Hillbilly Wally

Still sucking air

2012-01-24T09:34:00.000-08:00

I haven't posted in a while... 2011 was a year of change for me so I had to prioritize and unfortunately neglect my little blog. It's a new year now, The Year of the Dragon, major symbol of good fortune. About time...

I'm still having fun and enjoying the Sierras and the people I've met there. Unfortunately some have left already, never to be replaced. That's life (and death) and we must all accept it and be grateful for each day.

I'll post more regularly from now on. Meanwhile, here's something fun.

The Santa Ynez Valley in a mountain setting

2011-01-13T15:24:00.001-08:00

I recently spent a weekend with a friend in the Santa Ynez Valley and had a great time. We toured around, went wine tasting, had dinner at the Hitching Post, drinks at Root 246, and met nice people. I love the place and recommend it to anybody who lives in Southern California.

Here's a vid of that trip should you be interested:

I remember reading a listing about a property for sale in Walker Basin describing it as "the Santa Ynez Valley in a mountain setting" and "Champagne land at beer prices." Sure, the areas have some similarities such as landscape, oak trees, weather (somewhat-they rarely get snow) but I don't think you can compare the two. For one, most of the Santa Ynez Valley is at 200 ft above sea level; the basin is above 3000. The valley is agricultural with much viniculture, the basin is not. The valley gets a lot of water runoff from the Sierras, it just roars by us on its way down. They have hospitals, wineries, restaurants and churches, we have the Trading Post and TOGS. We do have a church in Twin Oaks though.

Walker Basin is also described in the listing as the Old West. That I would agree with. It's the living Old West whereas the Santa Ynez Valley is by now only an image of that time. We still have unpaved road, too much rain or snow makes access difficult, electricity goes out once in a while, some of us are off the grid, we have wells for our water, we keep wood for the stove in winter, we walk over to our neighbors and friends, we help each other. It's the California Steinbeck describes so often in his books.

Oh, I forgot another similarity, we have ostriches in Walker Basin too...

We don't have large ostrich farms but a neighbor in the basin has about ten... The picture above was taken near Buellton by the way.

Walker Basin/Twin Oaks/Piute Meadows/Thompson Canyon is not for everybody. The place is stuck in time. Never mind that the Joe Walker Mine was the highest producing gold mine in California in 1870. One would think, looking at Coloma and Northern Cal's gold country off the 49, that it would have been enough to start communities. In 1870 there also was a tremendous earthquake that flooded the mine and that was that. The Pony Express used to go through the basin. Thing of the past. Havilah had the Kern County courthouse, thing of the past. The basin was called Yitpe by Native Americans, thing of the past.

I don't really want to live in the past, sounds way too rough for me, but I really like getting a sense of what it was like for pioneers and living it to some degree. So far I've noticed that I have a greater appreciation and respect for Nature. I won't elaborate about the rest because it is something personal each of us needs to experience to understand but I can at least say that I feel that it has made my soul richer. For one, it has taught me not to take anything for granted. Heck, a warm shower really is a wonderful thing.

'Til next time.

Holidays in Walker Basin

2011-01-04T20:26:00.000-08:00

It's been raining in Southern California so the hills and mountains in the Sierra foothills are already green, something I haven't seen yet at this time of the year. That makes for very happy cows and terrible road conditions. Caliente Creek Road, the alternative to the Lions Trail has collapsed here and there, is flooded in many places and therefore closed to traffic. To show you what I mean, following is a little video. It all starts out when I picked up my friend Ernie to go check out Thompson Creek. We could hear it growling from his porch so I was curious. What was supposed to take fifteen minutes turned into a two hour challenge...

The drive back was interesting as you can see. But rain is one thing, snow and ice another.

Last weekend was New Year's. My neighbors and friends Pam and Andy had a few of us over for dinner and that was fun. The next evening dinner and poker was at Bill's across the street. I'm not much of card player, even less of a poker player so I lost my five bucks very quickly. That was fine as I enjoyed Ernie's guitar playing and Scott's conversation.

On Sunday I left at 3:30 p.m. after checking the road conditions but there was no notice of road closures. Getting from Caliente-Bodfish Road to the 58 to Mojave was busy going west but I thought there was an accident. Going down to Arvin there was a lot of traffic in the opposite direction but heck, it was the end of a special weekend so I didn't think too much. Here's a photo of Arvin for those of you who have never been there.

I got on the 5, and it was crawling. Probably another accident I thought. Eventually got to the very bottom of the Grapevine where those airheads from Caltrans had a sign that said "tune your radio to so and so so for news" while the CHP was having everybody go back to Bakersfield. A bit late for a darned notice! Grrrrr...

I went back to Arvin, had a quick burger, and decided to go through the 58 to the 14. The freeway was crawling so when I got to Tehachapi, I decided to turn and go back to the cabin. It was snowing and the Lions Trail was real slippery. I slid a couple times so I drove really slowly (10 mph) so I wouldn't become one of those crosses on the side of the road. It wasn't fun but I made it back at the cabin at 9:45 p.m.

I emailed Ernie who had left at noon. He called me in the morning and said he did the same as I, i.e. go the 5 way, had to turn back at the bottom of the Grapevine, drove to the 58, and on to the 14. It took him 11 hours to get home. On the other hand, Pam and Andy's son left at the same time as Ernie but he went straight to the 58 to the 14 and got home in 2.5 hours. Luck of the draw. Still, Caltrans could put signs up. What the heck!?!?! No brains anywhere, no wonder the state is bankrupt. I can't forgive them because it ain't the first time it snows on the 5!!!

I woke up the next morning at 7:30 because Jorgy was barking. I walked out and it was a beautiful winter wonderland (a winterland?) all white with a few clouds that completely disappeared a couple hours later for a bright blue sky. Here's a pic of the cabin in the morning. Sure is lovely.

I had left the gate open and to my surprise I was greeted by a big old black bull in my yard. Weird part is that I yelled at him "out!" and he got it. He went back out the gate. Smart bovines in Walker Basin.

The next day I waited until 3:30 so the sun would melt the snow and ice and drove via the 58 (it was closed in the morning too but open in the afternoon,) got on the 14 and the rest was smooth sailing. Tehachapi was beautiful under the snow and so was the desert.

So there, a nice weekend in spite of horrible road conditions. I was OK though, I always pack up plenty of food and libations so I could have stayed all week. All week... Hum, that sounds mighty fine.

Happy new year everybody!

Live! From Walker Basin!

2010-08-13T19:57:00.000-07:00

This is a first. I'm writing this post from the cabin! True, I'm using a modem connection (remember those?) so everything is very... slooooow... That also means there won't be any pictures because they would take too long to upload. So there it is, just words, no pix, no flix.

Today driving up I was struck by the beauty of the golden hills. Seen from a distance, It's almost like a blanket of snow in winter but instead, it is a cover of golden grasses, spotted with oak trees. Get close and you'll see the tall golden grasses shimmering, almost dancing in the wind, basking in the sun. All that under a pure blue sky.

On the way up, I stopped at Abel's fruit and vegetable stand at the four corners, the intersection of Wheeler Ridge and the road to Arvin. It's always nice to see him. I bought my usual load of seasonal fruits and veggies at the usual very good price. Tonight, for dessert, I had a mango I bought from him. Get the smaller ones, they taste much better; they're not stringy like the larger ones. Abel taught me that. Abel also taught me other things like tuna (prickly pear) is good to eat.

I just came back from sitting on the porch and sipping on a glass of wine. I love the buzz of the crickets at night. It reminds me of Dalmatia. Things are still, the air cools down and soon the stars will come out and sprinkle the sky with a gazillion diamonds. You can see the Milky Way very clearly. A star-studded sky reminds me of somebody...

When I got here, it took a bit to unload, set the outdoor furniture up and gets things tidy. After that I went to check on my trees. I planted eight Leyland Cypresses on my closest neighbor's side and they are growing nicely. This year too, for the first time, the fruit trees are responding to TLC. I had some plums a few weeks ago but the birds got the rest of them so I bought some nets to put around the peach trees. So far so good so I'm looking forward to Walker Basin peaches. My friend Ernie's harvest of plums and peaches is plentiful and I look forward to catching up with him.

Well... I got sidetracked and didn't finish posting while at the cabin. You know, there's always something to do!

I was just writing about Ernie's peaches. A certain amount of TLC has paid off. I had plums and peaches for the first time this year and they were yummy. Not a biased opinion but everybody who got to taste them said so.

I'm cutting this short because I like to start something and finish it but this wasn't the case so I don't know where I'm at! Meanwhile, I leave you with this. Let it load, x the ads, choose 480 instead of 360 and enjoy. Yi-ha!

A sunburn in April

2010-04-26T17:42:00.000-07:00

I finally got it done... When we bought the cabin, it had been vacant for several months. Some of those months were in the Summer and without water, a bunch of trees died. In front of the house four trees survived but one didn't make it. Two pine trees on the property died, they had to be cut down. In the side yard, out of eight, three fruit trees remain. True, they were babies but what a heartache anyway. Between my neighbor and I were eight cypresses. They all died. As they say, "not drought resistant..."

So, finally this weekend I went and bought eight Leyland cypresses and planted them. The dead ones had been removed and derooted, and what was left was a series of mounds and crevices and broken sprinklers. I did my best to smooth it all out using a shovel but good thing, my neighbor saw me sweating it out and offered to help with his tractor. His is a smaller one, a Kubota, and these things are great because they can get places bigger tractors can't.

The next day I dug holes with my shovel and planted all of them. Then I had to go over the sprinkler system because it wasn't working right. One station kept getting watered and not the others. I eventually figured that the common was put in the wrong connection. I installed a new timer, had to fine tune the sprinkler heads but now, with a little patience, everything works nicely. I have to say that all the different sizes in PVC pipes and heads drives me nuts. : 1/2", 3/4" and I even have one that 1.25". That means I have to buy and keep all sizes just in case. Ain't no store nearby and the Trading Post has some but not everything.

It was hot working in the full sun so I took off my T-shirt for about an hour, and just kept my hat on. The breeze made it nice that way. Without a shirt and my cowboy hat on, imagine Robert Duvall in Apocalypse Now. I don't really care for the smell of napalm in the morning but you get the visuals. It's only later while taking a shower I realized I had a nice sunburn on my shoulders...

I must say. It's such a nice feeling to sit on the porch as the sun goes down, glass of wine in hand, and look out to see the results of a full day's work. Like most people, my work is mostly in digital format, nothing really tangible, so to use my hands, my arms, to plan a project, work at it myself, and see the results is very gratifying. That and it's good exercise!

Physical work is a good thing and most people up there spend their weekends doing just that, working. Always something to do or fix. Here's a film I did to show you what I mean.

I have been going up every weekends for the past month. Believe me, it's not a chore. It's really pretty up there right now with all the wild flowers in bloom and green everywhere. There's even still some snow up on Breckenridge, Bear mountain and the higher peaks all around.

I like to work but I also like fun times. When Ernie is up there for example, we get together in the evening. He plays the guitar and sings, and I try to follow (poorly) on my baritone ukulele. I'm not sure I've introduced you to Ernie so here he is (and Kubota on the left.)

Anyway, here are some fun things to do around Walker Basin.

This past weekend I noticed that the grass between the two big, centenarian oak trees was getting high again. I had mowed it a couple weeks ago but with the rain we've been getting, it was time to mow again. I intended to mow just right there, so to keep all the flowers around. It looked like being on a prairie gazing from my porch. I took out my little tractor-mover and started going at it. I had barely begun and holy shiznit! A snake! About 6' long. I knew it wasn't a rattler as they are easily recognizable. Must have been a gopher snake. The weird part is that the snake looked at me sideways, the way my dog does, and seemed to say "what will it be?"

