I live and work in suburban Murrieta. So how did I write a book about isolated Idyllwild?

I could give the rambling, creative answer that Idyllwild inspires, but I’ll stay condensed.

My wife Joanne and I, a decade ago, got the deal of the new millennium and bought a second home there, an hour from Murrieta in the San Jacinto Mountains. It sounds weird that I, a retired teacher and freelance journalist, could afford it, but that’s also the reason I still substitute teach.

Sitting outside the Idyllwild Library with Mojo, the dog that belongs to my niece Adrienne and her boyfriend Ajon, I realized I could write about Mayor Max, Idyllwild’s famous dog mayor. When that didn’t happen, I found an even better idea: the entire community.

The book’s prologue starts: “There’s a sign on Highway 243 at South Circle Drive that greets travelers arriving in Idyllwild. Like so many things here, it’s carved out of wood. On it are the monikers for Rotary Club, American Legion, and Soroptimists, the community groups of many towns. Then there’s the unusual slogan above the usual. It reads, ‘Welcome to Idyllwild. Home of Adventure, Music, Art, and Harmony.’

This is my attempt to explain the people behind that message. It’s not intended to be a history book, though I’ll address that plenty. Instead, it’s a moment in time, about 24 months of Idyllwild time spread over 2023, 2024 and 2025.”

The book is “Our Idyllwild” on Amazon. The last chapter is “My Idyllwild,” my story that started in the 1980s. The last line, after telling my relationship to the community, is, “What’s your Idyllwild?”

I have book talks scheduled at 5:30 p.m. July 30 at the Idyllwild Library, 54401 Village Center Drive, and 10:30 a.m. Aug. 2 at the Rustic Theatre, 54290 N Circle Drive.

Idyllwild sits in the San Jacinto Mountains, and its population has doubled in the past 40 years to about 5,000. Murrieta and Temecula were each about 2,500 in the early 1980s and now each has a population of more than 100,000. Locals there can thank the 15 Freeway.

Idyllwild is mostly surrounded by protected forest land, so suburbia will never happen. But limited growth has come. Dave and Loie Butterfield, and Shane and Ashley Stewart played a part. The most prominent property in town, previously a biker bar, was planned to be a three-story hotel, which would have changed Idyllwild dramatically. Instead, the two couples joined forces to buy the property and make it a park. A new community center also opened in June and the Butterfields and Stewarts played huge roles. Some in town don’t care for the changes, most like them, and in that, Idyllwild is no different.

I write about the famous people who’ve been there: Elvis made much of the movie “Kid Galahad” there, 1960s icon Timothy Leary dropped acid plenty, Marilyn Monroe and Joe DiMaggio honeymooned, Dolly Parton had property, Sharon Tate did too, and did Charles Manson do handyman work there?

The town’s heroes include the local firefighters and the around-the-clock watch they do to keep the community, built in a forest that basically hasn’t burned for decades, safe.

There’s Idyllwild Arts Academy, the boarding high school that attracts students from all over the world, and Idyllwild School, the K-8 place that is a hub. Stephanie Yost, a community volunteer and leader extraordinaire, is more or less the human mayor, given that we all know the dog isn’t a real politician. Or is he? And who is Idyll Beast? Have to read to find out.

This is my third book, and like the previous two, photographer Carl Kravats and designer Robbie Adkins helped. Kravats took more than 100 color pictures. He has more than 50 years of experience and has worked with many famous people, including the cast of Saturday Night Live. He has been a food photographer in Temecula for 21 years and has photographed eight cookbooks. Adkins, who lives in Murrieta with two, as she put it, “doggies,” has designed about 200 books and has won awards. She said she loves helping people like me make books.

They’re like Idyllwild, a small town with nice and interesting people, loving where they live and the four seasons too. The weather is one of many reasons Idyllwild is different from the rest of Southern California, the way they like it.

Reach Carl Love at carllove4@yahoo.com