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| Dec | 2003 | |||||||
On the 3rd started spackling and painting the area above the Cohen's outside dining area.
 Cohen's addition On the 4th, finished the painting job, and put up xmas decorations: the tree mom bought the previous day, the candles, and lights in the front yard.  Mom's Xmas decorations in front yard    On the 5th, led a one way 2 mile hike with a car shuttle, with about 600' up and 700' down, for the tennis club from the old to the new CR&H trail in a little over an hour, but Peg was the only one to show up (MAP). Then went to SD and saw The Last Samurai. Meant to see another movie, but it wasn't showing when I thought it would be. This was a good one, however. Then lost at tennis, as my knee started acting up (3-6, 4-6) and then also at poker.  MAP  Peg   On the 6th, participated in the BSTC tennis tournament with Ken, winning both matches this day: 8-0 against Don W and Don M, and then 8-3 against Gary E and Al L.  Mystery of Jones bones at tennis club  |
  On the 7th, won tournament with Ken.  Won tournament with partner Ken S. On the 8th, removed vegetation and irrigation system under the future addition to the Crick/Cohen house. On the 9th, started spackling the deck area in the Crick/Cohen breezeway. On the 10th, went to San Diego with Hal to get a building permit, but we failed (the wait was about 6 hours!). On the 11th, continued spackling at the Cohen house. On the 12th, drove thru snow-covered Cuyamaca. Pretty cool! Then saw Master and Commander -- pretty good. Won at tennis, 6-3, 6-0, 7-5, and 40 cents at poker. Also interviewed for job at Borrego Solar to be started following Tuesday. This may grow to a fulltime job. On the 13th, continued spackling, and started painting. On the 15th, got home addition blueprints stamped and a list of things to fix at the building department, then drove to L.A. where dad, Leny, cousin Joanne and Rich were there for an Xmas feast. Got a tour of dad's latest handywork. Lost a game of scrabble to dad. On the 16th, drove to Barstow and met Rob and Jimmy. Marked out the area to locate a 30 Kwatt solar array, and started leveling site with a Bobcat... Then Aaron showed up, and said that was the wrong site ;) Then marked out correct spot, and leveled that. Unloaded about 100 16' 2"x6"'s next to site, for forms. We went over to the Holiday Inn Express and spent the night there after dinner at DiNapoli's Firehouse (Italian) Restaurant - which is very good.  Jimmy leveling with Bobcat On the 17th, started putting in the footing forms. Two rows had to be extended from 124' to 156' to accomodate lower yielding solar panels. After mostly finishing formwork and digging one trench, had dinner at Bun Boy. They have a terrific Greek salad!  Mostly completed forms at end of 2nd day  On the 18th, after loading up on Holiday Inn Express breakfast bar, as we did each morning there, finished formwork and completed digging the rest of the trenches. Then added the rebar. Rob put in the anchor bolts. Went out and got lunch for the crew (that now included Jason - who worked at the trailer park at which we were installing the power plant -- he also had worked at the solar array in Kramer Junction!) - Taco Bell crap. On the 19th, completed minor fix-ups in the rebar. Then as the new crew, who arrived this day poured the 5 truckloads of concrete, unpacked and stacked most of the 10,000 pounds of solar panels. I got lunch for the crew - Del Taco. Much better than that Taco Bell crap! Then started moving the steel rails to their locations. Made a hardware run (got lost, of course -- Barstow sucks!).  View of site from I-15 On the 20th, removed and stacked forms. Made a hardware, water, and snack run. Then helped out bringing steel rail, solar panels, bolts and stuff to the installation areas. Got lunch -- McDonalds crap -- for crew. Only about half the panels, but most of the steel rails were installed this day. Drove back to Borrego.  |
  From the 21st to the 23rd, finished painting the Breezeway at the Cohens. From the 25th to the 30th, did some landscaping work at Cohens clearing vegetation. On the 28th went to San Diego, saw movie Big Fish with Roxie, checked out her hot tub, and went to Liz's Holiday party in Hillcrest:  some of the food  Living room  Some guy was making balloon hats  Rox with balloon hat  Liz in center On the 31st, had New Year party at my house. Dick, Olga, Hank, Linda, Paul, Marge, Gin, Melany, Seth, Will Cronyn and Jane, Grace and Jim, and I were there. We played half a game of Trivial Pursuit, Hank sang some Xmas carols, had lots of food and drink, and saw some neat fireworks at La Casa (just into 2004, tho). | ||||||
| Nov | 2003 | |||||||
| On the 1st, took it easy, as with most saturdays, recovering from long fridays. Made half gallon of salsa.
On the 2nd, started work on a landscape project at the old Crick house.
