So. California Wildfires

These are some pictures from the Southern California Fires. The air has been very smoky, and most nights going to bed you can smell it all. It was hot, windy, and dry, making most any little spark start a fire. There were over a dozen different fires, from Santa Barbara all the way down to Mexico. It was not fun, and the smoky air makes your eyes red and your throat a bit sore. It is not recommended to spend time outside, but to spend as much time in air conditioning as possible. President Bush and Governor Schwarzeneger both toured the fire damage today, to provide for federal aid for all the counties affected. Total was over 1/2 million people who were displaced and had to be evacuated by the fires.

Such can be the harsh realities of life in southern California!

Urban Assault Bike Race

The last Sunday of September I did the Urban Assault bike race with my friend Tigger and her friends! We had a BLAST! It was such fun. It was about a 25 mile course, that was a bit like the "amazing race". We had 8 checkpoints to make along the route that went all over Long Beach. You could pick whatever route you wanted to take, however some of the major streets that are heavy traffic were off limits. This made it a lot of creative thinking to get from point to point. At each check point there was an activity that must be completed. Some of them were; riding a bmx bike with your partner on the back on the pegs, pushing your partner 1/2 way down a football field and back in a wheelbarrow, a word problem to solve, bounce up and down a hill on a large bouncy balloon, bean bag toss, riding a "big wheel" on a closed course, and we also had two mystery stops we were given clues to figure out their location. At each check point we were given a little bead to put on a chain for our completion of that checkpoint. At the end of the race we had to show all of our 8 beads. It was such fun, and I realized how much those little beads meant to us. I am now wearing ours as a necklace as they are soo significant!

At the end we came in at 2 hours and 26 minutes, and were 5th place in our co-ed category. It was fun, fun, fun, and well worth it all. It was a beautiful day, and afterwards we were fed Chipotle burritos, and beer and had door prizes. The entire event started, and ended at Timmon's Subaru in Long beach, and there were about 75 couples total that participated in the event. It was such fun, and I will certainly be sure to do this race again next year, and see who else wants to do it as well.

Be on the lookout if this race comes to your city, you should sign up and do it. It is really for the normal working person, and not for professional bikers, so that is great. It is more about having fun, than competing against all the other bikers. It is also designed to get you out and biking all over your city, places that you would normally drive your car, to make you think that biking is a great way of transportation around your city. I think this is great! I love to do this as much as I can normally, but it certainly makes you think more about it. The event was also very environmentally conscious, with no paper fliers, no plastic bags, and all bottles, glasses, etc were recycled! What a great event.

Check out the website for urban assault if you would like to find more about it, or see any more pictures; http://www.urbanassaultrace.com/

Burnt Ranchera

Dale and I took off just for the weekend for a camping trip to the Burnt Ranchera Campground in the Cleveland National Forest. We had been camping in the Cleveland National Forest before, but this time we went to a different campground that was much further south. It was 50 miles due east of San Diego. We drove down the 5 freeway, that was packed with so much traffic it was like rush hour the entire way down. Once we got to San Diego and on the 8 Interstate it was much, much better, and a quick trip to Laguna Mountain, near Pine Valley, CA. A beautiful area, surrounded by indian reservations, the national forest, and state parks!


It was a bit of a rainy weekend, but luckily we missed most of the showers and the most we had was a light sprinkle while making lunch on Saturday. I think that was pretty successful. In spite of the seasonably dry weather, this campground allowed campfires in the rings provided by the US forest service. We had a little nap and I started a great fire. The campground was quite empty and we had a nice secluded spot that we didn't see anyone else from, nor did we hear anyone. It was great just to sit around the warm fire, as it was quite cold. (in the 40F) We started cooking a great dinner, and the wind picked up, and just after it got dark the forest ranger came by to tell us they had instituted a fire ban with the high winds, and we needed to put out our campfire. It was OK, as we did have a few hours to enjoy it, and much better than having the forest all burn down! We had a very nice dinner, and then did some reading for the evening in the tent before calling it a night. The next morning was cloudy, but soon cleared out after we got packed up and drove back to Long Beach.

Then we descended down from the mountain, up at about 6000 feet in elevation, it became warmer and more sunny, and overal it was a very pleasant drive back home to Long Beach, and a nice dose of the mountain woods was just what we needed! Well worth the trip, if only we could have stayed longer!

The Last Season

by, Eric Blehm

I would most recommend this book to anyone who has a great appreciation for nature.
It is the true story of the life and mysterious disappearance of Back country Ranger, Randy Morgenson in 1996 in the wilderness of Kings Canyon National Park in the Sierra Mountains. It reads like a mystery, combined with a biography. Eric does a great job of writing this, but most of all he conveys a clear passion of Randy's in the book, the love and respect and complete awe with the wilderness, especially the Sierra. It all comes through loud and clear in this book and inspires you with each turn of the page. I have already started to plan my wilderness trip to this beautiful country so described in this book. It will be one book that I will not forget for long time!

