When the going gets hot, the hot head for the mountains

To escape the unseasonable record-setting heat wave that baked much of SoCal this weekend, we headed to the top of Palomar Mountain, about a 90-minute drive north east of San Diego, where temperatures were much cooler.

Palomar is home to the California Institute of Technology's Observatory which, unfortunately, had just closed for public tours when we arrived.

So we headed to a nearby mountain-top state park and hiked around Doane's Pool (below), down a wide meadow and along the stream that feeds the pond.



I stopped for a snack along the trail.

Rex climbed a tree.

We both were puzzled by this strange little hut sitting next to the stream. The only clue to its purpose was a small sign designating it "State Property." Is it a bathroom, a weather station, an enclosed water well, housing for Hobbits?

Any better ideas?