And Now For Something Very Funny

Fiesta!!

Sunday was a mixed day of chores and afternoon school appearances. Sunday was the Fiesta celebration at the wife's job. The "J" came by and together we headed to school. The parking lot was full of inflatable things - Jolly Jumpers, Slides, that kind of stuff. There was also a mechanical bull ride and a reverse bungee (scaled down to high school size, of course). Everything worked on the Ticket system. You bought tickets and you could use them for any of the booths or games.

We started with some lunch. I had eaten before we went since I was starving after grocery shopping. The wife and "J" ate Lumpia and the Mexican plate. With the remainder of our tickets, the wife bought some really cool sunflowers and a plant for the front of the house. We have an old birdbath by the front door and the plant is sitting there.

Now, the wife had said that the "J" wanted me to join her in the jolly jumper but I was never invited by the "J". I did think about suggesting it myself but I spent all my tickets bailing the wife and the "J" out of jail - you know, the charity jail where people pay for you to be held hostage in a crepe paper jail cell and they can only get out by someone paying the bail. I was a little disappointed about not being able to bounce in the jolly jumper but I was a little tired from our Festival of Books trip on Saturday (an event described by one of the wife's students as a Nerd Activity - I think she was jealous) and I probably didn't have much bounce in me anyway.

2007 Los Angeles Times Festival Of Books

On Saturday the wife and I went to the 2007 Los Angeles Times Festival Of Books on the UCLA campus. I'd been wanting to go to this for quite awhile but I just never got around to doing it. This year I suggested it to the wife and she talked to a co-worker and she found out that it was a lot of fun so we decided to go.

It was foggy on the drive down but the skies cleared out once we arrived at the UCLA campus. We had tickets for Jared Diamond, Mitch Albom with Frank McCourt, and Ray Bradbury (all the tickets are free and are used to control who gets one of the limited seats in the venue). Our first author, Jared Diamond ( Guns, Germs, and Steel and Collapse ) was at 2:00 pm. It was still early so we started out by walking through the vendor stalls seeing what they had to offer.

Most of the stalls were run by publishers and booksellers. There were a few religious stalls - mostly new age religions. The first stall we stopped at was for vacations in Alberta, Canada. Tending the booth were two genuine Alberta park rangers. This excited the wife to no end. You see, her friend taught her the Alberty Ranger song and here was a chance to have her picture taken with a genuine Alberty Ranger. So, as we were posing with Ranger Roger (Yep ... that's his name) the wife broke out in song:

"I want to be an Alberty Ranger ... Live a life of Sex and Danger ... In the morning ... In the evening ... aaannnnddd at night! ... Ranger Roger wants to be an Alberty Ranger ... Live a life of Sex and Danger ..."

Well, you get the picture. My eyes were rolling and I'm sure my face was turning red. Meanwhile, Ranger Roger seemed to enjoy it - especially the Sex and Danger part.

After the picture taking we went on a food quest. We ended up with some Tri-Tip sandwiches that hit the spot. It was noon and the sun was really starting to beat down. As we walked around looking at the stalls and stuff, we noticed that lines were forming in front of the venues. Doing some investigations we found that the lines for ticket holders usually start up to two hours before the venue opens. This limited our options. There was no way we could see Jared Diamond and Mitch Albom/Frank McCourt because the times of the events overlapped. We decided that Mitch Albom and Frank McCourt were a higher priority. The wife had even brought a copy of Frank McCourt's book to get signed ( Teacher Man ). The wife had reached her heat limit and took her place in front of Royce Hall (our third time here - The First and The Second) where the event was going to take place. I decided to walk around a little more.

There were a lot of people at this thing. About one third of the booths and events were aimed at children. My favorite was The World of Mr. Toast. I saw something that really weirded me out. A guy was pushing a stroller. Attached to the front of the stroller was a boom where a video camera was attached. The camera was pointed squarely at the kid in the stroller apparently recording every drop of drool that ran down the kid's chin while they strolled. Weird. I guess the guy was trying to prepare his kid for a world with no privacy.

I continued to walk around from one shady spot to another. I walked the Impeach Bush/Stop The Genocide gauntlet and eventually made my way back to Royce Hall and the wife. It turned out the wife and I were the first in line - possible the first time I have ever been first in line for an event like this.

