Where time stands still

Today was the last sightseeing day of my road trip.  It took about two hours drive to reach my destination... John Day Fossil Beds.  This park has one of the greatest collection of fossils and prehistoric animal bones in the world.  I started things off by visiting the park's Thomas Condon Paleontology Center.  They had on display many examples of what researchers have collected from the fossil beds.  I thought the petrified dung balls were particularly interesting! 

I then spent the rest of my day at the park hiking a few short trails.  The Island In Time Trail located in the Sheep Rock Unit meanders through a canyon with beautiful rock formations.  Scientists have collected fossils in this location for over 100 years!

At the Clarno Unit, I hiked a couple of trails.  The Trail of the Fossils is the only trail where actual fossils can be seen in the rocks.  Here are some cool sycamore leaf imprints.

The final trail of the day for me was the Arch Trail.  I walked up a steep rocky path to see a small arch created by erosion.

There was one other section of the park, the Painted Hills Unit, but time was short and it was also rather warm...the rocks really radiate the heat!  So, I called it a day and made my way to the final pit stop.  And, thus ends my road trip...I'll make it official by driving home tomorrow.  It's been fun.

Observations from the road

Travel day.  Drove all day long...over nine hours on the road.  Strangely, I saw a lot of rodents along the way...squirrel, ground squirrel, chipmunk, even a very young rabbit.  I came very close to running over a grey squirrel.  I saw it sitting on the side of the road, and just when I drove up to it, the critter darted in front of me.  I swore, but there was nothing I could do.  Thankfully, it was right between my wheels as I passed over it, and in my side mirror, I observed the squirrel running off the road.  If squirrels have nine lives, it just used one today. 

As I traveled north out of California, the speed limit on U.S. 395 changed from 65 mph to a snail paced 55 crossing into Oregon.  I'm not really the speeding type of driver, but I allowed myself a few MPH over because it was SO SLOW!  Every car that came up behind me passed me, probably going 65 mph. Driving the miles of totally straight road actually made me sleepy, due to the slow pace.  At least the scenery was interesting.  It went from forest, to the alkaline Goose Lake, to sand dunes, and finally sagebrush.  That's what I love about U.S. 395...you can't beat the view along the way. 

I stopped for gas in the afternoon, and I had to remind myself...they pump the gas for you in Oregon.  Actually, I really like the convenience...no fuss, no muss.  And, I never hesitate to ask to get my windshield cleaned...yes, they'll do that for you, too.  In fact, there has been a few times when I didn't even have to ask.  It kind of reminds me of the old days when there used to be real service stations.  You rarely see that anymore.  Tomorrow is my last fun day...I'll be doing a national park.  Then, the drive home on Sunday.  I can't wait to sleep in my own bed again...and hug my cat. 

The waterfalls of Yosemite Valley

I tried to get an earlier start than usual this morning, eager to see the sights of Yosemite National Park.  I left the town of Mariposa, driving east for about an hour to the park.  I tried not to plan my day too much, just wanting to relax and enjoy myself.  The first thing I saw was Bridal Veil Fall.  The misty spray was a bit too much to get too close...I didn't want to get my camera wet.

As I was driving along the main park road, I pulled over to take photos of the famous El Capitan and the adjacent Ribbon Fall.  At 1,634 feet, this fall is the tallest, continuous drop waterfall in North America.

 

My big workout of the day was hiking halfway up the Mist Trail to get the glimpse of Vernal Fall.  The paved trail was about a mile of steady incline to a foot bridge with a view of the fall.  That view wasn't the greatest, but I had enough walking uphill and opted not to continue up the trail to get a closer look.  At least there was another fall to look at along the same trail.  The Illilouetter Fall was a lot nicer!  

As I made my way back down the trail, a lot of people were walking up...seems like I beat the crowd.  One young couple caught my eye.  The husband was toting a baby in a backpack, and the wife was pushing a stroller with a toddler!  Amused, I told her she was brave for doing that.  When she replied that she was getting a workout, I told her that the trail was going to get a whole lot steeper, which was true.  I'm not sure if they made it to the bridge. 

