nose slide

 

Tim goes for a plant

 

Matt grinds dirty

 

blurry BMX

Hey... Check out this slide, edge lounger.  Bubble D. thinks this is the best slide ever!  Cardboard required.

     Eventually so many kids were sliding that we had to go back to skating...

heel side

Heel Side.

HEEL SIDE!

 This little bowl really helped me get over fear of the lip.  Nothing but coping baby!

 

Good night.

Later Skater

Golden Gate Bridge

     I got to skate over the Golden Gate Bridge.  It took probably 20 minutes and was very windy.

     Little cracks to ollie over and dodging bicyclists made it fun for me.  Plus the view is stunning.

    A few people yelled at me as they drove by, probably because I was on a skateboard or I have long hair.  There were a lot of people out walking the bridge, and on each side there are visitor centers.  Definitely a big tourist attraction. 

San Francisco!

  It's all thanks to family... Our very life, who we are, and where we are going.

    I found these flowers walking around the streets of San Francisco.

Potrero del Sol/La Raza Skatepark 

    This is what the skate park in San Francisco looks like.  I asked at the Haight St. skate shop and they said this was the only one worth going to.  I met a cool kid named to shay for lack of better spelling.  The top level had bowls, the middle level street and a little half bowl, then big quarter pipe (in photo).  

3 little bowls connected to big bowl.  I'm the white boy with his shirt off.  Notice sweet graffiti in bowl.

My thanks to Master Photographer Bubble D.

THis little bowl atop the quarter-pipe entertained the little ones immensely.

MPBD liked this.

Oh, and I found another friendly froed person while out for breakfast.  She could barely stop laughing at how random the whole thing was.  But her hair was so amazing, I could not let it pass.  We ran to get Thai food that night, a tasty treat easily found in the city.  The streets here are crazy steep, and one Lombard St. is like a slalom course down this one hill.  This city is beautiful and has really good water!  A big bonus when you are thirsty from running around and skating.  

Fun box at Cactus Wren
Photo: Natasha Leek

  Making our way up the Pacific coast.  We camped one night at San Simeon, where a raccoon climbed on top of my car the minute I went inside to sleep.  In the morning I was amazed to see grassy farmland behind and the ocean below rolling in.  We were camped next to the Hearst Castle, which has mountains that slope gently into the Pacific, and we saw about 50 horses, and heard that they kept zebras there.  
    On the drive North, we stopped for a view of the ocean, and the next stop was to see elephant seals, which were big lazy looking critters that threw sand on their back to keep cool.  After a drive down a mountain we stopped at a view where we saw whales spouting water.  I skated a few hills, and made it safely to Big Sur, where the redwoods are.
  Next, more camping, and playing my guitar, and fending of spoiled campsite coons.  Merely missed mash, mo mo. 

Cactus Wren park in Las Vegas
Photo: Natasha Leek

Photo: Mic Weldon

Venice Beach Skate Park

Roll over
Photo: Natasha Leek

Skate L.A.

    I looked on http://www.socalskateparks.com/ website and found about twenty skate parks to visit.  Yesterday we looked at Culver City, but since it required helmets, we continued down to Venice for a walk around.  There we found a really awesome skate park, complete with snake bowls and street sections.  Being Saturday, it was full and surrounded by people watching.  I met some kids from San Diego who had driven up just to skate for the day.  On the way home we stopped off at an Indian restaurant.  At last, I got to see Ziggy Marley play at Club Nokia, and Ben Harper played one song with them, I Shot the Sheriff.  A truly inspiring musician, I recommend reggae for all people.  THe good vibrations work on the chill and uptight.  Beforehand, the metro ate 8 dollars and did not give me a ticket.  So I rode anyways and realized you do not need a ticket, you can just walk in and get on the subway. 
    Today we went to South East and looked at used bikes.  The man and his son had around 50 bikes in the back of their house, lots of road bikes, many collectors,   and some mountain bikes.  I didn't buy one, but Heavy D. did get some pedals for his touring bike.  Afterwards I drove to check out a skate park at Boyles Park.  This little park had a nice pond with trails around it; I saw ducks, grebes, and an egret.  The skate park was fully street, forcing me to practice my   ollies and such.  I met a Prince, Alfredo, who had moved a year ago from Mexico and was the only one of his family in L.A., Miguel, who was filming for a kid that was sick, Paco, Eric, and Will, who were bladers.  

