Fall is in the Air.

Fall is definitely in the air. The acorns are dropping like crazy, and the squirrels are gnawing on pine cones & acorns, making messes EVERYWHERE! In addition, they are NOT watching out for oncoming cars in their haste to store away their Winter meals. So now is the time to drive carefully & give a little honk to help the squirrels make up their minds and possibly save their lives.

Even though we got down to 42 degrees last week (just one morning), the warm weather is still here, and soon we will be getting those pesky Santa Ana winds that make us all nervous about fires. Early September is a great time to catch a 1-nighter at your favorite Lodge or Inn. There is a natural "lull" right after Labor Day when people tend to get back to school, back to work, back to whatever it is they've spent the summer NOT doing. So it is extra quiet up here in Idyllwild the first few weeks following Labor Day.

If you haven't made plans for Thanksgiving, now is the time to secure your cabin in the mountains, if that is what your family likes to do. www.IdyLodging.com has Thanksgiving listed including all Inns, Lodges, B&B's & Property Mgmt Co.'s that have availability for the Thanksgiving Holiday weekend.

Looking for fire starters? The Forest Service Fire Roads are full of pine cones big and small that make GREAT winter fire starters. Bring up an empty trash can and collect the small dry "Prickley" Ponderosa pine cones or the "Gentle" Jeffrey pine cones. For real impact, you can find those awesome "Killer" Coulter pine cones. They ARE the biggest pine cones in the world, and they are usually covered in sap that makes for great fire starters. If you want to bake one in your oven (don't forget to line your cookie sheet with foil first) you can make your home smell like a pine forest. Those fold-able canvas trash containers they sell at Home Depot make great light-weight collection containers for your winter pine cone cache.

If you have any questions, please feel free to call us at Silver Pines Lodge or Creekstone Inn. We will be happy to help you in whatever Fall endeavor you're attempting. We're here to help you have a good time in Idyllwild.

Silver Pines Lodge 951-659-4335
Creekstone Inn 951-659-3342