Richard and Carolina Mohrlock are FINALLY official weekenders with their own cabin on Palomar. During the week, Richard keeps busy with his dental practice, volunteering at an orphanage in Mexico, and on the board of trustees with the Oceanside Museum of Art. Carolina had fun at the Christian Conference Center Horse Camp this summer, just started seventh grade, and really looks forward to their weekends feeding the squirrels, watching for deer, hiking, visiting with their new found mountain friends, and waiting for snow! 

Scott Kardel is excited to be a new member of the Palomar Mountain
community. He joins us as the new Public Affairs Coordinator for the Palomar Observatory. He is looking forward bringing the magic of astronomy and the Observatory to a great many people. He is enjoying his view from his office in the 60 inch telescope. He is also anxiously awaiting the sale of their home in Kansas so his wife and daughter can join him on this new adventure. 

Palomar Mountain has always been one of Diana Jeffrey's favorite day destinations for a wonderful hike. She has been patiently searching for the 'right home'  for over two years and said " I am blessed and delighted to have found my little piece of paradise! I plan on being actively involved in the community and look forward to meeting my new Mountain neighbors".   She has two sons, Joel 19 and Micah 18. They recently had the privilege of welcoming her 16 year old nephew John into their family, and now puppy, Ruby! Pacific Bell/SBC in Escondido has been keeping her busy for the past 20+ years. 

Jim and Peggy Hamerly had always dreamed and prayed about having a home nestled among cedars and firs at high altitude. Palomar Mountain provided the perfect answer. Ironically, both Jim and Peggy, born and raised on the East Coast, often wondered if they would ever see the Palomar Observatory they had both studied. They even traveled to Corning, New York to see the first telescope mirror blank and how the final mirror was made. What an amazing event to now be only two miles away, using their family telescopes!  Jim and Peggy live in Poway and have four children, Tim, Sue, Kim and Greg. Peggy is a French tutor and piano teacher, Jim is now a college teacher after having worked as an entrepreneur and intrapreneur for thirty years. Their plan is to build a home and hiking trails, while preserving the natural beauty of the land.

Rugged, remote, and with a view from Catalina to the Cuyamacas, Nate Harrison Grade has all the right stuff for the Johnsons. Mike's plans include building foot trails to some of the property's spectacular view points, sewing poppies in the Spring, horseback riding with wife Kelly and daughters, Katie and Faith, and who knows, maybe someday a cabin. When not dreaming on the mountain, Mike is teaching, designing websites, or publishing his underwater photos. Kelly is a lead programmer at SDG&E.

The father and son team of Nicholas and Marjan Petrovski found a perfect acre of land for a mountain getaway. Palomar reminds them of their homeland of Yugoslavia. The family has a delightful clock and watch business in Encinitas. Are you in the market to have an antique clock or watch restored or repaired? Looking for a new timepiece? Look up the Timekeepers at 760 944-6333. We need to get the family up for our potlucks - they are also fabulous cooks!!!

Rob, Brenda, Gavin, Monique, and Brenden Hawk live in San Diego. Rob heads the Engineering Geology section for land development for the City of San Diego. Brenda is the executive assistant for a San Diego manufacturing company. Gavin, 12, attends middle school and enjoys science and Boy Scouts. Monique, 9, attends elementary school  and enjoys camping and animals; Brenden, 4, pretty much does what he wants, and likes to do everything (except go to bed)! The Hawks have been looking for mountain property for almost a year, and are very much looking forward to being "weekend" members of the community.

When he is not jetting off around with world working with Mazda as it's legal counsel, you just may run into Mark O'Connor, our newest East Grader.  Marko was looking to get out away from Laguna Beach, had never been to Palomar before but could not resist a friend's 20 acres and cabin-in-the-making. He looks forward to escaping to his off-the-grid hideaway mountain to study the trees, get lost in the woods, sing a song, and just generally enjoy what nature offers.  If anyone knows of good mountain biking trails he would love to hook up for a ride.

After looking in surrounding mountain communities, Dale and Katie flew in one day  to see property … within seconds of  walking in the entry way knew they found their new home! Dale is a pilot for Time Warner's AOL. He'll keep his plane at a local airstrip so he can make it up to Burbank quickly when he is on call. They're both having so much fun moving in and decorating. However, it is taking longer than expected because they are so distracted with the ever-changing drama of their fabulous view!

Hugo and Margaret Sollman have some wonderful ideas for their 'fun fixer in the forest'. Hugo brings his expertise as a cabinet maker all the way from their homeland of Yugoslavia. They love the peaceful setting of their cabin and really appreciate the freedom of living in the United States having each spent four years in concentration camps during World  War II.  So glad they can be a part of our mountain, and may God continue to bless America!!

