It was an otherwise quiet Saturday with me on the computer after putting some finishing touches on the new enclosure for our golf cart. Before

Finished – It was a definite fun Erector Set task. If I had avoided a cross thread happening which destroyed a screw and nut, it would have been done in under two hours.

Carol was making cookies and discovered she was using the last of our eggs. We decided to stop nearby at a small store in another RV resort.  As we were leaving thinking about taking a ride up to Anza and beyond we were passing the beginning of a Jeep road up to Palomar Mountain. In the past there has always been a closed gate about a mile up the road. Last Saturday while waiting in line at the Post Office I had heard that the gate was open.  Carol thought it would be a fun off road drive. Here is the route we took.

It starts on CA 79 and returns to CA 79. The 1 hour 15 min on the map is optimistic. It took us just about 2 hours to cover the 14.7 miles. When we encountered Palomar Mountain Truck Road we turned left which brought us back to 79. A right turn would have taken us up to the observatory and left us coming down the west side of the mountain with an hour drive on highways to return home. 

All of this activity served to take our minds off the horror show that is the current state of our government. We cannot pickup our phones, open a computer, speak to a friend without being confronted with the tragedy that is playing out in Washington DC. I spoke with a good friend who worked in DC for many years in the 60’s and 70’s. He has walked the corridors of the Capitol building as an employee. He has been very shaken by the events, if possible even more so than me, I have only visited and revered the building. 

Yet as we settled in to prepare for dinner I could not refrain from turning on PBS News Hour, like poking a sore tooth with your tongue, to see what the latest is. Is there more awfulness, is there any healing, is there some hope that in the midst of the pandemic and a leader who has convinced tens of millions of voters that the election was stolen that we can find a away back to a functional economy in a functional government so we can find peace among ourselves. 

I will stop at this point for now. If I don’t I may not be able to sleep.