Cross-Country Skiers are in for a short-lived treat late this month through February if winter storms intense enough to drop several inches to two feet of snow hit San Diego County’s higher mountains. As the clouds are clearing, you may be able to take advantage of good skiing conditions along Highway 79 through Cuyamaca Rancho State Park and along Sunrise Highway through the Laguna Mountain Recreation Area. More limited opportunities for cross-country skiing may briefly exist on Palomar Mountain. Farther north in Southern California and higher in elevation, the forested crests of the San Gabriel, San Bernardino, and San Jacinto Mountains offer more dependably good snow conditions.
Big Ocean Swells and wild surf conditions occurring during San Diego’s winter season can leave certain area beaches partially or wholly denuded of sand. The powerful waves pull sand off the beach and move it into deeper waters offshore, leaving behind deposits of rounded cobbles where sand has been removed. During spring and summer gentle wave action returns much of the sand, usually in time for the arrival of summer tourists. Artificial sand-replenishment projects are usually in the works, too, whereby sand dredged from waters offshore is transported back to the shoreline.
Orion is Now High in the southeast right after dark, and he stands highest due south around 9 pm. Orion is the brightest and showiest of the 88 constellations — and that often distracts from the fact that his main pattern is surprisingly small compared to some of his dimmer neighbors. The biggest of these is Eridanus the River to his west, enormous but hard to trace. Dimmer Fornax the Furnace, to Eridanus’s lower right, is almost as big as Orion! Even the main pattern of Lepus, the Hare cowering under Orion’s feet, isn’t much smaller than he is. Compared to Orion, the rabbit is the size of a Saint Bernard.
The above comes from the Outdoors listings in the Reader compiled by Jerry Schad, author of Afoot & Afield in San Diego County. Schad died in 2011. Planet information from SkyandTelescope.org.
Cross-Country Skiers are in for a short-lived treat late this month through February if winter storms intense enough to drop several inches to two feet of snow hit San Diego County’s higher mountains. As the clouds are clearing, you may be able to take advantage of good skiing conditions along Highway 79 through Cuyamaca Rancho State Park and along Sunrise Highway through the Laguna Mountain Recreation Area. More limited opportunities for cross-country skiing may briefly exist on Palomar Mountain. Farther north in Southern California and higher in elevation, the forested crests of the San Gabriel, San Bernardino, and San Jacinto Mountains offer more dependably good snow conditions.
Big Ocean Swells and wild surf conditions occurring during San Diego’s winter season can leave certain area beaches partially or wholly denuded of sand. The powerful waves pull sand off the beach and move it into deeper waters offshore, leaving behind deposits of rounded cobbles where sand has been removed. During spring and summer gentle wave action returns much of the sand, usually in time for the arrival of summer tourists. Artificial sand-replenishment projects are usually in the works, too, whereby sand dredged from waters offshore is transported back to the shoreline.
Orion is Now High in the southeast right after dark, and he stands highest due south around 9 pm. Orion is the brightest and showiest of the 88 constellations — and that often distracts from the fact that his main pattern is surprisingly small compared to some of his dimmer neighbors. The biggest of these is Eridanus the River to his west, enormous but hard to trace. Dimmer Fornax the Furnace, to Eridanus’s lower right, is almost as big as Orion! Even the main pattern of Lepus, the Hare cowering under Orion’s feet, isn’t much smaller than he is. Compared to Orion, the rabbit is the size of a Saint Bernard.
The above comes from the Outdoors listings in the Reader compiled by Jerry Schad, author of Afoot & Afield in San Diego County. Schad died in 2011. Planet information from SkyandTelescope.org.
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