I backed up, gave him a few minutes to scamp and decided it was time to mow the whole place down. So I did. Mind you, gopher snakes are harmless, they eat mice and squirrels so they're pretty good. I mowed but left some flowers here and there; I didn't have the heart to mow them all.

For those of you living in LA, I encourage you to at least take a drive up the 14 or the 5. Poppies (our beautiful state flower) are out all over the place. You'll see orange, purple, blue, white patches all over the place. Get out, go see it. It's a free gift to all of us.

'Till next time, folks.

p.s. I just found out that the National Weather Service (based on Google maps) calls Walker Basin out my way Joe Walker Town and I like it. From now on, I'll be using that name.

: )

Green Southern California

2010-04-03T19:28:00.000-07:00

Southern California is a beautiful state with deserts, beaches, mountains, forests, rivers, beautiful vistas and you name it, it's here. When I think of this state I live in, I see golden hills, ancient oak trees, sunshine and I smell chaparral. There is a time when everything turns green but it doesn't last long; at least in Southern California. Up at the bottom of the Sierra Nevada however, we do get four seasons. This time of year and the next couple months are a feast for the eyes: green grass and wildflowers of all colors everywhere. Here's a little video of my drive from LA to the cabin. It's better to see this in person but I post this for people who can't be here and enjoy this time of year.

Last weekend I went up with my truck's bed full of wood I had found in my neighborhood and other places. I got to play lumberjack and use my chainsaw to cut everything down to size for the potbelly stove. I must say it was nice to look at the neatly arranged wood pile once I was done. Should be enough wood for next winter and nothing like sweaty, honest manual labor to make a man feel good.

There was a homeowners meeting that weekend. Well, from the beginning participants called into question the validity of the meeting since a majority was not present. It was then declared that this was a "non-meeting" and so after much debate we moved on to the issues at hand, that is road maintenance mostly. In essence, people don't want rules and fees: no architectural review board, no can't do this, no directors or executives, no mandatory fees, no this, and no that. True independents they are. It's true that to go into the Old West and get the same as we do in town is not very appealing.

Look at this. Ain't it pretty?

The grass around the oak trees at the cabin was knee high so I got to take out my tractor and mow. I then did a little yard trimming with my weed-whacker but not too much in order to let the wildflowers come out. I contemplated getting my ladder and saw to cut off the mistletoe on some of the oak trees but that will be for another time. Instead, I sat on the porch and enjoyed the beautiful skies and clean air while sipping on a gin and tonic. Good work deserves a little treat after all.

In the evening I had nothing planned so I watched Terms of Endearment. I had never seen that Academy Award-winning film but I enjoyed it for the characters, the story and the way it was shot. True, I fell asleep midway but I watched the rest the day after. It's funny how the pace slows down up there. One gets right into Nature's cycle very quickly: I get up and go to bed earlier. On Saturday night I went to my neighbors and friends Pam and Andy and we were falling asleep while talking so the evening ended at 9 p.m.. A nice cozy fire and fine glass of wine will do that to most people.

Speaking of neighbors and neighborliness... Walker Basin still has that. Here's an example. I had gone by Andy's one time and happened to see his burn pile. He had cut down a dead oak tree for another neighbor, gotten the logs he needed and had a bunch of smaller ones he was going to burn. Perfect size for my stove. I asked him if I could take them and he said of course, let me a couple chainsaws and let's get her done. I couldn't as this was Sunday and I had to shut everything dow so I said next time I'm up.

Pretty as well, right?

I missed a weekend going up so next time I was up, I called Andy and asked him if he still had the wood. He said no worries, I'll be over. He came with a wagon full of oak he had cut and saved for me.

Another example. After the incident, and after I had fixed most everything, I still needed to replace a few floor boards on the porch. I had told my neighbor George about where I was with the project and he said just leave the wood out on the porch, and that he and Jeremy (his son-in-law) would take care of it. I didn't because I didn't want to abuse his kindness. My son came up next instead of me. I called to check on him and he said George and Jeremy had asked about the wood, he had told them where it was (the garage,) they got it out and got it all done. I must say I'm not used to that anymore but it feels really good to see that still in some parts of the country, people are nice, helpful and care about others. Redemption for the rest of 'em.

'Til next time,

HIllbilly Wally

Counting my blessings

2010-03-02T19:58:00.000-08:00

It's been a while since I posted... Lots has happened. My nephew passed away, I had to go to France, we had different visitors from Europe, my brother had a baby boy, my son got a girlfriend, my daughter kinda has one, and I've been busy staying alive in America. Everybody's story. My one anchor throughout (OK, I'm exaggerating, my wife is an anchor too) has been Walker Basin. Anchor is actually not a good word. Sounds heavy and restricting. More like centering, equalizing, pacifying. Nothing beats sitting on the porch of the cabin and looking at the mountains all around.

I forget an important event that occurred at the cabin. I had a fire. The short story is that it was around Christmas. I went one evening to hang out with Ernie. We watched a movie, talked, played guitars and had a good time. It was past midnight when I walked home. I was feeling pretty good and I liked seeing all the Christmas lights all around. It was pretty, in the spirit of the time. As I got closer to the cabin I noticed a pretty glow coming from that direction. Must be the Christmas lights or the porch lights I had left on. As I got closer, yikes!!! What the!?!?! Holy S__t! The cabin is burning! I ran as fast as I could, quickly (under 2 seconds) evaluated the fire, ran into the house and grabbed the fire extinguisher.

Fire extinguishers are a a great invention. Just know that a medium sized one will only last 15 seconds. True, only the outside of a 4' x 8' section was burning but it did the job. I called Ernie, he came and we hosed everything down just to make sure. Strangely, when I walked into to the house to grab the extinguisher, I couldn't see anything because it was full of white smoke but none of the smoke detectors went off. Anyway, with Ernie's good advice, and a lot of grease elbow, I fixed it all and you couldn't tell the difference. Here are some pix in chronological order.

So depressing...

Working at it...

Gettin there slowly

Not bad, huh?

It was my fault. I can't tell you what started the fire precisely but know that it involved a cigarette, and a bag full of what I assumed were inert ashes on the porch close to the outside wall. Beware of ashes, friends. They make look dead but they're not.

I wrote more about this than I cared to. Here's the part that makes Walker Basin special in another way. I had bought some floor boards to replace the damaged ones; primed and painted them (Amy did actually,) all set to go for the next time I would be up. It turns out my son goes up with his GF before I do and he tells me over the phone that my neighbor George and Jeremy had fixed the floor. I came up the next weekend and sure enough, it was done. That's what you'll find in Walker Basin. Something that disappeared long ago in most places.

The same weekend, I called my other neighbor Andy. I hadn't been up because of this, that and the other and last time I saw him, he had some smaller oak pieces in his burn pile for me to take. Me: Riiiing. Andy? I'm calling about the wood. Andy: Hold it. I've got it in a little wagon, I'll bring it by. No amount of money buys that.

I didn't tell you about the time when I was supposed to go shoot guns with Andy... We had discussed going up to his 20 acres and shooting guns. I missed a weekend and went the one after. I called Andy and the first thing he asked me was about shooting. I told him I had missed a weekend and wasn't sure if still was up to it, that I hadn't bought any cartridges nor brought my Winchester Wingmaster. Andy said to come over. I went over, we talked and after a while he said: hold it. He went somewhere in his house and came back with a box of cartridges with my name on it.

It's been a while i've posted and have plenty to say so take a break and see the place in january after a light snow storm.

Pretty, ain't it? And only 2.5 hour away from LA. Spring time is coming and the place will be so green and covered with wildflowers, it will put Ireland to shame. At 3500', Walker Basin has four seasons. Nothing like a toasty fire in the wood stove during winter. Nothing like watching the rain fall from under the porch in the Spring. Nothing like lazying in the shade with the cool breeze coming down from the Sierra Nevada in the summer. Nothing like a glorious, cool, Fall day. So close to LA but it feels like it could be Telluride, Ketchum or Jackson Hole (not my words but my Redondo Beach urbanite brother's.)

I've been trying to let people know about Walker Basin, a 12 square miles undiscovered gem full of history, beautiful sights, good people and much more. I do wonder though if I shouldn't keep it private. I don't want it to get spoiled...

I'll post again soon.

Fishing clouds out of water

2009-03-30T20:43:00.000-07:00

This post covers two different weekends I was up at the SSP. One weekend I went up with Jorgy and his girlfriend Riley. She's a cute taco-terrier who just loves to kiss everybody and insists on sitting on your lap. Anyway, on the way up we stopped in Arvin as I always do to buy some fruits and vegetables from Abel. He's a very nice man, always smiling, and he always gives me extra items after I pay him. Last time he gave me nopales which Ernie and I grilled. They tasted mighty good. You can't beat his prices either. Here's Abel.

I had read there's a church in Arvin with a landmark commemorating Father Garces' stay in the area at the end of April of 1776. He was the first white man to come around these parts. Here's a small statue that was erected in the courtyard of the Saint Thomas the Apostle Church on April 30, 1944.

Once we got up to the cabin, I decided the doggies needed a good walk so we went to the property by the creek on our way to the pond. Snows are still melting from Piute Mountain so the creek was flowing. I was happy to see a family enjoying the cool running water. Children just know how to have fun with anything. It inspired me to take off my boots and socks and dip my feet in the water. Yes, it was very cold but I got used to it and it was fun feeling the sand between my toes. It reminded me of Steinbeck in "Travels with Charley" when he stopped to dip his feet in a creek to help him think better. And of course, Thomas Jefferson said that one should soak one's feet in cold water for half an hour every day to stay in health.

Here we are on a drier part of the creek. I tried and tried to have the doggies look at the camera and smile...

We walked around the pond which was starting to look a bit more alive. Local residents have been working hard to bring water from the creek to the pond. A bunch of sand came down with last summer's flash floods and plugged the natural course of the creek so sand and boulders had to be moved, sandbags added here and there, culverts cleaned out. A huge job but as you will see later in this post, it paid off.

We had a quiet evening. I watched a film and Jorgy and Riley just snuggled.

The following photos are from a later weekend I went up in mid March. It rained enough this year to give a good bloom of wild flowers. It's not enough rain to get us out of a drought but at least, we got lots of flowers! This is going up the road on the side of Bear Mountain, just out of Arvin. Lovely isns't it?

Getting off the 58 at the Caliente offramp, here's the view looking down the tiny. beautiful valley. To think I'm still in Southern California...

Once we got to the cabin, I was curious to see how full the pond (aka Lena Lake) was. Surprise! The pond was full to the max, so much so that water overflowed into the secondary pond. I knew it wasn't a miracle because I had seen the guys working hard at it but boy, what a beauty. Last summer it almost looked like a puddle after the fire department used it to put out the fire on Piute. Locals had gotten together for a fund raiser to buy an industrial water pump to keep the pond alive but pumps are expensive and times are tough. The lack of money didn't stop them though. Hats off.

I came across a family (neighbors of mine) fishing and I'm pretty sure this little boy was trying to catch a cloud out of the water. As matter of fact he did and he gave it me. I'm keeping it in my heart where it twirls and twirls and tickles. This summer we'll be able to go fishing and swimming locally.

Here's the secondary pond which had been completely dry for 2-3 years.