The doors opened and we went in and found a good spot not too far from the stage. Mitch Albom ( Tuesdays With Morrie, Five People You Meet In Heaven, and For One More Day ) and Frank McCourt ( Angela's Ashes and Teacher Man ) came on the stage and sat in some comfy chairs and the show started. Frank McCourt interviewed Mitch Albom. Apparently, last year at the 2006 Festival of Books, Mitch Albom had interviewed Frank McCourt. Mitch Albom was very interesting. He had great stories of his life as a piano player/lounge singer in a small island off Crete, a journalist, a sports writer, and a best selling author. They went on for about 30-40 minutes and then they took some questions from the audience.

The event ended and as people headed for the door, the wife noticed that the authors were signing autographs for the people in the front row. The wife made her way to the front. A lady - probably the author's handlers - was trying to get the authors to stop autographing. The wife said: "I've been a teacher for 22 years, please ..." and the lady looked at her and said: "OK, but your the last." The wife was so happy. She now has an autographed copy of Teacher Man.

Ray Bradbury was scheduled right after the Albom/McCourt event but we were both too tired and we had seen him live before at a bookstore where the wife had several copies of "Fahrenheit 451" signed so we decided to skip him this time. We stopped to get some ice cream from the Rocky Mountain Chocolate Factory booth before heading for the Fowler Museum to use the facilities before hitting the road. We stopped at the museum store to see if they had anything interesting. As we were leaving, I heard one of the museum employees talking to a cashier - Her shaved head a canvas for her bright blue mohawk. She was lamenting not having tickets for Ray Bradbury. I turned to the museum employee and confirmed that they were talking about Ray Bradbury, called the wife over so I could get a Bradbury ticket out of our backpack, and handed it to the cashier. Her eyes widened and said something like "are you kidding me?!?" I assured her I wasn't. She thanked us profusely. The perfect end to a near perfect day.

It was fun. We are thinking of going back next year. Well worth the drive. Next time though, if the weather is the same, a hat, sunglasses, and shorts will be on the list. A few pictures can be found here.

Out Of Town This Week

I'm going to Norfolk, VA for three days of business meetings this week. I won't be back until Friday so I won't be posting. The wife and Homer have the house to themselves.

Hiking Ventura County #14: Piedra Blanca With A Side Trip To Rose Valley Falls

Piedra Blanca (Spanish for White Rock) is named for the large outcroppings of white rock. I had been here before but I never really walked this trail. I did do a now defunct geocache in the area. This time I was going to hike out to the rocks to see them up close. As I drove to the trailhead I could see that the rain the day before had left snow on the mountains. There wasn't very much and I'm sure it won't last for long in the California sun. Rose Valley road passes by two odd neighbors - The Rose Valley Work Camp (as in juvenile work camp) and the Ojai Valley Gun Club firing range.

The hike is a down-up-down-up there-n-back.The trail starts up near a gate. The gate, which is often closed, was open and people were parking down by the Piedra Blanca Camp. I considered doing this myself but one of the reasons I hike is for the exercise. Taking a short cut seemed to be counterproductive. If you park down by the campsite then the hike becomes an up-down there-n-back.
I started with a cache that was supposed to be in the area of the trailhead. "What a Toad" was supposed to be near a sign that talked about the Arroyo Toad that lives in the area. I looked and looked but could not find it. I suspect it is not there anymore. It hasn't been logged since July 2006.

After failing to find the cache, I headed down the trail. It had rained the day before and the trail was a little muddy. My new hiking shoes were getting heavier as the mud accumulated. Eventually I arrived at the camp and the trail dried up. There was a horse trailer or two parked here and several cars. I figured the trail would be crowded but it turned out not to be the case. I suspect most of the car occupants were camping in one of the various campgrounds further down on the trails in the area since I only ran into a handful of people.

Early on the trail, there are three river crossings. Two of them are small and feed into the wider Sespe Creek. This was the widest river crossing that I had ever done. The creek was swollen with rain runoff. I carefully made my way across the river stepping from one small stone to another. I paused halfway across on a stone 18-20 inches across and took a picture down the creek. I noticed the low battery symbol flashing on my camera so, being the silly guy that I am, I changed the battery while precariously balancing on the river stone. I am lucky that I didn't drop the batteries in the water. I managed to get across the river with only one wet toe.

After the creek crossings, the trail heads up to the rocks. Once the trail hits the rocks, the trail became hard to follow. A faded orange ribbon, similar to the Potrero John ribbons, led the way to the trail. The trails winds through the rocks. At the 2.25 miles mark I arrived at a decision point. The trail continues for several miles and at this point, the trail goes down, down, down to the creek far below. I decided to not continue on the trail and headed up to explore the rocks instead.

