A Guide to Idyllwild / Guest Post by Heidi Hoffman

I’m sooo excited to share this next guest post from Heidi: 1. Because she’s one of my dearest friends and someone I love to go on trips with (see Joshua Tree posts), and 2. I get to introduce everyone to her new vintage shop / blog Bucks General Store! I’m always asking Heidi where she found this or that adorable item of clothing, and the answer is almost always, “At the thrift store”, so it was only a matter of time that she started a shop of her own. In keeping with Bucks General’s American Pioneer theme, here’s what Heidi has to say about her recent trip to the little mountain town of Idyllwild:

My husband and I chose to spend our second wedding anniversary weekend in the mountain town of Idyllwild, Ca. Why Idyllwild? Not sure. Maybe it was the promise of a town filled with toothless mountain hippies, or maybe it was just the close proximity to San Diego. Regardless, most everyone there sported a nearly full set of teeth, and we found some truly memorable treasures.

• Twin Trees Lodge: In this 1930’s log cabin rental, everything seems as plus-sized as the giant redwoods that built it. There is some good kitsch and a little cringe-worthy cheesiness to the decor, complete with a huge wagon wheel chandelier and a faux rustic sign in the bathroom that reads, “A cowgirl can never wear too much fringe”. Yikes! Thankfully, the colorful Native American textiles and giant rock fireplace bring the cabin back down to earth. It is seemingly secluded, but only a 10 minute walk to town that requires crossing Strawberry Creek via a fallen tree trunk.
• Shops: Mountain Mike is a cozy little store for handmade leather goods such as moccasins, custom hats, and beautifully woven, colorful bracelets and bookmarks as shown above. The moccasins are truly unique and well crafted. Mountain Mike, an intimidating looking guy, is as friendly as can be. The Pony Express Trading Post is a sure wallet buster. It was hard to resist the beautiful, and expensive, southwestern blanket coats and cowichan sweaters for men and women.
• Thrifting: There are two thrift stores in town, the Idyllwild Help Center Thrift and the Thrift Shop Community Church (odd name). If you’re going to either of these, I would get there early. Both were crawling with people by 11am, and I had the feeling that we missed some valuable finds. I would first visit the Thrift Shop Community Church due to the mid century ceramics and bolo tie display behind the cash registers. The Idyllwild Help Center Thrift had a decent share of woolen, nordic ski sweaters.
• Hiking: There are a handful of hiking trails whose distance and strenuosity are detailed here. We took the Deer Springs trail to Suicide Rock, and though it isn’t the greenest of trails, there are beautiful, expansive views the entire way. The trail is lined with Manzanita trees, a bizarre and alien-looking tree that is characterized by ultra smooth, reddish brown, swirled bark.