After lunch, I headed over to do the short hike to the Lower Yosemite Fall.  I got a lot of nice photos of both the Lower and Upper Yosemite Falls.  I never get tired of looking at waterfalls!

My day just isn't complete unless I see wild animals, especially in a national park.  There were deer grazing near the Yosemite Falls area, and they were VERY unafraid of people.  I got some very nice pics of a doe and her fawns hanging out right next to the sidewalk!  Here a sweet shot of a fawn.

 

And, after seeing the Yosemite Falls, I was walking back to my vehicle when some movement in the grass caught my attention.  Squirrels!  Or, in this case, ground squirrels.  A couple of California ground squirrels had their underground den in a grassy meadow.  Both were feeding on blades of grass, and one of them was keeping a sharp eye on me.

After a fantastic day at Yosemite, I drove to my next pit stop.  For some strange reason, my GPS chose a route deemed the fastest, but went off the obvious highways.  Soon, I found myself on a deserted country road literally COVERED with patches filling in potholes.  We're talking several MILES of patched road.  It was pretty amazing...and VERY bumpy!  I guess the road is not traveled enough to merit new pavement.  Perhaps if more GPS units sent travelers on this road, it might qualify as a well-traveled highway?  All I know is, I need to review my GPS routes more carefully and avoid this happening again.  Tomorrow, I'll be driving all day long with no sightseeing.  And, yes, I'll be sticking to the roads most traveled! 

The biggest tree in the world

I had a wonderful day at Sequoia National Park.  The temperature was cool throughout the day...mid-40s...but, that was a relief after a week of warm days in southern California.  This was not the first time I had seen sequoia trees.  A few years ago, I visited the Mariposa Grove of Giant Sequoias in Yosemite National Park.  I was eager to see more of these majestic trees.  As I drove into the park, it was hard to miss the imposing sight of Moro Rock.  It was on my list of things to do today...climb it, that is.

In some ways, Moro Rock is like Half Dome, Jr...not quite as tall as the famous Yosemite monolith, and certainly easier to ascend.  The access to the top of Moro Rock consists of a series of stairs with rock walls and railings.  Almost 800 feet and 400 steps, it provides quite a workout, but the payoff is impressive if skies are clear. 

As I climbed up the steps, the view was amazing.  When I reached the top, I was the only one up there.  It wasn't all that scary with the railing and all.  Here's what it looked like, plus a shot from the end of the rock.

Down the road from Moro Rock, I came across a clump of sequoias called the Parker Group.  You can see the size comparison with my Blazer parked near the trees.

The largest tree in the park...and in the world...due to its massive trunk is the one named General Sherman.  I saw this one plus the third largest tree, the General Grant.

Tomorrow, I'll be going to see the real Half Dome...at Yosemite National Park!  As I stated, I had been there before, but it was mostly taking photos of the beautiful scenery.  This time, I'm hoping to do a little hiking.  I just hope the nice weather holds out...there's afternoon rain in the forecast. 

Colors of the wind

I was glad to leave the warm temps of Twentynine Palms and southern California in general, but I had one last day in the heat.  I spent a couple of hours this afternoon at the beautiful Red Rock Canyon State Park near Cantil, CA. The weathered stone towers were carved by wind and water, and resemble ancient man-made ruins.

 

After my picnic lunch, I took a little walk on a short nature trail.  Sometimes artistic shots just pop out at you.  I think this one is pretty cool...framed by Joshua trees.

Big day tomorrow!  Going to Sequoia National Park.  I tried to see it last spring, but a late snowstorm downed some trees across the main road and I never got a chance.  That won't be happening this year.  The forecast calls for sun, clouds and cool temps.  Looking forward to wearing a jacket again! 

Lizards, lizards everywhere!

Started the slow drive north back home, but seeing stuff along the way.  Went in a northeastern direction, stopping briefly in Indio, CA for lunch...and dates!  Dropped in at the world famous Shields Date Garden to check out their many varieties of dates...more than you would normally find in a grocery store. I ended up buying a sampler pack, but opted to skip the date shake. I like dates, but not THAT much!

