Tag: bonita

Dwarf dinosaur “glarfs” restored in Bonita!

Two dwarf dinosaur glarfs have been restored in Bonita!

The glarfs, named Rumbi and Rangui, now stand behind construction fencing in front of Bonita Village Shopping Center. They appear just about ready to be set free!

According to a posted letter, Rumbi the Glarf (the yellow one) was badly hurt last year. But Rumbi’s human friend Kelly has been working to make everything all better.

Several loving messages on the fence express Get Well wishes.

A nearby plaque explains a bit of glarf history. Rangui is the blue one…

RANGUI THE GLARF

Original created in 1959 by Jerry Lee Gauss

Replication by Kelly Tracy in 2006

Rangui is the original Glarf dinosaur created by Bonita’s Jerry Lee Gauss. The story of Rangui and Rumbi was told in the 2000 Bonitafest Melodrama “When Dinosaurs Roamed the Valley” in The San Diego Union-Tribune and on Channel 7/39’s “About San Diego.” Cast and audience members raised funds to rebuild Rangui.

Unfortunately, there’s a terribly tragic aspect to this otherwise wonderful story. The 15-year-old creator of the glarfs, Jerry Lee Gauss perished four years later at the age of 19 in a car accident.

According to the RoadsideAmerica website, both glarfs were made as an anniversary present for Jerry’s parents. And here’s a little more of the history.

Fully restored, children will again be able to romp on the strong backs of Rumbi and Rangui. And so a young creator’s gift of love will live on and on.

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Evidence in Bonita of the Proctor Valley Monster?

The concrete cast of a weird, apparently inhuman footprint is now on display at the Bonita Museum & Cultural Center. Some residents who live in the area claim the cast is “concrete” evidence of the legendary Proctor Valley Monster.

Over the years, there have been various reported sightings of the Proctor Valley Monster along lonely Proctor Valley Road, in the secluded hills and fields east of Chula Vista, west of Jamul.

Certain witnesses have said the monster resembles Bigfoot, standing about seven feet tall and hairy, walking with long strides. Others have claimed the monster is entirely different. There have been accounts that the Proctor Valley Monster appears like a strange, mutilated cow, or a silent female apparition, or an inexplicable, ghostly light…

Articles I’ve found tell a few of these strange stories and provide possible explanations. Here and here and here and here.

According to an August 20, 2003 article in the San Diego Union-Tribune, which is also on display, nobody knows how the bizarre footprint cast ended up in the Bonita Museum’s collection. But there the footprint is, for anyone to see, mounted behind glass!

Is the Proctor Valley Monster merely an urban legend? Is the creature simply a product of human imagination, shadowy fear, and perhaps a bit of sly humor?

At the Bonita Museum visitors can also view a copy of the graphic novel Proctor Valley Road. I flipped quickly through it and discovered more than a few terrifying monsters. According to Amazon’s description, the book follows a group of kids down the most haunted, demon-infested stretch of road in America.

Well, San Diego has the Whaley House, commonly described as the most haunted house in America. We have the most haunted stretch of road, too?

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Preparing for Día de los Muertos in Bonita!

Día de los Muertos is just two weeks away!

During my visit yesterday to the Bonita Museum & Cultural Center, I saw how members of the community, including local students, are preparing for the traditional celebration.

Check out the above skeleton, who is using an oar to cross the river from the afterlife. The designs on the boat were painted by Bonita youth!

For Día de los Muertos, the Bonita Museum & Cultural Center will display many handmade skeletons suspended outdoors near this fellow rowing his boat, plus altars (ofrendas) remembering loved ones who’ve passed on. The beautiful altars will be assembled by local artists, including Maricruz Alvarado and Anna Siqueiros. For more information, see the museum’s event calendar here.

I learned the boat in my photographs will probably be filled with marigolds. The bright color and scent of marigolds is said to attract departed souls to Día de los Muertos altars.

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You can explore Cool San Diego Sights by using the search box on this website’s sidebar. Or click a tag! There’s a lot of stuff to share and enjoy!

I live in downtown San Diego and love to walk around with my camera! You can follow Cool San Diego Sights via Facebook or Twitter!

Chula Vista Art Guild Exhibition in Bonita!

