Water Walk, 4

Let's finish up our Water Walk with Bellis today, by continuing south along the path below Devil's Gate Dam. There are other wonders to behold, some not easy to see--100-year-old rusted pipes with rivets at their seams, stone walls embedded in the path--but this--what is this?

At last, it doesn't matter that I don't know because Bellis didn't know either, and apparently neither doesPasadena Water & Power.

To give you an idea of size, I'm 5'4" and I'm about as tall as the top of the graffiti on the west side of the tower. You can see a slim window at the top on the south side. It wouldn't be wide enough for an adult to fit through, though maybe a small child could do it.

On the east side of the tower, at the top, there's a sign:

I respect your superior web searching skills. Have at it. I found nothing.

Movie set?

Many thanks to Bellis for a fantastic tour, and to Pasadena Water and Power for the water, and the power.

Update: Here's a nice post on the Zanja walk Bellis took before she took me.

Tomorrow, Zen Monday!
Tuesday, news updates!
After that, I have no idea!

UPDATE: I spoke with Brad Bowman of Pasadena Water and Power, who told me this is a "surge tower." There's a pretty good explanation here. This tower is the "point of release."

Water Walk, 3

Bellis and I continued south on the path along the east side of Brookside Golf Course. This lovely little entrance to the zanja (water ditch) continues the classical architecture theme from yesterday. To the left and right of the pipeline are the original stone walls. Above it is Rosemont Avenue.

The little green leaves in the foreground are poison oak, upon which I barely escaped rubbing my calves, thanks to Bellis' warning. She knows well enough not to go crawling in ditches wearing shorts.

Water is rushing through there right now. You can go hear it for yourself, but wear long pants.

**********

Tomorrow is City Daily Photo's theme day, in which I'm a participant. We'll do Water Walk 4 on Sunday, then yup! Zen Monday. 

Tomorrow evening, you might want to stop by Webster's Fine Stationers in Altadena at 6:30 pm to hear Margaret Finnegan read from her hilarious novel, The Goddess Lounge. Not every writer is a good reader. Margaret's fab.

Water Walk, 2

Whew! We've just walked through the magical passageway pictured in yesterday's post, just south of the Devil's Gate Dam in the central Arroyo Seco. There's a fresh, cold stream here that flows year 'round from east to west (sometimes it's more full than others). It's in my picture, actually, but so wealthy with reeds at this point that you can't see the water.

And what's this little house? At 5'4", surely I can lean my elbow on the roof.

I would love to tell you that faeries live here, or that it was built by elves, or even that it was once a folly for a turn-of-the-20th-century Pasadena maiden. But it's a mini water treatment plant, or so I was told by Bellis, my guide. We both think it's still in operation, because it sounded like machines were churning inside.

Water Walk, 1

Recently there was a walking tour of the water history of the Arroyo, which I missed. But Bellis went, and the other day she showed me some of the highlights. I didn't write it all down, but I took pictures, which is almost as good. We're still Celebrating Pasadena's Water Centennial, so for the next few days I'll show you some of what we found.

Just now, we've come down the path at the east side of Devil's Gate Dam, where tomorrow we'll enter the trail of Pasadena's water history.

Plus we'll just walk in the Arroyo which is fun, history or no.

You Pave Paradise...

I know! It looks kind of like a golf course, so I forgive you if you mistake it for one. Actually, though, it's a parking lot.

It's in the Arroyo Seco just north of the Rose Bowl Stadium. If you think the Arroyo Seco is a great place for area residents to ride a bike, walk, play soccer, or take their kids swimming or to the Kidspace Museum, once again, I forgive you, because once again, you are incorrect. The Arroyo Seco is off limits to Pasadena residents.

Unless, of course, they have a ticket to the NFL game.

I don't care if you pay taxes. I don't care if you vote. If you don't shell out for that ticket you don't matter around here, so quit yer bellyachin' and go ride yer bike around Victory Park.

