Big Bear Chili Cookoff
Saturday, July 11th
10:00am – 5:00pm
Bartlett Street Parking Lot
Chili Tasting Kits: $5.00
This is an official International Chili Society sanctioned event. If you can get here, GET HERE!
As a member of a number of different groups, I sometimes notice stupid people with internet testicles getting their dander up over a supposed wrong that someone else did to them while driving in the mountains. Here’s the latest:
This was publicly posted by some chick:
Hello big bear residents,
Today we were driving down the 38 around 12:30ish and we encountered a very rude and inconsiderate driver. He was riding our tail ,swerving,honking his horn and giving us the finger. We finally pulled over to let him pass. He did the same thing to the driver in front of him until we passed the Yucaipa turn off. I took a picture of his car and license plate and we started to flip me off again as we approach him to tell him to pull over this driver cut us off and took off down lugonia driving like a total jerk. This man with long white hair was driving like a total A.. and could of caused a major accident and he didn’t care. I believe this person is a big bear local with several stickers on his gray Nissan rogue. You are an inconsiderate driver and your behavior was uncalled for!!
I responded with:
So … you didn’t pull over to let him pass, you chased him, and you tried to pull him over.
Are you the police? If you’re not, then use the turn outs, don’t chase people, and don’t try to pull them over. That’s how accidents and road rage incidents happen.
Leave the actual policing to law enforcement.
Jim Steinberg has posted over at the San Bernardino Sun about the much anticipated re-opening of Santa’s Village. Some of you young folks may not know what Santa’s Village is, as it closed back in 1998. from Wikipedia:
Santa’s Village was a winter-themed amusement park in the Skyforest section of Lake Arrowhead, California. Opened in 1955, it was the first franchised amusement park, one of three built by developer Glenn Holland. The others, also defunct, were in Scotts Valley, California and East Dundee, Illinois.
Opening more than a month before Disneyland, the 220-acre park was one of Southern California’s biggest tourist attractions. It boasted kiddie rides, including a bobsled, monorail, and Ferris wheel; a petting zoo; live reindeer; and shops that included a bakery, candy kitchen, and toy shop. Continue reading
Vanessa Finney has written about the Stanfield Marsh over on 93.3FM KBHR’s website. If you haven’t visited, it’s a lovely walk. From the article:
A favorite scenic spot in Big Bear is the Stanfield Marsh Wildlife and Waterfowl Habitat that extends east from Stanfield Cutoff. Visitors can park in the southwest corner, stop by the wooden gazebo acting as an informational kiosk, then stroll along the water on the wooden walkway. The wooden walkway has a dual purpose: to encourage pedestrians to avoid the highway, and to provide cover for nesting waterfowl. But waterfowl didn’t always have such a haven. In 1982, the Big Bear Municipal Water District (MWD) designated the 145 acre Marsh as a wildlife preserve. Today the many beneficiaries of the project include aquatic species, wetland species, winteríng and breeding waterfowl, wintering bald eagles, Osprey and summer resident and potentially nesting pelicans. The best time of day for people to visit the Preserve for wildlife watching is early morning or late afternoon when the ducks and fish are looking for food.
There’s a little (no pun intended) secret about the 1/3 scale 16th century Spanish galleon replica that tours Big bear Lake: it was the tiny ship used in the Terry Gilliam film Time Bandits, which featured a cast of men of diminutive size.
During this latest (and, so far this year’s only) storm which brought snow to the San Bernardino Mountains and caused some people to get all wound up and and start calling it a ‘class 1 hurricane’ the Time Bandit ship was sunk. Maybe it was the high winds, the rain, or the snow. At this point, the only thing known is that the 27-ton ship is sitting on the bottom of Davy Jone’s locker. Okay, Big Bear Lake can’t really qualify as his locker … maybe it’s more like Davy Jone’s Smallish Cupboard.
