California – Page 18

Kings Canyon – Day 2

July 3, 2010 JWise Photo of the Day, Travels

Hazy layers of mountains in the early morning at Kings Canyon National Park, California

It’s morning in the mountains with the sun straggling over the heights, slipping over one peak to be trapped behind another. Shadows still rule the early day up here. The traffic that will befoul the roads in a few hours is still at bay, as is the heat. A cool, moist air tries to convince us that we could be a bit chilled. But we come from the desert below and will enjoy our moment of freedom from oppressive weather. At home, even the early morning sun peaks over the horizon with a sizzle this time of year, up here, we are temporarily saved from its blistering attack.

Kings Canyon National Park, California

Addition: It’s January 2023, and in the process of creating an index of our travels, I recognized that over the years, some blog posts weren’t connecting to the uploaded photos and instead were using some kind of cached image. This has required me to reupload dozens of day’s worth of photos spread out over some years. In some cases, I’m seeing images I should have uploaded or at least, some I want to upload now. The images that are reuploaded are also being adjusted as in my view, I think I’m able to do a better job using Lightroom. There’s one other image I’m adding below that I’ll also mark as an addition. As for the subject matter, we were driving through a canyon on a narrow road hanging to the side of a cliff.

Grizzly falls in Kings Canyon National Park, California

A subtle yet magnificent waterfall – Grizzly Falls. The mist is being shot out of the foot of the falls; all around us, the ground, the trees, the leaves, and soon we, as well, are covered in moisture. Until then, we delight in standing near the cascade of wispy veils of water that spray over the boulders, wet our faces, and cover our glasses in droplets, obscuring our sight. Eventually, the cold of the early morning finds its way through our thin layer of toughness, shortening our stay. Anyway, we have a date with a ten-mile-long trail.

Mist Falls trail in Kings Canyon National Park, California

So, we cut the thirty-mile drive from three hours yesterday down to an hour and a half this morning, but it still was too long to be off on our hike near sunrise. We reach the trailhead at 7:45; we might have to do better than a mile an hour this time – maybe. Luck would have it that the parking lot is still relatively empty, so not too many people should be on the trail yet; plus, some of these cars probably belong to the backpackers who have taken the longer hike up to Paradise Valley and points beyond. We are on the Mist Falls Trail, which becomes the Woods Creek Trail just beyond our destination.

Amongst the ferns in the forest on the Mist Falls Trails in Kings Canyon National Park, California

The first part of the trail is nearly level and casually cuts a path through the meadow and intermittent forest. In a moment, boulders dot the landscape, and the hike turns up a canyon. Grasses give way to ferns, and the trail becomes even lusher. Down at the foot of the canyon, we are once again in shadow, this time from the sun eating Mount Gardiner standing overhead at 12,907 feet. After more than an hour, no one else has passed us, but this is about to change.

Vibrant green summer growth on the forest floor in Kings Canyon National Park, California

The forest is old and constant yet, at the same time, new and dynamic. The trees may have towered above for hundreds of years, but this fresh green growth has come up with the disappearance of the last snow and the march forward of spring. We would easily be forced to our knees and crawl to catalog all that is to be seen here, but that would give short change to what is above our heads. And what of all that is before our noses? The day is too short for everything our eyes, ears, noses, and fingers can behold; life is too short to see all that it has put before us.

White water rushing by the Mist Falls Trail in Kings Canyon National Park, California

For an hour now, we have been walking along the river. It’s not always visible, but we can hear it. When it does come into view, it doesn’t fail to amaze. Maybe we dam our rivers to allow us to forget what a wild river looks and sounds like. This way, we do not wish to see more racing, tumbling water; we accept that water is controlled, portioned, priced, and commodified. There is an inherent, maybe even primordial, draw to rushing water. When you look into the crashing waves, the deep emerald flow, and the white foamy tumult, there is an elevation of senses that tells you that the world and all that is around you is vibrant and alive. It demands your attention, your respect, and your sense of awe.

