As I walked along the Coast to Crest Trail a couple days ago, a bit south of the San Andres Drive trailhead, I came upon a sign that pays tribute to Peter Douglas. He was an important coastal advocate who worked to protect the nearby San Dieguito Lagoon.
I learned that I was walking beside the Peter Douglas Wetlands.
As you gaze at the beauty of the San Dieguito Lagoon, watch birds flying, diving and foraging in the wetlands and wildlife scampering among the scrub and chaparral, you can appreciate the vision that led to the conservation and restoration of this scenic and biologically diverse open space, known as the Peter Douglas Wetlands.
Peter Douglas (1942-2012), one of California’s most visionary and inspirational environmental advocates, led a successful grass roots effort in 1972 that resulted in the creation of the California Coastal Commission…
The support and passion of Peter Douglas significantly influenced the ability…to realize (a) collective dream of preserving these wetlands in perpetuity…
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Walk the Coast to Crest Trail along the San Dieguito River where it passes under Interstate 5 and you’ll see signs of life.
Indeed, several signs east of the freeway bridge concern river life that can be found nearby!
Walking east in Del Mar along the San Dieguito River, approaching the Interstate 5 bridge. It’s early March and native vegetation is green from recent rains.About to pass under the concrete freeway bridge.On the other side, near bush sunflowers, we arrive at a place where one can relax and learn about the San Dieguito Lagoon environment.Several old signs ahead…Fish of the San Dieguito Lagoon. Over twenty different fish species have been observed in the lagoon providing evidence that habitats here act as a fish nursery. Species include California Halibut, Giant Kelpfish, Staghorn Sculpin, Kelp Bass and four species of Gobies. Small jumping fish are Mullet.Pickleweed likes the salty environment in the lagoon. It is also known as sea asparagus, Pacific swampfire, or glasswort!What’s for dinner for various wetland animals who live here, including raccoons, American kestrels, killdeers and bats?In one day a Great Blue Heron will eat……23 anchovies, 2 mice and a frog. Yummy!A place near the freeway bridge to rest, gaze at the river and think about life.In Life, Choose Happiness.
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Those who love to watch birds are in for a treat at Lindo Lake County Park in Lakeside.
Walk along the shore of beautiful Lindo Lake and you’re almost certain to see hundreds of birds. What’s more, some of the birds seem fearless in the close presence of humans.
An informative signs shows a variety of birds one might encounter, including Cooper’s Hawks, Red Shouldered Hawks, Red Tailed Hawks, Great Blue Herons, Black-necked Stilts, Killdeer, Snowy Egrets, Black-Crowned Night Herons, American White Pelicans, Canada Geese, Mallards, and Wood Ducks.
Even though I’m far from an expert, during my walk yesterday I also identified Red-winged Blackbirds, American Coots, a distant Double-crested Cormorant, Domestic Geese, Greater White-fronted Geese, Brewer’s Blackbirds and Great-tailed Grackles.
Yes, and a whole lot of pigeons–I mean Rock Doves.
Enjoy these photographs!
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Thanks for visiting Cool San Diego Sights!
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In San Diego this afternoon, blue and yellow umbrellas sheltered a tight-knit gathering from the rain. Supporters of Ukraine met near the El Cid statue in Balboa Park’s Plaza de Panama, waving flags, giving heartfelt speeches, asking for help.
It’s now a year since Putin’s Russia invaded Ukraine, and in San Diego many are appalled that dictatorship and murderous barbarism can rise again in the 21st century.
Powerful images and messages that concern one year of Defending Freedom surrounded the group.
As I stood in the crowd listening, a young person voiced her optimism that Freedom, in the end, would prevail.
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Thanks for visiting Cool San Diego Sights!
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Do you love Cabrillo National Monument? Would you like to help build a spectacular hiking trail that will connect the whale watching overlook to the tide pools 400 feet below?
You can become a trailblazer!
