Cedar Creek Falls

I'm a born and raised San Diego native.  I've heard about the big water fall in Ramona, but I've never gone to see it.  Well this Sunday we finally went.  If you haven't done this hike and you live in San Diego, you're missing out.  I have since talked to many S.D. natives that haven't done this hike either.

This is what you will see.

A 90 foot water Fall

The pool of water at the bottom is referred to as "Devil's Punchbowl"
There is an amazing amount of water coming off of this fall this time of year.

Here is a picture I found of the falls in the summer.

Not quite as impressive. 

For driving directions click here

It's about an hour drive from our house.  The walking part of the trip takes between two and a half to three hours.  Don't start to late in the day.  You don't want to be down in the canyon in the dark.

The start of the hike is at the top of a residential neighborhood. 
It's a little over a 4 mile hike.

What To Bring.

Lot's of water, we wore camel backs.

snacks and/or lunch. (no trash cans, so you will need to pack out your trash)

Good walking shoes

hat

sunscreen

glasses

flip flops or water shoes for the stream crossings (3 of them)

bathing suit

towel

jacket if cold

camera

cell phone doesn't work at the bottom of the hike.

Big dog if you have one.  There were lots of labs and other sturdy dog types on the hike.  Leave your lap dog at home, it's too hard for them.

We have had so much rain this winter that the hills are very green right now.

Here is the view from the beginning of the hike.

Park on the street.

New bathrooms are being completed.  They will be open April 30th. 

There aren't any bathrooms on the hike so plan ahead.
Guys are so lucky.

Casey had a sleepover (more like an awakeover) the night before so she stayed home to catch up on her Z's.
My husband and Cami took the lead while I played with the camera.  Cami regretted wearing jeans. 

The view is incredible.  This is a doable but steep hike.  A lot of switchbacks going down and very steep coming back up. The youngest child I saw on this hike was around 5 and his dad was carrying him up the hill.  I would leave the little guys at home the first time you do this. 

The path is well maintained.

"The hills are alive with the sound of music."

What's that noise?

You need to watch for rattlesnakes.  They are out this time of year.

The Yucca was in full bloom. 

This plant is also referred to as "Nature's Candelabra."

Thank you winter rain.

Lot's of wild flowers.  They will all be dried up soon when the heat comes.

It gets VERY hot here in summer.  Do this hike in the spring or fall.

When you come to the fork in the path, go to the right.

I hear water running?  When you get to the bottom of the valley you are almost half done. 

Continue East to see the water fall.

Trees grow by the river bank, we're getting close.

We passed a beautiful grass meadow.

First stream crossing. 

Next time I will bring my water shoes and change out of my hiking shoes at this point.

Continue on East past the two polls.

We're going the right way.

Second stream crossing.  Off with the socks and shoes again. 

Watch where you sit.  There were a lot of Fire Ants.

One more crossing.  Socks and shoes off again.  The water felt delicious.

First glimpse of the waterfall through the trees.  We could hear it before we saw it.

Wow!

Next time we will bring our suits.

Check out the cave.

Here is the top.

 You can even jump off into the pool below.

 OK back up the mountain.  Back over the three streams, shoes off, on, off, on, off, on. 

Cami took a break in a mini tractor.

 Did I tell you about the rattlesnakes?  We had a visitor on the trail. 

 He was just passing by, all four feet of him.

 We will definitely do this hike again!  Casey will have to come next time.

Thanks for checking it out.

Update 7/26/2011

A couple months after I posted this a young man fell to his death from the top of the waterfall.  Cedar Creek Falls is now closed indefinitely.  Please check to see if it's open before you make the trek out there.  If it is open, please be CAREFUL!  We did not climb, or recommend you climb, to the top of the falls, we just admired them from the bottom.

BE SAFE!

What's For Lunch?

Today's lunch is brought to you by Trader Joe's...again. 

Don't tell my husband I'm in love with Joe.

I started with a Brown Rice Tortilla...gluten free. 

 Put these in the fridge, they go bad quickly if you leave them out on the counter.

A little Mayo smear, a slice of turkey, a big bunch of arugula, some sliced tomato, salt and pepper.

Did you know arugula is great for cleansing your liver?

Roll it up.

Say ahhh.

Another quick, yummy lunch for a busy mom.

What's are you having for lunch?

Fireplace Makeover #2 It's Finally Finished

I FINALLY finished the fireplace.  This is the second part of the fireplace makeover.  To see the tile removal and drywall repair click here.  This was part of a larger project, my family room makeover.