Boundary Waters

In August Dale and I flew to Minnesota for a 5 day trip to the Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness. It was a great time, we flew into the twin cities after a 2 hour flight delay, and got our rental car and met our friend Jennifer at a nearby restaurant for a nice breakfast and a great visit. She works just a short way down the road so it worked out well for all of us. We then picked up a few items we needed for camping and drove all the way up to Ely where we stayed overnight. We had a nice dinner downtown at the Ely Steak House. It was super busy, and Dale and I had a drink/dinner right at the bar, as the place filled up very quickly. I would very much recommend this place for a nice dinner if you are in Ely. Good food, traditional, with a nice MN flair, and best of all good people!

Early the next morning after a hearty breakfast we drove further up to the end of the road. (I mean, The END of the road..it does not go any further) This is where our outfitter was located where we picked up our canoe and got a tow up to our first portage at Lake Ensign. We paddled through this lake, about an hour and a half, and then a 1/2 mile steep portage to our final lake Vera that we wanted to camp on. We had spotted a campsite here last year when we were up at this lake for a day trip, so we had it in mind. Unfortunately the special campsite was occupied, but no problems as the one just across the lake from it was equally as beautiful, and we camped there for 3 nights!

We got the tent up, set up our cooking area on a nice rock outcrop that came up to my waste to make a nice little "counter top" for cooking. We got everything set, and I went out to try some fishing on the lake. No luck, but it did start to rain and I had a nice time in the lake with a light, and gentle rain coming down. It was very serene and peaceful! Dale took a nice nap as he was a bit tired. We were not able to have campfires because of a complete fire ban. The area was completely dry and some of the portages were so brown, it reminded me of California mountains. We did manage though to keep ourselves very well entertained with books and some nice reading lights that we bought along the way, that worked out great, just clipping onto the book you are reading!

We did a couple of nice day trips from our campsite, one south to a few smaller lakes, and some fishing, and one North up to knife lake right on the border of Ontario. We really liked this lake a lot, and found some superb campgrounds that we want to go to next time. We felt like we were looking for real-estate, and going to open houses for our camping spot for next year. We also had some great luck fishing right on the border, where we each got several rock bass, and we had a superb dinner that night with our super fresh catch, a little fish fry batter, a hot pan and some olive oil.

The Boundary waters is always a relaxing, and revitalizing time. The lack of civilization in itself is a great thing to experience, but also the nature that abounds, from the lakes to the trees, to the birds, fish, and animals and all their sounds they make. Mosquitoes were almost non existent in such a dry year, but I did have one or two bites at the most. Nothing like it would have been in the wet springtime.

We took off and pulled up camp before our last night, and canoed back across Lake Vera, and Lake Ensign to a new lake, that we had not camped on before, but on the way back down to the outfitters. It was Sucker Lake, and was not too bad. We found a nice campground on the leeward side of the lake, but the wind was so strong it didn't make much of a difference. After we got to the campground and made camp, the clouds picked up and it became overcast. It was overcast for much of the late afternoon and evening, until just around dusk, when the moon started to rise and the clouds cleared out so we could enjoy the full moon in all it's glory. It was a brilliant rosy color from all the dust and wind, and then just as if it was planned, it clouded up again in the middle of the night and rained a few sprinkles. We were lucky, we then made a nice last breakfast and packed up our canoe for the long. (2 hour) paddle back to the outfitters. The wind was a bit strong in places, but not too bad. We made it back just fine, and loaded up our gear in the car and headed to Ely for a nice lunch at the Chocolate Moose! It was a very touristy place, but a nice lunch! Then we drove to a resort south of town where my old friends Doug and Mike from Minneapolis were staying for a week or so. We had a very nice visit, and a great time catching up with them about things. It had been 10 years since we saw them last time, so it was a lot of fun to see them again!

We then took off driving across the state to my dad's place in Menahga. We heard of some severe weather storms going on in the counties we were driving through, and when I called my dad from Hibbing and he said it had just hailed in Menahga, so I knew we would probably hit some bad weather driving south west. We certainly did, at least 3 different bands of rain that was so hard it was nearly zero visibility and we had to slow down to a crawl on the road. I was just hoping it was not going to hail. Thank goodness it didn't and we eventually made it to Menahga and dad's house in one piece and in good condition!

We had a very nice visit with Dad and my sister Donna before heading out 2 days later to Minneapolis to catch our flight back to the megalopolis of Los Angeles/Long Beach. From the wilderness to the urban jungle in just a few days. It seems unfair in some way!

Pride and Prejudice

by Jane Austen

This is a classic, that must be read, or re-read as an adult if you have read it in the past in school. The novel it timeless, and Jane Austen writes like no one else. She inspries with her characters and the book puts to the age old question of seeking a mate with deeper qualities, or more shallowly choosing based on monetary benefits that will result. Jane writes with humor, yet great detail and accuracy in most aspects. Fiction, but true to life in her time, as well as ours. It was a joy to read this book as I felt her style was charming, and uplifting, and brought me to another world each day when I would pick up the book for my "dose of Miss Austen". If you do not like flowery writing, this book is not for you. If you like details that many authors overlook, then this book is defintiely for you. I am looking forward to picking up to read other Jane Austen novels as well as seeing the recently released movie, "Being Jane" that just came out about the life of the author.

