The food part of this blog has moved to http://motherblissmunchies.blogspot.com I'll see all you foodies over there!

Friday, January 28, 2011

Hammi


A rare moment of her being still enough for a picture, she froze for a moment when the dog entered the room...

Wednesday, January 26, 2011

Cedar Creek Falls

Visiting an old trail David and I hiked back when we were dating. Cedar Creek Falls about two miles west of Julian, CA. The last time we were there there wasn't much water flowing but with the recent storms I read the waterfall would be nice.
About eight miles of dirt road driving leads to a dead end. So many cars here with similar intentions. Next time will have to be a mid-week visit for sure. Luckily most of these people were already down the trail so the trail was pretty empty.

We see a waterfall to the right but it turned out that wasn't the one we were going to.


Abby with so much energy heading down the trail she pooped out on the way up. Shoulda put that coke in my pack...



Nice trail and nice views.

























And there it is! Having noticing the walk down means walking back up, we opted for the top view instead.











Sage really wanted to touch the water so David joins him for the extra trek down.








I know Marmu... you want to go too...



































The poppies were already blooming.











































Sage, the plant, not my son... ^_^



















About five miles round-trip, and a little over two hours hiking.













Wednesday, January 19, 2011

Hemet Maze Stone

I was flippin' through a book called "Weird California (Your travel guide to California's local legends and best kept secrets)" when I saw the Maze Stone, which is located so close to us in Hemet, CA. The book describes this place as:

"A big, striking petroglyph of unknown origin graces a small mountain area called Maze Stone County Park in Hemet, Riverside County. Inscribed on a large boulder, the three-foot-square figure is a maze formed by four interlocking swastikas. The design is almost unknown among Indian petroglyphs, and archaeologists attribute it to the so-called Maze Culture, which left only one similar design, miles to the south in San Diego County. Other people have other explanations. Maze Stone has been labeled everything from a 15,000-year-old remnant of the Cascadians, thought to be the ancestors of the Maya, to a religious symbol left by Chinese Buddhist monks at about AD 500. The latter theory is popular among historians seeking to prove that the Chinese beat Columbus to North America by at least a thousand years."

It is also a California Historical Landmark No. 557.

Driving west out of Hemet on Florida Ave., head north on California Ave. Drive about 3.2 miles till the road ends. Park here.

Walk past the gate and up the road about 5 minutes.

And to the right there it is. Surrounded by not one, but two chain-link fences. You can't miss it.


Some nice pretty flowers in the area.


It was too bad there were two fences, I could only get my hand through one fence which meant I couldn't get a clear picture. You can see the barbed wire on top. I assume there have been problems with idiots trying to de-face the stone.



It was a pretty cool finding something like this close to home. We got to drove through a part of Hemet we've never been though, nice part of Hemet I didn't know existed.



















City Folks for Day

We drove off our beautiful mountain to drive over to another mountain and paid to go tubing on fake snow amongst too many people waiting in line to get a slide in every fifteen minutes. That's crazy, if you ask me. But the kids had fun so that's all that matters. Our first and most likely our last visit to the North Pole Tubing Park at Mtn. High in Wrightwood. Next year we'll save up and go skiing/snowboarding instead.
Waiting our turn...






Magic Carpet, so we don't have to walk back up.


















































































Saturday, January 15, 2011

1st Ride of 2011

My bike came out of the basement from its mini-hibernation for a little ride around the Hub. David put together a 6.4-mile loop: Lower Fence, Lower Tubs, Chimney Flats, Oz, and Lower Fence again.
Marmu resting a patch of snow while we stop to check out a sound on my bike.








Chimney Flats. First time on this trail, I really liked it. Nice views.




Rest area. Pretty views looking out toward Hemet.


Cute bike couple. ^_^



David had suggested now would be a good time to eat a snack. He knew what was next, even though I didn't. Lately my trail mix of choice has been peanuts, raisins, and gummy bears.






Propped the camera on top of a tripod I made with my camelbak, helmet, and snack container. Worked out better than expected.






End/beginning of Oz. Decision time again... trail or fire road?










Finished our loop in a little under 2 hrs. It was a good first ride of the year.