Some remarkably good art can be enjoyed right now when you visit the Bonita Museum & Cultural Center!

The Chula Vista Art Guild Exhibition highlights the work of talented local artists, who’ve contributed many pieces in a variety of styles. Much of the artwork depicts the culture and life of San Diego’s South Bay. If you’re anywhere near Bonita between now and October 28, 2022, I recommend a visit! It’s free!

I learned today that the Bonita Museum’s upcoming Blooming Art event, hosted by the Bonita Valley Garden Club on October 21 and 22, will feature colorful flower arrangements inspired by the artwork now on display.

Everyone is welcome to create a floral arrangement for Blooming Art! All you have to do is head down to the museum, select a particular art piece that you’d like to complement with flowers, and let the folks at the museum know! But you have to do it by this Saturday!

Did you know that the Chula Vista Art Guild had a rather auspicious beginning back in 1945?

Alfred R. Mitchell, President of the San Diego Art Guild, co-founder of the San Diego Museum of Art, co-founder of the Fine Arts Society of San Diego, co-founder and president of the La Jolla Art Association, widely known as the “Dean of San Diego County artists,” was also founder of the Chula Vista Art Guild!

Here are just a few of the many great canvases now on display at the Bonita Museum & Cultural Center…

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Thank you for visiting Cool San Diego Sights!

I post new blogs pretty often, so you might want to bookmark coolsandiegosights.com and check back from time to time.

You can explore Cool San Diego Sights by using the search box on this website’s sidebar. Or click a tag! There’s a lot of stuff to share and enjoy!

I live in downtown San Diego and love to walk around with my camera! You can follow Cool San Diego Sights via Facebook or Twitter!

Bronze horse greets motorists in Bonita!

Earlier this year, a life-size bronze horse sculpture debuted in front of the Greg Cox Civic Complex in Bonita. I saw it for the first time when I walked down Bonita Road last weekend.

The horse sculpture has the unusual title WR This Cats Smart. It’s the name of an actual stallion. An identical sculpture can be found at a ranch in Douglas, Wyoming. The nationally renowned Western artist is Mehl Lawson.

San Diego County has one of the largest per capita populations of horses in the United States. I’ve read that at one time there were more than 1300 horses in Bonita. You can still them today in Rohr Park and in corrals throughout the residential hills. Many streets have names that are related to horses.

I took photographs of this beautiful public art and would like to share them.

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Mathematical nonsense and truth at the Bonita Museum.

If you are intrigued by human creativity, science or philosophy, you might enjoy the artwork now on display at the The Bonita Museum and Cultural Center. The title of the exhibition is Rule 42, Stretched Language.

Why Rule 42? According to one popular work of fiction, 42 is the answer to the ultimate question of Life, the Universe and Everything. Go ahead, smile!

Why Stretched Language? Perhaps because human language can be stretched in endless ways. Words assembled in infinite combinations can represent one’s personal experience or shine light into dark places. Be made into poetry.

Words are symbolic. Numbers, variables and equations are also symbolic. They, too, can be used in poetic expression. Indeed, the exhibition’s subtitle is “Explorations into visual, concrete and mathematical poetry.”

Supposedly, the works in this exhibition each have something to do with mathematics. It seemed to me, however, that they all celebrate something larger: the unique capacity of diverse human minds to imagine, rationalize and create. And even embrace pure nonsense.

Psychronometrics. Sounds scientific. Sounds profound. The equation and description is impressive. But the assertion is that our psychological experience of time, and how time seems to accelerate as we become older, is related to Einstein’s theory of relativity.

To compare the two is utterly absurd. That equation in the photograph above includes velocity. Neither the young nor the old have managed (yet) to approach the speed of light!

But you know what? The plasticity of the human mind, which can imagine and rationalize absolutely anything and everything, is what is on display. These are the metaphorical works of visionary artists, not “serious” scientists. Infinite artistic truths cannot be defined with a few equations.

More rational visitors to the exhibit might laugh at some of the jumbled assertions and associations. Rule 42, Stretched Language can be a stretch.

My advise? Don’t be too critical. Step outside your own idea of Truth and enjoy!

This rather unusual exhibition ends on December 3, 2021.

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Joan Embery’s My Animal World at Bonita Museum.