on the 3rd, trimmed various bushes around the Crick house, started on a large paloverde blocking passage around the house, started mapping. On the 4th, finished trimming a large paloverde, continued mapping, started adjusting dribblers. On the 5th mapped most of the rest of the landscape elements. On the 6th, met "Trviolin" Mike about 3 miles up the trail, and we hiked up to Milehigh and over to Rosa. Came down a new trail for me, along Paloverde Wash. 16 miles, 5600' vertical, 11.7 hours. (MAP).  Mike taking break on Flat Rock after 2 hours - note the machete holder on his leg(he fears cougars on the trail)  Mike, midway to villager  Mike - this point could be called "Gnarly Point" due to sheer dropoff to the west  Mike heading down to pass between Villager Ridge and Mile High  Mike and Jef on Milehigh Peak - elev. 5311'  Looking east toward Salton Sea  Mike taking this ridge down - Palo Verde Wash is to the left  Steep upper reaches of Palo Verde Wash  Heading down to PaloVerde Wash  Map  Jef on Villager Ridge with Milehigh in background on right  Jef heading down from Rosa. Pyrimid is in center On the 8th, generated a comprehensive map of the Cohen/Crick irrigation system. Then noticed rats had damaged spark plug wires in Amanda -- doesn't start anymore :( On the 9th, played tennis in Borrego, and went to San Diego for shopping and tennis and dinner with Liz's group. |
On the 10th, finally got some measureable rain in Borrego. On the 14th, hiked Torrey Pines with Roxie - 5.5 miles, 400' vertical, 1.8 hours. (MAP).  Jef at "Flatrock"  Roxie  Map Then we each had Hula burgers at Islands (which are great!). Then I saw Radio at the movies, which was pretty good. Lost at tennis: 5-7, 4-6. And won about a quarter of what I lost at poker the previous week. On the 15th, drove with mom to Long Beach for a party to honor our tennis club president, Jim Rathbun, who died in September. over the 6 hours we were there, we had some nice tennis with over 50 players and over 100 showed up for the banquet and entertainment which included a flute rendition of Jim's favourite classical work, Mozart's Eine Kleine Nachtmusik, and 3 very talented singers sang appropro songs, like I did it my way, and various speakers regaled Jim's finest qualities. We all had a great time. On the 16th, finished removing a 1000 pound patch of prickly pear cactus from Cohen/Crick house. On the 18th, finished 2nd phase of Crick/Cohen project, which involved digging up about 1 ton of agaves and cacti and burying them. Also moved a few large cacti to another location. On the 19th, hiked a subpeak of Sunset Peak (MAP). This was a 6 mile, 1500' vertical, 4.3 hour hike.  Rabbitbrush  Someone had a nice campfire here  Heading up hill  Jef on this hike at Sunset sub-peak, elev. 2555'  Map  Sandy Pinyon Wash  Rabbitbrush blooming in setting sunlight |
 These Pinyon Wash bushes were in full bloom in late November! On the 21st, saw Mystic River - pretty good. Won at tennis, 6-3, 7-6. Lost at poker. On the 22nd, participated in a tennis round robin (I was 11-9) and potluck. Mom brought deviled eggs and I brought salsa. About 30 people showed up, and they decided to do this every month at the Anza Borrego Tennis Center. On the 25th, met Roxie for lunch at Shogun. The chef was very dexterous with his spatulas, and at one point stacked onion rings forming the empty shell of an empty onion half. He then squirted his flaming liquid inside and made a volcano, which burned for about 10 seconds and then steam followed for another 10 seconds. Pretty cool. Then went shopping and obtained prices for building materials for the Crick/Cohen room addition. Mom cooked a 20 pound turkey that had soaked in brine for 2 days. It was great. On the 27th, hiked Rabbit Peak from Clark Valley (MAP) The hike took longer than expected: 16.5 hours, 18 miles, 6500' vertical, and so 6 hours was in very treacherous terraine at night. Found a few potsherds and an abandoned body of a Model T along the way. On final stretch, a couple of kit foxes "dogged" me for about a quarter mile. Guess they were curious about the 2-legged animal hauling along his own light-source. People don't come around this valley too much.  Map  Starting point just off Rockhouse Canyon Road at sunrise  Looking back at truch at start of hike - Coyote Mtn. is behind it  Looking towards planned ascent   Looking back after starting up ridge  Rabbit is peak at left, Villager at right  Steep wash to the south  Looking towards Clark Lake  Looking towards Coyote Peak at about the same elevation   Looking down ridge I came up from over a mile high  First pinyon tree of hike  Survery mark on Rabbit Peak  Looking east toward Salton Sea from eastern register on peak On the 29th played 4 sets of tennis, 2 with Nisa and Eddie from La Mesa. They were great! They beat Barry and I: 7-6, 6-3. | ||||||
| Oct | 2003 | |||||||
| On the 1st, had breakfast at Kendalls with dad, Leny, Ken, and Suzie, who had stayed the night at Palm Canyon. They then took off for L.A. after a little shopping at Tumbleweeds. Leny replaced her tea cup she just recently broke. Jef did some painting - including painting 2 shovel handles. Despite a predicted high of 96°F, the mercury actually rose to 105°F, as the summer refused to end!
On the 3rd, saw Second Hand Lions - pretty good, as expected, then beat Craig in 3 straight sets of singles, big winner at poker. On the 7th, mapped the upper reaches of Culp Valley, finding 2 benchmarks (WEE and DON), Cottonwood and Lews Springs, and the Wilson Trailhead. Chimney and Lews Spring area sported lots of flowers, and walked thru entire fields of Cinchweed flowers in flat areas of Culp Valley. Total of about 10 miles, 1100' vertical, in 5 hours. MAP.  Jef was stung by bee on neck just after this pic of Cottonwood Spring  Butterfly on flower below Chimney Spring  Lots of flowers near Chimney Spring  Alder and flowers near Lews Spring On the 8th, spent 6 hours digging in muck thru tree roots to find and repair leak in Hank's main line (in Temecula). Linda made an awesome steak dinner for us, afterwards. On the 9th, replaced an irrigation valve at home. Stupid me: I got everything put together, put glue for fitting the final assembly, and discovered the new valve was a different offset! So I had to throw away the old assembly and re-do a more complicated one (with a jog), and that went okay. Then worked at the De Anza Tennis Center to help the Grangers set up their computer, phone, fax and stuff for about 3 hours. On the 10th, saw School of Rock, which is a great movie! Bryan and I beat Fred and Hank at tennis: 6-4, 6-3. On the 12th, removed the bottle brush tree in front of Hank's house:  Before (at noon)  After (at 6 p.m.) On the 14th, drove Olga to La Jolla to see her doctor, then had lunch again at Ki Ku Ya, which was great, as usual. On the 16th, drove to the homestead for the Mojave cannon party. Hank and Don were there already. I brought carpet and an old sofa.  Papa Don site with Hank by my sofa |
