The Rim of the World

April 22

We were up early to reorganize and repack.  Tom cooked breakfast:  bacon, sausage, eggs, fruit, toast. By 8:45 it was already 80 degrees!  At 10:00 we were off to the Rim of the World Scenic Byway after a stop at Starbucks! It is so comfortable being with Bea and Tom here and anywhere in our enduring 50 year friendship. We love their desert home especially all of the outdoor areas. And I was only in my "teacher mode" once when discussing our itinerary for today!

On I10 W there were many dense wind farms. It was 77 degrees but we could see bits of snow atop barren mountains. At the Mill Creek Ranger Station in Meltone the temp had gone down to 71 degrees as we drove through the lovely town of Yucaipa. At 11:30 we entered the San Bernadino National Forest, on Rt. 138 and the beginning of the Rim of the World Scenic Byway. We viewed rocky hills that were pine-forested and drove on a curvy well-maintained road climbing the San Gorgonio  Mountains that were snow topped in the distance. We drove to Onyx Summit at 8443 feet and at 12:10 it was 61 degrees. 

We saw a few very small towns and then arrived in Big Bear City with a population of more than 12,000. The city is mainly a recreation area with a small airport. We passed Madlon's restaurant with Swiss chalet architecture that was for sale. In this isolated mountain area, there are strip malls, fast food restaurants, ski areas, even a Starbucks!  At one point, top down of course, Peter's hat blew off!!! Rescue mission!  Bear Lake is obviously low; a ranger had told us the area had had 4 inches of rain when 14 is usual! 

We had lunch by Bea at Boulder Bay at 1:00 then started following Rt. 18, a narrow road with sharp curves and rock slide signs. At a scenic pull-over with a view of the rim, we drove over glass bottle as we were leaving. Peter got out to examine the tires; they looked okay; fingers crossed. We passed more small towns and nice vacation homes. 

At 2:00, we foundHeaps Peak Arboretum. There was a short, informative, quiet, beautiful walk through the forest. We were introduced to Black oak trees which are really gray, we saw burned logs lying on the ground and scorched tree trunks on living trees,  all caused by the Old Fire in 2003. We listened to birdcalls, we heard the trees quaking, we saw a grove of giant sequoias planted in the 30s, we were entranced by the yellow dogwood and we observed many nesting boxes used primarily by Western Bluebirds. 

Our next stopping place was Lake Arrowhead and the upscale outlet-city chalet type buildings. There are 6 villages here, some VERY private. From there we took 

Rt. 138 and saw the San Bernardino Valley below us. It was very hazy which apparently is not unusual. There was lots of traffic in the opposite lane....weekenders? 

From there Rt. 138 became a narrow twisty road with some hairpins. At the overlook for the Silverwood Lake reservoir we saw white caps on the lake and it was so windy, Peter had to hold onto his hat!  We exited the multi-faceted Rim of the World Scenic Byway at 4:00 and headed north on I15. toward Death Valley. It was 82 degrees!  We ended our day at 

5:15 in Barstow, checked into a motel and had our dinner salads!  Yum!  Early night!