Geocaching

Get the FREE Intro to Geocaching app!

Posted on by Shawn E. Bell

Yes, I’m a big ol’ proponent of geocaching.  It’s fun.  It’s outside.  It’s almost like exercise without feeling like exercise.  It’s a great way to have fun and go places you might not necessarily normally go, see things you might have missed, and solve puzzles without having to look at a picture on a box top and wondering if that one piece out of a thousand you’re holding is a a corner or an edge piece!

Geocaching.com is now offering free Geocaching Intro apps for Android, iOS, and Windows.  From their email:

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State Parks

California State Park’s 150th Anniversary

Posted on by Shawn E. Bell

Monday, June 30 is the 150th anniversary of California’s state parks system.  Rather than celebrating this incredible achievement in California state park history at one of the hundreds of venues available throughout the state, the California State Parks Foundation and Gavin Newsom will be at Yosemite National Park.  Because, y’know, it’s a national park, not a state park.

Whatever.

Our California State Parks have been under attack for so many years – from hidden money to threatened closures to this latest snub by the government of the state – that it’s amazing that we’ve reached this milestone.  But don’t let that stop you from getting out and visiting our beautiful state and the state parks; there’s something for everyone!

Find a California state park near you HERE.

The California State Parks Foundation sent out this notice:

On Monday, members of the California State Assembly are expected to vote on a resolution by Assembly member Olsen (R-Modesto) that recognizes the 150th anniversary of the California state parks system and urges Californians to join in celebrating this important anniversary.
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Interesting Places

Santa’s Village to reopen

Posted on by Shawn E. Bell

One of my most cherished childhood memories was when my Dad piled us all into the ol’ 1970 Oldsmobile Delta 88 and we took off before sunrise from Dana Point, heading up to the San Bernardino Mountains.  This is back in the day when freeways were six lanes, Crown Valley Parkway was four lanes, and seat belts were those things stuck under the seat cushions.

I’d sit up front on the folded down armrest so I could see out the windshield and we’d drive for what seemed like hours until we finally reached the base of the mountain.

Up the road we went, clawing ever higher around the curves, Dad turning the steering wheel, me sliding between his shoulder and my Mom’s.  Up, up, and up into the clouds we drove until we finally emerged through a break in those rolling mists to see the bright Technicolor red rooftops of Santa’s Village.

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Big Bear Lake

Big Bear: The Ongoing Evolution of Stanfield Marsh

Posted on by Shawn E. Bell

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.

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General Aviation

‘USA Today’ report ‘extremely flawed,’ AOPA says

Posted on by Shawn E. Bell

USAToday, in typical sensationalistic fashion, presented a fictionalized piece about general aviation on June 18th.  I found it to be inaccurate.  Seems that I’m not the only one.

From AOPA:

A USA Today story, “Unfit for flight,” published June 18 “gets the general aviation safety record wrong, it ignores efforts by the industry to make general aviation safer, and it violates basic tenets of fairness and accuracy when it comes to good journalism,” AOPA said in response to the article.

The three-part report paints GA aircraft as death traps, pilots as “amateur,” and aircraft manufacturers as villains, and pits pilots against manufacturers. AOPA, the General Aviation Manufacturers Association, and Textron had provided information to the reporter, information that was not included in the sensational, one-sided, inaccurate report.

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