That's the scenario, folks. Eight hours before game time, you and your kids and your bike and your soccer ball are out of the Arroyo. It does not belong to us. It belongs to the NFL and thousands upon thousands of cars and people and all the trash and pollution they bring with them. For those who live near the Arroyo, the nightmare of trying to navigate your own street is only the beginning.

We've already rejected this once. Apparently we haven't made ourselves clear and we have to reject it again. A petition, launched by a Caltech professor, is gaining momentum. You can also comment on the EIR but you must do it by Monday. RoseBowlNFLComments@cityofpasadena.net And if you have questions, you can contact Mr. David Sinclair at 626-744-6766.

We can live in our town, or we can sell it.

Calendar

Madison School

(There is a very cool project going on at Madison school right now)

I hope you came by to vote for your favorite of the past week's Camelot Where You are photo contest entries. The poll is at the upper left of the blog.

We've been wasting spending so much time on contest frivolity that we almost missed some important events. So today, as a community service, here's a partial list:

Today!
September 29
Put the Fork in Hunger
I hope you're reading this early, because the free pancake breakfast at Farnsworth Park at Lake and Mount Curve in Altadena is today, 7:30 to 11:00 a.m. It's sort of not free because you should bring non-perishable food items or financial donations, all of which will go directly to Union Station Homeless Services in Pasadena. And you'll get pancakes!

Also Today!
September 29
Muir Ranch

Tomorrow!
September 30
Wiggle Waggle Walk
Pasadena Humane Society's super annual fundraiser where the canine chic meet, greet and even compete. Sweet!

October 2
NFL at the Rose Bowl?
Personally, I think it would be a disaster for the Arroyo. What do you think? The Recreation and Parks Commission will hold a special meeting on Tuesday, October 2nd at 6:30 PM at the Rose Bowl Media Center, 1001 Rose Bowl Drive in Pasadena. Park in Lot F and enter through the auto gate to the left of Gate A. The draft EIR is available here. Public comment ends at close of business on October 8th.

October 7
Bike the Arroyo Seco!
Starting at Hahamongna Watershed Park at 8am (I'll be there a bit earlier), ride the Arroyo to downtown with fellow riders in support of an Arroyo Seco bikeway and healthy transportation alternatives.

Building a Better Altadena
"Studies show that Walmart hurts jobs because other businesses close when Walmart comes to town." Is this what we want just yards from Pasadena's city limits? Click the Building a Better Altadena link and find out what you can do.

The No 710 Freeway Extension and related No on Measure J issues are gaining support from state and local politicians. Definitely worth learning about, as these issues strongly affect our quality of life in Pasadena.

Be sure to vote! (Now, on the Camelot Where You Are contest, and in November, on all the other stuff.)

La Casita del Arroyo

That's the far west end of the historic Colorado Street Bridge out across the way. Between us and it lies Lower Arroyo Park. The Arroyo Seco runs deep here, with the trees you see growing tall from its depths and water, hikers, runners, dogs and horses you don't see coursing through it.

We're looking out of a window from La Casita Del Arroyo, a Pasadena Cultural Heritage Landmark "designed in 1932 by Architect Myron Hunt and built by unemployed workers during the depression," according to Pasadena Public Works.

You can rent La Casita, did you know that? I don't know this stuff until I want to post a picture. I have to do the research. I'm not a fountain of knowledge (there, now I've said it). I could guess about it, but then we'd be calling the blog Pasadena Daily Whatever (which has a nice ring to it on my lazy days).

If you have your event at La Casita you'll have some spectacular views, not least of which is the bridge at night. If you have your event during the day, you may have a hiker or two stopping by the buffet. But whenever you have it, you'll have it with a helping of history.

Sunday Steps

We've been having cool, cloudy mornings and warm afternoons. If you're one of those people who complains about hot weather, all you have to do these days is get up early. And not like 6am. You can get up at 10:00 and still get in a good hike before it heats up. I wonder how long it'll last.

Probably 'til I post this.

Have a beautiful Sunday, wherever you roam.

