Roland Allen: Weblog

I met MountainBikeBill at the head of East Ridge Trail on Sunday. He posted on his adventures in Caspers Park.

It’s January 2, 2008. I’m at a coffee shop in Palm Springs thinking about the drive to Los Angeles later this morning.

This has been a wonderful Christmas holiday. A friend asked me if I had made any New Year’s resolutions. I have. I bought a small notebook and I’ve resolved to do more personal journaling this year. My resolution involves an off-line tool, however, Lifehacker shared online tools that could assist with managing resolutions, if you’re looking for some assistance.

While this isn’t a resolution, I am trying to enroll in a photography class at a local community college. I submitted applications to two districts. So far, the course I want to take is filled, but I plan to go to the first meeting of the class anyway. My second choice class is at a college in another district. I’m waiting for the admissions decision so that I can enroll in that course, just in case the one I want doesn’t open up.

Speaking of photography, I have photos of my time here in the desert. I hiked on the Art Smith Trail on New Year’s Eve. The Art Smith Trail is pretty stunning. The trailhead is along Highway 74 as it leaves Palm Desert going up towards Idyllwild, California.

The trail gains elevation quickly and the views are spectacular. The light changes a lot because of the mountains, which is great for a photographer. There are a number of trails on the mountain, but some of the trails are closed in order to protect the Big Horn Sheep that are native to the area. I came upon an oasis that is about two miles from the start of the trail. That’s a very cool spot, at about 1800/1900 feet elevation, sitting in what appears to be a creek bed high on the mountain. It’s very cool.

Photos of the Art Smith Trail and the Oasis:

I wanted to go for a hike yesterday, but I was actually pretty tired from the prior day’s hike and the New Year’s Eve party I went to. (I’m not a late night person.) Mid afternoon I decided to drive up to Joshua Tree, which is only about 40 minutes from Palm Springs. It was an easy drive into the high desert. Joshua Tree National Park is known for a particular type of Yucca tree. Most people know of Joshua Tree from the U2 album of the same name. The trees are cool to look at and somewhat remind one of a wise old man.

I have to say that last night’s sunset up in the high desert was traffic stopping. In fact, a lot of people did what I did - they pulled over to the side of the road so as not to miss the sunset.

Here are photos from yesterday’s adventure to Joshua Tree, California:

Below is the Town Saloon in Joshua Tree:

I put my camera and tripod close to the ground and quickly captured this photo of last night’s sunset. I chose not to edit the photo and straighten it.

You can see my Joshua Tree photos in this gallery.

I’m watching a program on homeless children in Los Angeles, San Bernardino, Ventura and Orange County schools. There are 25,000 homeless children enrolled in public schools in these counties.

The program is called “Forgotten Neighbors” and is being aired on the local NBC network. The show featured a blogger who lives in a loft above Los Angeles’ Skid Row.

This fits in well with the story I want to tell about my afternoon.

(My friend Andrew.)

I was invited to visit a Habitat for Humanity build site in Fullerton by my friend Andrew W., a St. Margaret’s graduate and recent Stanford alum who is spending the year as an AmeriCorps volunteer with Habitat for Humanity.

I saw a lot. It was great seeing the dozens of volunteers at the site. And, of course, the two houses that will be completed before the New Year. The neighborhood I visited in Fullerton is transitional. I hope that new housing will go up through the efforts of Habitat and the City of Fullerton.

I’ve posted photos that I took of the Habitat site and the neighborhood.

Here are a few:

I took these photos of a woman going through the alley dumpsters.

The thermometer is below 60 degrees and I’m cold.

I’ve so become a Californian!

These “local news” articles caught my attention:

Growing Number Of Los Angeles Residents Going Hungry
09-23-2007 8:55 AM

(Los Angeles, CA) — A public health report released Friday indicates a growing number of Los Angeles County’s poorest families are going hungry or can’t easily get healthy food. Close to a half a million households don’t get enough to eat, or struggle with limited access to nutritious food. That’s a 17-percent increase of Los Angeles residents facing this problem, based on results of county health surveys conducted between 2002 and 2005. The “Los Angeles Times,” reports that the population facing unreliable food sources has hit Latino families, the disabled or unemployed and those with children particularly hard. Public health officials have largely attributed the increase to the number of low-wage workers living in a region with a high cost of living.

Third Whale Found Dead In Southern California Waters
09-23-2007 8:55 AM

(Point Mugu, CA) — A blue whale found dead last week in the Santa Barbara Channel was probably the third victim of a collision with a ship, according to scientists conducting a post-mortem on the 60-ton creature. Three blue whales have been discovered dead in Southern California waters in the last two weeks, the most recent on Wednesday. The “Los Angeles Times,” reports that the two whales found in the Santa Barbara Channel were hit by ships, while a third found in Long Beach Harbor was probably hauled into port on a ship’s bow. Marine biologists conducting extensive laboratory tests could point to an illness or infection that slowed the whales as they swam through the busy shipping lanes of Southern California.