I know some time ago I mentioned that I could probably do a blog just about hiking and I guess I really wasn't kidding. So, because a good half of my blog focuses on hiking, I thought I'd add the word "hiking" to the subtitle. Anyway, my husband had the last week off work and I got absolutely no work done, but, naturally, we did do quite a bit of hiking . On Monday, we went to Topanga State Park and hiked the Santa Ynez Canyon Trail. The trail starts out high up in the hills and gradually winds down into a heavily wooded canyon. Taking a left at a fork in the trail, the path leads to a waterfall. We strayed off the beaten path a bit and followed the stream, boulder-hopping to reach the waterfall. At one point in the creek, the boulders are just high enough that we needed to use some knotted ropes that had been left there to help pull ourselves up to higher ground. The waterfall was no more than a trickle just like every waterfall we've encountered this summer, but unlike the many creek-beds we've seen, this one did run with water.
Taking the same trail, we made our way back to the car. As we came over the crest of the last hill, the land opened out into dry, grassy meadows. We spotted a lone deer grazing not too far away. I tried to get as close to it as I could without alarming it, shooting pictures along the way. When that deer disappeared from view, we continued on our way, but stopped again shortly when we heard something sizeable crashing through the brush. Another deer came into view! And another and another - a herd of eight deer in all wandered out from the cover of forest into the open
meadow. We shot many photos, but the deer were so well camouflaged that they are difficult to see in the photos. When they finally slipped out of view, we made our way through a live oak grove back to the car. We'd been so tired from the long hike, but after we paused and watched the deer for a while we felt energized all over again. It's so exhilarating to see wildlife in their natural habitat.
Malibu Creek
On Friday we went hiking again, this time we started out at the parking lot for Piuma Ridge. There seemed to be endless little side-trails that led to who-knows-where. We made our way north, entered into a smallish live oak grove, and got a glimpse of a water reclamation facility. After nosing arou
nd for 
a bit, we decided to try to find our way through Tapia Park and into Malibu Creek State Park, intending our final destination to be the Mott Adobe Ruins. We took a trail that seemed logical, but turned into a dead-end at a locked gate. So we had to double back, find a trail not marked on the map and carefully pick our way across a narrow strip of the creek. We had 
made it into Tapia and ended up hiking right next to a long road/parking lot which then ended abruptly at a camp. According to the map we had, the camp appeared to have been plunked down right in the middle of the road we wanted to take and of course it was gated, so the desirable road was completely off-limits. We were so lost we even asked for help. Unfortunately the person we asked wasn't all that familiar with the trails, so we took a guess at which trail to take. And we guessed right! We took a segment of the Backbone Trail that traversed up the side and over a mountain right into Malibu Cre
ek State Park. Not too far into the park, we spotted six deer grazing on a patch of green grass. We were as close as we'd ever been to the creatures and shot a lot of photos. The buck seemed to become a bit unnerved by us and bounded gracefully away across the road. It was as if he was telling his herd that he wasn't terrified, but thought it best to move on. The rest of them seemed unperturbed, but gradually followed him. We did finally come across the Mott Ruins. There wasn't much left of them, save the chimney. It seemed a bit of a disappointment after spending much of the day being lost in trying to find it. On the way back we crossed a broad meadow were a whopping fifteen deer were grazing. This sight alone made the trek well worth while!
Temescal Canyon
So then yesterday we went back to Topanga State Park and hiked Temescal Canyon Trail which is on the southern side of
the park in Malibu. It was a really beautiful location, but it was just full of people - probably the most we've ever encountered during a hike. With all the people there was no chance of encountering wildlife. The trail leads out to a meager California waterfall and then loops back to the parking lot switch-backing along a mountainside. At the top of the mountain, there's a path that traverses the ridge and ends at Skull Rock. Usually look-out points in these various parks offer sweeping views of the ocean or more mountains, but this trail featured views of the city. Very pretty, but a bit too busy.
On a more artistic note, last night we watched the anime movie Tekkonkinkrete. Even if you're not really into anime it's definitely worth a watch for the backgrounds alone. They are just stunning. I would never in a million years have the patience to paint such amazingly detailed backgrounds. Wish we'd caught it on the big screen...
