With newly opened county parks and trails and some sunny weather, Santa Clarita Valley residents took to the outdoors to celebrate Mother’s Day.
“I was so happy when they opened the parks,” said Olivia Sanchez, a mother of three, as she and her immediate family sat at a picnic table at the William S. Hart Regional Park. “This is the closest park to our house, (and is) only a 5-minute walk -so though it’s been open, we’ve never felt comfortable staying and hanging out.”
For the first time in what 7-year-old Ava Sanchez considered “an eternity,” the family was able to come to the park for their usual family picnics.
“We don’t have a backyard — so the kids have been really feeling cooped up lately,” Olivia said. “We’ve gone on at least one walk every day, but it hasn’t been the same.”
She smiled as she watched her sons wrestle in the grass. “This is the best gift I could’ve gotten during a quarantined Mother’s Day.”
Similarly, the Pickett family was enjoying the warm weather at Stonecrest Park in Canyon Country.
“It only felt right to come out and enjoy the sun,” said Pamela Pickett, a mother of two.
Though the Pickett family spent the past few weeks renovating their yard, they decided to come to their favorite park for the day.
“To be honest, the view is just unbeatable,” Adam Pickett added.
The family planned to head back home for a Mother’s Day barbecue after another game of cornhole.
Newhall resident Savannah Edwards was excited to be hiking the popular Towsley Canyon trail, which had been closed, with her daughter Riley.
“We’re usually out here every other weekend,” Savannah said. “It’s a bit more crowded than it usually is — I’m sure because of the recent opening — but everyone is keeping their distance. And, it’s just so very nice to be back out here.”
With the help of her dad, Riley was able to keep the news of the trails reopening a secret from her mom for Mother’s Day.
“This morning, I told her we were going hiking, but she thought I meant around the neighborhood because that’s what we had been calling it,” Riley, 14, said, chuckling. “It wasn’t until she saw me packing my backpack with sandwiches that she started questioning it.”
“It was certainly a pleasant surprise,” Savannah added. “Hiking used to be our mother-daughter bonding time, and I didn’t realize how much I’d missed it until we got out here.”
