More Joshua Tree Day 2

To the toppermost of the poppermost!

panorama shot

High view of Barker Damn

Soon after breakfast we made our first hike of the day....the small trek out to Barker Damn; the only place in Joshua Tree with water seemingly. We parked and set out on the journey and followed the well manicured path. Some paths went up rocks, some around rock piles, some up, some down, some all around. We missed a turnoff somewhere along the way but fortunately realized our mistake before we were too far off the beaten path.
A couple of minutes later.....like 90 minutes to be exact we finally found our way to the damn. The path to the water meandering around rocks and up a bit seemed silly when we could clearly see the water. We made our way to the waters edge and visually the water was...not exactly pristine but once could guess that since god only knows how many animals and people have fouled the water over the years. Alex's keen eye picked up a couple of frogs getting nasty....we told him they were giving piggyback rides.

As we walked around the entire damn area Tomoko made a brilliant point about the fun of Joshua Tree. Whereas other places to camp and hike have somewhat limited areas to hike, climb, and take in the view and almost every trail is clearly marked.....Joshua Tree is campings equivalent to "free styling." If you see a rocky outcrop out on the horizon....no reason you cant simply walk out to it. It is clearly one of the most liberating camping excursions you can take as the vastness and openness of the area really allows you to do whatever the heck you want, when you want, and how you want to do it. Better yet...what look like impenetrable massive stone piles can be easily climbed by kids as well. Sure there is the odd risk of spider or snake bite...but its all good fun.

We made it back to camp and rested a bit. While sitting at the campsite table I decided to make some use of the time and began working on cutting down the IKEA wooden bed slats and had taken with us figuring they would be of some type of use. And true to form.....I ripped off some of the slats to use for campfire and left 5 or 6 on the string to use as a place mat in front of the tent. Worked great as it provided some lift off the dusty desert floor and made an ideal place to see shoes and stand outside the tent without fear of tracking dirt.

The remainder of the slats I cut in half and stacked on our firewood that I had purchased previously at O'neill Park back in OC. Why you ask? Because you can get a huge canvas bag of thick dense wood for 5 bucks and most places around camp areas tent to gouge you a bit on the wood overcharging while underwhelming in the field of quantity. The Ikea Slats were also convenient in that as they were stringed together and rolled up made packing the van a bit easier. I used a pocket saw to cut and notch in the side and then proceeded to use my boot to break it half. After that I took one small slat and smacked it with the claw end of the hammer to bust it into smaller wood pieces that I figured would make some good kindling for later in the evening.

We then drove to the very end of our campsite to do our last hike of the day at Indian Cove Trail. Parking in the unpaved lot we noticed a lot of hippy/deadhead type people in the area. It was at that point I made use of the dried shitaki mushrooms Tomoko brought for her Soba Noodles and was able to pawn them off on a red headed guy in a VW bus with Coexist and greenpeace stickers adorning the back end. Theres a sucker born every minute and twenty bucks is twenty bucks.  I asked whether he was coming from Coachella, being the big festival was held that same weekend. He acknowledged that in fact there was big yoga/new age festival(bahkti, bakti? sp) being held in Yucca Valley. After hearing that I felt bad.....bad that I didnt try and get $40 for the shrooms.

We made our way out to the trail head and being the trail was less then a mile the fact it was nearly sundown didnt diminish our interest in conquring the trail known to locals as "flat easy nancy" and "the yuppie trail."
True to form....the redeeming value of the trail was the fact it had a semi nice view of the city(well city of yucca valley/joshua tree standards.) As we made the 1/2 way point Alex and I saw the largest out crop in the area. We had to climb it...wasnt even a question. I gave tomoko the camera so she could capture the moment....and as soon as we made the top I let out a primal howl of exhuberance the echoed and reverberated throughout the valley. We posed as Tomoko snapped a picture.....later to find that she zoomed in on the picture that pretty much wiped out the entire idea of the picture that was me and Alex on a huge rock. Good times.

We made it back to camp and started dinner....chili dogs! And after that I have nothing clever to say. we did stay up and I drank a beer followed by a glass of Bota Box Malbec. Just like the night before it was incredibly dark once the sun went down but two hours later was as bright as it can get on a moonlit night. We got the kids to bed and sat by the campfire chatting. We were both tired and figured it must have been late but looking at the time on my cell phone found it was only 9pm. Two things that come to mind here; A)it always seems later then it really is when you are camping and B) Joshua Tree get wondeful cell phone coverage. Had I brought my laptop and had an air card I probably could have gotten my email and been able to watch the NHL playoffs online....just like the pioneers did on their first trip out west.

