Thanks to the kindness of Brad's friend Jim, we have been fortunate enough to spend some time in glorious Pine Mountain. This weekend was one of those times. As usual, we packed with super speed on Friday, and piled Lulu, Grammy Betty, and Maya in the car, and got onto the road in the thick of Friday, rush-hour traffic. Our tradition has been to stop at this McDonalds at the far-northern edge of Santa Clarita and nosh on simple American goodness, let the traffic bypass us a bit, and then head back onto the road. We got to Pine Mountain in the dark, and it was freezing...just as the mountains should be.
This was going to be a weekend of simple pleasures...good food, family time, and fun within our natural surroundings. Trekking up the stairs to the cabin, we could feel the cool crisp night, and high altitude getting to us. Maya was the best little trooper, knowing very well that at the top of the stairs was her knotted pine heaven.
Saturday morning brought the sounds of the mountain woodland - blue jays, squirrels, and neighborhood dogs. Brad is our family's Breakfast Guru, so out came the electric griddle with which he creates magic with eggs, bacon, and toast. After a hearty breakfast, we were off on our hike. With Lulu taking about a 200ft lead, we found ourselves up hill and down dale until we reached our dead end. After our morning hike, Lulu got to rest at the cabin and watch football, while the rest of us took off to our second mountain tradition - sweets and libations at the Bear Claw Cafe followed by a visit to the Pine Mountain General Store. After our morning outing, we decided to thoroughly relax, and spent the rest of Saturday in the cabin. We feasted on pot roast, smashed potatoes, buttered peas, roasted acorn squash, all followed by pumpkin bread and fireplace-toasted marshmallows for dessert. Outside, the temperature dropped some more, so we hung around the fireplace, read, watched movies, and called it a great night.
Sunday morning was a bit warmer and after another of Brad's delicious breakfasts, we were off to find the "waterfall". This was quite a challenging hike, especially for our Maya, but applejuice in hand, she persevered and made it all the way to the top. Most of the hike was in the shade of trees that have been around for hundred of years. When we got to the "waterfall" we sat on the rocks on either side of it and watched it gurgle by. Maya got to taste fresh mountain spring water, which she loved. Being in the area of what was once a silver mine, we were lucky to find some really beautiful rocks (quartz, slate, silver speckled iron) to add to our collection. Our hike left us famished which meant only one thing, our third Pine Mountain tradition, lunch at LaLena, where the food is fresh, homemade, and super tasty. We feasted on enchiladas, grilled tilapia and shrimp, and the crispiest tortilla chips. After lunch, we visited the local shops and found some goodies for Thanksgiving at the Black Bear Gifts shop. Paula, the owner, was charmed by Mayoo, and gifted her with a duck and bear for her Christmas tree. As our weekend drew to an end, we tidied up the cabin, packed the car, and headed down the mountain.
