Tuesday, January 16, 2024
Today was a nice sunny day with the temperature starting at 45 degrees and reaching 70 degrees in the afternoon. We left Wilderness Lakes Thousand Trails Campground in Menifee, California at 9:30 a.m. and headed to Beaumont, California to the Cherry Valley Lakes RV Resort.
We got a little glimps of snow on the top of the mountain along the way.
Our terrain today is mountainous with many hills and valleys.
We get another glimpse of the snow on the top of the mountain.
We continued to follow I-10 West toward Los Angeles.
We then took Exit 90 toward Cherry Valley Blvd.
We followed Cherry Valley Blvd. and were soon in the city limit of Beaumont, California.
Beaumont is a city in Riverside County, California, located at the summit of the San Gorgonio Pass, between the San Bernardino Mountains and Mount San Gorgonio to the north, and the San Jacinto Mountains and San Jacinto Peak to the south. Beaumont, which is French for "Beautiful Mountain", received its name in 1887 from Henry C. Sigler, president of the Southern California Investment Company, for its view of Mount San Jacinto.
The earliest inhabitants were Native Americans. During the early 1850s, several surveying parties passed through the vicinity of present-day Beaumont in search of a pass that would connect the east to the Pacific Ocean. The San Gorgonio Pass was first surveyed in 1853 during an expedition under Lieutenant R.S. Williamson, who was sent by the United States government. Its location enthralled many who now saw that connecting to the ocean was a feasible measure and led to plans for constructing a railway from the Missouri River to the Pacific. By the early 1860s, stagecoach lines were providing service through the pass area, and a stage stop was established, named Edgar Station, after a physician from one of the expedition parties who made his home in the area.
In 1875 when the Southern Pacific Railroad laid tracks through the modern-day location of Beaumont, they established a rail station named Summit Station. This served as a rest stop for railway travelers from the Mojave Desert on their way to the Los Angeles vicinity. In 1884 a real estate development company established a town named San Gorgonio. A second real estate development company purchased the town in 1887 and renamed the town Beaumont, which was incorporated on November 18, 1912.
By 1927, the small city had a population of 857 with five churches, a public library, a bank, a high school, two local newspapers, several lumber yards, commercial packing houses, and a dehydrating plant. The city, one of Riverside County's largest apple growers, was dubbed "the land of the big red apple" by local residents in its early years. Apple orchards in the area expanded to a $200,000 industry by 1930. Beaumont saw a rise in visitors and residents as the nearby city of Palm Springs grew to become a highly popular resort spot during and after the 1930s; Beaumont followed suit and attempted to capitalize on the increasing tourism by establishing guest ranches.
We are finally at Cherry Valley Lakes RV Resort in Beaumont, California.
Cherry Valley Lakes RV Resort is a RPI park, where we can stay for $10 a night.
We got registered for 7 nights for a total of $91.00 or $13/night.
Shown below is the campground map for Cherry Valley Lakes RV Resort in Beaumont, California.
We are camping on site #40.
After getting all set up, we decided to drive into town.
The next few pictures (shown above and below) are just some of the beautiful sights in the area.
We are now in Banning, a city in Riverside County, California with a population of 29,505. It is situated in the San Gorgonio Pass, also known as Banning Pass. Banning shares geographic and regional features with its western neighbor, the city of Beaumont. Banning and Beaumont have been rapidly growing in size and population since the 1990s. Both cities are about 80 miles east of downtown Los Angeles and 30 miles west of Palm Springs, each connected by freeway and railroad.
Banning was initially named Moore City, for and by Ransom B. Moore. Ransom B. Moore operated a large cattle ranch and was later a member of the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors, settling in the area and nearby San Gorgonio mountains in the early 1860s. Moore sold his holdings and relocated to central Arizona in 1883. Within only a few months, the town was renamed for Phineas Banning, a stagecoach line owner and the "Father of the Port of Los Angeles". Banning had pastured sheep in the San Gorgonio Pass area, and operated a stagecoach that ran through the Pass. The town of Banning was incorporated on February 6, 1913.
The settlement that was to become Banning developed in coincidence with the start of the Colorado River Gold Rush. The Bradshaw Trail, which passed through the area in 1862, was a wagon road to the gold boomtowns of the Arizona Territory. Gilman's Ranch, north of downtown, served as a station for the stagecoach lines on this road. The railroad followed, passing through the town in 1876. The Southern Pacific railroad was a major contributor to the area's growth. In the early 20th century, the area immediately around Banning was considered well fitted to the almond culture, and was known as the oldest almond growing district in southern California.
Our first stop in Banning, California was at Aldi's for groceries. We then stopped at Taco Bell and tried some of their new offerings, as the $5 cravings box that we liked so much had been taken off the menu. We got back to the campground around 2:15 p.m.
Wednesday, January 17, 2024
Today we want to wish a "Happy 41st Birthday" to our daughter Stacey!
Stacey was born in 1983 -- when Ronald Reagan was president and a postage stamp cost 20 cents. My how things have changed!
