Mountain Get-Away and New Treasures

I can't believe summer is over!  It flew by SO fast!  It seems like just a few weeks ago that we were planning our big road trip...and, then, it was over.  Then, we were looking forward to the many weeks left and now my daughter is back in college.  Whew!  It was an incredible summer and I guess that's why it seems to have gone by so fast.  Great times are usually like that.

Those great times made it harder for my daughter and I when she moved back for college.  We both shed some tears and felt down for a few days.  But, moving ahead means moving on to more opportunities for great times and making more wonderful memories.

Our summer was so busy that we hadn't even made it up the mountain to one of our favorite places, Idyllwild.  We found some time a couple of weeks ago and headed up late on a Friday afternoon.  It was a bit cooler up there and that was really nice.  We got some iced drinks and wandered around a few shops.  Unfortunately, even though it was a Friday, shops closed early and there weren't very many people up there.  So, we didn't get to do much shopping or see much.  But, it was soon time for dinner and we decided to try a place we'd heard about for years but never gone to, Cafe Aroma.  

When we arrived, we were told that all of the outside seating was reserved until later that evening.  They were going to seat us inside and I asked if we could have a table as close to the door as possible so we could hear the live music.  She thought for a moment and the next thing we knew, she was seating us at a table outside.  I think she called it their "banquet table".  It was larger than all the rest and had seating for six.  My husband and daughter and I were thrilled.  It was close to the stage and was one of the best tables to see the musician.  I'm not sure why it's called "cafe" because it turns out to be a pretty high end restaurant.  Although, it does have a casual atmosphere and most of the tables are outside.  That was wonderful on that beautiful night to dine outside.

It was the last full weekend that our daughter would be home before moving back for college.  It was a perfect reason to splurge.  And...we did!  We ordered a delicious bottle of wine and toasted to a great school year.

Our food was so good that I forgot to take pictures!  We all had pasta dishes.  They offer gluten free pasta!  How cool is that?!  And, it's really good gluten free pasta.  My daughter's dinner was smothered in a delicious, creamy, tomato sauce and it had chicken, sausage, prosciutto and shallots.  Hubby had pasta with shrimp and jalapeno cream sauce...yum!  Mine had portabello mushrooms, white wine and garlic.  The music started shortly after we got there.  See how close we were and how nice it was to sit outside.....

Since we were already spending so much and wanted to make it a great evening, we decided to go for dessert.  There were lots of yummy choices.  Here's something I posted on Instagram later that night...

But, we decided to share the flourless chocolate cake (gluten free).

It was very rich and delicious!

I noticed that they had blankets hanging around on hooks for guests to use when it got chilly.

What a great idea!  I even saw a someone take advantage of one.

Our waitress had a ring on that was so cool that I had to ask her about it.  She told me she'd gotten it at a shop in town and that it was going out of business.  Well, that meant I needed to get up there quick before they were all gone!  So, we went back up that weekend.

As we headed up, I realized that I hadn't even thought about how much it might cost.  But, I really liked it and it was worth checking.  I was figuring it would be around $10-$15.  It turned out to be $4.99 but everything in the store was 50% off because they're going out of business.  So, it cost a whole $2.50!  What a deal!  I love my new ring!  It's a shell that's been cut and polished on the top and a hole was drilled through the side to slide it on.  Such a unique idea!  I love it!  Hubby kept laughing at me because I was so thrilled with my new ring that I kept holding it up and looking at it.

Since everything was 50% off, I had to look around!  I ended up buying a second ring.  It's Labradorite.  The color is interesting...it goes from blue to bluish green to gray and sometimes shimmers a bit like opal.  I love the leaves on it and it fits perfectly.  I've been looking for more rings for a long time.  It was fun to finally find some that I like and that they were so cheap.

My daughter found a cute ring that has three colors of Topaz on it.  And, she got a really cute beaded bracelet with a southwest/Native American design on it.  Fun!

