Those bees just love the sunflowers.
R.I.P.
To give birth, to nourish,
to bear and not to own,
to act and not lay claim,
to lead and not to rule:
this is mysterious power.
(Lao Tzu)
A Hot Race
Look at this photo. Imagine approximately 130 F heat. Picture yourself running. How far would you be able to go?
Well, some people manage to run 135 miles.
Yes, the Badwater Ultramarathon is on (7/14 – 7/16/2008). Without questioning myself why one would want to run 135 miles in Death Valley and beyond, I must admit that to endure this race is … awesome. I have no other word for it.
Right now the first participants have reached the goal. The fastest time was 23:20:16. Anybody completing the race in under 60 hours receives a medal, those who need less than 48 hours a belt buckle. No prize money is awarded.
I’ve been to Death Valley and hiked through Zabriski Point. It was later in the year, with temperatures somewhat cooler (only approx. 115 F). Even with plenty of water and at a moderate hiking pace it was hard going, very hard, but in the end I felt proud and elated that I did make it.
I imagine that this it exactly the feeling one has after doing 135 miles – only a hundred times more so.
Oink!
What makes one want to go and find out about new places to eat? Sometimes it is just the name – or can anyone resist to check out an eatery called “The Oinkster?” I certainly can’t. Apart from the funny name the only other information was “great pulled pork sandwiches.” Right, with that name that somehow makes sense.
The Oinkster in Eagle Rock is hard to describe. A former Tastee Freeze, which then became a food joint, was taken over by a Los Angeles chef célèbre, Andre Guerrero, who turned it into a quick-service place for fast food prepared the slow way. That means applewood-smoked, house-cured pastrami and slow-roasted pork North Carolina-style, along with Angus beef burgers and rotisserie chicken.
I have had many styles of pastrami in and around Los Angeles; the kind at The Oinkster is yet another variation of a well-known theme. I am quite sure that it does not meet the approval of some pastrami-lovers, but I was quite, quite taken by it. The taste is different and interesting, but most important – the meat is very lean, with none of that greasiness one finds so often. I know that fat enhances the taste, but when my poor stomach reminds me hours later that I should have know better… lean and non-greasy is perfect for me. Additionally, the pickle was heavenly. I would gladly order just a plate of pickles, if they would let me.
The pulled pork was nice, too. I have never been very much into pork, but the meat was juicy and tender and delicately, though distinctly, flavored. The chili fries looked nice, though that is something I never touch. The significant other gives them a B.
The beer selection was another surprise. Red Hook, Arrogant Bastard, Stella Artois (on tap) and several others more, equally interesting. The wine – oh well – I hope they will work on that at bit. They should work on that a bit. Or not offer wine at all.
Overall – not only a funny name, but a place to go back to. Oink.
What Have They Been Smoking?
The architectural landscape of Los Angeles is extremely varied. One can find anything from buildings appreciated worldwide for their high aesthetic value or sheer boldness to areas with structures so boring in their uniformity that one feels driven to tears. These are the two ends of the spectrum; in between one can find anything from the divine to the ridiculous and the weird.
This clearly falls into the latter category:
Yes, I know that this mock-Tudorbethan style was very popular from the middle of the 1920s to the beginning of the 1930s. I also know that this little “village”, a tableau consisting of eight cottages, was built adjacent to the former Disney studios (long gone, now a Gelson supermarket sits on the site), therefore it is part of the film history of the city. Still, every time I pass this spot on Griffith Park Boulevard I have to blink and ask myself: “What did they smoke when they came up with that?”
The only redeeming fact about this architectural travesty (in my eyes at least) is that David Lynch used the cottages in his movie “Mulholland Drive.” They certainly do not appear as quaint or whimsical in this film – I doubt that Mr. Lynch is even aware that these words exist – but as a dark, disturbing and mysterious background to some scenes in one of his finest movies. An architectural nightmare turned into art, at least for a few scenes. That, too, is very L.A.
Magnificent & Funny
Herons are magnificent birds, elegant and beautiful. I can sit for hours and watch them, it never gets boring.
But when they fly, the spell is broken a bit. They still look impressive, majestically gliding along, but – oh dear, those funny feet.
As Seen…
on the parking lot at a rugby tournament:
That’s the spirit.
An Oasis In The Desert
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.
Summer Solstice Road Trip
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.
A Simple Favorite
One of the joys of childhood was being pampered after having been sick. Once the worst was over, there came the period when one was asked what one wanted to eat. A child which then perks up and asks for all of its favorite foods is a child well on the mend. I always asked for a salad, a green one; my favorite was a “Rapunzelsalat” (mâche or lamb’s lettuce).
Many years later, on a different continent, my love for mâche is still going strong. Over the past few years this delicious green has become more widely available in stores around here in SoCal. I like my “Rapunzelsalat” with a light olive oil dressing, paired with some potato salad and sprinkled with bacon bits.
A simple delight, perfectly suited for hot summer days, delicious whether one is a convalescent or not.
