The Adventures of T&A

Mark and Sharon went off to work and we toured Santa Barbara.  Andrew’s bike was having problems so we found a bike shop and dropped it off.  We parked at the Santa Barbara pier and took a tram down State Street, dropping us a few blocks from the old Mission built in the late 1700’s, when California was founded.  At the end of the tram line, we walked about a mile thru beautiful residential area to the Santa Barbara Mission.  The San Xavier Mission we saw in Arizona was built about the same time, but was far more ornate than the Santa Barbara Mission, which was rebuilt in the 1800’s after being destroyed after an earthquake.  We walked back to the downtown area thru a park full of beautiful flowers and trees.  We stopped of lunch at the Santa Barbara Brewing Company.  We continued back to our truck where we had parked next to a stake park.  We watch people state, roller blade and skateboard for a few minutes.  

We picked up Andrew’s bike, ran a few errands and went back to Mark and Sharon’s for a shower and fresh fruit.  Their Landlady, Mary, has lots of fruit and Macadamia nut trees on her property and invited us to take what we wanted.  We picked some Macadamia nuts and loquats (a loquat is a tropical fruit that tastes something between a peach and a mango), we also got a couple of oranges, lemons and grapefruits.  We left Santa Barbara and headed towards Carrizo Plain.  We found some BLM land access along the way and stopped for the night.

We continued up Rte 33 and the drive was beautiful.  Huge mountains, misty, foggy, a whitewater stream running alongside the road.  It reminded me a lot of the Appalachians.  We continued to the point that the road was closed at a campground.  This campground wanted $20.00 and the facilities were nothing but a pit toilet! We were looking for a place just to park and take a nap.  We found a place to pull off on the side of the road next to a wonderful mountain stream.  We’re high in the mountains, near the San Andreas Fault.  It’s cloudy, misty and very different from the desert we’ve been in lately.  

We went back into Ojai, CA and walked around the downtown area.  There were several art galleries with wonderful stuff.  One place, Primavera Gallery, had some glass paperweights that were really incredible (I have a collection of glass paperweights in storage).  Most of these were way out of my price range, but beautiful, nonetheless.  We stopped at the Los Padres National Forest Service office for some info.  We found out the road that is closed by mudslide is estimated to be closed for 6 to 8 weeks.  Some pretty serious damage.  The spots along the road that were one lane were a result of last years “hundred year” flooding.  We’ve been running into the result’s from last years flooding all over this region.  

We drove thru Santa Barbara and up to an area with a cave full of pictographs.  The Chumash Painted Cave is a state historic site and is gated for it’s own protection.  They did leave an opening for cameras.  From on top of the mountains, we had an incredible view of the Pacific Ocean and the Channel Islands until we got up into the clouds.  We parked and just enjoyed the area while we saw two different groups of locals take repeated turns running through an enormous mud puddle around the corner.  This just proves there are rednecks everywhere.  

We for to Mark and Sharon Tollifson’s place in time to visit a little while before sitting down to a wonderful dinner they had made.  They are both involved in the Wilderness Youth Project and take young people outdoors to learn primitive skills and respect for the earth.  Today’s generation is the first to grow up with no connection with the outdoors at all and studies are showing that kids need that connection. 

Rachel and Ricardo had to head back to work, so it’s time for us to head out.  They have an avocado tree in the backyard full of fruit, so we took some with us.  We were able o do a quick load of laundry, packed up the truck and hit the road towards Malibu.

We took the scenic drive up the Malibu coast and stopped for a brief walk at Point Dume State Park.  We walked down to the beach and checked out a few tidal pools with several starfish and sea urchins and we saw a couple of guys surfing.  We then hiked up to an overlook on the point.

Later that evening, we had dinner with Andrew’s cousin and his wife, Roger and Penny Bowman.  We met them at a BBQ place called the Wood Ranch.  It was delicious! We had planned to go up to Los Padres National Forest to camp near Ojai, but we found out at dinner that, just this afternoon, a mud slide had closed to road!  Well, we headed up Rte 33 anyway and found many areas of road down to one lane due to slides.

We got to the city of Ojai and camped in the parking lot of a motel, since it was getting late.  We set an alarm to get up early and out of there. 

We went down to Venice Beach, CA and walked down the famous boardwalk.  We saw “Muscle Beach”, but we didn’t see the “muscles” that made it famous.  They must have been out to lunch.  We had a sausage at Toby Maroni’s and walked out to a big drum circle on the beach.  We put our feet in the Pacific Ocean, it was cold and dirty.    Ricardo also drove us through an area called Manhattan Beach, the Rich and Famous area of Venice Beach.  We drove back to Rachel and Ricardo’s place where they cooked us a wonderful dinner.  We also researched several of the beer we got yesterday and a few of the wines of Ricardo’s.  Ricardo is quite the wine expert and suggested several vineyards we should visit in Napa Valley.  

Everyone slept in.  We got out around noon and went to a beer and wine store nearby and got several beers to… research.   We headed into LA with our tour guides, Rachel and Ricardo.  Ricardo has pretty much lived in the area for a long time and knows his way around well.  We drove down Hollywood Blvd and walked around.  We walked down the “Walk of Fame” and saw many of the stars in the sidewalk, we walked in front of Grauman’s Chinese Theater.  The theater had lots of people in costumes from different movies out playing with the crowd out front, Homer Simpson, The Grinch, Pinhead from “Hellraiser”, and lots more that I couldn’t identify.  There were several street performers, playing music, dancing, a Michael Jackson impersonator, kind of a carnival atmosphere.  We drove up to see the “Hollywood” sign, got out and hiked up to get a closer look.  We stopped at one of Ricardo’s favorite “Watering Holes” for a quick beer and to get out of the crowds for a minute.  Next we drove down Sunset Blvd, Rodeo Drive, through Beverly Hills.  For dinner we stopped at the Redondo Beach Brewing Company (Andrew was born in Redondo Beach).  