Here is the Before.

No mantle and the builder put the floor tile around the fireplace.  See how the larger tile at the top makes the fireplace look like it's falling forward?  I've never liked my fireplace.  I painted the picture above it when we first moved in ten years ago to draw the eye away from the black hole below.

Here is the After.

 I removed the old tile, repaired the drywall, painted the walls and the concrete floor, made a new mantle, and added a new tile surround.



My dad was the Foreman on the mantle making part of the project.  I'm lucky to have my parents live about ten minutes from my house.  My dad has all the cool tools, saws, and expertise for woodworking like this. 

We started with the table saw.  We used this to make the MDF boxes for the mantle and legs.

We used this 12" compound miter saw to cut the molding.  I made the cuts, but there is no way I could have figured this out without my dad showing me what to do.  I just haven't done it enough yet, but I'm learning.

I glued all the joints with wood glue.

I used a staple gun to make the boxes and attach the molding.  More cool dad tools.

My mom brought us lunch.  Cutting wood makes me hungry. Yum! 

Thanks Mom.

We made these guide boxes to cut the big molding.  It makes cutting the angles much easier.  Make them the width of your largest piece of molding.

Here is the box with the the first piece of molding attached.

We attached the horizontal mantle to a 2x4 attached to the wall.  I diagrammed where the studs were when I was repairing the drywall.  This made it easier to secure the 2x4 soundly to the wall.

The 2x4 was a hair too long and I had to hammer the left side of the mantle down on to get it level.  The fit was a little too snug, but I fixed it.  Here it is before leveling.

Next we added the legs.  I used liquid nails to secure the legs to the wall.



Here is a detailed picture of the molding I used to create the mantle.  It's hard to see where the molding begins and ends once it's painted out.  It looks like all one piece.  This was a work in progress.  I didn't add the last the bottom piece of chair rail until after the mantle and legs were attached to the wall. 

All these moldings were under $2 a foot so everything was very economical.  They were all purchased at Home Depot. 

Once the mantle was attached I filled all the staple gun holes with wood filler and sanded it smooth.  I had to repeat this step several times to get the flawless finish I wanted. 

I wish this technique worked on my wrinkles.

I added some skinny picture rail molding to the legs.  I just glued it on with Liquid Nails.  Then I primed it with Zinnser water base primer.

I painted it with two coats of Frazee, White Shadow.  All the trim, doors, molding, and base boards in my house are painted this color.

Close up of the molding detail.

On to tile.  I borrowed a wet tile saw from my cousin Margaret's husband Andy.  He's an amazing contractor.  To see some of his work click here. 

 

I was a little intimidated to use one of these.  BUT IT IS SO EASY!  Really,  it's easier than operating a sewing machine.  My daughter Casey took to it right away and wanted to help.  Wear ear protection, it's very loud. 

I set it up in the SCARY, MESSY garage.  We don't have basements in San Diego.  Basements don't hold up to well in earthquakes.  We have earthquakes. 

 

Here's the first cut.

It took me a Sunday afternoon to complete the tiling.  Just apply Thin Set to the wall with a notched trowel and set the cut tile.  

I haven't been in a tile store in a while.  It's pretty incredible the choices and options out there.  I chose a natural stone mosaic rhomboid tile because it's timeless, classic, neutral, in-stock, and under $10 a square foot.  The lady that helped me at Encinita's Tile gave me the contractors discount for being nice.  Well I am the contractor at this job site.  I guess some of the people that she works with are not nice?  I don't know, but it made my day!

Here's where I started.

Here it is ready to grout. 

I used sanded grout and the color I used was Haystack.  Mix it with water and follow the box directions.

Use a rubber trowel to grout and mush it between the tiles.

Wear gloves, it's messy, but fun.

Sponge off all the excess grout.  Rinse and squeeze out your sponge often.  Change your bucket water often.  Make sure your sponge isn't to wet.  You don't want to clean your new grout out from between the tiles.

After two hours wipe your tile down again to remove any grout residue

I added a small quarter round piece of molding to the inside edge of the mantle.  The tile grout wasn't as clean as I wanted it to look on the edges.  I painted the molding to coordinate with the tile with the same paint I used to create the concrete floor stripes.

I still need to seal the grout.  I also need to figure out how to decorate a mantel?  I haven't had a mantle in my house since I lived with my parents back in 1989. 

I'll wait to build a fire until after I seal the tile or the smoke might stain the grout.

I'll put candles in it for the summer.

Thanks for checking it out.