Browsing all articles tagged with griffith park
March Challenge: Find Wonder Nearby Every Day
Mar
23

Climb Mount LA’s-Biggest-Metaphor and Avoid the Organ Thief

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Sometimes the stresses of life can add up.  I hate to admit it, but I’m not immune-  all the adventuring in the world can’t make me ignorant to the fact that adult responsibilities exist and are kind of a drag.  Today I had oral surgery, a full day at the office, and, believe it or not, the stresses of not having been keeping up this blog are weighing on me as well.

After work, I wanted to go home and sleep.  I wanted nothing more.  But part of me realized that wouldn’t really be productive-  that’s not me;  that’s not how I deal with things.  So I decided instead I should wander.

Pink Arrow Points the WayI started on the south east corner of Griffith Park and just walked.  I walked up through the burnt down remnants of the old LA zoo, which has a nice paved path.  Along the way I noticed pink arrows stickered to the pavement.  At a certain point the paved path curved around a fence, but there was a break in the fence. A pink arrow pointed through the break in the fence.  Far be it from me to ignore the advice of a random pink arrow, so I climbed through.

On the other side of the fence there were some dirt trails.  No further pink arrows were to be found, so I just started hiking.  I hiked until the trails became sparse, and every time the trail split I took the narrower choice, in holding with Robert Frost.  Interesting note about Robert Frost:  There is absolutely nothing interesting to note about Robert Frost.

The trails stopped looking like trails at a certain point, and the path I was on began to resemble some sort of naturally occurring drainage channel just a few inches wide.  An older gentleman passed me, coming down, however, so I assumed people were supposed to be here.  I contemplated talking to the man, who looked frighteningly similar to the man from Pixar’s “Up”, but decided that wasn’t really the point of the adventure.  I was doing this by myself, and there was a 50/50 chance the man was an organ thief anyway.  What?  You weren’t there.  You didn’t see him.  Totally an organ thief.

I hiked until I ran out of trails.
Then I began to climb.

I wasn’t sure where I was going, but the steep hillside probably would lead to the top of something.
Then it got steeper. Read more »

March 23, 2011   //   New Places   //   1 Comment   //   Tags: , , , , ,
January Challenge: Meet a New Person Every Day
Jan
25

Ride a Vintage Carousel with Rosemary

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Please play the above file before continuing.  Playing?  Good.  Good.  Now you’re ready.  (Found on Grooveshark.  Not hosted here, not uploaded by me)
RosemaryMeet Rosemary.  Rosemary has something that no one I’ve ever met before owns.  She owns a vintage carousel.  I had no idea this was possible.  Located in the heart of Griffith Park, the Griffith Park Merry Go Round is hers.  She rents the gazebo in which it sits, but in the event of, I dunno, Griffith Park becoming even more haunted, she can pack up her organ and her carousel and move it to greener pastures.
Rosemary is a self-declared preservationist.  She delights in the history of antiques, and wishes only to bring them to the public.  She explained the carousel was built in 1926, and still uses parts of the same design, right down to the 22′ drive belt that spins the ride at a whopping 14 mph.  The real horse-hair tails may have to be replaced regularly, but the mix of children who delight in riding it and the film crews who revel in filming it supply the funds to keep the amusement alive.
Interesting fact:  Rosemary explained that carousels were developed as a training tool for warriors, taking their name from the ancient Spanish word “carosella”, which translates into “little war”.  Similar devices to modern day carousels would be mounted by warriors in training, who would toss delicate grenades of cologne back and forth.  Should the warrior prove clumsy, the grenade would rupture, dousing the warrior in the sweet sweet melange of failure.  This means that technically, if a merry go round contains animals other than horses, it is not a carousel.  It is a menagerie.

What did I learn?

I learned I do not own enough carousels.  I learned that a unique interest can manifest into a magical experience bestowed upon an entire populous.  I learned that ignoring the rules of the carousel can lead to groin damage…  please don’t ignore the rules.
Mostly I was awestruck that Rosemary’s preservationist bent could offer something so fantastic.  I hope some Brave Newbies one day can offer so much delight to the world.

January 25, 2011   //   New People   //   2 Comments   //   Tags: , , , , ,

Brave Newbie Writers

Phil WarrenPhil Warren (81)
Founder and editor of The Brave New, Phil Warren is now an accordion player, a minister, a sonic weapons expert, a director, a photographer, a public speaker, and a bunch of other things. Mostly he's an adventurer though. An adventurer who smells nice. Except when he doesn't.
NickNick (6)
One part Burner and one part Engineer; I’ve lived through twenty-five-and-a-half winters, and aim to keep it that way. My world is a strange one, and it’s my goal to make it stranger.

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