Day Tripping – Wrightwood
Woman in the Middle | September 8, 2015We are very lucky in that we live within an hour of the mountains and the beach. However, the beach means fighting traffic and the mountains means those of us with motion sickness problems don’t relish the twisting, winding roads to and from the mountains. Yesterday, for Labor Day, we found the perfect solution. We visited Wrightwood.
Wrightwood in a little mountain town situated near some popular skiing areas in our local mountains. In the winter it must get very busy, with all the folks arriving to enjoy snow sports (if the weather permits. Not much of the snow sport thing happened last winter.)
I have been wanting to go to Wrightwood for years, literally years. I would always think of it in the winter, when I didn’t want to go, and would always forget about it the other nine months of the year when it would be lovely and snow free. Well, I finally thought of it at the right time of year and suggested it to the family as a Labor Day outing. Everyone agreed they wanted to avid the traffic going to he beach and we headed the opposite direction instead.
The turn off to Wrightwood (Highway 138) is located about 3/4s of the way up the Cajon Pass. Please note that none of the signs mention it is he turn off to Wrightwood. The sings mention other places, but not Wrightwood. If you miss the turn off you have a 10 mile round trip getting to the next off ramp at the top of the Pass and getting back to 138. (But we didn’t do something as silly as that….oh no….)
Once you are off the freeway and onto 138 you get to see up close some spectacular rock formations that you can only see from a distance when you are on the freeway. You also get to see some lovely high desert landscapes. It appears that the county is widening 138 from 2 lanes to four, so be forewarned of that. Once that is done it will be smooth sailing.
Highway 138 takes you to the turn off to Wrightwood, Highway 2, otherwise known as Angeles Crest Highway. You climb higher and higher in elevation, but without the normal twisting mountain roads. So lovely for the easily upset stomach. A few miles down the road you leave behind the desert and enter the mountains. There are typical mountain cabins, pine trees and cooler air. A little farther and you enter the town of Wrightwood. It is a small place but has lots of Mom and Pop eateries, not a chain restaurant in site.
We decided to eat at the Grizzly Café. We all enjoyed our sandwiches which included a hamburger, a Reuben, a grilled cheese with tomato and avocado, and a BBQ beef sandwich. The home-made potato salad was good and the homemade potato ships were excellent.
After lunch we drove down the street a little ways and found Park Drive. It had more cafes. and lots of little shops, including a used book store. The girls saw that and immediately demanded their Dad park the car. There are other stores, including antique stores, scattered throughout Wrightwood, but our time was limited (Eldest Daughter had to be to work by 3) so we decided to concentrate on Park Drive. We looked at the shops, bought a few books, and then headed home, happy that we finally got to visit Wrightwood.
The sky was blue, the clouds were white, and the day was beautiful when we visited Wrightwood.
I’ve been there because it has an SB County library branch & we had a meeting there once. I also know the former librarian, who still lives there. She loves it. A nice little community.
We did happen to drive by the library while we were there. It looked like it was pretty new.
What a nice day out
Thanks for the heads-up on the hidden turn-off to Wrightwood!