Holcomb Valley - gold and beauty

The valley is located in the San Bernardino Mountains, in Southern California

When I was a young boy, in the 20th century, my father took me gold panning in the San Bernardino Mountains in the early spring. We spent countless hours on this stream or that stream and finally, after those countless hours, my father stated, “It’s all been played out.”

I didn’t know what that meant, unless he was mentioning how I would tucker-out after playing sports all day with my friends.

“He’s played out.”

My mother would nod her head. “He looks played out.”

Turns out, what he meant was there was no gold to be found where we had been panning.

That wasn’t the case in May of 1860, when gold was found in those same San Bernardino Mountains by William F. Holcomb and Ben Choteau – wonder why it was named Holcomb Valley later on? Perhaps Ben’s last name sounded like somewhere one would spend the weekend in the French winery in the country.

Thar’s gold in them hills!

Anyway, gold was found by these two gentlemen, and like any gold discovery secrecy was not very secret.

“You know, Holcomb found gold right beneath the surface up in the mountains,” a miner stated to another miner – I wasn’t there for this conversation.

“What about Choteau?”

“I think he’s introducing a new vintage of Chardonnay soon.”

An arrastre, where the miners ground the quartz into manageable pieces

With the news of the gold, literally being dug out of the ground in the valley just north of present day Big Bear Lake, prospectors flooded the area looking for their own dreams of riches.
It should be noted, that gold was considered a precious metal during those days, not like today. No one would desire a gold necklace, earrings or bracelet during these enlightened times we now live. That would be just a waste of sparkly minerals and be so personally shallow.

Laureen, are you reading this?

Within months, the area boasted a population of 1,500 people. That doesn’t sound like a lot of folks, but it was. Considering the hardship these pioneers had to endure just to reach the mountain top from the San Bernardino valleys far below this was a lot of people.

Holcomb valley is rich in beauty, not just gold

Seems there is a theme when I write many of these articles, the fortitude and strength these adventurers showed is truly awe inspiring.

To get to Holcomb Valley today, we simply drive up in our comfy vehicles, turn on to a dirt road and within a short time are motoring around a beautiful serene mountain valley. Lush, with green grasses, willowy bushes, and tall proud pines.

This gold discovery occurred just a short decade after California had become a state. This new and very large piece of real estate was a titch over 2,600 miles from the capital of the United States in Washington D.C.  This was really new land for exploring – all of these pioneers were a tough breed to venture so far from ‘civilized’ civilization on the east coast.

But even prior to Holcomb and Choteau, this valley, as well as the Big Bear Valley – before it was known as such, was the part-time residence of the Serrano Native American’s. They would migrate to the mountains during the late spring and summer months to get out of the heat of the below deserts or lands near modern day San Bernardino. Here they would hunt, gather food stuffs and fish in the mountain creeks. With the coming of the cold winter, they would travel off the mountain and back to the deserts below.

Then, around 1845 a posse of about twenty men, led by Benjamin Wilson – who would be the grandfather of General George S. Patton - rode into Big Bear Valley chasing a couple of outlaws, who had been raiding ranches in what would later become the city of Riverside. Not sure if they caught the desperadoes, but what they did find was the land crawling with Grizzly Bears – thus how Big Bear obtained its current name.

Yes, I wrote – Grizzly Bears, as in grizzles!

The hunt for bear skins was on and, unfortunately, research indicates that around 1906 the last Grizzly Bear was killed in the mountains. In October of 1916, supposedly, the last Grizzly Bear was killed in California by a farmer by the name of Cornelius B. Johnson in Los Angeles County.
Strange that the Grizzly Bear was named California’s official State Animal in 1953. Humans wiped them out – perhaps it was a way of saying, Hey, we’re sorry.

We're sorry for wiping you out - forgive us?

Back to Holcomb Valley.

With that discovery of gold, and the secret out, the valley was soon swarming with miners, shop owners, gamblers, whiskey suppliers, and all kinds of other folks who saw there were other ways of making a fortune without getting their fingernails dirty.

The town of Belleville, was born in the booming Holcomb Valley. Literally, the name was delivered by the birth of the first child in the valley named Belle. The citizens thought, in honor of this brave little girl coming into such a rough and tumble world, they would name the town after her.

Laureen looking out of the window of an early settler cabin

Belleville soon was the fourth largest town in Southern California, but with many of the unsavory characters who found their way up the mountain, it also became a rather desperate place to live. True frontier justice – that’d be vigilante justice, was the norm for the day to try to corral these bad hombres.