I had come up with the mission to scrape and paint the decks. The sandpaper and metal brush I had wouldn't do it. I needed a scraper but didn't have one so I had no choice but to do nothing and simply relax. I sat on the porch and just admired the mountains and the different varieties of birds. Tough life... Later on, Ernie and I got together for dinner and barbecued some mighty filet mignon steaks and Abel's nopales. He brought out his guitar, played a few songs and then it was bed time. Walking back home, the sky was glowing with millions of stars.

I'm glad I didn't paint because the next day, well, it snowed!

It started with rain in the middle of the night, then hail early in the morning and finally puffy white snow. What a treat! I can't remember the last time I saw snow fall. And again, this right here in Southern California.

It stopped by mid afternoon and of course the mountains all around were beautifully clothed in white.

By late afternoon, the sky was mostly clear with big, odd-shaped puffy clouds. The clouds come down close in the basin, like if they wanted to kiss the earth. I saw one playing around by my neighbor's house, a few feet above the ground. It was twirling and twirling slowly but not going anywhere.

I decided to stay the night and leave early the next day to be on time for work. On the way out, I saw more lazy, playful clouds close to the ground just having fun changing shape slowly and twirling on itself. Yes, this place is magical. I am blessed to have been invited into its heart.

It's a heart that gives, always. All one needs is to open eyes and heart, breathe and let it all in.

Among the leafless oaks

2009-02-05T08:26:00.000-08:00

I was thinking of posting without photos this time. I have been pondering if indeed a picture is worth a thousand words. Books seem to make my imagination fly better than photographs; some paintings do that too. I have been thinking about this because on my last stay at the cabin, sitting on the porch at dusk, it was clear to me that no picture could describe such a moment. The delicious gradation of colors in the sky from dark blue to purple and pink; the gnarly silhouette of the leafless oaks; the hoarse barking of a dog in the distance; the crispness of the Sierra Nevada's fresh air; the stars beginning to twinkle in the darkening sky; the sweet smell of the wood fire burning in the stove inside; the insects flying madly about the lights. Try and capture that with a photograph.

I feel incredibly lucky sitting on that porch. Such beauty and peace, all just for me. I've told friends about the place (tried hard not to brag,) invited them but surprisingly, very few have come up. I guess nobody's got time for peace and beauty anymore. It's OK though, I've made good friends up there already. People who show up with a wood splitter and cut down your logs to size for your stove, without you asking. People who help you replace your water heater. Help is the wrong word, they do it all. People who help with your first time dealing with a water pump or a swamp cooler. People who take time to sit down with you and chat about big and small things. Real people.

Sitting on the porch and selfishly enjoying the moment, I couldn't help but think about these hard times. Me-me-me and nobody else probably has a lot to do with it. A bigger car, bigger house, bigger TV, bigger lips. The Olympics of me, myself and I. Me and screw everybody else to an unsustainable level. Money, money, money, or at least, the appearance of it. That needed a correction. Problem is, some folks were just going along working hard and honest, not spending foolishly, and they pay the price too. I'm from the Old World which means I'm not a flag-waving, this is God's country American and yes, some people here remind me of the Taliban but good thing, I've found that a lot of people don't buy that poison. My neutral observation is that this is a country built by hard work, and resourceful, clever, rational people who don't take no for an answer but find new ways. It's true, this is the country of Can Do. This is the closest thing to the Promised Land even though milk and honey don't flow freely.

Yes, we're in this for a while, and there are more bad times a-coming but everything is cyclical, for every action there's a reaction and tomorrow the sun will rise, people will get married, babies will be born and we'll get together with friends. Older folks know that, they've already lived it a few times. Alright, enough talk. Here's my visual record of my weekend up the Sierra Foothills.

I drove up with Jorgy, pictured at the bottom of this post. Jorgy loves space, peace and quiet, and his friends Badger, Trigger and Heidi. He also likes the occasional wandering canine. I guess they always smell interesting to him. Anyway, winter is a time when the Tule fog covers California's Central Valley. Problem is, the more it goes, the more it looks like smog. Arvin, a little town I drive though on my way up has the worst air in the nation. Click on the picture below for what I saw approaching the Grapevine.

I drove the Lion's Trail and because of the higher elevation, the air is cleaner. Dieu merci.

Some of the bad air made its way almost to the basin, trying to get up the mountains but the sky was blue as it always is.

We arrived at the cabin and got settled which means first starting a fire, then turning the water on, lighting the water heater , putting some music on, setting out chairs, hanging the welcome doodad on the door, the wind chime on the rafters, straightening things up, preparing our dinners and watching night fall. I know you're thinking rough schedule. Of course, all this time Jorgy was busy going around spraying every bush on the property, leaving a message to everybody that he's in town so come and vist. The photo below shows one of the sisters in winter. I noticed some mistletoe in its branches and I will cut it off. I don't care what the experts say, it will kill an oak tree. I have pictures.

The next day, I had some work to do: varnish the last wall of logs with a water repellent. Before I did that though, I decided to go walk around the pond. On my way, I saw some neighbors going about their chores, a true picture of the joy of home ownership.

I noticed on my way that the creek at the SSP was flowing nicely. Good. That meant the pond is getting water and yes, the pond looked beautiful, like a woman with fleshy lips, fuller and with a twinkle in the eye. In this case, photos do a pretty good job.

Hi Jorgy! He hates water but he loves the pond.

I'll finish with a photo of my faithful companion, Jorgy. We stayed Sunday night and left very early Monday morning so I could get to work on time. As always, he tried to stay so I had to be stern with him and almost grab him by the collar but he resigned himself with a few heavy sighs and got in the car. Don't worry Jorgy, we'll be back soon.

Come, Jorgy! I know, it would be fun to stay but we can't. We'll be back soon, I promise.

A Winter Wonderland

2008-12-24T13:43:00.001-08:00

Winter has arrived in Southern California. A big snow storm hit the Western US and it even snowed in Malibu. It also covered the SSP area with white powder. Local residents were out of electricity for three days... It's a hard thing when one's water pump, radiators and freezers run on electricity. The roads to and fro were closed, even via Mojave where my friend Ted had to spend a night in his car coming back from a ski day in Mammoth. I had to wait for the weekend to go up and by then, all was back to normal with some snow left.

The Grapevine near Gorman

The Lion's Trail

Cows and horses by the Rankin Ranch

Evan and Jorgy came up with me. It was Jorgy's first encounter with snow but it didn't seem to bother him. He walked cautiously at first but then after he realized the snow wasn't wet, he ran and slid quite happily.

We got to the cabin and were happy to find there was still snow around. A local friend had emailed me photos that showed everything covered in white but since we came a few days later, quite a bit of snow had melted. Still, I found it very pretty.

The next day we took off for a walk. The little creek has started flowing a little, slowly recreating its course.

Oaks in the snow, such a lovely sight.

We walked around the pond...

... And came across footprints. Can you guess what kind of animal left those? : )

It was cold at night but our trusted potbelly stove and some blankets kept everybody cozy.

We are all coming up for New Year's for a few days and I look forward to it. Meanwhile, Happy Holidays and Happy New Year! My best wishes for health, love, prosperity, safety, peace in 2009 (and beyond!) to all.

Storms!

2008-12-21T16:08:00.000-08:00

¡Viva México!

2008-12-03T20:47:00.000-08:00

My HMIL was very generous and invited her small tribe to a cruise down the Pacific Coast of Mexico. I'm not the cruise type but like they say, never say never... What's not to like? You get first class service, bed made and unmade, towels changed daily, great foods, professional and caring waiters, entertaining shows, art auctions, you name it. There are exercise rooms, several swimming pools and jacuzzis, bars everywhere, discos, a library, an internet café and more. All you have to do is just be there, raise your finger if you need anything and just enjoy yourself. Easy to get used to. So much so that I actually miss our waiter...

The Sapphire Princess at sea

Our first destination was Puerto Vallarta, way down south, past the Tropic of Cancer. It took a few days to get there but that was OK as we just relaxed and enjoyed la dolce vita. The movie "Night of the Iguanas" put this town on the map. It was a quaint fishing village from what I read but today it has turned into a tourist spot. They should make another film there but call it "Day of the Hustle" instead... The scene reminded me a little of another film, "The Beach" with Leo de Caprio (great film by the way; it made me like Leo.)

On the beach in Puerto Vallarta

I asked the taxi to drop us off in Old Town thinking it was a charming, picturesque place but there was nothing really exciting about it save for the cobbled streets, and a few houses here and there. We walked all the way along the riva to the beach. Every step of the way, someone would invite us inside their store to see and buy things. There are even vendors who promise you lunch and a free ride to a great beach. Beware, they will try and sell you a time share once you get there.

Puerto Vallarta is on a bay where eleven rivers end. This means the water is full of sediment and not very clear. The water temperature is lovely however. We could have taken a tour to the jungle (it's in the tropics!) but instead we just decided to relax on the beach. We found a chalupa, ordered some drinks (otherwise five bucks a person to park yourself there on the beach under the shade,) and went swimming. We had a nice time except for the non-stop beach vendors trying to sell us something. I did buy a silver bracelet with the Aztec calendar.

I talk a lot so click here to see some photos of Puerto Vallarta. Click in the middle of any image to read my comments.

Our next stop was Mazatlán, right on the Tropic of Cancer, at the same latitude as Honolulu. This time we took a tour, skipping the beach. We wanted to see the real Mexico, away from the tourist spots and got lucky, we found a great guide: Marco. Marco spoke perfect English and knew a lot about history, botany, culture, crafts etc. He took us to visit a colonial village about forty minutes away from Mazatlán: La Noria which means "the well" because of its location. That was a great, laid back, authentic village. We visited the huarache makers, the saddle makers, Alberto the potter with whom I hit it off great (I speak Spanish,) we ate mole at a B & B, walked around, visited the church, bought a few things, met people. Mexican people are very friendly, right up there with the Italians.

Alberto the potter and I showing our matching tattoos

After that, we went to Las Osunas agave tequila distillery. I'm not a big fan of tequila but the process was very interesting. We ended our tour with a visit of the riva, the place where the divers do their thing for two dollars and of Old Mazatlán. Mazatlán's Old Town has a lot of character with narrow paved streets, restaurants and sidewalk cafés. Many Europeans emigrated there last century (and before) and it had a real Old World feel, like being back in France or Croatia for me. As a matter of fact, the coast reminds me a lot of Croatia. Click here for some photos of La Noria, the distillery and Mazatlán

Lovers' Beach at the tip of California

Our next and final stop was in Cabo San Lucas, the southern tip of California. I don't know why but we had to be back on the ship by 1 pm so we only had time to go to the beach. Mind you, I didn't mind taking a few swims in the beautiful, clear and warm ocean before heading back to cooler climes in LA... We left with our heads at peace and full of sun, our skins tanner and some sand in our hair. I look forward to another, longer visit to this friendly and beautiful country. Click here for photos of Cabo San Lucas.

A little village by the sea

2008-09-06T12:32:00.000-07:00

We decided on Monday, bought our tickets on Tuesday and flew out on Thursday. I had long ago given up hope to go but life is full of surprises... So, we were on our way to Croatia for a little vacation. I previously wrote about the coast, Dalmatia, here.

We flew out on Lufthansa and for once, the flight path went north right away so we got to go over the east side of the Central Valley. Here's Lake Isabella:

and Tehachapi, the Kern River, Mount Breckenridge and beyond, the Super secret Place:

We had a stop in Frankfurt where I found in terminal 56B a new system for smokers that reminded of gas chambers. I can't complain though, it beats having to get out of the airport and go through security again like here in the States. We had a little bit of time and I met a Mexican man who emigrated to Israel. We talked about living and working in different parts of the world. I learned among other things that Israel has socialized medicine.

