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ESTABLISHED
An Independent Weekly Newspaper Serving the Backcountry Communities of Julian, Cuyamaca, Santa Ysabel, Shelter Valley, Mt. Laguna, Ranchita, Sunshine Summit, Warner Springs and Wynola.
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Periodical • Wednesday
Time Sensitive Material
March 9, 2016
Julian, CA.
Volume 31 - Issue 31 ISSN 1937-8416
www.JulianNews.com
12 Great Places To See California In Bloom This Spring
1985
Team Gold Continues To Impress
Daffodil Show This Weekend
Baseball
Anza Borrego Desert State Park
A storm is coming, so scour your yard for your best blooms up to 10 days before March 11th (the entry day). The American Daffodil Society suggests a few different ways to try and save your blooms for a show. One way is to pick them with a bit of color showing, place them in a vase of water, and carefully locate them in refrigerator where they won’t get smashed. Another idea is to pick them with a bit of color on the buds but not open, place them in a paper bag horizontally and place them in refrigerator. Then 2 to 4 days before March 11th, bring them to room temp in a vase of water and place them on a light window sill or bright table. Entry cards are available at the library for those that want to pre-fill them out. Also available are sheets with Division info to refresh your memory about the different kinds. Please remember this show doesn’t happen without everyone’s participation. We have some wonderful prizes due to our generous merchants in the Julian area. Go out and find your best 3 or dozen! You make the show happen! Friday March 11 = Noon To 5pm
Fiddle Contest Returns In June The Julian Fiddle and Pickin’ Contest, organized by the California State Old Time Fiddlers Association - District 7, returns to the Julian Town Hall this year June 4th and 5th. The contest, featuring some of the finest fiddling in Southern California has been expanded to accommodate the growing number of competitors and will include some extras for the audience. A Saturday evening Showcase featuring the National Grand Champion Fiddlers Matthew Hartz and Luke Price, who will be serving as judges for the event. Various “jam sessions” will be organized around town at a number of locations. Friday there will be a special Workshop for contestants (an extra fee will be charged) and by expanding continued on page 4
Credit: Sandiego.org, Joanne DiBona This spring bloom promises to be one of the best in years. After weeks of drinking in fresh rainwater, California’s sunny landscapes are beginning to burst with colorful wildflowers. Virtually anywhere in the Golden State offers beautiful spots to view nature’s spectacular spring show, from the mountains and coast down through the Central Valley and deserts. Here are just twelve of the many places in California that will inspire you to get outdoors and smell the roses – not to mention the poppies, daffodils, tulips and more. 1. Anza-Borrego Desert State Park Some of Mother Nature’s most spectacular floral shows in the West take place each spring at the Anza-Borrego Desert State Park – California’s largest state park encompassing over 600,000 acres in San Diego’s East County. Following winter rains, the dry and rugged landscape is magically transformed into a kaleidoscope of wildflowers, from tiny bursts of color no larger than the head of a pin to towering ocotillos with fiery spines of scarlet blossoms. The displays promise to be especially vibrant sometime during March and April after Southern California’s recent winter rains, and can be viewed best via open air vehicle adventures past hidden palm oases, slot canyons and desolate badlands. Visitors will also enjoy seeing the multitude of butterflies that are drawn to this spectacular floral pageant. Guests can call the Park’s 24-hour “Wildflower Hotline” in February for updates. 2. Antelope Valley California Poppy Reserve The Antelope Valley is the ultimate place to spot the state flower, the California Poppy, in the wild. Located just 75 miles by Eric Jones, VP Development, north of Los Angeles, this stateVolcan Mountain Foundation protected reserve boasts a carpet of bright orange blooms Look around town in the each spring, as well as owl’s coming weeks, and you'll see clover, lupine, goldfields, cream window stickers identifying cups and coreopsis. Visitors can businesses enrolled in the typically enjoy the visual bounty new VMF Business Partner from mid- February through late program. This "Shop Local" May along eight miles of trails initiative encourages Volcan overlooking rolling hills. Trail Mountain supporters to spend benches make great vantage money in town by promoting area points to spot other wildlife, such restaurants, wineries, shops, as singing meadow larks, lizards lodgings and other businesses. zipping across the trail, gophers These business owners stand and maybe even a coyote. 3. Death Valley National Park behind the foundation's mission If you’re visiting Southern with donations, volunteer hours, California soon, don’t miss a and by providing various benefit rare and epic “super bloom” of offers to the Sustaining Friends abundant wildflowers at Death of Volcan Mountain when making Valley National Park. Only under purchase. perfect conditions do wildflowers For more than 25 years, the Volcan Mountain Foundation paint the desert with hues of gold, has worked to preserve the purple, pink and white. Thanks 31,000 acres of the Volcan to heavy rains this fall and early Mountain range in its natural winter, the park’s stark and arid state for future generations. The landscapes are giving birth to range encompasses important Desert Gold, Golden Evening wildlife habitat and watershed Primrose, Gravel Ghost, Bigelow headwaters including the scenic Monkeyflower and Desert FiveSpot along the lower elevations peaks overlooking Julian. Through the efforts of VMF and foothills, and are likely to and its partners, more than hang around until late March 17,000 acres are now under the or early April. If you’re hiking, stewardship of federal and local cycling or jeep trekking to higher agencies. The mission continues slopes, canyons and valleys in today with a full schedule of the northern of the park early youth and adult education field April through early May, you can trips and classes at the VMF likely see a different variety of Nature Center located near the flowers, from Desert Dandelion and Desert Paintbrush to Mojave end of Farmers Road. Find out more about joining the Aster. After that through midVMF Business Partner program July, those braving the highest or becoming a Sustaining Friend mountain slopes and juniper of Volcan Mountain at www. forests might just spot Desert continued on page 9 volcanmt.org.