It was a beautiful day up there!  Here's a shot looking up the main street of town.  That's Lily Rock or Tahquitz Rock in the center.  The peak above it and to the right is Tahquitz Peak that we've hiked to a few times.  I never get tired of these views!  In fact, we have a peek-a-boo view of Lily Rock from our loft window at home, many miles away.  Pretty cool!

We stayed for lunch and this cute, carved bear was standing near our table.  

 Such a fun weekend and a perfect way to cap off our summer!

I've got tons to do....back to work!

Goodbye Summer

 Hubby and I spent the last day of summer doing something we've been wanting to do for a long time. 

We went hiking in the mountains above Idyllwild, CA.

There was a huge fire up there earlier in the summer that threatened the mountain communities

and many of the trails we love and use often.  The trails were closed for a while after the fire.

Eventually they re-opened but it's been too hot up there to hike (it's not as cool as the Big Bear

area on another mountain where we've been mountain biking and camping at a lot).

When the weather started cooling last week we wasted no time in planning a hike.

We headed up early Saturday morning, stopped at the ranger station

 for our trail permit, and we were on our way!  Woo hoo!  

We hiked the South Ridge Trail that day.  It was so great to be hiking up there again!  

I only brought my phone and a small camera for photos and took very few.
I wanted to just soak in the day.

The mountain had recently been washed in flash floods.

So, all the trees and bushes were extra clean, green and pretty.

It was interesting to stop at various lookout spots along the way to see where the fire had burned.

It had burned a lot but it's still beautiful and the views are spectacular.

We enjoy stopping at this pile of huge boulders to climb around and have a seat.

Here's the view out from inside that pile of boulders...with my cute hubby!

When we got to the top of Tahquitz Peak it was awesome to see the fire lookout stand.  I'd worried about it during the fire and couldn't wait to get back onto our trails again and go see it.

We were surprised to see that the tower was open.  There was a volunteer up there for

the day and that night.  I've wondered what it would be like to stay up there.  

She said the sunrise and sunset are awesome!

There are windows all around with views of the ocean, the desert, and more mountains.

And, there's a deck that runs around the entire outside of the building.

There was a thick marine layer in the lower areas that day but the views were still great.

The stand in the center has a map and a device to help calculate where fires are when they're spotted.

It even has a little cook stove and heat stove.

There's a bed just to the left of the heat stove.

This is the National Forest Service volunteer that was up there that day.

She was really nice and we enjoyed chatting with her.

Here, she's filling out a visitor card for my husband.

He has one from when he was about 16.  It was fun to get another one so many years later.

That's me sitting on the rock near the tower...

And, hubby...

It was quite a hike!  There was over 2,400 feet of elevation climb in just over three miles to the top!

The steepness was tough for the trip back down too.  What a great workout and great day!

The weather was awesome...warm in the sun and chilly in the shade and super blue skies.

We ended the day as we often do when we go to Idyllwild...at the Restaurant Gastronome.

I keep finding myself ordering the same thing because it's so yummy...a turkey sandwich

on ciabatta bread with tomato, lettuce, purple onion and a spicy cranberry sauce.

It's delicious...especially when I'm really hungry.  Hubby had a turkey sandwich on a 

croissant with fig jam.  It was yummy too.  The beer was icey cold...Yum!

When we were at the ranger station that morning, I got a cute little pair of 

Smokey the Bear earrings that I've been eyeing for a while.  Fun!

That day was such a great end to our wonderful summer!

How did you end your summer?

The Letter "I"

The timing of the letter "I" in the alphabet photo challenge couldn't be more perfect.  The Mountain Fire that burned over 27,000 acres in the mountains surrounding Idyllwild is contained and life is getting back to normal.  A lot of us are heading up the mountain to see for ourselves that Idyllwild is fine and to support the community by shopping in the stores, eating in the restaurants, etc.

My letter "I" post is dedicated to Idyllwild!

The Hub Cyclery planned a bike ride for Saturday morning and a kids bike rodeo for Sunday.

We went up early Saturday morning for the ride.  

People gathered at the shop...

We all signed a banner to thank the fire fighters and all who worked hard to save the community...