Wicked

Book, by Gregory MaGuire

Play, Music and Lyrics by Stephen Schwartz
Book by Winnie Holzman
Based on the Novel by Gregory Maguire

I read this book, and then saw the play (Musical) a few weeks later. I would not recommend this to anyone. I had heard the hype on how good the play was, but was not sure about it, so I read the book for further information. The book was good, it reminded me a lot of reading the "lord of the rings" series. If you have read and like any of these books, you will love reading "Wicked". It goes into the details of Galinda and Ephalba, the wicked witch of the West and the Good Witch of the East in the fable, "Wizard of Oz". I am sure you may already know this, but it is fun to read, and quite enjoyable of a book. However, I would strongly recommend the play.
It was definitely a hit. It had great set, great music, great orchestra, great singers, great costumes, I could go on and on. However it is a Broadway hit, so you can only expect the best! It was well worth it and if you had to choose between the play an the book, by all means see the play, and then read the book if you choose. If you know you will never make it to the theatre to see this, then by all means read the book so you will understand the hype and enjoy the story for what it is!

Falling Through the Earth

by Danielle Trussoni

This book was given to me by my neighbors Trapper and Stacie. They knew I would like it very much. Trapper is a Vietnam Vet, and I am always asking him questions, and listening to him talk about the war. It is an area of great interest for me.

I am not sure why, perhaps because much of it was going on when I was too young to really understand the depth of it all, and so learning as much as I can about things now are significant for me. I also always have memories of my Uncle Arlan and Pat who were married just before he was deployed to Vietnam. I never really understood it all, and so this book was another significant one for me.

Even though I don't know for sure if Danielle is a typical daughter of a Vet, I don't know if the way she grew up was that typical of a loving caring family. She seemed to go through a lot of other issues that may or may not be related to her father's own issues.

Danielle writing is great, and I found it hard to put the book down, at times it did seem like things jumped around a bit, but she pulled it all together in the end for an emotional read. It did have a lot of the "raw" truth to her life, and those are always the things that strike a chord with me. Nothing was sugar coated to make her life seem like it was a breeze.

I guess one of the best parts of this book is that it made me ask questions, and look deeper in to the vets that I know. What their experiences were like, how it changed them, and how they deal with it. My neighbor Trapper is the first to openly discuss much of this with me, and I thank him so very much for that. He always says, that talking about it so much is his "therapy". I believe it.

The only other book on Vietnam Vet Experience that I have read that compares for me is Tim O'Brien's "What they carried with them".

Crystal Cove State Park

Dale and I drove down the PCH for a one night back country camp out in Morro Canyon at Crystal Cove State Park. The park is probably known most for its wonderful surfing beach that everyone flocks to, however, few people know about the fact the State Park stretches inland and up the cliffs and hills for over 3 miles. The park is all mountain rough chaparral terrain. It has 3 nice back pack in only campsites that have no water available, you need to pack it all along. I am always up for such an adventure, and Dale was willing to come along. We loaded up our backpacks, got our camping permit and took off on Saturday afternoon from the ranger's office in the park to the campsite we wanted, over 3 miles up and inland on dirt trails. It was a 2 hour hike mostly up hill all the way. It was not easy, but well worth it and a GREAT workout. Dale will beg to differ on that, as he used some choice words, like "torture" and "agony" to describe it. I have never seen him turn that shade of red either, so I know he was in a bit of pain. It was warm, and sunny, but the cool ocean breezes helped one from overheating too much.

Once we arrived at our campsite, we set up, and Dale Immediately took a long nap. He was hurting! I did some exploring of the campsite and area, we were the only ones there, and had the place to ourselves. It was a small campground with only space for 2-3 tent sites at the most, but it was a nice campground, named Deer Canyon Campground. I made a nice dinner for us with the backpack stove, including some fresh baked whole wheat bread that I found a super recipe for that turned out wonderful! It was a great evening and we both slept sound with it being very quiet, and a full moon to illuminate everything with.

We got up early the next morning, and made a hearty breakfast. Pulled up camp and set off for a hike with our backpacks around to the other side of the park and back across Morro Ridge and down to the canyon and back to the ranger station.

Much of the trail usage in the park is by Mountain Bikers. They love it, and you see a few joggers and some walkers as well. It seemed like we were the only ones who were camping, and everyone kept asking us, "what are you training for"? It was as if you needed some reason to train for something to be there. I guess campers must be a rarity. The ridge back was beautiful, and you could see for miles, and miles. We passed the other two campgrounds on the way down, and we also liked them and will probably stay there the next time we go. (if I can convince Dale) It was a great hike back, about 2.5 hours, and we ran out of water about 2 miles from the car. Luckily we were fine, and did not have any problems and had water waiting for us in the car when we got there.

We were both sore the next day or two from hiking up hill & down hill so much and carrying our heavy packs. It was worth it though, and I would gladly do it again.
I just need to find someone to come along with me!

A Midsummer Night's Dream at the Cathedral Plaza

Our neighbors Tom and Emily invited us to join them for an evening at the downtown LA our Lady of the Angels Cathedral plaza for a musical production of "A Midsummer Night's Dream. It was fun! None of us had ever been to the new Cathedral before, and so we wanted to see that, and then enjoy the show on the plaza outside the Cathedral. http://www.olacathedral.org/index.html It was a great evening, the cathedral was very modern, with great architecture, and yet has a feel of an older European cathedral. It was quite amazing.

