Book excerpt: Rising 6,140 feet into the sky, Palomar Mountain is one of the highest peaks in San Diego County. It is best known as the location for the iconic Palomar Observatory and its giant 200-inch Hale telescope. But since the mid-1800s, this mile-high forested oasis in the Southern California desert has also been a haven to rustlers, ranchers, and recluses, as well as practitioners of high science and promoters of extraterrestrials. Early Luiseño Indians were the mountain's first inhabitants, and ever since then, it has been a special place with a magical attraction to many looking for inspiration and solitude. Today Palomar Mountain is home to a small, thriving community with an eclectic mix of about 300 citizens, some of whom are descendants from the original 19th-century pioneer families.