Big Bear Lake {California}

We stayed five nights with a Boondockers Welcome in Johnson Valley, California with our Israeli friends. From this base we were able to visit both Joshua Tree and Big Bear. We greatly enjoyed the mountain views and spectacular nightly sunsets at this location. Various views from the campsite:

We also had great views of the lunar eclipse!

Johnson Valley has extensive OHV trails of varying levels of difficulty. We did a little off-road exploring, but turned around when the sand became too deep. When our host found out I like birds, he invited me to sit and watch their backyard feeders. Turns out his wife is also interested in birds.

BIG BEAR

After a month of hot, sandy deserts, we were looking forward to some cool, mountain air. The only other time we visited Big Bear, the twins were only 2 years old! So this brought back such sweet memories for us.

As we approached Big Bear Lake, Journey squealed in delight when she spotted some well-fed California Ground Squirrels. They were quite cute, and accustomed to people.

While Asher fished, I birded the Woodland Trail where I had great views of a variety of birds including Mountain Chickadees.

Next we went to Bluff Lake Reserve (elevation 7600ft). Once becoming a reserve in 2000, restoration work began and a number of endangered plants and animals now call it home. The original Parent Trap and Dr Doolittle 2 were filmed here. We hiked thru towering pines along the lake and out to the meadow. 

Beautiful views coming off the mountain as we headed back to our campsite in Johnson Valley.