Campo Days - free museums and fun

Friday  -  Cinco de Mayo:

Friday was Cinco de Mayo, but the big celebration will be in Old Town on Saturday May 6.  For sure it’ll be more crowded then and I have other plans.

The only entertainment today is on the small stage if Casa de Reyes.  They will have a Folkloric group and a Mariachi group.  But the real fun will be Saturday.  Here’s a link when I brought Flat Stanley here a years ago.   Cinco de Mayo with Flat Stanley.

I’ve blogged both often enough on Old Town, so today I’ll wander the lesser known areas of old Town State Park.

The herrera (a feminine black smith) was showing of a sword hammered from an old car spring.

Only 2 donkeys in the corral.

New to me at Old Town is pay-to-park.  The 2 big city parking lots were asking $12 for the day!  A sign of things to come as San Diego continues to push for more use of their trolley system.

I had a FREE spot in the small lot owned by the state park.  FREE parking is also available at Caltrans after 5pm and on the weekends.  But guess I may start taking the trolley.

I stopped for my lunch with a margarita and tamale at Barra Barra.

Their tamales are interesting in that they have a bed of masa with my selected filling and salsa on top.  Although the masa is from their bulk bin the toppings are fresh.  Way better than the microwave ones some places serve.  Kinda like an ‘open faced’ tamale.

I’ll close with the flowers I saw in bloom in the park.

Saturday  -  Campo Days:

This is the first Campo Days since Covid.  The little town of Campo opens itself to attract guests.  And I was one of them.  All 4 of the towns museums are opened to the public free of charge.  

With the new water pump in Fran’s Jeep, I figured this trip would be a good test.  I chose to take 94 east through the Jumal Valley, Delzura, Tecate and Portero.

A lone tree rear the Tecate divide, prompted me to take a photo while driving.

After lots of turns, twists, gear changes and ear popping I arrived at the community of Campo.

Pacific Southwest Railway Museum:

The Railway Museum was right there as I entered Campo and makes an easy 1st stop.

There are a lot of signs to highlight the history of Campo; of railroads in the central valley; and the museum along with its collections.

Their trains no longer run to Tecate but still provide a nice ride through the area. Quite a few folks were taking advantage of the opportunity.

I continued following the signage and the tracks east to the Exhibit Hall.  In the past it was included with the purchase of the train ticket.  But today it is free.

These 2 have both run the San Diego to Yuma route.  Behind one is the parlor care of John D Spreckles, the sugar and shipping money that help finance the ‘Impossible Railway’.

The walls contain a collection of articles and photos of the Impossible Railway.  Certainly the most complete collection I have seen.

The many yards of the outside exhibits include one of the original San Diego & Arizona Railway engines.

Camp Lockett:

My next stop was Camp Lockett and its Equestrian Center.

Camp Lockett is where the 'Buffalo Soldiers’ trained, along with the Cavalry.  This day the grounds were being used for a rodeo event and open to the public.

and way too peopley

Camp Lockett is the 1st stop for those hiking the Pacific Crest Trail.  Camping and a shelter are provided for the hikers.

I had to back track a bit for the Buffalo Soldier Museum.  To get there I followed this water truck as it resurfaced the dirt road.

The numerous abandoned and boarded up buildings on the camp’s grounds certainly show the size of this establishment in its heyday.  Several buildings are still in use including the post office and hardware store.

The museum itself is in an old house on the grounds.

Oops my camera settings allowed for this one usable picture from inside the museum.

That shows the nurses that worked here in the army's first convalescent hospital.

To mark the training site, stands … you guessed it:

Just as I was leaving:

dang I could have taken the stage here.

During the Indian wars it was said the black army, with their black curly hair, fought like ‘wild buffalos’ and the name stuck.

FYI - if you are interested the best Buffalo Soldier exhibit we have seen, check out Fort Huachuca, AZ.

Campo Stone Store:

The infamous Campo Shootout took place after a robbery at the old stone Campo Store.

Now a museum, the shelves are stocked with item form the times.

The store sits on the wagon road between San Diego and Fort Yuma.

Much of the old wagon road is preserved in Campo and the road now provides easy hiking and picnic areas.

The road was used by freight wagons, like this restored one.

Motor Transport Museum:

My favorite are the old trucks, plentiful at the Motor Transport Museum.  Like this homemade RV.

There are a lot of rusty trucks here.

But even better than the old and rusty are the restored and functional.
A working fire wagon

Or an old bus converted to an RV

and a toy hauler, note the right hand drive on the 33 Riley!

They are currently restoring a Gotfredson delivery truck.  At least the chassis looks great in its powdered coated bumblebee yellow. 

The museum is on the grounds of the Feldspar Processing Plant.  Feldspar was mined nearby, crushed, then filtered through screens as it fell through the tower.  The filtered feldspar was shipped by rail to be manufactured into ceramic or porcelain.

And look who is also here today!

