Here come we, like Philistines with giant machines

For 17 years, I’ve been looking down from my little house atop my little mountain at that beautiful river below, San Luis Rey de Francia, named after the opulent Sun King of France. It should have been named after the Real King; it took Him unknown millennia to create this little river that runs from the headwaters of Mount Palomar’s Frey Creek down to Oceanside. Only 55 miles long, and nearly dry most of the year, it is nevertheless the longest and greatest in San Diego County.

Nothing humans have ever built, including the city of San Diego, compares to its natural beauty and complexity. The...