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| Knowledge of our world around us helps us to better appreciate it. There are a lot of things to know about our state, our country and it's surroundings. Know more about your world, and you'll find you will learn something about yourself. |
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Big Bear: Moonridge Animal Park
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Some might think the mountains are only for skiing, but we discovered a (unintentional) well kept secret in Big Bear: Moonridge Animal Park. It feels like a small zoo, but it’s more like a refuge hospital and sanctuary. The mission of this park is to take in injured animals found in the local areas, nurse them back to health and release them back into the wild.
Because of this cycle, the type and number of animals you see will vary. However, there are a few type of animals that have permanent residency here: 1) Animals that fall under the 3-strike rule (they have been in contact with humans
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three times and after that they would have been put down), 2) Animals whose injuries disqualify them from surviving in the wild again (such as an owl with a bad eye), 3) Animals who were abandoned (for whatever reason) when they were very young and have now imprinted (grown too attached) to humans as a replacement for nourishment and thus cannot survive on their own in the wild.
One particular group of animals worth the price of admission alone, are three grizzly bears who have called Moonridge their home since 1996. It is a mother (Tutu) and her now, full grown cubs. Tutu hit the 3rd strike roaming around Wyoming looking for food for her cubs. Moonridge held a fundraiser and took the family in. What a symbolic family for Big Bear Lake.
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| KATCH THE RESCUED ANIMALS AND LEAVE THE BUSINESS-KEEPING TO US! |
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Read a Good Book
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Summer is a great time to read a good book in the outdoors. We find that setting up a little place in your patio, with a simple table, chairs, and an umbrella creates a wonderful space for a special summer past time: reading a good book. We encourage you to do this with your whole family. Pick a book appropriate to the age and interest of each family member and enjoy reading right in your own yard. Here are some suggestions for reading:Adults and mid-teens: Seven Habits of Highly Effective People by Stephen R. Covey. Written in 1989, this is still a classic, must-read for everyone! John Adams by David McCullough, a Pulitzer Prize winning book made into an HBO special in 2009. Job, (pronounced johb) a book in the Bible, full of timeless insight into humanity’s struggle and God’s response.
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Teens and Preteens: The Chronicles of Narnia by C.S. Lewis. There are seven in this classic series of good vs evil.
Children: Anything from the Dr. Suess collection. A children’s Bible which will highlight famous stories and have great pictures to discuss.
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| KATCH A GOOD BOOK UNDER THE SUN AND LEAVE THE BUSINESS-KEEPING TO US! |
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San Diego Zoo
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The San Diego Zoo has quite a new face on it! We recently went down to San Diego and, using our annual membership, walked past the entrance lines and saw all the new changes. The Elephant Odyssey is completed! Wow, what a huge, pun intended, addition to the zoo. It’s at least a 10th of the zoo now, taking up the whole east side of the zoo property. The northern tip of the Odyssey has a huge building for researchers (not open to the public). Outside and attached to the building is a gigantic apparatus for moving the elephants between enclosures for measurements and observation. |
Our timing was incredible; we got to see one of the elephants work its way through the electronic door apparatus, with coaxing form keepers feeding her, onto the scale and being weighed. The weight? 3321 lbs. We also got to see the feeding of the lions; but that was not very appetizing (a fresh, but very dead rabbit).
In the Odyssey, there were plenty of places to sit and observe the animals while enjoying the swaying of the trees in the background.
Another new look for the zoo is the enhancement of the Polar Bear Plunge. Though the bears themselves didn’t get much of a change in their inhabitant, there are a lot of new exhibit signs and models for kids to play on and learn more about these winter wonderland bears.
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| KATCH THE ZOO DAY AND LEAVE THE BUSINESS-KEEPING TO US! |
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The Huntington in San Marino
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The city of Huntington Beach, California was named after Henry E. Huntington. His estate is actually located in San Marino in LA County. I 1919 the estate and its art and book collection was transferred over to a nonprofit educational trust called the Huntington Library and Botanical Gardens. Huntington died in 1927.
We recently visited Huntington and found that you can spend the entire day there and still not see it all. The gardens alone are a wonder. There is just about every climate represented, from the desert scene to the Japanese gardens. (No picnicking is allowed). Huntington has the Rose Garden Tea Room that requires reservations and costs $25 per adult. For our tea drinking clients, this is a must! The other food option is the Café which has prepackaged sandwiches and a cook to order grill. We found the grill service very slow, though. Seating inside is minimal, but ample seating outside, which is more suitable considering the surroundings. For environmental reasons there are no lids or straws for the drinks, a creature comfort we didn’t know we would miss so much.
