Don't We Have Fun!

Gail and Susanna are really hitting it off these days!  Both are nuts about dress-up and wacky fashion!

Today's Snake Report

On today's hike at Calavera Hills, I came upon this beautiful San Diego Gopher Snake near the top of the peak.

 I estimate its length at about 5 feet - nice sized!

 He was a mellow fellow so I moved him well off the trail, as there were people and dogs in the area.

Hope you find that mate you're probably searching for!

Rattler Again

While walking over at Calavera Hills Preserve this afternoon, Gail and I came upon a rattlesnake on the trail.

A Southern Pacific Rattlesnake.

You can hear him rattling his tail as he cruises off into the bushes.

Escape to Idyllwild

Monday, we took the two hour drive up to Idyllwild, a small town on Mt. San Jacinto.  It is at about 5,600 feet elevation, and 2.8 miles below the Pacific Crest Trail.  It has a real Sierra feel.

This is the cabin we stayed in until Wednesday.

Gail watching a Gray Squirrel from inside.

 The squirrels were very entertaining, and the Quiet Creek Inn provided little bags of peanuts for our room.

 We lounged by the creek awhile the first afternoon before taking a hike in the immediate area.

 I enjoyed seeing two Granite Spiny Lizards basking in the afternoon sun - on granite, of course.

Both have lost tails recently, but escaped with their lives.

Pretty flower.

 Thistle.

 The bees were loving all the manzanita flowers.

The signage was a bit much for my little brain!

 Tuesday, we hiked the Devil's Slide Trail up to the PCT where we had lunch and turned around at about 8,500 feet.  Gail burst into yodels at different points along the way, inspired by this hat that belonged to the Tillins.  Gail says it also makes her feel smarter!

 At the "Saddle" looking towards Taquitz Peak, which we climbed twice in the past.

The trees were quite storm battered up on the ridge.

 I'm not sure why some of the big dead pines have this twisted pattern under their bark.

 Silhouette of Dead Tree by Gail

 Back at the grounds of our inn.

 Everything was very clean and tidy.

 Decompressing after our big hike.

Gail spied a game called Anasazi which stated it was for ages 10 and up and could be played in 30 minutes.  No Way!  We spent an hour and a half figuring out the rules and setting up the mesas, towers, etc.  We had great laughs trying to figure it out - not so much trying to play it, though.

Beware!

Wednesday, we took our longest hike up the Deer Springs Trail to Strawberry Junction and another intersection with the PCT.

 A beautiful Granite Spiny Lizard diving for cover.

 Very large oaks.

 Gail posing like a prairie chicken - actually she's in front of a blooming yucca.

 Indian Paint Brush.

 I'm standing beneath a giant mushroom.

 The bark of a Sugar Pine looking like a puzzle.

 There were occasional snow flowers.

 Interesting rock formation.

 Gail captured this rotted out log that still had its side branches left inside.

 As we neared 8,000 feet, we came upon a grove of large cedars.

 Fire survivors!

Nick style photo from Gail.

 Inner log shot.  gb

 Our turnaround point.

We had a bird sighting first for us - Red-breasted Sapsuckers.  They were drumming loudly on high dead limbs.  This is an internet photo.  We also saw a Yellow Warbler, another first.  Other birds seen included Mountain Chickadees, Juncos, a Western Tanager, Mountain Quail, Stellar Jays, Scrub Jays, a Red-tailed Hawk, Ravens, Tree Swallows, and many regulars.  Idyllwild was indeed a very pleasant escape.

San Diego Children's Discovery Museum

Yesterday morning, Gail and I took Susanna on a little outing to the Children's Discovery Museum in Escondido.  It was perfectly geared for 3 year old kids.

 Weird farm animals, we are.

 We spent a lot of time with these connecting blocks.

 The area of sponge blocks were a hit, too.

 Here, Susanna is submerging into the sponges.

She turned this produce market into a soup kitchen, serving us delicious concoctions over and over.  Before we knew it almost 3 hours had flown by and it was time to leave.  This "museum" was very clean and peanut-free.  We give it 5 stars for 3 year old fun.

Tenaya Trail Hike

Yesterday, we drove northeast to the Cleaveland National Forest to hike a 10.4 mile out and back through rugged terrain.

 We saw a couple California Newts in the morning coolness.

 There is a lot of wild cucumber this year.  When the fruit dry and open up, they can look rather ghoulish, especially with a spider shacking up inside.

 We saw very few people for a Sunday, possibly due to a lot of poison oak intruding on the trail, gnats swarming in your face much of the time, and rattlesnakes.  A good hike, nevertheless!

 This is what the terrain looks like.  There is a ribbon of green along the creeks, and normally, there would be running streams, but not during this drought.

 There were a few pools, however, and we heard a bullfrog and saw a duck take off at this one.

 We did some rock hopping down the creek.

 There were some wildflowers, including these daisies.

 Gail spotted this large alligator lizard.

 And this blue-belly lizard posed nicely for me.

 This butterfly was actually bright yellow, but washed out in the photo.

 I spotted this Speckled Rattlesnake on the trail.  It was funny because ten minutes earlier I was telling Gail about Speckled Rattlesnakes, how they are variable in color and harmonize with the environment.  For that reason, they are very camouflaged and one should be careful when reaching for litter or walking off trail. They are also nervous snakes and prone to hold their ground if annoyed. I told her how I had never seen one, then a few minutes later, there it was!

 You can see how this fella blends in.  It gave us a good warning buzz, and moved off the trail a few feet.

A California Sister butterly wraps up this post.  It's Monday morning and we're not itching - so far so good!