Cascading water next to the Mist Falls Trail in Kings Canyon National Park, California

The trail steepens, and the river grows louder. Mosquitos politely remind us that we should put on gobs of insect repellent, which we do in great haste. We are gaining in elevation, and while the trail map claims that we will only gain 800 vertical feet, it feels like a lot more. If it weren’t for the flying mini-monsters emitting those high-frequency buzzing noises, we could pull up a chair and feel like we’ve seen it all, being content to call this the end of the trail. Moving forward keeps the blood-sucking tyrants away from the places the repellent missed, and who knows, maybe Mist Falls will be even more beautiful than what we are looking at on our way.

Kings Canyon National Park, California

Addition: With so many intimate shots showing the details of the place we were visiting, I thought it was needed here in January 2023 when I updated this post to add a better overview of where were at in Kings Canyon National Park.

A rattle snake on the Mist Falls Trail in Kings Canyon National Park, California

Is that the sound of a rattlesnake? Well, look at that: right next to the trail, the first rattlesnake in the wild Caroline and I have seen. Over the rest of the day, we’ll see two more. For twenty minutes or so, we stood still, watching the snake map his territory. Or maybe it was just trying to figure a way out. From where we first saw this five-year-old specimen, it was at the end of the road unless it was going to try to pass us. It curled up behind the rock next to the trail in a defensive position until it recognized that we were not trying to corner it and finally, it started to relax and slithered back up the trail in front of us. The snake found a crevice and, within minutes, was above us in the rocks and soon gone.

A lush fairy garden on the Mist Falls Trail in Kings Canyon National Park, California

To think that a few months ago, this trail was covered in snow. Maybe ice had formed along the river, or had it stopped flowing over the winter? Is it silent here under the trees in January? While wildflowers can’t literally scream and dance, they do come close with their beauty beckoning us to admire their perfect setting as we walk by. All of the pieces are laid out in such a way that the contrasts, gradations of color, and depths say you are about to see just what your imagination of what a perfect reality should look like, looks like. And there it is, next to the red bark of a tall tree, against the dense forest, in sun, speckled with blotches of shade, fern fronds in the background catching glimmers of light, fluttery insects bouncing from purple flower to flower and floaty ephemeral unknown things drifting in the air above this perfect scene, it is all so dreamy and all ours for as long as we choose to bask in its glow.

Caroline Wise standing in a pool next to a cascade above Mist Falls in Kings Canyon National Park, California

Mist Falls. We have arrived. While Mist Falls themselves were quite nice, it was the cascade just above them that really drew our attention. Riverside Caroline took off her boots and stepped into the “very” cold waters of what is part of the South Fork of the Kings River. This was also a great spot for her to dry her socks and for us to break out our lunch. Today’s gourmet mid-day meal was of whole wheat bread bedecked with peanut butter, raspberry peach jam, and sliced banana – a PBB&J. Drink was courtesy of our Camelbak and was of the lukewarm water variety. But then, who cares about food while the eyes are feasting?

Caroline Wise and John Wise on the Mist Falls Trail in Kings Canyon National Park, California

Ok, time to run down the mountain. Like that’s going to happen with Pokey and Sleepy Wise. Everything looks so different hiking in the opposite direction; we have all the reason in the world to inspect these details with all of the attention spent on the trip up. There was a photo I didn’t include of our trek up the trail; it was taken just before the photo of the rattlesnake, and a glimpse of it can be seen behind us in this photo. The view from up here is the kind of vista you hope to see after hiking through the forest and up mountains. It is obscured here by our big heads, and to see it in its full grandeur, one should have to make the journey to Kings Canyon National Park and get off the beaten path to witness it in person.

On the meadow of a loop return trail after leaving the Mist Falls Trail in Kings Canyon National Park, California

The trail back to the car took a detour over a bridge and through the forest on the opposite side of the river. We were almost turned back by our apprehension of crossing a small but fast-moving knee-deep stream. Lucky for us, a group of half a dozen hikers came by and marched right over those strategically placed tree limbs like they were a bridge built just for them. We mustered our courage and followed their path. Yay, we will be able to take this alternative route to finish our hike! This was only as good an idea in theory as the reality of the soreness in our feet counterbalanced that enthusiasm and had us thrilled when we finally saw the next bridge that would deliver us back over the river towards the trailhead.