Life in the city

    It is funny how we close ourselves in when we are in the city.  But this morning as the sun rose and filled up the world with daylight, I saw openly the streets and their homes surrounded with old trees and bushes, the shops all quiet after a long night, and everything pretty and ugly, all here in the city.  I took a walk up to Griffith Park, which has trails that wind up the beautiful mountains butting up to the edge of town.  I came back down as the colors in the sky reminded me of a sunset.  Later, I walked out of the alley where we are staying and I asked a fair-looking young guy wearing a green down jacket, a Marmot I think, where another coffee shop was other than the Starbucks on Vermont St.  The It's a Grind I think it's called.  He did not know of it, as he was only visiting L.A.  I said I was too, and we walked in the opposite direction.  One block North and I was inside the Starbucks Coffee, and no sooner than 30 seconds passed and strolled in the guy in the green jacket.  We both chuckled.  "We were going to the same place."  I said.  I asked him where he was from.  "San Fransisco,"  he told me, "I am so hungover."  I let him know I was from West Virginia and out here with a cousin.  It urns out he is really from Detroit, and that it snows there, a lot, but the hills aren't quite like ours in W.V.  He sat outside after we got our coffees and smoked a cig, then disappeared.  I wonder, will I ever meet him again.
    Last  night we ate at a very good vegetarian and vegan restaurant.  It is called Green Leaves, and is run by Thai people.  I got the Rock and Roll Noodles, and some soy fish that looked like eggplant.  It was a healthy change from In-n-Out Burger and casino food I was eating in Las Vegas, and twice as tasty.  I believe you could take a meat lover here, and they would not be disappointed.  The shrimp, beef, and tofu was all made of soy, but looked and tasted like it should.  http://www.glvegan.com/

Also check the observatory in Griffith Park, just right up the street from here.
http://www.griffithobs.org/

Along with the amazing view from the Griffith Park mountains, is the http://bladerunnerthemovie.warnerbros.com/ house.  This is Hollywood baby!

    Today I plan to hit a skate park near Venice, and pick a little guitar down there.  There are so many parks here in L.A., it looks to me I will be busier here than I was in Vegas.  I almost visited all the parks there, but three weeks just wasn't quite long enough with all the hiking and resting we did.  One thing is for sure.  Southern California is warm, and for me to walk around jacketless in December is strangely like a dream in which you don't know what time of year it is.  But it is cold to the locals; it is looking like rain soon.  Ha, I tell people I brought the rainy east with me.  Ocean, city, mountains, L.A. has it all.  Even homeless folks, gnarly police, and anything you name is here.

Photos!

biscuit princess with pumpkin seeds

Mexican pumpkin from Colorado, 5th generation seeds

morning after lunar eclipse in Mojave

chillin' in Baker CA, drinking Greek coffee

Kelso dunes out in big valley; Mojave

atop dunes

jammin' at Canadians' camp with coffee in morning

shoe tree near Amboy

French long-distance riders we met near Amboy

skull rock in Joshua Tree

me in Joshua Tree in a joshua tree

cousin Jared Hooper decking me out with his suit; it fit me perfect

family posers

ha! look at me!

Los Feliz

     From Las Vegas we drove to Primm, where we ate at a casino before continuing to Baker, California.  We slept that night out in the Mojave Desert Land Preserve, with nothing around except creosote bushes and mountains off in the distance.  I awoke in the predawn hours to see the moon being eclipsed.  The next night we spent at Kelso Dunes, which are huge sand dunes out in this big valley.  They make acool sound like a sonic boom whenever the sand slides.  Atop the dunes two older Canadians asked if we would take their pictures.  After running down the dune, my shoes filling with sand, Heavy D. told me we would stay with them.  Dollie and Wayne Morgan were from British Colombia, and were set up with a truck and camper.  They traveled every winter for six months, and were fun to hang with.  They appreciated my guitar playing and we their company. The next morning we made coffee and said bye, moving on to route 66, which went to Amboy, a desolate desert town.  There we got mexican cokes and met two long-distance bikers from France.  They were going to Florida, and had been riding in Mongolia, China, Japan, and later Spain.  On down the road we came to 29 Palms, which is right next to Joshua Tree.  We camped the night there, and to have a fire I scrounged up old half-burnt logs from other campsites.  Our campsite was nestled between granite boulders and two protecting trees.  In the morning Maria made cheesy grits, which were delicious with sardines.  After coffee, we did a small hike up Ryan Mtn., were we got snowed on.  Upon realizing the weather was unfavorable, we headed out.  In the town of Joshua Tree, we saw a lot of hip people as we sat at a little cafe sipping coffee and eating tomales.  Much different than 29 Palms, which is a navy/marine corps base town, Joshua Tree fitted us a bit nicer, as the average person had long hair or was going rock climbing.  Down the Morongo Valley, through the San Bernardino Mtns., and past a thousand windmills, we got on I-10, taking it to the city of angels.  We are in the heart of the second largest city in the U.S. and seeing the Hollywood sign for real makes me wonder if anything is not possible.  I believe...
     I made it safely to Los Feliz in a rain storm to where my cousin Jared Hooper lives.  We got showers and, after dressing up in a black suit and a golden tie, went out for a drink at a bar across the street.  We were out till 2 or so, then stayed home eating cheese and crackers and drinking beer.  It is good to be in the company of family again and nice to be in a new setting.  In the morning the sun shone again and I went out for a run.  On the way I found a donut shop, and in there I met a 93 year old man Lennie who was a dancer and musician.  I asked him how he lives so long, and all he said was stress can end your life sooner than later; as he said this he touched his heart.  This makes me believe that if there is a burden on your heart you should deal with it, or else it will drag you down. 