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There are free walking tours about every two hours starting at the bottom of the stairs, once you pass through the main entrance. The tour will point out the various plants and history buildings of the estate. There is one plant that dates back to the dinosaur ages!
The cost is $15-20 for adults, $10-15 for seniors and kids. There is no benefit to ordering tickets in advance and the membership fees seemed a bit high. The library is open 4.5 hours during the week and 6 hours a day on the weekends, closed Tuesdays.
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TAKE IN THE HUNTINGTON
AND LEAVE THE BUSINESS-KEEPING TO US! |
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Encinitas
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There is a little town, just north of San Diego, called Encinitas that provides delightful opportunities to Katch the Day. Two days and two nights will do wonders to your mental batteries. The main street running through Encinitas is non other than the 101, North Coast Highway, and it has convenient freeway access off the 5 freeway at Encinitas Blvd.
You still have the amenities of San Diego near by, such as Wild Animal Park and Zoo, or Sea World, but with the small town feel. Beach access is conveniently at the end of Encinitas Blvd west, which dumps you into B Street. There is even handicapped parking right next to the sand!
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The real secret to this haven is the Quail Botanical Gardens. What a treat to walk into a garden with virtually every variety of plant found in the world. There are plants from New Zealand, Australia, the Orient, Africa, and of course our great nation. The bamboo collection alone is worth the price of admissions. They have a type of bamboo there that reaches over three stories in height, and about 9 inches in diameter. They have them clumped together so tight that the root system causes the nearby ground to sink about an inch when you step on it. There are no signs that point this out, we just started walking along and noticed the path was giving under our feet. Something to experience.
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KATCH THE DAY AT ENCINITAS
AND LEAVE YOUR BUSINESS-KEEPING TO US! |
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San Diego Zoo
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We took another trip to the San Diego Zoo; there is so much Katching the Day to do.
If you haven’t seen the pandas yet, they are a must, must see. We are members of the zoo and the inside scoop is that the pandas are on loan from China at a cost of $2,000,000 a year. So they are well worth your time, and take as many pictures as you can.
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Another great animal to observe is the giraffe. We fell in love with these long-necked creatures. Their habitat is very observant friendly, allowing you to get close without chained fences or long stretches of land separating you from the giraffes. The patch of land they live on has been raised about 5 feet with a sudden dip before the ground levels into the sidewalk. Due to the nature of giraffes, they will not just step down the dip and walk out, (which they could with those long legs), because they are in fear of tipping over if they step down that far. (You can actually feed them for an extra cost at the San Diego Wild Animal Park. This is on our Katch the Day list).
The Zoo serves up good food, lots of other animals, plants, and shopping. |
KATCH THE ZOO AND LEAVE YOUR BUSINESS-KEEPING TO US! |
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San Diego Zoo
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We wanted to katch the day with unusual company, so we slipped away to the San Diego Zoo. This zoo, nestled in Balboa Park in San Diego, is truly a jewel to explore. If you haven’t heard, Bai Yun, a Panda at the zoo, gave birth to Su Lin earlier this year, and the baby and mother are on view. Su Lin is special because pandas are not known to breed in captivity so it is a rare treat to have this baby here.
Of course, there are many more animals that are just as entertaining such as the Sun bears (only about one-fourth the |
size of a black bear). They love to play and are wonderfully photogenic. Do bring your camera and a zoom lens if you have one. Many of the animals are quite a distance from you due to the nature of certain animals’ behaviors and environments. The chimpanzees are fun to watch as they groom their hands and cuticles (at least it looked that way to us). The roars of the lionesses when the buses drove by were deep and vibrating. What a sound!
Speaking of buses, you can ride a double-deck, open-aired tour bus around the zoo for an additional price. If you walk the zoo, which we encourage, you have to be bus/pedestrian aware because you are sharing a lot of roads with these tour buses. There is also a gondola ride that takes you from one end of the park to the other for an additional charge of $3.00. |
KATCH THE ZOO AND LEAVE YOUR BUSIENSS-KEEPING TO US! |
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Additional information:
We did explore the zoo, and here are some hints to help you enjoy the zoo as well:
- Because Su Lin is the new arrival and rare one panda baby at that, the line to view her and the mother is quite long, about 1 ½ hour wait. We suggest hitting this first upon your arrival at the zoo
- A lot of the animals were napping in the afternoon. We found out from reading the literature that they are most active in the early morning and last afternoon. We didn't find much activity from the animals in late afternoon except for the sun bears that seem to always be active. So try going first thing in the morning to see the bigger animals such as the spotted bear.
