San Gabriel Mountains to Fillmore, CA

Well other than loud motorcycles, here and there, my night in the San Gabriel Mountains was actually very peaceful. Luckily nobody came about to shoo me away. 

I decided to head to Velazquez Rocks Natural Area. It's a park that I passed by yesterday. It's already getting warm, and I took a nice little hike around the main portion of this massive rock. What's unique about the area is that all these rocks seem to be slanted at a diagonal, pointed towards the sky. it's almost as if everything shifted sideways or that a pothole or sinkhole tumbled part of it into the ground.

Apparently this is a popular filming destination for Hollywood. There was signage at the entry saying that a registration for filming is required. And while I parked, there looked to be an official crew of some sort with badges and discussions about filming the area.

No celebrity sightings.

After my hike I decided it was time for a sketch, so I sat and sketched.I had pretty good reception here, and needed to multitask with some business. Long story short, my plans for my tire mount is not happening, and I'm seeking a refund for this product. It would have meant another 2 to 3 weeks delay for mounting brackets that were needed for this installation. Ugh, this was not what I signed up for!

Once again, the Facebook forum, the "Travato Owners and Wannabes" gave me an excellent resource in northern San Diego. Once I initiated my other refund, I immediately placed an order for this other spare tire rack, and they are able to install it next week free of charge. To boot, they said I could park on their lot overnight, so that installation could happen first thing in the morning. I'm hoping such as the case, and I'm actually thrilled that I could still work something out, while I was in the area. We'll hope for good news when it happens.

I had scheduled an overnight at Giessinger Winery, in Fillmore, CA, and needed to be there at 2pm. I declined a flight tasting, so early in the afternoon, but opted to buy a bottle of merlot. Dana was really sweet and gave me several taste samples of their wines anyway. I didn't want to leave the building, as it was cool and comfortable. It is 102 degrees outside.I'm very stunned that it's this warm in this part of California. What was I thinking, that it was going to be cooler than Arizona? So, by late afternoon I broke down enough to run my generator with the air conditioner for about an hour. It was enough to take the edge off, gave me time for a shower, and by the time the sun set over the buildings it was manageable for the rest of the evening with windows wide open.

I took a little walk into town and caught a glimpse inside an antique shop for a tiny while. So many of the buildings were boarded up. I was really on a mission to find a cold beer as that would really have hit the spot on such a hot day. But I didn't find anything open. 












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