We all know there are thousands of man-made satellites in space, but the Moon is our only natural satellite. Before Galileo in 1610, we didn’t know any other moons existed so we just called it “the moon”. But now that we know there are many planets that have moons like Mars that has 2 moons, Jupiter which has 3 moons, and Saturn which has 9 moons orbiting them, we refer to our moon with a capital “M”. Of all the moons we are aware of, our Moon is the 5th largest. And our Moon, is about 1/4 the size of the earth. When you look at the moon and the sun, they look about the same size, but that’s because the moon is 400 times closer to us than the sun. The sun is 400 times bigger than the moon.

The moon was formed about 4.5 billion years ago when another planet crashed into the earth and all the debris from that crash stayed in the earths orbit, eventually forming the Moon. The moon has no atmosphere and not much gravity, but because of the gravitational forces of the earth, the moon is locked into the same rotation pattern as the earth so we are always seeing the same side of the moon; the near side. Think of it as a couple ballroom dancing together. Even when they turn, they are always facing each other. The Moon actually has no light. Its’ surface is reflective like asphalt and the light we see is the sun’s light reflecting back to us. During its monthly rotation, it blocks the sun so that’s why we see different phases of it (waxing crescent, waning gibbous, new and full moons). Temperatures on the moon range from 225 degrees in the day down to -298 degrees at night.

Humans have always been captivated by the Moon, but in 1959, the Soviet Union made the first manned space flight around the moon, but did not land. There have only been 12 humans ever to set foot on the moon, and they have all been American. Four other countries, Russia, China, Japan & India have all landed robotic exploration vehicles on the moon. It was the Indian spacecraft that successfully mapped ice on the poles of the moon informing us that water is present on the moon but mostly at the 2 poles where it gets very little sunlight and is very cold (appx. -410 degrees). As a matter of fact, just yesterday the U.S. landed the 1st spacecraft in 50 years on the south pole of the Moon and is going to spend about 7 days doing tests before the 2 week “lunar night” starts which makes it too cold for it to remain on the Moon at this location.

Why aren’t countries going to the moon today? The entire cost of the Apollo program was $25 billion (That’s counting the 7 trips to the moon, with 6 of them landing astornauts on the moon – Apollo 13 didn’t make it….see the movie). Today that same program adjusted for inflation would cost appx. $152 billion. But the U.S. is working on it and has hopes of returning to the moon in 2026.

ORDER ANY TIME PRIOR TO
MONDAY 2/10

Food Distribution – Thurs. Feb. 13th, 2025

MOUNTAIN AID
Need food or other items?
Want to help those who do?
Twice monthly food boxes for every budget.
By ordering a food box, you help pay for those who can’t pay.

Pick-up at Camp Maranatha
54162 Maranatha Dr.
www.MountainAid.net to order

Friday February 7th
Frequency Clearing
Wildland
With Rena
7 pm – 8:30 pm
$33

Saturday February 8th
Bingo Night
Town Hall
5 pm

Proceeds to to ICC to help finish the new Community Center next to the playground.

Sunday February 9th
Live Pottery Demonstration
Mountain Pottery
54240 Pine Crest Ave.
1:00 pm

Dr. T will be demonstrating how he creates a chatter effect on his chatter bowls using an old hacksaw blade. Come find out how he does it. Everyone welcome.

Sunday February 9th
Super Bowl
Kansas City Chiefs VS Philadelphia Eagles
3:30 pm

Free Watch Party at Rustic Theatre
2:30 – End of Game

Tuesday February 11th
Line Dancing
The Peak Restaurant
55251 South Circle
6 pm – 10 pm

Wednesday February 12th
Sadie’s Clinic
ARF
26890 Hwy. 243
9 am – 3 pm
Call for Appt. 951-659-1122

Wednesday February 12th
Abraham Lincoln’s Birthday
Born 1809 – Kentucky
Died at 56 years of age
16th President of the U.S.
Post Office is Open

Wednesday February 12th
Full Snow Moon
Moonrise at 5:50 pm

As the snowiest month in the United States, February’s full moon is commonly known as the Full Snow Moon in Native American cultures. These ancient tribes named this moon after the way trees cracked in the cold, or how people had to sit shoulder to shoulder around the fire for warmth.

Just in and
Available Now…
Idyllwild Library

Gymnastic Classes
Coming Soon…
Thursdays
Town Hall
4pm – 6pm

Sunday March 2nd
Oscar Party
Rustic Theatre
4 pm – 8 pm

Snow Plow/Shoveling Services

This list will move toward the bottom of Good Morning Idyllwild in the next issue so if you need it, look further down each newsletter in the “Need to Know” section.

Body & Soul

Click Here for a list of Yoga, Pilates, Aerobics, Meditation & Hypnosis in Idyllwild.

Emergency Radio Station

In Idyllwild, have a portable radio with batteries available and tune into WNKI AM 1610 Radio station for Emergency announcements in Idyllwild.

Delivery in Idyllwild

Bear Necessities Delivered
Groceries/Restaurant Food/Mail/Pharmacy/Etc.
Call or Text: (951) 512-0800
Available 7 Days a Week
Monday – Wednesday 11 am – 8 pm
Thursday – Sunday 8 am – 8 pm
Deliver to Idyllwild, Pine Cove & Mountain Center.

The New Bathrooms are OPEN!
Next door to the Idyllwild Gardens Nursery – Across the street from the Rustic Theatre.
Open Daily 9am – 5pm

Thank you to Shane & Ashley Stewart for donating the land for these bathrooms and to Stephanie Yost with ICC for her persistence with the County of Riverside to FINALLY get us public bathrooms. Thank you to the County of Riverside and Supervisor Manuel Perez for making this happen. It’s been a LONG time coming! Bathrooms will be locked at night.

Hotel Information
Upcoming Weekends
www.IdyLodging.com

All events, venues & programs run by
Idyllwild Community Center

Fit after 50
Free Exercise Class
Town Hall

Mondays
12-pm – 1pm

Tue/Wed/Thur
10am – 11am

Fridays
12-pm – 1pm

Wednesdays
Sing & Dance with Fran
Ages 2 – 5 years
Town hall
25925 Cedar St.
3:30 – 4:15
$5

Gymnastic Classes
Coming Soon…
Thursdays
Town Hall
4pm – 6pm

FEEDING AMERICA
First Tuesday of each month.

The Visitor Center is now open between the public bathrooms and Idyllwild Gardens on Saturdays & Sundays from 10am – 4pm.

If you would like to volunteer to talk to visitors, help them find their way and point them in the direction of “A Good Time” please contact me at hello@GoodMorningIdyllwild.com.

Click Here to go to the
PCT Information Page