Shop Local: New Program Connects Friends of Volcan Mountain with Julian Businesses
Ethan Elisara wears the leader jersey at the top of the D2 Sophomore podium. On Sunday, February 28th, the eighth season of competitive high school mountain biking with the SoCal League kicked off at Lake Perris with three riders representing Julian’s Team Gold. Coaches Chad Leptich and Rich Wolf had been training hard with their small but mighty team, and anticipation was high for the first race of the season. After one year of training with the team, Ryan Lay took to the course for his first high school race. For the season opener, both the freshman and sophomore races followed a 5.5 mile course for two laps, climbing fire roads, zooming down long single track and powering across stretches of beach at the Lake Perris venue. Ryan had a strong start, jockeying from the back of the lineup to the 14th position, until a crash on the dusty trail cost him time and positions. Undeterred, Ryan got back on his bike and rode strong to finish his second lap. A 24th place finish put him in the upper half of freshmen D2 riders, and the team was incredibly proud of his solid showing, based on months of working hard during the early morning hours on the stationary trainers and after school and on weekends out on Julian’s backcountry trails.
March 4 ,Friday L 7-2 @Borrego Springs March 8, Tuesday 3:30 San Diego Jewish Academy March 10, Thursday 3:30 Army-Navy Academy March 15, Tuesday 3:15 @West Shores March 17, Thursday 3:30 @Borrego Springs March 22, Tuesday 3:30 West Shores March 24, Thursday 3:30 Borrego Springs March 31, Thursday 3:30 @San Diego Jewish Academy April 8, Friday At Petco Park 4:00 vs. Calipatria
Softball
March 4, Friday Borrego Springs March 14, Monday 3:15 @Borrego Springs March 16, Wednesday 4:00 Foothills Christian March 18, Friday 3:30 Lutheran March 30, Wednesday 4:00 @Escondido Adventist Academy April 13, Wednesday 3:30 @Vincent Memorial
Track & Field
Second in the line, Ryan Lay climbs a hill at the Lake Perris venue. Up next in the sophomore race was Ethan Elisara, also facing the two-lap course against 58 riders in his D2 division. (Schools are divided into D1 and D2 categories based on team, not school, size. Teams with 11 or more athletes are classified as D1; teams with 10 or less are D2.) In the first two miles of his race, a “train” of five leading riders lined up nose to tail for the course’s first uphill section, with Ethan at the back. Familiar with uphill riding from training in Julian, all of the members of Team Gold are skilled in climbing, and Ethan took his chance to pass the other four riders just as they were nearing the top of the hill, giving him wide open space and a handy lead on the long, sloping single track downhill to the beach. He managed to open up a sizeable 13 second gap ahead of the second place rider, maintaining it for the second lap and ending with a first place finish with a 25 second margin. In addition to bringing home the first place SoCal medal, Ethan is also now the leader in points for the five-race series. As such, he was given the “leader jersey” which he will wear instead of his team jersey at the next race. In the last and hottest race of day, junior David Stringfellow competed in the 3 lap, 16.5 mile, highly competitive JV D2 category. During the unusual "roll out" start (riders are placed in staging then escorted a half mile to the starting line) David was bumped hard by a fellow rider launching the water bottle from which he was drinking. Forced to race the next 11 miles in 87 degree temperatures without water resulted in uncharacteristic cramping. A new water bottle at lap 3 helped David gut out the last 5.5 miles, pass some racers and finish 12th out of 86 riders. Although frustrated with his race he for once wasn't hampered by his bike. Last season, David was plagued by bike mechanical problems every race: dropped chains, exploding hub, skewered tire. Thankfully this year he's racing a new 2016 race bike courtesy of Santa Cruz Bikes, one of the top bike companies in the country. David is the only Southern California high school racer sponsored by Santa Cruz! (The SoCal racing league isn't part of C.I.F. high school sports so they allow racers to be sponsored). David is grateful to his coaches, Chad and Rich, along with the local supporters of Team Gold for helping him achieve his dream of being a sponsored rider. All are invited to watch Team Gold in action. The team races again on March 13th at Vail Lake, off the 79 just before Temecula. Freshmen take off at 9:30, sophomores at 10:40, and JV at 1:40. It’s an exciting day of watching our local youth riders compete in the fastest growing high school sport in the country, and the team would love to see you there!
March 5, Saturday 8:00 @Mt Carmel Field and Distance March 12, Saturday TBA @Desert Classic Relays March 19, Saturday TBA 13th Annual Elmer Runge Inv @Patrick Henry High School Martch 26, Saturday TBA @Mt Carmel/Asics Track Inv April 1, Friday 11:00 @Trabuco Hills Invite April 2, Saturday TBA @Trabuco Hills Invite April 15, Friday 3:00 Citrus League Meet #1 Calvary Christian Academy, Lutheran, Mountain Empire, San Pasqual Academy, West Shores April 16, Saturday TBA Jaguar Invite @Valley Center High School April 22, Friday 3:00 Citrus League Meet #2 @Mt. Empire High School Calvary Christian Academy, SD, Lutheran, Mountain Empire, San Pasqual Academy, West Shores April 29, Friday 3:00 Dennis Gilbert Small School @Mt. Empire High School
Golf
Home Course: Warner Springs Resort
March 31, Thursday 3:00 St. Joseph Academy April 5, Tuesday TBA @Borrego Springs April 7, Thursday TBA @Escondido Adventist April 12, Tuesday 3:00 Vincent Memorial
Chamber of Commerce Business Breakfast March 17 - Buffalo Bills, 8am