Kit Carson Park

Good afternoon, my friends. We had a change of plans for today. In yesterday's post, I had us driving out to Anza-Borrego Desert State Park to see the wildflowers. Then, it rained almost all night last night. That wouldn't have stopped us, but when I checked this morning, rain was predicted beginning around 1:00 p.m. Also, it was nearly two hours both directions to drive out there. We weren't really up for that. We'll hold off and go there when we move east next week. Taking that route only adds about 30 minutes to our day's drive.

Instead, we decided to visit an exhibit my nail tech back home recommended. She told me about "Queen Califia's Magical Circle." It is "the only American sculpture garden and the last major international project created by Niki de Saint Phalle (born France, 1930-2002). Inspired by California's mythic, historic, and cultural roots, the garden consists of nine large-scale sculptures, a circular "snake wall" and maze entryway, sculpturally integrated bench seating, and native shrubs and trees planted within the interior plaza and along the outer perimeter. The garden bears the brilliant, unique mosaic ornamentation that is an unmistakable part of Saint Phalle's later work." I'm unfamiliar with the artist, but you can learn more about her at the link I've given you.

We left the kitties tucked in and perched for their morning naps.

I already knew from checking the website that the exhibit would be closed:

Even if we'd been there on the right day, it still would have been closed because of the rain. However, the park (Kit Carson Park) seemed worth a visit whether we could see the exhibit or not. Regarding the park, the website told us it was named after "Christopher (Kit) Carson, the famous scout who guided Captain John C. Fremont over the Sierra Nevada Mountains during a government exploration expedition. The park sits in a valley that is approximately five miles west of where Kit Carson fought in the Battle of San Pasqual. A historical monument commemorating the battle is located on Mule Hill, one mile southeast of the park. The City of Escondido acquired the land for its largest regional park from the City of San Diego in 1967. One hundred acres of the park have been developed and 185 acres have been preserved as natural habitat."

It was just a few minutes' drive from where we're located.

The park was blissfully peaceful when we arrived with plenty of parking. We followed the signs to the exhibit and arboretum. There was a map that was a little torn up. I've filled in the remainder of the line where we walked.

There was an arboretum as part of the exhibit.

We could see it from a distance as we walked along.

It was fenced off and locked. Mike was tall enough to capture a couple of photos by holding the camera above the fence.

And below are a few photos I found in the public domain. Credit is given below each image.

(Image credit: This image was originally posted to Flickr by lavocado@sbcglobal.net at https://flickr.com/photos/90809455@N00/5886259797. It was reviewed on 20 June 2023 by FlickreviewR 2 and was confirmed to be licensed under the terms of the cc-by-2.0.)

(Image credit: "Queen Califia's Magic Circle" by stpeck70 is licensed under CC BY 2.0.)

(Image credit: "Queen Califia's Magic Circle" by stpeck70 is licensed under CC BY 2.0.)

Walking on, we came to a small lake. There were really two lakes here. Gazing to the right, it looked like this.

Looking to the left, it looked like this.

On the right side, and just a short distance from us, there sat a Snowy Egret

There were a couple of turtles swimming in front of us. They were about the size of dinner plates.

Across the lake, we could see a Great Egret.

Walking to the lake on the left, there was a large assortment of ducks, including these two. The Google informs me these are Cayuga ducks.

Walking on, we noticed a coot swimming nearby.

We saw several squirrels along our walk too, but this one was the only one who would pose for his picture.

And you'd be disappointed if I didn't take pictures of every blooming thing, wouldn't you?

This is yet another variety of eucalyptus.

There was a nice frisbee golf course, and we saw several people playing. Erik likes to play frisbee golf, and they sometimes come south during the winter too. I expect he might visit this place in the future.

And that was a short, but satisfying walk. We got back in the truck and left the park. Along the way, we came across this snake.

Another time we'll return when we can visit the "Magic Circle" while it's open. For now, it was a nice way to spend the morning.

We headed over to a barbecue place we know of and had some lunch, then came back to the RV for naps. We don't have much on the agenda for the weekend. We're looking forward to dinner with friends Monday evening, and we're glad to know the Starlink unit will arrive that day. With any luck, we can get back to high speed internet and better access to our favorite television shows. As it is, we've been limited to network channels and old shows still recorded on the DVR from months ago.

That's all I have for you today. I'll probably get out for another short walk around the RV park. Possibly I'll do another photo prompt and see what I can find.