PHOTOS OF THE WEEK: DRY TIMES AT LAKE CUYAMACA AND MOUNT LAGUNA

By Miriam Raftery; photos by Tom Lemon

February 23, 2014 (Cuyamaca) – “The meadows should be green, Cuyamaca Lake full. Not so,” Tom Lemon writes after a trip to the mountain area.  “The area is tinder dry and the lake down six or eight feet.” 

Still, he found some interesting sights, as thees photos reveal.

“I saw a bear!” he quipped, referring to a wooden carving spotted along his route that includes a stop at Perkins Store in Descanso, then on to Lake Cuyamaca Restaurant and Store for brunch, then up the Sunrise Highway to Mount Laguna.

“I was looking for a late lunch, but neither the Pine House Café nor the Blue Jay Lodge were open—a sign of the times?” he observed.  The area is also still recovering from the Chariot Fire.

Still, Lemon was able to spot wildlife including a great blue heron, squirrel and turkey vulture along the way.

By way of comparison, here is how lush and green Cuyamaca meadows looked two years ago, when Lemon visited the same place in 2012.