Opening of Tahquitz Fire Lookout Tower

Visitors to Idyllwild are drawn to the different views of Tahquitz Rock or Lily Rock as some people call it. Tahquitz is named after the Cahuilla god, Tahquish, who was believed to be responsible for thunder, lightning and earthquakes.

 At 8,828 feet, on the highest point, Tahquitz Peak, a historic fire lookout tower was built in 1937.  It is one of seven lookout towers in the San Bernardino National Forest that is staffed by trained volunteers from Memorial Day through November.

Eight volunteers climbed the mountain this weekend to open up the tower for the upcoming season.

This fire lookout tower is the only one in the San Jacinto Wilderness. Unlike the other towers, it can only be reached by hiking 4 1/2 miles. The other towers can be reached by car.

 

 Because it is in the wilderness, maintenance takes more effort since supplies need to be carried up.

 

 

 

 The shutters to the windows were raised; the windows were cleaned; the equipment was set up.

 

 Reporting the weather conditions, reporting smoke and recording lightning strikes are the main duties of Fire Lookout Hosts. The Osborne Fire Finder is the main tool used to identify the location of smoke if it is sighted.

The fire look out towers were originally staffed by

 USDA Forest Service employees. Beginning in the seventies, they were closed one by one. Tahquitz Peak tower was the last to close in 1993. In the same year, The Southern California Mountain Foundation, a nonprofit organization was established to assist the Forest Service. The Fire Lookout Hosts program began and in 1998, the Tahquitz Peak Lookout tower was opened once again staffed with volunteers.

 

 Hiking up to Tahquitz Peak is challenging but well worth it. For kids who make the hike, they are presented a "Squirrel Card". Everyone, however, wants one.

 Beyond the nearby mountains and valleys, one can see to the desert, to the Salton Sea and to the Pacific Ocean on a clear day. The views are magnificent and inspiring. However, it is the journey that one remembers not just the destination.

Lizards of the Desert

We returned to Joshua Tree National Park for one reason....to look for desert lizards.

Cottonwood Spring is located on the southeastern edge of the park. The elevation is lower and the habitat is different than the northwestern area where the Joshua trees grow.This area is the region of the Colorado Desert instead of the Mojave Desert.

The first lizard we encountered was this awesome Desert Spiny lizard. Colors, expression...he ranks up there as one of my favorite!

The Zebra Tailed lizard prefers to be in the sandy wash area. They blend in so well that it's hard to see them unless them move. The are extremely fast. When these lizards had enough of us, they curled their tails over  their body like a scorpion and then, dashed off.

We especially wanted to see the Chuckwalla - One of the biggest lizards of the desert. They are late risers compared to the other lizards. We saw this big guy as we were hiking out. As we sat and watched him, we could see his skin start to change colors as he soaked in the sun.

We would have been content with all that we had seen but then this brightly colored lizard caught our eye. Turns out he is a baby Chuckwalla. Lucky day for us! We saw some great looking lizards!

Return of the Bobcats

Back in the winter, we were fortunate to have 3 bobcats show up after a big snowfall. Their coats stood out prominently against the white snow. They rarely have shown up since then. Recently, they returned for a brief memorable visit.

 This one raced up a tree causing quite a ruckus among the birds and squirrels.

Minutes after they arrived, they paused to look at me before returning up the mountain into the woods. Although it was a short encounter, there were amazing to see.

Spring Brings PCT Hikers and Blooming Wildflowers

The traditional symbols of Spring, blooming flowers, colorful butterflies and nesting birds, exist here just as they do elsewhere.

What is unique, however, are the backpackers who pass through Idyllwild while they journey on the 2,165 mile Pacific Crest trail between the borders of Mexico and Canada. They are greeted with welcome signs throughout the town.

Most will make a trip to the post office to pick up a care package and while they are there, they can add their comments in the trail registry book.

The hikers will see wildflowers such as these Lupines growing along the trail.

They will notice the Snowplant. The bright red plant stands out in the forest. It blooms in late Spring after the snows melt. Since it doesn't produce chlorophyll, it gets its nourishment from the "fungus roots" of Conifer trees so it grows under or very close to one of those trees.

Butterflies such as this Western Tiger Swallowtail are along the trails. I watched this one struggle against the blowing wind before it was finally able to land on this bush.

And while they are hiking, they will undoubtedly see all kinds of wildlife including a deer like this one who surprised me tonight.

Spring... What a great time to be outdoors!

 

Tour of California - Stage 2

Today was Day 2 of the 8 day 750 mile international elite professional bike race through California.  It will probably be remembered as the day with the most brutal destination - Mt San Jacinto in Palm Springs with a temperature of 111degrees!

The route included a stretch outside of Idyllwild through Garner Valley to the desert below.

We waited for hours enjoying the scenery and our lunch and wondered if we were in the right spot.We were about to give up and go home....

Then the first riders ahead of the Peloton showed up.

Support for the teams.

Minutes later the Peloton arrived! Energy and excitement replaced the calm, quiet valley!

The winner of Stage 1, Lieuwe Westra from team Vancansoleil DCM is in the yellow shirt on the left.

The BMC team had one of their members, T Van Garderen ,come in second in today's race.

Although these riders were at the back of the Peloton, their teammate, Javier Acevedo crossed the finish line first and he will be wearing the yellow jersey tomorrow.

Since we were the only spectators on this stretch of the race, we were rewarded with bottles representing teams around the world - Belgium, Luxembourg, Netherlands and USA.

What a great day! How often do you get an international bike race around the corner from where you live?

It sure inspires us to get out on our bikes! Definitely in Garner Valley but not in Palm Springs in the summer!

You can follow the rest of the race on amgentourofcalifornia.com

 

Discovering Joshua Tree National Park - Part 1

Joshua Tree National Park is approximately 800,000 acres of land in the Mojave and Sonoran Desert in Southern California.  It is surrounded by mountains, located on fault lines, filled with amazing geological rock formations and Joshua trees, for which the park is named ,are in abundance.

Even if you are not a rock climber, the boulders are fascinating. It looks like giants played there own version of  "Jenga"  here in the desert.

From the trail on Ryan's Mountain, you can get a better perspective for the vastness of the land.

On our recent visit, some of the cactus were still blooming. This is the Beavertail Cactus.

Early Native American presence can be seen in petraglyphs. Most of it is hidden from sight.

In the 1800's, cattle rustlers hid cattle they had stolen behind these boulders. Louis L'Amour wrote about rustlers of the area in his book Mojave Crossing.

Keys Ranch is a reminder of the days when people lived in this remote place.

While walking along a trail near the ranch, we passed this Bighorn sheep skull. Images of the "Wild West" once again brought to life.