Big Bear Lake

At 7000 ft above sea level, Big Bear Lake is a haven for snow buffs and skiers during the winter. The rest of the year, it is a great weekend getaway to the adventurous Southern Californians. The 7 mile long lake is quite breathtaking when the Sun is out and is great for water sports or fishing. The San Bernardino forest and the Bear Mountain around the lake offer great vistas of the Big Bear valley and are perfect for hiking, camping or mountain biking. It is hard to find a decent camping site during the weekends if you have not made the reservations half a year earlier. So when we found one, overlooking the lake at such short notice in none other than the Serrano campsite, it had to be too good to be true! Of all the excuses for a poorly planned camping trip, not finding a tent to accommodate 6 people must definitely be the lamest!!   

Nature, at its least presentable adventurous form, is still the best bet for a relaxing day. So Sanjeev, Tarika, Ramya and I decided that a day outing to Big Bear Lake would still be a better option than spending one at either Pasadena or Irvine. Sanjeev, Tarika and Arastu would start later in the day from Irvine and meet us up at the Discovery Center. Ramya, Achyuta and I left Pasadena last Saturday (2012/09/22) at 9.00 am and drove eastwards along I-210 to climb north on Hilltop Blvd (CA-18). We stopped regularly to make pictures of the Big Bear Valley and met other families doing the same. There were many tattoo-sporting, pony-tailed motor bikers along the extremely winding way up. A lonely mountain-bike rider managed to keep up with us for a long way, thanks to our frequent photo pit stops. At the Western end of the lake, the road forks to go along the picturesque North Shore Blvd. The other side of the lake forms the touristy city of Big Bear Lake, where one can rent bikes, boats or Segways. We took the naturally serene former path that led us along the lake to the Discovery Center.

The first thing you notice after entering the Discovery Center complex is a ten-feet tall petrified Grizzly Bear standing on its hind legs.  The city gets its name from these bears that inhabited the area before the 19^th century. Achyuta, who had been a sweet kid throughout the journey, had had enough and wanted to be heard by everyone in the vicinity. The imposing replica of the bear had a calming effect on him and we made pictures of both of them together. On display inside the Discovery Center are a number of stuffed animals and birds that were former residents of the San Bernardino forest. There is also a wealth of information about the history and geology of the region and the volunteers at the Center were very friendly and knowledgeable.

It was story-time at 12.30 pm and all the kids and parents made their way to the kids-section on the north side of the Center where a wizened elderly lady sat on a throne. No, seriously, a big throne with red upholstery! Maybe a down-sized throne that was mass-produced during the great financial crisis, but a throne nevertheless! Her little subjects settled down on the ground on soft animal toys, their rapt attention divided between the story-teller and mini chocolate cup cakes. The lady on the throne majestically rendered the two stories to the delight and applause of the children. Some of the more studious kids missed out on the cup cake! We had to treat Achyuta to an ice-cream in place of the cup cake J

Sanjeev, Tarika and Arastu arrived by 12.50 pm, right on cue for lunch time! We settled outside the Center by one of the picnic tables to enjoy Tarika’s Roti - Jeera Rice with Ramya’s Chole Masala. With the gentle afternoon breeze in the backdrop of the Lake and the background score of the Chicadees, Bluebirds and Sparrows, we relished the home cooked food in good company of friends and family. There is a bird house next to the Center and the feed attracted a lot of sparrows and one Bluebird. Every time, the birds landed in there, Achyuta wanted to have a closer look, which of course drove them away. After lunch, Achyuta and I went down to do some serious bird photography, my latest try at keeping him quiet for about a couple of minutes. The promised ice cream helped to coax him to sit tight for a while. But when all we did was sit patiently waiting for some bird to swoon in to the feed, his own feeding instincts kicked in and we had to go get that ice cream.

