Good Morning, San Bernardino National Forest

Breathe deeply the crisp pine-scented air. Good morning from the forest at 7000 feet.

 

We're being booted from our campsite today--they're all reserved for the weekend. So we'll mosey down the road a few miles to Hana Flats, another national forest campground where they have a dozen or so first-come first-served sites. We'll also look into new batteries for the camper so we can get away from crowded plug-in sites.

Last night, the campers next to us threw horseshoes while we checked our options online.

 You know you're camping when:

this foot attire seems stylish

(also, check the size of that pinecone!)

Until next time...

Big Bear Lake, CA

Our first day at Big Bear Lake's Serrano Campground started yesterday, with a trip to Whole Foods in LA for provisions that will carry us down the road, starting with duck liver pate on whole grain with olives and banana. It feels like it's 100 degrees outside and there's no air in the Ford.

Just 100 miles outside LA, but a different world altogether. Getting to Big Bear Lake's ultimate 7000-foot elevation requires navigating some twisty roads. Can you smell the pine air, cooler by the elevated foot?

Finally nestled in the San Bernardino National Forest, it's time to unpack, re-pack, and organize.

You know you're camping when:

you have a single skillet for eggs, bacon, and shitake

and

you use the leftover olive oil from oiling the washed skillet on your legs

Art echoes Big Bear Solar Observatory, which judging from this link could take greater advantage of this teaching moment. Fractal-like solar granules as large as the state of Maine, which are actually mini granules?

Walked to the marina store for ice. Do they all look like some version of this?

Cooler maintenance is Job 1 around here. Actually, truck maintenance is, but cooler maintenance comes in a close second.

Art's looking particularly fashionable in his koi shirt, a gift from Bruce before we left. Those fish look as good on a shirt as they do on a sidewalk. I haven't broken out my matching one, but I will...

Anaheim Ford Update +A Goose Named Turkey

This is Turkey the goose, who nestles himself on a peepad under the desk of Cammy, business assistant at Stadium Mercedes, where some good work was done on our Ford truck. It's clear to me not much would be accomplished without her.

 

Cammy discovered the tiny gooselet under a shrub in her yard and nursed it to full health. She says Turkey adopted her, and she hopes to release him into a wild preserve soon.

Alrighty then. All this is from a couple days back. We took a taxi from the Amtrak station directly to the shop. Here Art's charging up some on-board batteries.

Plus there's a lot going on under the hood--new regulator, solenoid, and more mostly unexpected fixes that kept us around far longer than we thought. I don't even want to be reminded of how hot it was in LA that day (I'm sitting now in the cool mountains, but that's another post). Hotter than the hinges to hell, as a pal says. What's up with people who love LA? No offense to our friends who live there (and next time we promise we'll visit but we've got places to be this trip), but really?

Loading up the fresh-water tank. We'll need it.