Tuesday, November 10, 2009

Running log

I have recently found a nice tool in the Internet to measure the distance I run. In addition, I get a nice map and if I input the time, I get my average pace (mpk) and elevation profile of my run. It is quite nice. This is my run today: 14km in 1h14min (around 5.10 mpk), going up the strongest slope in Pasadena (Shenandoah St) and going up and down all the time.

Monday, November 9, 2009

LA Fly Away Technology

I was impressed by the solution the airport bus driver found to get a compartment for her stuff. What better and easier than to write it with a pen??



She could've tried to keep some balance for the letters/words... XD

Friday, November 6, 2009

Mammoth Lakes

After visiting Mono Lake and before heading for Manzanar NHS, I wanted to go to Devil's Postpile National Monument, near the Mammoth Lakes ski resort. When I got there, big surprise... Devil's Postpile was already closed for the Winter and I could not visit it! Anyway, I was there, so... brief stop at the Visitor's Center and visit to some of the lakes there.



This is one of the lakes in Twin Lakes.



And the following are photos at Lake Mary.





It was a short but nice visit.

Thursday, November 5, 2009

Manzanar NHS

Manzanar National Historical Site is in the middle of nowhere in California. It represents one of the darkest moments of US history in the 20th century. When Japan attacked Pearl Harbor in Hawaii and World War II started in the Pacific, the US President decided to put all Japanese American in concentration camps in very isolated areas. Japanese Americans were deprived of their liberty for as long as the war continued. They had to leave all their lives behind and when the war was over, they were forbidden to come back to the 3 Pacific coast states. They had to start from scratch.

Manzanar NHS is one of the only places which were kind of preserved.



These are the police posts at the entrance:



And the lunch hall:



These are the remaining of a Japanese garden the "inmates" created.



And the following are photos of the cemetery:





Wednesday, November 4, 2009

Mono Lake Tufa Reservation

We left Yosemite using Tioga Pass and drove back to Los Angeles along US-395. That road is sandwiched between two ranges of mountains, in the middle of nowhere, and it is designated a scenic route. Just at the beginning of the road, not far from Yosemite's entrance (Tioga Pass), there is a beautiful lake: Mono Lake.



This place is so remote that housed a secret US military facility during the Cold War. Nothing remains of that facility now. The lake is interesting because it is a tufa reservation. Tufa are strange calcium based structures which grow from the bottom of the lake to its surface. This lake has been used by LA for water supplies and the level decreased dramatically in a few decades. Now, that is not allowed and the lake is protected. Anyway, these excesses made the tufa get exposed out of the water. Their shapes are quite interesting and many times surprising! Enjoy all these photos I took!









Tuesday, November 3, 2009

Yosemite NP Revisited



Yes, last weekend, I went camping to Yosemite NP, one of the National Parks I have liked the most. I came here last Spring and wanted to see now how Autumn affects the landscape. Not many trees change leaves in Yosemite, but still some do and it is really spectacular. I spent two days there and therefore, had time to visit places I did not visit last time: Mariposa Grove of Big Trees, Tioga Pass Road, some longer hikes...

And above all, it was great time for photography. Have a look a the following photos! :)