Palomar Mountain News

It should be ok. The Forest Service is doing a burn for as a fire break for safety. From the Crestline area, it is off to the east (right) of the Observatory.

From: Dana Barre, USFS

We are planning a prescribed burn for tomorrow (Wed., 5/14) near High Point lookout off the Palomar Divide – 58 acres.

Dana Barre, USFS

After being very loyal for years to Verizon, things changed. I’ve talked to two different technicians up here telling me Verizon has taken all their antennas down and Palomar towers only have AT&T. From what I understand, that impacts other carriers, too. So we moved to ATT and took our numbers with us.

So, with a tip from a friend, we went to Costco and and are very pleased with our new rates and brand new ‘free’ iPhone 16 Pro Max phones. Coverage is so much better at home and all over the mountain.

Another neighbor is very happy with his Red Pocket Phone Plan. I just glanced at their webpage and that is sure worth checking into.

Just thought I’d pass on the info because I have realized, I’m not longer needing to say “Can you hear me now?” The camera on this new phone is amazing, too!

Bonnie Phelps, Realtor running out to take new listing pix!

Same number: 760-533-1742

How about some fun Jazz Music tonight? 6:00 at Heros Restaurant and Wood Fired Pizza in Wynola.

We had a preview session this morning. Chris Clarke saw the post about Cecelia playing her guitar at the last Dumpster Day and brought his mandolin today. Be sure to see the video below for just a tease of what is waiting for you tonight. Five musicians will be entertaining you on a deep bass, guitar, fiddle, banjo and his beautiful mandolin.

One of the band is someone who Chris has known for 14 years. He now happens to be one of the instructors at the Julian Fiddle Camp next week. There are still openings! Click to check out their website.

Chris is booked up 6 months in advance at Hero’s if you’d like to plan ahead. Simply scroll to the bottom of his website for the dates. Here is a little intro to the fun time tonight:

Last minute dumpster tomorrow, Saturday, May 3rd. Gate is to open at 8 AM to noon. First come, first served. If there is still room, we’ll let you know when it will be open again.

The dumpster location has moved from the Fire Station and is in Robert Carlyle’s yard. Take State Park Road to Bailey Meadow. It is the first driveway on the right as you enter Bailey Meadow Road. Such a great location! Much easier to load and thank you to Robert for being the Official Tractor Guy for Dumpster Days!

The usual rules apply: No tires, paint, HAZMAT, e-waste, Lg appliances. Questions? Call Cecelia at 760-594-4688

Music? Yes, we popped by to see how things were coming along. It was warm and Robert and Cecelia had just set down to relax a minute under a beautiful oak tree. Robert and Don caught up on the latest while we all enjoyed Cecelia practicing her guitar.

Dumpster Days is a very fun social event. Last time after we thought it was full, Robert smushed it down with his tractor made more room and with a volunteer on top, late morning folks lines up and we got it all in! It was so fun to see people I hadn’t seen in a long time. I highly recommend loading up your stuff and showing up, say hello to your neighbors and enjoy the music!

New listings are springing up just like the daffodils all ’round the mountain! However, we do need to take the weekend off from the sunny skies we’ve been enjoying. Tomorrow should be fun with a tease of wind, thunderstorms and dusting of snow!

These beautiful flowers are waiting for you at the Little Green Cabin in the Woods. I’ll be turning the heat on in the morning for our first showing of the day. Glad to make sure it is toasty for you to see, too! Grab your jackets and and let’s explore a sparkling clean, move-in-ready cabin. It has very usable land for a weekend getaway, full time living or a vacation rental on this beautiful mountain.

Looking for something big enough for your ‘Brady Bunch’? Bring them up to see Knotty Pine Cabin off Bailey Meadow Road. Built with love in 1958, it has wonderful vintage charm with the big stone fireplace and original wood floors. Let’s go see the updates along the way.

We finally closed escrow on that fun, fixer cabin that needed buyers with a true Spirit of Adventure. The new owners are so excited to have maybe a last peek of a Winter Wonderland for their first weekend to start checking off their project list. They have great plans to restore their little cabin to treasure for many years to come.

We have been busy working together with sellers and surveyors and tree people and clean up crews to get a few more listings headed your real soon! Whew! What is on your wish list? Let’s make those dreams come true!

Thinking about selling? Always glad to get those questions answered.

Bonnie Phelps, Realtor opening doors for new Spring Listings for YOU!

760-533-1742

It’s a little late for this double oak to get in on the Dead and Dying Tree Grant. So sorry for the garage and two roofs over the cabin. Glad no one was hurt and the propane tanks weren’t damaged.

