Silver Pines Lodge, Idyllwild

We've stayed at 3 different places while up in Idyllwild...Fireside Inn, Silver Pines Lodge, and the Fern Valley Inn.  We really enjoy the Silver Pines Lodge the best.  It not only has a wonderful location (it is at the end of a cul de sac, away from traffic), but it also has 3 individual cabins, all with kitchens.  Additionally there are different private homes you can rent and we've rented 3 of them at different times.  The Foley cabin is the largest (and most expensive), but it sleeps about 14 people.  There are 2 bathrooms, and a full kitchen.  The Holden cabin is nice, with a HUGE deck, and the Carlson cabin is smaller.  They have some other ones that we have NOT stayed in, too.

We have stayed at the Foley cabin twice now over the Memorial Day weekend with either our daughter and her family or our son and daughter and their families together.  That is where, one morning, I looked out toward the north, and saw a... BOBCAT!  YES!

We really enjoy one of the cabins at the Silver Pines Lodge...cabin 2.  It has a nice back deck and I can feed the blue jays and squirrels.  Rabbits come from next door to eat the wild grasses, as well as a family of quail which has been there for generations.  I've heard coyotes up in the canyon in the early morning and this trip I heard a saw-whet owl.  (Not a "whoo, whoo, like other owls...)  Apparently there are quite a few of them up in Pine Cove and Idyllwild.

Here are a few pics from our trip last week.

Some of the cabins are in the main lodge of the Silver Pines lodge.

Idyllwild getaway

I was able to book a 3 night stay at our FAVORITE cabin up in Idyllwild (San Jacinto mountains) this week, so off we went. I needed a break from the desert and I REALLY wanted to spend some time up in the tall pines.  Our cabin had a nice porch with a railing and I could easily feed the blue jays there.  We took our dog, Ripley, with us and she enjoyed the cool air!  She would squiggle all over her blanket, enjoying the cool mornings!

Unfortunately, a heat wave has developed over the southwest and it will be HOT up there, too, this weekend.  It is 116 here today (ugh!), so we are staying indoors.

I was able to observe rabbits, chipmunks, gray squirrels, a family of quail, and see a male and female woodpecker.  I heard the calls of the red tailed hawks who patrol the canyon near the cabin and early one morning I heard the call of an owl (saw-whet owl, I believe)...So, I got my wildlife fix for a while!

Ripley enjoyed walks early in the morning, afternoon, and early evening.  She was well behaved in the car and she even stayed on the porch.  We DID barricade it so she wouldn't get off it and I was able to tie her on the porch and she stayed on it.  We were visited by the owner's English bulldog puppy, "Hank" who showed up during dinner a couple of times!

We drove up Monday at noon and drove home Thursday morning.  It was painful returning to the desert, but we are staying indoors.

Here are a few photos from Idyllwild.  I'll be posting more tomorrow.

 "Hank"

 He REALLY wanted to join us for dinner!

Our black lab, Ripley, enjoying the porch!

Temecula visit

We like to go down and see our son and his family whenever we can, so off we went Saturday.  It was getting hot in the desert anyway and I was hoping to see some fog in Temecula.  Temecula did not disappoint me.

We fixed a yummy dinner Saturday night of chicken with BBQ sauce, baked potatoes, and a salad.  Once the late afternoon breeze hits, the temperature starts to drop there.  So, after dinner, we donned our sweaters and went for a walk down to their neighborhood park. The kids got to play for a while and I took some photos.

I didn't sleep well that night.  Both hubby and I are extremely spoiled and we really like our own bed! I'm a light sleeper anyway, so I heard some sirens at 3:30 a.m. and then couldn't go back to sleep.

I woke up Sunday morning and went for a stroll around their complex.  We drove home, stopped by the horse ranch to feed the horses, then home to the hot, hot desert.  It will be 115/116 by next weekend, although some models show monsoon moisture creeping up into the valley.  We'll see...

 From our after dinner walk...

 Another one...

 early morning fog

 more fog

 There were lots of hummingbirds Sunday morning!  They were all over the place!

 This big fella scared me.  I didn't see him, but he saw me and took off running!

Beyond Lake Cuyamaca

 Lots of burned trees...

 Nice rock outcropping on this mountain.  Hubby knows the name of this feature, but I forget what it is...

 Woodpecker!

 Nice land...

More burned trees

After we left Lake Cuyamaca, there were a lot of burned trees.  There was a fire in this area in 2003 and I remember reading about a fire beyond Lake Cuyamaca this year.  We actually drove all the way down to Pine Valley, which was a beautiful pine oasis in the middle of all this dry vegetation.  I neglected to take photos there, however, because at that point, I'd been driving 3 hours and I was getting anxious to get on the road and go home.  I managed to drive all the way home, but I was out of it the next day!  6 hours of driving really took it out of me.  I rested for 2 days and then babysat the grandson all day yesterday.

Fence and Field~Good Fences~Friday, July 15, 2016

While driving down to Lake Cuyamaca this week, hubby and I both spotted this fence along the highway.  I pulled over and took a couple of photos of it.  As you can see, the area is very dry this time of year.

We loved seeing all the oak trees.  They are a completely different ecosystem.

Good Fences for Friday, July 15, 2016.
To visit Good Fences, please go to this link:   http://run-a-roundranch.blogspot.com

Beyond Julian~Lake Cuyamaca

We got to Julian and hubby suggested we drive down to Lake Cuyamaca.  Lake WHAT?  Never heard of it.  I did vaguely recall there was a fire down there recently (there was...) and also one in 2003.  We saw many burned hillsides.  That area is extremely rugged and there aren't many roads through it.  I would (someday) like to take the route down into Anza-Borrego, but not in the summer.  Just too hot...We ALWAYS make a point to text both our kids to let them know where we are going.  Don't want to get lost or stuck somewhere...AND this area is extremely rugged, without many roads.

 Lots of open meadows along the way...VERY dry!

 Lake Cuyamaca

I don't recall seeing Lake Cuyamaca before, although hubby told me we traveled this same road once when the kids were little.  I was apparently too distracted by their shenanigans to even remember!  OYE!  We had two kids 18 months apart and I, being an only child, had never raised children before and I'm sure their misbehavior distracted me to no end.  (They are now fully grown and each have 2 children of their own.)  It's not that they were bad kids.  They weren't.

ANYWAY...I really enjoyed this lake.  It reminded me of some of the lakes up on the Mogollon Rim.  It was refreshing to see it and the temperature was quite comfortable, so we continued our trip down the road...

To be continued...

Julian and beyond!

Yesterday morning, about 9:00, hubby asked, "Do you want to go for a ride to Julian?"  Ummm...of course!  ANYTHING to get out of the house for a day!  Besides, Julian has a great cafe for lunch:  The Julian Bakery and Cafe! So off we went!

It was a pleasant day for a drive...only 82 degrees (hey...we DO live in the desert!).  We drove past Warner Springs and saw all the gliders lined up, awaiting a flight.  We saw cattle grazing and lots of meadows.

Before we ate lunch, however, we took a drive out past Julian to where the wineries are located.  I found this beautiful barn (there were others, but I couldn't pull over and take photos!).

Riding back into town, we saw these steps:

Interesting, eh?

Lunch was DELICIOUS!  I had a half a ham sandwich and tortilla soup.  YUMMY!  Hubby had a hot roast beef sandwich with mashed potatoes and gravy.  THEN he had a slice of apple pie and ice cream!  OYE!

To be continued...