Page 79 - WINE DINE AND TRAVEL WINTER SPRING 2022

Peninsula.
The 170,000-acre park is also home to the Na-
tional Astronomical Observatory of Mexico, built
in 1971. A diameter of 2.12 meters makes it Mex-
ico’s largest optical telescope, and the second
largest in Latin America.
Mike had scheduled two nights at the interna-
tionally known Meling Ranch (www.ranchomeling
.com,) an hour’s drive from where we stood. Gen-
tle slopes covered in wild flowers ascended to the
working cattle ranch which lies just 200 miles
south of San Diego (CA) at an elevation of 3,000 ft.
The first settlers of the family-owned cattle ranch
emigrated from Norway 115 years ago. But
fourth-generation descendant, Salvador Felipe
Meling Johnson, was the first who started the cat-
tle raising operation in the
1950s.
We alighted from our van onto
a lawn as green as a Swiss
meadow, fronting a row of rustic
rooms each with its own wood
stove and en suite bathroom. Just
a few steps separated them from
the communal dining room.
This remote part of the Sierra has long been a
popular destination for campers and off-roaders
from around the globe—as I found out when I took
a walk around the common area, only to find a
football bearing the logo of BARCA, Barcelona
Football Club, nestled in the grass!

WINEDINEANDTRAVEL.COM 79