Sunday, January 29, 2012

JB King

JB King
Oretega Trail
Ojai, Calif.
January 2012




Halfway up the trail, just as your legs start burning and your lungs start huffing, there is a rock carelessly tossed by the side of the trail. The rock itself is fairly insignificant at first glance. There is little that discerns it from any of the other trail side boulders in the backcountry. It is not particularly large, nor uniquely shaped. It has a dull drab coloring unlike many of its flashier sandstone compatriots.

Truth be told by this time in the walk your concentrating more on your feet then anything else. By this time you have climbed over broken rocks and ankle-biting gravel, over a thousand feet into the hills. The sun is pounding down on your back. The trail has dropped behind the ridge line. You've been swallowed up by the foliage. Yet you are only half way up. You are only looking at your feet, grunting away with each step, get higher and further with each stride. The rock in question does little to grab your attention.

It would be quite easy to keep trudging right by this rock. I'm sure many have done just that. However as you get closer, if you pause to stretch, gulp air, rest tired feet, you notice there is something different about this rock. If you look close you may notice faint carving breaking up the face of the rock. As your brain struggles to switch into an analytical mood, shapes and words begin to form. You pear in, look closer, study the faint scratches. Your eyes squint, your head tilts.

Then it clicks, coherency is reached. "JB King, 1908, Jan. 30th." It makes sense. Or does it? Who was JB King? Did he die here? Was he carried up here by loved ones to be lain to rest? Why here? Why this rock? Why not in the valley below, next to a waterfall or along a grassy creek side meadow? Why not at the top with the expansive views and commanding vistas of the Ojai Valley and the Channel Islands? Why here?

These questions have perplexed many hikers, historians, and other gatherers of long lost oddities. There is no record, no surviving memory to answer the who or why. Its a mystery, a riddle. Guesses have been wagered by men much smarter then I. Erudite explanations have been offered, disproved, reworked, and offered again. Through it all the rock remains, the riddle of JB King still to be solved.





JB King.







**An interesting account of one reporter's sleuthing can be read here.**

Ortega

Ortega Trail
Ojai Frontcountry
Ojai, Calif.
January 2012




I went for a drive, which turned into a walk, which turned into a hike, which ended up being one heck of an adventure. Funny how that happens.





Old Man Mtn & The Murrieta Divide.


Ojai Valley.


Trees.


Anacapa.

Wednesday, January 25, 2012

Swell

Swell
Ventura, Calif.
Jan. 2012




The first of what we hope will be many winter swells swept are way in early January. Of course with work I missed all but the tail end. There will be more, I tell myself this over and over. There will be more.




Chop.


Fire on the Mountain.

Kites

Kites
Ventura Pier
Ventura, Calif.
Jan. 2012




Surfer's Point.

Thursday, January 5, 2012

Brownie



Brownie
Ventura, Calif.
January 2012




I scored this little guy at the thrift store the other day for $4. I justified the expense by saying it was a belated Christmas gift to me Yah me! It has seen better days and probably isn't even worth the $4. Regardless I was pretty stoked to take it home.




Vintage.

Busy Bees

Busy Bees
Backyard
Ventuckey, Calif.
January 2012




The backyard has become quite the industrious place to be. With all the activity buzzing around me in the noon sun I almost feel bad relaxing in the midst of it. Almost.




Bo Biz Buzz.


Bloom.


Humming.

Falafel



Falafel
Ventuckey, Calif.
Jan. 2012




I tried my hand at making falafel. Running around in the middle east falafel stands are as common as Starbucks here. They literally dot every city block of Istanbul, Beirut, or Damascus. It is great street food-- fast, cheap, tasty. Wrap 'em up in pita bread or on a stick, its comfort food. Needless to say the very idea of hot falafel on a warm January afternoon had me reminiscing about simpler times when I was a lot younger and a little dumber. Memories of a time where grabbing street food and watching sunset over the Med was a nightly ritual.

I whipped up my best mint yogurt sauce. The tangy sweetness is characteristic of middle east cuisine and a must have for traditional falafel. With hot oil popping around my knucles I grabbed each little ball of fried memories once they reached a golden brown. A big mug of sweat tea and a spot under the banana trees completed the setting. I gobbled up the first one and by the gods it was horrible. It tasted like musty old chalk dust. I was sorely disappointed. Big fail.

This must be a sign to pack the bags and head back to Beirut. Spring break is only a few months away after all....




Fail.

NYE

NYE Day
Ventura, Calif.
Dec. 2011



Last swell of the old year. 2011, good riddance.




Walk Out.


Kelp.


Purple Slush.

Christmas Day



Christmas Day
Ventura, Calif.
Dec. 25th, 2011



Merry merry.





"Happiness held is the seed..."


Holiday Nap.