Geo(logic) Porn

The canyon country of Utah is world-renowned. And anyone who's been there's seen nature's sense of humor in the enormous phalli that abound.

But it doesn't stop there. I wish I could take credit for these, but she prefers to remain anonymous. Let me just say, it's wonderful to hike with a woman whose mind is, like mine, always in the (ineffable) gutter.

Casto Canyon

And just next door...

Losee Canyon

Little Moon Trading Post - Parowan, Utah

Just a quick note to encourage those of you passing through Parowan, Utah on interstate 15, 70 miles north of St. George to stop at Little Moon Trading.

It's a small shop on the right just after you turn the corner off highway 91 onto 143.


She makes most of the items herself including the moccasins, purses, earrings and bracelets. Her aesthetic, while fully accessible, is unique enough to provide the wearer with a cachet more often only available through items purchased at much higher-priced venues. And there are some interesting rocks too.

Prices are so low I had to ask for confirmation.




She's open by whim so you may want to call or email ahead.
435-477-9072 (work)
435-590-0054 (cell)
24 East Center Street
Parowan, Utah
littlemoontrading@yahoo.com

Mojave Nipples

I'm sure you have, on occasion, noticed the astonishing variation in nipples. These two, in Mojave National Preserve, caught my eye.




Symetrical

Asymmetrical

You Can't Get There From Here

Tricky Ricky Rocks decided to sell his Mercedes SL. But first, it needs a new bumper. Fortunately, SL Auto parts which specializes in SL convertibles, had one. And be-inz as hit war on muh way (sort of) I beneficently agreed to save him the postage and pick it up...near Sacramento.  Although exceedingly fragile, it weighs less than ten pounds and is, for a bumper, easy to maneuver.

In the interests of Piddling, eshewing the internet and road condition alerts, I considered several crossings of the Sierra. It was on highway 108 at the base of the foothills that the electronic sign alerted me that it was closed. But there was a nice place to camp.

Next choice, 120 via Yosemite National Park and Tioga Pass, is, I discovered at the park entrance, still closed.  Oh well, I got to see the Merced River at an "unseasonably high" level.

Accepting defeat, I took the short cut out of the park to Merced. The road follows along the river and passes by what I surmise is a CCC-built Visitor Center - closed due to lack of staff.

There's a canvas painting around the door that the bear (on the left side) reminded me of Vince Distasio's style.

I loved the sign at the entrance to the parking. Along with mention of the unseasonableness, it reminded to "Be safe, stay alive, wear a life jacket." I imagine them saying, "OMG!!! You mean I could DIE here? Watch out, Jonnie! Don't get too close!!!"

I mean, it is common knowledge you CAN die from drinking too much water...taking too many aspirin, not looking both ways before emerging from your mom's vagina etc. Let's hope it helps keep 'em in front of their TVs so the rest of us can enjoy it.

San Francisco!!

Even though the Matisse-Diebenkorn exhibit was a bust, the trip into The City was great!!



Visiting from Colombia, they said Medellin is now safer than Schenectady.

A quick stop at Nordstrom just down the street from the museum.

And riding the BART (Bay Area Rapid Transit)

Matisse-Diebenkorn at San Francisco Museum of Modern Art

Pathetic. Of course there's no way to know how/why they chose what to show, but they were all mediocre. And to charge $31.00 to see 'em! The colors, in nearly every piece, were muddy and there were MAYBE two Matisses that were bigger than 16 x 20 inches (40 x 50 cm). I surmise budget constraints; the curator had an idea but lacked the wherewithal to pull it off.

NOW you can see "the name."

Never too humble for posterity.

On the plus side, there were two rooms of work by Richard Serra! That's a $500.00 White boot for scale. (Well, they're $250.00 each.)

Always larger-than-life. About 20 feet square.

It's lead. You could feel the toxicity in the air. Almost as creepy as Tommy Hilfiger. No, no, wait. I mean Freddy Kreuger!

Appreciating cultural diversity....

MENS'

Then there was In Situ. Billed, by the docent overseeing the cafeteria upstairs as "fine dining," what you see below was their $14.00 "hamburger." Called The Apocolypse, it was a teensy chunk of beef encased by an edible, charcoal briquette with a texture similar to a chimichanga. We'd've sent it back but didn't want to wait for the alternative.

I had the Lamb Manti. It was three SMALL portions of stringy lamb delicately embraced within some wide noodles...a multi-ethnic pappardelle, or some such. The flavor was okay, but at twenty-two bucks it was a rip. I'll get revenge through TripAdvisor. Our complaints elicited offers of a post apocalypse coffee, but it took prompting to get her to add the word "complimentary."

Total bullshit!!

Pinnacles National Park, Matisse-Diebenkorn & Mark Johnson

Parks, In My Esteemed Opinion (IMEO), are in close competition with rest areas. The problem is there's not a rest area on highway 25 between Coalinga and Anthony Chabot Regional Park.

I spent the first night, about 20 miles north of Coalinga, California on a turnout on Coalinga Road. It was late afternoon when I'd finally gotten out of town and just couldn't do the remaining twelve miles to the park.

In the morning I was greeted (in an aggressive tone) by Mike Baumgardner with "What're you doing?!"  I rejoined with "Who wants to know?" a bit louder which got him tuh thinkin' 'bout his options. He claimed I was on HIS LAND!!!..."The easement is 30 feet from the centerline." I looked and thought he maybe had me by three feet. Always the gentleman, I gave him his choice of weapons, but once he learned I was enroute to the Matisse-Diebenkorn exhibit at SFMOMA he was all smiles and ready to talk art, cats and what to wear.

Pinnacles wasn't much better. Buggy, screaming children, hollering youths. It finally got quiet around midnight. Only $11.50 with the discount. No hot water at the sinks and those push-on faucets that automatically turn off after ten seconds.

It's all Mark Johnson's fault. If he'd just posted some of his paintings I could have gotten my art fix and avoided all this.