LA Fair and demolition Derby

Sept 29^th

We spent the day relaxing until around 4:00 PM when Don and Diane got here. We hung around the coach until after 5:00 while it cooled down a little, then we headed for the Fairgrounds about 2 miles away. We did a complete circuit of the fairgrounds and entered at the main gate where we got our VIP Parking Pass and ended up parking about 20 yards from the Yellow Gate.

Diane, Don, Tina and Mike at the LA County Fair

Diane had brought four books along, one for each of us, so we got into the fair for free and walked through the rides area to the grandstand so we could pick up our Demolition Derby tickets before the event. Once we had our tickets we walked across from the grand stand and had dinner at the Rib Ranch where we finally got our BBQ dinner, heh, heh.

Tina and Mike at the track

After dinner we walked around the fair for an hour then went back to the grandstand and took our seats in one of the trackside boxes, two rows up. The area of the Demolition Derby was about half the size of a football field bordered by jersey barriers and filled with fresh dirt about 6” deep and compacted by a big industrial size Cat front loader with hydraulic jaws.

Staging before the event

The show got under way at 7:30 AM with the National Anthem and presentation of the three classes of cars with their drivers and pit crews. Most of the cars had seen some pretty heavy use but all were tricked out in special colors, some as cabs, one as a cop car and many with fancy exhaust pipes sticking out the hood.

Once the opening ceremonies were over and all the vehicles were out of the “race” area, the announcer brought in the first group of cars and staged them in the middle of the “race” area and, with the crowd counting down, brought down the green flag. What a kick! 

Mayhem and madness!

All the cars started backing down on all the other cars, trying to trap one against the jersey barriers in one of the corners where they could gang up on it and take it out. Carnage and mayhem reigned for 20 minutes before the red flag was raised and a winner declared. Here’s a video from 2006 www.youtube.com/watch?v=4zSws8185ic .

Before the next class was brought in the cars that were no longer moving were towed out of the “race” area by one of the big front loaders while those that were still mobile drove out. Then it was time for the next group to get staged. Once again the green flag went down and the cars started going after each other with a vengeance

Winner of the third event

Clearing the "race" area

The third group was brought out and once again went at each other like a pack of mad dogs leaving parts strewn all over the place. When there were only a couple of cars still moving the red flag went up and the third winner was declared. After clean up, the main event was on with the three top cars from all the preceding  heats were brought out and staged.

The Grand Prize Winner

This time when the green flag went down it was a fight to the finish until there was only one car still moving. It was pretty exciting. Just as you’d think a car was finished and couldn’t possibly get moving again, the driver would get the engine started and get back into the thick of it. Some of the hits were pretty strong with speeds approaching 20 mph at contact, cars pushed up onto the jersey barrier and one or two nearly flipped over. Finally there was a clear winner, an old lime green sedan… Unbelievable!

Funnel Cake and Cotton Candy!

We had a good time and made our way out through the fair stopping for cotton candy for Diane and Funnel Cake for Tina before driving home. Don and Diane came in for a few minutes as we said our good-byes then they headed home and we headed to bed.

To see all our photos, go to:

http://picasaweb.google.com/mjdolanski

Day off for visiting

Sept 28^th

We woke up at 7:30 to a campground totally fogged in. By 9:30 most of it had cleared off and I decided to wash the car. After giving it a good washing and vacuuming, we spent the morning relaxing and reading our books in the sunshine.

Don and Diane arrived around 1:30 with a Tuna Casserole (for dinner) and since we planned on a day off we got out the Attack UNO and played for several hours with Diane winning two games. We had dinner around 5:30 and played one more game after dinner. Diane won again! At that point they said I was time to go home – heheheh!

Tina and I watched X Factor and read until 10:00 PM when we pulled the plug for the day.

No photos today.