Hang in there Belle!

The gold kept coming and the miners kept digging. Soon, this area was producing the most gold and wealth of any other mining area in Southern California.

But with all things golden, the time for Belleville started to decline and by 1870 most of the population had moved on for other golden opportunities. Soon, nothing was left but a valley scarred by the remnants of past mining activities amidst one or two reminders that humans once resided here.
A drive through the valley is well worth the time. There is an interpretative guide that can be picked up at the Big Bear Discovery Center in Fawnskin, which will point out some pretty interesting places in Holcomb Valley – a miner’s cabin, a slag pile from past gold diggings, an arrastre, and so many other sites to view.

John standing in the same settler cabin, looking oh so cool

So, get out of the heat of the desert and take a historical drive through Holcomb Valley or a mountain valley near you - if there is one. When Laureen and I went, it was twenty-one degrees cooler. That alone is worth the drive, when the summer sizzles and the thermometer is reaching a hundred and seventy degrees.

Stay cool, our friends.

A Little Zoo with a Big Heart

The first time I ever encountered a grizzly bear was in Yellowstone National Park. A gorgeous hiking trail led me through magnificent, awe inspiring vistas. Passing beneath an umbrella of Engelmann spruce, just enjoying the remoteness of the park, I suddenly stopped in my tracks. Fifty feet from where my boots stopped, was what appeared to be a juvenile grizzly bear sleeping a few feet off of the trail.

Being the wise outdoors man, I stopped and took out my camera. What a great opportunity for a photo of this marvelous creature in its natural surroundings. It dawned on me, as I was snapping a few photos, the warnings of the national park concerning such encounters.

Please keep a distance of 300 hundreds yards and the parks bears.

As the juvenile opened its peepers, raised its rather large furry head, and stared at me, I thought, hmmm, maybe there is something to the warnings, after all. After five quick snaps with the camera, I slowly backed up the trail. By the time junior stood up and started sniffing the air, I was barreling down the trail I had come by, trying not to look like a tasty salmon in the process.

No, John didn't ride like Putin - he ran from the bear

“I’m glad your life insurance is paid up,” my lovely spouse, Laureen, said after I returned to camp and explained about my death-defying adventure.

The second time I came eye to eye with a grizzly bear was at the Big Bear Alpine Zoo, located in Moonridge, just north-east of the Bear Mountain Ski Resort in Big Bear in Southern California. It should be noted, that this zoo, according to The Active Times magazine, is one of the best small zoos in the United States – and that ain’t nothing to sneeze at!

This is more John's speed at handling a bear

This time though, the bear and I were separated by a chain link fence. “This is the way it’s done,” Laureen whispered in my left ear. I shrugged, in return.

That's a big bear next to Laureen!

According to the zoo curator, Bob Cisneros, the zoo has been captivating tourists and locals alike for over fifty years. The zoo started as a rescue mission for injured and misplaced animals after a terrifying and destructive forest fire descended on the San Bernardino National Forest in 1959. With nowhere to go, locals volunteered to take care of the animals injured in the fire with little or no direction of how to run an animal recuse. But soon, the Moonridge Animal Park (its original name) opened, and the rest is mountain history.

Through the generous donations of everyday people and a few government grants, the animal park continued to grow and grow. Today, now known at the Big Bear Alpine Zoo, the facility is home to over 85 species of animals and birds.

“Our rescues and imprinted animals (those animals that have been raised in captivity and then given up or released by their owners and cannot survive in the wild) equal roughly ninety percent of the zoo’s population,” Cisneros said.

The zoo takes up nearly two and half acres, nestled at roughly 7,100 feet above sea level, in the mountains and hosts tens of thousands of visitors per year.

And tourists have to have fun

But a new facility is in the works, and according to Cisneros, the five and a half acre site should be completed sometime between the fall of 2019 and spring of 2020.

“We don’t want to make the move during the winter,” he stated. “That would be hard on the animals and us, if there’s a lot of snow or ice.”

The new facility is just a short distance from the present site, and is nothing but state of the art in the world of zoos.

“This will be an amazing zoo when we get it completed. Many changes in the way it is run, including monthly wellness checks on all the animals in our care,” Cisneros said. “Top-notch and a big-league move for us here in Big Bear.”

With nearly twenty-two years, at the San Diego Zoo, one of the preeminent animal habitats in the nation, Cisneros wants the Big Bear Alpine Zoo to follow suit. “We’re on track to be accredited by the Association of Zoos and Aquariums, only about ten percent of zoos in the United States have achieved that honor.”

“When I got here about four years or so ago, there was a lot of work to be done,” he acknowledged. “The people were doing an outstanding job, but we needed to move in a more progressive manner, for the animals and tourists alike.”

Though the new zoo has been in the works for nearly 20 years in all its phases, the movement for completion has really picked up speed under Cisneros’s vision.

Asked if he was excited about the completion of the new facility, he responded, “There’s so much to be done, it’s not exciting, it’s more like planning a huge wedding. The excitement will come the day, I see crowds coming through the new gates. For now, there’s too much to do to worry about how I’ll feel when it’s done.”

One of the new enclosures under construction

Artist's rendering of the new entrance to the zoo

That made sense to us, as we wandered through the present Alpine Zoo in Moonridge. A huge crowd of adults and children went from enclosure to enclosure, oohing and ahhhing, about this animal or that animal.

There were grizzly bears, black bears, bobcats, coyotes, barn owls, deer, and a whole host of other wildlife for the tourists. It was like being on Old McDonald’s Farm, except that I had never been on his farm, but it seemed like that would be a good analogy.

One enclosure housed a kit fox, by name of Kit Kat. One of the animal specialists, a young lady with a great personality by the name of Paula Burns, gave a short lecture, not only about Kit Kat, but about the zoo itself. But what interested us the most, was when she hid a dead mouse in Kit Kat’s abode and within fifteen seconds, that little fox found the treat.

Kit Kat is a pretty darn smart fox

“Kit Kat’s very smart,” she observed.

“I could do that, if you hid a cheeseburger,” I told Laureen.

“Especially if it had bacon on it,” she agreed. One second, and I would have found the hiding place, take that Kit Kat!

The new facility, according to Cisneros, will cost approximately eight million dollars, with nearly three million coming from donations. “The rest will be from government grants and the like.”

That alone should show how much the public wants and needs a zoo in the San Bernardino Mountains. Private donations making up a goodly sum of the total cost – rather impressive, to say the least.

We walked the zoo, taking photos here and there and realized how wonderful the staff at the Big Bear Alpine Zoo were to those under their care. Animals hurt, from being struck by vehicles, those harmed by insensitive humans, or simply those who could not fend for themselves in the wild and were brought to this sanctuary. Bob Cisneros, and his crew are heroes – for the wildlife and for us who want to come and visit that wildlife up close and personal.

Get out there and visit a zoo - it's a breath of fresh air. Generally, because most of it, is outside. But, watch the signs.

For more information: https://bigbearzoo.org/

OktoberFest

Robert Brickman and John - time to be with friends at Oktoberfest

Every Fall, many cities around the world celebrate a phenomenon  called Oktoberfest. This is when people get together with friends, family and strangers tipping steins full of ale, eating German food, and singing both familiar and unfamiliar songs with gusto. 

So, what's the history of this world-wide phenomenon?

It started back in 1810 in Munich with the wedding of King Ludwig and Princess Therese. Unlike a lot of royalty these two decided that the 'common' people should enjoy such a wonderful event as their wedding. They invited the citizens of Munich to witness the exchanging of vows and it turned into a 12 day celebration when the city turned out in droves.

Honey - what did we start?

Fun was enjoyed by all. Thus - Oktoberfest was born.

Well, J and L can't go back in time to visit King Ludwig but we can head to Big Bear Lake in Southern California to visit friends and enjoy the excitement of Oktoberfest.

Brats, sauerkraut, German potato salad, dumplings and beer in steins (not saying J and L had beer but saw many people enjoying gallons).  The guests seemed to be in the perfect spirit of Oktoberfest - singing, drinking, eating and enjoying themselves. Of course there are silly contests like holding beer steins weighing five pounds to see who is the strongest person. We really liked these!

Look at these studs - no sweat only strength

Strength and beauty - tough competition.

J and L met up with a great friend Bob and his wonderful family on a previous Saturday to spend a few hours at the 46th annual Oktoberfest in Big Bear - Southern California.

The event which counts in the thousands of enthusiasts every weekend during the celebration which runs from September 10th to October 29th was colorful, loud, and nothing but fun.

It was fun - that's it - fun with friends and strangers laughing, singing, eating, dancing, and just being around people.

Vicki and Laureen enjoying the dancing 

The youngsters enjoying the music and the dancing

Not much to report except that we all had fun - Oktoberfest is just that - go out during the end of September and the month of October with friends to enjoy good times. Eat - drink and laugh - that's all.

That's all J and L did with Bob - along with his spouse Vicki and son Jeremy - nothing but fun in mind.

The crew at Oktoberfest

As researchers we at J and L think it's important to look into local events and see if they are what you may want to experience. If not then don't go. If so - then by all means go.

If good friends are in the equation then you must go and enjoy yourselves. We researched Oktoberfest and liked what we learned but the idea of spending the afternoon with fabulous friends was all we needed to ensure we'd be there. 




This is what happens when friends get together - fun!!!

The Call of the Wild

The only sounds to be heard during this early morning five mile trek through the San Bernardino National Forest were those of our snowshoes breaking the half inch icy crust which hid the newly fallen two and a half feet of fresh powder. The day was picture perfect, proven by the photographs in this blog, with the sun stretched out in the clear blue sky shimmering on a winter wonderland before us. This is not another tale of snow shoeing but one of enjoying the outdoors where no other human had tramped through in days. Enjoying nature, no matter the season, is an extremely important aspect to living. It is easy to sit in a chair watching television but when one ventures outdoors and sees nature at its finest that is what makes life worth living.

Ah, but I pontificate on the wonders of this earth and there is no need when one only needs to turn their head once in a while and view it for themselves.

 Of course, as with all our blogs this one is special and odd. Friday the 8^th of February we had no intention to going to our cabin in Big Bear but simply enjoy a long weekend at our other home until we heard the local and national news.

There seemed to be a large snow storm coming to the San Bernardino Mountains with expectations of six to eight inches of snow (they missed that call by over a foot) and a killer (his name will not be mentioned since that would only give him credit he does not deserve) who was on the loose in the vicinity of Big Bear.

Hmmm, a blinding snow storm and a murderer on the loose in our neck of the woods (literally). What other enticement did we need to make the hour drive up the mountains from our desert home?

By eight-thirty in the morning of the 8^th we were in the cabin planning on snowshoeing as soon as the weather allowed. It was snowing so hard that we could not keep up with the shoveling of the porch and stairs leading into the cabin. We allowed the dogs, all four of them, to run wild in the street since no vehicles were going up or down our street in this snow storm and they had a ball. But as the sun set with the temperature dipping to the low teens while the snow continued to fall it was time to call it and inside we went.

Saturday the 9^th we were up and out early to clamber over the snow drifts through the national forest. The only other sound besides the breaking of the icy crust of the snow were the regular and suddenly routine sounds of police helicopters above us sweeping for signs of the elusive cowardly killer of a lovely young couple from Irvine and a brave police officer from Riverside.

With this in mind our attention was drawn to fresh animal tracks in the snow near a large Western Juniper. There were little ones seeming to be running for their lives, rabbits probably by the looks of the tracks, instantly followed by larger ones, coyotes to be sure. There were scuffle marks by bushes, escape routes by the looks, and final chases. This is the cruel nature of things but it is nature. Animals need to live and living means finding food sources. May sound cruel but it is the way nature works and in some bizarre way it does. A single female rabbit can give birth to hundreds of little ones (some estimates as many as 800 during breeding season) where coyotes usually produce an average of six pups and only fifty or seventy percent ever see adulthood. So, there are a lot more rabbits to feed the coyote population. It was the way nature was meant to work.

Not some self-proclaimed human bent of destroying those far more valuable than him. As an ex-cop, J of J&L believes this low life killer is the worst of the worst. Cop or ex-cop the term ‘protect and serve’ are not simply decorations on the side of a police unit but a soul-based belief that police officers live by.

We, of course, would not recommend this activity or constant search for adventure to our readers. Indeed, our daughters and friends warned us against this and other intrepid adventures. But being who we tend to be, J&L happens to do such things as a way to explore, understand and to share. These stories need to be written. It is who we are.

And, being an ex-cop, J of J&L would never venture into these situations without the means to defend those who are with him on these adventures.

He packs heat.

Being a non-political blog we will not venture into the hot gun control topic but only state the following – an old cop saying: “I’d rather be tried by twelve than carried by six.”



Nothing will stop the continuing adventures of J and L. In the words of Herodotus, “It is said that as many days as there are in the whole journey, so many are the men and horses that stand along the road, each horse and man at the interval of a day’s journey; and these are stayed neither by snow nor rain nor heat nor darkness from accomplishing their appointed course with all speed.  Our journey is an adventure through life and no storm, nor darkness of the threat of man will keep us from our day’s journey. 

A New Year of Adventure!

Snow-shoe Bunny?

This is insane! Another year has sped by and a new one is waiting for us to encounter and enjoy. Say goodbye to 2012 and embrace 2013 since it is here and waiting. We, at J & L don't usually agree with new year resolutions since it seems the majority fail to make it two months into the new year, ninety percent if the research is to be believed, but simply think we should try and do the best we can.

What a view!

So as this new year is upon us just take a moment to take in the view of the world before you and take a step forward to meet it with a smile.

Heading Out!

Santa brought the partners of J & L snowshoes on Christmas Day and since neither of us have ever used such snow walking devices we were anxious to try out these new treats.

Trekin'

The trail taken the first day was a 4 mile trek through the San Bernardino Mountains, in the National Forest just south of the small town of Sugarloaf where the partners own a weekend home. The snowfall was not especially deep, a few inches, but gave a good work out in the 18 degree morning and good exposure to wearing snow shoes.

Boldly going where we've never gone before!

This is what a new year is about. To try things you have not before. To experience what you have not experienced before. This is the dividing line between adventurers and coach potatoes. And remember to smile in the sunlight.

Rabbit Tracks in the Snow

There are always new things to find on the pathways of life. Little footprints can lead to new beginnings and isn't that what a new year is about?

Gimme Shelter!

Some may have bigger homes than others but if yours is tiny and warm then don't complain. A house isn't a home and a home isn't a house if love is not there.

Great Exercise!

If you want to make a promise you will exercise everyday then go ahead and do it but don't knock yourself out if you don't. When time arises go out for a walk, smile, laugh, and be with loved ones. This exercise will get you a lot more mileage then giving up on a treadmill with a curse and a frown.

Taking it all in

Again, take in the beauty of the earth and all that you have. That alone will make any new year facing you that much easier to deal with. Open your eyes - look about you- and count your blessings.

Looking over my shoulder

We can not change the past but only the future. Mistakes are over our shoulders but when we look forward with common sense, love, and understanding then that future is ours to make. Have a positive tomorrow or dwell in the past - that is our choice. As always, we at J& L hope you will all make the most of the each day and leave behind that which did not work. Being explorers and researchers we must learn from our pasts - let that be the lesson learned in this new year.

From all of us at J & L we wish all of our friends the greatest New Year you have ever had. We believe that and we know you can too.

Prepare for the Unexpected

On a recent Sunday afternoon the partners of J & L were heading home from their cabin in Big Bear, a small mountain community about a hundred miles east of Los Angeles, driving north on Highway 18 toward Lucerne Valley when they were surprised by an extremely rare event. Right in the middle of the road less than fifty yards from the Toyota FJ stood a large animal which at first appeared to be a deer but within seconds we realized we were looking at a Bighorn Sheep.

There was not only one Bighorn Sheep (Ovis canadensis) but a herd of eight slowly coming off the steep mountain to our right and boldly crossing the two lane black highway. It was amazing as we watched these animals; two must have been well over three hundred pounds, packed with muscle and long thick curling horns, making their way down the steep rocky hillside without any problem.

Pulling the FJ over safely to the side of the road and putting on the hazard lights, we got out of the vehicle to start snapping photographs. Being prepared with a camera for moments like this is a must and as one explorer to another it was truly an unexpected and exciting sight. Living and exploring Southern California for decades there has always been this certain mystique with these elusive and famous sheep which roam the hinterlands of the dry desert mountains. One of the more famous areas to view these animals, if you actually can, is in the Borrego Desert west of the Salton Sea. It is here where many have reported seeing these great mammals but the chance of really seeing them in the wild is generally pure luck. Many a remote camping trips in the unforgiving deserts and mountains of Southern California have always ended as they had begun: not a sight of these beautiful and rare sheep.

The sure footedness of these animals simply amazed the observers as they bounced up and over boulders and then landed on some ledges only a couple of inches wide (the sheep not the observers). It was a real treat to watch these Big Horn Sheep for minutes and understand that we were being treated to a vision few will ever see in the wild.

If the reader ever sees a person stopped on the side of the road in a wilderness area furiously taking photographs of a mountainside, slow down and take a moment to wonder if that may be a good time to stop and investigate. And, as always, be prepared for the unexpected.

Want to learn more about Bighorn Sheep? Try one of these websites:

www.desertusa.com/big.html

animals.nationalgeographic.com/

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bighorn_sheep