Category Archives: California

Time Bandits Ship Sinks

There’s a little (no pun intended) secret about the 1/3 scale 16th century Spanish galleon replica that tours Big bear Lake: it was the tiny ship used in the Terry Gilliam film Time Bandits, which featured a cast of men of diminutive size.

During this latest (and, so far this year’s only) storm which brought snow to the San Bernardino Mountains and caused some people to get all wound up and and start calling it a ‘class 1 hurricane’ the Time Bandit ship was sunk.  Maybe it was the high winds, the rain, or the snow.  At this point, the only thing known is that the 27-ton ship is sitting on the bottom of Davy Jone’s locker.  Okay, Big Bear Lake can’t really qualify as his locker … maybe it’s more like Davy Jone’s Smallish Cupboard.

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Ocotillo Wells SVRA seeks input on Draft Planning Alternatives

Comments due by March 10!

California State Parks has launched a comprehensive update of the General Plan for Ocotillo Wells State Vehicular Recreation Area (SVRA). As part of the update, Draft Planning Alternatives have been developed to illustrate different scenarios for how Ocotillo Wells SVRA may be managed over the long-term.

California State Parks is gathering public input to help identify which combination of options best serves the public’s interest in Ocotillo Wells SVRA’s future. The Preferred Planning Alternative ultimately identified for the General Plan Update process may be one of the alternatives or a combination of features from more than one alternative.

Learn about the Draft Planning Alternatives for the General Plan Update and submit your feedback via their Online Input Forum. HERE.

Redwood Poaching causes road closures at night

People are fucktards.  It’s that simple.  For their thirty pieces of silver, people are willing to destroy trees that have been around since before this country was a country.

From the National Park Service:

Newton B. Drury Parkway will be closed on a nightly basis starting Saturday, March 1, 2014. The parkway will be closed each day at sunset and reopened at sunrise. The hours of closure will be variable as the time of sunset and sunrise changes. Closure hours may also be impacted if staff is responding to other emergencies. Patrols will also be increased during this time to ensure the protection of our natural resources.

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Half Dome Cables Day Use Permits Available for Reservation Starting March 1 2014

Permits Required Seven Days Per Week to Hike Half Dome Cables 

Half Dome cables day use permits for the 2014 hiking season will be available for reservation starting tomorrow, Saturday, March 1, through Monday, March 31, 2014. Permits to hike to the top of Half Dome are required seven days per week and reservations will be distributed via a lottery system. Successful parties will be notified in mid-April. A maximum of 300 hikers will be allowed on the Half Dome cables per day.

Reservations for the permits can be made online at www.recreation.gov or by calling 1-877-444-6777.

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Happy Birthday Ansel Adams!

Shamelessly borrowed from Wikipedia:

Ansel Easton Adams (February 20, 1902 – April 22, 1984) was an American photographer and conservationist. His black-and-white landscape photographs of the American West, especially Yosemite National Park, have been widely reproduced on calendars, posters, and in books.

“Once destroyed, nature’s beauty cannot be repurchased at any price.” – Ansel Adams

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