Scott, Alydia, and Sara Kardel are the newest full timers on Palomar Mountain. They sold their home in Kansas and the moving van finally
arrived. If you look close you can see the box that Scott is guarding is marked 'telescope'. That is a clue to his job here. He joins us as the new Public Affairs Coordinator for the Palomar Observatory. He is looking
forward bringing the magic of astronomy and the Observatory to a great many people. Alydia puts her computer to work with  medical transcribing. Sara is looking forward to being a part of the school and making new friends from their new home on Palomar.       

Chris and Gini Embree have been looking for a very special property for
several years- one that would lend itself to visits from friends with special needs. " Easy access, a forest with a level path suitable for 'wheelchair hiking' , a sunny open meadow for plant growing, a full night sky for wonderment, a therapeutic view and peace and quiet. We are so delighted and amazed to have found a property with everything on our list!" Chris works with special needs children and their families in El Cajon. Gini is a professional floral designer and teaching assistant in the Ornamental Horticulture Department at Cuyamaca College. Their dream is to build a wheelchair friendly cabin to make the magic and beauty of Palomar accessible to friends. For now, to be caretakers of the land, experience the seasons of Palomar, get some plants started and "let the land show us where to build".

Oh to be able to go to a cabin to get away from it all ... Dave and Roberta McNally are the brave souls who had to have the latest 'Handyman's Dream'. This will be a fun project with both being General Contractors. Dave gets to do the big stuff, and Roberta? She is the designer and decorator and is very good at encouraging Dave! … It's an enchanting hideaway-in-the-making!

Exactly one week after Michele's first visit to Palomar Mountain I took this picture while she and husband Dale, and Molly-the-dog were moving in their new cabin! Dale has been working for contractor Alan Serry for about 15 years, most recently finishing up a new home for the
Kellogg's on State Park Road.  They came up for Michele to see Dale's handiwork and 'just look' at some cabins. In a matter of minutes, they decided living on the mountain full time would be a great way to for Michele to de-stress from her hectic but rewarding job as a nurse at Children's Hospital,  and continue her hand painted crafts. Dale already has a long list of projects including remodeling the deck of their cabin and getting ready for winter!

The father and son team of Nicholas and Marjan Petrovski found a perfect acre of land for a mountain getaway. Palomar reminds them of their homeland of Yugoslavia. The family has a delightful clock and watch business in Encinitas. Are you in the market to have an antique clock or watch restored or repaired? Looking for a new timepiece? Look up the Timekeepers at 760 944-6333. We need to get the family up for our potlucks - they are also fabulous cooks!!!

Woody Zuill's tie to the Mountain dates back to the late 1950's when he came up as a boy. He proposed to his wife up here! Woody was in a band that played at the Summit in the early 1980's and he has been the caretaker for the property for the past couple decades. Woody, Andrea,  and daughter Amy, were thrilled to acquire the cabin as their own. It's a wonderful getaway from Woody's career as a computer programmer and is inspiring for Andrea's passion as an artist!

Anxious to have their cabin ready for the family for the first snow, Bruce and Evelyn Kline have been working overtime! Within their first couple weeks, they stripped the old wallpaper, repaired, painted, had a new kitchen floor and carpet installed. New furniture has been delivered and before they know it that turkey will be in the oven! Bruce retired from Unisys Corporation manufacturing computers. Evelyn kept busy raising their three sons. They have more projects planned to keep improving their getaway … including stocking up on a supply of sleds for those grandkids!

Say "Hello" to Dave, Alice and Alex Dirdo! Dave has an interesting career as a communications engineer working with different agencies including the government and the Olympics. A log home is planned for their property within a year so they've been checking out on-line information and busy looking at floor plans. Any ideas are appreciated!  Alex is working hard to convince his folks to add a rope tow along the driveway next winter since he is an avid snowboarder! …

As a computer systems engineer at NCR, the wilderness has always called to John Lesac. Co-worker, Keith Ronchetti and his wife Colleen, introduced John to the wonders of Palomar. John found the perfect property and has some great plans for his private forest that include a home made out of native stone. John is also a gourmet cook! He has an e-mail broadcast with a picture of the 'Cookie of the Week'! He bakes the cookies to take in to the lucky co-workers. I'm only on the broadcast … probably a good thing because the cookies I get are calorie free! His desserts are incredible! (We MUST start up those monthly potlucks again!)

