Although there is a little more than a month left in the summer, the Idyllwild Nature Center still has many special programs for everyone. On the weekend of Aug. 5 and 6, butterflies will be making their annual appearance at Butterfly Daze both days from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. People can enter butterfly pavilions and observe Monarch butterflies at close range. Volunteers will be there to explain the life cycle of a butterfly and other pertinent butterfly facts.

In Idyllwild, businesses come and go, but few return after an extended absence. Robert Carie’s The Elephant Walk Home Store held a grand “reopening” on Saturday, May 27 after an extended hiatus. Carie said the store, The Laughing Elephant, had previously closed in 2007 and that he was excited to have returned. On Memorial Day,…

By Ernie MaxwellTown Crier Founder During our many years in the woods we’ve heard one tune many times. Its melody boils down to one theme: “When things get too rough, I’ll take to the hills.” Generally, the thought behind the tune is that when man begins to destroy himself, the place to be is deep…