Mosses growing on a dead burned out trunk of a Sequoia tree in Kings Canyon National Park, California

With that hike behind us and it still early in the day, we weren’t about to waste the light of day by putting our tired feet up; we drove right over to Converse Basin. The night before, Ranger Frank (aka John Muir) Helling told in his narrative of a burned-out sequoia tree that the real John Muir cut into with his ax more than a hundred years ago to count the growth rings. Those ax marks can still be seen and rings counted like they were exposed just yesterday. Funny thing to stand there thinking that John Muir would have seen pretty much the identical things I’m looking at. No, this picture is obviously not those ax marks; it is the moss that grows on the opposite side of this burned-out hunk of tree. As mentioned above, some things have to be seen by your own eyes.

The General Grant Sequoia tree, the second largest tree on earth at Kings Canyon National Park, California

The sun is low but not gone after dinner. We take the short drive to Grant Grove to see the namesake of this corner of Kings Canyon National Park. The General Grant Tree is the second largest tree on earth, and the nearby General Sherman is the largest. While reading about the trees, I was reminded that Caroline and I have visited the largest trees on earth here in Kings Canyon and Sequoia National Park, the tallest trees at the Redwoods National Park, and the oldest trees on earth, the bristlecone pine in the Great Basin National Park. Not ready to go to our cabin, we took in another ranger-led campfire talk, this one about the history of the sequoia groves, logging, and Sequoia and Kings Canyon National Parks.

Kings Canyon – Day 1

July 2, 2010 JWise Photo of the Day, Travels

Looking east on road number 245 on the way to Kings Canyon / Sequoia National Park in California

Up and gone from Barstow, California on the way to Visalia, where we catch road 245 north that will take us into Kings Canyon National Park. Before that, we must drive the 99 that cuts a path through nondescript farmland and the suburbs of farming communities. Haze blankets the view of the Sierra Nevadas on one side and the coastal range to the west. Outside of Visalia, we start our climb through the rolling hills and enter the mountains. Our enthusiasm for what lies ahead starts to mount. The morning sun is still low in the sky and there are a hundred great photos to be had along this twisting, narrow road – just not many an opportunity to pull over. Where there is a pullout, we stop, look, and listen. It’s quiet save for the birds, nearly no traffic on this route, but the beautiful landscape distractions make for slow going.

Kings Canyon National Park, California

Addition: It’s January 2023, and in the process of creating an index of our travels, I recognized that over the years, some blog posts weren’t connecting to the uploaded photos and instead were using some kind of cached image. This has required me to reupload dozens of day’s worth of photos spread out over some years. In some cases, I see images I should have uploaded or, at least, some I want to upload now. The images that are reuploaded are also being adjusted as in my view, I think I’m able to do a better job using Lightroom. There’s one other image I’m adding below that I’ll also mark as an addition. As for the subject matter, we are at the Kings Canyon Lodge and Gas Station located just outside the national park that no longer exists due to a fire that destroyed it.

Kings Canyon National Park, California

Addition: Another photo that I felt offered greater context about where we are; I suppose there are more, but adding another dozen images is not in the cards today.

Near the trailhead for the Zumwalt Meadow trail in Kings Canyon National Park in California

Sure, it’s only minutes before nine as we are passing the welcome sign to this rarity – a National Park we haven’t visited yet, but there are another thirty miles to the end of the road, which is also today’s destination. Our first hike is at Zumwalt Meadow. Wow, nearly three hours to drive thirty miles, almost a new record for our ability to crawl a road. I’m certain we have gone slower in Yellowstone. On the way, we stop to gaze from half a dozen overlooks, we stop some more at riversides to watch and listen to the roar of the wild white water crashing through the mountains, and then, even more, stopping to check out a waterfall. Finally, we arrived at Zumwalt Meadow. Hey, look at this amazing little footbridge taking us over the South Fork of the Kings River. We have left Phoenix behind.

Zumwalt Meadow trail in Kings Canyon National Park, California

The meadow trail is a short mile and a half, but that won’t stop us from turning it into a ten-mile all-day hike. How does one turn a mile and a half into ten miles? Slowly. You amble, smell, observe, linger, dawdle, dilly dally, take photos, eat, drink, meet people on the trail, stop to talk with them about their bear encounter the day before, and then you mosey along. Before you know it, hours pass where you could have hiked miles, but instead, you are barely halfway down the trail. This pace is fine by us, though, as who knows when we might return. Kings Canyon is barely open half the year due to heavy snow, and it has taken us years to return to this area; we will soak in every detail our brief time in the park allows.