I then spent the afternoon at Joshua Tree National Park.  I had visited the park before, but there were some places I hadn't seen.  I started things off my walking around the Cottonwood Spring area.  It was here that I saw two different types of lizards.  The first was a Mojave zebra-tailed lizard...it was wiggling the end of its tail at me.

Then, I spotted an even larger one among the rocks.  It was an immature common chuckwalla, and it was a good eight inches long.  The lizard didn't move much as I snapped some photos of it.  I think it was actually posing for the camera.

But, I didn't take only lizard photos.  Even though it was very dry, some wildflowers still managed to survive and bloom.  I don't know what kind of flowers these are, but they are pretty!

 

I also walked around the Split Rock picnic area.  It was here that I saw two more types of lizards.  A common side-blotched lizard and an eastern side-blotched lizard.  I was hoping to see a horned lizard, but alas, it was not to be.

 

Of course, my visit to Joshua Tree would not be complete without taking photos of the trees.  And, many of them were sporting buds and blossoms.  So beautiful!

Tomorrow, one state park then northward to Sequoia National Park the following day.  After all the sun, I'll be looking forward to cooler temperatures!

Museum day...feeding the mind

After enjoying yesterday viewing live things at the zoo, I spent today basically looking at dead things.  Or, at least inanimate objects.  Well, there was that one strange thing...oh, I'll get to that in a bit.  I went to San Diego's Balboa Park to visit some of the many museums there.  I bought the Day Pass for admission to five museums.

The first museum of the day was the anthropology based Museum Of Man.  They had a special exhibit called Instruments Of Torture which was very interesting.  Basically, they literally displayed contraptions used throughout history to torture people.  There were the well-known items like the rack and thumb screws, but there were also others that I never heard of.  Sadly, there are some countries in our present day who torture their citizens using some of the same devices I saw.  In the Museum Of Man, they had some real mummies.  I won't show the humans ones to spare those who are sensitive to that sort of stuff.  But, here is a falcon who was most likely mummified along with its human owner.

After I left the Museum of Man, I was walking along a sidewalk when an object on the ground caught my eye.  More so because...it was moving!  I recognized it immediately for what it was...a lizard tail.  But, where was the lizard?  Whatever happened to it, I hope it got away, sacrificing its tail in the process.  Oh, it will grow back, which is the cool thing about lizards.  What was REALLY funny...a few people walking next to me totally ignored the wriggling tail.  I guess they see bodyless tails all the time?  I sure don't!

The next museum I visited was the Automotive Museum.  They had an exhibit on low riders and the usual collection of old cars.  The one item that piqued my interest was a vintage Jack In The Box drive-up order thingy...you know, the thing you talk to in the drive-up lane.  While other fast food places just have a voice box, Jack In The Box had...Jack.

Continuing on, I walked next door to the Air and Space Museum.  Besides the usual vintage aircraft, there was a special Ripley's Believe It Or Not exhibit.  I can't recall ever seeing a similar exhibit, and this one was particularly entertaining.  There were a lot of oddities and unusual items, including this amazing truck built entirely of matchsticks.  It was created my a prison inmate, who definitely had more than enough time to work on it!

 

The last two museums I visited were the Natural History Museum and the Model Railroad Museum.  The Natural History Museum had some nice fossils and dinosaur bones, and an exhibit on animal skulls.  The Model Railroad Museum catered to my longtime interest in dioramas and scale model making.  It just amazes me when such tiny creations can look so realistic!  

Tomorrow, I hit the road once again, taking the slow route back north.  It will be the start of a little National Park run.  I'm ready for a little hiking and relaxation. 

Africa lives...here

Well, it was fun Los Angeles, but the road calls...at least to San Diego.  I spent the day at the San Diego Zoo Safari Park in Escondido.  At one time, it was known as the San Diego Wild Animal Park, but they changed the name a few years ago.  The main goal of this zoo is to breed animals for the world famous San Diego Zoo, and species conservation. I like animals, and I like to visit zoos to see animals.  I saw a lot of nice animals at this zoo, and I took some very nice pictures of some very nice animals.  After you see these photos, maybe you'll agree these are nice animals.

