Today is #50 for me. Next month will be Davids #75. It’s a year of big milestones…..but I don’t feel any older today than yesterday.
My insurance agent sent a “Happy Birthday” email saying that she hoped I’d live as long as the longest living person—121 years, healthy to the end. I echo the sentiment but am cynical enough to think the insurance agent is mostly hoping that I will keep pouring my money into medical insurance policies I don’t/won’t use.
For a birthday present, I asked David to take me on an explore. One nearby back road we’ve been talking about visiting is closed because of fire danger. We live in the San Bernardino National Forest and are on a “no open fires” alert level as of last week. The road we’d hoped to explore is in an area that deer hunters and target shooters enjoy using. I believe it was closed to avoid shooters from setting off the next fire. Ah, Southern California in the fall.
Instead we took a back road very nearby. Less than 10 miles from Barton Flats, east on Highway 38 we turned off the highway on to the road toward Heartbar Campground, group camp and horse camp. Next to a big meadow, away from the highway and under towering Yellow Pines, this pretty campground was closed for the season.
View from Coon Creek Jumpoff
Just a little further along, the dirt road divides, with the right branch heading towards Aspen Grove and the Fish Creek Trail up San Gorgonio Mountain.
We took the road to the left, winding through a very dry, open forest with few Yellow Pines but many gnarled Western Juniper, Mountain Mahogany and a few big cone Douglas Firs. The road followed Coon Creek for a good way, with many yellow stake camp sites marked along the road. Not in great condition, the road had areas of washouts, showing the effects of the thunderstorms and downpours we experienced at the end of this summer. After about 4 miles, we drove through an open meadow, crossed the Pacific Crest Trail and came out to an extraordinary vista. Called Coon Creek Jumpoff, the breathtaking view through a steep gully allowed us to see down to Palm Springs and beyond. With a blanket of high clouds overhead, the desert was a patchwork of sun and shadow below us.
Gnarly Tree
Just off the road to the left is Coon Creek Cabin, a Forest Service day-use area with picnic tables and
a potty (hopefully composting but we didn’t check.) Although the road goes further, there is a fence and it is closed off to travel because beyond is private property. At the turnaround at the end of the road, we found this extraordinary tree….looking like it had been plucked from the ground and replanted upside down!
Heading back down the road, we returned to Highway 38 and continued east and then north to Big Bear, where we enjoyed a spectacular sunset. Coming down from Onyx Summit, at the height of the highway, we could see north and northeast toward the Granite Peaks. We pulled off several times to take pictures.
The Granite Peaks at Sunset
Going further in to town, at Division Drive, we had to try to capture the brilliant orange of the sky and the purple reflection from Stanfield Marsh. Within minutes after we saw this, the sun fell below the horizon and the sky dimmed. Full dark fell and we went on to a nice dinner at the Vallarta Grill.
Sunset over Stanfield Marsh
Returning home in the dark, we listened to our current audio book with a feeling of contentment. It was a good way to spend my 50th birthday.
Caroline Q on November 22, 2008