Rachel and Ricardo went to work and Andrew and I had errands to run.  We finally got a haircut at a place Ricardo suggested.  We also got our new propane tank filled.  We’ve been using the 1 pound propane canisters, but they are non-refillable, not easily recyclable and becoming expensive.  So during our trip to REI, we purchased a 5 pound refillable tank and the hose required to fit our stove.  When Rachel and Ricardo got home from work we all went out to the Getty Museum and heard a great band called Bad Haggis, an Irish-Scottish-Fusion-Rock type of band that has played on many major movie soundtracks.  We walked around the Getty Museum a little and went out to dinner at a great Mexican Restaurant, Guelaguetza.  Ricardo told us this place is Oaxacan, which is an area known for their mole (mo-lay) sauce.  A mole sauce is a unique mixture of chili and chocolate and apparently requires a fine balancing of ingredients.  I’ve had mole before and have not been real fond of it.  Tonight we had several different mole sauces and they were all great!

The wind died down by morning, making breakfast easier.  We’ve got a schedule today: we have a dental appointment in Los Angeles at 2:15.  We’re visiting with Rachel and Ricardo Montecino in Long Beach and Ricardo suggested his dentist Dr Stelmach in LA when Andrew mentioned we were due for a cleaning.   The staff is really nice and Michelle, the hygienist, can talk your ear off! (In a very sweet, professional way, of course!)   LA is really particular about parking and there were issues about us parking on the street after 4pm.  With the bikes on top, we couldn’t fit in their parking deck.  So I went first and when finished, moved the truck to another lot and waited for Andrew. 

We’ve been making a list for stuff we need from REI (outdoor gear store) for weeks and we finally got to pick up a few things.  We also got a few errands taken care of before meeting Rachel and Ricardo at their house in Long Beach, outskirts of LA.  We stayed up way too late visiting and talking.

It’s still raining off and on.  We had enough time to snap a few photos of a rainbow across the desert but not enough time to make coffee and breakfast.  We decided not to hike out to an old homestead from the 1930’s.  

We took a four wheel drive road out and drove around to the other side of the park where it wasn’t raining.  The wind is blowing fiercely, and there’s nothing in the terrain to get shelter from it.  We did a hike through a slot canyon.  The whole area is badlands, an area that is barren and eroded into bizarre formations.  We couldn’t find a clear trail but we did find our way down and into the canyon.  It was really cool, but it did creep me out with sand and small rocks dropping down on me from the windy ridge above.  

We drove out to do another short 1 mile hike to see a rare Elephant Tree.  It’s a Sonoran desert tree that’s at the edge of it’s habitat.  There were more at one time, but we saw the last one surviving here (they typically grow much further south).  We drove out to do another hike to wind caves.  We drove up a wash (a dry creek bed that is the road here) through a badlands canyon.   We got out to take this hike and the wind kicked up and threw sand and rocks at us hard enough to hurt!  We decided that this is a sign and we bailed out on this hike.  We drove out to Font’s point for an incredibly surreal view of he whole badlands area.  The wind was blowing hard and cold as the sun was setting.  I went back to the truck and Andrew check it out and took move photos.  

There were no campsites at Font’s Point, so we went up the road a little to a primitive campground called Arroyo Salado.  The wind has been howling all day and is still 50 mph or more, making dinner a challenge.  Andrew braved the wind to make spaghetti while I made salads inside the cab of the truck.

The dirt bikes and ATVs came out this morning.  At one point I counted six ATVs running up and down these hills that were 50 feet high or more.  The ATVs would move on and then dirt bikes come out for a while.  We were working on the computers a little because we had a cell signal and could upload some stuff to the website.  As we left, we found out we were in Ocotillo Wells Off Road Vehicle Rec. Area, just outside of Anza-Borrego SP.  A few miles up we found several more camping spots inside the park (that does not allow firearms!)  We drove through the town of Borrego Springs which is surrounded by the park.  We found the park headquarters and were surprised to find an underground building.   It makes sense, I suppose, since it can get to 120 degrees here in the summer and the earth makes great insulation.  We talked with a volunteer who helped us plan a few hikes in the area.  We chose a few interesting ones, on opposite sides of the park.  This park is huge, 600,000 acres and growing!  

We took a nice drive to the south end of the park for a hike to some Native American pictographs.  Petroglyphs, which we’ve seen before, are images chipped or scratched into the rock.  Pictographs use earthen pigments and some form of binder to create drawings in colors on the rocks.  We saw only one rock with several drawings on it.  The red pigments were quite clear, but it looked like a faded yellow had been used too.  We hiked a little further to an area that overlooks an area called Smuggler’s Cove and the valley below.  There are a few more hikes nearby, but we’re running out of daylight, so we found a great campsite behind a big rock and sheltered by some creosote bushes.  Rain clouds moved in and turned the sky some beautiful colors.  We were in bed in the back of the truck by the time it started raining.  We’ve been in the desert for a month and we haven’t dealt much with rain.  It was kind of strange because even though it was raining, directly above us we could see a clear sky with the moon and stars shining brightly.