We had a direct connection for Split and got there early in the afternoon. We were all quite jet-lagged but happy to be there.

The next day we went to the village where our ancestors come from, Budimiri which means "stay in peace". We visited the cemetery to pay our respect to those before us. There's also a little church there where my brother got married over a year ago. The custom is for the groom to get married where his wife comes from. In that case, my sister-in-law is from the same village as us so in our family, my brother and great grandfather are the only two to have been married there. Here are some shots:

After that, my father, my son and I hung out at the ancestral house. Here's a video.

This is the key to the house...

The photo below shows some houses in a hamlet nearby. My dear old stones, the stories you could tell... The sad part is that most of those villages are now deserted except for the occasional weekend visits. Three years ago, a small village nearby called Strmadolac (where another branch of our family lives) was full of people. Now, only an old man lives there. Everybody moved to the city. I remember Budimiri when my grandparents lived there. Most every night, the old-timers, the only inhabitants left, used to get together to watch the news on my Dida's black and white TV. There they were, Nikola, Ana, Ruza, Vukusha, Baba, Dida, laughing, talking and giggling, not paying any attention to the very somber news announcer. I miss them so much.

On the way back, we stopped at the bottom of the village so I could take a picture of what long ago was the priest's house. He was killed during WW2 and his house destroyed. The walls still stand, in spite of bullet wounds and erosion.

As we were short on time, we left the next day for the island, Brac (pronounce "bratch".) I didn't get a chance to visit Split this time but made a panoramic image from the boat. You can click on all the images to see them much larger.

After a 45 minute crossing, we got to Supetar, the cute little town where the ferry lands and I shot this other panoramic:

Finally! We were almost there. We had rented a car in Split and drove the three miles south to Splitska following a very narrow two-lane road that hugs the sea, vineyards and gardens on one side, the sea on the other. The coast is full of trees and driving with our windows down, we could hear the sweet sound of the cicadas. Imagine that sound in your head, add the smell of the sea with a hint of lavender, feel a gentle breeze on your skin, close your eyes and you're there.

We arrived and of course, had fun competing who would be the first one to spot our house. Although I took this photo later, I might as well show you what the village looks like as you get there.

The house was still there, as it has been for several hundred years. We are in what is called Varoš (pronounced Varosh--"Old Town") and I feel very privileged that our place is a traditional Dalmatian stone house in the original village. Strange fact for us here but many families share houses, a bit like townhouses. For example, my dad's neighbor Ante lives in one place above his son, his brother lives next to him on the upper floor also, and his son right below him. Our house was long ago split in two, probably because two family members inherited it at some point, so we only own half the structure.

The only surprise was that there used to be a vacant garden across the street and now, there's a new building with five units. A local developer built this to sell as summer apartments. Things change...

Add a flag on each side and you have yourself an official government building. Splitska's new city hall? Well at least it's clean and finished, not like some houses on the mainland that have been under construction for decades.

Here's a quick tour of our tiny house:

My friend Philippe I knew as a kid growing up in France and his family had spent three weeks at our place before us and he had painted, patched and cleaned up everything so the house was in tip-top shape. Having a house so close to the sea means more upkeep than a house inland.

Here's a quick sweep of Splitska's riva (riva = boardwalk by the sea):

Instead of babbling away, here are different photos so you get a feel for the place. A French couple we met in Supetar came one day to visit and they taught me a new French word: Splitska is very bobo (bourgeois-boheme.) Not true! : /

This is the beach we go to. This pretty lady was just finishing to put her top back on. Breasts are not evil or dirty in Europe.

This cute kitty cat started hanging around our house and was fell fed during the tme we were there. Then cute kittens appeared...

Here's a decorative wheel from the time of Roman Emperor Diocletian. It was fished out of the harbor. Splitska was quarried to provide the stone to build his imperial palace in Split, his birthplace.

Fresh from the sea. This fish is called orade in Croatian, dorade in French but I don't know how in English. A little olive oil, some garlic and parsley, yummy!

Things were a little quieter than other times we've been there, probably because we got there late in August. I think it made things even nicer. Still, the local restaurants were still doing good enough business. Here's a birthday party at a restaurant on the riva down the street. Splitska has three restaurants close to each other around the riva but thank goodness, so far, no hotels. The government is well aware of the ugly overbuilding disaster that ruined Spain's Mediterranean coastline so they have instituted laws to preserve what's old and limit building permits. Now one can't built anything less than 70 meters from the sea. Old stones are called a national treasure and can't be knocked down or sold. Up on the road above the village however, I noticed a development with ten new houses being built, complete with swimming pools. I was told the developer is Russian.

Anyway, here's a birthday party at one of the restaurants:

We have a mini supermarket down the street where we can buy most everything but the butcher and fish market are in Supetar. Here are some views of Supetar:

Here's a sweep from one of Supetar's many cafés on the riva:

We took a trip to Postira, a little village on the sea just a few kilometers south of us. We had tasted homemade olives at our friends from Osijek (they have a vacation house here too) and wanted to buy some. They told us they bought them at the farmers'market but we didn't find any. Here are some photos showing Postira.

Retirees playing card on the riva. Talk about the weather, play some cards, catch up on local news and enjoy a good laugh. La dolce vita!

We met a nice Italian family from Naples: Nino, his son Mimmo, his brother-in-law Cino (pronounced Chino), his sister Severina and wife Maria. They have been coming every year to Splitska for a long time. Nino told us that every morning he sits on the deck to enjoy his coffee and look out to the sea, and says "Thank you Jesus!" He's not religious but I understand what he means. Nino has a way to tell a story. We cracked up hearing him tell us about his first trip to Croatia many years ago. They came by car and when they got over the border, exhausted and hungry, all the hotels were booked up, same deal with the camping sites. After much trouble, they found one. You have to hear Nino talk about his nudist camp experience...

Here's Nino fishing:

My brother came one day with his wife and his brother-in-law, Nikola who is 6'8" tall. Nino & family were very impressed.

It was time to get ready to leave. Yes, too soon. Here's a panoramic view of Old Town, the original Splitska. I saw photos from the 1930s and there were no houses on the hill across.

We left Sunday morning to ctach the 10:30 ferry and the last friendly face we saw leaving Splitska was handsome Mimmo. Ciao Mimmo! A rivederci!

We spent our last day at my Dad's and my brother's who lives next door. They live on the mainland right across from Splitska. We went swimming one last time at the beach down the street from their place, sat at a café, and watched the sunset on another blissful day. Here's a last look at Brac.

We're back home, back at work and in school but Splitska, every smell, every place, every sound, every person, is in my head and in my heart. Soon...

p.s. Meanwhile, I can see Supetar live!

Supetar, Brač, webcam view of the boat landing

Reload page to refresh

2008-09-02T18:51:00.000-07:00

Nature rules

2008-07-21T21:45:00.000-07:00

Here Comes the Flood - Peter Gabriel

The fire ended by an act of nature: a monsoon storm came up from the Gulf of Mexico and dropped several inches of rain in just a few hours. That ended the monster but then came the flash floods...

My neighbor George sent me some photos, among which this one showing the creek:

He said the water came rushing down pushing dead trees, boulders and debris sounding like a freight train. This photo shows the creek lookin north, almost from the same vantage point:

This is almost the same shot but looking towards the rocks next to where the Airstream used to be:

This is looking south from the road/bridge. Notice how the creek bed is now higher than the road on both sides:

I've taken photos over time from a big rock up the creek. Here's what it looks like in the summer:

In the spring:

And after a flash flood:

This is taken from the creek bed looking north to the big rock. It used to be very quaint there with a narrow stream lined with river rocks, trees, brush and grasses.

Here's a little film I took from the rock, panning from south to north:

Jorgy and I went walking up the creek. At times up the way, it's almost a hundred feet wide. It's a strange landscape and I guess you could say a photographer's delight.

WARNING!!! Another side effect of the fire is that bears have come down the mountain so if you go walking about, be sure to carry a sound horn, pepper spray or a gun...

Anyway, we thankfully encountered no bears but Jorgy had a cute nose-to-nose with free-range cows. I think he wanted to play with one of the black calves thinking it was just a big doggie that looked a bit like himself. They observed each other for a while and then Jorgy started doing his play jump and the calf ran away. Come back and play with me!

On the way back, we were treated to a beautiful sunset. It looks like a promise there will be a lot of rain this winter...

Piute fire

2008-07-13T11:53:00.000-07:00

Photo: Kern County Fire Department.

A fire started on Piute Mountain a couple weekends ago when I was there. Piute flanks the basin east and northeast. As of today, containment is 46 Percent; total acres burned: 37,026; cost to date: $20,700,000; structures threatened: 1,432; total personnel: 1,598; countless airplanes, helicopters, bulldozers are being used to fight the beast. As of a couple days ago, Piute fire personnel have worked 188,365 hours and constructed 28.3 miles of hand line and 56.3 miles of mechanical line. Several areas have been evacuated but so far, thanks to the fire crews, very few houses destroyed.

Last night a storm rolled in, complete with hail and lightning. The result: operations stopped, 59 firefighters stranded and two flash floods.

I get news regularly from my neighbor George. They're holding out in spite of the smoke and keep an eye out on several properties, including some up Thompson Canyon, 3/4 mile away from the fire.

I can't help but think that back in April, Ernie took my son and I up Piute Mountain and we went up until the Jeep couldn't make it over the snow on the road. It's truly beautiful up there but now, it's probably all black and desolate.

Here are my photos from two weeks ago, when the fire first started. For more current photos, check out Clara's Bell's photo stream. She lives up Piute Mountain and has been documenting the fire up close and personal from the beginning.

Below is a close to real-time map showing the extent of the fire. Let's hope this will be over soon. Meanwhile, hats off and thank you to all involved in fighting this fire.

View Larger Map

p.s. California is burning, there are many fires throughout the state:

Photo by NASA, 7/7/08. Click to view large.

Guest of honor

2008-05-12T19:26:00.001-07:00

We had a very special guest come up and spend the weekend with us... Here she is, sitting next to her charming lady offspring: the Delaware Belle, the star of Tarzana, the Queen of Sun City!

The Wild Life (La Vie Sauvage)

2008-04-21T19:50:00.000-07:00

What a sight, wildflowers are everywhere, the air is still crisp but the sun is warming the earth. Another weekend spent at the SSP, this time a trio: Evan, Jorgy and I. It was a full moon or close to it. After a Saturday spent watering the fruit trees that didn't die of neglect because of lack of care (the cabin was for sale for ages,) we ate dinner and all relaxed watching a movie: "Walk hard", a spoof on Johnny Cash with a little Jim Morrison thrown in, and the would-be intensity of the rock and roll life. The Wild Life. That we saw plenty of.

Let me start from the beginning. We first stopped in "Grapes of Wrath" country. This is where the government camp in the book was situated. By all means, read Steinbeck, it will make you a better person. Anyway, the Okies have now been replaced by the Homies. Same story, different people. I like Arvin, I can't explain why. I once saw a family in their Sunday best having lunch at Burger King. I don't know about you but to me that was touching. One of the rare time when I wish I had dressed up. Living can't be easy there so folks do what they can to stay alive. Here's a truck fully loaded with aluminum cans.

And, because I can never get enough of them, my Homies:

We got to the SSP traveling through the Lion's Trail, always awed by the majestic beauty of the foothills. Can't get too distracted though, could miss a curve and become part of the majestic beauty. Better keep an eye on all the cows on the road anyway. We hit a roadblock: a car coming the other way, two cows in the middle; what to do? We stopped and let the roadblock move slowly to the side of the road. A gentle hand wave hello from the other driver. People always wave driving by.