Caroline Wise looking to photograph some random detail on Zumwalt Meadow trail in Kings Canyon National Park in California

Living in a desert primes one for loving meadow, coast, green, and shade more than anyone else could possibly appreciate these sights for sore, dry eyes. We bask and stare in disbelief that greenery, wildflowers, and vibrant chlorophyll-laden life still exist on Earth in abundance. Wait a second, was that a bear? Oh, it was just a butterfly. At the front gate, you are warned of bears; at parking areas, you are told to hide food if you must leave it in your car; at camping areas, there are bear-proof boxes for your edibles, and we’ll pass more than one couple toting a bear-proof canister of their food atop their backpacks as they trek into the backcountry. Maybe we’re cynical, but there is an element of disbelief that we would actually see a bear; this is like those roadside signs warning of animal crossings; it just doesn’t work for us.

A Steller's Jay in King's Canyon National Park, California

You can be certain I shot many a photo between the trailhead and this Steller’s Jay, over 135 actually but just how many can I post here with my brief recounting of our day? And for your info, Caroline and I have come to recognize that a good amount of time must pass between the taking of a photo and the appreciating of a photo. You see, after we return from a glorious place, our mind’s eye can still see a clear and detailed view of the beauty we witnessed on our vacation; the photos we took are weak approximations that barely scratch at the majesty a great place can behold. Even choosing the few photos that will accompany these blog entries is labored over as only rarely do we find a photo that really speaks to us.

Roaring River Falls in Kings Canyon National Park, California

Roaring River Falls is just up the road from the meadow and is our next stop. It is also the stop for a dozen hams. Self-anointed models are important only to themselves; they jump in the view of anyone in their way and apparently feel that throwing themselves into various contorted poses and postures will complement the waterfall behind them. These more easily accessible roadside features attract all the wrong people. The wanton, loud, rude, and obnoxious flock out of cars, moving herdlike with great fanfare to announce that the stupid have arrived and are here to destroy any ambiance we tree huggers might think was here just for our appreciation. Lucky us, we can outwait those rubes because we have something special called patience – well, I actually only have very little of that patience stuff, but I try. Five minutes pass, and they are bored and quickly gone; it is all ours for a few minutes before the other dancing dorks of delirium drift back to the ruination of the natural order of peace and harmony.

Caroline Wise sitting next to the Roaring River in Kings Canyon National Park in California

Hmmm, no waterfalls here, so everyone just walks by like it was Swiss cheese. So, the attraction has to have its own sign to have significance. No sign, no interest. This reminds me of the Eddy Izzard skit, where the conquering invader doesn’t find a flag, and so obviously, the land belongs to no one. Plant the flag and claim this ungoverned land as your own; the flag does all the work. I’d nearly bet that if there were a sign where Caroline is sitting that said a rocky mountain, a white water river, and trees were before your eyes at this point, there would be twenty-five people vying for a place on the stage in order for them to best model themselves for that special trophy photo. We just sit here listening, watching, mesmerized by the scene.

Interior of a cabin in Grants Grove Village - Kings Canyon National Park, California

It’s not late yet, but we have to get back to Grant Grove Village. We’ll have to check into our cabin and get some dinner because, as you can guess by now, here comes the Junior Ranger part of the story. There is a requirement to attend a ranger-led program to qualify for a Kings Canyon / Sequoia National Park Junior Ranger badge, and we have chosen the Camp Fire talk with John Muir at 8:30. As we walk into our cabin, we both look at each other and begin to ask, are those holes to the outside in the walls? We can’t believe it and walk up for a closer inspection, sure enough, there are gaps in the planks that make our cabin walls. This being the Fourth of July weekend, everyone must be barbecuing because the dining room is almost all ours.

