is that we were alone, in the middle of no where and felt like we should have a piece of straw in our mouths.
This weekend we are taking our mountain bikes to these trails and doing the whole loop....maybe twice!