Did I take the best way up to the top? I doubted it on the way up but I think I did. The rock protrudes from a ridge. To get up to the top of the biggest rock, you have to climb up to the top of the ridge. In the picture at the top of this post, I climbed to the top of the round lump of rock on the right side of the formation. I had to bushwhack up the ridge passing a large cave on the way. I looked for animal prints but the water dripping from the roof obliterated any prints. I did see something that could have been deer prints.

Eventually, huffing and puffing, I made it to the top. Rock climbing is not my forte. The sun was out and hot but the wind was chill and I ended up resting on the shore of a large rain pool sheltered out of the wind. There was a small tree living a meager life at the edge of the puddle. It looked like a miniature tree on the shore of a mountain lake. Here I broke out the water and protein bar. I was wearing new shoes and I was feeling a sore spot on my heel. I took off my shoes and sure enough - a dime sized blister, ripped open. After a brief rest, I put my shoes back on, this time cinching them tight, and started looking for a way down.

The way up had been tough so I figured I'd look for a way down of the opposite side that I came up on. I walked to the other side and stopped at an abrupt drop. I moved further up the rock towards the ridge line periodically moving to the edge to see if there was a way down. I ended up climbing all the way up the the top of the ridge and making my way through burnt trees (There had been a fire in the past like most of southern California - my hands were black from the soot), scratchy scrub, and sharp thorn bushes. Thank god I was wearing jeans - shorts would have been a killer. I'd hoped to find a path but there turned out not to be one. I had to bushwhack my way all the way down. I'm actually surprised that I wasn't scratched up more then I was. On the way down I ran into a stand of poison oak (At least I think it was poison oak). I did my best to avoid it but I'm sure my arm rubbed against the leaves several times with no ill effect.

I finally made it out of the brush and back on the rocks. I came across some cans and, since Sunday is Earth Day, I picked them up and put them in a grocery bag I had and clipped it to my belt. I got back to the trail and headed back to the trailhead. On the way back I passed more people going the other way. Some had dogs. Some rode mountain bikes. As I walked I heard a clank - one of the cans had fallen out of the bag. As I reached down to pick it up, I notices a large hole in the grocery bag and all the cans were gone ...Sigh. Oh well, it's the thought that counts. Next time I will bring a tougher bag.

I got back to the Sespe and I swear the water level had risen an inch or two and the stepping stones were harder to find. I managed to make it across and I stopped to washed off all the soot from my hands and forearms. The water was ice cold. At this point I noticed that my GPS had turned off at the 3.22 mile point. This sucks since I like to compare my actual hike length with what is "advertised." I have to assume that the total hike was around 5 miles.

I had debated visiting the Rose Valley Falls which is not too far from where I was. After I got back to the car, I decided to think about it as I did the "Rose Valley Quick Stop" cache. I dropped off the "Tabisbast, Algeria" Unite for Diabetes Travel Bug. I decided that I still had some time and energy left so I headed for the Rose Valley Falls campground.

There was a new cache hidden recently on the trail to the falls. Several previous caches disappeared as this is a well traveled trail. GPS reception sucked. I reached what I thought was the location but couldn't find it and muggles were approaching so I continued on to the falls figuring that I would get the cache on the way back.

There were little patches of snow and ice along the shaded trail. The falls were beautiful as always. Lot's of dripping water and emerald green moss. I took this cool picture in 2003 on my first of now four visits to the falls. I have climbed to the top of this falls before. At the top you can rock/tree hop up to another higher falls. When I was there in the past there was no water coming over the falls but there was water running from the base. Apparently the rock is so porous that it seeps through the rock and comes out the bottom. I thought about climbing up to the upper falls but I was tired from the 5 miles I had just finished and the hillside was muddy. I will be back - Rose Valley Falls is one of my favorite places.

On the way back I managed to find the cache: "No Bridge Over Troubled Waters." I had to wait for all the muggles to go by before I re-hid it. I was the first to find it - my second FTF. There was another cache on the Rose Valley road but my GPS just wasn't getting a signal so I had to skip it.

All-in-all, a good day. My left knee, the one I twisted on the Potrero John Trail, was a little sore when I got home. Piedra Blanca and Rose Valley combined is about 6 miles. Pictures of Piedra Blanca are here. Pictures of Rose Valley Falls are here.