Filters

It's a given that we run, bike, hike, ride our horses and walk our dogs in the Arroyo Seco. We also park our world-famous football stadium, our childrens' museum and our aquatic center there. And around those popular people magnets, we park our cars.

The parking lots need occasional maintenance, and I joined a clean-up last weekend. Wilson Lau, Watershed Coordinator at the Arroyo Seco Foundation (ASF), put out the word on the Arroyo Seco chat list ("What better way to show love for your country than to clean up the Arroyo?...Gloves and trash bags will be provided...") and I posted about it here on PDP.

I expected the turn-out to be small, but it was small. Besides Lau and Tim Martinez, a college student, native plant expert and one of the ASF's top volunteers, the only person to show up besides me was a PCC student who shuns the spotlight, so to speak. The four of us cleaned several large islands in two hours. 15 or 20 people could have done the whole parking lot in about 90 minutes, but I doubt they would have had more fun.

Our parking lot islands are populated with black sage, little red berry and California rose. The latter's hips shimmy in the photo above and its thorns wrote their tale on my forearms. I got an excellent upper body workout. 

The islands, and the spaces next to them that look like they're paved with beige bricks, are a permeable filtration system that removes trash and impurities from storm water before it runs into the Arroyo stream bed. I never knew a parking lot island could be an engineering marvel, but in Lot I they are marvels indeed.

Another marvel is the number of cigarette butts down there getting filtered out of our water. An amazing amount of cigarette butts. I said to Wilson, "Are these things major polluters? Or do they biodegrade?" He said "Oh, they biodegrade if you give 'em a hundred years or so."

If you'd like to be informed about Arroyo volunteering opportunities, you can fill out the ASF's volunteer form. There's always something to do. It's likely you'll meet Wilson and Tim in the process. Big plus.

No Trash, Either

Don't fill up your weekend yet! I've got something for you to do Saturday morning: fill up some trash bags.

Join Wilson Lau, watershed coordinator at the Arroyo Seco Foundation, in an Arroyo clean-up day!

Yessssss! It's going to be fun! I love cleaning! You should see my house! !!!!!!!!!

Okay, you should not see my house. I don't love cleaning. But I love the Arroyo, so I'll be there. That's a big deal, because it means I'll miss the farmers' market and I'm out of granola.

Meet Wilson in the parking lot by the Rose Bowl Aquatic Center Saturday, July 9 at 9:00a.m. Gloves and trash bags will be provided. Wear work clothes and closed-toe shoes. Although it's supposed to be cooler this weekend than last, "cool" is relative. I recommend a water bottle, sunscreen and perhaps a wide-brimmed hat as well. Something jaunty.

Retreat

I stopped at Vroman's yesterday. Wednesday afternoon. Middle of the work day. Parking lot packed.

This requires patience. You wait in a line of cars (you have no choice, you're stuck now) while someone backs out of a space. The line moves on and finally it's your turn, your space, the furthest one in the lot, between two SUVs, both of which were parked by people who have apparently never parked a car before. On the return trip, a monster pick-up truck follows you to your space. You try to wave him off because--well, finally he sees he's never going to fit in there and he speeds off, burning frustrated rubber.

It has begun. Christmas/New Year's time, Pasadena is a busy town.

It's good, though. Three clerks worked the back registers at Vroman's and more registers granted angels their wings throughout the store. Employees (that means "people who are employed") helped customers find the things they wanted. Commerce, in my town, in an independent book store, is just fine with me.

I'm glad to leave it to others from this point onward, though. I bought what I hope is the last Christmas present I need to get. Now I think I'll retreat to the less popular mountain trails or my favorite spots in the Arroyo Seco (far north and/or south of the Rose Bowl) until after the first of the year.

Unless someone else wants to do the driving.

Tranquil Weekend

I was looking for something spooky to post for Friday the 13th and I stopped at this one. Not spooky. Tranquil, in fact.

I'm facing south under the 210 freeway overpass, toward the Rose Bowl. It's tranquil except for the noise of rushing traffic above.

