On a quiet day, we visited a familiar local park to break up the doldrums of distance learning. Monrovia Canyon Park is a local park in the foothills of the San Gabriel Mountains that offers miles of hiking trails, scenic views, and a popular waterfall.
Starting from Vincent Gap off California Highway 2, up forty unforgiving switchbacks, Sami and I made it to the peak of Mt. Baden-Powell in the Angeles National Forest-with the help of a Subway sandwich and Cheetos bribe.
Echo Mountain is a popular front range hike with easy access from Altadena. At 5.5 miles round trip with about a 1400 foot elevation gain, it is considered moderate. There are some cool ruins at the top, harkening back to the 'Golden Age of Hiking."
While the stay-at-home orders haven't exactly ended, the trails in Los Angeles County are finally starting to open up after over a month-long closure. So with the mountains calling, we must go... along with the rest of Southern California.
The United Kingdom is home to 15 designated National Parks, areas of natural beauty and historic or cultural significance. Being an American National Parks lover, I was pleasantly surprised to find that while in Hampshire, we would be staying within one of the newer English national parks: New Forest National Park. At the end of this post is a bonus recipe for bread pudding.
The Cranky Camper 