The Poppies Pooped Out

This weekend is the California Poppy Festival. I was planning to go but my enthusiasm is waning. First, the "J" couldn't go. Then the wife expressed her lack of interest. This was followed by rain ... Yes, rain - a rare event this time of year. The rain should be over before the festival starts but the last straw was when I went to the Antelope Valley California Poppy Reserve site. I quote: "Wildflower Update as of 4/16/07: Pretty Much Over." Yep, the poppies and other wildflowers are done for the season. It appears the drought (the reserve received only 15% of their normal rainfall this season) shortened the wildflower season. The Poppy Reserve site continues on to say:

"There are about a half-dozen 2-inch tall poppies in front of the visitor center, a small fiddleneck along the entrance walkway, and an occasional ground-level filaree. The beavertail in front of the visitor center is about to open at least 5 blooms, but that's otherwise about it for the whole park. Yes, the whole park. The blooms that we do have are not very impressive- the few wildflower sprouts that could pull it together enough to bloom aren't wasting any water or time on growth so they're stunted and going to seed as fast as possible, making a hasty exit." - California State Park Service

Oh, well. I am planning to replace the poppy festival with a hike. Maybe next year we'll get more rain and the poppy festival will be worth the drive to Lancaster.

I Like Cartoons. Am I Normal?

I'm a 43 year old man and I like to watch cartoons. I remember getting up early Saturday morning to watch cartoons. This continued into college. This habit continued into my young adulthood. Eventually the Saturday cartoons lost their punch to the more interesting Nickelodeon and Cartoon Network fair. My cartoon watching has suffered since I married the wife. It's not her fault, it's just that my life is busier with the house and all and it is often hard to find time to watch. Then came the DVR.

The first thing I did when we got our DVR was record Futurama (I've watched them all) and Invader Zim (Still working of them). Next is Ren & Stimpy (though I've seen most of them already). Modern cartoons are not produced solely for the amusement of minors. Cartoon producers realize that parents often watch cartoons with their children and often insert humor aimed squarely at the adult in the room. The humor is often beyond children's comprehension and are dead on for the adult. I like this adult undertone but I secretly (well not so secretly now) like the childish humor as well. There is something about the innocence of it. Cartoons are an escape from the stress of the modern world. It is simple. It is absurd. It is logic defying. It is bounded by no rigid rules. If humor is the best medicine, then cartoons are pure morphine.

The wife does not share my interest in cartoon watching but, in the rare occasion that she is in the room while I am watching cartoons, I have caught her muffling a chortle.

So, am I normal? I like to think that adults who aren't watching cartoons in their spare time are missing out. Then again, I may just be trying to rationalize my weirdness. Sometimes you just got to get away from things. Hiking is one way I do this. Cartoons is another.

That Itchy, Paranoid, Creepy Crawly Feeling

This year there's been a bumper crop of that dreaded trail pest - the Tick. I have to say that I have had Tick encounters on at least 50% of my hikes. I talked about the first encounter here. Since then I have found ticks crawling up my pant leg and crawling up my shirt. After any such encounter, you get this itchy, paranoid, creepy crawly feeling that lasts the rest of the day. Before each hike I spray my pants and shirt down with insect repellent (25% DEET) that apparently does nothing to deture the blood sucking monsters. The last hike to Potrero John was no different except for quantity - Three ... count them, Three Ticks. One - I caught it on my shoulder while I was still on the trail. Two - found it while I was driving home. It was crawling into my hairline at the back of my head. I flung it out of the car window while yelling OOOO, GAAHHH, $%&*^%^&^!! Three - When I got home I took off my t-shirt and put it on the bed. Later that night I picked up the shirt and put it in the hamper. The wife, getting ready for bed, saw the third tick making its way across the blanket. It must of crawled off my shirt onto the blanket. She pointed this out to me and I promptly picked it up in a Kleenex and flushed it. We spent the rest of the night itchy, paranoid with a creepy crawly feeling.

The wife thinks I should undress in the garage from now on. She may be right.

Hiking Ventura County #13: Potrero John Creek

I did my thirteenth hike on Friday the 13th. The Potrero John Creek Trail starts off of highway 33 and follows the Potrero John Creek. It is an up-down there-n-back. This was the best hike I have done so far this year. The weather was perfect and I was the only one on the trail. If you like creek crossings, this is the trail for you. The trail crisscrosses the creek several times - I stopped counting at 16 crosses. If your doing this trail make sure you have a hiking staff for the creek crossings. The trail starts in a narrow, pine forested, canyon. The pine trees precariously climb the steep and rocky canyon walls.

The trail exits the narrow portion of the canyon and, after creek crossing #8, enters a meadow and briefly moves away from the creek before returning to the sound of running water. A camp site, (creek crossing #11) complete with a large rock lined fire pit, a rusty metal barbecue, and stone and log benches, can be found at the 1.51 mile point. The trail continues on, becoming narrower, the grass encroaching on the path as it crosses the meadow. Here evidence of a past fire is apparent and the dead husks of trees rise like skeletons amongst the grass and scrub.

