What started out as a quick day trip to see the wildflower bloom in Anza Borrego, turned into a trip back in time. Our original plan was to do some hiking and take pictures of wildflowers but at the last minute I decided we would try to find the pictographs at Indian Hill. There are numerous sources on how to find this magical place but most are sketchy at best. Many feel that the less exposure this area gets the better. That being said this is not a post on “How do I find Indian Hill and the pictographs?” . Rather it is a virtual tour of the area that you can take from the comfort of your computer chair. If you do decide to... [More]

Anza Borrego WildFlowers, Wildflower Report [More]

In an effort to win over East County ratepayers , SDG&E opened up a month long series of informational meetings in various East County locations.  Unfortunately for SDG&E  the first meeting in Lakeside was met with fierce opposition. Local residents are concerned with the destruction of views in the pristine  El Monte Valley as well as the El Capitan Open Space Preserve.  Is this really a place for a series of 150' tall metal towers ? No, particularly for a powerline that is not needed, is not guaranteed to carry energy from renewable sources, and damages the environment. There are many alternatives for meeting... [More]

Goat Canyon Trestle has been called the highest wood trestle in the United States. It was constructed in 1932 after an earthquake collapsed one of the railroad tunnels in Goat Canyon and is 600ft. in length and 180ft. tall at its'highest point. Due to the complete remoteness and volatile nature of the terrain, the Carrizo Gorge railroad is nothing short of an engineering marvel. It has been 4 years since we have hiked out to the Goat Canyon Trestle from the Mortero Palms trailhead. I have been itching to do this hike again and finally it looked like things were falling into place. This time we were accompanied by my sister Linda and later by... [More]

At 4229 feet Sombrero Peak is the highest point in the southern end of Anza Borrego Desert State Park. We have observed this impressive mountain over the years from various vantage points but never made the trek to the  top.  As Jerry Schaad describes it : "Climbing Sombrero Peak is a feat attempted by relatively few people, but not because of its height (4229 feet above sea level), which is quite modest. Rather, the peak is remote from paved roads, and its boulder-guarded flanks discourage those who are not willing to put up with either a long march to its base (from the west) or a shorter but sweaty eastern approach up from the d... [More]

Anza Borrego Desert sign outside of Julian I guess there is a little sliver of Anza Borrego Desert State Park that comes up the mountain between Julian and Cuyamaca. I had never noticed this sign until a recent day trip to find snow.  

The CPUC in its' ultimate wisdom (read with sarcasm) voted 4-1 to allow SDG&E to build the Sunrise Powerlink along the proposed southern route. The 123 mile transmission line dubbed the "Renewable Energy Superhighway" by supporters will not even be required to carry clean renewable energy. In all fairness I should say the one nay vote was Commissioner Grueneich who proposed that SDG&E be required to transmit power from renewable energy sources over the line. SDG&E refused this proposal as did President Peevey whose decision won.  So what does this mean for we as San Diegans? We get to pay 2 Billion dollars for ... [More]

Our post Thanksgiving trip out to Anza Borrego has become an annual affair that we really look forward to. This year we invited Linda and the plan was to meet Jan, Gina, Mike and crew out in Carrizo Gorge.  Amazingly we were on the road by 8AM on an overcast  Friday morning. We (Bob, Mary, Diesel and Sadie) in the BJ70 and Linda, Kaiel and Jake in her Honda CRV.  Being the courteus drivers we are, we told Linda to go on ahead to Ocotillo. It is no fun driving 40 mph behind a BJ70 sucking in diesel fumes once the hills start. Once we dropped down the pass into Ocotillo the weather cleared and we were greete... [More]

I am being a bit lazy here but here is a copy of the Sierra Club's smart energy E-Letter that was sent to me. Rather than me reiterating the hilights of this letter I though I would present it to you whole.  The email urges everyone to pick up a phone and dial Governor Schwarzenegger's office and tell him you oppose the Sunrise Powerlink. The number is 916-445-2841.  You will need to call during business hours and most likely you will talk to one of his assistants. Tell him that you oppose the Sunrise Powerlink in any form.No northern route, no southern route, we want in-basin power generation preferably using photovoltaics. ... [More]

Friday the administrative judge recommended that the CPUC reject any form of the Sunrise Powerlink stating:   Sunrise Powerlink is not needed to meet our energy needs Will not save ratepayers any money and would in fact raise rates Would have unmitigatable environmental effects   Hmm that sounds pretty close to what we have been saying for the past two + years. While this sounds like a total victory for Sunrise Powerlink opponents, CPUC commissioner Dian Grueneich on the other hand argued that the SPL is needed to meet California's mandated goals on reducing greenhouse gases. While she denies the northern route through... [More]