This morning, Mel went for a 11.6 mile, one hour and ten minute bike ride (see the Garmin GPS screenshots below).
We then drove into Redlands, California. As we left the camper at 1:00 p.m., it was cloudy and 54 degrees.
We are now in Redlands, a city in San Bernardino County, California with a population of 73,168. The city is located approximately 45 miles west of Palm Springs and 63 miles east of Los Angeles. The area now occupied by Redlands was originally part of the territory of the Morongo and Aguas Calientes tribes of Cahuilla people. Explorations such as those of Pedro Fages and Francisco Garcés sought to extend Catholic influence to the indigenous people and the dominion of the Spanish crown into the area in the 1770s.
In 1839, Antonio María Lugo (shown above) was granted the right to settle the Rancho San Bernardino, encompassing modern-day Redlands. In 1842, the Lugo family bought the Rancho San Bernardino Mexican land grant and this became the first fixed settler civilization in the area. The area northwest of current Redlands, astride the Santa Ana River, would become known as Lugonia. The region was part of Alta California, a Mexican federal province until 1848, when it became part of the United States after the Mexican-American War. By 1850, California as a US state was established. The area received its first Anglo inhabitants in the form of several hundred Mormon pioneers, who purchased the entire Rancho San Bernardino, founded nearby San Bernardino, and established a prosperous farming community watered by the many lakes and streams of the San Bernardino Mountains.
Our first stop for the day was at Walmart for groceries. We then drove on until we were at Hangar 24 Craft Brewing -- we were at this same craft brewery in 2019.
Mel give his thumbs up before we go inside Hangar 24 Craft Brewing in Redlands, California.
Hangar 24 Brewing is a Micro Brewery/Taproom located in Redlands. Their story began back in 2008, when a few buddies met up at Redlands Municipal Airport’s Hangar 24 for an afternoon of friendship and flying, followed by a debrief over cold homebrews. In time, one of these pilots, Ben Cook, dreamed up a wild idea -- to start his own craft brewery named in honor of his friends’ favorite hangout.
Shown above Mel enjoys a Pacific Coast Hazy craft beer, while I have one of their craft root beers. The root beer was very good -- probably one of the best craft root beers I have had so far. It was a bit chilly outside, so we decided to go inside.
Shown below, Mel enjoys a orange guava craft beer. He ended up buying a couple of six-packs of the Orange Wheat craft beer to take home.
We got back home around 3:00 p.m., and spent the rest of the evening at our campsite.
Thursday, January 18, 2024
Today was a great day, so in the afternoon I went for a 4.63 mile, 42 minute bike ride mostly around the campground (see the Garmin GPS screenshots below).
While I was riding around the Cherry Valley Lakes RV Resort that we are staying at I saw a couple of neat wagons they have on the property (see below).
(Shown above is a Colonel's Corn Whiskey wagon.)
(Shown above is a Federal Penitentiary wagon.)
Also on my ride in the campground, I discovered a couple of little lakes (see above and below).
The ducks really liked to swim around the pond shown above.
Friday, January 19, 2024
Today was another sunny day, so I again went for a bike ride in the afternoon. I rode 5.67 miles in 41 minutes, with quite a few loops around the neighborhoods and Stetson Park adjacent to the campground. See the Garmin GPS screenshots below of my route.
The picture below is part of Stetson Park in the adjacent community to Cherry Valley Lakes RV Resort.
Saturday, January 20, 2024
We are in the desert, where they don't often get rain -- but today it rained quite a bit with some areas getting anywhere from 1/4" to almost 1" of rain. Here at our campsite, it rained pretty steady all day. It also rained a little overnight going into Sunday morning.
We spent the entire day inside the RV.
Sunday, January 21, 2024
Today we want to wish a "Happy 43rd Birthday" to our daughter Jennifer!
Jennifer was born in 1981 -- when a gallon of gas cost $1.25 and Dolly Parton's song "9 to 5" was very popular. My how things have changed!
Today was a cloudy day, with a little bit of sunshine peeking through the clouds with the temperature holding in the 50's. Mel went for a walk, while I worked on my blog. And, tonight we had chicken and broccoli pasta for dinner.
For the most part, it has been peaceful to hang around the camper and get things caught up -- but the campground's close proximity to Interstate-10 makes it noisy here 24/7. There seems to be no point fighting the Los Angeles traffic that passes through this area -- the vast metropolis where mountains meet ocean, cities meet desert, mirage meets reality and visitor meets confusion. The roar from the freeway has been recorded at an average of 78 decibels--about the same level as a noisy vacuum cleaner, and higher than the maximum noise level recommended by acoustical engineers.
The loud roar was continuous. We could hear big trucks downshifting, cars screeching to a halt, gears grinding all night long. It was a nightmare -- and Mel and I both just wish we didn't have the roar of the interstate highway that close by!
All we can hope for is a peaceful night's rest tonight!
Shirley & Mel
