Yesterday, as part of a much longer walk in urban Santee, I enjoyed a very short, easy hike in the northeast corner of 7,220-acre Mission Trails Regional Park.
I started at the East Fortuna Staging Area and proceeded from the Equestrian Circle Trailhead west a quarter mile or so, just to enjoy the beautiful natural scenery.
Imagine my surprise when I quickly spotted a roadrunner!
The City of San Diego’s wild, rugged Mission Trails area, during World War II, was used to train members of the 2nd Marine Division. Camp Elliott is where they learned to fire artillery and operate tanks. According to the above sign posted near the trailhead: “At the height of the war, 50,000 officers and men were dispatched to combat zones from Camp Elliott in a little over a year.”
The canyons, mountains and grasslands of Mission Trails are now home to abundant wildlife and natural beauty.
Trees in the distance line the San Diego River where its life giving water flows through the park.
Some bright California bush sunflowers near the trail…
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I live in downtown San Diego and love to walk around with my camera! You can follow Cool San Diego Sights via Facebook or Twitter!
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Thank you thank you thank you!!! I miss that place!! It’s very rare to see a road-runner there. I saw one in all my hikes, but it was kind of special. I was climbing up the west face of North Fortuna on a little hidden trail that went basically straight up. A road runner was about 2 feet ahead of me the whole way. It was the coolest thing. He kept looking back as if he were checking on me. I was stunned by how colorful and beautiful he was.
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What a great experience! When I was very young, my family lived in Arizona, and you’d see them more frequently. This was only the second time I’d seen a roadrunner in San Diego. The other time it was out in Anza Borrego.
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You were really lucky!
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