The theme of local exploration continued over our Thanksgiving holiday weekend. Eager to avoid the “Black Friday” crowds and shopping (did I mention that I’m allergic to malls?) and knowing that we’d be stuffing our faces with rich foods on Thanksgiving itself, I had planned a short family hike for that Friday. We’d go to […]

In my previous post, Top 10 Things to do Between Trips, “local exploration” was 2nd on the list. Exploring the local (and not-so-local) backroads has been a favorite hobby of mine over the last 15 years, so I thought I should delve into it a little more here. No matter where I have lived, I’ve […]

Big Pine Flat Trail Date Driven: 10/24-25/13 Length: 26.6 miles My drive time: 3 hours Start: intersection of Green Valley Lake Road and Crab Flats Road, N34º 14.013′ W117º 05.364′ End: At pavement at Holcomb Valley Road, N34º 18.214′ W116º 49.355′ GPS Track: GPX or KMZ format. (right click -> Save As) Source(s): Trail “South […]

  Friday After completing Big Pine Flat Trail, it was a short drive into Big Bear City where we planned to refuel and pick up some food. Despite its name, it more like a mountain town than a city, with a population of about 12,000. Driving down what seemed to be the main drag looking […]