Hello Everyone!
It’s been a busy week out here on the road in Southern California. This week has taken me from the desert to the mountains to the city and back again. I got some skiing in, went to a local fair, drove down Route 66 and went to the original Renaissance Festival in Irwindale. As the week is ending, I’m making my way up the east side of the Sierra Nevada Mountains and enjoying seeing all the snowy peaks out my driver’s side window. I’m getting closer and closer to starting my tour season and trying to get as much in before I do as I can.
After I finished writing this post last week, it was late in the day so I spent the night there in Twentynine Palms. I went out for a surprisingly excellent salad at the Cactus Grill and then headed out to the Tortoise Rock Casino for the night. This casino is run by the Twenty-Nine Palms Band of Mission Indians and they were incredibly welcoming of overnighters so long as you checked in with security. I enjoyed a little blackjack and walked out $10 up which is definitely a win.
I was up and out early on Thursday as I needed to grab some groceries and a few other things in the morning before I got started with my day’s travels. Once I was all stocked up, I headed out to the Big Morongo Canyon Preserve just off Highway 62 in the Morongo Valley and I’m really glad that I did. This preserve is located in Sand to Snow National Monument and is run jointly by San Bernardino County and the Bureau of Land Management. It’s not a huge place, but it offers several miles of trails and boardwalks in very different environments. The wildflowers were in full bloom and there were plenty of birds out there to keep me company (and apparently a few rattlesnakes, but I didn’t see any). It was a wonderful place to spend the morning, get some fresh air and stretch my legs. From there, I jumped on Route 38 in Yucaipa and started making my way up into the San Bernardino Mountains. The road was pretty steep and we struggled a bit with the heat as I didn’t know we would travel up to almost 9000’ on our way to Big Bear Lake. Thankfully it got considerably cooler the higher we went and right when I thought we were going to have to pull over to avoid overheating, we crested the pass and started dropping down the other side. I got to Big Bear Lake with enough time to wander around the beautiful namesake mountain lake for a bit before the sun went down. From the north side of the lake I could see Snow Summit Ski Resort and was impressed by how much snow was on the mountain. The Village at Big Bear Lake is a cute little mountain town which I would really enjoy for the next two nights.
I was up early the next morning and stopped in to a shop called GetBoards right there in town to rent my ski equipment for the day. The people working there were great and my equipment was considerably cheaper than it would have been at the resort. Once I was all outfitted I went up and hit the slopes for the first time since I was in Western North Carolina five years ago. The snow was remarkably good and most of the lifts and slopes were open. I loved the west side of the mountain which is full of long, easy trails for “skill development”. I skied a lot when I was young, but as I mentioned above it’s been a few years and while it came back pretty quickly I was still grateful for the easy slopes. I have to say that I was really impressed that there were some people out there who were around my age or even older and obviously just learning to ski or snowboard. I hope that there are still many things that I’ll be able to do for the first time in this life, but ones that involve that degree of falling on the cold, snowy ground aren’t high on my list. Around noon I headed back to my van for a healthy lunch and an espresso and then got back out there for the afternoon session. As the day wore on, I started to hit some of the intermediate slopes and even a few black diamond runs. It was a sunny day and I was out there in a t-shirt and light pants because it was pretty warm out which was great. The sun and warmth caused the snow to get pretty slushy in the afternoon though, so I called it a day around 3pm, an hour or so before they closed for the day. My quads and knees were a little sore but it felt really good to be out there. I headed back to town to go for a walk and to take some pictures and enjoyed a pizza by the outdoor fire pits at 572 Social on Pine Knot Avenue. That night I got a really good night’s sleep.
On Saturday I said goodbye to Big Bear Lake and headed down the Rim of the World Highway to Lake Arrowhead. This road was stunning to drive down with tremendous views out at the mountains. Lake Arrowhead Village was another really cool mountain town on the shores of another beautiful lake. I went for a bit of a wander and ended up strolling into the local art gallery right next to the lake. The two fellas working there, Jim and Rick, were two of the featured artists. Jim is a photographer and Rick is a painter and both of them did beautiful work. We started chatting and I ended up pulling up a chair and spending a couple of hours in the gallery with them. We talked about all sorts of things from books and the weather to travel and art and it was so nice to sit and spend time with them. At some point it was time for me to be moving on so I said my goodbyes and headed out into the afternoon. After a little more time in Lake Arrowhead, I continued down the Rim of the World to Lake Gregory and Crestline which is the town it sits in. It was a nice, quiet place to spend a few hours and I even got a bit of an afternoon nap. Feeling refreshed, I looked at the local community calendar and found that the National Orange Show Fair was going on that weekend in San Bernardino which was only about half an hour away. I can’t resist a local fair, so I headed down to have a look. This whole area is citrus country and is often referred to as the Inland Empire which I think is a pretty cool name. I wish there had been more oranges or orange products at this fair, but it was still a fun time. I took some photos of the colorful rides and food stands and enjoyed some auto racing out at the track before calling it a night.
