Considering a move to our mountain paradise? You’ll need to walk in with your eyes wide open - our lifestyle is not the modern, fast-paced, urban society one associates with the rest of southern California. In other words, it’s not for everyone.
Read this Top Ten list and see if these good and bad points agree […]

Living in Crestline, we get a variety of wild animals living in and among our dailyness.

RACCOONS

Last night we had a huge raccoon climbing around our back porch - I assume attracted by our large bowls of water and dry dog food. It had no fear of me. I gave it a respectfully wide berth myself. […]

My Los Angeles friend Bonnie wrote an article on the recent 5.4 magnitude earthquake (11:42 AM, July 29, 2008 - government info here) felt here in the mountains. I was in San Diego at the time and the there house shook, the windows rattled, etc. I have friends all over southern CA who were Twittering […]

We don’t really have a mall, per se, in the 1980s sense of “enclosed mega shopping space.” But Crestline DOES have a modest outdoor retail area called the Alpine Mall. It’s a cluster of cute retail cabins. There’s also decent parking (which in Crestline means flat parking where you don’t have to back out into […]

I found three bookstores while wandering the downtown area of Big Bear Village. One looked to be a Christian type place, one was all about fairies and fantasy, and the third was largely a pet store.
The Big Bear Book & Bean is a cute shop stretching the definition of “bookstore.” Actually, the “bean” part of […]

Crestline’s dog bakery (in the Alpine Mall, across from the Post Office) is a unique local treat. Owner and baker Miriam Wiegel makes fresh cookies, muffins and biscuits for dogs, using human-grade food ingredients. Flavors include cheese, bacon, pizza, liver, peanut butter, ginger and apple cinnamon. I can vouch that not only do […]

Soon-to-be mountain resident Ginger Groves is now selling custom, handmade pet blankets at the Cuby Dog Bakery in Crestline. The blankets, designed specifically for dogs and cats, are a part of Kids in Fur Coats Creations. “The blankets are created with love,” says Ginger, “for people who think of their pets as their kids.”
Located in […]

This dog ranch looks like a good place to kennel my dogs if I have to at some point. We do have an arrangement with our neighbor for dog sitting, but he (the neighbor) also goes to school, and may not always be available.
The Double Dog Ranch info page is quite personable and has a […]

It’s taken a bit of time to realize this, but one can actually use the dog park when it is in use as it’s primary function as a sports field.
Since school let out, the field has been in constant use by youngsters. My assumption was that no dogs were permitted at those times. So I […]

Dan and I wrote and published a trail description of the lovely loop trail around Lake Gregory at Suite101.com. It’s in the Hiking and Backpacking topic, and includes a picture. I need to get more pictures, actually. It’s a great loop and there are two options - you can hike the path directly on the […]