Joan Embery appears with Johnny Carson on the Tonight Show. Carol the Elephant paints on a canvas for the national audience.
Joan Embery appears with Johnny Carson on the Tonight Show. Carol the Elephant paints on a canvas for the national television audience.

Who doesn’t know Joan Embery? As a frequent guest on the Tonight Show with Johnny Carson, as Goodwill Ambassador for the San Diego Zoo, and as an international spokesperson for animal conservation, Joan Embery is loved by people all around the world. She is truly a San Diego legend.

So it’s fitting that the Bonita Museum and Cultural Center is now showing an exhibition about her life and career, titled Joan Embery’s My Animal World.

It was my first visit to this museum, and I was surprised to discover such a fine exhibition. Viewing all the displays gave me a great deal of pleasure. They brought back so many San Diego memories.

These few photographs only provide a small taste of what you will see at the museum. If you’re in San Diego, you really ought to head over to Bonita and check it out. The exhibition runs through December 3, 2016.

The Bonita Museum and Cultural Center is hosting a great exhibition about San Diego legend Joan Embery through December 3, 2016.
The Bonita Museum and Cultural Center is hosting a great exhibition about San Diego legend Joan Embery through December 3, 2016.

An elephant saddle is one of many cool artifacts on display at the Joan Embery's My Animal World exhibition.
An elephant saddle is one of many cool artifacts on display at the Joan Embery’s My Animal World exhibition.

Many photos show Joan Embery through the years--in Bonita, at the San Diego Zoo and Wild Animal Park, travelling the world, and on the Pillsbury Ranch.
Many photos show Joan Embery through the years–in Bonita, at the San Diego Zoo and Wild Animal Park, travelling the world, and on the Pillsbury Ranch.

Joan Embery was born in San Diego and was raised by a family who loved animals. As a kid, she never could get enough pets.
Joan Embery was born in San Diego and was raised by a family who loved animals. As a kid, she never could get enough pets.

In Junior High School, Joan Embery took horse riding lessons in Bonita. From an early age she dreamt of having her own horse.
In Junior High School, Joan Embery took horse riding lessons in Bonita. From an early age she dreamt of having her own horse.

Wonderful photos of Joan Embery with Carol the Elephant. The two became good friends when Joan worked at the San Diego Zoo. She would become the zoo's world-famous Goodwill Ambassador.
Wonderful photos of Joan Embery with Carol the Elephant. The two became good friends when Joan worked at the San Diego Zoo. She would become the zoo’s world-famous Goodwill Ambassador.

Display at the Bonita Museum and Cultural Center documents a moment in the life and career of Joan Embery.
Display at the Bonita Museum and Cultural Center documents a moment in the life and career of Joan Embery.

Ms. Zoofari. While working at the San Diego Zoo, Joan learned about different animal behaviors and about daily zoo tasks.
Ms. Zoofari. While working at the San Diego Zoo, Joan learned about different animal behaviors and about daily zoo tasks.

Today, the 50-acre Pillsbury Ranch is the home of Joan Embery and her husband Duane Pillsbury. Students visiting the ranch learn about the many different exotic animals that live there.
Today, the 50-acre Pillsbury Ranch is the home of Joan Embery and her husband Duane Pillsbury. Students visiting the ranch learn about the many different exotic animals that live there.

Joan Embery's Tack Room with many related photographs can be found at her museum exhibit in Bonita. Above all, she loves riding horses.
Joan Embery’s Tack Room with many related photographs can be found at her museum exhibit in Bonita. Above all, she loves riding horses.

Joan oversees The Embery Institute for Wildlife Conservation. She has been involved with many programs dedicated to animal and habitat conservation.
Joan oversees The Embery Institute for Wildlife Conservation. She has been involved with many programs dedicated to animal and habitat conservation.

Mountain lion head sculpted by Joan Embery's talented artist husband, Duane Pillsbury.
Mountain lion head sculpted by Joan Embery’s talented artist husband, Duane Pillsbury.

Joan Embery participated on a mountain lion tracking team at Rancho Cuyamaca State Park east of San Diego.
Joan Embery participated on a mountain lion tracking team at Rancho Cuyamaca State Park east of San Diego.