I was up early again on Sunday and headed to the gym for an early morning workout and a much needed shower and shave and then made my way out to Irwindale for the annual Renaissance Pleasure Faire at the Santa Fe Dam. This Faire was started by a teacher to provide some living history demonstrations for her students way back in 1963 and has been an annual event ever since. It was the country’s first Renaissance Festival – a tradition which has expanded across the country to many different locations. I always enjoyed the Maryland Renaissance Festival as a kid – especially the smoked turkey legs, jousting and the sword swallower. The turkey legs at this festival were $20, so I took a pass, but the jousting and sword swallowing were as enjoyable as ever. I loved wandering through the shops looking at all of the beautiful crafts and it took great restraint not to buy anything. The music was great and I caught several wonderfully entertaining shows during the day. I would have loved to have been there in costume, but it was just too hot for me to wear anything but shorts and a t-shirt. There were plenty of people dressed up though, although the majority of them were not in anything close to period outfits. There were quite a few elves, pirates and demons and even a regiment of Revolutionary War soldiers, but who cares? It was all in good fun and it was great to see so many people dressed up and enjoying themselves. I was there longer than I expected to be, but left before it ended to avoid all of the traffic getting out. I did want to check out one more place before I left town, though.
Just 15 minutes down the road was the location of the very first In-N-Out Burger which opened in 1948. While that location met the wrecking ball when I-10 came through town, they have built an exact replica for people to visit just down the street. Californians (and many others) LOVE their In-N-Out Burger and it has grown from this one humble location to 387 locations in the western states and is still run by the founding family. It was fun to see the replica and imagine people pulling up in their giant post-war cars to enjoy their 25 cent hamburgers and 15 cent fries. Just on the other side of the highway is a modern In-N-Out Burger so I figured when in Rome, right? Plus I hadn’t had much to eat at the Faire so I was pretty hungry. To be honest, I’m not a huge In-N-Out fan myself, but I’m also not much on fast food in general. I do love the Blake’s chain in New Mexico, but even that isn’t great. I know some people adore In-N-Out’s fries, but they are probably my least favorite fries of any fast food restaurant. But my Double-Double burger was pretty decent and my strawberry shake was as well and it was fun to be there if nothing else. I took a few photos and then headed up the 10 to the 15 and on up over the Cajon Pass to Hesperia for the night.
I had a lot of things to catch up on and some plans to make, so I spent the morning and much of the early afternoon bouncing around Hesperia and Victorville taking care of that. In the afternoon I headed out of town down old Route 66 towards Barstow. This is a lonely, desert stretch of the old Mother Road, but I found it quite an enjoyable ride. The one place I wanted to hit along the way was Elmer’s Bottle Tree Forest, which is a little under halfway to Barstow. This huge collection of bottle trees makes for quite a sight and I enjoyed wandering around for a bit and trying to take it all in. From there I headed on to Barstow where I made my first stop at the Casa Del Desierto. This was once a Harvey House hotel which was built by the Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Railway in 1911. It operated into the 1970s and then sat derelict for many years before the city bought and restored the property. It now houses a visitor’s center and two museums which are sadly only open on the weekend. It was still cool to wander around as I am a big fan of the Harvey House hotels scattered around the west. From there I stopped for a few quick photos along Route 66 as the sun was going down and chatted with a nice couple from San Jose who were on their way to cycle the Enchanted Circle out in New Mexico. Just the mention of it brought back wonderful memories from my time out there last winter. After the sun went down, I cruised out to the Walmart and enjoyed a quiet and early night.
An early night meant that I was up early this morning, so I decided to pull the center console out of my van and replace the air filter which really is more challenging than it should be. But it always feels good to get little preventative maintenance tasks done on my van and the filter definitely needed to be replaced. Once it was all sorted, I headed west on the 15 towards Vegas and pulled off the highway for breakfast at Peggy Sue’s 1950s Diner. I have driven past this place no fewer than a hundred times on my way between L.A. and Las Vegas but have never had the opportunity to stop and check it out. I’ve been to plenty of places like it though, and most are high on kitsch and low on quality. That wasn’t the case at all at Peggy Sue’s which does actually date back to the 1950s. The food and service were both excellent and the atmosphere was fun without being over-the-top. After breakfast I headed just up the road to another place that I have driven past many times over - Calico Ghost Town. Calico is the site of an actual old silver mining town founded in 1881, but it was all but abandoned when the silver played out. The whole town was purchased in the 1950s by Walter Knott (who also founded Knott’s Berry Farm) and he set about to restore the town to its 1880s appearance. Today it seems more amusement park than historic site as I guess should be expected on some level (if you’re unfamiliar, Knott’s Berry Farm is one of Southern California’s top amusement parks). Walter Knott donated the town to San Bernardino County in 1966 and the county has operated it ever since. It was only $8 to get in, but since it is basically one street full of souvenir shops it didn’t seem like an entrance fee was well spent. Calico is probably a good way for people to break up the drive between L.A. and Vegas and it’s not a bad place, but I didn’t rate it very highly and probably won’t be returning. I took off from there around noon and made my way up to 395 and on into Ridgecrest, where I’m writing this post from today. I’m not sure what internet facilities I’ll have further up the road, so I’m going to go ahead and get this post out a day early this week so as not to miss getting it published.
This week I’m going to continue cruising up 395 along the east side of the Sierras and hope to get some hiking in, visit some hot springs and maybe even ski Mammoth Mountain. I’m heading all the way north to Lake Tahoe, where I hope to cross over the mountains and drop in to visit my good friends, the Eichers. I may be in Lake Tahoe by this time next week, but then again I may not be. You’ll just have to check back and find out. Either way, I expect some beautiful mountain vistas this week and hopefully some wonderful photo opportunities as well. I hope you have a wonderful week out there, wherever you are and I’ll see you here same time next week. Thank you, as always, for reading.
-Mike