Palomar Mountain News

Keep your umbrellas and warm jackets handy over the next week or so.  We’re promised rain and snow each day through Sunday so far.

Just a nudge to make sure you are winterized.  I heard of quite a few broken pipes during our last snow.

Great time for touring the available listings up here and enjoying this mild winter weather!

Bonnie Phelps

March is a busy month for Palomar Mountain Kids Club! We have children aged infant to teen joining us every week, and have activities appropriate for all ages! Upcoming events:

3/6: Dress-up / Cosplay Day! Wear your favorite costumes: princess, pirate, knight, video game characters, super hero outfits, etc. Bring your septers, light sabers, tea party sets, swords, etc and come play! Melanie’s house, 9a-12p.

3/13: Observatory Tour!  Check out the new displays at the Museum, and then join us for a kid-friendly tour of the 200″ Hale Telescope. Play afterwards in the Gus Weber picnic area by the parking lot.

3/20: Storytime! Clap your hands, stomp your feet, and wiggle around as Storytime Stacy reads stories and leads the little ones in songs and dance. 9:30-10 at the Observatory Outreach Center.

3/20: Art Show! Bring your favorite works of art that you have created to display. Drawings, paintings, collages, sculptures, mosaics, quilts, sewn items — they’re all art and all welcome to display! Hands-on art activities will also be available for all ages to get creative with! (Paint will be involved, so a smock / big old t-shirt to throw on is recommended!) Immediately following storytime (10am) at the Observatory Outreach Center.

3/27: CCPM’s Egg Hunt! The Community Center of Palomar Mountain is sponsoring an Egg Hunt! 11am at the County Park on Crestline. Yay!!

For more information about Kids Club, or any of our March events, please contact Stacy at 0214 or at palomarmtnkids@gmail.com. The Palomar Mountain Kids Club meets every Tuesday at various locations around the mountain. All mountain kids are invited to join us. Hope to see you soon!

Wish you could have been with me yesterday.  Had such a fun drive on our 4WD Polaris, through this beautiful land.  Some areas still had quite a bit of snow on the ground… so enchanting. The largest boulders I’ve seen on Palomar are at the heart of the property, surrounded by some intriguing ‘hobbit trees’.  We go to the very end of Upper Meadow Road to access the property.  It is surrounded by larger parcels on three sides so it gives the feeling of even more land.

Underground utilities are to the property corner. No easements run through the land.  It’s all yours!  We have an unpainted canvas waiting for you with two albums and more details here… maps coming soon.

Would you like to be my next passenger? Come on up… let’s take off on an adventure!

Bonnie Phelps

Glen Heggsted, the Palomar landowner who defended himself, his property, his neighbor’s property and caught that crook, was featured on the NBC evening news.

He really is making it clear that bad things could happen to bad guys that want to mess with Palomar.

J Harry Jones, reporter for the SD Union Tribune also published an article that mentions the Sheriffs Department.  Apparently they tied this thief with three or four other burglaries.

Good work all.

Thank you Glen.  So glad you are ok and your message is really getting out there!

Bonnie Phelps

Editor, Palomar Mountain News since 1998

Best snow day ever with bright blue sky and the plowed, private road right to your property line!  One real advantage of owning on Conifer Road is the road maintenance arrangement that benefits all.

Yesterday I was a little curious if I could get out there for photos.  So impressed to see the road plowed all through the subdivision.  What a treat to hike around the land.  That largest photo above is the view from the building site.  You can enjoy the refurbished container while planning your dream home on this beautiful land. Lots more snow photos at album here.  Then, put your boots on, grab your mittens and let’s go!  Come on up!

Lovin’ this SNOW!

Bonnie Phelps

It is about to get towed!  Quick, move it quick!

The car has been parked on Robert’s property, but off the road for the last week or so.  He is guessing it belongs to a local.

During snow, be sure to always park off the road, on the outside of the white line to prevent getting towed.

From:  Robert Carlyle

Someone in a white Toyota (last 4 digits: A083), parked on Bailey Meadow Road. This means that the snow plow can’t plow the road and trying to go around it in the snow and ice will most likely smash in the side trying to get by. I’m told they are going to tow it per the California Vehicle Code which prohibits parking on roads + inhibiting snow plow snow removal.

About 2:00 today I was on the phone with a property owner of one of my listings.  We were talking about the weather since he has a crew finishing up at few things at his property to get escrow closed.  I clicked online and saw the snow predicted tonight plus tomorrow should be about 7 inches total at the most.

