Back on the July 4th weekend, we traveled south from Lake Riverside to visit the historic town of Julian. It is about a 50 mile, one-hour drive through beautiful countryside from Aguanga, through Oak Grove, through Warner Springs to Julian. We have visited many times but not for the last couple of years. But on all of these visits, we have not gone to the Eagle & High Peak Mine tour.

Yes, you do walk into the hillside.

The entrance into the Eagle Mine and the starting point for the tour.

The whole reason for going is the tour, of course. This tour has a good guide. He not only looks the part, he is very knowledgeable and presents the content well.

Our tour guide was knowledgeable and presented the material well.

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On Memorial Day weekend, we took a hike up Cedar Springs Trail in the San Jacinto National Forest. The trail starts about three miles up Morris Ranch Road in Garner Valley. The trail is shown on Google maps as Pathfinder Road. You turn north on Morris Ranch Road from CA Highway 74 (the “Palms to Pines Highway”) at the fire station in the village a few miles west of the junction with CA Highway 371.

The trail head is clearly marked.

Cedar Springs Trail is at the end of Morris Ranch Road on the north side of Garner Valley

The San Bernardino National Forest hiking guide describes the trail as follows:

Cedar Springs Trail (4E17) This moderate trail begins on Morris Ranch Road 4 miles north of Hwy 74. The trail travels through private property; please respect private property rights and stay on the dirt road. This 3.2 mile hike begins at 5760 ft. The trail connects with the Pacific Crest Trail along the Desert Divide south of Palm View Peak at an elevation of 6400 ft. To reach Cedar Spring cross the PCT and continue northeast for one mile.

We only went up the first mile, turning around just where the relatively flat road ends and the switchbacks begin. It was a very pleasant day, with the plants in spring green and blooming. The trail starts wide and flat. Clearly this has been used as a road.

Ther were many wildflowers on the trail

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When we were on Spring vacation in Anacortes, Washington, we had a chance to walk through Lovrić’s Sea Craft, a large boatyard on Oakes Avenue. Follow the link to the website for the facility, it has some great before and after pictures of their work on boats of all kinds.

Lovric’s Sea Craft — A large boatyard in Anacortes, Washington

Lovrić (the correct name, according to the website, is without the “‘s” but with the acute accent on the “c”) is on the north west side of Fidalgo Island, along Guemes Channel. This is a view from the boat yard toward the island.

Looking south toward Anacortes. Cranberry Lake is over the hill to the right.

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This end of November has been much easier that the last one. Alas, I have not met any of my Astronomy goals, but, better to have goals and failed then never to have goals at all.

Happy Thanksgiving to all and wishes for a blessed Advent and Christmas.

There were some amazing clouds out in the Anza Valley on the evening of October 17th.

A very impressive cloud over Cahuilla Mountain illuminated by a setting Sun.

The Moon next to some interesting cloud waves.

A close up of the cloud waves. Note the small ripples on the left top of the cloud.

A full panorama looking to the east.

A pretty view looking toward Mount Palomar.

A couple of weeks ago, we had the opportunity to visit a member’s preview of the Mummies: New Secrets from the Tombs exhibit at the Los Angeles County Natural History Museum. It is a remarkable exhibit with very good natural science about mummies from both Egypt and South America. It was developed by the Field Museum in Chicago. Did you know people mummified their dead in South America? I didn’t either but now I do.

In the South American part of the exhibit they had some very interesting pottery that was buried with the dead. It is in the motif of angry cats. Cats are a motif in art of the Nazca plains, source of the mummies and the pottery.

This is my favorite pot. I like the handle and the great expression on the cat.

One Angry Cat

This cat has some impressive teeth.

What Teeth!

Here is the collection.

Angry Cat Pots

There were no toys or trinkets in the shop based on this pottery. I think that is a mistake on the part of the museum.

This past Friday night delivered a little bit of excitement. I looked out at around 5pm and saw a plume of smoke.

The First Plume of Smoke

It was hard to tell where the fire was from my angle. I learned from the Anza / Aguanga Alerts Facebook page that the fire was on the far side of Aguanga, on Mt. Palomar. Within an hour or so, the smoke reached all the way to Toro Peak.

Smoke Over Toro Peak

The smoke was dramatic as the Sun set.

Evening Falls

As it became darker, it was easier to see the flames.

Flames Visible in the Dark

There were some dramatic moments later in the evening.

Late Evening Fire Glow

By the next morning, the fire was mostly out. Good work by Cal Fire and associated entities. And good luck it was not too dry.

Remnants