At 2.00 pm, a group of fourteen had gathered out front for the guided nature hike. Marianne, a three year Center veteran volunteer, promised us to give an overview of the flora and fauna around the Discovery Center in the 30 min or so nature walk. She started off showing us the vitamin-rich Rose hip fruits in front of the Center. Then we walked west along the parking lot and out into the wilderness. She told us the difference between many pine cones that can be sticky, prickly or a combination of both. Along our way, she pointed out to Juniper trees, sage bushes, Indian Paintbrush (Castellija), Island Mountain Mahogany (Cercocarpus montanus), a bunch of Manzanita shrubs whose berries had all dried up during the summer and a tree that smelled somewhere between vanilla and butterscotch. All this scientific jargon was lullaby to little Arastu who enjoyed a power nap under the canopy of Juniper trees. I guess that’s how Sanjeev and Tarika put him off to sleep every night J

After Marianne headed back to the Center and the others slipping away unobtrusively, the six of us moved on further for another half hour, enjoying the pleasant cloudy afternoon. We passed as many people as their trusted but leashed canine friends. Arastu was up by now and was being carried by Sanjeev. Achyuta was playing with the dry leaves and stones that were along the path and got himself pierced by a fine splinter. We spent some time trying to get it out of his finger and then walked back to the Center. The Big Bear beckoned us for more family pics and we bid adieu to him. We decided to spend the rest of the evening by the lake and drove down east towards the bridge on Stanfield Cutoff.

We parked across the Northshore Elementary School, where a bunch of kids were playing American football, and moved towards the small path close by the lake. We settled down after walking for about 30 feet as it was not a stroller-friendly path. We ventured down to the lake where a couple were fishing, and successfully too, gauging by their haul of rainbow trouts and catfish. At 3.45 pm, the Sun had come out in full glory and I swapped the 55-300 mm telephoto lens to the moderately wide-angled 18-135 mm lens to capture the landscape better. A couple of fallen trees made a nice natural pier into the lake. We all took turns to make a series of snaps of people either walking down or sitting on the trunks. When it became a bit windy, we headed up to the relative safety of the path. Tarika opened up her stock of chips and chocolate nuts and soon we were all bare-handed but satisfied! Arastu was busy munching a very delicious pen, while Achyuta was content filling up sand into the flying disc. We then got down to serious business of making family portraits in the vestiges of the brilliant sunshine. Since we could not walk any further, we decided at 5.40 pm to drive across the bridge to the other side, which looked very pristine, to catch the sunset.

This proved to be one of those theories that work well in your head but not in reality. The other side that looked well-kept turned out to be a high-priced gated community. So, we decided to go to the Stanfield Marsh Boardwalk on the other side of the Bridge. Since there were no signs, we missed the entryway, which was right after the intersection. We had but no choice to drive along Big Bear Blvd all the way up to the Big Bear Convention Center, site of Big Bear’s Oktoberfest. I had left the hand brake on ever since our drive from Stanfield Cutoff. Since I normally don’t use it, I did not think about disengaging it. After parking our cars and leaving behind the trail of burnt rubber, we walked along North Division Drive to the eastern edge of the Lake. We settled down on a thickset of grass overlooking the lake and our backs to Big Bear City Airport. It had turned very cold and both kids were wrapped in protective clothing as we waited for the setting sun to paint the skies in hues of orange and red. After enjoying the visual treat, we headed back to the Convention Center.

Tarika and Ramya opined that the best way to beat the cold was to check out the local Starbucks. We ended up there at 6.50 pm and the sky was in its most brilliant shade of red.  While the ladies enjoyed cappuccino, the drivers sipped iced tea - lesser of the two evils. Even after a very long day, the kids were still in active mode. In the cozy ambiance of the coffee shoppe, we all relaxed and savored the day’s activities. Although it was not the weekend trip we had in mind, it was definitely a day we could all unwind amidst nature’s tranquility. It is usually more about how you spend your vacation rather than the amount of time you put into it. After promising each other that we should plan on a camping trip soon, we called it a day and headed to our cars for the long winding drive back to our respective homes, a happy lot. 

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The Carlsbad Ranunculus

Carlsbad is no Keukenhof! But then again, it does not claim to be the largest flower garden in the world. It is not even the largest garden in USA. In fact it is not a garden at all! It is a 50-acre commercial farmland that grows the world’s largest collection of giant tecolote ranunculus flowers. What makes this place a tourist hot spot during spring are the blooming of about 7 million of these ranunculus flowers. Just to add to the commercial value, they have placed the Pacific Ocean in the backdrop J  Oh, and some rolling hills for good measure!