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By: Manuel Ramos,
on 1/26/2007
Blog: La Bloga (Login to Add to MyJacketFlap)
JacketFlap tags: Soto, Tapia, Add a tag
Almost thirty years have passed since the publication of Gary Soto’s first book; the award winning collection of poetry titled The Elements of San Joaquin. For nearly three decades, readers of all walks have had the pleasure of experiencing life’s complexities from a Chicanito’s perspective of growing up in the San Joaquin Valley. Despite the fact that his hero, Pablo Neruda, clearly inhabits a world of his own, Soto, on occasion, has crafted poems that would have pleased the 1971 Nobel Prize in Literature winner. The revised and expanded edition of A Fire in My Hands (Harcourt, 2006), a collection first published 15 years ago, boasts a handful of gems capable of making any poet happy.<?xml:namespace prefix = o />
While often promoted as a young adult writer, Soto’s ability to capture the daily moments of life does not fail to recall the emotions of those for whom their formative years have already become heartfelt recollections. In addition to the poetry inA Fire in My Hands, Soto provides an anecdote that attributes to the growth of each individual poem. “I don’t know if you could call it a date or not,” writes Soto. “But the first girl who allowed me to walk with her home was named Margarita,” is the tale which contributed to the last lines of the book’s highly acclaimed poem Oranges. I took my girl’s hand / In mine for two short blocks, / Then released it to let / Her unwrap her chocolate. / I peeled my orange / That was so bright against / The gray of December / That, from some distance, / Someone might have thought / I was making a fire in my hands.
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By: Phyllis,
on 9/30/2007
Blog: The Art of Phyllis Hornung Peacock (Login to Add to MyJacketFlap)
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Blog: The Art of Phyllis Hornung Peacock (Login to Add to MyJacketFlap)
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By: Manuel Ramos,
on 1/26/2007
Blog: La Bloga (Login to Add to MyJacketFlap)
JacketFlap tags: Soto, Tapia, Add a tag
Almost thirty years have passed since the publication of Gary Soto’s first book; the award winning collection of poetry titled The Elements of San Joaquin. For nearly three decades, readers of all walks have had the pleasure of experiencing life’s complexities from a Chicanito’s perspective of growing up in the San Joaquin Valley. Despite the fact that his hero, Pablo Neruda, clearly inhabits a world of his own, Soto, on occasion, has crafted poems that would have pleased the 1971 Nobel Prize in Literature winner. The revised and expanded edition of A Fire in My Hands (Harcourt, 2006), a collection first published 15 years ago, boasts a handful of gems capable of making any poet happy.<?xml:namespace prefix = o />
While often promoted as a young adult writer, Soto’s ability to capture the daily moments of life does not fail to recall the emotions of those for whom their formative years have already become heartfelt recollections. In addition to the poetry inA Fire in My Hands, Soto provides an anecdote that attributes to the growth of each individual poem. “I don’t know if you could call it a date or not,” writes Soto. “But the first girl who allowed me to walk with her home was named Margarita,” is the tale which contributed to the last lines of the book’s highly acclaimed poem Oranges. I took my girl’s hand / In mine for two short blocks, / Then released it to let / Her unwrap her chocolate. / I peeled my orange / That was so bright against / The gray of December / That, from some distance, / Someone might have thought / I was making a fire in my hands.
Deserving of every accolade, Soto has made a world all his own.
Jesse, wonderful insights! Gracias for sharing your thoughts on these books and authors.
jesse: thanks for covering this pair of interesting books. Soto's prose, esp. the Silver stuff, is some of my favorite. Sounds like you're a fanatic of the sweet science yourself. Keep up the great work. Hope to see more of your stuff on La Bloga. I'd love to hear what literature moves high school kids today.
Jesse -- thank you so much for profiling 2 books that deserve our attention, and for archiving important pieces of our history.
Great post for this morning. Thanks.
Honestllay speaking I rarely read poems. I uysed to read novels but poems very less. Because I have very different taste of poetry. I think you have impressed me a lot by your post on this book and author and I am looking forward to read the "a fire in my hand" Thanks for bring it in my knowledge.