David and Illiena Ross were married on the mountain after a three year, long-distance courtship. David is the editor of the Valley Center Road Runner and adds his humor to the adventures of being an official Mountain Man! Born in Ukraine, Illiena is a computer software support engineer who loves the charm of their mountain cabin in the woods with the four seasons as a reminder of her homeland. The verdict is still out on David's true feelings for the mountain, but you can be certain we'll enjoy reading more about it in futures issues of the paper. You might also check out www.northcounty.com/ross/index.html

When Jack and Judy Opdycke called about new cabin listings, their first question was, "Are these two fixers near each other?" They were looking for two cabins for their large family of six grown children, grandkids and friends. Their first day as new mountain folks, I found them busy with a five gallon bucket of primer, almost done with the first room. Jack already had the plumbing in operating order. They have great plans for many happy memories restoring their cabins while enjoying the ambiance of the mountain as a part of a wonderful, loving family.

Kevin and Sandy's dream of dividing their time between their boat and a cabin on Palomar is finally coming true! Kevin has wanted to live here ever since he visited as a boy. When they saw the cabin that is now theirs, plans immediately started coming together to completely remodel including new kitchen cabinets with punched tin doors to compliment  their family antiques. Kevin plans to telecommute with Hewlett Packard until he retires. Sandy has worked with the school district and kept busy with their grown kids, Justin and Rori who think their parents are quite adventuresome!

"We felt like God lead us here", said Victor and Peggy Jevremov. "We were looking for a cabin in the mountains to escape the busyness of the city and enjoy God's creation". Two of their six daughters and families live near by and the grand kids are especially looking forward to fun in the snow and wildflower hikes in the spring and just being on the mountain top with their grandparents.  There are four more daughters in the Midwest that will enjoy the getaway when they can visit. "Our family is our greatest blessing. We're very happy to have this special place for them."

To escape the fast pace of  his computer software marketing company, Todd Seth was living on his 40 foot boat. He decided his second home must  be a cabin on Palomar.  He has faced a few challenges; lack of heat, creative vintage plumbing, aging roof, and learning to take the signs on the South Grade that warn of watching for falling rocks, seriously. The greatest challenge is that his dog Chloe is petrified of mice which makes it occasionally hard to sleep… but all in all, he loves his retreat and has great plans for remodeling when he can get the mice population under control!

Peter and Kathy had a large home in the city but longed for the mountains. So they had a great idea: They sold their home and one of their cars and  bought a condo in La Jolla. Peter now rides his bike to work at Scripps Institution of Oceanography Library and Kathy uses their now, one, family car to get to work at UCSD, where she's the librarian for  Anthropology, Archaeology, and South Pacific Studies.  The smaller homebase and shorter commute enabled Peter and Kathy to achieve their dream of a cabin on Palomar for weekend fun.  Son, Leo (age 9)  and his friends, have no complaints with the fun of a forest for a backyard and S-7 for the perfect downhill bike ride.  Peter has a colorful website with stories and pictures about his scuba diving travels (even under the ice in Antarctica!) and other topics;  www.peterbrueggeman.com. 

June 20, 2001 ~ A new chapter begins for the mountain! We have new owners for the Historic Palomar Mountain Lodge! Dale and Angelique Norton have some big plans to restore, rebuild, renovate and re-open! Built originally in 1926, as the Clubhouse for the mountain residents, they plan to make it again available for the community. In addition, they have wonderful plans for the Lodge to be a delightful resort with a warm, inviting, family atmosphere. With backgrounds in the restaurant arena and experience in business and with historical buildings, they come to the mountain with the expertise to make their dreams a reality! Occasionally their daughter and son will be up assisting with the family's new venture. A warm welcome to Dale, Angelique, Athena & Tony.

Mike and Theresa MacMahon had been looking for land to build on for the past couple years. They fell in love with Gene and Cira's property! They have already 'served time' with the County Building Department and are in full swing to build their dream cabin in their own private forest. During the week Mike works with a tile company and has their flooring picked out. Theresa is in the accounting dept with Sony so loves the time they can spend 'parking up their property and enjoying the mountain! Yes, they also love the beach … this picture arrived via e-mail to use until I can catch them having fun in the snow!

After growing up in the mountain community of Wrightwood, Gene has always wanted to have a place in the mountains. His wife shares his love for the great outdoors. They purchased land a few years ago but thought their three sons might be off to college before they got a cabin built… so, they found a cabin just a couple parcels to the west when their land sold. Max, Ben and Jake always seem to have a friend in tow, are great at stoking the wood stove,  and have already explored much of the north side of Crestline. They had their first experience of getting 'snowed in'. Gene couldn't make it up the driveway and down the hill to work and the boys missed school! Their "lessons" that day involved finding the best sledding areas on that side of the mountain.  When not snowed in, Gene keeps busy in the city with their business www.vintagecellars.com  Cira is more than busy with all the Walder guys and now fun plans for decorating their cabin.