Windmills, waterfalls, creeks, bridges, historical ruins, and killer views of Mother Nature's spring art palette in bloom—there were so many reasons for Barbara and me to return to Solstice Canyon for a twist on our hike #141: Charles Fleming's LA Times hike around Solstice Canyon. Fortunately, Solstice Canyon was out of reach of January's Palisades fire. We saw some of the damage on our way in from the SFV along Malibu Canyon Road—an eerie mix of charred and blackened trees and bright green new growth, Solstice Canyon burst with green and hints of purple, yellow, and white flowers and flora. This three trail hike from the TRW Loop Trail (signaled by a windmill) and featuring the TRW Overlook, one of the best nature photo shots: a view of the Pacific Ocean and Catalina Island tucked in the cleavage between two Santa Monica Mountain mounds. The Rising Sun Trail led us up the side of the mountain counterclockwise, peaking at 758 ft. elevation, accompanied by a lot of lizards, a few bunnies, a chorus of birdsong, and a few hikers coming and going, some with very happy dogs on leash. About a mile or so in, we started the descent into the canyon. The dirt trail is tough, but someone way back when took amazing care in constructing a staircase of 10"+ boulders to mark the trail and support hikers. Also on the way down we spotted the remains of one of the chimneys on the Roberts Ranch, the 1952 "Tropical Terrace House." But first...the trail took us off route to a stream to log and rock hop for fun. From there, we found the log fences and stairs that framed a narrow trail up to the small waterfall literally at the side of the Roberts Ranch property. Imagine a house where your water source was the waterfall in your backyard. Just a small one, not very loud. When we finally walked around the ruins, we played the "what room was that" game, trying to identify what fireplace (at least 4-6) served what purpose. Fascinating. The house and garden, completed in 1952, stood until the 1982 Dayton Canyon fire destroyed everything but the brick fireplaces and metal ovens. Somehow, some of the plants in the "Tropical Terrace" garden survived. Today Mother Nature treated us with Birds of Paradise in bloom and a glorious banana plant beginning to fruit. The Tropical Terrace front steps led down to Solstice Canyon Trail, the entire west side of the trail loop. The final oddity of the hike, the Keller Stone House, inherited by Keller in 1887 in the 13,316 acre Spanish Land Grant, Rancho Topanga. In 1903 the original log cabin burnt and was rebuilt as a "fireproof one room cabin," stone with a tin roof. Roberts bought the property in 1950. In 1997 the land became a national park. A magnificent hike—it's no wonder that Solstice Canyon Loop is the most popular hike in the canyon. If you go now, you'll catch Spring in bloom!