After dinner, before the movie, I sat outside on the porch a while taking in the moonlit landscape. Even at night the mountains are beautiful, mysterious womanly shapes. There were clouds in the sky moving so fast it seemed they were stationary and the moon was rising at supersonic speed. Git me a gin 'n tonic! Here's another shot.

Can you believe this little disc is responsible for moving oceans up and down?

We slept well and the next day went for a walk to the lake where Evan made some small adobe bricks and I tried to look for gold. Later on, after meeting our direct neighbor and his son-in-law, we went adventuring up Paiute Mountain. I don't exactly have the right kind of car for that but Evan wanted to so heck, why not try at least. We went up Thompson Canyon and saw wild horses and cows.

I just love that. And of course, a few trailers for the independent minded.

The area is well-known for mining, all kinds: gold, tungsten, you name it and we came upon a quaint little pond somebody built, complete with a gold sifting apparatus.

Gold I found none, other than gold you can't buy: a good time with my son and my dog.

After that, we went back to the cabin, watered some more (to the point where the tank was empty,) packed up and left. Jorgy didn't fight too hard to stay this time, just a little. On the road, by the old cemetery, we saw a bobcat cross the road. I stopped and we saw him hiding behind a small pine tree, looking at us. What a sight. I tried to get a shot but by the time I was ready, the bobcat was taking off. here's my blurry photo:

We drove wit the sun setting on the beautiful oaks of the Lion's Trail. i felt like I was driving through a moving painting.

Four wheeling up the mountain

2008-04-17T19:03:00.000-07:00

Amy, Evan, Jorgy and I spent the weekend at the cabin. Audrey, the city girl, stayed at her friend's. She missed out.

We had a wonderful time with perfect temperatures, California poppies, wild flowers and grass everywhere. Amy finished the bedroom curtains so the cabin is looking cuter and cuter. Speaking of Amy, something funny happened. Ernie and I were chatting on the porch and Amy came calling "My God, there's a mountain lion at the back of the property!" i ran and got my binoculars so I wouldn't miss such a sight. Amy said she thought at first it was a dog, then she was sure it was a big cat of the lion order. Closer inspection through my binoculars showed a healthy but not overweight kitty cat. Amy still argued for a while it was at least a wild cat until she took a peak. We all had a good laugh about it.

I had been wanting to go up Paiute Mountain for a while but I don't have a four-wheel drive so I couldn't. Ernie was there and the good man he is took us up and showed some things we hadn't seen before.

I had heard that there are a bunch of hot springs but never being up early enough scouting for steam, I never found anything. Ernie knew of one and showed us up Thompson Canyon. Here it is.

Ernie said there used to be a pond in which Andy, another neat neighbor, once boldly bathed but someone had broken the levee and the water flowed down now with just enough puddle to put your feet in. We found a hidden small pond nearby down the stream with reefs, birds and wildlife. An older man, Mister Jim, I had met in the beginning I used to go to the SSP and stay in the Airstream told me there is a hot spring the Indians used, complete with a cover, stones etc. Unfortunately he passed away so I'll have to keep looking.

Not far from there was something seemingly completely out of place: a grave marker with an inscription. The Williams, honored today with a road named after them, must have been very early settlers and apparently, their son was the first white child born in Kern county.

The wood marker was in pieces on the ground but I can't stand oblivion, especially at a grave so I put it back together. I'll go back and fix it permanently.

We kept going up, encountering the occasional abandoned trailer. These trailers are a testament to the spirit of some folks who seeked independence, freedom, fresh air, nature and then some. I hope this spirit still lives.

And with Spring finally here, we saw baby snakes sunning. Funny thing about the snake, I wasn't scared or creeped out, I was actually happy to see a baby snake. They serve a purpose in this world and have been here a long time so, as Ali G would say: Respek. He/she didn't feel threatened and I think was actually posing for his picture.

As we went up we ran across a spring that Ernie said provides all year and where he, Andy and others use to go fill up bottles with its tasty mineral water. We also came across a road grader that went over the side. Incredibly, the driver jumped in time and saved himself.

I keep talking about Ernie so here he is:

Hi Ernie!

The higher we went up the trail the more beautiful the vistas became. A higher elevation provided a greater variety of trees from mesquite to sequoias. Here are some views:

See the happy little basin down there? ; )

Purty, huh? We went as far as we could but came a time when the road was blocked by snow and try as we could, we couldn't make it over. Wanna see some snow?

I was surprised there was still quite a bit but that's California for you.

So we turned around and went back home. Amy made lunch, I fixed the sprinklers the best I could following Ernie's good advice and some of us took a nap.

I don't think I've seen the famous thought to be extinct and now only found there moth but the insects are beautiful. I leave you with one fuzzy and cute local. Till next time!

Home sweet home

2008-02-18T21:06:00.000-08:00

We're starting to get settled. We have installed a new water heater; I've fought the bathtub's grime and iron spots and won (looks brand new!); Amy is making curtains for the bedrooms; we even got a TV and DVD player! Next thing will be to fix the sprinkler system.

It's turning green again. The temperatures are still on the cool side so the wood stove keeps us comfortable.

We did it!

2008-02-12T21:41:00.000-08:00

Gosh I hate moving... Our house here in town was a mess briefly and I did my best to ignore it. I think I succeeded. We had ordered mattresses, a couch and whatnot so the place was a zoo (even though I've never noticed the few zoos I've been to as messy.) I was a bit anxious about the move. We had so many things to get together: rent a truck, get the new couch through the den's door; take down our son's super duper bunk bed with the help of its maker, Steve (this bed was built to withstand earthquakes, tsunamis, nuclear attacks, you name it, all courtesy of my beloved's somewhat irrational fears); deal with Evan's stuff in our living room (drum, CDs, consoles, amps, cables, books, shelves etc, etc.--no wonder his room seemed so small); a radiator, wine glasses, sheets, blankets, food and drink, and more (I'll spare you.)

I got the truck, picked up a super nifty old style pine table from our friend Nina-the-Supercool, went to bed, got up, went to our friend Sara-from-AR-who's-also-Supercool and picked up a fridge, chairs, a rocking chair, side-tables, lamps and more stuff. Finally we were on our way.

The moving party consisted of our family and our gracious friends Sara and Ted (unrelated to Sara but related to Amy; not mine, his. Are you still with me?) Ted's a talented large-format photographer I'm lucky to work with. Off we were. We had to drive through Mojave and Tehachapi to hit the new Home Depot there to buy a water heater (read below for background info.) Forget that shopping was an experience that I will not relate to my friend Brian, regional manager for the company (it's safe, he doesn't read my blog.) The hard part was incorporating the heater into the truck. Ted and I had the truck (the ladies and Evan smartly drove separately) and I believe we spent half an hour making it all fit back. In the end, the whole thing reminded me a bit of Escher's work: it looks weird but somehow it make sense.

Here's a photo of the truck at the Apple Shed, in Tehachapi, where we had lunch after we met up with the rest of the party.

Tehachapi is a neat place located at 4000 feet. They have four seasons and there were remnants of snow in the shady side of the restaurant and on the mountains all around. A few famous people live there. Among them John Doe of X and the now gone but still illustrious Jack Palance. A few infamous people like the Menendez brothers live there too but they wear uniforms with a number on it.

Moving on to happier thoughts, we drove on and got to the SSP. Unloading the truck and bringing things in was amazingly easy. Somehow, everything found its place quickly and happily. Work all done, we settled and had a beer and moved on to prepare dinner. I barbecued some of Jim's Market (in Woodland Hills) succulent marinated chicken breasts and Amy sautéed potatoes and cooked veggies. That and some vino made for a mighty fine dinner. We later had a tasty apple pie I had bought at the Apple Shed. Here's a pic of Ted settling down while dinner was being prepared:

After dinner several card games were played with the usual ooohs, aaaahs and no way! I enjoyed watching everybody have fun and went out to sit on the porch. Notice the beer bottle on the table (Ted's), the Mouton Cadet Rosé in the foreground (mine; not bad, just cool it and let it breath) and all the funny faces. Also starring is the super nifty country style pine table I was telling you about earlier and the chairs Sara gave us.

Eventually, we all started to feel the effects of a day full of excitement and made ourselves comfy. Here are Evan, Sara and her her new girl puppy Riley (a cute and very feisty three month old Taco Terrier.)

Eventually, Riley and Jorgy took over the couch and passed out on it. I think them watching us, or the air got the best of them. They look so cute.

I hung out on the porch enjoying the silence and starry night of a gazillion diamonds. A huge owl came and rested on a tree next to me for a while, checking out the new owners I guess. I called everybody over and it flew away. I guess our cat Penny won't be coming up. The lights attracted some neat looking moths. I don't think any were the Kern Primrose Sphinx Moth but I still find them pretty.

The next day Ted took off early to take some photos while Sara, Amy, the dogs and I went for a walk; upon his return we had a very nice breakfast; returned the truck to the rental place in Lake Isabella; attempted briefly to change the water heater but quickly gave up for lack of tools and skills. The rest of the day was spent relaxing on the covered porch, enjoying the views of the mountains around us. And then, it was time to go back to the city lights.

Rain, hail and snow

2008-02-03T21:47:00.001-08:00

I went up this weekend to meet the appraiser from the insurance company. He came from Apple Valley near Victorville and amazingly enough, he found the place and was only two minutes late from his scheduled appointment. Edison did manage to get the right place this time so I had electricity and therefore water. I had lights, music, an electric radiator, a phone, a stove and oven. Save for the water heater that needs replacing, I was stylin'.

It was mostly sunny when I arrived, with many puffy clouds. This is the view when arriving from the creek road. A few low clouds, looking pretty.

Later in the afternoon the weather stayed the same and before I went to bed, I looked up to the sky and saw many stars. I thought for sure the storm would bypass the SSP. I woke up later in the evening with the sound of rain pouring on the roof. I didn't look outside but my neighbor later told me it even snowed at 11 pm.

The next day was a combination of rain, hail and snow, depending on I'm not sure what climate dynamics. One thing I do know is that it was cold and I was glad to have a roaring fire in the stove and my new and friendly DeLonghi EW7707CM Oil-filled Radiator with ComforTemp Technology.

I had met a neighbor the day before, Ernie, a nice man who's been coming up for twenty years and he invited me for a cup (or two, or three) of coffee in the morning. He was a friend of the man who built the cabin and knows everything about it. It's nice to meet people because as much as I love peace and quiet, I find it's better when it's shared. We spoke a while and I enjoyed his company.

When I got back, I took a shot of this interesting (to me anyway) pair of oak trees on the property. I call them The Two Sisters.

There was snow on the mountains in all directions. Here's looking west toward Breckenridge:

North:

Northwest:

South:

The creek on this property which I thought had been dry for years is actually alive and well:

I found a lovely winter landscape as I left:

It was an interesting drive back: the unpaved roads out of the SSP were muddy and slippery; I took the creek road to avoid any possible ice on the Lion's Trail and found a huge boulder had fallen on the road in the southbound lane; the road was flooded in many areas; hail in the Grapevine' and finally, approaching LA, buzzed drivers coming home from Super Bowl parties. I was glad to get home safe.

Weather permitting, we're moving furniture in next weekend!

Log cabin

2008-01-23T10:37:00.000-08:00

It is with great joy that I formally announce that as of January 18, 2008, we are the proud owners of a small and beautiful log cabin in the Super Secret Place.

It took a while for us close the purchase (long and tedious story...) but with the persistent, kind and patient help and support of our Super Secret Contact Jenna, the cabin will soon be named Hillbilly Wally Ranch! (Not a chance but hey...)