The production of play was done by the Shakespeare Festival LA, and was set to the sights, sounds, and costumes of the early LA jazz scene. It incorporated several standards into the play very well, and it all came off quite amazing! I had not seen such a production of A Midsummer Night's Dream like this before! We all had a good time, and enjoyed the Cathedral, the plaza, and the play all together in one place!

North to Alaska

On June 11th, I flew to Alaska for a week long get away. I flew into Anchorage and then took the Alaska Railroad up to Denali National Park. It was about a 7 hour train ride up to the park where I was registered for a 3 day field course in native alpine wildflower identification with the Murie Science and Learning center in the park. The course had only 10 students, max. We had a quick orientation at the learning center near the park entrance, and met our instructor, Verna Pratt. We then loaded up our van and backpacks with our park interpreter, Clair. We then drove about half way into the park to our campgrounds where we called "home" for the next few days. It was a great course with a lot of good places in the back country to identify the native wildflowers that were all in full bloom! It was amazing!
Everyone was super interested in the course and we also had ample opportunity to view the wildlife as well. There is no shortage of that in Denali. We saw everything from mother Grizzlies with their cubs to the state bird, willow ptarmigan.

After the course was over I caught the train for a further ride up north to Fairbanks where I spent the remainder of my time in Alaska visiting the small town. It is large for Alaska Standards but small for the rest of the states. It is about 31 thousand in population and it reminded me a lot of Grand Forks North Dakota. It was fun to explore with some other great places to view wildflowers at Creamer's field wildlife sanctuary on the north side of town. I also went to the Botanic garden at the University of Fairbanks (UAF) as well as the great new natural history/art museum that just opened up on campus. It was much better than I ever expected!

I flew back to Anchorage from Fairbanks and then caught my flight back to Los Angeles, where it was a culture shock to be back in the thick of everything after spending a week in the far north beauty and silence of nature!

Plant of the Month

Grevillea robusta

(OK, so it has not been exactly 1 month since the last plant)

Commonly known as the Silk- or Silky-oak, or Australian Silver-oak, is the largest species in the genus Grevillea. It is a native of eastern coastal Australia. It is a fast growing evergreen tree, between 18-35 m tall with dark green delicately dented bipinnatifid leaves reminiscent of a fern frond. These leaves are generally 15-30 cm long with greyish white or rusty undersides. Its flowers are golden-orange bottlebrush-like blooms, between 8-15 cm long, in the spring, on a 2-3 cm long stem. The seeds mature in late winter to early spring, fruiting on dark brown leathery dehiscent follicles, about 2 cm long, with one or two flat, winged seeds.

You will find this tree in bloom at this time of year all around Los Angeles. It is very distinct with it's yellow flowers, and it's tall stature. It definitely looks like it is in the proteaceae family with the distinct flowers, and the leaves are very pretty! It is one of the myriad of native Australian plants/trees that thrive in the Southern California climate. I had never seen this before I moved to LA, and was glad to finally get a positive ID on this spectacular specimen of a tree. It reminds me of the tall Elm trees in the Midwest for its stature and majesty!

Pride Run 2007

On Saturday May 19th, 2007, I participated in the Shoreline Frontrunner's annual 10K pride run! It was an event that I had registered and was training for several weeks in anticipation. It was a lot of fun! It was also a lot of hard work, no matter how much you train, it seems the "real thing" is never as easy. I run most every day on track and treadmill at the gym, however when competing with people and running on the open beach path, it was a a different story. It was all good though. I had some good pacing after a great start where I pushed myself ahead of the pack. It was all great after that! My finish time was 40:58 and I was very happy with that, as I beat my pace time last fall in the 5k turkey trot.

I also came in 2nd for my age division, and was 5th overall for the 10K. I was very happy with that, and was glad that I completed the training to participate. What is next? We will see, another 10K or perhaps a half marathon?

Into Thin Air

By Jon Krakauer

A book that was hard to put down. I love that about it. I never ever thought I would be interested in Mountain climbing. As a matter of fact I thought that people who did it were crazy and why would they even want to do something so dangerous. After reading this book, my mind was entirely changed. I realized they are much more like athletes than they are like crazy people. I began so see them as a Lance Armstrong, instead of a person who should be committed to a state institution forever. I also love how Jon Krakauer writes. He draws you in, and keeps your interest for the entire book, so you cannot put it down. I have read another of his books, "Under the Banner of Heaven" that was just as good with some very informative writing. I liked that one just as much as "Into Thin Air".

The book is basically all the events that led to, during, and after the author's tragic trip climbing Mount Everest in 1996 where 5 people perished as a blizzard struck in the early afternoon, as people were at the summit.

I learned a lot in this book about mountain climbing and high altitude effects on the body, and the numerous dangers involved in climbing such a mountain as Everest. This was one of the great things about the book that I love the most. It answered and let me understand all the questions I had had about mountain climbing, and yes, yes, it made me want to climb a mountain, but definitively not climb a mountain like Everest, but, something more manageable, and safe, say like Mount Hood in Washington. This book inspired me to find out about it, as I have already, and make it a goal to actually go up and CLIMB mount hood in the next few years. Do I have any volunteers to accompany me? I guess all in all that is what good writing is all about, something that makes you think and changes you, and this indeed changed me, and my outlook on mountain combing.