Such a package is bound to attract a horde of photophiliacs and nature enthusiasts. Ramya and I believe that we have genes for both traits and may have passed on some to Achyuta. A small warning sounded somewhere inside that I had a presentation coming up in a week. But hey, spring comes only once a year…it was a weekend…and it is not socially acceptable to talk back to voices in your head. So, we all set off on a sunny and clear morning, driving down south on I5 towards San Diego. When we reached San Juan Capistrano, on Pacific Coast Highway, the weather magically changed to low flying mists that were intent on washing away all the fine particles and ozone into the Pacific Ocean. After a little less than a 2 hr drive, we parked outside the picturesque Carlsbad flower fields.

If one word can describe the view, it comes out something like stugorcolorifantabulous! This was in spite of the fact that it was not the best day for photography, thanks to the gloomy weather. But the large expanse of multi-colored flower field and the festive atmosphere more than made up for it. All support staff - at the ticket counter, wagon-drivers, flower pickers, flower- and fashion-police persons - were 60+ with energy levels of 20- and warm smiles of toddlers. It was very obvious they were around to enjoy themselves rather than to make ends meet to support the ever beefing college tuition. There were stalls of extravagant floral hats, curios of all sorts, strawberry shortcakes, fresh popcorn, a sweet pea maze, Santa playground and a rose garden. The Red Hat Society had a rendezvous and there were hundreds of Red Hatters in a large spectrum of stylish outfits. Almost everyone was enjoying the live bands playing the Blues. Kids were running around and the parents were busy trying to figure out how to get the best shot of their kids amidst the flowers.

Ah! Yes, the flowers! The field is on a slope that has its nadir at the entrance. Since we wanted to enjoy the floral treats at our own leisurely pace, we decided to walk around, instead of using the wagon ride. There are ranunculus flowers of 13 colors (red, gold, pink, yellow, orange, white, rose, salmon, picotee, café, purple, flame and merlot), all bouqueted with their own kind to form nice discreet rows. In the middle of each colorful row, there is an inlet to make photo memories. This works well both for the visitors as well as the flowers, that are protected by an additional green tape. We slowly walked up the trail that was slightly marred by the presence of houses and a resort on top of the hill. Nothing personal, but they ruined the view and quite a few photos too! When we reached the top, we were quite envious of them. They probably had one of the best views in Southern California, at least in Spring. It was breathtaking and would have been better if not for the clouds. The hill rolled down with colorful ranunculus to meet up with a large Dutch-style windmill across the street and tapered off at the horizon into the Pacific Ocean! We enjoyed the view for a long time as we sauntered to the other side of the hemi-field.

On our way down, we saw some of the farm employees picking flowers and loading them on to a truck. It is ironical that the flowers that treat hundreds of thousands of eyes for 2 months are allowed to dry up in the sun to take nature’s course to their ends. Apparently, this results in superior bulb crop for the next season. Only about 2% of the flowers are picked up and sold. So how do they make money? It is the bulbs that rake up the revenues! They are recovered at the end of summer and sold to customers around the world.

By then Achyuta had seen too many wagons go by us and was insisting on having a go himself. So, we headed towards the long line of wagon wannabes. One of the staff chatted with us and was kind enough to point out the best seats on the wagon. On we hopped and the wagon took us around the perimeter of the farm field. While it took us 4 hrs to walk 1/4^th of the area by foot, the wagon ride brought us back in 10 mins. We did see the artist’s garden and the American floral flag, which were on the far south of the field. Only Achyuta had more fun this time around J We walked around the stalls and Ramya tried on a few fancy hats. We helped ourselves to some pop corn and settled to listen to the Blues. After downing a couple of cheese bean burritos at Rubio’s and buying some fresh strawberries from the adjacent farm, we said our byes to the giant ranunculus.

These colorful flowers have been heralding the Spring in Southern California since the 1920s, although the present establishment has a relatively short two decade history. They will continue to enthrall more visitors for another 3 weekends this year. So, if you are around the region, it is well worth a trip to enjoy nature at its colorful best. Make sure you take a lot of sunshine along J

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