  

This is Monroe, a one and a half year old gorilla.  Isn't he cute?  And, look at the sweet male lion licking his lady.  She seems to be enjoying the pampering.

  

The zoo has a wonderful butterfly exhibit...beautiful live butterflies flying all over the place!  But, the highlight of the day was feeding nectar to the lorikeets.  I literally had them feeding out of my hand! 

 

I ended my day at the zoo with the Cheetah Encounter.  I opted to pay extra to get the special VIP close up look at a cheetah and a caracal, too.  All the zoo visitors also got to watch the cheetah run...awesome sight! 

Even though the regular San Diego Zoo is terrific, I would definitely visit the Safari Park again in the future. Feeding the lorikeets is definitely addicting...I did it twice!  Tomorrow, I'll doing museums in Balboa Park. Feed the mind.

Last day in LaLa Land

I woke up a bit bleary eyed, having gotten only about five hours of sleep last night.  Yes, dedicated blogging can wear you out.  But, I had an easy day...nothing too exhausting.  I started things out by having brunch with my friend Lynne.  We always like to get together when I'm in town.  Of course, the two of us would much prefer to be together at a Five For Fighting show, but that's another story.  Afterward, I revisited the Japanese American National Museum...I was last there about six years ago.  Before heading on to my next and last activity of the day, I grabbed some takeout sushi from a nearby Japanese shopping center. 

Even though I missed out seeing Big Bang Theory, I had a consolation show to attend this evening.  Like many sitcoms that I had never seen but ended up watching after being at a live TV show taping, this was another one like that.  Sullivan And Son had a promising cast of recognizable names that attracted my attention, in addition to the two executive producers, actors Vince Vaughn and Peter Billingsley (yes, the guy of A Christmas Story fame).  I arrived early at Warner Brothers Studios, and was actually the first attendee to arrive...a first for me.  Like many other live tapings, I struck up a conversation with a lady and her mother sitting next to me in the waiting area.  The two of them went to live TV tapings quite frequently, and I learned a lot from their stories.  Actually, the lady said I looked familiar, and it turns out she saw me on the Craig Ferguson Show that I attended a few days ago. 

I must say I was very entertained by Sullivan And Sons, and I'll be adding it to the list of sitcoms that I started watching after attending live tapings.  Peter Billingsley directed today's show, and he had a very thorough way of doing things.  Vince Vaughn was also there watching the action, and he saw me enter the sound stage for the show, standing in the doorway of the Green Room.  I wonder if HE recognized me from Craig Ferguson, too?  Sullivan And Son stars Steve Byrne, Dan Lauria, Brian Doyle-Murray (Bill Murray's brother), and Christine Ebersole.  Well, tomorrow, I head out of L.A. for a couple of days in San Diego.  My road trip is half over, but I still have lots of fun on the agenda. 

Road trip rendezvous with Barcelona

Well, as promised, here are the details of my activities after yesterday's NCIS: Los Angeles set visit.  By the time I left Paramount Studios, it was 6:00 pm and rush hour was still in full swing.  I immediately got caught in heavy traffic to the freeway and beyond.  My GPS was working hard to speed up my trip, directing me off and on different roads.  It was about 7:30 when I finally reached The Observatory in Santa Ana.  After getting my guest list pass, courtesy of my Barcelona friends, I entered the club to the sounds of the first opening act, Erland Wanberg.  The music was pretty good, but I was really waiting to hear the band I drove 42 miles for.  At around 8:30, Barcelona took the stage.  Brian Fennell was playing electric guitar, Branden Cate was on the keyboards, and of course, Rhett Stonelake was on drums. 

They played a bunch of new songs, a couple of old ones, and a cover tune.  Here is the set list, courtesy of Branden.

