On Sunday afternoon I found myself showing property just beyond the Santa Clara County border near Skyline Boulevard (Hwy 35) and Congress Springs Road (aka Big Basin Way or Hwy 9) in the hills over Saratoga.  The valley floor was fogged in and damp, but up at the crest of the Santa Cruz Mountains, the sun was warm and shining beautifully.

I waited for my clients at our meeting place, the large parking lot off Skyline.  They were running late so I meandered around, taking in the scenery, snapping some photos and enjoying the warmth of the sun.   One delay grew into another and with more time on my hands, I wandered over to the Mr. Mustard hot dog stand and bought myself some lunch: $2 for a hot dog, $1 for a can of Diet Coke. (Also offered were hot links.)  Good price, good food!

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Yesterday I was on the real estate agent & broker’s tour, viewing homes for sale in Saratoga and Los Gatos, when I noticed a pedestrian path that fed into the cul-de-sac at Carnelian Glen Court in Saratoga.  Although I lived in Saratoga for many years (graduating from Saratoga High School), I didn’t remember this trail so went online to see if I could find a map.  Google maps was no help, but thankfully, the well organized city of Saratoga was very helpful. I discovered several new hiking or walking trails that I hadn’t been aware of previously.

The city’s website includes a page with links to ALL available Saratoga trail maps which are all pdf files (so be prepared for loading). It offers both a map with all of the trails (shown above), a map of Saratoga Village displaying public restrooms & parking as well as streets, and maps to specific trails.  The big map of all the trails takes a little while to load but is really fantastic.