“Blue skies smilin’ at me, nothing but blue skies do I see…”—Willie Nelson
After exiting the Los Gatos Creek Trails a mile or two from our homes we headed to Kennedy Road which runs into Shannon and onto Hicks Road making our climb toward to the Guadalupe Reservoir with blue skies as far as the eye can see. We made one stop on the way to see La Rusticana d’Orsa Water Wheel [a 'working waterwheel,' I may add] which has been described as “…a unique estate of rare beauty tucked away in the Santa Cruz Mountains,” dedicated to fine wine production since the 1980s.
There is a cobbled stone driveway and Italian cypress bushes in front and a vineyard atop of a terrace of rolling hills with rock walls miles away from phrenetic pace of Silicon Valley.
We continued our climb to the reservoir. Beyond this body of water, there were moss-laden creek beds with some water, enough to make some beautiful tributary-like designs, only nature knows how to do. The silence was broken by a solitary person across the ravine yelling and singing at the top of his lungs while jumping up and down on a rock landing as if he was at a rave party. On our bike rides we never know who or what we are going to run into. Given the bucolic setting, it was oddly entertaining.
After enjoying a zippy downhill ride with many twists and turns beyond the reservoir we reversed course. Lagging behind I stopped to take photographs. Bill and I had agreed to meet back at the reservoir. When I arrived I climbed on top of two large boulders overlooking the reservoir spillway. Feeling a need to stretch from time to time, I instinctively assumed a Downward Facing Dog position to stretch my spine and lengthen my tight hamstrings and calves. Then, I did a Squat pose to open my hips, ankles, groin muscles, Achilles tendon and stabilize the spine. It felt good.
The area we were in is virtually devoid of any traffic, is peaceful, and has some beautiful estates tucked away from the main road. As we continued on, Bill noticed and pointed to deer grazing on lush green grass in front of someone’s residence and I was able to capture a few photos before they sought refuge deeper into the brush. I also took some photos of Bill in front of a ranch house with a sign advertising oak slabs and a few whimsical wood sculptures for sale.
After our almost 29-mile ride, we stopped at a local Jamba Juice for an energy boost and to cool off, hopped back on the creek trails and headed home.