Mater from Radiator Springs (~Disney movie Cars).

Sunday  -  Family:

The kids, Kami and Jason are having their house painted.  That means relocating all the raised veggie beds and many of the flowers in the garden.  The hill is being relandscaped with their relocated flowers and my donations of agapanthus and tiger lilly. 

I also had a plumeria that is ready to receive a forever home.

The original veggie patch was alongside the house on the sunny south side.

and being reassembled, at least some of it, in the backyard as part of the retaining wall.

The couple asparagus octopus roots they started have now grown into an enormous cloned cluster.  After Jason dug out the roots, Kami divided them into almost two dozen new starts.  She gave a few away!

Doesn't look great now?, but there is still more to do!

We all went or lunch at In and Out to catch Aj at work.  She has passed station 6 (flipping burgers) at the perfect time and has been asked to apply to In and Out University to enter management.  But Aj has other plans.

She has been challenged by Embry-Riddle to enter into their aerospace program.  Nice scholarship package included.  She will be starting in Prescott in August.

Congrats Aj !!!!

I know this post is a bit long winded, but I had a busy weekend to share.  I hope you had a great weekend too!

Mt Laguna - Sunrise Highway

With new closures going into effect Sunday 12/6, San Diego County will shut down all county campgrounds and playgrounds, residents will be under Stay at Home orders through Christmas.  All state campgrounds in the county are again closing.  Indoor activities like dining, museums, visitor centers, etc. have been closed since March!

I decided to head to the local mountains again.  I last explored the Cuyamacas (California state), and decided to take on the Lagunas (National Forest).

Parking on the Sunrise Highway requires an Adventure Pass, or the America the Beautiful Card.  I just place the ‘geezer’ card on the dash when I park.

The views to the east are stunning, looking a bit like the Smokey Mountains.

Saw this sign on the Mt Laguna Store.

the Al Bahr Shrine Lodge and Campground was destroyed in 2013 by the Chariot Wildfire.  Fran and I stayed there shortly before the fire.

On the opposite side of S-1 is a new observation deck and rest area for the hikers where the Pacific Crest Trail meets the highway.

There’s parking on both sides of the street at the Penny Pines Trailhead.  This is a tribute to the children and organizations that collected pennies to help reforestation.  This short loop trail goes through the trees that were planted.

Adjacent is the trailhead to Garnet Peak.  

All of the trees that survived the fire carry heavy scars.

The trail has been recently maintained with the chaparral cut back, but the footing is a bit uneven.

Just a 100 yards in – Ka-Ching!  The view goes on the Chocolate Mountains in the distance with the Salton Sea in the foreground.

The trail continues to provide beautiful views over the Anza Borrego Desert.

There’s a couple guys ahead of me already at the top.

They’re easier to see when I zoom in.

I had planned to stop at the Pioneer Mail Picnic Site,  Alas, like the Desert View Picnic Site it is closed.  On the Google Maps it shows the Sunrise Scenic Byway on the half mile trail to Kwaaymii Point.  The Kwaaymii are closely related to the better known Kumeyaay.  

Highway S-1 was rerouted, apparently after the scenic designation.  Old road is now a wide trail.

The views from Kwaaymii Point are among the best, and this was a great day to enjoy them.

Just below the viewpoint on the Mail Trail are many memorials.  Although this is a popular spot for hang gliding, these are not memorials to them.  I offered this spot to dad as a place to release his ashes, he chose Font’s Point, which I agree worked out better.  I suspect the memorials are for those whose ashes were released here, or it was just a favorite spot.

The road into Julian was golden.  I call this color California Gold, after the PBS series of the same name.

Julian is not that big and it was pretty crowded.  The restaurants have taken over the sidewalks, as there is no indoor dining.  But cars are still parked on the street, forcing pedestrians to walk in the traffic lanes. 

Too many people without masks.  I went over to Julian Pie for a frozen Apple Mountain Berry.  No such luck. 

I was parked at the stairs to the Julian Pioneer Cemetery.  I went up the stairs to explore these memorials. 

The cemetery has been in continuous use since 1879.

Marshall South from Ghost Mountain has a new headstone. 

There is a cerca 1947 8mm movie on YouTube narrated by Rider South that shows a bit of what life was like.

The ruins of Yaquitepec, the South home, on Ghost Mountain are a popular destination above Blair Valley.

I left Julian without a pie, but expected to pick one up at their Pie shop in Santa Ysabel.  But the high winds had knocked out the power to the entire community.

Determined not to go home empty handed I called Edwards Vineyards … yes I do have their number on my phone :)  Beth  informed they were also without power and were not going to offer tastings.  That was OK I gave her my order, which included their 2014 Estate Syrah.  She said to come to the house rather than the closed tasting room.

I left Edwards with the Syrah, the winner of this year's family wine off and a spare, along with the petite sister.

Now it’s back to Covid lockdowns :(

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