On the 17th, another dozen cannon partyers showed up, including a 4-person film crew doing a film for a class project. Paco shot 3 rounds and Casssidy did 2 BBMs for the film crew before they left. On the 18th, went on 2 hikes totalling about 9 miles, 2000' vertical, over 4.5 hours (MAP). Burned the sofa (which I slept on the previous 2 nites). Madman and Joe created a burning man, which was ignited just after 10 that nite. 2 rangers came up during my 2nd hike and told people at the campsite that this is the last cannon party at the homestead. The state park was going to start administering this area, making it a day-use only area.  Burning man  Pre-burnt sofa  Burning sofa On the 19th, drove back to Borrego, stopping at Astroburger to try the Ortega half-pound astroburger that Hank discovered on the way up. Stopped at Hank's to pick up some of that tree we cut down earlier this month and to pick up cannon party pix. Got hit by a bee while going thru Oak Grove area, and left ear swelled to twice it's size the next day! On the 23rd, saw Kill Bill Vol. 1 in San Diego. Very good. On the 24th, took mom and Harold up to Paroli Spring and I mapped the yoni there (MAP), along with road, and other stuff.  Paroli homesite  Harold and mom at spring  Paroli yoni  Jef at Upper Tubb Canyon spring |
 Harold at Lews Spring On the 25th competed in mixed doubles tournament with mom. We lost 8-5, 8-4 to John/Joanne, Pete/Jackie. Saw tail end of Borrego Days parade. On the 27th, power was cut off to the valley, as fires near Valley Center caused SDG&E to shut off the power. Borrego gets it's power from Valley Center. On the 28th, smoke from Cedar fire reaches Borrego around 4 p.m. Many evacuees from Julian came down S-3 to evacuation shelter at Borrego High.  Smoke from Cedar fire finally reaches Borrego  Sun setting into smoke  Sun setting into smoke On the 29th, found the Cactus Jack geocache and mapped a bunch of mortero rocks at the Mine Wash Kumeyaaay village site (MAP). Although smoke from the fire plagued us all day, it lifted and we had a few hours in the clean air between the Cedar and Paradise fires. By 7, though, some smoke from the Paradise fire shifted over to us. On the 31st, saw the Rundown in San Diego. Fred and I won at tennis 6-0, 7-6. Got to see some of the fire damage. In fact, the canyon below the tennis courts was burned out. Extent of the Cedar fire is amazing. After going over pass from Ramona, most of the terrain was burnt, along with some buildings.  Nephew "Grim Reaper" Loggy 
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| Sep | 2003 | |||||||
 The cables at Half Dome   Jef nearing top of Halfdome cables - photo by Paco  Jef on Halfdome   Near bottom of cables on way down On the 3rd, departed on a 3.5 day Sierra advenure with Paco. Of course, stopped at Astroburger for burger and malt on way up and back. On the first night we backpacked up Convict Canyon. The trail was erased after 4 miles, and after another backpacker said it just got worse, we turned around and since darkness was fast approaching, we found a fair camping spot beside the trail about 3 miles from trailhead. Total of 5 miles, 1500' vertical. On the 4th, we hiked back to Convict Lake, did some exploring, including finding a geocache. Then drove to Hot Springs where we bathed. Pretty much had the whole National Monument to ourselves. Then had breakfast at The Good Life in Mammoth. Then drove to Yosemite Valley, looking for benchmarks and geocaches along way, and camped in Valley. Hiked about 5 miles this day.  Dear along trail   Paco by fire at Camp 4  Fishermen on Convict Lake  Jef on trail by lake |
 Jef at Hot Creek  Paco with Nevada Falls in background  Paco on bridge above Nevada Falls On the 5th, hiked up to Half Dome. Total hiking of 20 miles, 1 mile vertical, in 9 hours (8 hours of hiking). Hiking up cables after a grueling hike was something! Drove to Oil Plant Road above Mono Lake and camped along the creek. We were entertained with Mars and a freak lightning storm about 40 miles to southeast.  Near trailhead at Happy Isles  Half Dome at sunset on 5th  Paco in front of last climb  Paco on cables  Paco on Half Dome ridge - might be the "high dive" behind him  Jef on Half Dome cornice On the 6th, drove to the Looney Bean in Mammoth for coffee, and then to Hot Creek to clean up after 2 more days of hiking. We tried out the upstream upwelling this time. Again, all to ourselves. Then drove to McGhee Creek where I showed Paco the trail - hiking 2 miles. We then drove to Bishop to have the world's best Fritatas at the Village Cafe, then explored several side roads along eastern sierras. Found Tuttle Creek and Cottonwood Pass. Stopped at Astroburger on way back to San Diego.  Camping along Oil Plant Road  Paco at McGhee Creek On the 10th, hiked up Lizard Peak: 3.3 miles, 1450' vertical, 3 hours. MAP.  Top of Lizard Peak showed green from prior rains. Here is one of the possible tent spots on top  Here I am with high point of 2880' peak in background |
 Lizard Peak is naturally well-landscaped On the 12th, saw American Splendor at the movies. Pretty odd, but good. On the 13th, drove Olga to Julian with her cat to see the vet. However, due to what was later found to be a leak in the cooling system, had to coast back to Borrego and use my car. Needless to say, I'm still cleaning up the car. On the 15th, drove Olgo to pick up her cat in Julian. On the 16th, hiked and mapped marginal trails on Yaqui Pass: total of 4.5 miles in 2.8 hours, 800' vertical. Found 2 remote campsites, and 2 sleeping circles. Great views! Also found one of the 2 geocaches there. On the 18th, drove Olga to Ramona for shopping. Finished my first version of a domain search program. On the 19th, saw S.W.A.T. in San Diego. Great action movie! Won at tennis and poker again. On the 23rd, mapped hike up to Yaqui Peak. Did a loop hike thru Yaqui Pass: 14 miles, 7.8 hours, 3000' vertical. MAP. On the 24th, drove the Linkroums to Brawley, so Dick could get an ultrasound. On the 26th, saw movie Matchstick Men. Tied at tennis, lost at poker. On the 30th, dad and Leny visited with Ken and Suzie Kvammen. After breakfast at La Casa, we hiked to natural bridge and slots of south fork of Palm Wash. Then drove down to Arroyo Tapiado, where we explored a few mud caves. I mapped the entrances of 5 caves. MAP. Then we had dinner at Carlees.  Finishing breakfast at La Casa South Fork Palm Wash:  dad and Ken  Eating? (yeah, right!) dried up tarantula  Ken in slot canyon  Jef in slot canyon Vallecitos and Arroyo Tapiado:  Street sign in Vallecitos Wash    Ken in newfound mudcave  Suzie, dad and Leny from top of recent 1,000,000 pound cave-in in a mud cave  Mudcave #1 near entrance | ||||||
| Aug | 2003 | |||||||
| On the 1st, saw Sea Biscuit in San Diego. Another great movie.
