Rancho La Puerta lies in a broad valley at the foot of 3885-foot Mt. Kuchumaa. Here the meandering Kumeyaay Creek meets the Tecate River. Chaparral holds the slopes and foothills of the mountain in a wild embrace. Huge and fantastic granite boulders surface from a sea of blue when the wild lilacs bloom. Artemisia and sage scent the air.
Home to coyotes, cottontail rabbits and foxes, Kuchumaa also enjoys some of the greatest diversity of bird species in North America. Ravens, golden eagles and red-tailed hawks sweep the sky, and towhees, wren and quail scatter before the morning hikes.
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