Talk About the Walkabout

You'd think that, after all my talk about the Hahamongna Walkabout last Saturday, I'd be showing you pictures of the park. But I've posted many, many, many pictures of Hahamongna Watershed Park and for me, the Walkabout turned out to be about the people.

I led a group of at least 900 wonderful people (okay, maybe 35, but still wonderful) through the old Oak Grove Park area and across the Devil's Gate Dam. We made stops to learn from experts about the park, its history and the critters who live there. The presenters were fascinating and so well-informed we could have spent our whole morning with each of them.

Tim Martinez (above) charmed the crowd with his talk about the different habitats at Hahamongna. Tequila does not grow there (I knew that), but sage does, and when you soak sage in tequila you get a soothing ointment for sore muscles. Tim knew a lot of other cool stuff, but for some reason the tequila sticks in my mind.

Laura Garrett of the Pasadena Audubon Society had 'em riveted as well. She knew everything about the Hahamongna birds and spoke knowledgeably of species after species, playing their calls on the stuffed animals you see in the center of the photo (not dead--plush). How many species of birds live at Hahamongna? A lot! You can see photos of some of them taken by local treasure Denis Callet at his pbase site.

Other presenters included Tim Brick of the Arroyo Seco Foundation (sponsor of the event) on the scope of the Arroyo Seco, Michele Zack on history and how the Tongva people lived in the Arroyo, Brad Boman from Pasadena Water and Power on water (he took my group under the dam to see the devil!), and our very own Barbara Ellis speaking about the wildlife that thrives at Hahamongna. I was so busy listening to Bellis that I forgot to take her picture! Luckily, Debbi Swanson Patrick of Altadena Above It All was in my group and she got plenty of great shots. She got a good one of Bellis. If you were on my tour, she probably got a good one of you, too.

For a detailed run-down of the day's activities, check out Laura Monteros's informative article on Altadena Patch.

Big thanks to Wilson Lau and Tim Brick of the Arroyo Seco Foundation for putting it all together. It was a great day.

Okay. I'm not going to talk about Hahamongna now for at least a week, maybe more, at which time I'll remind you about the meeting of the Hahamongna Watershed Park Advisory Committee on March 22nd at 6pm. You can wait 'til then or you can mark your calendars now.

Update: thanks to countrynmore, here are videos of some of the presenters, posted on Seeds of Change, the blog of the PCC club.