We spent our first weekend there last week. We had no electricity because So. Cal. Edison plugged the house across the street instead of ours. Thomas invented the light bulb but I'm not too sure about the company that carries his name. No electricity meant no phone, no water (no pump) and I couldn't figure out the gas heater. Fortunately there's a wood-burning stove that kept us cozy. So it was a little bit of a camping experience but since I'm a seasoned Airstreamer, no problems.

We brought up a few chairs, plates and other kitchen essentials and of course, a brand new Weber barbecue kettle. I grilled some steaks and the stove provided a wonderful oven for our potatoes. No need for a fridge to keep the beer cold, we simply left the 6-pack outside where temperatures dipped to 31º at night.

We all had a good time, including Jorgy. There's a fence all around and that gives him plenty of room to run around, mark his territory and just have fun. We took good care to keep him warm at night.

What a delight it is to sit on the porch, sipping a cup of warm tea (there is a propane tank) and just look around to the mountains in every direction. No noises, just the peaceful sounds of Nature. I love the space out there and it felt strange coming home to my neighborhood in the city where I can almost reach over my fence and touch the neighbor's house. I can't complain though, many people live in apartments.

There will be work to do there: repaint the decks, varnish the logs, get the sprinklers and drip system going, etc but that's all happy work. I leave you with a shot I took from the road leaving the basin, looking back to the SSP as night fell. 'Til next time!

Snow on Breckenridge!

2007-10-05T18:01:00.001-07:00

I haven't posted in a while but I just had to upload these shots taken today. Notice the snow on the pine in the foreground...

Live Oak

2007-06-20T20:37:00.000-07:00

I didn't go to the SSP this weekend. Instead, I went to a place that looks a lot like it. Live Oak Music Festival is a yearly event held for three days on Father's Day weekend. The campground is by Lake Cachuma, north of Santa Barbara. Here are some pix of this happy event. Click here if your browser doesn't show images or to view them larger.

.

Always more to discover

2007-04-09T21:47:00.000-07:00

'Tis the season so I got a crew to come up to the Super Secret Place with me: my son Evan, his buddy Ryan and my trusted friend Jorgy.

Waiting to cross the tracks at the gateway, we noticed for the first time all the crates on the train with "China Shipping" written on them. I wonder if they have trains with "USA Shipping" or "Euro Shipping" containers in remote areas of China... Speaking of trains, here's a great photographic essay on hobo youth. Keep clicking on the photo for a journey you won't forget.

Anyway, just down the road from there, we saw our first calf branding. I had seen pictures but never seen it in person. What's different from the photos one may see is the crying of the calves being a little freaked out, the mothers being really freaked out and the smell of burnt hair. Other than that, I saw the cowboys give the calves a shot before being branded so I assume it was a pain killer.

There was a small crew of younger cowboys and cowgirls catching the calves with lariats. The best one was a cowgirl.

As a kid, I loved Westerns and cowboys. Now I know that cowboys are cool but so are cowgirls. : )

We took the creek road on the way to the SSP and Evan noticed a few waterfalls on the way. Of course, he and Ryan had to go investigate and they found another waterfall higher up the hill feeding the one we saw from the road. Jorgy, as always, was concerned: where are they going? Is that safe?

There are a bunch of things of interest on the way. Here's a cute stone cabin of yesteryear, a rarity in So. Cal. where everythign over fifty years old gets bulldozed (as for example my neighborhood being demolished to make way for... McMansions!)

I had a request so we stopped at the mine, the guys went up and I took a couple stills just for fun. Some of you may not appreciate graffiti art but I think there's a lot of talent out there. That said, it's another thing to spray paint "Shaka" all over town. That's not art, that's defacing.

I had gone up 2 or 3 weeks before and wasn't sure if the landscape got greener or browner so I didn't know what to excpect. I keep an eye on the webcam pointed toward the SSP but it is a little blurry. Driving up we had a surprise however: a pretty carpet of yellow flowers everywhere.

Here's a close up of the yellow flowers. I don't know what they're called so if someone does, let me know.

There were also little purple flowers, taller purple ones and some California poppies. The poppies had their own area. The point is, beautiful wild flowers everywhere. Below is a general view of the SSP.

Rain has been sparse so the creek is unfortunately starting to dwindle already. Too bad. We went down and saw all kinds all life there. We even found a Hillbilly Wally playing his Strumstick. Weird looking creature with odd-looking hairy legs... I guess the hair is an evolutionary thing to protect from ticks and mosquitoes.

We unpacked the multitude of necessities we're accustomed to, settled, ate our sandwich and went on a walk around the neighborhood. The roads are not paved which is nice, it makes for smooth walking. There are horses everywhere so the guys petted and fed the friendly ones who got close to us with the green grass on our side. Yes, the grass is greener on the other side of the fence.

Jorgy went along and he was quite taken by these big creatures. There were lotsa doggies too, all barking as we walked by. Good doggies doing their job but with their tails wagging, a sure give away. Oddly, two young dogs were chained together at one place, a simplified Cerberus version. We later met two nice ladies who told us they had shown up at their place like that. I helped unchain them and Jorgy had two friends to play with.

Of course, Evan wanted to adopt them both but... The two nice ladies had three llamas; two white females and a black male. They told us they were the original lamas, not messed with genetically or bred for traits. They were very distinguished and quite interested in us. I was afraid they would spit on us and kept my distance but we were told that they only do that when people lack respect, for example overburdening them. The black one took a particular interest in Jorgy and followed us all the way around the property. He made a big impression on me because he came to me in my dreams that night and talked to me (I swear, I didn't do drugs.) He said something about respecting animals. Here they are:

The place is very pretty, pastoral as one would say, Here's a pastoral scene I took for my friend Michael, from Tennessee, who loves tractors:

And of course, this is the West so you see this:

We went back, I barbecued thick pork chops and veggies, and watched the sun go down as the frogs in the creek were having a party. It was another full moon but we could still see the gazillion stars in the sky (sorry, no photo.) Funny thing about the outdoors, our natural rhythms come back quickly; we must have gone to bed early, close to 9.

The next morning the guys wanted to check out Lake Isabella so up we went. We stopped in Havilah at the courthouse and spoke to a local historian. Apparently, the town had in its heyday over 3,000 people, 3 hotels, a hospital and a couple bars. Mind you, the courthouse was THE Kern County courthouse, not Bakersfield. The place was full of memorabilia, photos and more. The historian showed us a model he had built of the town and shared what he knew for the little time we were there. I could have spent all day hanging out with that guy but we went on. I showed the guys the lake, we had lunch in Kernville and went to the river. Some folks were having fun in the water.

We went back to the SSP and hung out.

The guys took out the guns, lined up some Coke cans and executed them. Jorgy gets a little freaked out by the sound but he was OK. We made sure he stood behind the line of fire, we ain't no Dick Cheneys.

Here's the crew minus the photographer; aren't they handsome?

I went around and took some photos of the oaks. I love trees.

We packed everything, it was time to go. We said bye to the place,

and drove back via the Lion's Trail. The hills and mountains by the trail are spectacular and it was all vibrantly green. It reminded me of France.

We saw a mama cow with two calves and a bunch of other cows on the road. One has to drive carefully because the road has many hairpins, steep terrain on the sides, squirrels and cows.

The blue rock marks the entrance to the Central Valley.

'Til next time!

Early Spring

2007-03-14T18:42:00.000-07:00

I went up to the Little Palace this past weekend. Just me and my dog, Jorgy (forgive my vernacular use of the English language.) I had been keeping an eye daily on the webcam pointed toward the area. There had been a couple storms, I had seen snow on Mount Breckenridge and things looked a little greener. We're at 20% rainfall this year with no storms forecast for the rest of March; a first in recorded history. Anyway, I was excited about seeing the Super Secret Place in the Spring.

I drove up and got to the gateway to the SSP, passed the train tracks,

and it looked like this:

Looks purty, huh? I'm not a Native but I admit that Southern Cal is incredibly beautiful.

We got to the place after driving the beautiful Lion's Trail. The whole family had gone up in February and the place looked like this:

A few drops of rain and it looked like this:

Goes to show you what a few drops of rain can do. Mother Nature rules.

I set up camp: gas tanks in place, check. Bed made, check. Generator hooked up, check. CD player loaded with the Stragglers, check. Open-tuning resonator guitar ready to play, check. Jaw harps ready to Boing! check. Water bowl for Jorgy, check. Airstream windows open for ventilation, check, Food and beer in the fridge, check. A bottle of Bordeaux ready to be opened, check. Chairs out, check. BBQ ready to light, check. OK, all systems go, R & R time.

I spent the day playing music, listening to music, reading and just enjoying life. I ate early as I wanted to be done with dinner before sundown. After dinner, Jorgy and I went for a walk around the lake. There's a tiny lake about 1/2 mile from the property. It was almost dusk and we heard many noises. There is so much wildlife by the water: all kinds of birds, bunnies and I saw a few wild beast tracks. No Yeti tracks though. Silly me. I forgot the camera but here's a picture of Jorgy. Isn't he handsome?

He had a good time with all the smells and made sure to leave his scent on every bush. He likes taking walks there because the soil is mostly decomposed granit, very sandy and the roads are soft dirt. Nothing is paved over there. Many folks have horses and I'm sure the horses like it that way. Speaking of which, after we got back, Jorgy saw his first horse up close and he didn't know what to make of it.

We went to bed early, I tried to read a little, Jorgy got on top of my bed and we fell asleep with an interesting chorus of frog vocalizations coming from our creek.

The next day I wanted to check out Lake Isabella so we got in the car and drove north. We passed Havilah, gateway to Sequoia National Park.

There's a lot of history that way, as illustrated by this 1860s courthouse. I love it. The road is very pretty and we got to a point where we could see the lake in the distance from a high vantage point. I was very careful driving down; it's probably a drop of over a thousand feet and the road has no guard rails.

The town itself is somewhat stuck in time; I'm just not sure what time. Folks there seem quite nice though, based on the few folks I talked to at the gas station. Never judge a book by its cover. We first went on the southeast side of the lake. It's quite dry but looks pretty nice with the boulders.

Few folks were camping, others boating, a peaceful, sunny place.

I was curious to go up to Kernville to see the river. It turns out it's only ten minutes north of the lake. On the way there I stopped to check out Tillie Creek Campground, near Wofford Heights. The west side of the lake is more wooded for some reason. I love proximity to a body of water but I need shade so I liked this place.

Kernville is a tiny, Western-style town with a few cafes, the river and the Kern River Brewing Company.

It may not be the great Mississippi but don't let this river fool you, people die rafting it every year. Like Ali G would say: "Respek." We walked around, sat by the river for a while watching people fishing, we ate lunch and took off. I saw a bit of interesting architecture in the town of Lake Isabella driving back.

Back at the SSP, we hiked around for a while and I took a few photos of the black oaks that are on the property and the occasional "street" sign.

And of course, the Palace:

A weekend is only two days, a pitance. It was time to pack and go back to LA. I took some photos as the sun was setting of more oaks and the Tehachapi Mountains.

That's it, a beautiful and peaceful weekend like we all need.

Peace to all, and don't forget: Respek to Mother Nature and all the living creatures she sustains.

Limousin trip

2007-02-11T16:48:00.000-08:00

Back in November I went back to my original home, the Limousin. Here are some photos of my trip.

