Where Are the Trains?

Back in December I stopped by Tehachapi Pass on my way home from San Diego. Unfortunately the railroad was on a maintenance window and no trains were running.
The only train we saw was this BNSF eastbound stopped at Bealville.
The empty grade crossing at Bealville. The small town of Caliente is about a mile from here by road. By railroad it is more than six miles away.

Of Birds and Beasts

Brown Pelican at the mouth of the Tijuana River.

Greater Roadrunner near the Mexican border.
A ground squirrel catches the early morning sun near the Mexican border.
A Black Phoebe takes flight at Imperial Beach
Patterns in the sand on Imperial Beach.
A Whimbrel strides along Imperial Beach looking for food.

More San Diego Scenery

A fuzzy round flower at Balboa Park.
Point Loma Lighthouse.
Surf on the ocean side of Point Loma

HO Scale Railroading

At Balboa Park in San Diego there is a model railroad museum with several large layouts built by clubs. There is a two-rail O Scale, Three-rail O Scale, two HO, one N, two Legoland, and three Brio layouts. The photos below are from the HO scale club that is modeling Tehachapi Pass.
Caliente, CA as it looked in the 1950s.
An SP train climbing the grade between Bealville and Woodford
A BNSF train climbs the pass at Bealville.
Heading down the pass between Woodford and Bealville.

USS Midway

On December 14 I headed for the waterfront in San Diego to find the USS Midway. This aricraft carrier has been converted to a floating museum. The first photo is of the stern of the ship and the second is looking toward the bow.


A Heerman's Gull posed for me just across the water from the USS Midway.

Tijuana Estuary

The Tijuana Estuary is a Wildlife Refuge at the mouth of the Tijuana River just north of Mexico. It is a tidal wetlands that supports an amazing variety of plants, animals, and birds right next to a large city.
A few of the houses in Imperial Beach right next to the estuary. A navy base is just to the right out of the frame.
A red flower that was growing in a dry area near one of the watercourses.
Prickly Pear cactus. The red knob is its fruit.
I'm not sure what this plant is, but it looked really neat next to the flags.