Tehachapi Mountain Park

Dale and I drove to Tehachapi, for the weekend camping up in the mountains that separate the San Joaquin Valley from the Los Angeles Basin. It was about a 3 hour drive from Long Beach to get up to the campground. It was well worth it, a pristine and well hidden feature in the mountains surrounding the city of Techachapi. It was a Kern County campground that we originally heard about last summer from one of the locals in the grocery store when we stopped in Tehachapi when camping last summer. (Always listen to locals advice when traveling) We did some research and found that it is a "jewel" known mostly by people in the area. It is not easy to find, but with a bit of mapquest and research on the Internet we found how to get there. It was a beautiful weekend for camping, and although it got nice and chilly at night, it was great and sunny and warm during the day for a beautiful trip.

We did some hiking on the nature trails, and were treated to some beautiful birds & calls, and very clear skies at night for superb sky watching. Even though the campground is heavily wooded with a lot of Jeffrey Pines, Douglas Fir, Canyon Live Oaks, Black oaks, (that were just getting their leaves) and a myriad of lovely blooming Sierra Currant and Sierra Gooseberry that were in bloom. It was a great weekend get away, that made me feel like I was in the Northwoods of Minnesota, and Dale felt like he was camping back in Washington State.

Hollywood Fire II

Just like all good things in Hollywood, there is a sequel. So it is the same with the Hollywood Fire. This one struck in the early afternoon, and by 3pm we could see a lot of smoke over the hills. This one was bigger and better, just like a movie sequel. The smoke covered most of Hollywood, and drifted downtown. It burned all night long, with winds fueling it. We have had dry and 90 degreee plus weather to make everything super dry explosive. In the morning when I got back to work, Hollywood smelled like a BBQ pit amd the fire was still burning. It was amazing, the estimate is that 1/3 of the park, (Griffith Park) where the fire was raging was burned. No homes were burned, and only one person suffered minor burns from the fire. (a golfer at the golf course) Many people were evacuated from homes nearby, and the LA Zoo was closed, but not burned. None of the other buildings near the park were burned either. Needless to say, this was one of the closest fires. This categorizes as the worst fire in LA since 1961 when one of the canyons in Beverly Hills burned. It is pretty much like a park smack in the middle of the city being burned. Imagine Central Park in NY City burning, and you will have some Idea of what is/was going on.

A River out of Eden

by John Hockenberry

This book has a great start to it, and it has a great conclusion. The rest in between is what makes you wonder what happened? I did love the way the book took off with a murder mystery, and the start of a terrorist plot in the Pacific Northwest with the book centering on the Columbia River from the head in British Columbia all the way to the mouth at the Pacific Ocean near Astoria. The author started out with some great descriptive writing on the river, it's surroundings, typography, geographic history, all nicely woven into the story. Somehow it all lost steam in the middle of the book, and then at the end he pulled it all back together with the conclusion of the murder mystery, and terrorism. It was a good read none-the-less. I would certainly recommend it if you have any interest in that area at all whatsoever, as it will pull you into the novel with it and the way the author describes it all. It does have a great deal of derogatory language in it that I don't normally like to read, but it is part of a few of the racist characters in the book and I think it was there for the integrity of them. I still feel self-conscious reading a book like that when I am out in public, as anyone can look over my shoulder to see a few choice words and take them out of context and assume I am reading something much less noble than what I am.

Saddleback Butte State Park

Dale and I took a drive up to the Antelope valley the first weekend in April. Well, it was technically the last of March/first of April. We went up to the high Mojave Desert to camp at Saddleback Butte State Park located 17 miles east of Lancaster. (it is about a 2.5 hour drive north) It was a nice weekend, not too hot, and not too cold at night, but just right to make it a cozy time in the tent with heavy blankets to warm you with and snuggle under. Nice enough to wear shorts and t-shirt during the day. The moon was almost full, and the Joshua trees were just about to start to bloom. We went for a nice hike about 3 miles or more up to the top of the butte where you could see the entire Antelope valley from east to west. It was spectacular.
This state park was once called Joshua Tree State Park, but people kept getting it mixed up with Joshua Tree National Monument, so they changed the name.

We had practically the entire campground to ourselves, only 3 other campers were there, and they were in campers, not tents. So it was like being there all on our own. We had beautiful sunsets, bright moonlight, that you could even read by, and also some very pretty stars to gaze at. The weekend was not complete though with out it's drama. My camp stove was leaking, and had been due to a small drip near the control knob, and finally on Sunday while making breakfast the entire thing caught on fire. I shut it off an ran away to wait for an explosion, but it didn't happen, so I quickly took it apart and smothered the flame with a towel. That was all! it was a little tense, but we just went right back to cooking again, after it all cooled off, and it was fine. I think we will need to fix the leak in the camp stove for the next camping adventure.

