Saturday, February 23, 2013

Sweetwater Summit Regional Park

        Sweetwater Summit is a San Diego county park that includes RV spots with corrals for the horse enthusiasts, meeting room, full hook-ups and mostly 90 foot pull-throughs which is important for a lot of full-time RVers. Right now it is $33 a night which is not too shabby in the San Diego area.



The campground is set up in such a large area that allow you to face north, south, east or west if you choose.


North west was our preferance so that we got plenty of sun in the afternoon. We look over a golf course and the San Diego airport flight path (which was not a noise issue) and love watching the hawks fly overhead.


While fishing was one of the advertised perks here, all I see are no boats or people trying their luck. Seems it is a 960 acre lake but completely fenced.


I spied this barrel cactus while looking for hawks from the motorhome and at nearly a 1/4 mile away it still looked huge to me.



                   The hike to the summit (called cactus hill) was worth every step.



When I got to the summit I was blown away by some of the Chollo cactus that were  absolutely heavy with buds that will soon flower. I wish we could join this Coastal Cactus Wren when the flowering begins.



This explosion of flower buds would be spectacular for anyone in the area when it happens, I'm awed that the branches can hold this much extra weight.



I am adding the Sweetwater Dam for a number of reasons. One, it was a bitch hiking to where I might have a decent shot of photographing the dam. Ended up hiking a mile and half up this gorge to view it because all the roads leading to the dam were closed. Someone must think this is a terrorist target with all the fences and locked gates.  


The hike was well worth the walk. The reason I was so interested in the dam is that it was built in 1888 and still functioning. While the earthen overflows were destroyed in the flood of 1916 after a month that included 39 inches of rain, the  concrete arch, which was the highest masonry arched dam in the United States at the time it was built held, and is still here today holding back the lake...125 years later!

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