To the tent we went for the last night of our trip in a semi cold slumber.

The Conclusion of our desert odyssey can be found here....
http://hipchecksblog.blogspot.com/2011/05/joshua-tree-epilogue.html

Joshua Tree- day 2

It was a cold night. Well not Idaho cold but CA cold anyhow. I was warm enough provided I stayed in the fetal position long enough for my body heat to warm the blanket but any movement negated any progress I made on the warmth scale and meant having to start over again. I was woken up early by Alex who said he had to use the restroom. I threw on some clothes, unzipped the tent, and out into the brisk desert morn I went. You could see the first hazy ray of sun climbing and enlightening the rocky horizon landscape for but not yet to the point where there was any type of bonafide sunrise.

I looked around the other campsites and being no one else yet was up was hoping Alex would take advantage of the many discreet locations and choose one of the many flora and fauna for him to pee on but Alex is more Felix Unger than Survivorman so I had to trek up the road to the campsite outhouse....which was relatively clean by desert outhouse standards with no running water or any type. The entire site was still cast in shadows and the brisk morning had me wondering whether to go back in the tent or simpley get started on the day. Looking eastward I saw the shadows receding and the rocks on the adjacent side of the camp change their hue from shades of gray to burning gold. I could almost feel the welcoming morning sun on my face and longed to experience it.

I sprayed some Purell on Alex's hand and put his shoes on so we can make a small climb up one of the rocky outcrops and witness the sunrise. We made out way a bit up the rock into the path of the sunrays and saw the first sliver of sun epoch the skyline. I was beginning to bask in the moment where natures brings the new day and the vastness of the Mojave with its lack of High Rises, Strip Malls, Starbucks, and Freeways stirred some type of premortal spirit deep inside of me. The moment of quiet, with a slight breeze on my face was interrupted however when Alex started questions about Club Penguin and the LA Kings AHL minor league franchise.

The Adventure Continues here....
http://hipchecksblog.blogspot.com/2011/04/more-joshua-tree-day-2.html

More to Follow....

The Kids and I at Barker Damn.

A Couple of Frogs...it was so cute as 1 frog was giving another frog a "piggyback ride."

The Fam

This huge boulder was rolling down the hill....good thing the Kids and I got there just in the nick of time.

Kings of the Hill

Vacation Fun- The Family Goes to Joshua Tree

Being as I got such great feedback from my last family vacation and being as once again I found myself with some time off I decided to blog about the little trip I took a few days ago to Joshua Tree.

DAY 1

Our trip started on Sunday Afternoon and we packed up the family truckster and headed eastward. Leaving on Sunday meant no traffic and presumably a smooth trip to the desert. My oldest son Alex decided that the 3 hour drive out would be as good as time as any to ask me somethings that were on his mind......so I spent almost the entire trip answering questions about the Beatles, Hockey, the Desert, the Automobile, and the Time Space/Black Hole Quantum Physics Theory. Being that I had the time and wasnt going anywhere and deciding it would be better to answer the question as opposed to barking at him to be quiet I simply answered all of this questions. And if you were wondering.....
The Song Yesterday was written by Bon Jovi. The Automobile was invented by John Candy. The Desert was once home to many indigenous Oompa Loompa, and I was once a member of NASA who lived in Area51 and invented a ray gun that shot Chocolate Zingers.

Once we entered Yucca Valley we saw the sign for the California Tourism Office which always means a relatively clean bathroom, Air Conditioning, and water so we pulled into the driveway.
After taking the kids to the restroom Tomoko noticed a hissing sound out of the back of the car.
Women know nothing about Cars.....I told her it probably had something to do the with the AC.

We then continued down the road and found the Yucca Valley Food4Less we always stop at when we make this trip. We bought some coffee cake, some assorted fruits and veggies and what not. As we made it back to the car I still heard the hissing sound and noticed the back rear tire starting to look like a failed souffle.

Now Yucca Valley isnt exactly the big city and being in was last Sunday Afternoon and having a van packed with camping equipment and a back tire with a puncture wound and a couple of additional nails in it for good measure-I simply called AAA and let the chips fall.

One Hour and 2 Subway Sandwiches bought at the Yucca Valley Chevron later we were back on the road and praying to be at the campsite by sundown.....I was left going 55MPH on cruise control now my left rear tire was that of the temporary small donut variety. Good Times.

Story Continues here....
http://hipchecksblog.blogspot.com/2011/04/joshua-tree-day-2.html

No trip to the area is complete without the Windmills and always reminds me of the scenes from "Rainman" and "Less Than Zero."

Mission Accomplished- Roasted Marshmallows!

Cheap Digital Cameras arent exactly optimal for catching night pictures.

Tons of Ghost Orbs at our campsite....or just the tons of dust kicked up by the kids; I'll go with the latter.

Once again showing the limitation of the digital camera....our first night campfire shows mighty unimpressive.

Lunch w/OC Register Foodie Jeff Overley

I had a chance this weekend to try out some new dining spots in the Little Arabia area of Anaheim with OC Register food columnist Jeff Overley. We took in 3 different places all within a stones throw of each other all located on Brookhurst Blvd.

Our first stop was Al Wadee - A hole in the wall in every sense of the word. Its located in a strip mall by a bowling alley, a pool hall, and a bevy of massage parlors. I was early and took the liberty of ordering a few items ahead of time. I was greeted at the counter by a woman who reminded me a lot of Terry Jones in Life of Brian as Brians Mother. Nice lady though....and a helluva good cook. Having read some of the Yelp reviews there were a few things I wanted to try.

Kaftah Pizza-the meat at first glance appeared to be some type of Gyro meat but upon sampling the dish was a bit of a let down that it really tasted like a simple lightly seasoned ground beef patty. For all I know it may have been the perfect example of the region, but was expecting more flavor in the meat. Once again-not horrible by any stretch of the imagination but was expecting either Gyro type flavor or even the TriTip Sharwma at Zankou.

As for the Lahmbajin Pizza-flavor explosion! The toppings ranged from a briny,salty olive like to savory and herby. Easily the best dish we sampled. Though they said it was beef, the appearance hearkened to crumbled bacon and red pepper flakes. The contrast of the meat and what appeared to be olive remoulade, with the cracker thin crust would have paired amazing with some Red Wine.

Lahmbajin

We also shared a salad that was a wonderful companion with some lightly pickled cucumbers and a fantastic dressing. Jeff suggested he tasted Sumac in it and said he would attempt to get more info on it. I tried a Beef Shwarwa wrap as well that was tasty but different then what I expected. Having my typical idea of what mediteranean/arabic food taste being anything from Zankou that is pretty much the standard by which I judge for better or worse.

Beef Shwarma Wrap

All in all....a nice place to stop in for a quick bite and I would love to go back and try the Falafal.

Our next place we stopped at was Zait and Zaatar- Great atmosphere with a smell the encompassed everything you would imagine an arabic place would smell like. The Chicken Wrap in particular was wonderful, with the wrap being much closer to crepe then pita and the chicken sliced thin and moist with a perfect light dusting of seasoning that blended perfect with the pickles and sauce. The pies were light and flaky and a steal for the price. Tailer made for multiple locations, if Baja Fresh or Panda Express can succeed....there is absolutely no reason Zait and Zaatar could not succeed in OC. The Wrap was 4.99, the Pizzas were inexpensive as well, and the
pies a bargain at 99 cents a pop. After the fact I pondered if there were indeed a difference between the arabic style pies here verses the south american empanada. I took a few pictures and got the stink eye from the owner.....but he turned out to be an amiable bloke at the end of the day. For atmosphere, food, price and all of the other qualities that make up good restaurants-Zait and Zaatar had the magical recipe. Once again-expanding into the OC would be a windfall as the menu and atmosphere would be welcomed by diners of all races and religions. I can only imagine how people drive by and will never experience this place....I know if not for Jeffs suggestion its a place I would have never known about.

Spicy Spinach Pie

More from their Selection of Pies

Finally our last stop was at the Tripoli Bakery. Housed in what had to have been a donut shop at one time, if you didnt have diabetes before you stepped foot inside you probably did when you left. Without knowing the specific names of the dishes we tried- The Milk/Custard topped with what reminded me of Frosted MiniWheats and drizzled with simple syrup was very good. The Combo of Milk, Topping, Pistachio, and Sugar didn't taste as exotic as one would think and reminded me of an extension of Custard Pie. The Baklava was not nearly as sweet as its Greek Counterpart that I was accustomed to and thus was able to detect far more variety of nutty, cinnamon flavor. It was a much more basic style as well with only one layer of filling between the phylo dough as opposed to some of the multi layered offerings Ive tasted in the past. The Cheese Caulk dish was the one that worked least, texturally its unlike any sweet desert dish Ive ever had. Had you taken the cheese and topped it with tomato sauce and fried garlic; it would have made for a wonderful italian appetizer as opposed to using the cheese for a Lebanese desert if that makes sense.

Fill Your Gut...and Seal Your Windows

All in all it was a very fun day, not too much different the legendary OC Day of Pizza we did a couple of years ago. What was nice was, as much as I love Zankou its not very close to the freeway so visiting is time consuming. All of these places were right off the 5 and Brookhurst so stopping off the freeway and taking some goodies to go is now a very realistic option when I'm in the area.

A day in the Park and Garlic Naan

Found myself with some time this week and as the gods deemed the wife and I would not be able to do anything on St Hallmarks Day we chose to celebrate the occasion the day after. Being we both love the outdoors we decided to visit a local park right here in our own OC backyard at the Laguna Coast Wilderness Park conveniently located just off of Laguna Canyon Road aka the 133.

Backpack, bottled water, and cell phone in tow we set out to conquer some of the many trails offered at the park finally settling on a loop featuring the Little Sycamore Canyon Trail to the Serrano Ridge Trail to the Camarillo Canyon Trail to the Stagecoach South Trail which totaled roughly 4.5 miles or 7.2 Kilometers for you metric lovers.

There were a handful of cars in the lot as we paid our 3 bucks and went to the nature center and park headquarters to sign in. The nature center had pictures of bobcats, deer, and racoons that were caught on some of the sensor cameras that are strategically located around the park and while I would have been amazed to see something like that on the trail I was filled with doubt.

We set off on a brisk pace as the somewhat cloudy sky occasionally parted to let in a few rays of sunshine shine upon our faces. I was glad I left my jacket in the car as the temperature was perfect neither too hot or too cold. As we walked North away from the nature center the only thing that was a perfect tease walking into the so called Wilderness was the din of traffic and the few skyscrapers the dotted the horizon of Irvine's Business District.

The path itself had its shares of climbs and descents and some parts had clearly been damaged by the recent storms with exposed rock and the occasional open trench that presented itself in the middle of the trail on some of the steepest parts of the hike. I couldn't help but think a bit of Bear Grylls in my head talking about the dangers of twisting an ankle or falling down a precipice. Some holes in the rock face to the opposite side of us had some holes and cave like openings to which I could visualize Bear making shelter and starting a fire and giving the “fire boost morale” speech that he gives every episode. Once again that might have been much more applicable if not for the visibility of the Tustin Hangers and the Big Orange Balloon at the always soon to be developed Great Park.

As we continued the trail, we both commented on the large amount of animal scat on the trail. It was unmistakable to see the clear outline of dung that had dissipated into wafts of gray fur which I attributed to the hair of a rabbit or squirrel or whatever meal the bobcat or coyote had found that evening. We theorized why the animals preferred leaving their mark smack dab in the middle of the trail as opposed to some of the flat grassy almost alpine like meadows that dotted the trail at random intervals.

Making our way up and down and all around the series of switchbacks we were a bit surprised to see we were already 90 minutes into our trek. I was perspiring a bit and certainly glad it wasn't any warmer as making this hike in the heat would certainly have made for a more challenging hike only taken on by experienced hikers....of which I'm not.

We did manage to see some beautiful wildflowers that grew amongst the cacti and other assorted flora that vibrant color stood out amungst the otherwise alpine colors and hues that made up the majority of the hike visually.

We hit the Camarillo Trail and I was revealed as it was flat and I assumed the home stretch back to the lot. But my hopes were dashed as the final signpost to nature center had us making one more climb and descent and 30 or so more minutes of hiking before making it back to the car. Nothing is ever easy.
Seeing we had some time left we decided to get a bite to eat and after reading several reviews of the Indian Buffett Anapoorna in Irvine went to try it out. There was a line out front which made me think initially it might be a long wait, too long actually as we only had about 45 minutes before picking up our youngest son from Preschool. But alas we only waited about 10 minutes before being seated.

I can say it was easily the best indian food Ive ever had and judging by the amount of Indians eating lunch there as well this wasn't a whitened up caucasionized indian experience but the real McCoy. I was impressed with the number of offerings...the hot line probably had 12 different items including goat curry, panak paneer, and a few other offerings I eat at Indian Food places but either cant remember the name or spell it. The deserts was awesome as well...Mango Pudding, Carrot Pudding, and Gulab Jaman were all available with the wife and I both debating on which was best. The Wife commented that the Gulab Jaman was the best she ever had as it wasn't nearly as sweet as other versions of the dish we've had at other Indian Places. Best part was Monday and Tuesday's are discount lunch days with the buffet costing only 6.99 a person. Quite a bargain....and quite a day!

Prime Rib Christmas

Some Christmas pics as well as some pics of a wonderful meal I did tonight.
I made a prime rib roast for Christmas Eve and tonight used the leftovers to get a little creative and bust out the old chef skills.

Another Short Story....The Last Hot View

Wrote this the other day for no particular reason although I have been reading some of Hemingways Short Stories which maybe inspired me. In particular this one...

http://records.viu.ca/~lanes/english/hemngway/vershort.htm

Anyhow, for your reading pleasure or torment depending on how you look at it I present....

The Last Hot View

The skyline was amazing. It was at once jawdropping yet at the same time belittling. Hundreds of miles of vistas and buttes ringing life affirming at the same time demeaning, marginalizing, sucker punching the soul. The orange yellow hue of horizon harkening, begetting memories to the fall of leaves in northeastern autumn with their gradual changing of sepia that varied from leaf to leaf.

It was a grandiose type of view that empowers and enlivens the strong and disparages and mocks the weak. A view that makes a strong willed bull of man out to conquer the world and tell a smaller willed docile with the thoughts of “whats the point,why bother, whats the use.”

Looking out into the vastness of universe he felt the dry wind on his face. It was a hot, moisture sucking wind that took any detectable amount of emollient from the skin and instantly pulled it from the body, instantly dissipating it into the atmosphere. The sides of mouth showing the beginning stages of white chafe, crack, and peel adorned to the determined gaze of one who had seen at all yet at the same time nothing.

Looking down he kicked some top dirt with his boot, taking a mental note of how each sweep of boot over the dry top earth revealed a dark mineral rich sub soil as the upper layer of scorched terra was swept aside and formed small piles in the range of his gait.

He thought about using his new found method of earth scrape to leave a final parting message before his descent with several options coming to mind with thoughts ranging from personal and heartfelt, to astute and clever, to acerbic and biting, to ridiculous and cryptic shooting a wry smirk with thoughts of “Trix are for Kids, I told you I was sick, Lady GaGa Nation, We deem these rights to be self evident” as possible last final conveyed message.

Crouching down he ran the sand through his fingers and basked and bathed in the simple nuances of temperature and texture sand falling to earth through fingers and how a few remaining granules stuck to his palm. Using a sweeping motion of his fingertips to remove the last bits of sand from palm in a smooth, stream lined motion.

Shaking his head in crouch, and looking up to see deep into the line of the horizon he realized it didn't matter now. The sure touch down pass he dropped in high school glory days, the wife and daughter he left in Amarillo, Robert and Luis over at Rileys Pub, the punch he threw at an overreaching, overzealous boss on the one of hundreds of job sites he worked on formerly-none of it mattered now.

The thigh muscle in his right leg went into a quick instinctive psuedo spasm as varied memories flashed at lightning speed each memory like a bb fired from a bazooka with each micro projectile putting a small chink into his guard and made his toes curl inside the suede work boot he was wearing.

He spat and took a few steps towards the side of the precipice, spitting one more time over the side and trying to count the seconds before he lost visual. He made note of how the large green gumballs affixed to the side of the canyon gradually became smaller as they made their way to the bottom of the canyon floor and how the yellowed zig zagging streak of trail looked haphazard in its creation. It lacked the orderly consistency of roads and highways which made him think that nature is indeed random. Summoning his inner Greek Philosopher he wondered why gods creations were generally a symphonic anarchy which created beauty while mans desire to create and build equated to a consistent, orderly path of towering gray monoliths.

He thought about things he would never feel again. The Warm bask of his mothers hug as child, the first sip of coffee on cold winters morn, the thick secure constriction offered by a new pair of socks, the crash of waves, the smell of wet hay, the texture of carpet, the spicy burn of jalapenos, the sound of a saxophone, the smooth metal frame of his red Schwinn.

He looked back and saw his champagne colored car off in the distance with the headlights still beaming like 2 piercing eyes albeit not as bright as they did an hour earlier, noting he probably should have given his cd collection and the coins in his ashtray to the homeless guy off of Bryant avenue he passed on the drive up.

Taking one more step to the last, final patch of earth before gravity reared its ugly head, he took a deep breath and one more step terra firma free where the free fall decent and rushing of air up across his body gave him a sensation not too unlike a large drop on a roller coaster or plunge down a waterfall while rafting. The rushing air filled his shirt and jacket with a slight parachute effect though not nearly enough to make a lick of difference at the end of the day. 

The Sides of the canyon wall started to blur with hues of greens and browns and his breathing became moments of short gasps of air along with bouts of just holding his breath entirely. There was no right, there was no wrong, there just.....was.