When we moved to Covina, Mark wondered what was in the hills - to the north. I told him I never been up there….only up to the San Bernadino Mountains…where I used to train.
Mark did some research and found a path up to the hills. We drove up the hills on Saturday. We ended up at a ski resort on top of Mt. Baldy.
On our way up - I saw burnt trees - probably left over from the fires.
Before going up - Mark could see snow up in these hill/mountains. It amazed him to see snow at the beginning of summer.
I also knew Louie would enjoy seeing snow. He’s a polar bear. Polar bears like snow.
Mt. Baldy’s only an hour or so away from Covina. Mark read on a few sites that motorcyclists like to ride the winding roads up here. When we went inside a tunnel - a bunch of cars started touting their horns. Mark read that this is a tradition thing - people like to hear the sounds of their horns echoing off the tunnel walls. Mark touted his little Corolla horn….it sounded a little wussy in comparison to the other cars.
The day started off on an overcast note. I figured if we had clear skies - we could have had a view that extended out to the Pacific.
This sign tickled Mark. I could imagine kids would think - “Sure - let’s toss a couple of snowballs at the on-coming cars.” Heck - when I was younger - I would have thought that was a good idea. But then again, I was more stupid when I was younger.
We passed through the Mt. Baldy Village. It had a few restaurants, a post office and a few lodges. I heard a brook rippling in the distance. We toyed with the idea of stopping the car at the side of the road and going for an off-the-beaten-path adventure. Then I pointed out signs that said we couldn’t park on the side of the road without a parking pass.
So we went up to the ski resort instead. I saw another sign that said the ski resort had free parking.
During the summer time, the Mt. Baldy Ski Resort left one lift running for folks who wanted to go hiking on the ski paths. They charge $12/person for a roundtrip ski lift ride.
We met Bruno at the top of the ski lifts. He’s friendly….but a bit of a baby. He started crying when the lift operator left to go to the bathroom.
We had lunch at the Top of the Notch Lodge. We both had bacon cheeseburgers - but I tossed the bun off mine - ala ‘SouthBeach’. I simply wrapped the lettuce around the burger. It tasted yummy.
We also ordered Tecate beers. I got carded by the cashier. She was short.
“If you’re going to know how old I am - I gotta know how old you are,” I said.
“Ten,” she replied.
I felt mortified - being carded by a ten-year-old.
A few minutes later, I asked, “So, how long is your shift?”
“From 8 to 6,” she answered.
I suspect this family operation is breaking a few Cali child labor laws.
We ate outside. I let Louie finish my beer. He kept complaining about being kept on a tight leash when it came to drinking. He still remembers drowing pints in British pubs and Italian restaruants.
Louie thought the beer helped on his walk up to the snow. The sun beated down on his furry white shoulders - but he didn’t care. He found snow! Life was good.
We walked up some rocky trails to the snow. Mark and I disagreed on which trail to take. After we turned around from my trail pick, he muttered something like, “City people! Can’t read a damn map.”
The whole hike took us about an hour to complete.
Mark said he was blown away by finding snow - during the summertime - in Cali.
Happy days….Mark is getting better at this take-a-picture-of-us technique.
Look how happy Louie is - playing in the snow! He didn’t want to leave the mountain. He figured he could check into a room at one of the lodges and come back the next morning. We told we had to go home. And…a few hours later, we drove down the mountain and went home.
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