Tag: campfire

  • Camping by Big Bear Lake

    Camping by Big Bear Lake

    After baking a sourdough boule for our lunch picnic, we drive up to Big Bear Lake’s Serrano Campground. We have several goals in mind: get the kids outdoors, escape the valley heat, and see Jupiter and Saturn while they are near opposition. The 130 mm reflector telescope had just arrived, and this makes it a…

    View post →


  • Impromptu Camping in Joshua Tree

    Impromptu Camping in Joshua Tree

    Nearly every day for the last two months, Daphney had been asking about camping—not just any camping, but specifically in Joshua Tree, or where there are foxes (Santa Cruz Island). The other request is to have a campfire, both in the evening and the following morning. That rules out the Santa Cruz site. Now that…

    View post →


  • Joshua Tree

    Joshua Tree

    It’s been many years since my last climbing trip. I was a college student then. Now, my residents think that I can still do this, and Lucas set me up with gear. My main reason to go out to Joshua Tree was to get some Milky Way shots. But at this time of year, I…

    View post →


  • High Sierra Trail: Day 1

    High Sierra Trail: Day 1

    We’re off! Setting out from Crescent Meadow, the trail climbs a gentle knoll through carpets of fern fronds shaded under giant sequoia stands. After about a mile, we emerge from the forest and hike along the open slopes, passing Eagle View Overlook. Across the valley, Cathedral Rocks provide a steady landmark throughout most of the…

    View post →


  • Lobo Group Camp

    Lobo Group Camp

    We just got back from a restful weekend retreat in the San Bernardino National Forest. I left Friday evening after work, and by the time I got on the freeway, it was already dark. Most of the group left in the afternoon and set up Lobo Group Camp off of Highway 38. I arrived just…

    View post →


  • South Lake to North Lake: Day 4

    South Lake to North Lake: Day 4

    September 3 We both slept very well. The night felt warmer, and we had very little tent condensation. Brad checks his thermometer, which reads 30 degrees Fahrenheit. It feels warmer. Anyways, I go on a private walk back along the creek, taking pictures along the way. I find an interesting tree whose bark had split…

    View post →


  • Joshua Tree Stargazing

    Joshua Tree Stargazing

    The purpose of this trip was to gaze at the Delta Aquarid and the beginning of the Perseid showers in what was supposed to be a celestial traffic jam. After we arrived, clouds rolled in to obscure much of the sky. A few of us saw some meteors, but we all enjoyed simply sitting around…

    View post →