On the 3rd, mapped Box Canyon trails, including the 3.5 mile-long Mormon Batallion Trail ( MAP), and part of the Vallecitos CR&H trail. Also found a benchmark.  Dry horse trough  Dark dried overflow sediment along Vallecitos Wash is result of prior summer's Pines fire On the 5th, drove on out to Salton City. Found 5 new benchmarks and photographed 5 others. 2 benchmarks were only found after digging. Benchmark CLUMP was offroad, and involved about a half mile hike. It had a register, and so I signed in. From it's vantage, I could see Four Palms, but wasn't up to hiking there. The one mile I hiked this day was enough, as it was pretty warm.  Benchmark CLUMP On the 6th, rested up for big day on the 7th. Saw this rabbit on my front porch (guess it couldn't see me thru the window):  On the 7th, drove up to the San Bernardinos, finding one benchmark on the way. I then proceded to hike 18 miles, 5000' vertical, and in 8.5 hours. The purpose being to find California's Washington Monument, which happens to be the initial survey monument on which all property lines in Southern California is based. It was placed on a shoulder of San Bernardino Peak at an elevation of 10,240'. This is the highest initial point in the U.S., and was placed there in 1852 by Colonel Washington. As a surveyor by the name of Ira Alexander had just passed away, a group of L.A. county engineers had just dedicated a plaque for this monument for Ira just 5 days prior. This also turned out to be around the sesquicentenial of this monument. As my dad mentioned this dedication when I called him for Father's Day, I resolved to hike up there for him, as he is no longer able to do any hard hikes. MAP  Jef in front of Colonel Washingon's Monument  Brass plaque encased in plexiglass placed near the monument |
 Big Bear Lake, viewed thru monument  Indian Paintbrush - one of many flowers in bloom along the trail On the 10th, found 2 benchmarks on way to play tennis in San Diego. One was in a mortero, on a boulder containing several morteros! Had dinner after tennis with Liz and Brian. On the 12th, resumed mapping Cuyamaca, going on a 6.3 mile, 2.6 hour, 1000' vertical hike. Up Milk Ranch Road, to Azalea Spring, to Los Caballos, and back to Trout Pond. Gnats were nasty, though!  Jef in Holey Oak  Note it is about 7' diameter trunk! On the 14th, was going to hike in Cuyamaca, but got scared off by the T-storms, so continued mapping the CR&H Trail in Blair Valley, hiking about 4.6 miles en total. Found the Gecko Gulch geocache, swapping the 1964 1/2 Mustang for a magnifier.  Calif. Riding & Hiking Trail running diagonal from upper right crosses Blair Dry Lake, as viewed from Foot and Walker Pass lookout On the 15th, saw movie The Swimming Pool in La Jolla. Movie was interesting, but a little slow. Unusual for a weekday: parking lot was full! Sid and I won at tennis in 3rd set and I was big winner at poker. On the 17th, hiked the Fortuna Rim (MAP) with Paco. This was 7 miles, 1800' vertical and took 3 hours. We started at noon on this warm August day. Then went over and met tennis group in Point Loma, but only Liz showed up. So we played one set of singles (I played left handed with my right hand in my pocket). While we played, some low-life stole Liz's purse and cel phone from her locked car!  Paco on trail descending from South Fortuna. San Diego River below and Pacific on horizon On the 20th, hiked up following peaks: BONNY (elev. 4577'), White (elev. 5348'), and the Thimble (elev. 5778'). Note: 3rd try for Thimble. (MAP) Total of about 8 miles and 2500'+ vertical in 6.25 hours. Found 2 benchmarks (BONNY and WHITE) and the Thimble geocache. Signed into 4 registers. T-storms threatened and got rained on at the end of the hike. Massive T-storms hit Borrego and had problems getting online until night - due to short power outages. Several lightning bolts struck very near house! |
 Jef on Thimble  Chimney Rock  Thimble register with Ranchita in background  Horny Toad  the Thimble on another day On the 22nd, saw Pirates of the Caribbean, and Fred and I beat Craig and Bryan in 3 sets - getting the bagel on last set, which was unusual in that we were behind 40-15 in each of first 4 games. On the 24th, did a little painting in the kitchen. On the 25th, mapped another 2.7 miles of the CR&H Trail in Shelter Valley, and found 3 more benchmarks in Blair Valley. Total of 9 miles, 500' vertical, in 3.5 hours, and 5 separate hikes. Nearly got stuck on Pinyon Mtn. Road, as rain washed soft sand over road.  North Pinyon Mtn. Road - Note it looks more like a wash than a road! On the 26th, swapped tires between Amanda I and Amanda II, and also swapped batteries. On the 27th, went on a 8 mile, 1600'vertical, 3.25 hour hike to map CR&H Trail from Shelter Valley to Grapevine Canyon (thru Plum Wash). Thunder showers were encroaching during the entire hike. Planted a geocache at the pass - but later found another was planted just 390' away, so I got to go back and move it!  T-storms were common this month  Shelter Valley and Granite Peak T-showers from CR&H Trail On the 28th, mom dropped by after her month-long trip to the northwest, including Vancouver and San Juan Islands. On the 29th, saw the movie Open Range. An excellent movie. Then Fred and I won at tennis: 6-2, 3-6, 6-1, then I was big winner at poker. | ||||||
| Jul | 2003 | |||||||
| On the 2nd, went on a benchmarking trip. Mapped the "Lost Elephant Tree Herd" trail, about 1 mile, MAP, found 4 benchmarks, 6 milemarkers, and about half the campsites at the Ocotillo Wells ORV Area.
On the 4th, found 5 benchmarks on way to San Diego.  Chuckwalla near first benchmark found this day in Sentenac Canyon On the 5th, had dinner at Rickards with Laughlins. Viewed pix from the Rickard's kayak/raft trip from Bluff to Mexican Hat on the San Juan. On the 6th, went benchmarking with mom on east Salton Seaway. We found 12. On the 8th, used up rest of spackle caulk on south wall of my big shed, so mom could use the container for something. Then went to San Diego, saw T3 - pretty good! Got mom an MP3 player at Wal-mart for $37 for her camping trips. On way back, found 9 benchmarks in Julian area. On the 9th, painted over the caulking I did the previous day (about 75 sq. ft.). On the 11th, went to S.D. Played tennis with Craig, Bryan, Fred. When dodging overhead from Craig, fell back, hurt my wrist, smashed my head, spilling some blood on Fred's court. This, at end of first game. After a 5 minute delay, we resumed, and managed to get bagelled in first set. Won 2nd set, but lost 3rd. Then after stopping by to play a bit more tennis with Kim, Hank, and Jim, had a burger with Hank and then went and camped at Mission Trails at mom's campsite (our 1st campout 2gether in a few years). On the 12th, hiked about 2 miles with mom, looking for benchmarks in the Mission Dam area. Only the imprint of one was found. Then linked up with Paco to go to OTL. Unfortuneately, Miguel had talked him into bringing his boat, so we spent a couple hours getting boat from papa Don's, cleaning it, and launching it in Mission Bay. After getting first motor working, it subsequently died -- water pump was busted. Paco then replaced it with the backup motor, which got us to Fiesta Island. I went and checked it out for a few minutes. Lots of people! All T-shirts were sold out. We failed to get motor going after about 15 minutes of trying -- waves had swamped it while on the beach, apparently. So I pulled the boat about half a mile along beach (getting only one slice in my foot in the process), while Paco pushed to keep boat afloat, as wind was pushing boat to beach. Then we got to go downwind and started rowing. At about an eighth of a mile from the boat ramp, the harbor Patrol offered to tow us in. Unfortuneately, my pictures of this were lost due to an unfortunate incident later that night. Mike, Greg, and Steve never showed up anyway. We rendezvoued with them at Mike's place - which is pretty nice. The event is Steve's 4-day bachelor party, btw. After Tom Cassidy showed up (from Pasadena), Mark, Paco and I dropped off the boat and I picked up my car. Then we headed to the Prava Hotel in downtown and linked up with the group. We eventually wandered around the gaslamp quarter, and after rejecting pricey meals, settled for Hennesey's, where we had a great value-priced meal with deafening live music in the background. We got Kathy, our waitress, to tell Steve: "Don't do it!", at our asking.... Hey! That's what bachelor parties are for! The 13th found us back at the hotel room at midnight. For about half and hour just after midnight, Joe and John (Contigo alumni) dropped by, and when nothing was going on, left. At about 1, Miguel suggested going to a strip joint, but that was rejected when it was determined to be past 1 in the morning. The group then wandered around on 5th avenue, looking at people (or more specifically... women), and after a few minutes, I left and found my way to Mission Trails., where I again camped at mom's campsite. Slept the first few hours of the 13th. After waking up, mom bought me some coffee. Then I stopped by to see what wazzzup with Chip. He's pretty lean now, and still driving a tow truck. |
Then reconnected with the group at the hotel. Steve and Mike were still asleep at noon! So Paco and I went out for a late breakfast. We ate at Bahia Don's, walked down the pier and then bought Stevie a T-shirt with skull and crossbones and flames (at the Black) for him to wear at his Mormon wedding. ;)
To kill time until 4, started reading a book I had started a year ago. Then attended a tennis get-together in O.B. Actually saw Chip driving a tow truck as I approached the club (his was broke down when I saw him, and he was waiting to see if he was to drive another truck that day).