Hollywood Fire

As I was walking back down the street from lunch today, the sky was dark with smoke coming over the Hollywood Hills. Turns out two youth near an apartment building on the other side of the hills had started a fire that spread FAST! It took off in no time at all and before all was said and done 130 acres burned. Many of the studios in Burbank were filled with smoke, freeway exits were closed. Anyone who was outside could only stop and stare at the smoke and fire. It came close to the HOLLYWOOD sign, but did not burn it. All in all, no homes were burned, and no people were injured or killed in the fire. It was all out in a few hours. The electricity did flicker a few times as the flames got into the high voltage eclectic lines that go over the Hollywood hills. It could have been much worse, but was a very dramatic day all in all!

Anza-Borrego State Park

The 2nd weekend in March, Dale and I took a 3 hour drive out of the city East to the Colorado Desert to Anza-Borrego State Park in Eastern San Diego County. It was traffic nightmare getting out there though the 91 freeway pass and the 15 freeway was not any better in Corona. However, once out on the smaller 2 lane highways, it was so much better, and once in the rural areas it was like a heavy weight of the city was lifted off. We both remembered, that this is the reason we go camping.

This is the LARGEST of California stat parks, comprising some 600,000 acres, 1/5 of San Diego County is held in trust within the park boundaries to give you a bit of perspective. The park is home to the endangered Peninsular Bighorn Sheep, the park's namesake, (borrego). The Octillo cactus, Cholla cactus, and also The Black Tailed Jackrabbit and Roadrunners. The park is one of the best places to view wildflowers in the spring, but unfortunately we have had so little rain this spring, that the wildflowers are not blooming like they normally would. That was a bit disappointing, but also it meant it was easier to get a campsite. We camped at the Tamarisk Grove campgrounds with the campground in the middle of a very tall grove of Tamarisk trees that were beautiful just on their own.

Even though it was March, we had some very warm temperatures. It was up to 95F when we were leaving on Sunday. We also took along our neighbor Ren's dog that we were pet sitting. She has a very cute little Shena Ebu, named Hatsu. She loved the camping, and especially when we did smores around the campfire, she thought the graham crackers were the most delicious.

We also did a couple of short hikes in the area, the park is great for well marked trails to hike in in the desert. We went on the Cactus Loop trail that features an excellent view of the surrounding area and well marked cactus. The Yaqui well Nature Trail was also great terminating at a desert water hole.

We took a nice drive back on Sunday through the mountains and the cute town of Julian up at 4000 feet, known for their apple orchards. We also drove through Escondido, and stopped for a nice lunch in Oceanside, before heading up the coast to Long Beach.

It was a great weekend camping get away!

Tracers

Dale and I went to the Long Beach Play House with our neighbors across the street, Stacy and Trapper on Saturday the 3rd of March. It was a lot of fun, we went to a great Mediterranean restaurant in Belmont Shore, on 2nd Street, before the play, and then headed over, to the playhouse. We saw "Tracers" by James Scarborough.

I thought the play was very well done, the actors were top notch and it was directed very well, it was a great play. If I were to make any remarks on it's lacking, it would be a central cohesive plot to draw you in and take you through the play. It seemed to be a conglomeration of small scenes from Vietnam, and experiences from soldiers. It covered these in depth, emotional, physical, and left nothing out from drug use to suicide. It was quite intense at times. However, I was most curious in seeing this play with our neighbor Trapper who served in Vietnam. I wanted his opinion more than anything. After he stated that the play was good, but only one tenth as intense as the REAL Vietnam experience he had. Trapper said the language, and scenes and occurrences were all pretty much right to the point. It was great to see the play with him, and to be able to get these perspectives from him. It is always great to talk to Trapper about this subject, and he is not afraid to discuss. He calls it his therapy, and willingly talks about all aspects of the war. (yes his REAL name is Trapper)

Plant Of The Month

Jasminum officinale


It is a Semi-evergreen to deciduous vine. This vine has lots of fragrant white flowers in spring, summer, and fall. Blooms on new growth. Prefers a moist well-drained light soil enriched with organic matter. Drought and pollution tolerant. Jasmine associates nicely with climbing roses, honeysuckle or clematis, but it looks superb grown on its own. Grown in the perfume fields of Southern France, it has good tolerance to a wide range of temperatures and is easily maintained in pots. Min. temp. 45 F.

When walking down the streets of Southern California at this time of year, especially in the early evening, you will smell this distinctive flowering vine. You will stop in your tracks to look for the plant the smell is that strong at this time of year. The only temperate plant close to this strong of a smell is Lilac. They are now in full bloom all over, and so it is a delight for the next few weeks to see this all over fences, walls, and many places you least expect it. I have grown it in a pot on my patio before, and was delighted each spring with the lovely flowers and scent. Sleeping with the window open and a light breeze brings the delightful scent into your room to make for a peaceful night's rest!

One Hundred Years of Solitude

by Gabriel García Márquez

This book should be re-named to "100 years to read". It seemed like it took that long for me to read it, or at least really get into it. I swear it was 100-200 pages before I was comfortable with he style of writing. It is a Magical Surrealism genre that this is written in. It is fiction, but it is also a bit mystical and has a lot of foreshadowing in the book. It takes a while to get used to this in the novel.
It is a good book, I will admit that. It is also a book that people should read to get a good perspective from.

