Hikes at Sunol Regional Wilderness are always magical. But this time the kids discovered something outside the ordinary magic of scorpions and darkling beetles: A wizard tree!
A hollow tree trunk beckoned from the path. We have passed by many times without noticing it. The girls' friends wanted to investigate, so down they went through the stinging nettles and miner's lettuce and lurking poison oak.
Inside the tree was a box.
Inside the box was a booklet and a stamp.
This is a wizard tree the booklet said. And inside it those who had looked in the tree and found the box had written their names and the date they passed by. The oldest was from 2005. Ev's friend Sasha recorded our names and the dates.
We all ran on toward the cave rocks, even more under the spell of the woods than usual.
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7 comments:
What a great reward for being curious. :)
We were just in Sunol on Friday. My daughter and I found a cool tree trunk too, but it didn't have a mystery box in it. We found lots of fossils. It is so beautiful there! --So glad to read your post about a local pristine place I adore.
Kat, thanks for stopping by! The girls enjoyed the surprise so much they wanted to spread the joy. They made a similar box and took it to hide when they went hiking with their dad today. And they'll enjoy looking for it the next time they pass that way to see if it is still there and if anyone has found it.
Kristin, I thought Sunol was our little secret. :) So glad you love it, too. I'm curious which trail you took to see the fossils. Flag Hill? We always do Indian Joe Creek Trail and have only spotted one rock with fossils.
What a fun surprise!
I love Sunol. I grew up out near there, and even had a birthday party there as a kid.
I'm glad they didn't stick their hands in the trunk and find a beehive!
What a fun, fun treasure to find.
Susan, Thanks for your encouragement on my blog. Hiking is one of my favorite things to do with my kids...I can't wait for the snow to melt so we can start this season...haven't quite mastered the snow shoes yet.
Never new thee were scorpions in your neck of the woods! What a neat thing to find - sort of like a jar hidden in the foundations with facts about the people that live in a house. We were asked if our house in City Island had Ghosts? as the current owners heard children running around the upstairs - no mistaking it and we (Aunt Thea, Aunt Susie and I) responded that we used to do that when we lived there and it must be left over noises :)
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