Played 2 hours of tennis before goting to hotel room. When noone was home, I called and found everyone was at the Coaster (probably passing me as I drove down!).
 Steve, Greg, Mike at Coaster  Mike launching match rocket at Coaster So I drove up there, and watched the R and D in developing match rockets. Steve finally got one to go about 6 feet. Then we went out and had fancy steak dinners at The Hunter. Pretty good. Then after dumping Greg and his car with no tail-lights at McD's -- where I accidentally deleted all the good pix on my camera from prior 2 days. Then went back to hotel room (Mike and I found some free parking next to the new stadium -- so I could avoid the $18 valet at the hotel). At the hotel, we continued the R and D of match rockets.  Stevie shooting match rocket at hotel Stevie launched one clear across the room! After about 6 tries, I managed to send a match about 2 feet. Steve, Mike and I camped out at the hotel room that night. On the 14th, after catching up on some sleep, recovered my uninsured car about 12:30 p.m.  Steve sleeping until past 11 It was, thankfully, still there and devoid of tickets. We drove to the Coaster where we had bar-b-que steak sandwitches and cervesa before I left for Borrego and Greg, Mike and Stevie for more partying in Oceanside. But first to TJs to max out Steve's carry-ons on his flight the next day with cases of 2-buck Chuck, and cheap champagne for his wedding on July 26 -- made one final plea of "Stevie! Don't do it!". I arrived late that afternoon in Borrego and found it was 117 outside and 104 inside. A bit warmer than San Diego. On the 17th, went on a trail-mapping expedition. Mapped Yaqui Well and Yaquitepec. Total of about 5 miles, 1000' vertical.  Marshall South cabin ruins. Note pool at lower left On the 18th, found 10 benchmarks on way to San Diego. Hard finding them in Cuyamaca, as not too many pullouts. I pulled out on a small one -- completely off the road, and a ranger stops in middle of road on a blind curve and proceded to scold me for not using a larger pullout -- could cause an accident, you know! (can you say hypocritical bureaucrat?).  Reddish badlands viewed from cliff trail |
On the 20th, went on trail-mapping expedition with mom. I hiked about 4.5 miles and mapped the Fonts Cliff hike (MAP). On the 22nd, drove Olga to San Diego. We picked up a hitch-hiker on way there who had injured his leg and dropped him off at his indian reservation near Santa Ysabel. Had a nice lunch at Kuki-Ya, and we picked up "Forest Gump" at Scissors Xing on way back. He was hitch-hiking to east coast with his dog, after having already gone to west coast from Minnesota. We only took him 7 miles of the way, though. On the 24th, finished reading my first book in several years: The Blue Nowhere. Pretty good. Also, took mom on a 2 mile, 200' vertical hike to find the benchmarks atop Lute Fault.  Mom holding a 50 caliber shell we found on this hike - with bullet still attached. On the 25th, took mom to San Diego. She helped me find a benchmark on the way. We saw League of Extraordinary Gentlemen. It was okay. Not great. On the 26th, went to Hank's grandaugher Cindy's 3rd birthday, where Hank bar-b-qued, and Frank & Joanne G., Craig, Sid, Erik & Eileen M, and others showed up.  Blues Clues jumping box was in back yard. We all gave it a try  Cindy trying and failing to blow out candle on Edelweiss Carrot cake, which was excellent On the 27th, mom finally took off on her monthlong trip, which will include the San Juan Islands in Washington and Canada. On the 28th, found and reported a dozen benchmarks east of Ocotillo Wells. Also gathered more map data, including mile markers. On the 29th, found 2 benchmarks and 2 geocaches. Wound up hiking 5+ miles and 500+' vertical on a pretty nasty afternoon (103°F and 65% humidity). But found a cool geocache chained to a fire hydrant in the middle of the desert. Also, shortly after consuming rest of my water, found I was heading to wrong waypoint, and car was accross a deep canyon from me. But not a problem, as a half mile walk along rim got me there. Wound up drinking another half gallon after getting home.  Mystery cache with microwave relay tower 2.5 miles away on top left horizon  Mystery cache is chained to the mystery On the 30th, found 1 benchmark while on mapping hike of Middle Peak (MAP). This was a 3.5 hour, 10 mile, 2000' vertical hike, where I mapped the remaining trails of Middle Peak.  Pentstamen  Field of daisy-like plants at Trout Pond  Cairn atop Middle Peak | ||||||
| Jun | 2003 | |||||||
On the 1st drove up to Cuyamaca, and hiked about 8.5 miles, 2000' vertical, 3.6 hours (MAP) in loop around Middle Peak with spur side trip to Sill Hill Falls, a spectacular waterfall on the west side of Middle Peak.
