Sleeping Beauty Castle opened on July 17, 1955 with Disneyland Park. Its design was based on the Bavarian castle Neuschwanstein. Guests could not walk through the interior until 1957 and the drawbridge has only been lowered twice, once at the opening of the park and again in 1983 at the rededication of Fantasyland. It’s never more beautiful than at Christmas when specially lit for the holiday season.
The $1 billion Carlsbad Desalination Plant, the largest in the Western Hemisphere, is adjacent to the Encina Power Station on the Agua Hedionda Lagoon and produces 50 million gallons of purified water daily, enough to supply 400,000 San Diego County residents. This pic shows part of the interior of the reverse osmosis building, which contains more than 2,000 pressure vessels housing more than 16,000 reverse osmosis membranes.
One of the most interesting features of the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library near Simi Valley is the ability to tour the Air Force One airplane that served seven presidents, including Ronald Reagan, during its service from 1973-2001. The Boeing 707 is housed in a 90,000 sq. ft. exhibit hangar as part of a display about presidential travel.
The Olivenhain Dam and Reservoir is located within the Elfin Forest Recreational Reserve and serves as an emergency water storage facility for San Diego County, to be used in the event of an earthquake or other disaster severing incoming water transportation lines. It was the first roller-compacted concrete dam built in California and was designed to remain fully functional during a magnitude 7.5 earthquake. Completed in 2003, the reservoir can hold 24,000 acre-feet of water.
Links: SDCWA Elfin Forest Recreational Reserve previous related post
Red Rock Canyon State Park is located where the southernmost end of the Sierra Nevada meet the El Paso Mountains, about an hour north of Lancaster. The campsites in Ricardo Campground back up against dramatic desert cliffs. Off highway exploring opportunities abound in the nearby Dove Springs and Jawbone Canyon OHV areas.
The Nature Center is within the San Elijo Lagoon Ecological Reserve and is operated by park staff and volunteers with County of San Diego Parks and Recreation. The 5,600 sq. ft. building is made from recycled materials and uses solar energy, natural light, and ventilation. Opened in 2009, it is Platinum-Certified by U.S. Green Building Council’s Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED).
Links: San Elijo Lagoon Conservancy
One of the interesting hotels in Julian is the Julian Gold Rush Hotel, a national historic landmark, which was established in 1897. Rooms are decorated with American period antiques, including canopy beds, armoires, and quilts. Our room came complete with a journal in which to record any haunting experiences we encountered during our stay. It was fun reading previous guests’ comments, but sadly we had no other-worldly encounters!
The Original Dog Beach in Ocean Beach (at the end of I8 at the mouth of the San Diego River) was one of the first official leash-free beaches in the United States. It’s so much fun to watch all kinds of dogs frolic freely in the ocean and on the sand.
Links: Original Dog Beach other dog friendly beaches/parks in San Diego
Badwater Basin is a closed drainage basin in Death Valley National Park that is the lowest point in North America, with an elevation of 282 feet below sea level. The basin is about 7.5 miles long and 5 miles wide. Telescope Peak, the highest point within Death Valley NP at 11,049 feet, is seen in the distance.
Links: Previous related post
These barrel cacti are part of the Huntington Desert Garden, one of 12 gardens at The Huntington in San Marino near Pasadena. The Garden has one of the oldest and largest (over 2,000 species) collections of cacti, succulents and various other desert plants from around the world, planted in 60 landscaped beds.
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