So… let’s say you decided to take my advice from last weekend, and head out to Julian for the day.
One of the first things you might decide to do is check the traffic on SigAlert.com. It takes the CalTrans road speed information and maps it all out for you in a handy, color coded format.
Posted in Friday Sillyness, Stuff I Like
So, my order from UC Press’ big online sale arrived today.
Admittedly, after reading “Cheap – The High Cost of Discount Culture,” I keep trying to figure out if I should feel guilty for buying them on sale (especially with a number of them published in, of all places, China). Oh, well, they were purchases I was (mostly) going to make anyway, so what the heck.
Of course, life is all about balance, so to make room on the shelf for my new books, I have a small stack that will be heading to the donation bin at the local library. Wax on, wax off.
Posted in Books, Stuff I Like
When October rolled around when I was a kid, in addition to Halloween, there was the annual trip up to Apple Hill.
Located near Placerville, up in the Sierra Nevada foothills east of Sacramento, Apple Hill is an association of apple growers who banded together to promote their products. The Parentage and I went up every year to pick up things like apple syrup (which, much as I love maple, will always be my favorite on waffles) and apple crisp.
Posted in Stuff I Like, Travel
Funniest thing I’ve seen all week.
Ever wish you were a fly on the windshield of a car?
I sure wish I had been on this trip:
Posted in Friday Sillyness
Ranch Sierra Vista/Satwiwa is located at the northwest edge of the Santa Monica Mountains National Recreation Area, a good hour’s drive from Los Angeles. The open landscape sits right next to the outer edge of suburbia, neighborhoods you’ll be driving through on the way to the trailhead. The open land here is the border between city and nature: on the northern side lie tract homes while to the south is the Boney Mountain State Wilderness inside Point Mugu State Park.
For much of its history the area had been home to the Chumash and Tongva/Gabrielino tribes, who used Sycamore Canyon as a trade route down to the Pacific. Part of the park is reserved as a cultural center and natural area and often has speakers and events celebrating the native peoples who populated the area. Later, the area was part of a Spanish land grant and then home to ranching operations. The last owner of the land, Richard Danielson, sold it to the National Park Service in 1980.
The route below is rambling, walking through open fields, chaparral, riparian areas with old-growth oaks, deep canyons and seasonal waterfalls. It can also be shortened in a number of spots to suit your tastes and time.
Posted in Hiking
An early season storm pulled into the LA region today. It should dump rain tonight and tomorrow. I, for one, couldn’t be happier about it.
(Well, except for the fact that LAites have, yet again, forgotten how to drive in the rain. Of course, they lose that knowledge in between seasons storm systems clouds raindrops, so I’m not especially surprised about that.)
Posted in Life, Random Thoughts, Stuff I Like
Not a big thing, but I’ve added a new page to the blog tonight.
I’ve been wanting to put together a page of the header photos for a while, and finally buckled down and searched for them all tonight.
If I’ve forgotten any, do let me know, will you?
Posted in Photography, Writing
(Bonus points if you know the reference above. 🙂 )
National Geographic Magazine isn’t something I read a lot. This isn’t for lack of desire or interest, mind you.
The honest truth is: I’ve already got so many things (books, magazines, online items) on my reading list already that I just can’t add NGM, as fascinating as it is.
Posted in Books, California, Friday Sillyness, Stuff I Like, Travel
So, I’ve been battling a headache since Sunday. Seriously, three frakkin days of pounding inside my skull. So far I haven’t gone beyond the recommended Advil dosage (and on to, say, the entire bottle), and what I have taken hasn’t had much effect.
This, as you might imagine, is annoying as hell.
Coupled with the fact that work has been both simultaneously busy and frustrating, my mood has been… well, not bad, exactly. Is “annoyed” a mood?
Posted in Books, Random Thoughts, Stuff I Like, Television
…with watching all of “The National Parks – America’s Best Idea” for a solid week is that it makes one really, really want to quit one’s job and hit the road.
I can only imagine what would have happened if they’d aired the show in the spring, near the beginning of tourist season, rather than now, when winter is fast approaching. The parks, doubtless, would have been packed.
Posted in Hiking, Stuff I Like, Television, Travel
The GeekHiker 