A few minutes ago, I went on line again to read the forecast to the buyer’s agent.  Ohmygoodness!!!!  At this very moment, the forecast has jumped to a possibility of 21 inches in the next 24 hours!  Snow maybe at 2500 feet and lots of that white stuff.  Well, all the mountain kids are excited!

Here are Snow Tips for property owners and visitors.  Bundle up and enjoy this beautiful weather heading our way!

We have the best parking in town, great sled runs and lots of hot chocolate.  Love to have you pop by!

Bonnie and Don

One of the squatter/thieves was caught where he came back for another load on South Grade!

The property owner is pretty excited after catching one of the crooks this morning! That felon from San Bernardino was hauled off where he belongs.  Neighbor, Glen Heggstad, a 65-year-old man who happens to be a jujitsu teacher, was ready for him.  After the criminal adopted an aggressive posture, Glen had no choice but to give him a message to take back to jail, after a first stop at the hospital.

A neighbor drove in early this morning and saw a pick up truck he didn’t recognize.  It was near the cabin where the squatters had made themselves at home.  The neighbor called the property owner who promptly contacted other neighbors and the Sheriff on his way to detain the crook.  This one was not getting away.

The property owner was able to defend himself and his property and with help from another neighbor with a rifle, detained the squatter/thief until the sheriff arrived.  They made it perfectly clear that Palomar Mountain has zero tolerance for that kind of activity and encouraged him to tell all his buddies to stay away from Palomar. They are pretty confident their message sunk in and made quite an impact.

“That was the whole point of the extensive discussion I had with the suspect was to direct public attention to the fact that messing around on Palomar Mountain could be hazardous to your health.”, said Glen.

They encouraged the thief to tell where he towed the trailer that he stole and he readily gave them that info.  They also found much of their stolen property in his truck.  Included was a camera with many photos of their items, plus items perhaps stolen from other areas.  These photos were apparently ready for the crook to post for a quick sale.  His gig is over but his girlfriend (he willingly provided her name when questioned -what a guy!) and perhaps another squatter are still out there.

Glen and his brother were able to pick up their trailer and the Sheriff’s Department released the rest of their stolen goods today.

Fresh tracks for a dually truck were on his brother’s property that was also involved so all are keeping a lookout for a dually that matches those tracks. If anyone has any info to pass on just reply and I’ll connect you with the heroes.   You may also call the Valley Center Sheriff’s Office.  They will probably recognize the case as the one where, thankfully, the property owner is a little sore, but fine and the crook left the mountain with a broken jaw and multiple injuries in an ambulance.

Connect with your neighbors and really keep an extra-watchful eye out.

A property owner that was up last weekend, arrived at his gate yesterday to see it had been damaged.  Lowlife had brought up camp chairs, had a campfire going and really made themselves at home.  When the owner arrived, no one was there but they left his generator running and a pitcher of iced tea.  So he missed them maybe by just a few minutes.  The thieves loaded up his utility trailer and hauled off things with other stuff staged for the next trip.

The bottom-dwelling bad guys found a road that connects neighboring properties including a nice cabin to ransack and move in out of the cold.  Had their clothes and food there and were really settling in.

They also had brought a wheel barrow to the property that was full of tools.  If you have a wheel barrow and tools missing, the guess is it might have been stolen from another property. Reply and I’ll connect you with the property owner.  The sheriff was up for a report.

Let’s all be good neighbors.

Take photos if you see anything suspicious.

Get that license plate number.

Set. Up. Trail. Cams.    Like trail cams installed?  Talk to Frank!

Let’s get these guys.

There I was, a damsel in distress.  I’d been called and asked to follow a propane truck into a property.  The top of the driveway was pretty slick with snow/icy area that was also pretty steep.   The driver really knew what he was doing to slide that truck down but also knew he wasn’t coming out again unless that the situation was different.

I’d ran home for a couple shovels and was working with one, waiting for the propane guy to finish filling an empty tank.

Then Wes Bergman showed up.  He pulled over, got a shovel out of the back of his truck (everyone one knows you should always keep a shovel in the back of your vehicle when white stuff is present), and went to work.  Ice was broken up, some slushy snow shoveled aside and (ta da!!!) he throw dirt in the tracks!  What a great idea.  The propane guy drove right out and we all got home to dinner much earlier than the driver and I ever thought we would.

Thanks Wes!