Mojave Desert

    Last night I spent in the desert of California just across the Nevada state line. Baker California is the home of Alien Jerky, which I plan to check out before I roll on I-15.  In the predawn hours I awoke to see the moon being eaten; a total lunar eclipse happening before my eyes.  I saw shooting stars, as constellations shimmered.  The sun rose with turquoise colors just as the last sliver of the moon dissapeared; I ran to the nearest mountain as light flooded back to the world around me.  The night was cold and I ran to warm up, climbed a small mountain and awaited the sun.  On my way back to the car I spooked a jack-rabbit out from under a creosote bush, and I was equally startled.  I watched it run through the desert over the sand and around the small bushes.  I realized that this large rabbit with huge ears looked more than a rabbit, almost part deer or something.  When I returned to the car I started a small fire out of dry branches, warming my hands and enjoying the beautiful sunshine that washed over me.  Mad Greek restaurant filled me up with Greek coffee, spanicopitas and flogeres(small sweets).  THis 24 hour cafe has so many tasty things that I want to camp another night just to try more things on the menu.  All this desert makes me think of wet West Virginia, but the vastness and nothingness is cool feeling.  I can see for miles and miles!  

Now is the Time

  Yesterday, I got to skate Cactus Wren, Hayley Hendricks, and West Flamingo/Kenny Guinn skate parks.

Cactus Wren

This place was very nice.  The concrete was extra slick.  Wooden and metal ramps, fairly small.  Met Cory there, who used to be sponsored(15 yrs. old).
Hayley Hendricks
This park was full of young kids swearing.  It was the same as Desert Breeze, only it did not have the vert and bowls.  Fun street skating and good view of mtns.

Durango Hills

    Durango Hills is a great park in the northern part of town.  There were some bikers there and I met a kid named Antwon and his cool mama Brandy.  She saw me bite the dust and we laughed about it.  I went up for a rock on a big wall and my truck just barely got over the coping.  As my momentum carried me back down, the board stayed and I fell to the bottom onto my butt.  Then the board almost rolled into my head.  I am still feeling that one.  Now I am off to Desert Breeze for a farewell skate with Natasha.
http://hardcoreskateparks.com/  This is a great site with videos on building skate parks.

Time is Ticking Away

        Yesterday was a success.  I skated Cactus Wren, Hayley Hendricks, and Kenney Guinn. 
    The Cactus had very slick concrete, but nice wooden and metal vert ramps.  Also there were nice street boxes. 
    Hayley Hendricks had a small set up exactly like Desert Breeze.  There were a dozen little kids swearing at eachother the whole time.  This park is way out on the edge of Henderson, but had great views of the surrounding mountains.
    Last and least, Kenny Guinn was very small; probably one of the original skate parks ever built in Las Vegas.  Two strips radiated from a center.  Each strip sloped slighty with a rail down the middle and curbs on each side.  Off of the front was a circle that had a bowl like feature.  Ate Thai BBQ there, then called it a day.

Henderson Bird Preserve

just hiding behind a blind

We saw shovelers, scaup, ruddy ducks, cinnamon teal, green-winged teal,   pin-tails, western grebes, seagulls in the desert, buffle-heads, Canadian geese, a snow goose, ruby-throat-ed hummingbirds and a sacred datura plant(part of the nightshade family, and highly poisonous).

do you see smog?

Me and Natasha

Frenchmans 

Non-living birds Great Blue Heron, shoveler, wood duck, and more.

Shoveler and a widgeon. 

Peregrine Falcon

Fastest Flying Bird

The peregrine falcon (Falco peregrinus) is the fastest living creature, reaching speeds of at least 124 mph and possibly as much as 168 mph when swooping from great heights during territorial displays or while catching pry birds in midair.


Note: No Big Hawk siting; we looked and looked, all to our disappointment.  If you've seen Tony, please write to me.

Tomorrow is Last Day in Vegas

  Tomorrow is my last full day in Las Vegas.  I am ready to see something new, but I am sure I will miss this place.  All the sunny weather, young skaters, good food and fun will be in my memory.  I will not miss the smog that I see every time I get outside the city.  A brown cloud hangs above it on clear days and gets worse through the week says Heavy D.  I can't say whether I had more fun hiking in the desert or skating up the sweet parks.  I am grateful to have met my new girlfriend though.  Thank you universe, friends, family and Las Vegas for harboring beautiful people like her.  All that I want is to keep travelling this beautiful country and spreading fun to others.  I learned a lot out here in Nevada; never fear people.  They have a lot to say if you can get them to open up.  Even the poor people were more heartfelt then anyone I'd ever met.  I realize I am blessed with this freedom to move around, and I appreciate what I am doing now.  

I couldnt post any new pics of my adventures in Vegas, but I did post some pics from previous journies.  me in Colorado playing with the druids

mountain laurel blooming in W.V.

beautiful Blackwater falls in W.V.

my buddies

my bro and I ride bikes in Colorado

little me at Bonaroo

Max Dubanski; taught me how to rip vert here at this indoor ramp in Morgantown, W.V.  Thank you!

Max hitting the coping

fun day in W.V.

my old truck

serious look at Bonaroo

Cory tries to manipulate the orange at Bonaroo