I have long said that San Diego has “absence of weather.” It is so damned near perfect here that I can’t even feel the air on my skin most times. When my friend Margie relocated from Manhattan to San Diego, I got annoyed with her always posting daily updates on Facebook to remind us all that the weather was “Sunny, 78 degrees, winds light and variable.” Continue reading
Long before arriving in San Diego, the emails were flying back and forth, discussing “What’s on your list while you are here?” Some of us had longer lists than others, while some had less time to hit the highlights. The intent was to stagger the activities so the hikes were left for the remaining hikers, while the bike rides were reserved for the arrival of the bikers. Continue reading
I did four hikes while in San Diego, all varying degrees of interest, scenic beauty, and difficulty. The breweries, on the other hand, were all consistently good. Continue reading
Jim and Gayle were two weeks ahead of me in San Diego. I was sitting out a hailstorm in McDowell Mountain Regional Park when Jim sent the report that “Sprouts has 88 cent blackberries, beer flows from the tap, and the streets are paved with gold here.” It was all I could do to keep from scrapping my Topo Map course and high-tailing it to San Diego two weeks earlier than planned.
But the one story they told that intrigued me more than anything was riding their bikes to a brewery! Continue reading
I am woefully behind on my blog, as usual. I am just now telling of an arrival in San Diego, while the rest of my friends and fellow bloggers have long moved on. So the next five posts will be short on prose, as I attempt to capture the essence of my two weeks in San Diego in subtitles…
First up…The Markets. And Beer! Continue reading
I bid a sad farewell to the Sonoran Desert with a lump in my throat, and drove over the hills and through the woods to meet up with my posse at the Viejas Casino in Alpine, CA, where we would overnight and descend en masse on San Diego the following day. Continue reading
It’s my last day in the Sonoran desert. I want one last beautiful scenic hike before I go, so I ask my favorite volunteer at the Visitor Center, the man who swore me in as a “Desert Ranger,” about his favorite hike. “You want scenic? Without a doubt…the Bull Pasture.” Continue reading
Much of the Organ Pipe Cactus National Monument has been closed since 2003 due to illegal cross-border activity. Back in 2002, one of their own, Ranger Kris Eggle, was gunned down in an attempt to apprehend members of a drug cartel. They renamed the Visitor Center in his honor, and later closed down much of the park in fear that they could not protect the visitors. Continue reading
From Tucson I have the intention to head toward Alpine, CA to rendezvous with my fellow tribe-mates Debbie and Kim, when I get word from Contessa that they will be crossing the border on their way back from Mazatlan, headed home to Canada in a few days. After a few frenetic email exchanges, we finally figure out that a long talked about meet-up in the desert might just be doable Continue reading
I am on a quest while in Tucson to see the things I didn’t get to see last year, either due to time constraints for work, or in the case of Wasson Peak, lack of ability. There was a Ranger-led hike to Wasson Peak during my visit last year. I wanted to participate in the program, but didn’t want my tortoise pace to hold up the group. I still have a tortoise pace, but this year I decide I am good to go on my own. Continue reading