The trail’s construction has begun, but there’s more to do. And additional donations are necessary. As you can see from an information sign inside the Visitor Center, quite a lot of money had been raised by the Cabrillo National Monument Foundation already.
I asked a park ranger about this project. Several phases are completed, including archaeological surveys and removal of vegetation that will be replanted elsewhere in the park.
The next photo shows where the new trail will begin, just beyond the whale watching overlook. It will branch off from the short existing trail that leads down to a pair of World War II bunkers.
And my final photo shows the new trail’s destination: the Cabrillo National Monument tide pools!
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Thanks for visiting Cool San Diego Sights!
I post new blogs pretty often. If you like discovering new things, bookmark coolsandiegosights.com and swing on by occasionally!
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Walk down Mule Hill Trail at the south end of Escondido and you’ll find yourself stepping into history.
A while back I blogged about the forgotten town of Bernardo. A hundred years ago it was located in farmland near this trail, prior to the creation of Lake Hodges.
Down this same trail information signs mark the location of Mule Hill, where a skirmish took place during the Mexican-American War.
Seeking shelter among rocky outcroppings, General Kearny established a defensive position against pursuing Californios, as his U.S. Dragoons retreated toward San Diego after the Battle of San Pasqual.
The precise location of this skirmish was in debate for many years. Here are some interestingarticles.
Today, after a short, easy walk south down Mule Hill Trail, you’ll see the outcroppings rising above several signs. You can find the wide dirt trail just east of Interstate 15, off Bear Valley Parkway, before Beethoven Drive.
Beginning south down Mule Hill Trail, part of the San Dieguito River Park.
Off to the right near river trees, a solitary sign beckons.
Start of the Engagement, December 7, 1846
“Late in the evening, when we had arrived within about four hundred yards of the water where we intended to camp, they charged us, coming on in two bodies and compelling us to retreat to a pile of rocks about two hundred yards away on our left . . . ” source–Kit Carson’s Autobiography
Continuing our walk south. Jumbled boulders can be seen on the hill to our left.
We’ve arrived at three signs near a pair of rock outcroppings that figure in the early history of San Diego. The signs explain what happened here at Mule Hill.
Mule Hill Standoff
On December 7, the American soldiers, sailors and volunteers under command of Brigadier General Stephen Watts Kearny, were attacked from the rear by Mexican forces 250 yards northwest of this location…
The Mexican forces recruited for the defense of their homeland were led by Captain Andres Pico . . . The forces were primarily comprised of Californios, residents of California at that time who descended from Mexican and Spanish colonialists…
The Americans were short of food and resorted to eating their mules, hence the name “Mule Hill” for this site…
…Navy Lieutenant Edward Beale volunteered to sneak through the Mexican lines to seek help from San Diego, and he asked that army scout Kit Carson go with him.
Standoff Continues
On December 8, after the sun had set, Beale, Carson and a Native American (identity unknown to us) sneaked through three lines of Mexican sentries…Nearing San Diego, they separated…The Native American arrived in San Diego first…
On December 9, with little food, water or supplies and a number of wounded men, General Kearny made the decision to fight his way to San Diego…
On December 10, Sergeant John Cox died and was buried at Mule Hill…
On December 11… A relief column of 100 sailors and 80 marines, sent by Commodore Robert Stockton, had arrived. The Mexican force, now outnumbered, withdrew. Later that morning the Americans left Mule Hill and marched to what is now Old Town, San Diego, thus completing a 2,000 mile march from Fort Leavenworth, Kansas.
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Three signs at San Elijo Lagoon Ecological Reserve contain the wisdom of local school kids. I noticed the signs during a walk up the Pole Trail. They are a bit distant from the trail, but easily spotted.
On one sign you’ll see Images of a better world; on another, Expressions of a better world. More words from young people who care about the world they live in can be read on the third sign.
