Vallecito Lake

Vallecito Lake was the site of a fire back in 2002, known as the Missionary Ridge Fire, which burned thousands of acres of forest and homes and saw the death of one fire fighter.  In the aftermath, an artist, Chad Haspels, carved a number of statues as a tribute to those who fought the fire.

The area is home to more than 22 bald eagles.  

They build their nests in the remains of the burnt out pines.

The hillsides still show the scars from the fire.

Firefighter with shovel.

A mother bear and her two cubs.

A firefighter with an eagle.

These two bears were inside the general store and restaurant where we stopped.

This was my favorite, the firefighter and a racoon.  The story has it the firefighter rescued a young racoon, and this racoon came around for food for many months after the fire.  They named him Rocky.

An eagle and a lynx, just two of the many animals affected by the fire.

A ranger and his horse.  The rangers brought needed supplies to the firemen on the line.

Down the road is another lake, Lemon Lake, and as you can see, the water is so low you can't even use the boat ramp to put in a boat, there is no water.