We Love The Stars Too Fondly

Some time back, probably two months or more ago, I speculated idly about the names of the mountains due east of us. Looking over our backyard wall, past the water tanks and high-tension power lines:

Most prominent, on the right, there’s a mountain with three peaks. Off in the distance to the left is a taller peak, which has occasionally had snow on the top this winter.

I hadn’t gotten far in searching the internet and various map sites to see where they might be clearly identified, but then I stumbled on the information in Google Earth while looking for something else.

The nearby triple peaked mountain is called The Pinnacles, and it has a number of hiking trails out of the Mojave River Forks Regional Park. Several of them going all the way to the top are rated “Moderate” or “Difficult,” so I may not be hiking any of them this weekend.

Behind The Pinnacles from our viewpoint, off to the northeast, is Butler Peak, which apparently goes up to 8,537 feet, thus explaining the snow. There are trails there as well, but again, not this weekend.

Hidden from our location, off due east behind The Pinnacles, are Keller Peak and then San Gorgonio Mountain, and off to the southeast outside of Palm Springs is Mt San Jacinto, with the Palm Springs Aerial Tram leading up to the top. We’ve done that.

It’s nice to have names. It helps me feel oriented.

A couple days ago I was curious about the circles cut out of our concrete patio and lined with paving stones, wondering if there was a specific name for them.

Google is nothing but AI bullshit these days and ID’s it as a fire pit. WRONG!

However, looking at it as a landscaping feature and searching for that came up with a whole slew of landscaping contractors who referred to it as…

…A “TREE CIRCLE!”

That may not definitive, but I like it so I’m going to use that term. It’s a tiny bit whimsical, like a fae fairy circle but done in concrete, rebar, and industrial paving stones! The juxtaposition is every so tasty!

Getting out into the community.

The Long-Suffering Wife got an annual family pass to the local museum, which turns out to be an annual family pass to ALL of the San Bernardino County museums, which turns out to be a group of five. She wanted to go tour the local museum after our usual Sunday morning breakfast, which turned out to be a great idea.

It was lovely! A ton of stuff about the history of the area, the whole Roy Rogers & Dale Evans connection, and so on. Also some stuffed critters.

It also turns out that every Sunday morning the local farmer’s market is in the parking lot there. Lesson learned – next time don’t eat breakfast and then come here, just come here and get breakfast! Several very nice BBQ & Mexican food trucks that we were too stuffed to sample.

But the radishes were huge (I was afraid I had gotten beets by mistake) and carrots.

Onion, potatoes, garlic, strawberries, and blueberries, all disgustingly fresh. We’re gonna be eating so healthy…

Remember how I was bitching about not getting enough varieties of apples that aren’t developed and grown for the major grocery store chain markets? Something else to keep an eye out for in future weeks. And oranges. And pears. And…