Images of a better world. Skyline Elementary School, Grade 5, Fall 2007.A world with no endangered animals.Expressions of a better world. Cardiff Elementary School, MAC Kids, Fall 2007.…With help from humans, mixed with the right amount of respect, the lagoon becomes a big, beautiful habitat for animals and plants, and a place for people to enjoy too…Field notes and quotes. Rancho Santa Fe Elementary School, Grades 5 and 6, Fall 2007.It’s best for people to know that our wetlands are very important. The wetlands are home to many creatures and it would be sad for them to go away because of habitat loss…
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I post new blogs pretty often. If you like discovering new things, bookmark coolsandiegosights.com and swing on by occasionally!
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Several weeks ago I enjoyed a fine, very easy nature walk.
I proceeded from the murals at Harbaugh Seaside Trails (near Highway 101 at the north end of Solana Beach) down the main dirt trail. The trail turned, passed through a tunnel under the railroad tracks, and entered San Elijo Lagoon Ecological Reserve.
I then proceeded north up the Pole Trail (which runs parallel to the train tracks), crossed a couple of bridges, and ended at the San Elijo Lagoon Nature Center at the south end of Cardiff-by-the-Sea.
Come along with me as we look at these protected wetlands and watch for birds and other native wildlife…
Sign at Harbaugh Seaside Trails at start of my walk.These trails were made possible by Nature Collective.Beautiful words a short distance from the Harbaugh Seaside Trails murals. Annie’s Bench.Nearby overlook with views of the Pacific Ocean off to the west.Beginning our walk in earnest.Here’s the railroad tunnel.Artwork at the tunnel entrance depicts birds.We are looking across San Elijo Lagoon Ecological Reserve.San Elijo Lagoon in the winter.Pools of water support much life.Heading north we encounter a fenced area and sign.Map of the reserve. To the east there are additional trails to be explored.A big mound of soil behind this fence.Sign explains the sandy habitat restoration. The elevated sand dune attracts endangered birds, like the California Least Tern and Western Snowy Plover.Continuing north.Vegetated and shallow channels are home to rare indigenous plant and animal species. Birds include Ridgway’s Rail and Belding’s Savannah Sparrow.Here comes the first bridge!A profusion of native sunflowers.That interesting building up and to the left is the Nature Center.A plaque along the way memorializes Beloved Friend and Engineer Brian A. Martin.Another footbridge spans a channel of water.Plaque describes The Buhr Nature Bridge. Gabriel Buhr’s forward-thinking, planning and vision helped make the restoration of the San Elijo Lagoon possible.Almost to the San Elijo Lagoon Nature Center!
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Thanks for visiting Cool San Diego Sights!
I post new blogs pretty often. If you like discovering new things, bookmark coolsandiegosights.com and swing on by occasionally!
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!
In 2022, the University Heights Historical Society placed a historical marker at the intersection of Park Boulevard and Adams Avenue. The sign stands near the remains of the entrance to the long-vanished Harvey Bentley’s Ostrich Farm!
The City of San Diego describes Historical Landmark No. 346 as: Mission Cliff Gardens Cobblestone Wall and Related Features.
One can see similar stone posts a couple blocks to the east at Trolley Barn Park. Cobblestones structures (and images of ostriches) are frequently seen throughout University Heights!
The sign explains:
This was once the entrance to Harvey Bentley’s Ostrich Farm, established in 1904. Nearby are the remains of a waiting station and drinking fountain for the #11 streetcar that brought scores of visitors from downtown to University Heights to see the ostriches as well as Mission Cliff Gardens and William Hilton’s Silk Mill. The streetcar was part of the 165-mile San Diego Electric Railway network, established in 1892 by visionary entrepreneur John D. Spreckels.
Here are two public domain images of the ostrich farm…
Just for fun, I photographed an ostrich painted at Yipao Coffee, a short distance south on Park Boulevard…
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Thanks for visiting Cool San Diego Sights!
I post new blogs pretty often. If you like discovering new things, bookmark coolsandiegosights.com and swing on by occasionally!
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!
Cool San Diego Sights! 