Little Galapagos – right next to San Diego

They're re-designing our town, Marines hike from Salton Sea, Circus Vargas daredevils, Cleveland forest users and their opponents, gems run straight along Elsinore Fault

Author

By Jeannette DeWyze, Jeff Smith, Neal Matthews (RIP), Gordon Smith

Publish Date

April 17, 2022

The landscape around us is barren except for a few low plants: red and green iceplant, yellow daisies, Guadalupe’s own white forget-me-not. (Reid Moran)

Death of an island

“There’s not another island off the Pacific coast of North America, including Alaska, that ever evolved five of its own bird species.” points out Bill Everett, a local ornithological consultant and former president of the San Diego Audubon Society. “It’s like a little Galapagos, right in our back yard."

By Gordon Smith, July 10, 1980 Read full article

Embarcadero. "The middle of the park is tree-lined, it’s more alluring." (David Covey)

Who is re-making the look of San Diego?

He is observing the pedestrians crossing the street that leads to the parking area on the mole. The people are walking north from the shoreline path to the promenade designed for bicycles. Five out of seven of them make this switch, veering to the right. “I wonder why the northbound pedestrians consistently cross over at this point."

One hundred miles from Salton Sea to Pendleton

He’s now helping the corpsmen try to cool down two soldiers laid out beside the road. They’re both semiconscious and writhing, and the highway patrolman has gotten into the fray by hauling out a five-gallon jug of water and dousing them. Doc Bennett pulls their boots and socks off, sending puffs of foot powder into the stifling afternoon air. Water is poured on their feet. They both vomit.

By Neal Matthews, May 28, 1981 Read full article

Jennifer Gill: “Every time we wrote to an agent we’d have to go through everything — tell them we were a four-person flying act, two men and two women." (Jim Coit)

With the greatest of ease

Larry’s worst accident occurred when he hit the net wrong. It was two and a half years ago in East St. Louis. “The platform wasn’t positioned quite right and during one of the tricks I hit it with my rear end. I was doing a two-and-a-half somersault like Sarah does, being caught by the legs. When I came out of the turn I was out of position and I lost track of exactly where my body was."

By Jeannette DeWyze, Feb. 21, 1980 Read full article

Cattle are allowed to graze in certain parts of the Cleveland for $2.03 per head per year. (Jim Coit)

The Cleveland National Forest is no wilderness

Man first appeared in the area perhaps as long as twenty thousand years ago, but the only known tribes in recent history were the Diegueno and the star-worshipping Luiseno. The former tribe traveled in and around the Laguna and Cuyamaca mountains, while the latter lived further north in the Palomar Mountains;

By Gordon Smith, Jan. 10, 1980 Read full article

"Right there at Santee, just above the Padre Dam on the south side, was an old slag pile where they had found rich pieces of gold ore.” (Robert Burroughs)

Lean days on the gem ledge

Ramona has a few other mines besides the Little Three: the ABC, the Hercules, the Surprise. All of them lie off a line that slices through San Diego County, along which gleam most of the local deposits of gems and minerals. That line runs straight along the Elsinore fault. The southern tip cuts into Mexico, where there is spodumene, some garnets, possibly beryl.

By Jeannette DeWyze, Feb. 14, 1980 Read full article