 Then, we all headed out for a ride around town.  I wasn't able to get a picture of everyone because we were all so spread out.  But, estimates were that there were at least 60-70 people that showed up.

The shop owner and local residents that came were surprised and thrilled to see so much support.  

That's my hubby on the left side, holding my mountain bike up for me...

After riding around town for a while, we stopped at the ranger station.  

The bike shop owner went in and asked the rangers to come outside.  He thanked them for

their public service, for all the hard work they do and all they did to help during the fire.  

The banner was held up for them and we gave them cheers and a round of applause.  It was great!

Some members of the Hemet Jeep club came up to join in on the festivities and 

show their appreciation as well.  If I heard correctly, many of them helped 

during the fire by driving supplies up the mountain.  

There were at least eight Jeeps that came up on Saturday.

Our next stop was the fire station.  They were presented with the banner and given lots of cheers and applause as well.  I thought I'd gotten a great panoramic photo of the event but when I went to retrieve the photos from my cell phone, it wasn't there.  But, here's a photo of me at the station...

The last stop was at the local coffee shop, Higher Grounds, for a moment of gratitude and prayer.

There were signs of appreciation all around town...

Some of the bikers went on a trail ride afterwards.  Hubby and I decided to ride around 

through the neighborhoods a bit more.  I'm glad we did because I was able to get a picture of something I'd seen earlier that I thought was funny.  It was hanging on the side of a garage...

After our ride, we went to one of our favorite Idyllwild restaurants, Gastrognome.

It's right near the center of town with a wonderful outdoor, under the trees dining area.

They have awesome views of the mountains and the food is really good.  We enjoyed some 

refreshing beer and toasted to the firefighters and everyone who saved our wonderful mountain. 

After our yummy lunch, we walked around town and did a little shopping.

It seemed that a lot of people were coming up to enjoy the mountains and show their support.

Thunderheads were building over the deserts and the tops of the mountains.

It brought some humidity to the hot day but it was still a lot cooler and nicer than home.

My beloved Lily Rock/Tahquitz Rock...it's so great to see it up close and that the surrounding forest

is still there!  The trails are currently closed but I have high hopes that they'll re-open for hiking once 

all the hot spots are out and all the work on the fire is complete.  I can hardly wait to go hiking 

up there again.  We can see this rock from our house!  Through our loft window, if we peek

between the homes across the street, we can see it!  I think that's so cool! 

It can be seen from miles and miles around.  It's enormous!  It's world famous for rock climbing.

It was wonderful to see this butterfly.  There's still life on the mountain!

Yup!...Idyllwild is still here and open for business.

Isn't this little bear adorable?!

It turns out that the fire was started by faulty electrical equipment on a private property.  It was difficult to impossible to get photos of the area near where it started as we drove into town.  But, it was interesting to see where it had traveled.  Near the start of it, it's black but many of the trees still have needles and leaves...they're just not green any more.  The fire path was narrow at first and skirted itself between homes, jumped over areas, and even went around both sides of a ranger station.  As it moved, the path got wider and wider and eventually burned huge sections of the mountain and traveled around to the east side, toward Palm Springs.  The large areas were hard to photograph because they were so far away from the road that you couldn't tell very easily which parts were green and which were black. But, I know one thing for sure...it came very close to homes and a lot of people are very, very lucky!

There is a line across the center of each of these pictures that is black

and show where the fire traveled from west to east...

We took a drive to see where the fire had burned and to check on our favorite campground.

It's ok!  Yay!  We saw the staging area for the fire fighters and their equipment.  

They still had a helicopter there, some fuel and water trucks and various other equipment.

The staging area was at the Garner Ranch Cattle Company.  The cattle are healthy and beautiful.

I couldn't resist taking some photos...

This one is my favorite.  He's so cute and he looks like a model with his tail blowing in the wind...

The tall mountains in the background are where a lot of the burn area is...

We drove up to the top of Thomas Mountain.  It's an area my husband has been mountain biking 

on for years but I've never seen.  It was wonderful to see that it didn't burn.

