Today I joined a group hiking to Rattlesnake Ridfe at Glen Tana Reserve – 1,060 acres of land that was once a dairy farm that is going to be annexed to Riverside State Park.

One of my Meetup Groups does volunteer work in the community. Today I worked at a mobile food bank distributing groceries at Spokane Falls Community College.

Canned corn, tomato soup, chili, canned salmon, peanut butter, macaroni and cheese, fresh fruit (grapefruit, Granny Smith apples and Fuji apples), and a variety of bread products were given away.

Some of the “leftovers” were donated to the school’s food bank and the rest were loaded back in the truck for the day’s second mobile food bank.

Trees in my neighborhood.

After breakfast I drove to Spirit Lake, Idaho for a snowshoeing adventure.

Nice hike on my own today. Good weather and relatively close to home.

My afternoon hike on Centennial Trail was good – a little warmer and there were more people out.

It was 19° this morning, but Frontrunners had a good turnout for a walk in the park.

We’re having a warm spell, so I walked part of the Centennial Trail.

Today the Meetup group hiked Antoine Peak from the new Trentwood trailhead.

Today the Meetup group hiked St George’s Trail to the Little Spokane River.

Out and back was 7.25 miles and we had some sprinkles along the way.

I was barely able to get a picture of the deer – most ran off as soon as they heard us coming.

Today the Meetup group met at the Bowl and Pitcher suspension bridge and hiked upriver.

I joined a Meetup group for a hike up Beacon Hill.

Tonight, after dinner with family, we wanted to Winter Glow at Orchard Park.

We stopped by Manito Park after a holiday party to check out the lights in Duncan Gardens.

I joined a Meetup group at Mission Trails Regional Park for my second Five Peak Challenge.

1 Cowles Mountain

2 Pyles Peak

3 North Fortuna

We drove from Cowles staging area to Old Mission Dam.

4 South Fortuna

5 Kwaay Paay

This morning our Meetup Group hiked from La Jolla Shores through Scripps Coastal Reserve.

Then, up to and through the UCSD campus (cue the “missed finals” nightmares).

Before returning to the beach.

I started the day with a walk along Mission Bay and the Pacific Beach beaches boardwalk.

I ended the day along the harbor and at Jingle Jets at the USS Midway Museum.

Tonight I attended Lightscape at the San Diego Botanic Garden in Encinitas.

I spent the afternoon at the Zoo before heading to Balboa Park for December Nights.

It was a good day for the bears and a few other animals.

December Nights – two nights when museums and shops in Balboa are open, several stages are erected for a variety of performances, and vendors line the walkways.

This morning I was back in Balboa Park for walk with Frontrunners.

The Botanical Building is not open yet, but I got a sneak peak through the windows on the back side of the building.

After lunch, I headed to the Zoo to take a couple Botanical Tours. I saw some animals along the way and even managed to squeeze in a visit to the Pandas (Xin Bao was hiding again).

The San Diego Zoo is an accredited Botanical Garden with Orchid and Carnivorous Plant greenhouses and 13 self-guided botanical tours.

Fern Canyon Tour

Bamboos Tour

Today’s walk was with a Meetup group at Lake Miramar.

Unlike the street I am on, the street one block away always been a top destination for trick-or-treaters. People who grew up in the area bring their kids here.