Wrightwood and the Angeles Crest Hwy

Sept 27^th

Another beautiful day with the temperatures expected to get into the mid 80’s. I spent the morning replacing the GFI outlet only to not correct the problem. We had this happen once before in Florida and I knew there was a simple solution but no amount of dredging our memories told us what it was. None of the operating documents for the coach showed us where there might be a circuit breaker panel with a switch to throw. In fact the owners manual says there are four different circuit panels then identifies only three.

After tearing out what little hair I have left, I called the Fleetwood service department. They were at lunch so I left a message. Not really expecting a response from Fleetwood I finally called the office and got the name of the local mobile RV tech and called him. He was actually on his way here and promised to see me in 20 minutes. Three minutes before he arrived Fleetwood called and told me to check the circuit breaker on the inverter. One of the two was tripped so I flipped it back and came into the coach. Tina said the microwave was off. Ahah! Wrong switch.

I went back outside just as the mobile tech arrived. I told him the problem and he said to reset the switch. I did and he said “…no charge” and drove off. I went back in the coach to check the circuit and I couldn’t get anything to work in the outlet even though the TV’s came on. That’s when Tina asked me if I reset the GFI? Ahhhh, no I hadn’t. So I did and everything worked. Finally. It only took another 30 minutes to stuff all the wires back in the wall and button everything up.

Don and Diane arrived around 10:30 AM and after taking a shower, getting the dogs and their gear stowed, cameras, sunglasses and water in the car we headed for I-10 E to drive out to I-15 towards Las Vegas. Sixteen miles further on we exited I-15 to Pine Canyon Rd for the drive to Wrightwood.

The Mormon Rochs sandstone formation

Everything is very dry and dusty and there’s not a lot of green anywhere. But on our right are some spectacular sandstone formations called the Mormon Rocks, named for the Mormon pioneers and freighters who would camp near here after completing their trip across the Mojave. These structures sit atop the San Andreas Fault which has two major fault zones in the area. The Mormon Rocks are the direct result of stress from the fault causing various structural deformations of the stratigraphy: faulting, fissures, folding, and tilting. The area stratigraphy records more than 14 significant earthquakes over the past 1,500 years.

Lunch at the Grizzly Cafe

We stopped to take a few photos then continued on to Wrightwood where we stopped at the Grizzly Café for lunch. This was a really nice lunch stop – we were able to order and eat out on the patio with the dogs having their own grassy area and water bowl. The food was very good and the service excellent with a smiling waitress. The town started when the brothers Sumner and Buford Wright eventually acquired over two thirds of the land in the valley and created the village of Wrightwood.

Can you spot all the bees?

Leaving Wrightwood we started along the Angeles Crest Highway. The Scenic Byway runs 66 miles from the Mountain Top junction at SR138 to La Cañada-Flintridge. Our drive from Wrightwood was only 56 miles. The concept for "the most scenic and picturesque mountain road in the state" was developed in 1912, and the funding allocated beginning in 1919. The construction, piece by piece, started in 1929 and continued until 1956, with the exception of the years 1941 through 1946 during WWII. The scenic byway ascends up and winds its way through the Angeles National Forest, through chaparral, and montane forest habitats, along the highest and most scenic ridges of the San Gabriel mountain range.

Hey, we're having a good time!!

Some of the many antennas on Mt Wilson

Nearing the end of the drive we took a side trip up to Mt Wilson Observatory. The facility is only open to  public viewing on weekends so we weren't able to go inside the observatory but the site with all the communications towers bristling across the mountain top were pretty impressive. Founded in 1904 by George Hale under the auspices of the Carnegie Institution of Washington. In that year, Hale brought the Snow Solar Telescope from Yerkes Observatory in southern Wisconsin to the sunnier and steadier skies of Mount Wilson to continue his studies of the Sun. With a small cadre of Yerkes scientists and engineers accompanying him, Hale started what would become the world’s foremost astronomical research facility.