The photo suits my mood. I have a lot to do today but once it's over, a tranquil weekend promises to follow.

Have you got something good coming up? It's the calm before the holiday storm, you know. The bleachers are already going up for the parade.

Somewhere There is Always Beauty

To those who participated in yesterday's rant, thanks for helping me get it off my chest. Everyone gets angry sometimes and there are healthy ways to express anger other than defacing property or burning things down.

The Station Fire symbolizes too much loss in too short a time.

Boz and I took a walk today. We didn't go to Hahamongna or the Cobb Estate or the Arroyo. We just went around the block. It took forever. I let Boz stop at every bush that beckoned him, every titillating telephone pole, every come-on curb. It was a chance for me to relax, look around and realize there is beauty. No matter what happens, somewhere there is always beauty.

La Loma Bridge

I took this photo at dusk, when colors are blending into gray. I fooled around with the picture. Tried making the shadows lighter, tried sharpening the edges, tried it in black and white. In the end I left it unaltered.

The La Loma Bridge spans the Arroyo Seco about a mile south of the Colorado Street Bridge. The La Loma Bridge is around 90 years old and in need of a retrofit. It's been discovered that the Eagle Rock Fault runs beneath the bridge, so that's going to have to be one damn fine retrofit.

I hope it doesn't change the look of the bridge. I don't think the look needs messing with.

Dissemination

My husband has the camera today. What's a blogger to do? Why, dig into her archives, of course.

You may remember my July 3rd post about a fluffy tree in the Hahamongna basin. Well, Ann Erdman, Pasadena's Public Information Officer, read that post. Ann can't bear letting a question go unanswered and, like me, she loves research. Unlike me, however, she knew where to look for the answer. The question was, what was that fluffy tree?

Ann emailed two experts and sent me her results.

From Darya Barar, Certified Arborist at the City of Pasadena:
"The tree in the picture looks like an Arroyo Willow to me. I believe the maintenance policy in the arroyo is to allow trees to be as natural as possible.... that means in the fall there is no intervention by City crews."

And from Elise Jackson, Arroyo Seco Program Coordinator:
"Darya is correct. This is a native willow, a predominant tree in the Hahamongna flood basin, behind Devil's gate dam. The white 'fluff' contains the seeds which aids in the wind dispersal of these seeds. You can see in the photo the seeds (dark spots) mixed in the fluff. These trees definitely give Hahamongna the look of a winter wonderland, when the wind blows the white fluff completely covers the air and the ground, distributing seeds for the natural regeneration of our native willow woodland and providing important wildlife habitat."

In the July 3rd post you see the tree, looking snowy. In today's photo you see what Elise is talking about: the fluff distributing its seeds on the ground along the path.

Thanks to Darya and Elise for responding to Ann, and thanks to Ann for spreading this information.

Fluff Piece

One of my favorite paths at Hahamongna Watershed Park is currently a winter wonderland. I'm pretty certain this plant is native to California. At this time of year it fills the area surrounding it in the Arroyo Seco with white fuzz. It's on the ground and in the branches. We're probably all breathing it right now. Sure is pretty, though.

You have to blow this picture up to get the full impact. I wanted you to see this the way I saw it, so I didn't adjust the colors or contrast. To give you some scale, the log at the lower right is about two feet long.

I searched the web but I don't think I used the right terms. Can anyone tell me what plant makes this white fluff?

Update, 7/11/09: Ann Erdman, aka Pasadena PIO, went to the trouble to email a couple of experts about this flora and sent me her results.
From Darya Barar, Certified Arborist at the City of Pasadena:
"The tree in the picture looks like an Arroyo Willow to me. I believe the maintenance policy in the arroyo is to allow trees to be as natural as possible.... that means in the fall there is no intervention by City crews."
and from Elise Jackson, Arroyo Seco Program Coordinator:
"Darya is correct. This is a native willow, a predominant tree in the Hahamongna flood basin, behind Devil's gate dam. The white 'fluff' contains the seeds which aids in the wind dispersal of these seeds. You can see in the photo the seeds (dark spots) mixed in the fluff. These trees definitely give Hahamongna the look of a winter wonderland, when the wind blows the white fluff completely covers the air and the ground, distributing seeds for the natural regeneration of our native willow woodland and providing important wildlife habitat."