 Me at Sill Hill Falls Note: most of it was cut off it's nearly 50' tall!  Many flowers, such as this one  and these  Butterfly on thistle flower  Meadow on west side of Middle Peak Also saw a tarantula after using up all my pix. On the 5th, finished putting band-aids on Amanda, and started looking into relicensing process. Finished trimming my border oleanders. On the 6th, found a few benchmarks on way back from post office. On the 7th, went hiking with Nica and Sophie: 11 miles, 3.5 hours, 800' vertical. MAP. Nica took me out to lunch at the Julian Grille. What a great place! I had a Caesar salad. Had a great day with Nica and Sophie. Then visited cannon party near Ocotillo: Mike's new cannon, built and designed by Mark hit a target 120 yards away. Then spent night on ground (with no blanket!).  Miguel with his new cannon carriage by Mark |
 Sophie and Nica at lake  Nica and Sophie  Nica and Jef On the 8th, drove home from Yuha desert and completed measuring milepost locations for map-making purposes. On the 10th, saw The Italian Job in San Diego - another great movie. On the 12th, drove to Imperial County to map mile markers and also mapped about 8 benchmarks. On the 13th, did 4.5 mile, 600' vertical, 2.3 hour hike with Jim and Grace thru Mission Trails. MAP.  Jim and Grace on trail  Jim and Grace on San Diego River On the 15th, drove up Montezuma, captured mile mark coordinates and 3 more benchmarks. Hiked about 2 miles in process. On the 16th, found an elusive benchmark, failed to find 3 others. On the 18th, went benchmarking out by Fonts Point. Found a handful of benchmarks including PAINT, which is located on a tall and very colourful bluff. Another benchmark was buried in a sand drift!  One of Paint benchmarks looking down on Fonts Wash |
On the 20th, found 3 benchmarks on way to San Diego, and then saw Hollywood Homicide which was actually pretty good. On the 22nd, drove to south end of park and camped alone (noone within 10 miles) at Indian Hill MAP. The Rickards suggested I see the solstice effect on pictograph cave. But I didn't find it until 2 hours after sunrise. Don't think the summer solstice hits this cave, anyway. Indian Hill is great! Dozens of morteros, and cool rock formations. Start of summer was cool, but windy. Didn't get much sleep that night.  My simple camp in front of main cave  Some of the colourful pictographs in Pictograph cave  Some of the many morteros at Indian Hill On the 24th, went to San Diego and saw The Hulk, which kicks ass. Great movie! On the 27th, drove on loop around Grapevine Mountain, logging parking areas, monuments, and found 4 benchmarks. Found out "The Thimble" is on land owned by the Palomar Sportsmans Club (since 1954), so may not ever get around to conquering it. Saw 28 Days Later in San Diego. Pretty gruesome, but also pretty good for a zombie movie. On the 29th, hiked about 5 miles at base of San Ysidros, finding the RASS and HANS benchmarks. To find RASS, hiked up the old Hellhole Ridge trail for the first time.  Part of Bill Kenyon Overlook Trail On the 30th, mapped 3 short trails - total of about 2.5 miles, parking, and a single benchmark. | ||||||
| May | 2003 | |||||||
| On the 1st drove up to Mammoth with Paco and Lizzy. Plenty of wildflowers along the way. That night we had a great dinner at the Ocean Harvest. I had New Zealand Sea Bass.
We camped out at Bryan and Vicki's condo for the next 2 days.
On the 2nd, Paco and I went skiing. Only out for about 90 minutes. I had 7 runs and Paco had 6. He hadn't skiied in 5 years and I in over a year, so it was good to have this refresher. Conditions were okay, but clouds and snow made it difficult. I crashed thrice. Later that day, Paco and I found the Mammoth geocache. On the 3rd, we bugged out of Mammoth because of threatening weather, and Lizzy was not doing well in the thin air of 7800' high Mammoth Lakes. We stopped at Hot Creek and found a 2nd geocache along the way. On the 5th, drove with mom in to San Diego for me to go to dentist and do some shopping. We picked up Guy at Scissors Xing and drove him to Grossmont -- he pulled something in his leg and wasn't up to continuing on his 1500 mile trek. Mom and I hiked a couple miles in Mission Trails. Flowers were amazing still. Went to dentist for cleaning and a full set of X-rays, went on other errands, and returned home. On the 6th, hiked to the Moly Mine with Grace and Linda. We found some huge "cottontop" cacti, and identified 2-3 dozen types of flowers.  Jef & Grace by a patch of cottontop cacti  Poppies in Paloverde Wash  Cottontop close-up  Rare cottontop cacti  Grace and Linda in Moly mine  Rare yellowheads in full bloom |
On the 8th, hiked about 3 miles in neighborhood looking for local benchmarks. On the 9th, saw X2, which is a great movie. On the 13th, hiked up Hellhole to north fork. When travel became too difficult, ascented to Webo Peak (MAP ). Found a sub-peak on the way with a makeshift register placed in 1989. I was first to find it. Verified my Webo cache was still there, but forgot to bring the disclaimer document. Lots of flowers, especially golden poppies, phacelia, and prickly poppies. Unfortuneately, some phacelia was dead and coupled with foxtails made a very uncomfortable hike (these 2 weeds will stick ya!). Hike was approximately 10 miles, 3500' vertical, and 8 hours. On the 14th, hiked up Borrego Palm Canyon on a 4+ mile hike. We(Moni & I?) unsuccessfully searched for 4 geocaches. Too much distortion of GPS signals in that canyon!!  2nd grove, Palm Canyon On the 15th the Laughlins drove me over to view the eclipsed moonrise at a remote area on Old Borrego Road with Peggy, Casey, Eric, Marilyn. Eric and Marilyn had just backpacked from Toro Peak to Lower Willows! Moon was awesome, and food/drinks were great. Also got to find the CAL benchmark. On the 18th, met with Bryan on web-service project, and then saw Monica(Tika) dance in Gotta Dance at Palomar. She danced in 3 numbers including a tap dancing Tequila, a chorus line dancing That Old Rock and Roll (Bob Seger), and finally a ballet-like red flame in an avante garde rendition of Jehanne d'Arc burning at stake. 11 other dances were also performed, and a lot of talent was demonstrated by the ~5 dozen performers. Found a benchmark on way back - using my just purchased digital camera.  Ms. Tequila(Tika) is at right  Aunt Tique-a(Tika) doing splits in maroon dress near center On the 20th, went benchmarking with mamma-san. We found about 10. On the 21st, drove on local 20 mile triangular loop finding all benchmarks along the way. Total of 17 were found. On the 22nd, attended a hike/potluck at PCT trailhead. Flowers were astounding. Attending were about 10 of us, including Cohens, Laughlins, Rickards.  Most of these are non-native invaders |
 Wallflower  Prickly Poppy  Nearby field - only half these flowers are native  Grace, Linda hiking on PCT  About 10 attended the potluck  Good light On the 23rd, drove to San Diego, finding one benchmark and taking a few pix of Cuyamaca on the way. Then saw Matrix Reloaded. Pretty good.  Cuyamaca meadow On the 24th, hiked with a Sierra Club backpacking group to Pena Spring, and then partway down the R&H trail. After they set up camp, I walked down to the Hellhole trailhead. Total hike was about 6.5 miles, 300' up, 3000' down, 3.5 hours.  Hikers at Pena Spring  Campsite at about 2800' on ridge On the 27th, drove Olga to San Diego. We had lunch at a nice Japanese restaurant at Governor and Genesee. On the 30th, did about 6 benchmarks on way to San Diego, so as not to be early for movie... which I was late for! | ||||||
| Apr | 2003 | |||||||
| On the 1st, drove Olga to San Diego to get bone density test. Unfortuneately, she just got a prescription, and imaging said she needed an appointment, so it was a pretty much wasted trip.
