Our beautiful local mountains

Here I am again extolling the virtues of San Diego County! It’s the most biologically diverse county in the continental United States. From our house the mountains are sixty minutes away, the beach twenty minutes, and the desert eighty minutes. Great weather year around and mountain biking trails right from our house! And the convenience factor is high. Within a three mile radius we have a Costco, Trader Joes, Sprouts, and Vons.

It’s so easy to get up to Laguna Mountain, and mid week there are no crowds, so it has become an annual thing. This trip was four nights. Amy’s dad, R, came up in his trailer for two nights. The guy is turning 80 in August and still hitching up his trailer and camping all by himself! He’s going to keep on doing his Agua Caliente camping routine until he can’t.

Usually we just mountain bike, but this trip we worked in a nine mile hike. Amelia is in training for her solo trip to Iceland in three weeks! She’s doing a hut to hut hike with a womens’ group. It’s six days, 47 miles, on the Laugavegur Trail.

Mountain biking in the mountains

The Sunset trail was part of our nine mile hike. It was the first time for us.

One of the view points looking west.

Big Laguna Lake, not so big this time of year.

The Navy Seal guys were out again doing land navigation training.

No rattlesnakes this trip, just two gopher snakes. A big one and a small one.

Sad, this little Gray Fox was eviscerated by something.

One of the afternoons we had beautiful cloud cover.

Montane Woolly-Star

California Milkweed

Father and daughter on the deck of one of SDSU’s observatories.

The obligatory selfie.

R’s thirty-five year old rust bucket beach cruiser. The flip flops are always on the frame because you can’t go into the library barefoot.

Tough life in retirement.

Ol’ Opal is looking pretty good for a 2012 Airstream!