I flew direct, a night flight over the midwest U.S., Eastern Canada, Southern Greenland, Scotland and the UK. I arrived at Charles de Gaulle in the morning, Paris time to be greeted by my good friend, Philippe. I've known Phil since we were kids. We used to walk back home from junior high school at lunch time and in the evenings after class. Young as we were, we always talked about life, ecology, philosophy, girls, where we wanted to go in life. We never talked politics and to this day, I don't know where he stands and I don't care. One thing I know about him and that I like very much is that he's a contrarian. Under any situation he's the guy who will say "yes but have you considered..." In later years we had a lot of fun and he taugt me to respect Nature (my friend Daniel also) and how to do the Bear Dance, still a classic he invented. Here's my friend as he was dropping me off at the train station the next day.

He's a cutie and in his days was quite a Ladies' man. Now, he's married to a wonderful wife, who happens to be a gourmet cook and always prepares gargantuesque meals when I'm there, and two lovely daughters.

Speaking of friends, here's my friend Daniel and his wife. Daniel is a few years older than I am has always protected me (he was a tough kid), paid for me when I had no money (which was almost all the time) and taught me many things. He now lives in the country with his two daughters and has finally achieved his dream to have horses. He once came here with his wife and he fit right in. I could see him living on a ranch somewhere. In fact, he does.

I stayed the night and off the next day to Limoges. My trip was secret to some: my Papa and Mamie (my Granmother) didn't know I was coming. My sister had conveniently arranged to host a dinner for her son's birthday and I was just going to show up unnanounced... But right now, I'm on the train traveling south. Paris and the extended basin around it is quite flat. Sologne, to the the south, is also flat but wooded so it looks a bit more like home. Sologne is where the Kings' hunting reserves used to be. I start feeling closer to home when the landscape looks green, hilly and grey:

And finally, I get to the Bénédictins train station. It's a beauty (and historical landmark) with its copper roof:

Limoges is called the city of the "Arts des feux", firing arts because if its early history for producing exquisite enamel. Limoges was for a long time considered remote. I remember that when I was growing up, the government (who?) had greatly publicized plans to build a freeway that would go from Paris all the way down to Toulouse... I hear it's almost done. My city was the kind of place where underperforming government officials would be sent. It became a verb that folks in the area are still fighting: limoger. The truth is, all the railroads where centered on Paris, almost like a spider's web so Limoges being in the center was just out of luck. The city is only four hours south of Paris by car or train, by the way. The Germans were smarter building their railoads as a grid but that's another story. Mostly, Limoges is great if you want peace and quiet, enjoy friends, fishing in its many rivers and brooks, mushroom hunting, eating and did I say quiet? It was a safe, happy place to grow up and if I hadn't had a connection to the States, I probably woud have built a nice life there with my large extended family and many good friends. I built it here instead.

We sure did surprise Papa. As they came to the door, I went up the stairs of my sister's three level house (she owns a historical residential building and rents two apartments) and came down as if I just had visited one of the dwellers above. "Bonsoir Messieurs, Dames" I said, pretending to hurry out to the main entrance. Maman knew I was there waiting but Papa turned red and mumbled "mais, mais, mais, c'est Walter!" I thought he wouldn't recognize me with my heavy coat and knit cap but he knew right away. I'm not one one to show emotion--and I didn't-- but my heart felt like it was just about to pop out of my chest. Fortunately it didn't because that would have grossed everybody out and I'm not sure who walked on those stairs. Regardless, it had been three years since I had seen them.

A bunch of people showed up, I can't exacly rememeber how many nor who. My sister's partner Pascal, a gourmet chef and master jeweler, cooked up a storm and we had a fantastic dinner. Truthfully, I only remember oysters, cépes and great wines but as Malibu surfers say, I was totally stoked. Limougeauds are in essence tribal folks and it was a true corroborée. Here's Pascal at his shop:

I slept that night a la maison. "Maison" is a big word because the "house" is tiny. Tiny kitchem, tiny bathroom, tiny dining/living room and 2 tiny bedrooms. It used to be 3 even tinier bedrooms. But, it's home so eat your heart out, Bill Gates. This shows pretty much the whole place.

I couldn't wait to get to Lailloux. I had hustled my parents for years to buy a country house. Every weekend I would say "let's go look for a country house!" Of course, that could only happen after Papa set up shop as a printer. My Maman didn't work and we were three kids. Papa was a typographer for some ungrateful a-hole, barely made above minimum wage but I knew he had it in him to be more.

But there I go babbling away just like if I was writing a novel and I'm not. If I were, I'd put it in a book and charge you for it. So, instead, here are some photos. This first set shows my parent's country house. The top burned a year ago as they were selling it. It is no longer for sale and has been completely redone.

Years ago we bought two barns and dependencies. These structures are built with almost two feet thick granit. We sold one to the neighbor but still have the rest and hope one day to make a house out of the main barn and a guest house out of the other. The third structure has a well that was built in ancient Limousin custom. I have been told it should be a historical landmark.

Here are some random photos of the area, including the "Monuments aux Morts" that is foumd in villages all over France (this is a nearby village to Lailloux--pop 8-- called Bersac.) Oradour-sur-Glane is 10 miles away from Limoges by the way.

Things change, even in my remote Limousin. Sauvagnac used to have a small monestary for handicapped monks who handmade crucifixes and other things. It's now an Orthodox monestary with 3 priests trying to keep it alive. One of them was kind enough to let me take his picture.

So far, I've shown you the country because it's my favorite place. Now here are some sights from my hometown. It's very old. It was called Lemovice before the Romans, was a medieval center for the arts, became the world capital for porcelaine, and was Renoir's hometown as well. I've read that he started in the china industry as a decorator but was so good and so fast, he made money quickly and that the wife of the owner of his company became quite fond of him. I mean really fond. Wink-wink.

There's much more I could tell you but I was only there a week so you get what I got: a tease.

The first photo shows a Limousine cow. They are very beautiful and world-famous; we say they are red. These last photos give two different endings. Pick the one you like best but they are both about going home. Or is it leaving?

Perigee Moon

2006-10-14T11:10:00.000-07:00

We went up and spent our first weekend up at the Super Secret Place. The crew consisted of my son, 2 of his friends and meeself. We took off fully loaded with sleeping bags, barbecue grill, coals, cooler,boots, bb guns, generator, fog horns, kitchen utensils, first aid kit, telescope, camera, food and drinks, plates and cups, books, pillows, extension cords, gravel, 1' x 1' cement blocks, flashlights, solar lights, a tarp, water and gas cans, weed whacker, shovel, knives, portable chairs, an outdoor shower (I'm forgetting a bunch of things) and a futon on top of the car. We drove up to San Fernando and got worried the futon was starting to pull off so we decided to put it inside the car, not a small accomplishment. There was no room left so we put one of the guys on the roof instead (jk!)

The drive up wasn't too bad except the futon made a sound wall so we couldn't hear each other. That was fine, we cranked up the music (hey! We each have our own speaker!) and used the futon as a communal pillow. We didn't stop because we were all antsy to get there but we enjoyed the drive and the occasional Roman monument along the Appian Way.

We got to the Super Secret Place and I was happy to see the Airstream sitting there like a shiny lunar outpost. We unpacked, set up camp, hooked up the generator, turned on the fridge, cleared out a bit of dry grass and had lunch. The guys were eager to shoot the guns so they wasted no time setting up a shooting range complete with chairs and shaken soda cans. The shaken soda under pressure makes an exploding target. Cool!

BANG!

That was fun but they also wanted to check out the gold mine I had told them about. There was a bit of a gold rush back in the days in the area so there are abandoned mines here an there. This one is 1/2 mile from the property. I had never been there but I found it right away, almost as if I already knew the way. We found some interesting artifacts and buildings in various sages of disintegration.

I went back ahead of the crew and starting preparing dinner: New York steaks on the grill. I felt bad hearing my neighbor's cow mooing... I'll bring fish next time. By the time we were done eating, it was night so one my son's friend set up his telescope so we could check out the perigee moon which was unusually huge. It lit up the whole place and you could see all the trees and mountains all around in the penumbra. I left the guys after a while and walked back slowly to the Airstream, taking in the landscape. I couldn't believe how beautiful and wild the place is and felt very privileged to be there. The guys had an airsoft laser fight in the dark and went to bed early too.

We slept OK in our sleeping bags, occasionally awakened by someone tossing and turning or asking out loud "dude! What's that noise?" (What noise? There's nobody out here!) It gets cold at night being at 3500' altitude but we survived. The Airstream provided a fine shelter for sleeping and, pure luxury, we even had lights. We woke up the next day and all commented that it had been the longest night ever. It's funny how when the comforts of everyday life are taken away we get back into Nature's normal cycle quickly.

The day before, Sonny had found a grinding rock very close to the creek. Those were used by the Pauite Indians to grind acorns and other foodstuff. This one had been ground all the way through. I knew of another one on the property, pretty much in the middle but I had a feeling there would be more. Without knowing why, I followed the boulders along the creek in the shade of the oak trees and sure enough, found a cluster of grinding rocks: 2 stones with 2 holes and another with just 1. The place is special indeed.

Gazing down at these Squaw Rocks, I couldn’t help but think about another time, same place, when women would gather around the stones, grind away while chatting, kids running around, husbands fishing or hunting. I know it was tough living but in our quest to improve things, we’ve lost a few good ones.

These people may be gone but I know their spirit lives on at this place out of time.

We left in the afternoon, a little bummed about having to get back to civilization.

We stopped on the way back at another, bigger mine, a true photographer's delight. Here are a couple pix.

That was it. The crossing point back to the 21st century is the train tracks. We passed them and drove back home happy and refreshed. We'll be back soon.

Road trip

2006-09-25T18:37:00.000-07:00

I bought a classic vintage Airstream Land Yacht Sovereign... Yep. Airstream, the name brings up visions of wide open spaces, travels to unknown vistas, happy camping days, freedom and then some. All I had to do was to go pick it up in Phoenix, AZ.

I knew I couldn't do it by myself so I asked my good friend Steve if he could come with me. He accepted, thank goodness. So I booked a flight, a truck and made travel arrangements.

Many things come into play when towing a trailer. First, you need to have the right truck. I went to the forums and got many suggestions (thank you!) I also asked Steve the seller who was kind enough to go to uHaul twice and check out their trucks. Other things to consider were the proper hitch ball size, the right height for the truck's hitch and a matching electrical connection for the brake and blinker lights. All these things come in different configurations but Steve in Phoenix was able to work it all out. He even offered to pick us up from the airport, an offer I did accept.

Steve and I flew out of Burbank on Southwest. The plane was late and overbooked. We thought for a second about the offer for $200 and the next flight but we had people to see, places to go and an Airstream to tow. Here's a picture of Steve with the desert seen through the window. We're flying parallel to the I10 and I can't help but think that tomorrow we'll be driving in the opposite direction at 1/12th the speed.

Looks pretty dry down there...

We land in Phoenix after a bumpy descent where Steve (the seller) picks us up and takes us to uHaul. Of course the first truck is wrong so we get another, hoping it's the right one. We're off to Steve's to meet the baby and there it is!

Gee... She's purty... Steve (the seller) shows us around and explains the basic functions of this and that. He also gives me the original owner's manual, bill of sale and mulrooney. I can't help but think about Mr. So and So in Oregon back in 1972 proudly buying his Airstream. I'd like to think I wasn't born but I'd be lying.