On the 2nd, hiked around Calcite Area with Grace, finding 3 geocaches (XO, Truckhaven, missplaced Alabaster boulder), and explored a new tributary wash. MAP. Total hiking of about 3 hours, 6 miles, 500' vertical. On the 4th, put a down payment on Amanda's replacement. Saw Lewis and Clark at IMAX theater in Balboa Park. Very good movie! Also hiked about 4 miles thru Mission Trails. Spectacular with all the green and many wildflowers! On the 10th, drove to San Diego to get pink slip of new car and start salvage work on Amanda. On the 11th, went geocaching with Grace, hiking approximately 4 miles around Slot and badlands just east of Ocotillo Wells. Found Slots of Fun, Thread the Needle, and Mudhills Cache. On the 12th, lost in men's doubles with partner Gary Edwards at the last BSTC tennis tournament of the season. On the 15th, hiked to Hidden Palm (MAP) with Grace. Deposited geocache in Howlew Gulch.  Hidden Palm (photos by Grace)     Please don't fall, Mr. Boulder  Location of cache  Hidden Palm from above  marking Geocache location  at Hidden Palm On the 19th, after Julie, Thor and Logan arrived in Borrego, we went geocaching over at Fonts Point, finding Camp Ledge, Font's stash-o-goodies and Inspiration Point caches. Walking about 2 miles in the process. 8-year old Logan especially liked playing in fools gold-dusted sand dunes near Camp Ledge. |
On easter, the 20th, Thor and Logan found some candy eggs around my house. What a surprise that the easter bunny was in the area! Then we went up to Glorietta Canyon, where I found Fossilady's geocache (by memory -- forgot my GPS!).  The show  Julie dancing That evening, we had 15 people at a party featuring a large array of food and wine, and Julie doing several belly-dance numbers. The Rickards, Laughlins, Linkroums, Cohens, Pamela and Joya were the 10 guests. On the 21st, mom and I drove up to cousin Patti's and I replaced her kitchen floor which was water damaged by the refrigerator line a couple months earlier. Then met up with Julie and nephews at dad's. We went on a couple walks around Landa Street, which was verdant this time of year.  Julie, nephews with downtown L.A. in background On the 22nd, we all drove to Ocean Beach, where we got a hotel room on the beach ($80 -- not bad!), and watched the nephews play in surf. It was really cold and windy! Thor lasted 10 minutes, but Logan kept it up for about 90 minutes. We, of course, got fish tacos and ice cream. Then we went on a 1 mile hike along San Diego River outlet. Flowers were incredible.  Hiking near Dog Beach  Logan, Thor on the beach On the 23rd, did the beach thing again. It was much nicer (less windy and warmer) than day before, but Thor, again, didn't last long in the cold surf. Logan did, though. They also built an impressive sand castle. Fish tacos again, and also got some t-shirts. Then went over to see IMAX film on dolphins and walked around Balboa Park. Then drove back to Borrego. |
 Camel formation from middle of Split Mountain area  Jim and Jef comparing theirs with the "Elephant Knees"  Hiking in front of "Elephant Knees" On the 24th, hiked around Split Mountain mudhills so nephews can see the fossilized sea-shells there. Then Julie gave a belly-dance clinic. I had 7 belly dancers in my house!  The clinic  Natural Bridge On the 25th, hiked up south fork of Palm Wash with Julie, mom, nephews, and did a token amount of geocaching around the area. That night, had dinner at Rickards with Julie, nephews, and the Laughlins. Julie, Grace, and Linda did a little more dance practicing. On the 26th, Julie and nephews drove back to New Mexico. That night I helped Jim and Grace with their stargazing session, where about 2 dozen showed up. I manned the one telescope without a motor drive, and kept it on Jupiter. On the 29th, hiked with Grace up Cool Canyon, and planted a geocache. Beautiful area! Then met Stephanie R. in Wynola for lunch.  Jef planting cache in Cool Canyon  The cache  Grace hiking in Cool Canyon | ||||||
| Mar | 2003 | |||||||
| On the 2nd, walked over to tennis for a change (5 miles round trip) and then had to play 2 sets of singles with Jaroslav. Won 1 game, and then 90 minutes of doubles.
On the 4th, drove Olga to La Jolla to see her doctor. Had to deal with wheelchairs and walkers and stuff. Fun!
