San Bernardino National Forest

The wild lands of the San Bernardino and San Jacinto Mountain Ranges was originally home to Native Americans.  The National Forest was created after CA became part of the US as prior to this...this land was a part of Mexico.  Mexican and European settlements popped up.  Then gold was discovered in the San Bernardino Mountains.  With a growing populace, who had conquered what seemed like an endless frontier, began to realize that they had to manage the land more thoughtfully.

The elevations range from a few feet to 11,501 feet at Mount San Gorgonio, the highest peak in CA. Today's trip took us to over 7,000 feet near where J (as a boy) camped with the Boys Scouts.  Everything from desert cactus to evergreen forest to alpine tundra can be found here. Wildlife include black bear, mountain lion, deer, bighorn sheep, the bald eagle, peregrine falcon, and the red-tailed hawk.  NOTE :  The bears can be from black to blonde to brown to grey in color and they DO NOT hibernate.  Rules for bears and mountain lions are the same.  If an encounter...don't run...stand your ground and IF attacked...FIGHT BACK.

Our curvy road took us into the San Jacinto Mountains where a sign said to have chains.

Our drive thru Idyllwild, was beautiful with their green tall pines with huge pine cones, sweet smelling cedars and legendary rocks. We checked out their County Park with FEW campsites favorable for our rig. Turns too tight with our long truck.

In town, we stopped at the Forest Service Ranger Station where we gathered info and I found another patch to add to my collection.  Also had a photo shoot with a crazy looking dragon.

Mount San Jacinto State Park was next.  The summit of Mount San Jacinto stands at 10,834 feet above sea level.  It is the second highest mountain range in southern CA.  The campsites here were NOT favorable for our rig.

 Here is the Manzanitas bush that is popular for its shiny red to mahogany colored bark. They have urn-shaped flowers that vary from pink to white and are popular with hummingbirds.  They are drought tolerant staying green and healthy even on the hottest/driest days of summer.  They do NOT like summer water or fertilizer.  Sounds like something to have in a container pot.

Idyllwild Encore Thousand Trails RV Resort on Canyon Trail was our next stop where we were greeted by the park bear.  There were several sites here for a return trip to camp. A little pricy at $45/nite...but, could do for a few days. Fire conscious, no wood or ground fires allowed.  One can use charcoal and only 1 fire log at a time in their fire pits.  We did see patches of snow.

First time we have seen a squirrel crossing sign. Quite a few around.






They have mule deer and here.
The bark beetles in CA conifers along with severe drought are killing lots of trees that in turn become dry and a kindle for forest fires.  So, as Smokey says, "Lets keep it green".
           Below is the Banning Idyllwild Panoramic Highway #243 we traveled as we headed home.

Here the pine cones were HUGE.  Lake Fulmer was full of water from the snow melts.

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As we neared the Black Mountain group there was this sign where no chains were required.  This overlook had beautiful blue blooming bushes.

As J drove, he said he turned the truck steering wheel 90 degrees left and right on these switch back curves more than he can remember. We could see the city below and windmills in the distance.

You can see the road at middle left ahead of us to travel as we descend these mountains into the valley.  This was a day of my feet braking, my pants in a pucker gripping the seat, and a lot of deep breathing to keep from cringing as I tried to log this photo shoot of our trip.

              The hillsides are greening up and things are beginning to bloom.  Spring is here!!!

I-10 and Rt. 79 brought us safely back to Hemet and our 5er for a homemade burrito.  YUM!

Hot tub was a good temp for a couple rounds to soothe the days nerves.  LOL

Mr. & Mrs. Mallard ducks flew in with a smooth landing in one of the pools for several drinks and dips.

Here is the moon and Jupiter to its upper left.

I made us Kathy cakes for our late dessert.  Watched a little political TV that made us both sleepy.  I put a few more stitches on my Country Christmas doily for a hopeful finish today.  Looking forward to another creation of some sort.

J is looking forward to Wednesday night's Penumbral Lunar Eclipse that leads the way to Easter weekend.  This is the first of two lunar eclipses for 2016.  This will be a ghostly shading of the moon that will barely be noticeable.

Until next time....Happy Easter...take care...be safe.  See you by the campfire.