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scrawled-mumblings · 2 years

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Adventure

There weren’t really any rules. Realistically of course, there were some rules; you can’t send nine teenagers into the desert with only two chaperones without a few guidelines. But mostly we could do what we wanted as long as it wasn't something stupidly dangerous and we were back to camp by dinner. Most of the time we used this lack of rules to go climbing around our campsite, working our ways up through the boulders and craggy cliffs that kept the wind at bay.

One day four of us decided that we wanted an adventure. We chose a direction at random and started walking along the road to find a path. Joshua Tree National Park has one of those extremely fragile ecosystems; we always had to look for paths that other people had walked before us so that we wouldn't destroy the dirt any more than someone else already had. It takes years, even decades, for the ground to recover from a single badly placed footprint. We walked single file when we found a path, placing one foot in front of another on someone else’s footprints, eyes on the ground. I wish we could have seen some of the country we were passing through, but nobody wanted to risk stepping on untouched ground just for a nice view.

I don't know how long we walked and I don't know how far. Along the way we came across smaller piles of boulders, miniature versions of what we wanted to find. We climbed to the top of every one of them, of course. That's what happens when you send climbers to a place with massive piles of rocks just waiting to be summited; a lot of time goes towards exploring. Eventually we reached another road and took a real look around. We could still see the crag behind our campsite, looking much smaller than we’d expected; we couldn't have walked for more than three miles, but the desert plays tricks with your mind.

The sun was low in the sky as we looked out at the desert. There’s a strange in-between time before the sun starts to turn everything orange when the whole world looks a bit washed out. The sky isn’t the brilliant blue of midday anymore; the sandy dirt looks more like dried mud than a sunlit beach; the scrub turns grey; the rocks turn to dark brown silhouettes or faded shades of yellow-purple. Behind us rose the largest boulder pile we had seen. It spread out, seeming to grow out of the sand, turning from smaller, grit-covered, stones to huge rocks balanced together to make a rather precariously constructed mountain.

We moved slowly up the side, at first hopping from rock to rock, then scrambling up the larger boulders as we climbed higher.

“Careful, that ones loose.”

“Whoa, watch that flake, it almost came off.”

“This parts too steep, lets find a way around.”

The only time we talked on that rock was to keep the others from stepping on something that might give way or cause them to slip.

That's just what the desert does to you. It makes you quieter, more contemplative. You don't need to talk in the desert; it does most of the talking for you.

We’d timed it perfectly. We reached the top of the pile just as the sun started to dip behind the horizon. The colors were modulating away from the washed out tones of half an hour before towards the oranges and orange-yellows and dark browns of sunset. This high up, we could see for miles. Somebody pointed out the campsite in the distance. The sun sank lower. The rocks were still warm from the heat of the day. A cool gust of wind cut across the landscape.

When the sun was completely hidden behind the mountains in the distance, we began making our way back to camp. The climb down went far more slowly than the climb up. Our light was fading fast and we wanted to get back to camp before full dark. We were quiet despite the occasional whispered curse when a foot went wrong. When we reached the edge of the desert that we had crossed to get to our sunset pile, we faced something of a daunting task: tracing our same path back to camp in the low light of twilight. We walked closer together this time, following the one person with enough foresight to bring a flashlight. Even with the flashlight, the path was hard to follow. We were each concentrating so hard that many a heel was stepped on and one person almost fell.

We were a bit late to dinner; we had wanted to be back in time to help prepare, but unfortunately we arrived just as they finished. We ate quesadillas and did the dishes to make up for our tardiness. We fell asleep under the stars.

(January, 2016)

#nature #essay #joshua tree #desert #climbing #writing #creative writing #prose #non fiction

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poettier · 8 months

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Airbnb Aircover "Tree House" 15" 2022 from Marcelo Altino Garcia on Vimeo.

Video 3 out of 3

Unforgettable miniature moments in an Airbnb typographic landscape.

Role: Creative Director Production Company: Buck

“Aircover,” Airbnb’s new insurance, will protect you and your finances during your trip. With the amazing team at Buck, we created a hand-crafted, miniature architectural world to depict unforgetable moments and show CG characters enjoying a worry-free vacation.

Our utopian Airbnb scape underwent a thorough design process for every element.

The houses, interiors, characters, landscapes, and transitions all needed to be distinct and recognizable even in miniature form. Many talented artists were required to bring these small details to life.

To add depth and personality to our 3D characters, we developed a backstory for each house. A family skiing in the Alps, a multi-generation family reuniting in a Brooklyn brownstone, a couple relaxing in an Oregon tree house, a family enjoying a pool house in Bali, a group of 60+ year old friends celebrating a birthday in Joshua Tree, a couple and child returning to their geodome after a hike in Chile, and a couple enjoying a sunset from a cottage in the South of France.

Our goal was to transport the viewer on a journey to several countries in a day. To accomplish this, we carefully designed the lighting to start with a sunrise, then follow the sun’s progression through morning and afternoon, and conclude with a sunset over the desert and mountains.

For a full project breakdown, visit: behance.net/gallery/162998743/Airbnb-Aircover

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boondockerblog · 1 year

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Day 66 Sunfair Lake near Joshua Tree Nat'l Park

The running promised to be amazing with paths everywhere you looked in to the hills.

Once into them it was clear they were mostly sand and then all of a sudden up over a hill they were rocky and then they were sand with a strip of rock. It just kept changing underfoot and what you could see.

And back behind the sand hills we saw from the lake bed were deep valleys leading to numerous mountains. I swear I was planning to just do my run and go home for breakfast, but when I saw the steep mountain trails and could already see the motorhome as a miniature in that huge lake bed, well, I just couldn't help myself. So we climbed and climbed. It was so much fun.

vimeo

Breakfast was late.

On the run Maddie and I saw a car buried in the sand so our hike today was to the car so Bill could weigh in on what it was. He says a taxi based on the yellow and blue very faded paint. Of course, since you can see the top edge of the driver seat, Bill muses that the reason someone buried it here is to get rid of the body. 😂

We so wanted to know why a lake of this size would dry up and when. We both looked and looked for info and the best we could do was discover that it's also called Coyote Lake and lots of off-roading goes on here.

Being Friday a few more people had arrive by dark. Cool, really far away to see small lights every so often (campfires)

#Vimeo

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networkluvs · 3 years

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word count: 1.8k

warnings: none! :)

“Finally, everyone’s here!” Jeonghan smiled widely as he opened the door, letting you, Wonwoo, and Misty into his apartment. He wore a festive antler headband with a Santa outfit, the same outfit as Wonwoo’s which you found quite humorous. However, when you walked further into the apartment, everyone was wearing a Santa outfit.

Misty pouted and whined looking at the array of Santas in front of them, “And no one told me?”

You laughed before setting down the gifts you and Misty brought underneath the Christmas tree. You couldn’t help but notice one gift that was wrapped in the shape of a guitar case. “No way,” you thought to yourself, “Jihoon couldn’t have gotten me the guitar, right?”

“Good news!” Mingyu shouted, distracting your train of thought. He came out of the kitchen in a red apron tied around his Santa costume with a soup ladle in hand, “Sooyoung's Soup Extravaganza isn’t a failure! Let’s eat then open gifts okay?”

---

“Alrighty! Who should go first?” Seokmin said as everyone spread their seating around the living room. Surprisingly, Soonyoung’s soup was indeed not bad, it was quite delicious in fact. You could see the beaming smile on Soonyoung’s face after everyone complimented his good job with the meal prep. You sat on the floor next to Misty, adjusting the festive Santa hat Soonyoung gave to you after calling his chicken noodle soup “The Best Chicken Noodle Soup you’ve ever had.”

Seungcheol left his seat on the couch to grab his gift, later handing it to Joshua, “I know how much you miss your family and that this isn’t the ideal situation to spend the holidays, but Merry Christmas, Shua. I hope you had fun this month regardless.”

“Cheol…” Joshua nearly teared up, opening the small red envelope and staring at the contents within. A plane ticket to Los Angeles lied in front of him, “You didn’t have to…”

“Jeonghan and I pitched in,” He explained more, “It’s set for the summer so when you’re done with graduate school, you can visit before residency.”

There wasn’t a single dry eye in the room when Joshua stood up to engulf both his roommates into a hug. You were wiping the tears that streamed down your face with your sleeve when Joshua said while chuckling, “Alright! Enough crying, I’ll give my present now!”

Joshua ran under the tree to give Chan his gift and judging from the wrapping shape itself, it seemed like Chan would be receiving a vacuum cleaner. But as Chan unwrapped the contents of the present, it turned out that he received a new pair of sneakers instead. “Of course Joshua would pull something like this.” You thought to yourself as you examined the changed reaction on Chan’s face.

“Woah! Joshua, did you order these from America? They don’t sell these in Korea.” Chan asked in awe, holding up the pair of clean blue and white shoes for everyone to see.

Joshua grinned while patting the younger on the back, “Yeah! I had a friend visit from America recently and he delivered these for me.”

“Thank you so much, I love them!” Chan said while taking off his slippers to do a few dance moves in his new shoes.

“Hey! Don’t crease them!”

Laughter erupted in the friend group as Chan sang a few lines of Smooth Criminal by Michael Jackson while doing his signature moves. In moments like these, where only happiness could be found in the room, you knew for sure you had found your place in life. You were destined to be a part of this large, family-like friend group, and you were glad to meet them all in this precious life.

---

Shortly after Jihoon opened his gift from Minghao, which was a miniature piano that could connect to his laptop to produce songs, Jihoon stood up from his seat on the floor. He grabbed the gift that you knew belonged to you from under the tree, later handing the large present towards you while saying, “Merry Christmas, Y/N.”

You grinned slightly as you ripped the wrapping paper off the present, the tears showcasing the shiny black guitar case underneath. As you looked up at Jihoon, you could see that he was quite flustered at all the comments being made about your gift.

“As expected from our Jihoon!” Jeonghan said while patting his younger friend on the back.

“No way! You got her the guitar she’s been wanting?” Vernon exclaimed.

When you opened the case, the all-black, six-stringed electric guitar that you’ve been dreaming of for months was laid perfectly inside the case. You noticed that in one of the mesh pockets inside the case, a decorative envelope with your name written on it was neatly placed. Jihoon quickly mentioned, almost as if he knew what you were thinking at that moment, “There’s a letter inside, you can read that later tonight.”

The room filled with oohs and awes right after, causing both yours and Jihoon’s faces to burn up. You gathered the courage to look up at the boy in front of you, engulfing him in a hug while softly speaking, “Thank you, Jihoon.”

“Anything for you, Y/N.”

---

Everyone was messing around with their gifts, getting ready to watch movies to end the night when you excused yourself to the balcony to read Jihoon’s letter. Impatience ran through your veins as you zipped your puffy coat, placing the letter neatly into your pocket as you opened up the balcony. Surprisingly, it wasn’t too cold outside. It was cloudy for sure, the sky was illuminating different hues of grey, but somehow it was still bright outside, making it legible to read the letter.

You grabbed the envelope from your coat pocket, opening it from its fold while grabbing the letter inside. A smile appeared on your face as you saw the familiar writing on top of the paper. You began to read the letter in your head.

---

Dear Y/N,

Were you surprised?

You’ve been eyeing this guitar for so long! Even before you decided to come work at the music store, I remember seeing this cute girl come in every Saturday to stare at the black electric guitar and thinking “I hope she doesn’t know how to play… maybe I could give her lessons!” You could not imagine the disappointment I felt when you started shredding one of the electrics the next week.

Don’t even get me started on how much I admire your advocation for music education… Seeing you teach the beginners’ lessons and seeing the kids’ bright smiles after, knowing that someone out there supports their passion for learning an instrument is so special. And you know what? I completely understand how they feel because you’ve shown the same support to me. I've never been able to talk about my interest in music with someone, or even to talk to someone who has the same dreams of becoming a music producer comfortably, but with you? The world is a blank sheet of music, and every time we talk about our hopes and dreams for the future, a bar full of the sweetest melodies is added.

I can't say I didn't see it coming, but it did catch me a bit off guard when I realized how much I cared for you in ways that a lover would. I find you so admirable. I mean, really, what's there not to like? Your loyalty to friends is astonishing, the way you ramble about life to me during break time (hand movements included! I love it when you describe a crazy encounter with your hands), your kindness to others, how smart and bright you are, not to mention you’re so so pretty. I admit. I've caught myself staring at you more times than I've changed guitar strings.

Y/N, you’re bound to do great things in this world, I just know it. Whenever you feel like a failure, or that you’re not good enough, I hope you’ll remember my sincere words.

I love you, Y/N. I’m most definitely truly, madly, deeply, enamored by you. I adore you.

With love, your Jihoon.

—

Tears were falling from your face, landing directly on the paper after you finished reading Jihoon’s letter. After placing the letter back into its respective envelope and into your pocket, you rested your head on top of your arms while leaning on the balcony’s railing, softly mumbling to yourself, “This guy has no idea what he does to me.”

Just then, you felt a hand softly stroking your hair, causing you to jump back to reality. When you looked up at who the hand belonged to, you were appalled to see the person you were thinking of. Although your vision was semi-blurry from the tears, you could make out that the figure in front of you was Jihoon

“Jihoon-”

“Y/N,” He interrupted you, “You know how I told you I wasn’t ready for… us yet.”

You nodded slightly while playing with your thumbs with anxiety. Jihoon exhaled shortly after, causing a puff of white vapor to escape from his pink lips, “Well, the reason I wasn’t ready was that I wanted to wait for this day.”

“R-Really?”

He nodded, “I wanted you to receive your last gift before I asked you out. I know how much it means to you… to be able to have the guitar of your dreams.”

Although your heart was pounding out of your chest, somehow Jihoon’s words made the rhythms worse. Before you could say anything in response, he cut you off once again, “But now that it’s over with,” he exhaled shakily, “I’ve been wanting to ask you this since the day you started shredding on the guitars at work. Y/N, Will you do me the honors of letting me be your boyfriend?”

All you could do in response was cup Jihoon’s soft cheeks, smashing your lips into his shortly after.

What the books say about a true love's kiss wasn’t real. He didn’t taste like bitter coffee and you didn’t feel fireworks erupt in your stomach. Jihoon did, however, taste of sweet hot chocolate with hints of cooling peppermint, and your stomach felt warm like a fireplace. Jihoon’s hands found their way around your waist, pulling you closer to him just like the time underneath the mistletoe. Deepening the kiss further, you felt the slight smile escape from his lips as he moved in sync with yours.

As you parted away from the kiss, keeping your foreheads together, you noticed that Jihoon’s eyes were still closed from being too embarrassed to look at you after the kiss. You softly giggled before Jihoon asked, finally opening his eyes to meet yours, “So… was that a yes?”

“It most definitely was, Jihoon. I would love to be your girlfriend.”

“Great,” He managed to get out before pulling you in for one more kiss, “Because I want to do that again.”

---

adore you | all I want for christmas is you

synopsis: in which your lonely friend group tries to get into the christmas spirit by holding a secret santa party. to your surprise however, your special secret santa jihoon likes to give you gifts everyday until christmas.

a/n: words cannot describe how much I enjoyed writing this series and hearing so much feedback from you all throughout the journey, and it saddens me so much to say that this series has found its last chapter! thank you all so much for all the support, before I can say anything further without being repetitive I think I'll just let Vernon say what I want to say :)

taglist: @wuriwoori @solarbxby @sansbyeol @xfirebenderx @cloudyhaos @iho6hi @http-mewchuu @cheolsblackgf @baesgyus @erens-piss-cleaner @lynniac @leech4ns @imaginegot7bangtan @sakura-uji @timelessruins @currently-existing @lebritneeey @fav9yu @sunniesoobin @atomoonchild @anjiuniverse @coookiemonster @vanillxangxl @coupsiekkuma @kamikokii @odetoyeonjun @pengu-hours @makiswrld @cathartichaoss @1004jcm

couldn't tag: @bbarneybarnes @wooziwooziwoozioioioi @yeeeeezly @mulletdinos @svtster

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bonus!

#caratwritersclub #seventeen #seventeen scenarios #seventeen social media au #seventeen smau #svt smau #svt social media au #seventeen fic #seventeen crack #jihoon fic #woozi fic #adore you au #jihoon smau #woozi smau #woozi social media au #jihoon social media au #jihoon x femreader #woozi x femreader

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groovesnjams · 2 years

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“Western Wind” by Carly Rae Jepsen

DV:

On one hand I don’t want to neglect the sort of careful close reading and unpacking that a new song from Carly Rae Jepsen warrants, but on the other hand I’m absolutely fascinated by the context in which “Western Wind” exists. Here’s the thing: every lead single Carly’s released for literally a decade now has been a transparently-label-driven attempt to recapture “Call Me Maybe”: “I Really Like You”, “Party for One”, arguably even “Cut to the Feeling.” They’ve all been very good songs, on albums filled with great ones. In that oeuvre, “Western Wind” is a complete outlier: it sounds like absolutely nothing Carly’s released before, makes no attempt to mimic her breakthrough hit, and perhaps most importantly it’s a tremendous departure from her previous work - singles or otherwise.

“Western Wind” takes its time; it builds; it feels spacious and lush. Some of that may be due to co-writer/producer Rostam, but compare this to “Warm Blood”, their previous collaboration: in 2015 their collaboration was intensely anxious and obsessive. The change feels like Carly’s. She’s spent her entire career as the embodiment of too much-ness, as urgent and undeniable excess bottled up and exploding in ways that are violently overwhelming. She cuts or she hijacks you or she crushes your heart . Carly Rae Jepsen has long been driven by the visceral, in the most literal sense: “Western Wind” is interested in different kinds of pleasure. “We were pressed into the/ Love, we were pressed into the breeze up on the mountain” is an elision that suggests bliss - rather than the violence it might have in the past. Just as significantly, the song makes room for a short guitar solo, a form of structural decadence we’ve never heard Carly indulge before. Here, she’s no longer overwhelmed and uncontrolled; here, she has time. Even when singing about heartbreak, even throwing a “golden arrow”, incongruous and full of symbolism, into the mix (She’s still the same Carly, only now she’s different.) The question that remains is, will “Western Wind” be a signpost to the rest of the CRJ5, or is it an inverted version of the misleading lead singles she’s dropped in the past?

MG:

I’m so glad DV mentioned the guitar solo first, because, of course, for me that’s what stood out most and immediately about “Western Wind.” It’s not just short, but also delicate and full of light, mirroring the song’s structure in miniature. In its seemingly off the cuff simplicity, the solo sounds like catching a glimpse of the sun reflected off the surface of a lake at mid-afternoon. The notes bounce and sparkle and I’m so starved for luscious guitar work that it’s enough to make me forget that California is a desert.

It reminds me of something -- and I hope everyone is ready to hear the stomach-curdling thing I’m about to say -- it reminds me of The Joshua Tree, U2′s naturalist look at America with production helmed by Canada’s Daniel Lanois. Lanois is behind all beautiful bent and broken guitar sounds necessary to offset Bono’s chest puffing, but both are integral and essential to capturing what’s so thrilling about the west coast. On “Western Wind” we’re treated to Canada’s Carly Rae Jepsen and East Coaster Rostam conjuring a very intimate, specific utopia. Sure, we’d all like to divorce the wildfires and rising sea levels from our image of California. We’d all like to see the state from the shade of the redwood trees to the tops of ragged, immovable mountains, to inlet beaches covered in purple sand. In these ways, “Western Wind” captures a shared cultural imagination of a world free from peril, a place where we can bask in natural beauty and feel peace, maybe for the first time. But “Western Wind” is also a uniquely shared fever dream, one that accommodates Jepsen’s throaty voice instead of juxtaposing it against bright colors and racing pulses. And as much as “Western Wind” provides Carly with a space to exhale fully, it’s also Rostam’s best work yet. The degrees of tinker between “Western Wind” and his previous high heights like “In a River” and Haim’s “Gasoline” are infinitesimally small but too profound to enumerate. Just listen! This song is warm like water in July. Rostam needed a body of water bigger than a river and a warmth cooler than fire; Carly needed the same. Together they sound freer and looser than I thought possible.

#western wind #carly rae jepsen #music #a very long one

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alethiometry · 3 years

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VEGAS WAS SO LOVELY and by lovely i mean it's such a fucked up hellscape of a city but i love it very much and had a great time and i feel very grateful to be in a position where i am able to afford to travel and also the stretch of desert between LA and vegas is probably my favorite little fucked up corner of the entire united states i mean there is stuff like

joshua trees!!!!

rest stops with all the requisite junk food

super touristy fancy rest stops with, like, "artisan" jerky and ice cream and insanely overpriced bulk bags of candy

abandoned buildings with the most vivid graffiti that you can see from miles away

crumbling libertarian signage worn away by the desert and the years since they were ever relevant

one billboard for each of the 10 commandments on the road to vegas

"jesus loves you" messages on the backsides of those 10 commandments billboards that you can only see when you're returning to LA from vegas

every other billboard you see out there is advertising a strip club, a casino, a dispensary or a magician(?) named "piff the magic dragon" (NOT a typo)

a waterpark with no naturally occurring body of water nearby, abandoned and graffitied over but somehow still in the EXACT same condition it was in the last time i drove by it 6 years ago

handwritten signs advertising world-famous diners that no one's ever heard of

driving by other diners that seem to have no name, only a sign on the roof that simply commands, "EAT"

driving by the world-famous diner as advertised and seeing that there is a display of 5-6 massive bronze dinosaurs right next to it, only it's too late to turn back

solar farms

wind farms

driving through miniature rainstorms that have a maybe 0.5 mile radius, just enough to rinse all that dust off the car and get it ready to get all dusty again

fast food chains that simply do not exist in places that would be convenient for me to get to normally, and so i rarely or have never eaten there, and so they have become something of a white whale to me: sonic, wendy's, popeye's, dairy queen

somehow still inexplicably never eating at those places despite knowing that the chance rarely presents itself to me and i should take advantage while i can

finally cresting over a big hill and seeing the miles and miles of downhill cruising you can do, with the mountains always looming in the distance (and also off to either side of you)

#THE DESERT IS LOVELY AND EVIL AND ALSO LOVELY #its also nice to just. havr a stretch of semi-flat Nothing to look at. no people or branching roads or buildings #just sand and shrubbery and mountains (and power lines)#its just nice to not be in a city!!!#cool story charlotte

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pcttrailsidereader · 3 years

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A Visual Compendium

Excerpted from the Seattle Times Pacific Northwest Magazine, March 7, 2021

By Joshua Powell

Hiker Haven

IN 2003, JERRY Dinsmore invited three thru-hikers back to his home, thinking they were homeless and in need of help. He soon learned they were hiking the PCT, and Hiker Haven was born. Jerry and his wife, Andrea, hosted hikers every year after that and became particularly adept at helping northbound hikers make wise decisions regarding the potentially dangerous weather north of Stevens Pass.

When I visited in 2014, plastic pink flamingos adorned the yard. Andrea’s license plate read, “PCT MOM,” and next to it was a bumper sticker that stated, “Hug a logger. You’ll never go back to trees.” Hikers did their laundry and wandered about in borrowed clothing. One woman wore a tiny dress, revealing a smattering of tattoos. A male hiker donned a dress as well, the hair on his shoulders and back sticking out in large patches. A German hiker joked in his thick accent, “You look silly … but sexy.”

Jerry Dinsmore, clad in suspenders and a vintage Kenworth Trucks shirt, pulled up a chair alongside me, and we sat and watched as a train rolled past, loaded down with airplanes en route to the Boeing facility near Seattle. They were only fuselages, devoid of their wings.

“There’s a tunnel a few miles back with a pile of wings next to the entrance,” he joked.

Another thru-hiker, fresh from Stevens Pass, was dropped off in the driveway. Andrea greeted him, reaching out her arm to shake hands. He instinctively stuck out his closed hand, offering the customary thru-hiker fist bump.

“Oh, that’s not gonna go over well,” Jerry said, laughing.

The PCT community lost a very special member with the passing of Andrea in 2017. Jerry still welcomes hikers to his home in Baring.

Glacier Peak Wilderness

THE SURROUNDING RIDGES are carpeted in luminous green meadows lit up by the morning sun. The sky is free of haze, and the surrounding mountains are crystal clear as far as the eye can see. Rainier still reveals itself from time to time, peeking over southern ridges. Marmots whistle from the berry bushes, their heads protruding from the leaves like periscopes as they scan their surroundings. The trail at times crosses over snowfields and then past small Mica Lake, which still harbors floating ice. With September drawing near, the ice is unlikely to melt before the snow once again begins to fall — it has been victorious in its resistance to summer.

Glacier Peak seems to be Washington’s forgotten volcano — due in part to its location within a large, roadless wilderness area. From surrounding areas, there are fewer dramatic views of the mountain than there are of Adams, Rainier or Baker. It tends to blend in with the tall, jagged peaks surrounding it. The thru-hiker, however, gets to know the volcano intimately as the PCT skirts along its base and crosses the creeks draining its slopes, gaining and losing thousands of feet of elevation in the process.

The Big 5 Washington volcanoes visible from the PCT

Stehekin

FROM SUIATTLE PASS, the landscape seems to gradually tilt downward toward the horizon, and hikers can look forward to a descent all the way to Stehekin, the final trail town of the PCT — famous in thru-hiker lore for its bakery. It sits secluded at the northern tip of Lake Chelan, accessible only by boat, plane or hiking trail. To say that it’s remote is an understatement.

The PCT brings hikers to the end of the single road that leads into town. From there they can get on the National Park Service shuttle or perhaps catch a ride with a local fisherman. Stehekin is small and compact, with an idyllic location amid the lake and mountains. All the vehicles parked at the ferry landing seem at least four or five decades old, only adding to the feeling that time stands still in this lakeside town.

Hikers can set up for the night in a tiny campground perched on a miniature bluff above the water, watching brightly colored float planes land upon the lake’s surface and skim to a halt. When night falls, the view of the Milky Way is breathtaking. Stehekin translates to “the way through,” an appropriate name for a trail town on a thru-hike.

Stehekin’s main road curves around the marshy northernmost tip of Lake Chelan, where the Little Boulder Creek empties into the lake. It is the extreme end of a 50-mile body of water that narrowly snakes through the mountains down to the dry and sun-baked wine country of Central Washington, so drastically different from the often-overcast and rainy North Cascades.

An old Chevy pickup passes by on the road. Owned by the Stehekin Pastry Company, it is on its way down to the boat landing. A girl and dog sit atop the wooden flatbed of the truck. Farther down the road is a beautiful garden full of cabbage, kale and other produce. A row of dahlias lines a pathway, the intricately geometrical puffs of each flower leading the way toward an apiary buzzing with honey bees. On a bench rests a pile of rainbow chard, the leaves bright green and glossy and the stems neatly arranged in shifting hues of orange, yellow and purple.

The bakery truck passes again, headed back in the other direction. This time, the girl sits in the passenger seat, and the flatbed is piled high with boxes and goods that have been boated in. The little dog is positioned atop the huge pile with his chest puffed out, standing guard over his precious cargo.

Epilogue

AS YOU HIKE mile after mile across three states, you imagine that final moment of reaching the border to be an overwhelming experience, assuming the gravity of it will hit you like a ton of bricks. In reality, however, when you’ve lived out every month and week and day and hour and minute and second that transpires between Mexico and Canada, it’s not quite as dramatic as you might expect.

There was no surprise in the end, but the sense of accomplishment was hardly diminished. And with it came the realization that it was all over, and I was headed back to real life, full of its own unique joys and difficulties. I couldn’t stay on the trail forever, nor did I wish to. I simply hoped to find the next big thing to work toward, the next passion that would consume me from waking until bedtime.

#Glacier Peak #Stevens Pass #Dnismores #Hiker Haven #Stehekin

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mst3kproject · 4 years

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The River of the Giant Alligator

A bunch of Italians pretending they’re not Italian in a movie about a guy who chose the wrong place to build a hotel… it’s like Avalanche by way of Devil Fish, with an alligator. And racism. You can’t have a 70’s Italian jungle movie without the racism, and this one layers it on real thick. I think The River of the Giant Alligator has its MST3K bases covered.

Rich Asshole Joshua has opened Paradise House, a resort in the middle of the ‘virgin jungle’. He proudly tells visitors that not only has he left the surrounding ecosystem undamaged, but he’s helping the local people by giving them jobs and improving their standard of living. Naturally it’s not as simple as that. Trouble begins when Sheena, the model they brought for their advertising photographs (just for a dash of Killer Fish), vanishes overnight. Photographer Daniel and hotel manager Ally go to the locals looking for her, and are told that the River God has awakened and intends to drive the white people away by assuming the form of a giant crocodile and eating them all. Considering how mind-bogglingly stupid the tourists in this movie are, that should take all of twenty minutes.

The locals, who call themselves the Kuma, have a name for their River God but it’s pronounced five different ways and I won’t guess how to spell it. Because of the deep breathing sounds that presage its first appearance, I shall call the creature Darth Gator.

Let’s get the basics out of the way first. The whole movie is dubbed and the voice actors are bad. The Darth Gator prop is completely immobile but they mostly keep it in the dark or in really tight shots so we don’t notice… it’s only the occasional ill-advised wide shot where it’s obviously fake enough to be funny. There’s a spiky fence that exists mostly so that people can get impaled on it and a cloying little kid for no reason whatsoever. The ‘wildlife’ is a stock footage smorgasbord that includes orangutans and hippos on the same river. The worst effect in the film is a terrible miniature shot of the hotel on fire, which would have looked just fine if the people involved hadn’t forgotten that flames don’t scale.

So all that sucks, but is fairly harmless. Now let’s talk about the racism.

We’ll start with the movie’s treatment of its two ‘love stories’, and I use the floating commas because neither of them quite qualifies. Daniel and Ally are the main ‘couple’ of the movie. The camera lingers on each of them to show that he thinks she’s beautiful and she thinks he’s rugged, and they spend the whole movie hanging out on balconies and boats together and discussing whether the resort is good or bad for the local people… but they never get so much as a kiss. This is kind of nice, actually, because there’s very little time to stop and make out when you’re being chased by a large carnivorous reptile. It does, however, make for a hell of a contrast between them and the other ‘couple’ we see.

This is the model, Sheena, and her Kuma boyfriend. I am unclear on where this movie is set (the closest we get to a clue is Ally referring to the area as ‘the Orient’, which could honestly mean anything) but it’s perfectly clear that the reason they hired a black woman for their publicity photos is to make the place look ‘exotic’. There’s a weird moment when Joshua attempts to flirt with Sheena by telling her, “it occurs to me that Eve herself may have been black”, which… yes, that is how human evolution worked, what about it? All that aside, at the end of the day, Sheena runs off for a romantic evening with one of the tribesmen. We never see her talk to this guy or have any clue what made her pick him over any of the others. They just go fuck on a beach and then get eaten by an alligator.

So… we have blonde, blue-eyed white people having a perfectly chaste, wait-for-marriage love affair in which they actually get to know each other… and black people who run off with a stranger and screw out in the open like animals. Holy shit. I want to say I hope this wasn’t something the film-makers actively thought about, but it might be worse if they didn’t. Naturally, this is also a version of the ‘people who have premarital sex must die’ trope from slasher movies, and the movie makes doubly sure we know this is Bad Behaviour by having Ally remark that the Kuma are forbidden from visiting ‘the Island of Love’ on the full moon.

The deaths of Sheena and Nameless Kuma Guy also begin a pattern that lasts almost the entire movie. Even though we’re told, repeatedly, that Darth Gator wants to drive the white people out of his jungle, for the vast majority of the running time it’s the brown people who are getting chomped. We’re told that twelve white missionaries came here years ago and Darth Gator ate all but one of them, who then became a crazy jungle man (not gonna lie, Father Jonathan was my favourite character and I wish we’d seen more of him). We see Sheena, her boyfriend, and the boyfriend’s brother get eaten alive. Furthermore, most of the white deaths in the movie are at the hands of the Kuma, who run in and kill the tourists with spears and fire arrows in the belief that they’re doing their god’s bidding, and much of this happens offscreen. Those hit by the arrows quickly fall into the water and vanish from sight. The only time the camera lingers on a white person dying is Joshua, who I guess they think deserved it. The impression one gets is that white death is a horror better implied than shown, while brown death is a spectacle. Again… holy shit.

The River of the Giant Alligator can’t seem to decide what we’re supposed to think about the Kuma people. Early in the film they’re portrayed as victims. These foreigners have invaded their land and built this giant hotel, and claimed to be helping them by giving them ‘work’. Ally notes that they’ll be able to live longer, healthier lives, but Daniel wonders if it’s worth it when they’ve basically become Joshua’s slaves. The movie leaves this question hanging there without exploring it any further. When Daniel and Ally come looking for information about the alligator attacks, the Kuma direct them to Father Jonathan, knowing they’re more likely to believe a white man, even one who’s obviously not quite all there. The movie really wants to be about the exploitation of indigenous peoples, treated as decorations and curiosities by white tourists.

The problem is, it wants to eat that cake, too. By the end of the story, the Kuma have devolved into stock savages. They attack the hotel and kill everybody, and kidnap Ally so they can tie her to a horizontal King Kong contraption as a sacrifice. The ending just makes it all the more confusing, as they turn up to discover that their god has been blown to bloody chunks after biting into a van full of explosives, and they cheer and they just leave. Is it really that easy to kill a god? Won’t a dead god demand vengeance anyway? Does this mean they actually like the white people after all, and were only angry because Darth Gator was eating them?

The ending also muddles the movie’s other point, about the nature of eco-tourism. One of the selling points of Paradise House is that it’s in the middle of virgin jungle. Joshua brags about how he’s left the surrounding ecosystem untouched – but then we cut straight to trees being cleared using dynamite, and later we see live piglets being thrown into the river to keep the crocodiles hanging around so people can gawk at them. You can’t build a hotel in the middle of a place and then call it ‘virgin jungle’. You’re the one who violated it!

The script is a little unclear on whether Darth Gator is a natural or supernatural threat. Ally and Daniel insist that it’s no mere alligator (I don’t think this movie knows the difference between crocodiles and alligators any better than I do) and Father Jonathan seems to believe it’s the Devil Himself, but it certainly dies like a flesh-and-blood creature. Whatever its nature, it’s clear enough that Darth Gator represents the jungle striking back at these intruders to drive them out. The Kuma literally say as much. So what are we to take from the fact that it dies at the end? Have we won the right to destroy the forest by killing its guardian? I don’t believe the people who make these movies think this stuff through.

I can tell that we’re supposed to hate the tourists, and we do, although not always for the reasons the movie wants us to. Minnow, the red-haired little girl who ‘only likes to play with boys’, tries so hard to be Adorable that you want to punt her across the room. Her mother leaves her to wander around the hotel alone, because Mummy’s got a smarmy mustached boyfriend to bang (even this relationship gets more attention than Sheena and Unnamed Kuma Guy, by the way… we are told that Mummy and Mustache have met before, and are here mostly to see each other rather than the jungle). Other notable annoyances include a lady who seems perfectly sane until she starts talking about the aliens, and a guy who loves to complain about Youth These Days and will seize any opportunity to do so.

I kinda wanna gripe about these obnoxious characters, but I don’t feel like I can. You may recall that I spent a month stuck on a cruise ship earlier this year. I can tell you definitively that these people do exist, and I hate them even more in real life.

Man, this could have been a fun monster movie. I’ve seen movies about man-eating crocodiles (or alligators… does it honestly matter that much?) that I really enjoyed. Primeval wasn’t even that bad – it was about how humans are more monstrous than anything nature can produce. Lake Placid had that immortal bit where Betty White says if I had a dick, this is where I’d tell you to suck it. The River of the Great Alligator is just boring bullshit and things that seem kinda racist on the surface but then you think about them a little longer and realize they’re incredibly racist. I went into this one hoping to like it, but it absolutely pissed on the last shreds of my optimism... like a lot of other things in 2020.

#mst3k #reviews #episodes that never were #the river of the great alligator #the great alligator #fuck this movie #fuck it so much #70s

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hometoursandotherstuff · 5 years

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If you like kitschy vacations, there’s the Hicksville Trailer Palace, Morgan Higby Night’s nostalgic project, in Joshua Tree, CA. They have 9 themed trailers to choose from and lots of fun amenities. Plus, your dog is welcome, too.

The Pioneer.

The Fifi.

The Sideshow.

The Pony.

The PeeWee, which was a prop in Pee Wee Herman’s movie, Big Top.

They even have a tiny library, a pool, miniature golf, a dog park (Fort Dog), archery, BB gun targets, BBQ’s, a bar, music, ping pong, a photo booth, and a rooftop deck for star gazing.

http://www.hicksville.com/joshuatree/

#vacation spots #joshua tree vacation #trailers #camping parks

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antichrister · 10 months

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my favourite plant, miniature joshua tree, sedum multiceps. i don't know what initially made me latch onto this plant, and by that i mean i wanted and searched for one for a year 😅 it's not an easy cultivar to track down, especially with shipping to Ireland that isn't insane. but i found a source.

#personal #succulents #succlentblr #plants #plantble #sedum multiceps #miniature joshua tree #my plants

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onestowatch · 4 years

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zack villere Is Creating a World All His Own [Q&A]

Photo: @projectional

zack villere may not be a concept artist in the traditional sense, but he has a unique talent for creating surreal worlds that are difficult not to get swept up in. This penchant has been seemingly present from the outset, first showing its face in his debut EP, pants, released under his previous moniker, froyo ma. However, it truly came to fruition in his aptly-titled debut album Little World, an encapsulation of villere’s love for well, little worlds.

Each of his projects portrays a kaleidoscopic vision, one brimming with lived-in characters and avant-garde soundscapes. In many ways, even on his sophomore album, Cardboard City, villere becomes difficult to easily pin down. And chances are he likes it better that way. “I think the most annoying part about it is when you think you’re doing something interesting and different, and then everyone says, 'Oh, you’re just like [that guy],'" shares villere when I ask him how he feels about others attempting to classify his music.

Bedroom pop. Anti pop. Lo-fi indietronica. Nothing feels quite right when it comes to succinctly defining villere or the world of Cardboard City. So, in the hopes of better understanding the idiosyncratic artist, I sat down with him over a plate of Mediterranean food to talk chapped lips, nostalgic childhood cartoons, and transcending genre classifications.

Ones To Watch: How has LA been treating you these last three years?

zack villere: I have a lot of friends here so I like that. I was trying to move to New York in January but my friend, who was supposed to move with me, bailed. I was really ready to go so I’m trying to go to New York after I finish the tour. But I like LA. My lips are chapped because we went to Joshua Tree.

For any reason or just because?

Just for fun, but it messed with my lips.

It’s a desert out there. A literal desert.

The desert is not my thing, man.

What does an average day look like for you?

Right now, it’s kind of all over the place. When I was working on my album, I was just going to the studio, but right now I’m just hanging out. I’m working on my next album so whenever I have a thought about a song, I just make it.

Are you still recording a lot at home?

I used to, and I did a lot of my album that’s coming out in the studio, it’s actually down the street, which I really liked. But this one right now that I’m working on, I’m just trying to write all of the songs first and then go in and re-produce them. So I’m just working at home, but I want to make it like a nice, well-produced effort.

So, you’re already working on your third album? Already on to the next thing?

I’m not going to act like I’m a workaholic, because I’m not, but I’m just excited for the next album and all of the ideas that I have for it.

It’s not like the SoundCloud days when you could just drop it whenever you want.

I miss that. Even with Little World, it just felt freer.

Are there any general central themes on your sophomore album, Cardboard City?

Yeah, it’s just about a world called Cardboard City that I just made up. The “Sore Throat” video kind of brings you in and is a third-person perspective, almost like a film. The way I see it, it’s a film version of the world, and the “A Feeling” video was kind of on the street with the character of the world.

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Given that your previous album was called Little World, is it safe to say that you’re trying to create miniature worlds with each album?

I guess so. That’s how it’s been so far. I’m not sure if it will always be like that but, for even the first EP, the Froyo Ma EP, it was an idea about a cereal bowl leftovers that coagulated into a little island and there was a spaceman that landed on it. That was the story behind that project. So, I’ve always gone into it with an idea, but Little World wasn’t totally as conceptual as this one is, and the next one kind of has a different idea and conception.

It seems like you’re really into miniatures.

(Laughter) Yeah. I fuck with small stuff. I think the reason why I’m into small stuff is because I watched a lot of things like Small Soldiers and Stuart Little as a kid. I actually wanted to do a video for Little World where there would be this dance party and it would be super animated. I just didn’t really have any help at that time because I was doing everything myself, so I would have all of these ideas but could never pull them off. And I still kind of feel that, but now I have people.

But you’re entirely independent for the most part. Do you enjoy that freedom of control?

It’s cool. I did like a distribution deal on this project and that gave me a little bit of money to do the “Sore Throat” video, which I did with my friend Dan. Just having a little bit of money and some freedom to like, get a nice camera and pay him to spend his time on it. Before I just didn’t know how to get anyone to do anything. So yeah, it’s cool, but I really want to work with people. I’m tired of the idea of doing everything by myself. There’s nothing really that cool that comes from that. It’s just like, “Oh cool, you did that.” I’d much rather be known for making cool shit than for doing everything by myself.

How is it touring? In previous interviews, you’ve said that you’re not keen on performing live. Has that changed?

(Laughter) No. I played a show in Vancouver that was really fun and I was like “Oh, this could actually be really fun.” But then I played two shows after that and it sucked, so I’m kind of back to dreading tour a little bit. But, I’m excited because the two shows that I didn’t like - one was a festival, where there were people that liked my music, but not too many. And the other was a college show and there was nobody really there for me. It’s more fun when they know the music.

Photo: @alex.tc

I feel like a lot of your inspirations, or at least the ones you’ve noted, are very R&B and hip-hop focused. Do those two particular genres speak to you in particular?

I guess so, but I don’t really know. I like a lot of music. I like pop music, like pop/R&B. I just like R&B melodies, probably because I was into Jazz when I was younger. When I was in junior high, I played the saxophone.

How do you feel about genre classification?

It’s definitely annoying, but it’s not the end of the world. I think the most annoying part about it is when you think you’re doing something interesting and different, and then everyone says, “Oh, you’re just like [that guy].” That’s the biggest bummer for me. I would love to transcend that shit and just be like known for what I do and not for my association. But I think for the stage I’m at, people need to classify me.

How do your parents would describe your music to their friends?

I literally have no idea. I’ll ask them when I go home.

Are they chill with the whole music thing?

Yeah, they’re sick. They’re down with it, which is cool.

Have they seen you live yet?

Yeah, they saw me a few times but the first time with me singing was my last time in New Orleans. I didn’t sing growing up, so I was honestly nervous because it felt like that part of me is like a new development.

What spurred you to start singing?

I’m not really sure. I was in college, and I just kind of wanted to make songs so I just started singing. The first thing I ever did was a cover of “Awkward” by Tyler [the Creator], and then I sent it to my friend Elijah and it was trash.

Wait, where you doing the rapping or singing part?

Just singing. I was just doing the Frank [Ocean] part. But I sent it to my friend Elijah and it was just so bad and I was so embarrassed that I didn’t sing again for a year. And then I eventually did it again. I just wanted to write songs.

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Was there a certain point in your life when you realized that music was what you wanted to do?

I started playing guitar in middle school because I wanted to start a band with my friend, so we both got guitars, but he didn’t really play. Then I just kept playing because I wanted to be in a band or just do something with music.

When I went back home last year I found this book from when I was little that said that I wanted to be a cartoonist or an astronaut or something. Like I wanted to make cartoons and also go to space. So, for a good period of my life, I wanted to do astrophysics, but I’m not science or math-minded. I’m so bad at it, but I was just so into the idea of it and romanticized being an astrophysicist.

When I was in high school I wanted to be a screenwriter and do movies. Also, a part of me wanted to be on SNL because I was really into Jimmy Fallon. But, I was always making music, so I ended up wanting to do that.

You still make cartoons, right?

Yeah, I still draw. I would want to make a cartoon. I have an idea for a cartoon series, it’s just getting myself to that point where I’ll actually do it. One day.

Were there any cartoons growing up that were super formative for you?

I have such a bad memory but, obviously Spongebob and The Fairly OddParents. Just the basic ones. I also watched Arthur because I had PBS. Also, the WB stuff like Static Shock and the old Batman series. The good ol’ days.

The final important question, what were you like as a kid?

I don’t know. I don’t have the best memory. I feel like I was a shithead and probably just lame. Maybe I just blocked it out because I didn’t like that person (laughter).

#zack villere #interview #cardboard city #indie #pop #anti pop

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thisdayinfavrd · 5 years

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November 30, 2009

I joined the KKK for the homophobia but stayed for the anonymous gay sex. @fireland (Joshua Allen) – 132

Judging by your face, you are not an attractive person. @baileygenine (Bailey Siewert) – 107

What is productivity, really? I will ponder this question while sitting in my new manila folder igloo. @badbanana (Tim Siedell) – 90

Lost the baby Jesus for the miniature nativity scene, so I used a frozen Jimmy Dean sausage instead. Merry Sausagemas. @thedayhascome (Josh Hopkins) – 89

My employees forgot about Cyber Monday. I won't rub it in. They look embarrassed enough when I walk by in my RoboCop suit. @badbanana (Tim Siedell) – 88

A friend asked me how old I thought she was. I answered vaguely to be safe, saying "Young enough for acne but old enough for sagging boobs." @MrBigFists (Jonathan Sloan) – 81

Dropping the kid off at kindergarten on the way to meanergarten. @adamisacson (Adam Isacson) – 81

Best part about carrying a ukulele through an airport: THEM: "So... you a musician?" ME: "Yeah, I play a little guitar." @jasonpermenter (Jason Permenter) – 74

The Boy came into my room with tears welling in his eyes, to ask if I had sold his pajamas. Which just goes to show: kids are fucking weird. @tj (Fun Size Bytes) – 69

Well, that's the last time I offer myself up to be deep crawled. With no computer. At a bar. @debihope (Notorious d.e.b.) – 66

I'm not sure there would be such a stigma if instead of crabs, people could be infested with popcorn shrimp. @gordonshumway (Jelisa Castrodale) – 63

Missing tweet #6190424272 @cravenheart (Unavailable) – 61

Personally, I won't be satisfied until a Buddhist monk lights himself on fire for web standards. @Moltz (Moltz) – 61

"I like only white lights on the tree." "I want colored lights." "Colored? That's racist." "You're the one who wants the white only tree." @abigvictory (Michele Catalano) – 60

"Satellite Radio" is a trademark. The generic term is "Radio! From! Spaaaaaaaace!" @FakeAPStylebook (Fake AP Stylebook) – 58

Tiger Woods deserves the benefit of the doubt no matter how many people he supposedly killed. @badbanana (Tim Siedell) – 58

Sad to announce The LunaPod Project is now dead. My mass-produced $7 rocket to the moon was undermined by suppliers, lawyers, and reality. @hotdogsladies (Merlin Mann) – 57

I looked at my tweetcloud. I think I'm gay and pretty certain I have a poop fetish. My life makes so much sense now. @iamnotdiddy (iamnotdiddy™) – 56

A laconic celebrity golfer makes his pasty, fair-weather fans get all mad and pitchforky. At last. My perfect storm of who the fuck cares. @hotdogsladies (Merlin Mann) – 56

In most states, Texas would be too retarded to execute. @SeoulBrother (SeoulBrother) – 54

#favrd is down

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quest2thewest · 5 years

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From Animal Rescue to Eco-Shire

We woke up to the sounds of lots of different animals. One loud and proud rooster, along with a second rooster who definitely needed an adjustment to his vocal cords...he reminded me a lot of the chicken Hay Hay, from Moana. Kinda scraggly and maybe a little bird brain-ish (although to be fair I cannot conform this one was scraggly). He was definitely trying to get his morning wake up call to be as impressive as rooster #1 but let’s just say he was a ways away from success. Jessica gave us a tour of the property. She has a ton of animals! Many are rescued, some are just being given a place to live while their owners either relocate or are out of town, etc. She had at least 7 horses, several goats, a donkey, a miniature pony, pigs, chickens, geese, a tortoise, rabbits, dogs and cats. And most importantly 2 llamas (most notably, Kusco the kissing llama). Our travel mascot Willie, (see post #2) was very jealous. We then got lunch at a place called Pie for the People- very good pizza!! We picked up a Joshua tree map and took some suggestions from the ranger- a short nature trail at Black Rock Canyon (one of the less frequented areas of Joshua Tree) and then a few small hikes in the park. Joshua Tree is seriously a national park designed by Dr. Seuss. The trees are hysterical! We got lucky enough to see a few cute desert hares. We also saw a very odd....demonstration? I guess you’d call it....two women in fancy almost tribal looking outfits, one playing a drum and the other singing. It seemed like it was an ode to some higher power or god. It went on for a very long time. A girl also decided to join in the celebration by interpretive dancing. I think Andy and I both had a “we’re not in Kansas anymore” moment. And I had the song (which was not in English) stuck in my head for several hours afterwards. We went to Joshua Tree Saloon for dinner which was a great old time-y place with lots of old signs and memorabilia inside. We had our first California brewed beers! We flipped a coin for whether we’d camp for one more night (knowing we’d hit San Diego the next day) or stayed in a much needed hotel. Camping won the coin toss so we used HipCamp again to find a place that was referred to as a “Down to Earth Eco-Shire” in Hemet, CA. We had no idea what to expect but we’re very pleasantly surprised. Jim and his wife greeted us (along with their long haired dachshund D’Angelo) with a nice fire all set up and burning. They live on the property and are currently building an Eco-Shire, with all sorts of different projects. More details in the next post.

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