Late afternoon sunset illuminating tree leaves to the point they look as though they were on fire in Kings Canyon National Park, California

We were done so quickly that we still had time to spend before Park Ranger Frank Helling traded in his persona to become John Muir for an hour and a half. Up the mountain to Panoramic Point, jeez, this road is narrow. At the top of the mountain, we walked the short distance to look out over Hume Lake, the forest, and some really tall mountains, catching the late afternoon glow of the setting sun. Other cars are pulling up and so before the crowd arrives, we decide we’ve seen enough, and the campfire talk will be starting soon. I guess the short walk was too much because as we arrived at the car, no one else had passed us, and no other cars were parked there. On that narrow little mountain road, the sun bursts through the trees, and around one corner, the trees look like they are on fire; who cares if we are late? We must grab a photo of this.

The John Muir presentation was AMAZING. Ranger Helling is a natural fit for presenting John Muir; we were both entertained and educated about this man responsible for much of the preservation of Yosemite, the Sequoias, and the beginning of the Sierra Club.

Going Off the Wheel

April 7, 2010 JWise Photo of the Day, Travels

Joe, Rainy, and John in the car on the way to Los Angeles, California from Phoenix, Arizona

Out west, things are done differently. Out here, the days are always beautiful and inviting. We do not live on work alone; we seek out fun and entertain ourselves with the spontaneity befitting the movie star lifestyle we deserve for being children of the sun. Do not put it past us to simply pick up and fling ourselves at frivolity. So began this day as Joe and Rainy joined me on a midweek excursion to find a path off the hamster wheel.

Joe and Rainy at Ten Ren Tea Shop in Rowland Heights, California

Next stop, California. We need some green, and our desert isn’t supplying the kind of green we need. Some may think this an allusion to a particular medicinal alleviator that California has adopted as a kind of cure to malaise, but you would be wrongly assumptive in your conclusion. We are opting for other shades of pleasure, beginning with a stop at Ten Ren Tea Shop for boba green tea with green apple syrup amongst the green hills of Rowland Heights. Still searching for greener pastures far away from the land of cactus, we push on into the interior of this la-la land of indulgence. Entering the other world of Little Tokyo, we whet our palates to the exotic flavors of the Orient, satisfying a need for munchies with the tasty morsel known as the Imagawayaki – to the uninitiated, I will spare you the gory details of where and how this came to pass.

Joe and Rainy on Olvera Street in Los Angeles, California

Out of Asia into the central core and heart of primal Los Angeles, home of the people who celebrate the holy encounter with the Day of the Dead – we step into the 1781 barrio of the angels, Olvera Street. In this mystic enclave, we find wondrous rapture as cultures entangle to transform our experience of visiting California into one of becoming California.

Joe and Rainy in China Town in Los Angeles, California

We emerge beholden to forces we cannot fully comprehend. Changed in form, we venture further into the depths of the exultant liberties of freedom in this land of anything goes. Our journey has become a quest, and we will explore deeper questions and find meaning through the enlightenment granted to those who don The Mask. Precious few have gone before us; the physical strength of endurance rarely witnessed by the public eye but oft seen on late-night Lucha Libre broadcasts from across the border carries us on into the maelstrom of metal L.A.

A straw hat on display in China Town - Los Angeles, California

Dancing into Chinatown anonymous and hidden behind the mask, our stealth moves secret us through passages of carnal pleasure with entreaties made by the racks of goods beckoning the green from our wallet to indulge our cheap consumer egos where a good deal pushes the buttons of ecstasy. We oblige with ruthless haggling, overwhelming shop owners with our mad negotiating tactics to the point of nearly paying us to leave with their merchandise – we score a kill and move to the next vendor who wilts beneath our mighty powers. Viva la Mask.

Los Angeles City Hall

Ah, more greenery. Los Angeles is kind to us. The high rises and stoned facades give this metropolis a gleam that only half-baked eyes would fail to be overwhelmed with. A dispensary of wicked charm has graced the city like fog moving in to clean away the haze, leaving behind a lucid clarity of mental fecundity found after a long journey through a dark pipe before emerging into the light. Moments later, our waiting carriage is revved up and ripping across blazing highways of perma fun, taking us to the next level of munchy cultivation.

Menu from Oki Dog in Hollywood, California

The food is barely greasier than this old sign. No matter to us. We are peaking in our state of nirvana. The bright day-glow orange of Oki Dog only works to elevate our senses of having reached the promised land. If the food doesn’t kill us, we will belch stronger; this new Nietzschean maxim will someday adorn future legions of Oki aficionados standing in amazement that a generation of Americans never knew the pleasures of a chile-laden pastrami veggie pickle and mustard super burrito that eventually supplanted the boring old Big Mac as a Force Majeure.