Thanks to Darya and Elise for responding to Ann, and thanks to Ann for pursuing this information!

Eric Merrell

What could be more bucolic, more artsy, more Seurat than coming across a painter in the Arroyo Seco, practically in the shadow of the Colorado Street Bridge?

John and I were walking with Boz when we saw Eric Merrell's umbrella. I just had to go find out what he was painting. But we'd caught him between paintings, and he was peering at a blank canvas. Thinking. Looking around. Checking out the light.

He was nice enough to let me take photos, but an artist has a process and I didn't want to bother him for long. We exchanged urls, as gentlefolk do in polite society.

Here's Eric's outstanding website. Here's Eric's thoughtful blog.

On the website, you'll see he's currently part of a show at the Cape Cod Museum of Art, and he opens at the Addison Art Gallery in Orleans, MA on Valentine's Day (break a leg, Eric!). Right here in Pasadena we can get a look at his works from April 26th to May 17th at the California Art Club's 98th Annual Gold Medal Juried Exhibition at the Pasadena Museum of California Art.

I think I'll just go to that.

Below, the painter contemplates his next masterwork.

Theme Day: Paths & Passages

Today's theme on the City Daily Photo Blogs can be interpreted in many ways. The Arroyo Seco is a water path - at least on some days. But with drought conditions worsening in California, we're likely to see less water traveling through here for a while.

I remember water rationing in the early 90's. It wasn't so hard. We can do it again. In fact I'm starting now. Why wait?

I'd appreciate any water-saving tips you have to share. Here's what we're doing so far: we don't pour left-over water down the drain, that's for plants or for rinsing dirty dishes. We wash full loads, of course. We never hose down the driveway (that is sooo passe). Why water the back yard? Nobody ever sees it. And here's an old favorite we can repeat together in public restrooms: "If it's yellow let it mellow, if it's brown...

City Daily Photo bloggers all over the world are participating in today's theme day. Click here to view thumbnails for all participants.

On another note, today's a good day to look at the peaceful world helper, Avaaz.org, and see if you want to participate.

Winter Bird

Okay, my horticulturalites, what are these berries? Should I eat them? Should Boz?

They put me in mind of grade school. I liked school all right, especially drama, art, reading and French. But in other subjects my mind often wandered and I watched Cedar Waxwings outside the classroom window. There must have been berries like these growing there. Otherwise why would berries in the Arroyo Seco make me think of Cedar Waxwings and grade school in Illinois?

The holidays tend to make me nostalgic. Maybe that's all it is.

I looked up Cedar Waxwings online. I thought I remembered them snatching those red berries from snowy branches. But that's unlikely. Cedar Waxwings are rarely spotted in northern Illinois in winter, except perhaps in memory.

Appealing Court

The Richard H. Chambers U.S. Court of Appeals building is stunning on any day from any angle. But when you're walking in the Arroyo with clouds mumbling above, it's impossible to resist snapping away. Snap snap snap snap snap whine whine....oh, was I doing something else?

The building was originally a luxury hotel, though very little of the original structure remains. Between 1920 and 1937, four different architects took part in designing the new hotel. Sylvanus Marston, Garrett Van Pelt, Myron Hunt and George H. Wiemeyer all had a hand in creating the structure we see today. It was remodeled in the 1980s "under the design direction of" J. Rudy Freeman of Neptune & Thomas, and from what I hear it's magnificent inside. Since I've never been involved in a federal case, I haven't had the pleasure of finding out for myself.

Read the link. It sounds luscious. I need to see if I can get in there sometime. You know, just wander around a Federal Courts building and take pictures. Shouldn't be a problem.