As we enjoyed the scenery and fresh piney air, I'm sure he was feeling very grateful 

as he sat there gazing at one of his favorite trails.  I know I was.

As we drove over and down the other side of the mountain, I was amazed at the 

views of surrounding desert communities of Anza, Aguanga and Sage. 

The air was hazy though and didn't make for good photos...
...but, you can get a glimpse behind the yucca in the next photo...just click it to enlarge it.

I couldn't pass up a photo of these beautiful yucca though...

  

The flower plumes were huge, dried and so pretty.

Well, there's my letter "I" post.  Not many photos of objects that start with "I" but all taken in the Idyllwild  area.  An Incredibly Inviting place that's Impossible to forget.  I've been finding an Increasing amount of things up there that I love and keep me going back again and again.

Great News!

Thanks to the hard work of fire fighters and mother nature, containment on the Mountain Fire
has risen to 68%.  Humidity increased over the weekend, temperatures dropped, and...it rained! Evacuation orders have been lifted and residents have returned home.  Yay!  

Hopefully, the fire will be completely out very soon.

Much of the mountain burned, a few houses were lost, trail areas burned and wildlife habitat

was destroyed.  However, word has it from Idyllwild residents that when you're in town

you can't even tell there was a fire.  That's awesome news!

Plans are being made by Idyllwild businesses and many of us flat-landers to go up next weekend to celebrate and show our support.  Area businesses had to close their doors and went without customers for almost a week.  I'm sure that our support will be greatly appreciated.  Idyllwild is a wonderful place to go....beautiful, cool, relaxing, tasty food, shopping, biking, hiking and so much more.  

See you on the mountain!  :-D

Mountain Fire

No matter where you are in the US, if you've seen the national news, you may have heard about the "Mountain Fire".  The news said last night that it has become the number one priority fire in the country.  Why am I blogging about it?  Because the mountain that this fire is burning is one of my favorite places on earth.

Our beloved Mount San Jacinto has been burning...raging out of control...since Monday.  It started near the small mountain community of Mountain Center and quickly spread to hundreds of acres. Then, over night, it doubled to over 800 acres.  The next day it was over 1,400.  Now, it's over 22,000 acres!  The terrain is steep and wooded and that makes it hard to fight.  The brush up there is dry and many of the trees have been killed by beetles, leaving a lot of dry, dead fuel.  On top of that, we've had triple digit temps.  I heard on the news that at times the fire fighters have had to deal with 130f degree heat because of the temps and the fire.  Horrible!

Up until yesterday they could only manage to get 10% control of this fire.  We got the tiny bit of good news yesterday that management has grown to 15%.  That's good but not nearly enough.  The wonderful community of Idyllwild has been under mandatory evacuation for a few days and will remain so today, maybe longer.  The fire is also heading down the backside of the mountain toward the Palm Springs area.  I heard this morning that it has burned at least three of the Mount San Jacinto peaks.

I've been glued to my cell phone and computer all week trying to keep up on the latest news about this fire. I recently signed up on Twitter and have found it very useful in this situation.  I've also found some websites that have been very helpful.  I refresh them throughout the day to get the latest info.  If you're interested, here are some of them...the maps on THIS one show the area that has burned...looks like almost half the mountain at this point.  THIS one offers helpful information regarding the Idyllwild community.  THIS one has maps, weather info, numbers of aircraft and personnel fighting the fire, etc.

I've been enjoying this beautiful mountain since I was a child when my parents took my brother and I up there to camp.  As an adult, I've been enjoying going up there to camp, hike, mountain bike, dine, escape the heat, relax, have coffee, stay at a bed and breakfast, shop and just escape the hustle and bustle of everyday.  It's takes less than an hour to drive up there and we can see it from our home town.  In fact, we were up there just a week before the fire.  We packed a picnic lunch and headed up there with our dog, Salsa, to escape the heat and relax at Hurkey Creek.  We had a wonderful day!

