SilverGate's Safari is Home at Last!

[SilverGate]

It’s October with mild temperatures and a wonderful time to go back to the Southern California mountains.

We took Highway 79 through the Cuyamaca Mountains and stopped at Desert View Park for a view of the valley below and desert beyond.

It’s a preview for us of our next tentative outing in the Anza-Borrego desert.

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We arrived at our destination, a non-hook-up site in the Cuyamaca Mountains near Julian, CA.

Julian is known for its Apple Days Festival in the autumn: http://www.julianappledays.com/

And nestled in…

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We showed our Airstream in honor of Show America – Use Your Airstream Weekend:
http://www.airforums.com/forums/f161/show-america-use-your-airstream-weekend-35539-6.html

And with Veterans Day coming up, I like the idea of show your Flag and Airstream:
http://www.airforums.com/forums/f161/veterans-fall-7798-9.html

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So here we are near Julian where a forest fire just three weeks ago shut down the town, including its highways both in and out.

Besides the ever-looming fire danger, we also became aware of another danger out here when we saw the sign posted on the outhouse, warning of The Plague…
http://www.channel4.com/history/microsites/H/history/plague/story.html

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(Click on pics for larger view)

Walking back from the outhouse, I noticed that the turkeys are larger now...

and appear more nervous as Thanksgiving approaches…

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Every afternoon gaggles of them walked by…

Then one heard something, stopped and raised its head…

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It was… the Plague Doctor… looking for plague victims…
http://www.historyonthenet.com/Stuarts/plague_doctor.htm

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He came to the trailer and hung his shingle, as the flamingos looked curiously on…

(BTW, he would normally have boots covering his feet!)

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One look inside the trailer and the Plague Doctor felt right at home…

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And helped himself to that Autumn Apple Pie and Coffee…

(just what I could use right now, posting at the witching hour!)

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Inside the trailer, he spotted the Flamingo Hat...

and decided to switch hats…

And gave the flamingo a drink of his brew for the occasion…

It seems birds are close to his heart… as well as on his mind.

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He then went outside and practiced his skill with a blade...

and carved a pumpkin…

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After working up an appetite, he feasted on steak and tortillas grilled on the hibachi…

(We’re finding the hibachi is efficient and travels well in a bucket with charcoal).

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This was followed by hair-raising ghost stories…

Which seemed to have just the opposite effect on all, except for the pug, Pau Hoa…