Monterey ~ Garland Ranch

Our second day in Monterey started off at the local Mormon Church.  We attended sacrament meeting and were greeted by several friendly faces and hand shakes.  After church we decided to enjoy God's creations and went to Garland Ranch Park for an afternoon hike.

Before we started our hike we checked in at the visitor's center to get a suggestion on where to go.  I read about several different trails and wanted one that would have good photo opportunities.  The ranger steered us on a intermediate hike that was a fairly steep uphill with a beautiful view at the top.  We were grateful for the advice because I thought about taking a harder hike with a very steep climb, but were persuaded (wisely) otherwise.  We went slow and enjoyed the scenery.  We each had a camera and stopped periodically to take pictures.  It wasn't the best day for photography because of the bright sun and wind, but it was a great day for a hike.

Rich headed up the trail.  The uphill was nice because it was more of a gradual climb with switchbacks.  The downhill was rough because it was straight down.

Rich taking pictures.

View for up top to the trail down below.

View of the Carmel Valley.