The skyscrapers of LA sticking out of the smog 50 miles away

With many stops for photos, including LA sticking up out of the smog, we made the drive in three hours reaching La Cañada around 4:30 PM finally returning to I-10 and heading for Pomona to have dinner at Joey’s BBQ. We got to downtown Pomona and parked in front of Joey’s only to find that they are only open until 2:00 PM on Tuesday. Dang! Oh well, it wasn’t meant to be. So we went two doors down to the Bistro, sat out on the sidewalk with the dogs and had another great dinner!

After dinner we drove back to the coach and bid our friends adieu until the morrow!

To see all our photos, go to:

http://picasaweb.google.com/mjdolanski

Drive to Mt Baldy and Pomona

Sept 26^th

Don and Diane arrived about 10:30 this morning just as Tina was finishing drying her hair and of course, just as soon as Don opened the door, the GFI outlet Tina was plugged into blew up and shut down the 120v circuit on the passenger side of the coach. Oh well, we had to go to a hardware store anyway.

With the circuit down the TV’s were off as well as the 120v outlets in the kitchen. So we moved the coffee pot to the small table in the dining room and made a pot of coffee. While the coffee was brewing Tina got out the Attack UNO game and we sat at the dining table and played until a little after noon.

After taking the dogs for a quick walk we headed out for San Dimas to find the ACE Hardware store so I could buy some hydraulic fluid (ATF), a hose nozzle and a GFI outlet. With those in hand, we headed for the I-210 E and the cutoff to Mt Baldy.

The back side of San Antonio Dam

Our first stop was at the San Antonio Dam on San Antonio Creek in Los Angeles County. This is an earthen dam and is used for flood control purposes. Construction was completed in 1956. Its height is 160 feet with a length of 3850 feet. Maximum discharge is 53700 cubic feet per second. Its capacity is 11880 acre feet. Normal storage is 1 acre feet. It drains an area of 27 square miles and is owned by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers.

Gabrieleno/Tongva Valley House

Driving on up the San Antonio Valley we came to the  Visitor Center for the Angeles National Forest. We parked next to the center and explored an outdoor diorama focused on the living structures for the native Tongva people, both their Summer thatched huts and their more permanent wood covered pit houses. For thousands of years, many of the villages were located in the Los Angeles Basin. 

Don and Mike outside a Summer Thatched House

The villages were located near and around the ever changing Los Angeles River, San Gabriel River and Santa Ana River. There was a time when there was a perfect balance of the ecosystem where fish and game were plentiful and the river ran free with fresh water from the mountains. By the mid 1740’s the tribes were in decline due to the rapid influx of people from Spain and an inability to fight off the many diseases.

Don and Diane take a break to enjoy the day

Looking up to the top of Mt Baldy

Driving on from the Visitor Center the road became a long series of extreme switchbacks and steep ascents of 15% and more. We finally reached the end of the road at the ski lift (closed on Mondays) and got out to let the dogs out for a walk and take in the views. It was really peaceful there – no people but us and warm breezes sighing in the trees.

Heading back down hill we took it slow and easy to save wear and tear on Don’s brakes. Taking a shortcut through a small community called “Uphill” we made our way down into the foothills an back to the I-210 and returned to the coach so we could find a BBQ place for dinner.

We finally found a well recommended place in Pomona called Joey’s BBQ. Leaving the dogs home we made the trek to Pomona, found Joey’s and parked. Walking back to the restaurant we stopped in a small gift store where Tina found a real cute little table and Don found a perfect cookie jar with a rooster on the lid.

The old Pomona Movie Theater

Sunset in Pomona

Walking next door to Joey’s we were disappointed to find that it was closed on Monday. So we walked back to the Bistro next to the gift store and had a very nice dinner. After dinner we drove through downtown Pomona, a cute little town and then back to the RV Park to call it a day. After dropping us off Tina and Diane made plans for tomorrow and we bid them a fond farewell and safe journey home.

To see all our photos, go to:

http://picasaweb.google.com/mjdolanski