Month: June 2008

When I visited Las Vegas for the first time, the Bellagio wasn’t finished yet. Some quick computing – yes, that was 1998. And yes, the Bellagio sits on the site of the former Dunes.

Since then a lot of hotels have gone up at and near The Strip. To name just a few: Mandalay Bay, Palazzo, The Palms, Paris, South Point, Wynn, The Venetian. A lot of older hotels have vanished too, to make room for something newer, larger, more spectacular. The same goes for all of Las Vegas – developments sprang up everywhere; every year there were more houses. especially during the last five years more and more subdivisions crept into the desert and closer to the mountains.

Still, one can leave all that behind and transport oneself into (nearly) untouched landscapes. Just 17 miles west of the Las Vegas Strip there is no more glitter and glamor, no noise, no hordes of people, this very short drive takes one to the conservation area of Red Rock Canyon. There again one has several choices, one can take the scenic drive, stop somewhere and take a hike or turn right shortly before arriving at the visitor’s center and go to Calico Basin Red Springs.

Having been to both the Red Rock National Park and the Calico Basin, I somehow prefer the latter. On driving up to the site one sees houses totally unlike the cookie cutter monstrosities left and right of the highway up to this area:

Even though the structures look quite tiny, actually they are not; they just appear so small against the backdrop of the undisturbed, massive environment.

Then comes the first surprise:

Green? In the Mojave Desert? Oh, it gets even better:

Red Springs is indeed an oasis, with three springs carrying water all year round, turning the barren looking land into this island of green.

One might wonder how such a tiny amount of water can keep a whole oasis alive – but that’s all that is needed, some water, constantly flowing, to turn the desert into a small paradise.

The difference can be seen here from top of the ridge dividing the oasis from the surrounding desert:

This is truly an oasis to recover from the glittering city a few miles away.

What better way than to spend the first weekend of summer somewhere really warm? Like Las Vegas?

A first idea of what is in store one can get from the huge thermometer in Baker at 4 PM.

Those who like even more heat turn left off the I-15 into Death Valley. There they laugh at 111 F. The less hardy ones continue on towards the last ridge of the Mojave National Preserve,

over the pass and down, down into the Ivanpah Dry Lake. Even though it is dry, it is popular for sailing – land sailing that is. With 35 square miles there’s a lot of room for that particular sport.

On the other side of the lake Nevada begins, easily recognizable from the casinos of Primm.

Then it is just another short hop of 50 miles and time for some fun. Most people go for the gambling – some go for the food. There are several great places in Las Vegas to celebrate the first day of summer with some friendly former inhabitants of Maine.

Eat, drink and be merry and forget that at 10 PM it is still 98 F outside. After all, in Death Valley it is still hotter and lobsters turn red at 212 F.

Imagine this: It’s the beginning of the 1960s. You are a young aerospace engineer. Your father-in-law has given you a lot in the Santa Monica Mountains above Mulholland Drive, with a spectacular view and a 45 degree slope. You want to build a house there, but everybody tells you that this is impossible. Your budget is limited. What do you do?

Leonard Malin (who was the young man) found help in architect John Lautner. Lautner already had a reputation as the best architect for the most difficult building lots. I can just imagine those two getting together, with Mr. Malin stating: “I have the lot. I have $30.000. I want to live there. Do what you want. And, by the way, the end result does not need to look like a house.”

Okay, I made that last sentence up. But he could have said it, because the house, better known today under the name “Chemosphere,” looks like this:

Imagine living there. What fun.

My first visit to the Los Angeles Zoo in Griffith Park was a bit of a disaster. Not knowing then that the park is a bit larger than usual (as far as parks go) I imagined that a pleasant stroll on a lovely Sunday would be a perfect way to pass the time. Nobody pointed out to me that my attire of summer dress and high heeled sandals might not be quite the proper hiking gear; in fact, nobody told me that the pleasant stroll I had envisioned would be a hike of two miles.

Upon finally arriving at the zoo I was in pain. My feet were burning and throbbing; my teeth were hurting, too, from grinding them. I could do nothing about the pain in my jaw, but for the feet there was an instant cure: The flamingo pond opposite the entrance. I hobbled over there, took off my shoes and stuck my feet into the water. I am sure I heard a slight hissing sound as they sunk into the silken cool wetness. I closed my eyes. Sheer bliss.

When I opened my eyes again, all those flamingos had turned their heads towards me. I swear, the collective look of disgust on their faces said very clearly: “Good grief, woman, we drink that water!”

I am not sure whether they had a flamingo pond at the Old Zoo. Actually I am not sure what types of animals they had there at all, because it must have been a pretty small place. It certainly was a zoo of the type one (luckily) does not find any longer – with small cages and stockades that the animals on exhibit were just stuck into.

When, in the middle of the ‘60s, the zoo moved to its new and present location about a mile away, the abandoned site just sat there. A while later the area was transformed into a picnic ground with lovely lawns. The old grottoes were fitted with barbecue pits, tables and benches – voila, a perfect setting for an outing with the family and lots of exciting places for the kids to explore.

These grottoes were also used as a location for “Anchorman: The Legend of Ron Burgundy.” Yes, the wacky scene with Christina Applegate, Will Ferrell, the bears and Baxter the dog was shot here, because neither the L.A. nor the San Diego Zoo could quite stomach the idea of having the Hollywood madcaps on their premises.

Detail of Gamble House in Pasadena