Joan Embery is a San Diego legend loved by many around the world. She has appeared on numerous book covers, magazines and television shows.
Joan Embery is a San Diego legend loved by many around the world. She has appeared on numerous book covers, magazines and television shows.

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People ride cool “live steam” trains in San Diego!

A "live steam" enthusiast watches folks ride a small train through Rohr Park, in San Diego's South Bay.
A “live steam” enthusiast watches families ride a small train through Rohr Park, in San Diego’s South Bay.

This is beyond cool!

The Chula Vista Live Steamers is a club in San Diego’s South Bay. Members build and operate their own small “live steam” trains that people can actually ride!

These friendly hobbyists utilize an elaborate network of miniature train tracks in a public park; the layout is called the Sweetwater and Rohr Park Railroad. During public run days, which take place in Bonita’s grassy Rohr Park one Saturday and Sunday of each month, anyone can watch or ride the small trains! Or if you’re inclined, join and become a member! If you have kids, visit their website, and you can schedule birthday parties!

Today I spotted one steam and one diesel locomotive (which is actually powered by gasoline). It’s winter, so things are bit slow. On Labor Day, I was told, a gigantic railroading extravaganza takes places, with many different trains running simultaneously! If you’re a kid (or a kid at heart), I can only imagine how utterly fantastic it would be!

Whether you’re a railfan, a model train enthusiast, a maker, a dreamer, or just like to see something really unique and fun, head down to join in the action and you’ll have a great time!

Should you walk down this path through Rohr Park in Bonita, you'll eventually come upon something really cool and amazing.
Should you walk down this path through Rohr Park in Bonita, you’ll eventually come upon something really cool and amazing.

Run days for The Chula Vista Live Steamers are usually the 2nd Saturday and Sunday of each month. On Labor Day there's a huge event with many trains operating.
Run days for The Chula Vista Live Steamers are usually the 2nd Saturday and Sunday of each month. On Labor Day there’s a huge event with many trains operating.

Adults love riding the trains just as much as kids. Hobbyists build and maintain the rail cars and working locomotives, and haul them to the park for some fun.
Adults love riding the trains just as much as kids. Hobbyists build and maintain the rail cars and working locomotives, and haul them to the park for some fun.

Thrilled kids ride behind a small diesel locomotive, which is actually powered by gasoline. The tracks looping through the park provide a fun, scenic ride.
Thrilled kids ride behind a small “diesel locomotive”, which is actually powered by gasoline. The tracks looping through the park provide a fun, scenic ride.

Here comes the same train. The Bonita Golf Course is in the distance, beyond the tracks.
Here comes the same train. The Bonita Golf Course is in the distance, beyond the tracks.

This working steam locomotive is a very cool sight. But it's so small that folks at a nearby picnic table seem to be giants.
This working steam locomotive is a very cool sight. But it’s so small that folks at a nearby picnic table seem to be giants.

This tiny train is part of the National City and Otay Railway!
This tiny train is part of the National City and Otay Railway!

A close-up photo of the live steam locomotive. In every detail, it seems a perfect reproduction of a full-size engine.
A close-up photo of the live steam locomotive. In every detail, it seems a perfect reproduction of a full-size engine.

Dedicated train hobbyists have gathered on the surprisingly large rail yard to watch the steam locomotive.
Dedicated train hobbyists have gathered on the surprisingly large rail yard to enjoy the steam locomotive.

This caboose in the rail yard seems to be occupied by the Creature from the Black Lagoon!
This caboose in the rail yard seems to be occupied by the Creature from the Black Lagoon!

A pair of tracks head for a good quarter mile along the edge of the Bonita Golf Course. You can see railroad crossings and a few small bridges!
A pair of tracks head for a good quarter mile along the edge of the Bonita Golf Course. You can see railroad crossings and a few small bridges!

Occasionally, trains will run down the length of the golf course to another loop.
Occasionally, trains will run down the side of the golf course to another loop.

An actual working railway turntable! This area is where steam locomotives are fired up and build up steam pressure before running. The turntable is very busy on Labor Day!
An actual working railway turntable! This area is where steam locomotives build up steam pressure before running. The turntable is very busy on Labor Day!

Checking out a super cool locomotive operated by a member of the Chula Vista Live Steamers!
Checking out a super cool locomotive operated by a member of the Chula Vista Live Steamers!

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