Over the years, I've blogged about many of our adventures on Mount San Jacinto and the Idyllwild area.  If you're interested in seeing some of the beauty and fun that can be had up there, you can click over to visit my post about our hike on the Devil's Slide trail about a year ago.  Or, our hike up to Tahquitz Peak and the fire lookout station.  What a hike that was!  I've been wanting to go back up there again.  I sure hope it's still there after the fire.  And, I hope the trails will still be open and not all burned up.  Oh, how I wish there wasn't a fire on our mountain!  I'd love to be standing here again right now...

HERE'S a post I did about a wonderfully relaxing day spent in a grassy meadow under some trees.  Ahhhh!  We've spent a lot of time camping up there.  Even Salsa likes going up there, as you can see in THIS post.  And, I can't leave out winter...  We love driving up there to see the snow, enjoy a hot cup of coffee or cocoa and marvel at the beauty.  I'll never forget the time we drove up and saw all of these beautiful red meadows on a chilly, snowy, rainy, winter day....HERE'S that post.

There's a chance of rain in the forecast for Saturday, Sunday and Monday.  We could sure use it! But, the forecast is for thunderstorms and lightening is something we definitely can do without!  I hope they'll be able to start making bigger progress in stopping this fire over the next few days.  And, most importantly, that they'll be able to save the community of Idyllwild.  It breaks my heart that this is happening and I've shed tears over it.  We always know that fire is possible anywhere but we sure never would have imagined one fire taking so much of this mountain that we love.  I can't wait for it to be out so we can go up and see what has been spared.  I hope that much less has burned than it seems!

If you're anywhere within driving distance of the San Jacinto Mountains and Idyllwild, please consider going up and supporting the community when this is all over.  Not only have the businesses lost out on a lot of business this week (especially since the evacuation) but I bet restaurants and the grocery store will have to throw away a lot of food.  That will hurt them too.  You won't regret taking a trip up there.  It's a beautiful and wonderful area.  There are miles and miles of hiking and biking trails, lots of wonderful bed and breakfasts, restaurants, shopping, and more.  Oh...and, they've had the best mayor anywhere....Mayor Max...he's a dog!  You can read the heart warming story HERE.

Please keep the residents, the fire fighters, the wildlife and our mountain in your thoughts and prayers.

Fine Details

My husband and I went up into the local mountains last weekend and camped.  We had looked forward to four days of relaxation and cooler temps.  The temps were cooler than at home but not anything like the cool mountain air we had hoped for.  We went mountain biking one morning but it was so scorching hot that I started feeling awful and we kept it short.  The only other exercise we got were a couple of short hikes and walks around the campground with the dog. When we got out and about from the campground, I played around a little with my new phone and snapped some pictures.  We found some plants with beautiful, feathery seeds.

  These were so pretty, glowing in the morning sun.

The fine details are amazing.

All the little swirls remind me of photos where the camera shutter

has been kept open and lights have moved about to draw swirly designs.

The feathery coverings on these seeds look even softer.

Click on the picture for a a better, closer look.

I'm not sure, but it might be some kind of milk weed. 

They're popping out of pods like this...

The soft, fluffy coverings on these seeds are longer and look like soft hair.

It appears that something on this plant must be quite tasty to these bright red bugs.

I'm impressed with the photos I took with my new Razor phone.  I was surprised to see how many features it has, including macro, zoom, various lighting and color options, etc.  It even has a feature that takes panoramic photos and it matches the scene as I turn and snaps automatically as needed.  And, I love how I can just tap the screen where I want it to focus.  I have a lot of playing and learning to do with it.  Not to mention LOTS of learning with the phone in general.  It's my first "smart" phone and I was very frustrated with it for the first few days.  I'm starting to get the hang of it now but...as with the camera feature...I have a LOT to learn.

As for our long weekend...it was a nice getaway.  Hubby did a lot of reading while I did a lot of knitting.  We enjoyed our time together along with good food, drink, and the beautiful scenery of the Idyllwild area.  It's one of my favorite local places.  I'm always amazed that it's only about an hour from home and so worth the drive every single time we visit.