Valley of Fire

Valley of Fire, March 12, 2019

I went on a bus tour of the Valley of Fire, the first state park in Nevada, and had an amazing time.  We had an experienced and enthusiastic tour guide, Sally, who made our trip enjoyable.  On the way to the Valley of Fire, she explained that she moved to Las Vegas in 1966 from England and has dual citizenship.  On a recent solo car trip from Las Vegas starting at 6:00 a.m. to Los Angeles, she decided to count the number of 18-wheelers going into Las Vegas, and counted over 900!  It was visual proof that just about everything is brought in from somewhere else.  She said that most people assume that palm trees naturally grow in the Las Vegas Valley, but they are in fact brought in from California or Arizona at a cost of about $5,000 each.  Casinos along Las Vegas Boulevard paid over $11 million to have palm trees planted along the Strip.

We learned that Las Vegas has pig and shrimp farms.  Las Vegas leads the nation in shrimp consumption and its residents and visitors consume 22 million pounds annually.

Sally likes the Paiute Indian tribes because they respect their women for keeping their civilization going.  They are a gentle people who have an enormous amount of knowledge about the medicinal value of desert plants.

After we entered the park, we saw erosion and the effects of wind, rain, and violent weather over millions of years that have produced unusual sandstone formations and beautiful colors.  We stopped for photo ops at the Beehives, Elephant Rock, Seven Sisters, and Mouse’s Tank.  We saw ancient petroglyphs.  At the Visitor’s Center, I snapped a picture of a petrified log.

Sally pointed out the creosote bushes that can keep neighboring bushes stunted by using their highly effective root system to draw water for their own survival.  She pointed out galls in trees, black round balls that are home to ants.  We learned that mistletoe plants kill their host trees and saw many examples.

As we ate lunch, two desert squirrels scurried alongside our picnic area, and two ravens eyed our food from the top of a large rock.  We didn’t see any tortoises, but Sally admonished us not to pick them up and move them across the road because they will be traumatized and disoriented.  Their defense mechanism will kick in and release the contents of their bladder and possibly cause them to die in drought conditions.

Sally pointed out the mountain area which shields Area 51, its existence long denied by the government.  She told us that employees drive their cars to work, but higher level personnel are flown in by Janet airlines in unbranded planes that are white with a red stripe.  She told us that Janet unofficially means “Just Another Non Existent Terminal.”

We witnessed magical and alien terrain, the power of nature, and beautiful and unique formations millions of years in the making.  It was cloudy most of the day, but blue skies appeared toward the end of our tour.  Sally and her competent driver brought the sunshine with them and gave us a spectacular day.

Los Angeles, California

Palm Trees in Los Angeles

I lived in Los Angeles most of my life and found this journal entry from the early 80s.

I am reminded each day of the dangers of city living as I read and hear about rape, theft, gang violence, and drunk drivers.  I have myself been a victim of thefts and burglaries in Los Angeles.  However, it’s not hard to see the positive things about L.A. and see what a strong backbone the city has.

I remember a Japanese relative who flew into LAX on a clear afternoon.  He commented that one of the first things he noticed about the city as he was landing were all those funny looking palm trees all over the city.  I guess he was accustomed to seeing palm trees on postcards from Hawaii or some island retreat.

The good things in L.A. begin and end with the people. I have shared wonderful conversations and meals with the people in my neighborhood.   At school events such as international day and office potlucks, I tasted pancit and lumpia from the Philippines, tamales from Mexico, Korean bulgogi, and Polish and Arabic dishes.  As I drive through my neighborhood I see many houses with identical types of plants — geraniums, carnations, and  succulents.  I bet that these plants were shared among neighbors who exchanged and nurtured the cuttings with great care and  patience.

There is a street I used take, Kingsley Drive, on my way to work.  A young man would be working almost daily landscaping his front yard.  One day I saw him plant a small jacaranda tree in front of his house.  The last time I drove by, there was a jacaranda tree in front of four houses.  I like to imagine that the neighbors met and became good friends. Maybe the young man bought the trees at a discount and being the only one with a pickup truck, offered to make the purchases and deliveries and they all got together for a tree-planting day.

I love the people of L.A. and their different ethnic backgrounds.  I like the weather and the variety of lifestyles possible.  I could easily spend the day at the beach one day and go hiking in the mountains on the next day.  Fact is, I  love the city of L.A.  There is something bold and brave and exciting about a city that sends up palm trees as emissaries to the sky.