- Wear comfortable shoes, hat, and sunglasses. This time of year, bring a light jacket that you can tie around your waste for easy layering of clothing.
- Parking is pretty bad. We concluded because the zoo is a non-profit, their funds are spent on parking issues but rather, well, animal issues. So be prepared to walk a ways. Because the zoo is part of Balboa Park (a big stretch of land that includes multiple museums and a theatre) you can park in various different parking lots besides the zoo (which fills up fast). There is also parking on the streets surrounding the zoo and Balboa Park . We had to park at “Inspiration Point,” a paved parking lot about 1 ½ miles from the zoo. We took the Balboa Park trolley (which runs every 8 minutes), to the Park's visitor's center. From there we walked about 5 minutes to the entrance of the Zoo. If you had small kids this would not be an easy feat. We did not see special parking, or VIP parking, but that's not to say there isn't any. But homework and some patience is definitely needed for the parking issues. Parking at Inspiration Point and the Trolley were free.
- While you're in the area, and if you have time, do check out any of the many museums in Balboa Park including the Natural Museum and the Automobile museum.
- The Globe Theatre is in Balboa Park . Great Shakespeare is performed here!
- The gondola ride at the Zoo is fun and not too expensive, though it too has a line (about a 30 minute wait). It goes pretty high and children have to be accompanied by an adult.
- There are no lights in the zoo so it opens at 9am and closes at 5pm (nightfall). Plan accordingly when traveling from Orange County . It took us 1 hr and 40 minutes from Costa Mesa to the Zoo and another 30 minutes to park and 10 minutes to walk. Though it sounds like a hardship there really is no other zoo like the San Diego zoo for hundreds of miles so we are blessed to have it so close.
- Since there is so much to see and so little daylight time, you might consider an annual membership. It's reasonable and allows you multiple visits without feeling rushed. The membership also includes unlimited admission to the San Diego Wild Animal Park . (We look forward to Katching the Day there too, in the near future)
- Check out the website for more information: www.sandiegozoo.org
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Yosemite Valley
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The summer is here, let the camping begin. We are making our almost-every-year trek to a National Park this summer. This year is an encore visit to Yosemite, in Sierra Nevada area of California.
Highlights of the park include Yosemite Valley, and its high cliffs and waterfalls; Wawona's history center and historic hotel; the Mariposa Grove, which contains hundreds of ancient giant sequoias and Glacier Point's spectacular view of Yosemite Valley and the high country, to name a few. The Valley alone |
has landmarks such as the famous Half-Dome, a rock that is shaped like half of a dome (shown in graphic). You can climb up this dome, but you should be in pretty good physical shape, and allow a very long day.
Because of the rains this past winter, the falls, there are many, are rushing over with water. You can ride a raft down the Mercede River, rent bikes and ride the many trails (or walk them), hike the low-strenuous, but rewarding, Vernal Falls trail to the top of the falls, horseback ride, or just sit by the camp fire and read a good book. All this in Yosemite Valley alone.
Yosemite Valley, the prime spot in which to camp, has three campgrounds you can chose from to make reservations (which are required). Check out the website listed to the left for all details. We will have photos available on our website in September for your enjoyment.
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Katch the National Park,
and leave the business-keeping to us! |
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Redwood National Park
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Late last summer, we seized the day and visited Redwood National Park in northern California. Now that spring is here, we are reminded of how wonderful this national park is. Located just south of the Oregon border, along the Pacific ocean, this treasure sits like a sentinel watching over our coast.
There are two main state parks within this national park that make for great camping experiences: Jedediah Smith Redwoods State Part, and Del Norte Coast Redwoods State Park.
In addition to hiking, there are four scenic drives that take you through the park and some along the coast. The 8 mile Coast Drive gives you a view of the ocean and the Klamath River. You’re likely to see whales, sea lions, and pelicans. Certain areas you can hike down to the beach which usually has very little foot traffic. For a real treat, drive up into Oregon, (about 25 minute drive) and visit Hawk’s Rest Ranch. Here you can ride a horse right on the beach for a very reasonable price.
To find out more, get directions, and make reservations for Redwoods National Park visit www.nps.gov/redw/index.htm. For information on Hawk’s Rest Ranch visit www.siskiyouwest.com |
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4.2 mile bridge between
Oregon & Washington
near Pacific Coast |
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Astoria
or end of Lewis & Clark
trek to Pacific Ocean |
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Re-creation of the
salt works by Lewis
and Clark expedition |
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