Just off the phone with Stan Hill in charge of the Dead and Dying Tree Grant. He said it has funded and they should be working on the first properties by the end of May. They have already identified 200 trees for the grant. Room for more!

This first phase of the grant is for Crestline and Birch Hill. The next one will be in Bailey area. Have you signed up? This oak was very obviously a GSOB tree. One easy way to tell is they don’t lose their fall leaves. Even after all our snow and wind, those leaves are still hanging tight. The stump on the right was cut some time ago according to the next door neighbor. He was so surprised to see it hollow inside. Questions about your trees? Stan Hill’s contact info is below and more than glad to help.

Go out, look around and and see if there is a tree withing 150 feet of a habitable structure. Maybe it is on your neighbor’s land! We can get their contact info and let’s get them signed up. Those standing dead fir trees are pretty famous for having the tops snap out in storms. One even ‘remodeled’ a kitchen a few years ago.

Let’s work together to help make Palomar more fire safe.

Here is the QR code to sign up in less than a minute. Please share with your neighbors:

Stan Hill, Forestry & Fire Prevention Project Manager

Office Tel: (619) 562-0096 Ext. 110

Cell: 951-553-3013 stan.hill@rcdsandiego.org

Check out the newsletter from the State Park: http://www.friendsofpalomarsp.org/newsletter–brochure.html Thanks to Rosemary Johnston for sending our way. The Apple Festival is in the works and the date will be provided soon.

Meanwhile, more good news: The kiosk will be open mid April going forward Friday, Saturday and Sunday.

You just never know when you’re going to meet a new friend! During the snow, I ran out early one morning to take some fun pix. At the top of the South Grade early snow bunnies had arrived. One car stood out with a gal sitting at the drivers seat looking a little perplexed. I drove by, got out for a pic of the new campground sign and was planning to turn around to go back to see if she needed help. As I headed toward my car, she was walking my way.

Monika came up from Orange County that morning with a big bag of keys. It was her first time to the Mountain and had no idea we had snow this time of year. She works for a company that recently acquired the largest tower farm on Palomar and provides the maintenance for the property. It is leased to the CIA, FBI, Homeland Security, San Diego Sheriffs Department and Air Traffic Control. A back up generator runs on propane during our power outages.

The former owners had sent keys. We went to the gate but none of them seemed to fit. Some of the locks were combos so decided to go to our house, warm up in front of the fire and make some calls while taking advantage of StarStrucks Coffee Bar. She left messages and we took off on a fun tour of our Winter Wonderland. Eventually she had some call-backs but no one had a combo for us. Then we needed to take a break for lunch, of course!

We decided to try the gate one more time since a propane company was to deliver and the generator was to be serviced in a few days. We loaded up my car with a pretty standard supply of tools when I get keys in the mail for new listings; Shovels, bolt cutters, extra padlock and WD40 – just in case.

Thinking positive, I started shoveling in front to the gate while Monika tried the keys again. No luck and the heavy chain was not going to open for two gals with bolt cutters, so she sprayed the locks with WD40. Worked like magic! One of the keys finally fit and she was in! All the buildings have their own key and everything is double locked. She was able to mark all the keys but then we had to lock up. It took all four hands working together to finally get those tight locks linked up as my extra padlock only gave us an extra half inch.

In the middle of the night, I woke up thinking about these two giggling gals fumbling with closing the locks and heavy chain. I went over the next day and added one more padlock. Ah, that made a difference. Monika will have a much improved system for all these important agencies real soon.

When you need shoveling done or your padlocks opened just let me know!

Bonnie Phelps, Full Service Realtor with a new friend!

760-533-1742

From: Rosemary Johnston

Associate State Archeologist (Sacramento and San Diego, CA) – Deadlines extend into late March! 

Join us as a leader in archeological and cultural resource management! In this role, you will have the opportunity to conduct research, provide expert advice, contribute to publications, and lead staff in archeological projects. You will also manage federal and state funding, represent the department in key discussions, and take on various exciting tasks in the field! With two rewarding opportunities to apply for, now is your chance to make a difference at California State Parks. Click here to learn more! 

This great map is from Stan Hill, in charge of the grant. According to his records, everyone in pink already signed up. The purple color has already had foresters check the trees and you can see dots on each parcel for trees they identified. If you think they missed some, simply connect with Stan.

All the white parcels have not signed up to take advantage of this free service. If you have some dead or dying trees in this area of the mountain, be sure to click on the QR code within this prior post to sign up. Do you know of trees that need attention on a neighbor’s land? Please forward them this info.

Let’s work together to make Palomar more firesafe,

Bonnie Phelps, Realtor

760-533-1742