Fall In Love (new)
On And Off (new)
Background (new)
Fast Car (Tracy Chapman cover)
Slowly
Last Night (new)
Paper Lion (new)
Less Than Two

After their set, I retreated to a smaller room where they had the merchandise table set up.  I waited for the boys to show up so I could chat with them.  When they did, I had a nice long conversation with Branden, who is the newest permanent member of Barcelona.  I also talked to Brian and Rhett, as the featured performer Andrew McMahon took the stage in the main room.  I wasn't much interested in actually seeing him...I could hear the music quite well from my vantage point.  I much preferred to socialize the the Barcelona guys. 

At one point, I told Brian that I noticed they had a new Barcelona T-shirt.  We walked over to the merch table, which was staffed by Bellingham musical artist, Jesse Morrow. Brian produced Jesse's debut album, and he was helping out his Barcelona buddies on their tour.  Jesse also designed the new Barcelona shirt...pretty talented guy!  After getting the size of shirt I wanted, I was prepared to pay for it when Brian gifted it to me.  How sweet of him!  I guess such strong loyalty has its perks?  I got a photo with the guys to top off my perfect evening.

BEST...DAY...EVER!

Well, today was the day.  My visit to the set of one of the hottest shows on television.  But, first...a couple of museum.  Almost seems mundane compared to what was to come.  The first museum I visited was the Los Angeles Museum of the Holocaust.  I had visited the Simon Wiesenthal Center on a previous road trip, and while this museum was smaller, it still had an impact. After lunch at the nearby Los Angeles Farmer's Market...a belated St. Patrick's Day corned beef plate...I went to the Petersen Automotive Museum. Again, even though I had been to this museum before, there were new exhibits that were worth checking out.  One of the exhibits was about cars with fins!

With about an hour to kill, I paid my respects at the Hollywood Forever Cemetery.  Many classic TV and movie performers reside here, but I really didn't have the time to look for them.  I opted to walk through the mausoleum, since I've never been inside one.  My first impression was that the interiors reminded me of the 80s horror flick, Phantasm.  For those who have never seen the movie, a creepy silver ball flies around the mausoleum and kills unwanted intruders in the most gruesome manner.  Actually, I DID spot a familiar name inside the building...famous Native American actor Iron Eyes Cody.

Then...it was time!  I drove to Paramount Studios, checking in with security at the gate...I was on the list.  After parking, I was met by Kelly, a production assistant.  She arrived in a golf cart, and transported me to one of two stage used for filming the show.  Oh, I guess I should tell you the set of what show I was visiting today.  My absolutely favorite show on TV right now...NCIS: Los Angeles!  This show never fails to amaze and entertain me, with a wonderful mix of action, drama and humor.  Kelly showed me around different sets that weren't currently being used for filming.  Then, we went to the day's working stage building.  They were filming scenes in the NCIS high tech computer room.  It was so surreal to see in real life what I always see on the TV show.  I was given a pair of headphones with a wireless receiver to listen in on the action.  Three of the actors were there...Linda Hunt (Hetty), Barrett Foa (Eric) and Renee Felice Smith (Nell).  I was allowed to sit in the control booth to watch the action, then we moved down to the set itself.  In between filming, I met Barrett and Renee...they were so friendly!

 

After spending about two hours watching the filming, it was time to wrap things up...but, not before meeting my favorite actors on the show.  When went outside and spoke to one of the assistant directors, who promised to get Eric Christian Olsen (Deeks) and Daniella Ruah (Kensi) to come see me.  While we were waiting, Linda Hunt came by...it was truly an honor to meet her.  She won an Academy Award in 1982 for Best Actress in a Supporting Role for playing a MAN in The Year Of Living Dangerously.  More waiting and finally, Eric and Daniella finally showed up.  It was wonderful!  The two actors are not unlike their TV characters...a perfect team with a great sense of humor with one another.  I got my picture taken with them, and I was in heaven!

But, all good things must come to an end.  Besides, I had a concert to go to!  But, right now, it's past 2:00 am, and I'm exhausted.  I don't want to shortchange the Barcelona guys, so I'll create a new blog about their concert tomorrow!