It is set in a fictitious small town in northern Columbia and follows a family for 100 years in that small town, through their many generations. It is fun to follow all the characters through their lives and in the book, however if you read this, be sure, and I mean be very sure you have a copy of the family tree in the front pages of the book. I really, really would have tossed this book aside if it had not been for that family tree to follow along. I turned to it every 10 pages or so to be sure I knew who this paragraph or chapter was about, or who was being introduced. The names of the characters are very similar throughout the book, so without this guide it would be even more confusing to read.

The book somewhat reminds me of John Steinbeck's "East of Eden" although this was written in Spanish, and the setting is in South America. It is a little reminiscent of that novel in some ways. All be it, I love East of Eden 10 times more!

I would definitely recommend this to read, but just beware of what you are getting into before you start it. It is not something you just pick up to amuse yourself, but it is a read to really READ. It is perfect for a high school literature class to read, and discuss and pick apart. There are many dimensions of this book, that you can delve into and discuss, and write many term papers about, it is quite a book!

I do also have to wonder what the translation lost in this book. Perhaps that may have been some of the difficulty in making this book a bit challenging, It would be great to be fluent in Spanish, and read the author's original text.

Oscar Night

We celebrated Oscar night at our home with a nice dinner with our neighbors, Dennis and Gary who live across the street, and Dennis' Niece Jennifer, and our friends Ray and Terry. It was a very nice evening. Gary made some of the best lasagna that I have ever tasted with a Cabernet sauce in it, and some of his famous homemade bread. Dale made a great Caesar salad with his homemade dressing, and Ray brought a delicious pecan/chocolate pie. It was all good and we enjoyed the Oscar night celebrations with the festivities beginning at 5pm. It was also a very good show with Ellen DeGeneres hosting the festivities, We love her! In spite of the fact she took Willy Wonka's Coat for the show. It was nice to see Helen win for the Queen, as all gays were cheering that. Why who wouldn't like to see a Queen win!

Honeymoon WIth My Brother

by Franz Wisner

My neighbor Stacy gave me this book to read with the caveat that it was a good book that I would like. She always knows the books that she has read that I will like as well. I must say, she was right, and I did like it a lot! If you enjoy traveling, then this book is for you! It is a memoir of Franz Wisner and his brother and their travel through several continents. The basis of the book is that Franz gets dumped at the Altar a day or two before his wedding, and so instead of cancelling his extensive honeymoon trip he takes his brother along instead, and then continues traveling with him more, (as they get along so well) and continue for a year long through various countries and places that are all intriguing and keep you reading for more.

At first I was a little put off by Franz's attitude of the "typical American" when traveling to all these places. (he is from Orange county so he naturally feels he is entitled) However by the end of the book he had learned a lot and had truly changed as a person. It was nice to see the gradual transformation, and I would surely like to read the next book in his travels!

Star Sighting

I just ran down to the mail room to drop something off at work, and as I walked by the studio entrance I heard a familiar voice, as I looked by I stopped in my tracks as there was Reba McEntire chatting on her cell phone. I went along my business and on the way back she was still there, and she had just hung up. I Said "hi" to her and introduced myself, and that I worked up on the 4th floor. She was sooo sweet and nice, and of course Looked FABULOUS!

It made my Valentines day!

SunnyWarm California!

Our friend Craig Peterson from Minneapolis came to visit us for a week from Jan 30th-Feb 6th. It was a great time for him to get out of the cold and enjoy some of our nice weather. When he arrived it was raining that day, and so he had to drive from the airport to our house in Long Beach in the rain, but he was very happy to do so and enjoyed being in the warm weather.

Craig spent time visiting Hollywood, and the J Paul Getty Museum in the Santa Monica Mountains. http://www.getty.edu/ He also spent a day down in San Diego, and visiting around Long Beach. Dale also took him to several work projects he was doing, and Craig was a very, very willing worker to help Dale with a few places that he needed the extra hand in an attic re-model.

One evening we had a pleasant dinner party with Craig, his friend Loretta who lives in Riverside and Craig knows from Wells Fargo where Criag works, and also our friends Ray and Terry for a nice evening of chatting and socializing. We had a super dinner of Stuffed Mushrooms for appetizers, Blueberry/Pomegranate frozen cocktails, then for dinner smoked duck, and chicken, with spelt, steamed broccoli, and almond/sesame spinach bake. The best part of the dinner was a most wonderful chocolate cheesecake that Ray made and brought over. It is delightful, and went perfectly with a nice cup of fine coffee.

Craig was very sad to go home back to Minnesota, and the frigid cold weather. We had some of the nicest weather of the winter when he was here, and some of the records were broken or tied in Long Beach with a high of 85F one day, and Los Angeles getting up to 89F. It was a stark contrast of a difference of over 100F from the temps in Minnesota for those days! Craig was on the phone letting everyone know that he was certainly enjoying his trip to California! Now that is a good Vacation don't you think?

