Sunday in Fort Saint John, I drove to the local college campus, where there was public parking for a “Community Forest”. Much like Fort Nelson’s Demonstration Forest, this woodland preserve has trails that weave through the trees for the enjoyment of the nature-loving public. I found no shortage of bird-life on my walk, but I … Read more
Monday night I plotted a course north that included breakfast in Pacific City, perhaps the smallest of towns I’ve stopped at on this trip. The cafe, called the Village Coffee Shoppe, was so small and intimate; I felt I was in someone’s home, enjoying a meal with family. Yesterday and last night I worked on … Read more
The locations I visited during this expedition were Agua Dulce Creek and the visitor center in the town of Mount Laguna. The visitor center is often a good place to find birds attracted to the feeders here. I seem always to visit this place early in the morning. I don’t know what time they open, … Read more
I never grow tired of visiting Santa Rosa Mountain, a sky island in southern Riverside County California, a stone’s throw from the border with San Diego County. Part of me connects to this place because of memories of visiting here with my dad in the early 1970s, and camping in Steve Ragsdale’s cabin (now gone) … Read more
The town of Mount Laguna, at an elevation of 6000 feet, sits along the scenic “Sunrise Highway” in the mountains of San Diego County. It has a store, restaurant, cabins for rent, and campgrounds. Near these, in the middle of ‘town’ is the Laguna Mountain Visitor Center, where bird feeders attract many of the local … Read more
Leaving June Lakes yesterday, I found a road I’d not travelled before. I’d been to Mono Mills on CA-120 East, but never further. The route from US-395 to Benton is about 50 miles. The terrain varies from flat sage at Mono Basin though rolling piney woods further east before turning to open rolling sage. Large … Read more
I set off on a quest to photograph Pine Siskins. Two locations that held promise were the Birdwatcher store in Julian and the Visitor’s Center at Mount Laguna. Indeed I found them at both locations, though lighting was less than ideal in both places. I saw the sunrise while climbing the mountain road into Julian … Read more
