Dave and Jan are very grateful to the Lord that, after over a year of back and sciatic nerve pain, Jan is able to take to the trail again and enjoy the beauty of the Lord’s creative genius with no more pain. And we enjoyed much of it on our recent vacation trip to South Dakota and Idaho, but there is plenty to enjoy much closer to home as well. So on Monday, October 19 (2015) it was off to the Whitting/Limestone Wilderness area just a few miles from where our son Stephen, with Meagan and Ryan, live at Foothills Ranch. Like many areas in Southern California, the canyon rim is crowded with pricey houses.

Though drought has plagued the area for years, the promise of rains because of El Nino conditions has many local residents justifiably concerned about the possibility of losing the footing to their houses if rains become heavy.

There are, of course, some of the wealthier residents of the area who like to build their “castles” high on the hills and far away from other residents. Though it may not be evident, this photo was taken with a telephoto lens from about a mile away across a wooded valley.

At the base of a tree on the way up the canyon we were welcomed to a “Happy Hiking” experience by the display left by a local troop of Girl Scouts!

Two women we met along the trail saw us reading trail signs and wondered if we were familiar with the area. They told us of the hike into Red Rock Canyon and recommended it highly. It turned out to be a welcome recommendation!

The trail into the canyon was only six tenths of a mile, but there wasn’t much evidence that it was heavily traveled. It lead into an increasingly narrow canyon with red sandstone walls.

The canyon walls appear to have been carved by a talented master craftsman (Whom we are blessed to know in a personal relationship)!

The canyon includes some fairly ornate carvings in its walls – reminiscent (in miniature) of some of the cliff dwellings which have been the homes of Indian tribes in various parts of the southwestern states.



The canyon is essentially a box canyon where – happily – people appear to have observed the request posted on signs that they not deface the natural beauty which was so apparent all around.





We are grateful for a beautiful day (after some unseasonably hot weather in recent weeks) to be on the trail once again, enjoying the creative genius to be found both near and far in every part of our country.

Happy hiking indeed!