Plant Of The Month

Manzanitas of California

Manzanita is the common name for the genus Arctostaphylos. There are more than forty species of Arctostaphylos in California not to mention all the subspecies and hybrids. Species grow from two inches (some of the coastal species) to twenty feet (many interior species). Manzanitas are popular for their shiny red or mahogany colored bark. Manzanitas have urn-shaped flowers that vary from pink to white and are popular with hummingbirds. They are very drought tolerant and evergreen, always looking green and healthy even in the hottest, driest part of the summer. Manzanita (Arctostaphylos spp) is of the family Ericaceae. Plants in this family are highly mycorrhizal (associated with symbiotic fungi). This allows them to survive in many harsh environments, however it also makes them very susceptible to over watering and fertilizing. They really do no like to be watered or fertilized. If grown correctly these plants, especially the larger forms, will grow for more than 100 years. Manzanitas are great wildlife plants. Providing nectar for butterflies, hummingbirds and native insects (they're cool!).

Manzanitas are now in bloom. (End of January & February) Look for them out on your hikes, or even in your savy gardener's neighbor's yard. They are always stunning with the beautiful flowers contrased against the showy bark.

Up to San Francisco

Dale and I flew up to San Francisco on Jan 19-21st. Peter Stalder picked us up from the Oakland Airport and we drove across the bay bridge to his place in the Castro. It was a beautiful weekend with sunny clear weather and not too chilly either. We went to dinner on Friday night at a nice restaurant in the Castro called "Catch". It was very good, we met my ex-Eric Jansen, as well as Will Fellows the Author of "Farm Boys" and his partner, as well as another couple friend of Eric's , Jerry on the gay historical society and his partner. We all had a great time and it was nice to see Will Fellows again as the last time I talked to him was when he did the book interviews, several years ago.

The main reason we went to SF was to see the play adaptation done a few years ago. It has played in New York, St. Paul, and now San Francisco. Following dinner there was a reception at the New Conservatory Theatre on Market Street. We went to that to meet the playwright, who also grew up on a small farm in Wisconsin. We then saw the play. It was amazing, and touched so many areas that I could relate to. I didn't expect the play adaptation to be so deep, and also I thought the characters were a very good composite of all the people in the book, and much of the writing was so very well done, with a lot of great "inside" perspective that was definitely ratable. After the show there was a short Q&A with the author, playwright, director and the entire cast. It was great and a great time to find out more details of the show! Well worth it! If you live in or get to SF please see this, you will enjoy. http://www.nctcsf.org/

Saturday morning Eric and I got up early for a nice run with the Frontrunners through golden Gate park. http://www.frontrunners.org/ The day was again beautiful and it was delightful to run through the green, lush, and wonderful Golden Gate Park to the ocean and back! After we had a nice homemade breakfast at Peter's place in the Castro, and then Eric took me to the radio station for a quick interview for the "Out in the Bay" radio show that he hosts. It was fun! The rest of the afternoon we took it easy, and Dale did some repairs around the house for Peter. I then met my friends David Bicha and David Mahr at the 440 in the Castro for Drinks. It was great to see them again and we decided to all go over to their place near twin peaks for dinner and more visiting and relaxing. It was a great evening, and we soon were tired out for the evening.

Sunday we had a leisurely breakfast and then Eric took us to the Airport to catch our flight back to Long Beach. It was a great visit and a good visit for all of us! We will have to get back again soon to San Francisco with great friends, and a great city, what more could you ask?

Visist from the Windy City

We enjoyed visitors from Chicago recently. Lance and Joe came into Long Beach to visit on Jan 6th-14th. We had a great time with them. Shopping, out to dinner. A couple of parties, one at my friend Will and Bob in Long Beach and one at Dale's friend Larry in Westwood. I introduced them to shopping on 2nd street in Belmont shore, and it was an instant hit with them. We all especially loved the Buffalo Exchange, left there with a pile of new clothes! It was fun for all of us. The weather was cooperative, in the 70's and sunny most days, a couple of days it was cooler and in the 60's, but still not bad on a Chicago standard for winter weather. Lance and Joe also took an overnight trip to Las Vegas where they stayed at the Bellagio hotel on the strip , they also spent one day at Universal Studios and Theme park in Universal City, http://themeparks.universalstudios.com/hollywood/website/
and also went out to the Ha Ha Cafe Comedy club one evening, http://www.hahacafe.com/index.swf and they enjoyed visiting the newly renovated and opened Griffith Park Observatory. http://www.griffithobs.org/ I enjoyed cooking for our guests and they had a great time, and said they went home very satisfied. It was great to see them again and enjoy a great visit!

Later the week they left my friend Jeff from Chicago also came into town. He was in town for business with his company and their offices in Eagle Rock. He stayed with us in Long Beach and we enjoyed visiting and having him over. It was only a couple of days, but it was very good to see him again and catch up with things. We also went out to dinner one night at La Parolaccia Osteria just around the corner from our place. http://www.la-parolaccia.com/ It is one of our favorite places to bring guests to eat!

The Known World, by Edward P. Jones

This book is of the pre-civil war era of a Westchester County in Virgina, and life among the free blacks and slaves that lived in this area. It is another world to say the least. The author puts you into this world and the mindset of the people of that era with a great deal of detail and thought of expression in this novel. It is shocking, it is outrageous, and most of all it is extremely insightful into a world that none of us alive have ever lived in before. The only drawbacks are the style of writing, that may be a bit choppy to follow at times, but it all works out in the end, and it would also be helpful to keep track of some of the characters as the book jumps back and forth a bit at times. All in all a very good read for anyone who wants to get out of their normal books they read and challenge themselves with a new frame of mind and thinking.