After all checks out (brake lights, hitch height, ball size etc - Halleluiah!) Steve and I leave to go spend the night at my friends David and Jenny who live close by. I have directions and we keep a close eye out for Shea Blvd. One detail about the truck is that it was rented to us with barely any gas. As we happily drive through Old Town Scottsdale with its fun outdoor cafés and beautiful people, the fuel empty light comes on. True, absorbed as we were with all the action, we missed 2 gas stations and there were none for a while. We keep on driving and driving but nothing. We finally find one on the opposite corner so had no choice but to get there. Our convoy is 45' long and maneuvering is not as easy as with a car, you need room to make wide turns. I make a right into a commercial center, a left to get back on Scottsdale Blvd. and, "oh surprise!", there's a gas station right there. We gas up and take off North again.

We're driving for what seems to be a long time as buildings and houses become sparser. Doesn't seem right. I eventually remember I have a cell phone and call David who tells me we went too far. It turns out that we had gassed up at the corner of Shea and Scottsdale Blvd and missed the sign for Shea because of our detour through the shopping plaza. We got to David's when it was dark.

Oh yeah, David's responsible for getting me into vintage trailers.

The evening was fun, It was David's birthday eve so us 3 boys went out to dinner. We went back to his place, hung out next to his '50s Boles Aero sipping some Happy Camper wine, talking about vintage trailers, wine, music, nature and more.

Arizona has great weather this time of year and it was wonderful to sit later with David and Jenny under their long porch on their huge property. They have a lot of space in AZ so lots are large. Many Angelinos moved there after the Northridge earthquake and settled happily. I don't have any pictures of our kind hosts because I believe they're under the Federal Witness Protection Program. Let's just say they are both talented artists, fun and cool people.

We had in mind to leave early the next day but David's learning how to play guitar and Steve being a musician and instrument maker, we took off at 9 am.

Off we were, on the road again, 45 feet of mean aerodynamic aluminum, driving at the top recommended speed of 50 miles an hour. We stopped at the first rest stop to make sure everything was honky dory and got to hang out with the big rigs. Notice in the photo that Steve sees something about the truck that will turn out to be very important. More on that later.

We drove through the desert, passed the Colorado River into California (I'll digress quickly to warn you to be prepared to gain a few pounds if you ever have lunch in Blythe,) cruised by Palm Springs and stopped to take a break in Cabazon.

You don't scare me, Mister T-Rex! I'm well protected in my Airstream! Come to think of it, the Airstream would probably look like a cool shiny sardine container to a dino.

I had planned our route with Google maps, not exactly trusting MapQuest. Next thing you know, we are past San Bernardino on the road to Vegas, and getting closer and closer to it. I keep checking the map which all of a sudden strikes me as odd: we're going North-East where we should be going North-West. So much for trusting Google. It's the high desert, cold and for the first time in my life, I can't wait to get to Barstow.

This is what the road looked like.

Steve and I share the driving, a great thing because at 50 mph, the road is going by reeeeeeaaaaaaaallllllll slow.

Weird thing about Steve, he can drive with his eyes closed. Don't ask me how...

Another Strange thing is a huge long, solid, yellowish cloud above our heads coming from the West. It's from the Ventura County fire and it extends all the way East past here.

It's getting dark and our plan to get to our final destination that day doesn't look so good anymore. We eventually make it to Barstow and head West towards Mojave. We pass small desert communities with no name, scrap yards with the coolest buses you've ever seen and that never ending white line in the middle of the road. The fire cloud provides a neat sunset.

We're pooped and the road is starting to look blurry. Our sweeties had told us the night before that there was a wind advisory, to be careful, so we decided to stop and let them know we're OK. Fingers crossed, the wind hasn't been an issue and we're still awake. I have no idea where this picture was taken but I do remember we were close to the 395 and a place called Boron, home to a chemical company that makes Borax....

At that point, all we can think of is getting to Mojave but the mountains we recognize in the distance never seem to get closer. It's completely dark by the time we get there so we decide to stop at the Road House and have dinner. After a meal, a Martini and Gin & Tonic, we wisely decide to spend the night in the Airstream right where we parked it. Yep, we're right off the highway but we figure traffic would stop at some point during the night. Traffic sure did but let me tell you about trains. Trains never stop, they run all night and they make a terrible sound that shakes the ground like an earthquake. We didn't really sleep and got up at 6:30, had breakfast at the Road House and took off for the Super Secret Place.

I can't tell you where the Super Secret Place is because if I did, it wouldn't be secret anymore, would it? Instead, I'll describe it. Imagine Southern California like it used to be: open range, pristine golden hills, free roaming cows (keep an eye on the road, they're everywhere!) horses, ranches here and there, oak trees, wide open space for miles. You get the picture. We drive through a canyon that's a cross between Malibu and Topanga Canyons, with a creek along the side. Our windows are rolled down, the air smells great and the sound of water is sweet. We're almost there...

The Aistream has been very good, easy to tow, that's my baby.

Finally, we reach our destination. We park our convoy, survey the property and decide on the best place to park the beauty. This is so exciting, we're there! Yeah, well life's funny sometimes. As I drive to get on the property, the truck can't make it over a little hump. The soil is very sandy and the tires start spinning. We can go backwards for a while and keep trying to rock it back and forth forward but eventually, the truck is stuck.

The Airstream doesn't look so good either blocking the road and its bottom dangerously close to scraping.

Part of the problem is that uHaul gave us a truck with bald tires so there's no traction. That's the detail Steve had noticed at the truck stop. Good thing he didn't tell me, I would have been worried all the way. I had checked the Airstream's 4 tires and they are new but not the truck's.

We are miles away from services, cell phones don't work here and we have nothing to work with. No shovels, no planks, just our hands and rocks. We dig, we put rocks under the tires, nothing works. We are stuck and I already imagine another night in the Airstream with nothing to eat or drink, our wives worried we didn't call, probably calling every hospital from Mojave to miles around.

I have traveled some and have learned to be resourceful and not panic. Plus I guess Steve and I have guardian angels. Somebody drove by in a Suburban-like truck. I waived because people are like that out there, they're friendly even if you're a stranger. I got a wave back and the truck passed by. It drove back a couple minutes later and the driver asked, "need any help?" Steve cracked me up because he said, "we sure could use a shovel!" I knew we needed more than a shovel.

That's how I met Mike, his wife and their children. His parents own the ranch just north of our place. They're the kind of people who ask newcomers like me if they need water because they know we don't have water wells. Mike lives up the road.

Mike and his wife took control; they must have had experience with that sort of thing. We un-hitched the trailer but the darn truck wouldn't come out on its own. He pulled it out after almost getting stuck himself. Once the truck out of the way, it was the Airstream's turn and I was bummed thinking that we had towed it all the way out here without a scratch but that it would get banged up 50 yards away from destination. Mike pulled it up gracefully, with nothing scraping and parked it exactly where I wanted it to be. Mike's cool.

So here it is, glorious, beautiful, a haven in Heaven. Sure, there's a lot of work to be done but it's a beautiful start to another wonderful journey.

Dalmatian vacation

2006-08-29T10:40:00.000-07:00

We spent a couple weeks last summer in Dalmatia. Dalmatia is the coastal part of Croatia, right across from Italy, North of Greece and Albania, on the part of the Mediterranean Sea that is called the Adriatic.

It's a beautiful place dubbed "the Mediterranean as it used to be." The big town on the coast is Split. My family is from inland, across the mountain range, close to where the Turks were stopped on their northward advance into Europe. Every year, Sinj (pronounced like "Siñ" in Spanish) celebrates that victory with an ancient horse competition called the Alka. We're hillbillies from just east of there by 5 km, aka 3 miles. It's a land of proud folks used to a hard life.

Play this to hear a sample of some very old style of singing from the area:

But our vacation was on the coast so this is a picture book of what it looks like on Jadra (local name for Adriatic.)

The picture above shows the island of Brac, our destination. Nope, it's not a stock or NASA photo, it's homemade. It shows the coast side facing the mainland, all the way down. The high resolution version shows Supetar and its port, our village called Splitska and other villages and coves all the way down. The island is 14 km wide by 40 long.

We got to Splitska the day before August 15, the Assumption, aka Virgin Mary Day. Splitska is a tiny village on the coast, population is under 400 during most of the year. It got its start as the place where Roman Emperor Diocletian mined the stones to build his palace across the way in Split. The quarry was only used for that but the stone from the island is very famous. The White House is built with Brac stone. My son and I spent a day at the old quarry. We saw the ancient carving of Hercules and found some cut stones from the Roman days. It was pretty exciting.

Here is Hercules and, digging for treasures...

The main road goes above the village which is great because it cuts down on traffic on our riva. The riva is the boardwalk along the edge of the sea; the French call it the "Promenade"-- the place to go walking. This photo is from the road on the way back from the quarry.

Here is one that shows the riva at the bottom of our street.

And another. You can see our little house in this one.

On August 15, Velika Gospa, the Virgin Mary is taken out of the church and a procession walks around the "old town" and blesses the houses. Our small house is the 4th on the way up and it's great to see the little children with flowers and the whole village pass by. They've done that for hundreds of years; some houses, like ours, are about as old.

Here are some photos to give you a flavor of the village.

And some more...

The place is beautiful. There are vineyards all around, cicadas chirping away like there's no tomorrow, swallows dancing in the sky, small private coves with Mediterannean pines at the edge of the sea, water so clean you can see the bottom 20 feet down, sunshine....

Play this to hear a song about the folks on Brac:

We took a few side trips on the island. There’s a famous beach called Zlatni Rat in Bol, on the other side but it's overwhelmed by tourists.

We also went to the southernmost village called Sumartin. Many villages start with "su" as in Sutivan, Supetar etc. It means "saint" so Sumartin is Saint Martin. We had drinks there and thought about taking the ferry to Makarska but it was too late so went back to Splitska.

We went often to Supetar, 3 miles away, where the ferry to Split comes and goes. We have a market in Splitska and local farmers sell their fruits and vegetables at the bottom of our street but we get our meat and fish there. The riva is full of cafés so it's fun to go in the evening, sip on a local wine or rakija and enjoy mighty good crepes. I also like to watch a good (English) Football game on the TVs some places have. It's fun to sit with Italians, Germans, French and locals and hear "Ja!" or "Andiamo!", "Ah, punaise!" and "Bogati."

We went one afternoon to Old Town Split (Stari Grad) and walked the streets of Diocletian's palace. The huge statue represents Bishop Grgur Ninski, by Ivan Mestrovic. The bishop fought to give the people of Nin the right to use their own language in liturgy instead of Latin. It's a tradition to rub the statue's toe for good luck.

Another time, we took a Hydro Glisser to visit a few other islands. There are over 1,000 up and down the coast. We went to Korcula, (pronounced "Korchula") the birthplace of Marco Polo (aka Marko Polo.) The Italians claim him as their own but it's true the island was part of Venice in those days.

Play this to hear some Klapa from Korcula:

And... these funny sculptures on each side of a door into a church (there's one at every corner.) This sure beats the monsters on Notre Dame in Paris and the weird sculptures on the Neues Rathaus in Munich.

We also went to Mljet (pronounced "Mlyett") where according to the legend, Ulysses was kept prisoner for 7 years by the nymph Calypso. In the middle of the island, there's a small one called St. Mary with an ancient Benedictine monastery and a church dating from the 12th century.

We stopped in Makarska briefly on the way back.

Our days were lazy, restful and peaceful. I even had time to read a great book, The Kite Runner by Khaled Hosseini, and another fun, adventure historical novel, No Quarter by Broos Campbell.

We packed everything, turned off water and electricity, sadly left our little village and stayed at my Dad's the last few days, right across from Splitska.

Time to say goodbye to the Adriatic...

We got on a plane, flew to Brussels, Kennedy Airport and finally LAX. The trip took 27 hours door to door. Well worth it.

Here's a video presentation of the island: