The outdoors are my comfort zone.  Whether seashore, mountains or desert they all offer a special appeal to this Writer.  Yesterday I was once again at one of my favorite mountain retreats.  It is Cerro Noroeste Peak located in the San Emigdio range.
At its plateau summit, elevation 8313 feet, there is a campground which for us has been a perfect place for camping in earlier years and now for one day picnics.
With me were my two sons who have been coming to this mountain since they were pre teens.
The forest here is mostly Jeffrey Pines, many hundreds of years old.  Near the camp is one tree that has a massive cross carved into its trunk.  It could have been carved by Francisco Garces, a Franciscan Padre who was the first European to cross these mountains and discover the San Joaquin Valley in 1776.
I took a photo of the cross and then hiked to an outcropping where a view opens to a huge amount of country including parts of Carrizo Plain National Monument.
The weather was perfect, cool under the shade of the pine trees and warm in the sun.  It was a good picnic lunch too.