Gravel road through Black Canyon…

... on our way to the desert, driving out of San Diego up San Pasqual Valley, with all its citrus trees, and past the Wild Animal Park, we change our minds in Ramona and turn left on 78 to Mesa Grande. There we take another left turn into a gravel road which leads us over about 10 Miles back to Ramona through the Black Canyon. The road is washed out and as everywhere the signs of fire are not to be overlooked. Here some impressions:

High up over San Diego and the Mexican border….

....is where today’s trip took us. We headed south to Otay Lake and about 5 miles after the lake turned on a steep gravel road leaving the main road. We followed the road up the hills and enjoyed the beautiful panoramic view at an elevation of up to 3000 feet (1000m). On a clear day, you could probably even see the ocean from up there. As this road goes pretty close along the Mexican border there were a lot of Border Patrols cruising around and searching for illegal immigrants. We enjoyed the beauty of the landscape and the view down to Otay Lake. Looking inland reminded us very much of the Swiss Alps !?!?

On a mostly sunny Wednesday….

.... we hop in the car and drive 20 minutes North East to Lake Poway. A nice walk of about 3.5 Miles on a dusty trail sometimes closer sometimes a bit further away from the lake. The whole area looks very green now. But the signs of past bush fires are everywhere!

A day in the desert…

... HWY 8 to Ocotillo and then partly on the S2, partly off-road through the desert. In the afternoon we drove back home to San Diego over the Cuyamaca Mountains, where there was a foot of snow and lots of people sledding and enjoying the white winter-land!

Yesterday, we got an email from our Immigration Lawyer .... and today… we are holding our green cards in our hands!
Finally, we go these precious little cards, for which we have worked so hard and waited so long! Our immigration lawyer did an outstanding job, indeed!