On the 6th, hiked up to Glorietta Canyon from home, and met Grace. We hiked up a main tributary canyon, where we found the Fossilady geo-cache. I actually saw Fossilady drive in front of my house the next day. On the 7th, drove to San Diego via Cuyamaca, where there was snow on the ground:
Then saw Chicago. Pretty good; I see why it has been nominated for best picture by the SAG. On the 9th, mom and I checked wildflowers on Henderson Canyon Road: 
Wilson Summit:
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On the 11th, hiked up to Wilson Summit, and then over to Dry Canyon, where mom picked me up: 9 hours, 17 miles, 4400' up, 3000' down. On the 16th, hiked over to tennis again (5 miles round trip). Won only 1 game with Jaroslav in 2 sets. Then went over to Rickards for corned beef and cabbage (Jim wrangeled an Irish passport last year), and met Will Cronyn and his internet date, Jane (a lawyer from L.A.). On the 17th, finally got replacement for taillight installed on car. Almost roadworthy now. On the 18th, hiked 2 miles near Gypsum mine, 1000' vertical with Grace. We heard the explosion at the Gypsum mine (during the sirens we heard) when hiking in the Split Mountain area. We hiked up to a 1200' peak overlooking the mine. Then drove Olga to Brawley, and picked up Dick at hospital.  Grace looking down to Fish Creek where we started hike
On the 19th, finished minimal fixes to car, and took it to post office to get mail!  "Fixed" Amanda
On the 20th, drove 'totalled' Amanda to Cuyamaca, and hiked the Kelly Ditch Trail (approx. 8 miles, 500' vertical) with Hillari. We ate dinner at Lake Cuyamaca Lodge on way back. I had a Rueben. |
On the 21st, took tennis club hiking up Palm Wash, South Fork -- 3 to 4 miles, 200' vertical.
On the 22nd, got eliminated from mixed doubles tournament at BSTC. Partner was Bonnie Wilson, and we played well, and all matches were very close. We won 1 out of 3 matches. On the 23rd, drove up to North Hills and rennovated my cousin Patti's stairwell. Since this was a day earlier than we were s'posed to be there, I drove over to visit dad. The next morning I helped him install a small slab for use as a step on his on-going terracing project. Then I drove back and started work on the stairwell. This involved ripping out carpetting, cutting and installing 1 by lumber over 2 by stair structure, routing, sanding, repairing drywall, and painting. Job was completed (along with several miscellaneous projects) on the 28th.  Mom's bouquet 3 weeks after getting it. Yellow mums lasted over a month! | ||||||
| Feb | 2003 | |||||||
 Palm Peak from below summit On the 2nd, hiked up Palm (Travelers) Peak, 5 hours, 6 miles, 2200' vertical. Deposited a geocache near summit of Palm Peak. Karyn and I had hiked it March 1, 1998, but didn't have the trouble I had getting back down (lots of big dry waterfalls in slot canyons). On the 7th, saw Gangs of New York. Pretty darned good. On the 9th, hiked 2 hours, 5 miles in the Palm Wash area. Discovered the natural bridge and a new set of cool slot canyons. |
On the 14th, saw Daredevil (opening day, even!). Then on the 15th and 16th, participated in the BSTC tournament. New member (ringer) Joel and I managed to win the Tigers division, coming back from 4-0 deficit to beat Tom and Don! Later on the 16th, drove to West Hills to re-floor my cousin's living room. On the 16th thru the 21st, worked up in North Hills on home improvements for my cousin Patti: Pergo floors, new toilets, blinds, etc.  Living room after replacing carpet with Pergo flooring |
From the 23rd to the 26th continued work in North Hills, completing replacing bathroom floors with Pergo, installing new toilet, cabinets, light fixtures, etc. On the 27th mom took my car to San Diego, but she didn't make it past Ramona. She was rear-ended, apparently, by a reckless Julian driver, causing massive damage. When repair estimates exceeded the blue book value of the car, I had Amanda towed home. They checked mom out at Pomerado Hospital, where I picked her up, and she only had a possible, but probably minor, whiplash. On the 28th, bought mom some flowers. Turns out, these were the first flowers anyone had bought her in about 53 years!!!  Mom in front of fireplace with new trophy | ||||||
| Jan | 2003 | |||||||
 Fireworks as seen from my deck (photo by Jim) On the 1st, watched some nice fireworks at my house just after midnight, with several people who were at Eris's New Years party. Later on the 1st, went to badlands with the Rickards and hiked to Burks bench, and then to Inspiration Point with mom and the Rickards. We then saw the sun set over Fonts Point. Total of about 4 miles of hiking.  Jef on Burke's Bench  Jim, me and Grace on Burks Bench On the 2nd drove to Palm Desert to meet and play tennis with Paula.  Jef, mom, Jim on Burks Bench near Inspiration Point On the 5th, hiked up to the top of Elephant Knees with Jim and Grace, and also walked around it. Total hike was 4.5 miles, 600' vertical. Found some mud caves, and deposited a geocache.  Jef on summit of Elephant Knee hill - photo by Grace On the 9th, got new CV joints in Amanda. She has 207K miles on her now. |
 Spence crossing 2nd Xing On the 10th, took tennis club on hike around Lower Willows in Coyote Canyon: 3 miles, 200' vertical. On the 11th and 12th hosted Hank, Moni, and Jim, and we all played in the mixed doubles tennis tournament. I managed to win, in the middle division, with Marilyn Bean. On the 16th, drove up to L.A., connected with my sister Elsa, and we took mom to Universal Studios for her 75th birthday.  Elsa, mom in front of Hollywood sign mock-up at Universal Studios On the 17th, went with dad, Leny, and Elsa to the Gene Autry Museum of Southwest Culture, then mom picked us up and we went to camp out at Aunt Virginia's condo.  Rendezvous at San Pedro lighthouse
On the 18th, attended Virginia's services. She was honored by placing her ashes 3 miles out to sea from San Pedro Harbor. Our boat had 10 family and about 10 CG Auxiliary, and we met with 1 Coast Guard vessel, and 2 other CG Aux. vessels containing a commander, and about 7 division heads. Patty received a flag, and after returning, the family had lunch at Acapulco's. After packing more stuff and doing some more cleaning of the condo, Elsa, mom and I drove to Borrego. |
 Jef, dad in the Slot On the 19th, dad and Leny drove to Borrego, and we hung around Borrego that morning, going on one hike into the slot. On the 20th, hiked well into Borrego Palm Canyon with Moni, who is a terrific hiker! We did 7 miles in 5 hours with beautiful weather and the first hints of spring wildflowers.  Moni On the 24th, met Stephanie for lunch at Chili's in La Mesa.  Joe and Sara near the Slot On the 26th, Joe and Sarah visited. Took them on a tour of Borrego area: Bill Kenyon overlook trail, Mine Wash indian village site, the Slot area, the visitor center where we saw a slide show (the ranger gave us a command performance, as he recognized mom, who volunteered there for 3 years), and drove around the town some. On the 28th, drove to San Diego and picked up neighbor Olga from hospital. On the 29th, replaced 2 tires on Amanda. On the 31st, saw Lord of the Rings. Pretty cool. | ||||||
 Jef on Elephant Knees. Fish Creek Wash is in middle ground, and goes thru Split Mountain on the right. Photo by Grace | ||||||||
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