Escape from Los Angeles,

My getaway plan was simple enough. No tunnel digging required or scaling barb wire fences  and not even one hacksaw in a cake! I just figured if Barley and I were on the road by Zero-Dark Early time, we'd breeze right through the City of Angels. Wrong!

Where did all those drivers come from and who is making them? This is the down side of the Golden State. Too many humans inhabiting the place. Alas, it was a great visit though.

I'm now in Zion National Park, Utah after a brutally long  seven hour drive. OY! I'm whooped. 

The Mormon pioneers considered the Zion area to be a sanctuary. Other than the occasional flash flood (a recent deluge just took the life of a hiker in the Narrows portion of the Virgin River), it's a region of grandeur. For a few days it'll be my sanctuary too. 

I'm not planning on hiking in the Virgin River though. The waterline would be waist deep on me. The Bailey's Irish Cream colored liquid is a chilly, hyperthermia inducing 55 degrees too.

Screw that!

I'm hiking the 10-plus mile East Rim trail mañana. I already made the size large caterpillar into a hummus-like spread. No worries, I added heaps of garlic to remove the gamey taste. 

Good night from Springdale, Utah.

PS. I have three pounds of coffee and two cases of IPAs. Like a Boy Scout, I came prepared for the Beehive State. 

Sambur's 60th Soirée II

Sambur's 60th Soirée II

If you have already RSVP'ed me, thanks! If not, please continue reading.

Please consider this a personal invite.

It would be nice to see some of my old acquaintances. Maybe get the chance to break some bread, imbibe in a drink or two and tell a few yarns. 

And yes, the Bronco game will be on the big screen at the Tap & Handle too. I'll bet you are capable of drinking and watching the game at the same time. Maybe even speaking between plays. 

So...here's the Admit One invite once again. Print it out or scrawl a facsimile. If we gather enough revelers, it's a private party! 

Help a fella out! Renting a bar is on my bucket list! 

Hope to see you all on Sunday, October 19th.

Cheers!

Jeff

http://jeffsambur.blogspot.com/

Montana de Oro State Park, California...

Might be smallish in size but it's large on views. Sporting a whole seven miles of rugged California coastline, it would be a developer's dreamland. 

Too bad for those greedy speculators. The state beat them to the table by purchasing the property in 1965. Score one for the masses.

This landlubber got his seaside fix by strolling along those beaches, bluffs and one 1,000' summit. All this with a less than energetic body and mindset. (It might have been that extra 8.5% IPA I drank last night.) 

I even went for a "Sambur swim." I dipped my toe in the Pacific Ocean. Why would anyone do a full-on immersion? There's fish and other creatures doing their bodily functions in that watery mix!

Good night from Moro Bay, California.

Southern-most Redwoods, Pacific Ocean and...

and bathing beauties.

Another species of big trees demanded equal hugs, so I drove to Big Sur.

Here lies the most distant southern outpost of the Coastal Redwoods. 95% of the original old growth Redwoods are a thing of the past seen only in photos. That outside deck/patio you are walking upon might be made of Redwood. The wood is tough, attractive and very resistant to wear and tear. 

I'm glad these specimens avoided the chopping block.

Here's a photo of a baby Redwood. Even the Mighty start out small. I am patiently waiting for my growth spurt.

Here's a gang of Elephant Seals after a long bender. That must have been some party. 

I hope they applied enough sunscreen.

I've run out of western movement. Barley can't swim. It'll be time to turn south and east soon.

Cheers!

Pinnacles National Park, California...

Welcome to America's newest National Park. This little known hard-to-get-to place began as a National Monument until it's upgrade in 2013. I would suggest vIsiting during the week. I believe it would be worth the effort to arrive here.

That is if quiet, low volume humans, sustainable space around your campsite and unusual (not take your breath away) landscape piques your curiosity. 

 I won't BS you, this isn't the Sierra Nevada, but it's nice. 

It's 7:47 pm and I'm already horizontal in Barley scratching out this post.

If you enjoy a swinging night life, don't bother to follow my wheel on this lifestyle I've chosen.

You would be bored beyond tears.

Ain't that tarantula photo something? They are pretty tasty once you sear the hair off of them. They are kosher too. 

Happy New Year II,

Jeff

Congress Trail, Sequoia National Park...

"Any fool can destroy trees. They cannot run away; and if they could, they would still be destroyed -- chased and hunted down as long as fun or a dollar could be got out of their bark hides, branching horns, or magnificent bole backbones." John Muir

With a name like Sequoia National Park, one would assume you'd be bumping into one gargantuan after another. So not true.

These ancient trees hang out in cliques. The NPS calls them groves. They don't run in a continuos range. They are quite content to keep company with a few close buddies. They are magnificent.

In a previous post, I mentioned how the wood's quality sort of sucks for mankind's needs. Despite this economic fact, thousands of these beauties were slaughtered as if they were game. 

In 1875, an average sized Sequoia was toppled by two loggers in nine days. A cross section was sent east for its entertainment value. Those pessimistic easterners (like me) deemed it the "California Hoax." Little did they know, they were getting the runt of the litter.

On the morning of Rosh Hashanah (5775 of the Jewish New Year. We've been around longer than the Methuselah Tree!) I took a silent, peaceful stroll along the Congress Trail. I got to hug the President, see the House and the Senate standing around. (At least these trees are awe-inspiring instead of yawn-inspiring). And finally see one bear.

For me, It was far more spiritual than attending a New Year service. I was already in God's Temple and there was no guilt involved.

As you can see from the last photo, in California if you can't beat the bear obsession, join 'em.

Happy Jew Year to all,

Jeff

Alta Peak, Sequoia National Park...

This 11,200' summit might be barely above tree line, but the views were in the stratosphere of incredible.

Check out the Great Western Divide, a split between the King, Kern and Kaweah watersheds. 

I'm going to miss the Sierra high country. So many peaks, views and valleys to visit, so little time.

Cheers from Fresno!

Only for a night.

Jeff