Yellowstone

"No more does man know Yellowstone than he knows himself." That is what Sigmund Freud said when he visited one of America's most famous national parks during a whistle-stop tour of 1905.



Okay, you're right. Freud didn't really say that. Bertold Brecht did. Anyway, the point is that the Yellowstone is a darn strange place.



It is filled with wildlife ...



... and geological features that seem to be alive. This, I believe, is called a travertine mound, formed of calcium carbonate projected upward in water from geothermal activity below. The colors are produced by algae that love this curious chemical preparation.



Here we see another such accretion masquerading as a Jean Dubuffet painting.



But, if we riff on the mud, dirt and other humus-like materials used by that painter, then we might say that—like Dubuffet—Yellowstone is a geography buff's delight.



Check out those basalt columns!



Take a gander at these towers flanking the frozen waterfall! Well, all Old Ken can say is that seeing crazy places and tall towers like these make me want to tell some equally tall tales. Fun times!

Mount Lukens Hike

Up the 2 from Echo Park is lovely Glendale where you can find the Deukmejian Wilderness Preserve. Named for a former California governor, this preserve includes the 5,000 foot plus peak of Mount Lukens.



Although I don't have any pictures of the mountain, above is a sample of images taken from the summit looking west. Los Angeles looks like a tiny spring of trees in the middle distance and the bright glare of sunlight in the far distance is the Pacific.



We set out from the parking lot a little after 11; it was pretty hot - - over 80 degrees - - and hiked this loop trail for about two and a half hours to the summit where we found snow underfoot!



The wind was gusting incredibly at the top, which made for some slightly precarious hiking, but great for photographs as the famous LA smog is much abated here. This view is looking north into the San Gabriel mountains; beyond lies the Mojave Desert. Pretty cool!