The trail leaves the meadow and winds through an Oak and Pine forest as the canyon narrows once again. At the 1.9 mile point (creek crossing #12) I sat on a tree stump and rested. I cracked open a water bottle and ate a protein bar. The ground was strewn with acorn caps. The sound of the running water was relaxing.

As I looked around I noticed a bright orange nylon ribbon tied to a tree branch. I had seen this before where trails are marked using bright ribbons. I started back on the trail using the ribbons as a guide. As I continued on the trail, the trail became wilder and harder to follow. Each time I started loosing the trail I would stop and look around and I would see an orange ribbon up ahead pointing me in the right direction. Thank you to the hiker or park ranger who tied those ribbons.

I reached the designated turn around point of 2.2 miles. This was a primitive camp with a stone lined fire pit and a log bench. I didn't want to stop yet as I still felt good. Also, as I researched the trail, I had came across an article in the Los Angeles Times about a guy who was a waterfall hunter. The guy described a falls on the Potrero John Creek this way:

"It's a Yosemite waterfall that somebody forgot to tell it's supposed to be in Yosemite."

Unfortunately the article didn't say how far up the trail the falls were. At this point I set a goal of the falls, 3 miles, or 1:00 PM, whichever came first.

I followed the orange ribbons further along the creek. The trail alternated from rock hoping to tree hoping to creek hoping. I imagine the number of fallen trees tells of past flash floods through this area. I came across a rock with a message painted on it in black paint. Much of the message was gone but I could make out:

"... left our footprints, took only our memories." Red Crow

This sounds like what a cacher would right in a log but I couldn't find any reference to a Red Crow at geocaching.com.

I continue following the ribbons until I reached an 8 foot waterfall. Looking around, I see a ribbon on the other side of the creek. I cross the creek at a narrow crevasse and followed the ribbons up a short hill and ... there is was. The falls were 50-70 feet tall (I'm a terrible judge of height). Water was flowing pretty good. I was so happy I yelled "HELLOOOO!!!" and listened to the echo. I was elated! The falls were at the 2.6 miles mark. I sat down on a fallen log and rested by the pool at the base of the falls. Looking up I thought that it would be cool to get up to the top of the falls. I'm sure the views would be spectacular. I looked to either side of the falls - on one side a shear rock wall and the other a steep, scree covered slope. I thought you had to be crazy to tackle this climb. I thought you had to be an experienced rock climber to tackle this climb. I thought I was too tired to tackle this climb. All these thoughts went through my head as I was climbing the slope. I reached the half way point and came to two realizations -there was a lot more scree then I expected and a lot of the hand and foot holds were a gentle nudge away from becoming scree themselves. Here are the views looking up and down. Two quotes went through my mind:

"Discretion is the better part of valor." (A proverb attributed to Shakespeare's "Falstaff")

"A man's got to know his limitations." (Dirty Harry in "Magnum Force", 1973)

At this point I made the right decision and slowly (very slowly) made my way back down to the pool.

After a last look at the falls, I started back to the trailhead. I missed the trail on a portion of the way down and went though another stand of oaks, acorns littering the ground. The new trail eventually met back up with the other trail. On the way down I saw a relative of the prancing possum that the wife whacked - This one's prancing days were over.

The rest of the hike was uneventful. I've been a little disappointed that I am not seeing more wildlife. Lizards are common. Birds are all over the place. That's about it. I always hope to see deer, or coyotes or even a bear (at a safe distance of course) but I haven't had any luck so far.

Another successful hike. The description said a 400 foot rise but my GPS, from the trailhead to my turn around point, said over 900 feet. The hike I did was a little farther then the description. The total distance was about 5.5 miles. I have to say that I was looking forward to this hike. The week at work was a little crappy and this hike hit the spot. I did roll my ankle once which wrenched by left knee. It's a little sore today. But I have never felt so alive as on this hike. Pictures can be found here.

TV: Enough Already ... Time For Him To Go!

We watch American Idol. It's one of the many, so-called, reality shows that we watch. I am tired of Sanjaya Malakar. His singing is mediocre at best. He should have been voted out four weeks ago. Before Gina Glocksen. Before Chris Sligh. Before Stephanie Edwards. Even before Haley Scarnato though that is debatable. Conspiracy theories abound - Indian call center workers are voting for him; Howard Stern's listeners are voting for him; Vote For The Worst web sites are voting for him. I don't know what it is. I do know that I've had enough already!!! Stop voting for Sanjaya already!