Escondido Creek begins in Bear Valley above Lake Wohlford and flows for 26 miles before emptying into the Pacific Ocean at the San Elijo Lagoon. This very beautiful and accessible view is from the Elfin Forest Recreational Reserve. The Escondido Creek Conservancy has helped preserve over 3,000 acres of this important watershed.
Links: EFRR Escondido Creek Conservancy previous related post
An interesting site in the Agua Hedionda Lagoon is the aquaculture operation of Carlsbad Aquafarm. This enterprise raises Mediterranean Blue Mussels, Pacific Oysters, and Ogo. Their website says that their products can be found at Whole Foods, Sprouts, and local restaurants. Apparently the local brown pelicans are appreciative of their efforts.
Links: Carlsbad Aquafarm
The Daley Ranch house was part of the 3,058 acre conservation area acquired in 1996 by the City of Escondido. This building was built in 1925 as a summer cottage for the Daley family who entertained here until the 1980’s. Ranger-led tours are offered on the 2nd Sunday of each month from 11am-2pm.
“Levitated Mass” is a sculpture by Michael Heizer consisting of a 340-ton boulder sitting above a concrete trench through which you can walk. The piece is on the grounds of the Los Angeles County Museum of Art (LACMA) and does not require museum admission to view.
Lake Fulmor is a beautiful oasis on Highway 243 between Banning and Idyllwild. It looks like a great spot for some hiking, fishing, kayaking, or just relaxing. An Adventure Pass is required to park in the lot across the road.
Links: Forest Service
The Petersen Automotive Museum on Wilshire Boulevard in Los Angeles underwent a $125 million renovation in 2015, including the addition of this distinctive facade designed by the architectural firm Kohn Pedersen Fox, which is comprised of over 100 tons of stainless steel ribbon. Design reviews have been mixed with some critics describing it as a “car wreck” and the “Edsel of architecture”. What do you think?
A beautiful place for primitive camping is Hawk Canyon in Anza-Borrego Desert State Park. The sandstone cliffs are salmon colored and an unusual shade of green, and were once part of a ancient marine environment. Not far to the west is The Slot, an interesting slot canyon, and subject of an earlier post.
This pic captures the arched bridge that is part of the Japanese Garden at Descanso Gardens in La Canada Flintridge. This 160 acre garden was originally owned by newspaper magnate E. Manchester Boddy and boasts over 1 million plants including one of the largest collections of camellias in the world.
The Temecula Valley AVA (American Viticultural Area) currently boasts over 40 wineries producing a wide variety of wines. We recently went on a wine tour and were impressed with the beauty of the area and the quality of the wines. This pic shows part of the Avensole Winery vineyard.
Links: winery map winery listing
These are but two of the many dinosaur sculptures by Ricardo Breceda located in Galleta Meadows in Borrego Springs. Kinda cool to look across the desert and see a couple of T-Rex. Hopefully they survived this morning’s earthquake without damage!
Explore California 