Rainy and Joe enjoying a Pastrami Burrito at Oki Dog in Hollywood, California

Now watch how the sinful pleasures of the Oki delight the senses. Peer on to the lips as succulent fat drips and smears into a frothy lather like a beard of chunky lard over the flesh. Skin rises in delight at the opulence befalling the olfactory and richly stimulated taste buds that whisk one to the boundary of what was previously insatiable culinary desire. Rainy wipes her chin and dips in for another bite, finding the depths of a chilling extravagance never thought possible from a roadside grimy shack that deceptively hid away this epicurean treasure. To die right now from heart disease would seal a life that has worshiped at this Church of Perfection.

Rainy and Joe laying next to the star for Dr. Seuss on the Walk of Fame in Hollywood, California

Gullets full the time was upon us to lay pilgrimage to the street shrine of our mentor – no, not Scientology and L. Ron Hubbard. No, our homage is aimed at far loftier heights, the deity of our admiration rests upon the nonsensical, the whimsical, the poetic – behold the temple of Dr. Seuss. We prostrate our unworthy selves before you and lie down in respect that you have attained this status of worldly honor where a star on the Walk of Fame has been created for all of us to pray in deference with the Seussian mantra that, “Today you are you, that is truer than true. There is no one alive who is you-er than you.”.

Rainy and Joe being naughty in Hollywood, California

As we sit street-side alit from a day that was all that a day should be, a moment of bereavement weighs upon our thoughts – we are about to depart Los Angeles for a return to the valley of the sun and our scorched earth home of Phoenix, Arizona. The road ahead is long, with much darkness enshrouding the way. The bleaching desert sun will shrivel our brains to try and make us forget this perfect day of metal mayhem and decadence, but in our hearts will beat the shriveled memory that for a few hours one day, we stepped off the hamster wheel and exposed ourselves to fun. To close, I quote once again, Dr. Seuss: If you never did, you should. These things are fun, and fun is good.

Yellowstone – Post Script

January 21, 2010 JWise Photo of the Day, Travels

Caroline Wise at Disneyworld in Orlando, Florida in December 1999

Over the course of the previous fifteen years, I have been afforded the opportunity to travel to many a destination here in the United States. Matter of fact, I have been to all 48 of the continental geographic areas that cartographers charted as signifying individual states. More than states, I have seen the breadth of a country undivided and magnificent in its scope. From the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific, I have traveled the continent bordered by Canada to the north and Mexico to the south. I have seen so much of this land that I now have in my mind’s eye a firsthand picture of how the surface of the U.S. changes from the wetlands and everglades of southern Florida up the Atlantic seaboard passing the Nation’s Capital on the way to the rocky and rugged state of Maine. The path from here cuts southwest down the Appalachian Trail leading to the Great Smokey Mountains before I travel to the forests of the southern United States, ultimately arriving in the Bayou country of Louisiana. The Great Plains in the center of America stretch from north to south over more than 1,500 miles and east to west over more than five hundred miles. I have stood at the headwaters of the great Mississippi River and crossed its widest points after those waters traveled more than 2,000 miles south to the Gulf of Mexico. I have stood atop the Rocky Mountains, strode through the Bear Tooth Mountain Range, been endeared by the Bitter Root Mountain Range in Idaho, ridden an old steam train from Durango to Silverton in the San Juan Mountains, hiked upon the Sierra Nevada, and stood next to 3,000-year-old bristlecone pine trees in the Great Basin. At Cape Flattery in the northwest corner of the state of Washington, I have looked out to sea and remember a thousand miles of Pacific coast to the south that I have traveled. Over 170 National Parks and Monuments have welcomed me, as have countless cities and towns across this land.

Caroline Wise posing with flowers on Anacapa Island in the Channel Islands during 2004

But, through all of this, I was never alone. I was never without love. My love of place was always with me, and so was another love. A love that reinforces my love of travel and enhances my appreciation for the journey and the destination. That love is the sustaining connection I have to my best friend, my partner, and my wife – