Hike the High Country: The Duck Lake Hike (Part 1)

(N 37 35.500 W 118 59.450)

This is the first of a three part series of a common hike done out of Mammoth, CA. Honesty, it wasn't my first choice, but I went along with it. Normally, on most hikes that I have had on this blog I am pretty much in charge and kind of have an idea where I am going. On this one I let the other two with me dictate the pace and take me to the unknown.

As we drove into Mammoth my morale for doing the hike was not great since I saw how bad the smoke was all around. I mentioned this quite a lot in the past few blogs, and for the few hikes I did, it wasn't that bad. You still will see some haze as I go along.

The gps coords get you to close to where we parked. Off we went that early morning up the trail. It switch backed quite a bit for the first fifty or so minutes. Not too long after that we passed by Arrowhead Lake, but did not stop at it. Not too long after that was Skelton Lake, and we did stop there.

 There was a lot of haze there as you can see in the background. If I were to turn the camera to the right the sun was hitting the area in such a way that it was really smokey looking there. Not so on the way back. At this point, many cross-country high school runners would pass us on to the pass. Apparently, doing their training here which is admirable.

After the lake I was getting tired of just walking around in the forest. You could not see very far ahead or around. I was not sure how far we were from where we would end. Then, I saw another lake ahead.

 This is Barney Lake. It had a nice color to it.

 The hike started to get more interesting around here. We were leaving the forest area, and entering mountain terrain. Now I started to wake up a bit and things were alive.

 Now we are getting somewhere! A nice rocky terrain trail that started to lift up over the area. Can you see the person ahead?

 After getting up high enough there was a nice ridge point to look back and take pictures of where I had been. You get a good shot of seeing all of Barney Lake and Mammoth Mountain in the background.

I was tired, but I was enjoying this hike now. I also knew that in all likelihood we were near the pass so the hike would be basically over. Well, sort of.

Hike the High Country: Duck Lake (Youtube Video)

The music used from Incompetch.com is called Thunderbird and Townie Loop.

Being Thankful and Looking Ahead

I must admit that the last few months were rather rough on me. As I said previously, I had a bunch of stress this past year that was the worst during the end of the summer and early fall that made me not want to do very much blogging. Unfortunately, because of some personal things that needed to be taken care of, I was unable to visit the Eastern Sierra for the fall colors in time. That was a major downer for me. It was near the end of October that the worst of it was over. Then almost days after that I injured my back somehow, and my recovery time was really slow. I still feel some soreness, but I can walk and bend down again.

In any case, that is all over now, and for that reason I am thankful! I’ve had reasonable good health, and if I can walk, then I can hike. Now, it might be another few months before that takes place again, but it is something I look forward to.

So as far as the blog is concerned, I’ve decided to wait until early 2019 before I start releasing new content. If something comes up by Christmas that I think is worth showing then I will do it, but most of what I have in mind will start sometime in January.

So I wish all my loyal readers happy holidays through the month of December. I going to be spending the next month working on various projects that I hope will be fun to talk about during the 2019. So assuming nothing dramatic happens…I’ll catch up with you on the trail at that time.

It's Armistice Day (WW1 Ends 100 Years Ago)

So after about four years we have hit the end of the centenary of the WW1 time period. As history goes, on the eleventh hour of the eleventh day of the eleventh month of 1918 there was a cease fire to the war to end all wars. Of course, we know that in reality this was just the beginning of two wars.

This will probably mark the end of my posting of pictures of military aircraft on the blog for quite some time. About seven months ago I noted the death of the Red Baron. I wanted to end this with two other planes.

  First, the Sopwith Camel is probably the classic aircraft (apart from the German Fokker Dr.1) that everyone associates with World War 1.

If anything, Snoopy from the Peanuts series is the one who keeps these planes alive in the popular world. However, even that is dwindling. I'll get back to this in a moment.

This is the Hanriot HD.1. This one was built in France and is a veteran of the war. It was used off a base in Dunkirk, France. There it defended bombers that tried to sink u-boats. Long story short, it was sent to America after the war where French ace Charles Nungesser purchased it to fly in movies and as a "barnstormer" (used for flying tricks in a flying circus).

Nungesser always had this insignia on his planes. So he added this insignia to this Hanriot.Kind of cool in a creepy way! These planes are now owned by the Planes of Fame in Chino, CA.

Knights of the Air (Youtube Video)

The following I decided to cut out of the video at the beginning "voice" portion since I sounded like I was really angry, and it didn't quite fit the flow of how I wanted to present the video.  I found this out at the Planes of Fame tribute to the Great War last weekend. It was tne thing that pretty much shell shocked the audience.

The Cal State University system has decided that a course in world history is no longer needed as part of the general education program. WHAT!!! You read it right. Unless you take history as an elective or decide to major in it, you can go through the university in California without a course in world history!

This is disturbing. It has further convinced me that education has just become a money making scheme rather than a serious academic place. Degrees and "qualifications" are becoming meaningless unless you had one a few decades ago. As the saying goes, unless you study history you are doomed to repeat it. As I have said before, what bothers me is not so much the difference of opinions I see young students have online, but all these utopian ideas being thrown out as if they have not been tried over and over again during the 20th century. I could say a lot more, but maybe some other time.

In any case, I wish you all well today on this day of peace.

The Hike to the Great Pumpkin! (Halloween 2018)

(GPS: N33 55.870 W117 31.065)

Happy Halloween!

So a few weeks ago I headed off to Norco, CA to look for the legendary Great Pumpkin. Interesting enough, the area I was heading to is very much a cowboy/horse culture. I was amazed at all the establishments dedicated to cowboy clothing, saloons, veterinarians for horses, etc. that you would think ended in the late 19th to early 20th centuries. Even my trips to isolated areas in CA and nearby states have not made me feel like I was being thrown back to that era.

There are various ways to get to the trailhead(s) and it really depends how long of a hike you want. For me, this was not intended to be much of a hike. I wanted to get to the end of it as soon as possible. So, I didn't take the longest route. In fact, this was really not much of hike if you compare it to what I normally show on this blog. It was short, but the uphill is a few hundred feet which will get you breathing quickly. Overall, it took me about ten minutes to get to the gps points listed above from where I parked in a residential area. The normal route starts a little lower in an equestrian area.

So off I went on this trail which as stated is more uphill than lengthy. One does need to be careful because they are some deep dips in the trail at points. Remember this area was designed for horses.

One of those big dips is just ahead. If you look carefully you can see something up above looking down on me.

After ten minutes, and some huffing and puffing, I reached the final ascent to the Great Pumpkin.

Actually, this is known as Pumpkin Rock which history goes back to the 1990's. Prior to that it was used differently, but these days it is kept orange all year long.

Looking over the city of Norco.

Unfortunately, Pumpkin Rock gets its share of graffiti. What you are seeing is sort of tame to what I have read in the past. Fortunately, that gets cleaned up and painted over by the locals.

So, this is the oddity I wanted to share for this Halloween. I had my mind set on doing something else for this Halloween, but it didn't work out. However, there is a good chance that will happen for next year's Halloween (2019). So get back to me a year from today!

The Hike to the Great Pumpkin (Youtube Video)

The music from Incompetech.com is called, "Come Play with Me" which can be found HERE.

Looking back on the Summer of 2018

Dusting off some cobwebs...we are now officially in the fall here in the north.

Well, it has been a while. This is one of those years that my productivity on the blog has been almost down to nothing. As I warned years ago, this would be the way things are. Sometimes I will have a bunch of new things to talk about, but if I don't I just remain silent.

With that said, I did get some things done this summer that I might start talking about soon or at the very worst at the beginning of 2019. I have some life stressors that have to be dealt with first. I could throw up a bunch of stuff right now, but I wouldn't be as motivated to talk about or enjoy it. I found that it is best to wait and be patient.

In any case, let me tell you what happened over the past six months as sort of a sneak peak. Originally, I planned a few mountain hikes with my brother. He decided he wanted to take his vacation time at the beginning of August. I said, "Okay, but as usual, we run the risk of fires in Yosemite which ruins everything." Time went on.

Sure enough as we got close to vacation time fires started to light up the Eastern Sierra. Once you know the fires are going climbing mountains seems like a waste of time. Smoke everywhere makes the views bad. We had been through this before. I've talked it about so much one year on the blog I felt bad how negative I was. You look forward to something for so long only to have it ruined. "There is always next year."

We made best of the situation and did some other hikes instead. Interesting enough I was rather happy that at some of the most important points of those hikes the smoke was not too bad. Here is an example of Emerald Lake in Mammoth which was on the way back to the car:

Not bad. Of course, by the time we got home the fire was finally put out. Oh well. "There is always next year." The cycle continues.

I did do a lot of work at one of the movie locations I visited last October. I think I might need to go visit it one more time though for a better introduction and a pickup shot or two. It is one I think most people that like what I do will enjoy. Yes, it has been forever on this one, but this is the most progress I have made on it.

There are other things I am pursuing. One thing I hope to have is some new technology for a different perspective on some of the locations I have visited.

So I am still alive. New content will be coming at some point. I hope you all have been doing well or hanging in there the past year.

See you later on down the hiking trail of life...

The Death of the Red Baron (100th Anniversary)

(AKA A Ghostrider in the Sky)

I wanted to make a note that today April 21, 2018 is the 100th anniversary of the shooting down and death of Manfred Baron von Richthofen. Who is better known as the Red Baron ace of WW1. I'm not an expert on his life so it is probably better to link to his wikipedia entry, and you can google away his name since there is tons of information out there. I should note he had 80 victories for Germany during the war. It is believed that he was not shot down by another pilot, but shot down by Australian Sergeant Popkin underneath him on the ground firing his vickers gun at him.

My little tribute to him will consist of pictures of the Fokker Dr. I (Dridecker or Triplane) which is the type of plane he made famous and was also shot down in. It wasn't the only plane he flew, but any depiction of him in popular lore will have him with this plane. I took these at the Planes of Fame museum in Chino.

One thing that is interesting about this historical period for readers of this blog is we are transitioning away from the 100th anniversaries of Western Anericana (Gunfighters, Outlaws, etc.). While I consider most of what we would refer to as the "old west" ending around the 1890's, a case can be made that it extended to the years right before WW1 in certain regions. Those regions were still using horses as a primary means of travel. There were automobiles, but not everyone owned one or had roads to drive them. Some towns were isolated, maybe not as much as 30 years prior, but isolated enough that they still had to protect themselves and property from those who would take it. For example, it was only about nine years ago that I had a 100th anniversary blog about the hanging of Jim Miller.

So, that period of the old west was only a few years before what would become military industrial complex that is still with us today. WW1 would bring about the notion of total war where every member of society is connected to war and military in some way.

So back to the Red Baron, he was admired for his skill as one of the first fighter pilots. In a sense, the fascination with him that some have had is like the gunfighters of the old west. He was a pioneer and somewhat of a cowboy/gunfighter in the sky. Not on a horse, but on a new strange flying machine.

A few years ago I saw a poll that said most people in Germany do not know who this person was anymore. I think some said that the name Red Baron had to do with a pizza brand. ;) He has been forgotten. There are some good reasons why that is probably the case since Germany seems to not want to glorify those who fought in two wars that most consider them responsible for. On the other hand, many in America probably only know him as being Snoopy the dog's eternal enemy in the Peanuts comics/cartoons. In any case, I thought I would bring your attention to this person who was famous for his time period.

Manfred von Richthofen (Wikipedia) 

Fokker Dr. I (Wikipedia)

WW1 Aircraft (Flickr Pictures)

WW1 Aircraft (My blog from last year)

Lundy Lake to the May Lundy Mining Settlement

(N 37 59.970 W 119 14.950)

Happy Easter and April Fools Day! Which is kind of a weird thing to have together. I was going to call this blog, "Investigating the remains of May Lundy," but then I might get responses like, "What happened to her? I didn't even know she was sick?" Then the joke would be on me. In any case, this is the first blog of the year, so let's get to it:

Last July my brother and I went back to the May Lundy mining settlement in Lake Canyon. We had done this before some eight years back, but I never blogged about it on here. I hinted at it in another blog entry, but never came through with any blog entry about it. So, after last summer with new pictures and updated video clips, here we go...

We started out at Lundy Lake. On the other side of the lake, back in that canyon is where I like to go for fall colors in October. I've shown that on here before. This time we will headed to the left side of this picture and up.

Looking back down you can see how far the trail takes you. Actually, this is an old mining road that one can imagine small wagons, horses, and equipment being brought up this trail.

Turning around (doing a 180) from this picture, we headed up and back into the canyon. Much of the trail at this point was walking through water and ice. Many parts of the trail seemed like walking in a stream due to the melted ice. 2017 was a good year for snowfall.

Along the road we started to see traces of human artifacts. There are many along the way. Eventually, we encountered two vats along with some walls. Then I caught up with my brother at an overlook of the remains of the mining settlement. This is very close to where the GPS coordinates above will get you.
Below is where we spent most of our time. You can see a bunch of the mining equipment remains down below. This was where the May Lundy Mill was at. To the right and looking up the mountainside is this:

The May Lundy mine is up there. If you look closely in that picture you can see the frames that were part of the tramway that would come down the slope to the mill.

You can see some of the mining machinery here. Basically, this area was mined from 1880-1914 with a few revivals going into the early 1940's. 

And more. To keep this blog short, I will link to my the rest of the pictures I uploaded on Flickr down below to show the rest of the machinery as well as some of the remaining buildings. The Youtube video will be linked too that shows more as well.

After we finished looking around we visited Oneida Lake a little further in the canyon. We then turned around, spent a little more time looking around the mining area, then headed back down.

Here are the links you will want for a lot more than I presented here:

To the Remains of May Lundy Mining Settlement (Youtube Video)

Lundy Lake to the May Lundy Mining Settlement (Flickr Pictures)

For further reference:

Lundy by Alan H. Patera

Lundy: Gem of the Eastern Sierra by Jim Hanna (Not on amazon from what I can see. Somewhat rare. Google it.)

The music from Incompetch.com used for the video is called, Concentration, which can be found HERE.

Having a Blue Christmas

I wanted to wish everyone a Happy Christmas and hope you can enjoy the rest of the holiday season. As I said earlier this year I didn't really have anything planned for any Christmas theme blog this year with new videos or pictures. So, I will just go with this one which is a fall colors picture with a slight transition into snow conditions, but not quite there yet look:

I'm actually not having a "Blue Christmas". Things are actually quite good for me right now. Around a month ago right after Thanksgiving, 911 had to be called for a family member to be taken to the hospital. The issue was not life threatening and of all the emergency trips to the hospital you have to take this was a good one to have since I was not stressed about the outcome. In a few hours everyone was back home.

However, what shook me up was being in the waiting area, and a couple were fighting back and forth. I don't know the story since I couldn't hear everything and I wasn't really trying to listen, but it had to deal with an elderly person they were there for. I didn't really want to hear what they were saying because it was causing my calm self to start stressing. Eventually, the woman walked off to be with the elderly person inside. I really didn't want to be there. Even though my situation was going to turn out alright I don't know if their situation did. I ended up being stressed from that visit for a few days even though it had nothing to do with me or my family.

That's kind of the way I feel about the internet in general. For every happy day I have there are tons of people in social media that are having a bad day. Likewise, for every bad day I have there are tons of people having a great day. In either case, it can suck the life out of me. That's while I can't constantly take part in all the social media out there. I have to keep things kind of limited or I would probably be down all the time. I love people, but I'm not a superhero. 

So, if you are having a Blue Christmas, lacking the Christmas spirit, or just down these holidays, then I wish you well riding this out. As I heard someone say recently, "the trials of life do not take holidays." Please talk to others close to you. For me, January is the rough month and a big let down. In all of this, remember what the point of Christmas is about. It's not about buying gifts, Santa Claus, being good to someone, or being with family. Those are secondary. It's the same way I think about Thanksgiving. Too many people talk about what they are thankful for and usually some talk about pilgrims and Indians. The object of what you are thanking is the true meaning behind the day. Whether you have a good or bad mental state right now does not change the fact of the good news of a baby born long ago and what he represents (a baby born with a death sentence). The world as it is, will not always be like this.

On a lighter note, I better get to bed before Santa gets here. I'm holding out for a new camcorder. :)

I Have a Bad Feeling About This (Star Wars Follow-up)

I wanted to follow-up on this last Star Wars blog entry with a few video reviews I found this week. I still believe that the people behind The Last Jedi movie did a lot of things intentionally in an attempt to make it underwhelming. You can understand this by seeing dozens of lists people are bringing up about storyline points that could have been done better. It just seemed like everything that was done was counter-intuitive to a Star Wars film, but as I said, done this way intentionally.

David Stewart on Youtube (has his own blog as well) did a series of videos that I think are excellent on this. A lot of what he says is what I was trying to get at with different words in the previous blog entry:

The Rot at the Core of New Star Wars

Nihilism and Post-Modernism in Hollywood

The Last Jedi: A Hate Letter to Star Wars and its Fans (Analysis with SPOILERS)

I am not the biggest fan of nihilism, post-modernism, or deconstructionism. Those three words lead to many problems. The notions of objective anything, be it truth, moral values, or any type of value (scientific values, epistemic values, artistic values!) go out the window. There isn't a TELOS (purpose) to anything. Everything gets reduced to "weird psychology" where truth is not important, but what you are feeling determines reality. Which gets weird because objective reality doesn't exist in this view only what one thinks in one's mind does. Everything is subjective. It is very difficult to be consistent with those ideas. Logically they self-destruct very quickly.

I don't mind if any movie or art piece uses those three big words in its presentation or story. However, they need to show that it is not consistent and the absurdity involved. I do think the this new movie, and possibly the whole new trilogy, is an attempt to deconstruct what a hero means in the Star Wars universe. We shall see with the last film of this new trilogy. 

Anti-Trekker gives a lot of the same criticism of the plot points I would. He uses some non-family friendly ways of describing this so if you are sensative to that I'm just letting you know:

Star Wars: the Last Jedi, destroys the Star Wars Mythos (Spoilers)

Again, I think the people who put together the story for this movie probably knew what they were avoiding. They could have used those plot points everyone is showing they "forgot" or left out, but why they didn't do it is the question. For some reason this was intentionally done for this movie. Everyone points out Laura Dern's character (Admiral Holdo) could easily be replaced by Admiral Ackbar or Lando Calrissian. It wasn't a coincidence. How the next movie plays it all out we will find out in two years.

No more Star Wars from me on this blog for the next two years. I have to admit that I think there is a little too much Star Wars click bait out there online. Yeah, I probably am adding to it. I actually do mock the Star Wars merchandising during Halloween, Christmas, and any other time of the year. You know, "When I think of the Mary, Joseph, and the baby Jesus during Christmas time I always have to include ewoks, R2-D2, Darth Vader, Princess Leia, and a handful of stormtroopers in my nativity scene to make it workout just right."

Star Wars The Last Jedi: Massive Failure and Disappointment

"This is not going to go the way YOU THINK!" Jedi Master Luke Skywalker in Star Wars: The Last Jedi

This movie is a huge failure and disappointment. The irony is, that is the whole point of the movie. If you understand this then maybe things aren't too bad...

This weekend I went to see the latest Star Wars movie. Like the previous movie I avoided most of the trailers (it was forced on me at a theater during the Dunkirk movie) and to stay away from news headlines like the title of my post since I wanted to go in fresh not knowing what to expect. My apologies if you have tried to do the same and have not seen the movie yet because this blog post might be somewhat of an irritation for you. That is if you are a fan of the series. Even if you are not, I still think there is something interesting going on with this movie that a lot of the fans are not picking up on.

I'm a Star Wars kid who grew up with the originals. As a little kid, I lived and breathed anything that dealt with the series. When the original series ended in 1983 I was satisfied with the conclusion. I had grown up enough that for me I knew it was time to move on to other things in life. My interests changed. When the prequels came out I enjoyed them for what they were knowing full well that Lucas had to put certain limitations on himself in creating those stories.

Here is the fundamental problem with every Star Wars movie that has come out after the original trilogy: it is trying to create and satisfy expectations within a storyline without repeating itself; in other words something NEW and ORIGINAL. It's kind of like J.R.R. Tolkien's attempt to do a sequel after The Lord of the Rings series. He did actually start something, but never got really far. If you have the biggest and baddest fight between good and evil in a story, then anything after it is going to be a let down. I think The Hobbit movies suffered from this issue when they were made after The Lord of the Rings movies. You are going to trivialize the original story by creating bigger and badder villains and super weapons. If you do that OR anything less, all you are doing is just repeating yourself.

While I love Westerns they are really just variations of the same few stories. Same with the Japanese Samurai and Chinese Kung-Fu genres. There is a certain tension within Star Wars fans in that they want something totally new, but at the same time want the same type of movie over and over again. Some of the issues I have raised here is what I thought of the previous installment Star Wars VII: The Force Awakens. It introduced the new characters by replaying the formula from the original 1977 movie. It was rather cookie-cutter in doing this, but I understood why. I realized this new Episode VIII movie was the key to finding out where this series of movies is going. Are we going to rehash the original movies, or go into a different direction?

When I saw the movie this weekend I got to the theater as early as I could to get a good seat. BTW, I hate the whole reserve seating thing most theaters are going to now...another story for another time. Waited about an hour to watch the twenty-five minutes of trailers you have seen over and over on Youtube and TV. The movie started and after two and half hours ended. As I walked out of the theater I realized this is the first Star Wars movie that I really was disappointed in all the way through it. A massive failure and huge disappointment. I was saying to myself, "I'm just not a kid anymore," "Forty years of these movies to come to this," "My hero of the original movies shows up and they do this to him,"  and "Did the director and people connected to this movie actually watch the previous movie?"

There is a certain story progression in all of these movies. They build on the legends and lore of each other. For the past two years, people have been speculating on certain things that were brought up in the previous movie (Ep. VII: The Force Awakens). I mean, I haven't seen every video and message forum discussion because I was trying to avoid those type of spoilers, but I know people were completely over-analyzing every little detail of pictures, trailers, and words of actors, directors, etc.

This movie doesn't really take anytime giving any explanations for those things that people had been speculating on the most. It does do a "Rashomon effect" on one central plot point which was okay, but even that was sort of a let down. Other than that there didn't seem to be much revealed based on the what was hinted at time and time again by the previous movie and those who were connected with it.

What was the point of this movie?

After thinking about it over the past day, I think the main theme of this story deals with personal failures and disappointments. There is a sense that the movie is supposed to be a complete failure and disappointment. Now, that sets the bar really low! Lol! I mean, I could write a movie that is a complete failure too!

The characters and the viewers of the story have an idea in their heads as to the way things are supposed to be. A hero will rise up, a revelation/truth will be revealed that will change everything, the final duel or battle or confrontation will resolve everything, we can solve any problem to create the perfect utopian society, etc. Then to find out those things don't always happen is a major let down. The ideals have been crushed! Things that were supposed to be mysterious and awesome never were. That utopian society that has always been the center of the ideological conflict in that galaxy (and ours) will never exist. That's not the real world. Everyone in the movie and the real world fails! Everyone and everything is disappointing.

So, I think that is what is going on in this movie. There is a sense that you are not supposed to like it. Believe me, I could list a lot of things I really didn't like about it. There is a lot politically correct junk in it, but it's now a Disney movies series so I knew that going in. There is a bunch of interesting points in it. I thought what I am calling "quantum entanglement" between the force users was quite interesting. Story-wise, I think this movie will cause a lot of controversy when one looks back at Star Wars movies, and am not sure what will happen in the following Episode IX when it comes out in two years. I'm sad Carrie Fisher will not be a part of it which you can tell that her death in the real world really messed things up for her character's role in the Episode IX movie.

The funny thing to me is I did check a lot of the Youtube Star Wars fan channels after seeing The Last Jedi who were doing massive predictions and analysis over the past two years. They were made to look like fools, but they don't care since they are probably making a lot of money through ads on Youtube. After seeing the movie which basically told them exactly what Luke said, "This is not going to go the way you think," they are already speculating on the same things for the next movie!!! No lesson has been learned!

In any case, whether you have seen this movie or intend to, I think seeing it through the lens of "failure" will make it easier for you to understand and maybe enjoy.

Good, Bad, and Ugly News (Thanksgiving 2017)

Happy Thanksgiving!

I hope you and yours have a wonderful weekend whether you celebrate this holiday or not. Just thought I would give a quick update type of blog as to what I have been doing and thinking about.

The bad news first. I fully intended to have another movie location video or two up by about this time. I specifically went to the same location I was at last year in the Alabama Hills. If you recall I couldn't do it because someone had their travel trailer in the spot I needed. Okay, this year I went earlier in the day and sure enough right as I turned the corner there were cars, tents, and people camping nearby. Sigh! So, like I said last year, "There is always next year." Actually, I hope to be there again after the new year a few times. So we shall see. It does get me a little nervous to see so many people hanging out there like that, but not because I don't want people to visit the area. I do. I am more concerned about people, city, or government officials wanting more regulations, but I'll leave that for another blog.

The good news is I have finally found a movie location in the Alabama Hills that I have been putting off for almost eight years. It is the one that I have talked about on and off for the past few years. The trick to this one is it takes some legwork to get to it. I took some preliminary pictures and video of the area so I can figure out how I want to do it at a later date when I go back.

I guess the "ugly" news, if we want to go there, is I have yet to get a new video camcorder. I don't know if Santa Claus will bring one this year or I will have to purchase one at a later date. However, I probably won't do any more movie locations until I get the new camcorder. When I do I'll do some new locations, but probably do some of the old ones to just because I like them. In any case, it could take some time on this one.

As I have been saying, I don't have anything planned for Christmas this year. I do have another video I shot over the summer, but when that one will get edited together I don't know. In any case, enjoy the weekend and the holiday season! 

Happy Veterans Day! (USS Midway)

I think I said I wasn't going to have anything more on military subjects for a while, but I just got finished uploading a bunch of pictures on my recent trip to the USS Midway in San Diego...

So, I will keep this one a bit modest and send you to my Flickr album about the aircraft carrier if you care to see a small portion of what I saw there:

USS Midway Flickr Album

If I put together a video then at some point I will link it here. In any case, I wish you and, of course, our brave veterans a peaceful day.

Summers Meadow (October, 2017)

Happy Halloween!

Hope you have a good one today. As I pointed out a few months ago, I'm skipping Halloween and Christmas themes for the foreseeable future. If and when the time is right I will go back to doing it if I can find something worth showing. If you are into that you can go back and look at the previous October blogs I have had on here.

Today I wanted to talk about how the fall colors were in the High Sierra this year. Since last year, I had been planning to visit the high country outside of Bishop again like I did last year. However, this year was a little strange in the sense that there was much rain and snow. That was a good thing getting the area out of a drought. However, it appears it threw off the timing of the color of the leaves. 

The leaves were uneven. Some turned different red and yellow colors, other stayed green, others had already fallen due to winds. So from what I read, and then saw for myself, many areas were not as spectacular as previous years. Some areas, like in the high country above Bishop you usually expect fall colors turning at the end of September or first week of October. Most areas were delayed about an extra week or two.

So I skipped the Bishop part this year. Sigh...there is always next year. Instead I did get to visit Summers Meadow for about two yours due to my brothers 4X4. 

I had never been here before. I've hiked to different areas nearby, seen the area from a distance, but never stood here before.

The only regret I had was we had to come a little later in the afternoon. I would have liked to have been there earlier in the day. That is the thing about the fall in the High Sierra, if you come too early the sun is not high enough, and a little too late the sun is already down passed the mountains. Your time is limited compared to the early and long sunlight hours of the summer. In this case the sun was still up, but in the angle I would have liked to have taken some really great pictures. Oh well, always next year.

I did a short walk to find a nearby trailhead for a future hike, but since time was limited we had to head back. On the way out I took some of my favorite pictures of the area.

Two days later I would be in a nearby town in a line for some lunch. A guy waiting for his order said that he had to take off since there was a head injury in Summers Meadow. After he took off I heard an ambulance siren passing the town on its way there. I never heard anything more than that. It is a beautiful area, but a bit of a rough drive at some points.

That's all for this one. I'm thinking of doing a few "short" opinion pieces in the upcoming weeks. Assuming I do I will add some more fall pictures from this area or other areas I visited when I do those.

Supremacy (Boxing: GGG-Canelo Open Public Workout)

The extended summer! I'm not as much of a boxing fan as I was when I was younger, but I'll watch any fight Gennady Golovkin is in. Oddly enough, you would have to look closely, but I believe that the hike I did to Mt. Hoffman is the one where he partly inspired me. If it is not in the pictures, then look in the video and you should see him at some point.

A few weeks ago I attended the open public/media workout near the Staples Center (Microsoft Square/LA Live).


I've been to all his fights in So. California and I would have gone to this one in Vegas, but the prices are a little too high for this one. Tonight he faces Canelo Alvarez, and it should be a good fight. I'm a fan of GGG and know what he is capable of, but Canelo is no slouch. The fight could go either way.


I appreciate GGG's sportsmanship, "less talk, more action", no-nonsense approach. Win, lose, or draw I'm a fan.


GGG-Canelo Media/Public Workout (Unlisted YouTube Video)

GGG-Canelo Open Public Workout (Flickr Pictures)

Labor Day Weekend 2017

Happy Labor Day for those that celebrate it here in the U.S. As I usually point out on this blog, this marks the unofficial ending to summer in the United States even though technically it goes for another few weeks.

This marks the end of my summer blog series that I started just after the 4th of July. While I have more to show on some things I did this summer, I am going to hold that back for a while. Hopefully at some point closer to or during the holidays I will post some of that material. There is another item I intend to show in less than two weeks, but as far as what I wanted to show during this summer it is already up on here. So if you missed anything I did and care to see, then go back over this summer to find it.

Yesterday, I went to the Huntington Beach Civil War Days. If you have followed the blog from the early days you might remember I had been to this in the past. It was somewhere around the time I started up the blog. Actually, I went last year too, but never said anything about it on here. I thought it was important to go this year though. I'll explain while as I show some of the pictures I took.

Some of the Union troops:

Due to the controversy a few weeks ago where a White Nationalist group held a rally where there was some violence and one death, I found out that Manassas Civil War Reenactment that was to happen a week ago was cancelled.  I understand the reasons for that, but that is unfortunate that it has come to this.

Some Confederate troops:

What bothers me the most about this is the attempt by those to wipe out history. Obviously the American Civil War is the most controversial event for Americans in its own history. The fact that it is the only time that Americans fought against Americans in a war tells us this. No one doubts that American history has its own past sins that have been dealt with, but still linger over us to this day.

The Union side during the reenactment battle:

Taking down statues is probably not the best solution. Those statues should be a reminder of the history itself. For me, having a statue up is not necessarily sign of endorsement. There might be room for debate here as to having them in a museum instead, but the complete takedown of statues is very anti-historical.

The Confederate side of the reenactment:

As was pointed out by many, if you start taking statues down, then where do you stop? You can keep taking down statues of founding fathers who had slaves. How about any statue of any member of the Democratic party which historically endorsed the Confederacy. All of this is silly and gets us into genetic fallacies.

The Union cannon:

In any case, I like history and think all aspects to it need to be preserved. Not just the good parts we like, but the bad parts too. A lot of the old west historical items I have talked about in the past were filled with shady characters. This is not an endorsement or glorification of their personalities.

A former pastor of mine that I have learned a lot from has gone politically correct on so much that I have started to refer to him a "P.C. Pastor". On his podcast where he talks about cultural issues he really has bought into everything the mainstream press talks about. For me, if someone logs into a popular site like Yahoo News and thinks that is what the world really is like then it would be like we are living on two different planets. I think I said it on here after the election, that it is one thing to get the facts straight which is important to get the truth. It is another thing to selectively withhold information from others when it contradicts the narrative. So, a news organization in theory could be telling the truth all the time, but end up being deceptive by only reporting on a handful of issues that fit the narrative.

Getting back to P.C. Pastor he rightfully condemned the White Nationalist rally for Christians are not to think of in terms of racial superiority. Many Christian blogs I read did this as well. While listening to P.C. Pastor's podcast on this I certainly agreed, but kept waiting and waiting for him to talk about something else. What was it I was waiting for?

The counter-movement that has been going on and on since the election has been encouraging violent behavior. Taking the name of Anti-Fascism or Anti-Fascist (Antifa) is a bit strange since they seem to be what they fight against. Just because you define yourself in a certain way doesn't mean they you can't be what you fight against. The fact they encourage violence against those they disagree with is rather telling. I would warn people to stay away from groups like this because they are just there to physically stir things up.

So what did P.C. Pastor say about this group? Nothing. You would think that someone that holds to biblical Jesus beliefs against racism would also condemn the violence of the other group. I don't know what the population of those that attended the White Nationalist rally. Something tells me that that in proportion to the Antifa groups popping up it is not as significant as it might have been 50-150 years ago.

A few final points. As I have stated before, two philosophical truths that guide me in my political views and seem to be the basis for American government. One, human nature is weak, not all good, seeks its own self-interest, and cannot be perfected on its own in this world. Two, because of the truth of number 1, utopias are not realistic because that assumes human nature can be perfected. These two truths are something that needs to be pounded in the heads of millennials and other young people. I've seen a lot of ideas that young people are pushing that tend to be utopian when examined. The whole 20th century was an blood bath of utopian experiments that turned into nightmares. The current situation in Venezuela is another example.

Enough...

I didn't take any video yesterday, but I did take about thirty minutes of video last year that uploaded today. It is really an unedited version. When was the last time I uploaded a thirty minute video? It is unlisted since it is nothing I am really hardcore about people seeing, but if you want to see a long Civil War reenactment video then this is it:

Huntington Beach Civil War Days 2016 (YouTube Video)

Ursus Investigating Silence

So how many times have I said on this blog, "Nature does not play by rules"? It is my way of saying, "expect the unexpected" while outdoors to protect yourself. Well, here is a situation where I had a hard time following my own advice. Admittedly, this was not one of my better moments, and I probably could have reacted better.

A few hours after I encountered those river otters (A few blog entries back) I went on another short walk right before noon. I remember thinking how I was going to edit that otter video for YouTube while I was walking. Then I was thinking of how I could link it to another wild animal video I did. Then coincidentally, like a gift from heaven, the other wild animal showed up in my view.

Quick disclaimer: there are some "quick word graphics" in this video. Not really quick flashing, and imo rather mild to other things on Youtube, but if you sensitive to that sort of thing then you should know.



As it got closer and closer to me I was thinking, "Seriously? Seriously? It does see me right? Am I going to have to defend myself or run away?" Looking back I probably should have said something or made some sort of noise. When it got just a few feet away I started moving away, and that is when it realized I was a real person. It jumped up, and did a 180 degree turn, ran away, and climbed that tree.

I was pretty sure it was a harmless young bear that probably had just left his mother a few months earlier, but the one bear you have to avoid for black bears is the "stalking bear" (predatory bear). Keep in mind that there was not any trail or reason it should have come directly at me like that. That is what freaked me out at the time. As I said in the video, I think it just caught my scent and decided to head toward it. Then when it realized I was a living person its youngster instincts kicked in which made it climb the tree.

As I said in the video, I was kind of sad that I turned the camcorder off when it ran back and climbed the tree. It was really cool to see that. After it left I kept my distance and tried to walk a nearby road to see if I could see it again, but it was gone. I could have followed it better than I did by going directly where it went, but after our little encounter I did not want to spook it anymore than I had already had done.

If you hadn't seen the blog(s) I did on my black bear encounter two years ago then go there:

Investigating Ursus (Part 1)

Investigating Ursus (Part 2)

The music from Incompetech used in the video is called "Aggressor".

Ancient Sentinels (Bristlecone Pine Forest, White Mountains)

(GPS: N37 23.140 W118 10.720)

As one goes north on the 395 HWY and passes the town of Big Pine there is a big sign on the right side of the road the says, "Ancient Bristlecone Pine Forest". To get there you have to take the 168 HWY towards the east and then up the White Mountains to reach this area. I remember countless times seeing that sign every time I went by there wondering what that place was about. It was probably back in the early 2000's that I made my first trip here. I went back there a few years ago for some better pictures and video of the place.

This is the blog that I have been somewhat hesitant in doing. I've mentioned this place before in this blog at some point, and I've always wanted to say something about it, but how I wanted to do that was the issue. It is not an Eastern Sierra location, but it is close enough in the White Mountains further on the other side of the 395 HWY to the east. At the same time it is much more of a high desert mountain location with trees on it. In some ways, it is not as scenic looking as some of the other Eastern Sierra spots I have shown. The times I have been there it was very dry with no streams as one would have to expect.

The key is knowing what exists here, and that is what is important. But, how do I present it? Off and on I have struggled with this over the past year. Do I go purely educational on this one? Well, if I did that then I would make a long 30 minute boring video trying to explain everything. The place is well known enough that I suspect other people have done something like that and made it more interesting. Okay, so how about I go more suspenseful and entertaining for this one? You know, have some creepy music play as I show where we can be druids and live in harmony with these ancient living creatures that exist here. There was some thought of doing something like that and putting it out on Halloween or on New Year's Eve. After examining my video clips and pictures I thought that really wouldn't work. I would have to do a lot of editing to create some mystical look the place really hasn't had while I have been there. What happened on this one was I was in somewhat of a depressed mood, and I just told myself, "Let's do this one now and see what happens". I just started editing the clips together with some music, going over some of the booklets I have of this area, and putting it together. So the video ends up being a "bare minimum" educational video where I put together a few facts here and there. There are a few interesting scenic moments, and it helped that some clouds where hanging around in the distance to get some of that mystical feeling moments that music helps with.

Let's get to it...



This is a close up of the bristlecones you can see on one of these trees. You should be able to see the bristles and the pinecones. One sees a lot of trees very much like this in the Eastern Sierra, but in this area one can find trees that have lived for thousands of years. The Ancient Bristlecone Forest ends up being the oldest known forest on the planet.

There are a few different groves to visit. A different one I have not been to is higher up on that takes more driving time to get to. This blog will deal with the popular Methuselah Grove that starts out at Schulman Grove Visitor Center. Edmund Schulman was the one who spent many years in the 1950's trying to determine the oldest trees by doing tests here.

After depositing the fees necessary when I parked there I started the trail. The picture above is kind of typical of how the hike is.  You pass by a bunch of trees like this with an occasional sign number which means you need to get out the little booklet that have for you to read what it says about the location. I based the video on the most recent booklet for some of the facts in the video. I also have the much older booklet which is a lot different in presentation.

The trails starts out at roughly 10,000 feet. You end up go up and down for an 800 foot elevation change over almost five miles. The hike is not difficult at all, but you are in an isolated spot with no water around. It is a good trail, but one should always be careful of not making any slips because you can start tumbling down the side of the mountain. Of course, a backpack with liquids should be with you during any hike like this. It really is a dry place not too far away from desert areas of Nevada and Death Valley.

This time around was quite interesting because of the clouds being at this elevation. They did not feel like they were that far way. There were some nice scenic moments with them as I traveled around on this trail.

As I made my way around on this loop trail hike, about half way around I finally got to the Methuselah Grove part of the hike. This is where all the oldest trees are. Some of the trees up to this point are hundreds of years old, but once you get here some of these trees go back thousands of years.

A couple of things I should point out. It is weird that trees live up in this high altitude place in a desert mountain location. You will notice the trees above are living on dolemite rocky soil. Typically, dolemite soil would be something very difficult to grow on, but the advantage is other types of plants do not grow on it. Also, the dolemite reflects the sun keeping the area a few degrees cooler for the trees that live here. One other factor that helps some of these trees is growing on the northern side of the mountain. That gives them less sunlight, but more water and snow during the winter season.

Another factor that helps these trees is that many of the roots and branches go just enough under the soil or grow parallel to it. This allows them to get any water that may not go very deep.

Some of the most interesting looking trees are the ones that have been sculpted by the environment over the centuries. I took a lot of pictures like this that you can see linked below on my Flickr account.

What happened is back in the 1950's Schulman found a tree in this grove that has been dated to roughly 4,700+ years of age. It is amazing to think there is a living thing here that dates back to before the birth of Christ, the Roman Empire, and Ancient Greece to basically when the earliest civilizations existed in Mesopotamia and Egypt. That tree is called "Methuselah" after oldest man written of in the Bible.

That is would I would have told you after my first trip, but it gets better. After many decades of referring to that tree as the oldest, in 2010 another tree here was dated over 5000+ years old making it the oldest tree here. Which gets a little strange because now you have an older tree than "Methuselah".

I guess I would say this is another area that I would summarize as "Survival of the Fittest". Where only the roughest trees have adapted to this area. They have the ability to live off limited resources, yet live so long. For that reason it is a very special place.

With all of that said, I am certainly not an expert on this place. Although I have a book I purchased many years back as well as the booklets about this place, a lot more could be said about it. If you are hardcore into trees like this then there is a lot of things you can find online about it. I'm just going to link a few things, but google is your friend on this one if you want more.

First, my YouTube video and other pictures I took on uploaded to Flickr:

Ancient Sentinels (YouTube Video)

Ancient Bristlecone Pine (White Mountains): all my pictures on Flickr are here.

A few links:

Ancient Bristlecone Pine Forest (Wikipedia): check the footnotes for this article.

An PDF Article about Edward Schulman

USDA site: how to get there, fees, etc.

The music used from Incopetech.com in the video is called, "Ever Mindful".

A Former Luftwaffe Pilot (and Some Planes)

I was going to do this blog two weeks ago about the same time as the Dunkirk movie and the blog about that Spitfire, but decided to wait. Part of the reason was that movie really does not show any German humans in it. I think that is one of the movies strengths since you never see the face of the enemy in that movie. It turns it into a horror survival story against invisible enemies. On the other hand, a movie like the classic Battle of Britain (1969) gives a respectable look at the enemy side.

Some months back I was able to visit the Palm Springs Air Museum to hear the story of a former Luftwaffe pilot. Harald Bauer was a teenager when he flying for the Luftwaffe near the end of the war. He flew mostly Fw-190s and then He-162 jets. He was eventually shot down in a He-162 by a P-51 as the 8th Air Force was bombing the base he was at.

He survived the crash and was captured. Since his mother was living in Germany and was an American, he was classified as an American at the end of the world. Eventually he got involved in journalism and came to the U.S. Then during the Korean War he flew for the U.S., but not as a fighter pilot. He flew a Lockheed Constellation near Alaska (I think). He currently lives in Atascadero, CA.

The He-162 jet:

He explains further details of his life in the videos I'll link below. I was glad I got to see him in person and hear his story. As I've said before, we are nearing the end of the lives of those who participated in WW2 so if you have a chance to hear from one then do so. Where I am at WW2 pilots are rare, but even rarer are Luftwaffe pilots.

Another look at the He-162 at the Planes of Fame Air Museum in Chino, CA.

Not really related to Bauer's story, but since I am showing some German Luftwaffe planes I should probably mention BF 109E #3523:

Built in 1939, this was flown in the Battle of France and Battle of Britain as an E-1. Then it was upgraded to E-7 and sent to the eastern front. Wulf-Dietrich Widowitz flew it and was shot down during an escort mission by a hurricane. He made a perfect wheels up landing on the ice of frozen lake. The plane sank and was recovered in 2003. They intend to restore it at a later date.


Click here for more pictures I have taken of some of these German Luftwaffe planes.

Other links:

To hear Harald Bauer's story go to this YouTube link: Heinkel He 162 Jet Fighter Test Pilot

The Flying Heritage site has a good interview of him as well: Commander Harald Bauer

An article on the Bf 109 #3523 and its recovery.

This will probably be the last of my blogs dealing with airplanes for while. There is something I probably do sometime next year, but it is time to get to nature in the next blog. Up next time will be the blog, video, and pictures that I have put off and off for the past year or so, but will finally get to. It is something that I have wanted to do, but how to present it is difficult. Well, let's see if I can do it.