Finding Annie's Canyon Trail

To find Annie's Canyon Trail, exit at Loma Santa Fe Drive  from I-5 and continue towards the Pacific Coast Highway 101. Turn right on Rios Avenue. If you go past the railroad, you've  gone too far,  make a legal U-turn as soon as you can. Once you get back on Loma Santa Fe Drive and turn left too soon on N. Rios Avenue and go past the Solana Beach Amtrak Station, don't worry, you'd eventually get to Rios Avenue. At the end of Rios Avenue is a trailhead to the San Elijo Lagoon Preserve.
The trailhead to Annie's Canyon Trail is a little over half a mile from the San Elijo Lagoon Ecological Preserve trailhead.  The wooden sign that bears Annie's name, a lady from Solana Beach who must have advocated for the restoration of the area  is still sporting its Home Depot varnish.
Annie's Canyon Trail has been a no trespassing zone for some time for restoration. Previously know for being the Mushroom Caves, the trail actually leads to a slot canyon. It was opened to the public earlier this week on June 21st.
I chose the strenuous one-way loop. Not far from the entrance of the loop is a teacher's choice  artwork replica on a white fiberglass plastic that initially deceived me. I thought the artwork  was on its original drawing paper. The sign restricts curious explorers from wandering off in smaller crevices of the  mini slot canyon.
I could imagine torrents from a flash flood flowing into the crevices of the canyon on a rainy day. The passageway past the hidden entrance gradually leads into narrow openings that I felt like a coin being inserted to a slot machine.
Slot canyons are, to me, more of exquisite water sculptures. If you want to find out how slim you are, just go through these slot canyons. If you make through  the very slim twisting passages without injuring your ankle or withouth being stuck, you are slim enough!
The mini slot canyon reminds me of Mecca, not the Islamic holy land but close,  close to Salton Sea. https://gopluckyourself.blogspot.com/2014/11/ladders-at-mecca-painted-canyon.html
It is at Mecca where I first looked into slot canyon formations.
https://gopluckyourself.blogspot.com/2015/03/return-to-mecca.html
San Diego's mini slot canyon was previously known as the "mushroom caves", not after the edible fungus but the poisonous ones. I didn't know much about psychedelic mushrooms till now. In the middle of the canyon trail is indeed a shallow cave and it's ceiling still bear the abuse of hallucinogenic mushroom users and their garish art. The cave actually reminds me of the Lawrence Welk Talus Caves that Kay and I explored with a meet-up group in Escondido.
https://gopluckyourself.blogspot.com/2013/08/kay-and-aye-at-lawrence-welk-talus-caves.html

Nothing beats a subtle but still a pathetic selfie after a mini adventure at the newly opened San Diego's mini slot canyon.

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