Rim of the World Drive

Sunday the 19th

Today is going to be a great day for a drive. The sun is warming things up so we decided to get on the road early. Packing up the kids and cameras we started for the "Rim of the World" Scenic Byway (http://www.fs.fed.us/r5/sanbernardino/recreation/byways/rim.shtml) which runs through the San Bernardino National Forest.

The route from Hemet took us straight up highway 79 to Beaumont where we got on I-10 west for six miles exiting at Calimesa. From there we backtracked a couple of miles to Bryant Street which runs due north through the city of Yucaipa until it connects with highway 38.

Once on highway 38 we turned east until we got to the Mill Creek ranger station where we stopped for some information and to check on road conditions. That's when I earned that part of our return route, highway 330 was closed. With a map of our route in hand we headed off for the snow covered peaks.

Our first stop was just before reaching Mountain Home Village. We had come out of a canyon where the cliff walls went straight up and into a small valley with a small stream running along the road. There were some amazing yucca plants growing. There were some just getting ready to bloom and others in bloom and some almost done blooming. These plants had towering stocks coming up out of the plant with blooms at the tips of the stock. Pretty amazing.

Passing Mountain Home Village the road made a sharp "U" turn at Monkeyface Falls and passed the flank of San Bernardino Peak . By now we were up over 2,000 feet and starting to make some serious elevation gains. We soon passed the small community of Angelus Oaks and on to Barton Flats where the Boy Scouts have a large camp.

The route continued upward passing 5,000 feet, then 6,000 and into snow country. We stopped for several shots of roadside snow not realizing how much higher we were going and how much more snow we'd see.

Finally we reached Onyx Summit, at 8,443 feet the highest paved road in Southern California. Off to our right was San Gorgonio Peak, covered with a blanket of snow. At 11,499 feet, the tallest mountain in Southern California.

Descending from Onyx Summit we dropped down into Deer Springs Valley and on into Woodlands before reaching Big Bear City at the eastern end of Big Bear Lake, elevation 6,744 feet, where we stopped for lunch at "Thelma's Family Restaurant and Bakery".

This is a really great little restaurant. We sat out side on the patio where we could have the dogs with us instead of in the car. It was about 68 degrees with blue sky so i put up the umbrella for some shade. Tina had a Cheeseburger and I had a California Chicken Burger with avocado, jalapenos, lettuce, tomato and onion. Along with the seasoned fries we both enjoyed our lunch.
Thelma's has a nice cozy atmosphere, fast service and a very friendly staff. Of course I had to order the Apple Dumpling for desert. Yum!!! This was to die for with warm caramel sauce and ice cream... wonderful!!

Leaving Big Bear City we drove along highway 18 past Big Bear Lake, through the town of Big Bear Lake and past the ski slopes where several hundred people were enjoying a great day of spring skiing! Continuing our journey we passed Snow Valley ski area and Green Valley ski area also with plenty of skiers.

Our route was slowly trending downward as we worked our way west to through the mountain community of Running Springs and on to Lake Arrowhead. Originally we thought we might do the loop drive around the lake but decided to continue our main route instead since we had already been in the car for several hours and had another thirty miles of mountain driving to go.

Eventually we passed Arrowhead Highlands and started the final descent along Waterman Canyon, home of the Arrowhead Springs Resort (http://www.arrowheadspringsresort.com/) down to the city of San Bernardino where we got on I-215, then I-10 and over to Beaumont for the drive back to the coach.

The rest of the day we spent relaxing, a swim at the pool and for me a little billiards.

To see all our photos, click on:

http://picasaweb.google.com/mjdolanski