Page 83 - 2015 Travel Guide to California

Gabriel Mountains, above the smog, your
vistas can range from the vast, chocolate-
brown Mojave Desert to Catalina Island.
Also known as State Highway 2, the 66-
mile-long Angeles Crest Scenic Byway was
built 100 years ago to be “the most scenic
and picturesque mountain road in the
state.” Access it from the suburb of La
Canada Flintridge at the western end of the
San Gabriel Valley. The popular side-trip
hike to the summit of 6,164-foot Straw-
berry Peak has reopened after being closed
due to a 2009 fire. As you drive east on the
narrow two-lane road, keep an eye out for
bears, mountain lions and bighorn sheep.
Another side trip brings you to the Mount
Wilson Observatory, where astronomers
found the first observational evidence for
the Big Bang theory. If you’ve brought
along your fishing rod, try your luck in
Little Rock Creek near the Mt. Waterman
Ski Resort. Farther east, the road crosses
the 2,665-mile-long Pacific Crest National
Scenic Trail: From here you can hike south
to Mexico or north to Canada. From the
road’s end at Highway 138, head southeast
to Interstate 15, which will whisk you back
to the Los Angeles Basin.
San Diego
Cross the Palomar Mountains to soak up
the vast and colorful Anza-Borrego desert
on a daylong drive from San Diego. Make
your way north on I-15 and east to Ramona,
and then continue on to the ridgetop town
of Julian. A beautifully preserved relic of an
1870s gold rush, Julian these days is
renowned for apples. You’ll smell the
aroma of baking pies as soon as you step
out of your car. Stop for a slice, just out of
the oven, warm and gooey with a scoop of
French vanilla ice cream. The air here is so
clean, and the views so extensive, that the
California Institute of Technology built the
Palomar Observatory a few miles away.
Continue east, downhill, on Highway 78 to
Anza-Borrego Desert State Park, a 937-
square-mile preserve that encompasses
the eastern fifth of San Diego County. If it’s
spring, and the winter has been wet, you’ll
be treated to one of the most vivid and
sweeping displays of wildflowers in the
United States. If the flowers aren’t up,
there’s still plenty to see. A local landowner
commissioned artist Ricardo Arroyo Bre-
ceda to produce more than 130 giant
sculptures in the desert, everything from
life-size replicas of gomphotheres (ele-
phant-like creatures that once lived there)
to prehistoric camels and ground sloths to
VIEW OF DOWNTOWN from
San Diego Pier, above; Palomar
Observatory on Palomar Mountain,
below; cyclist on the Venice Beach
promenade, bottom left.
scenes from California history: a Spanish
padre, a gold miner and farmworkers. One
of the latest is the undisputed highlight: an
enormous sea serpent that undulates so far
across the desert that it spans one of the
main roads. From here you can retrace
your route or take the long way home via
the Salton Sea and Palm Springs.
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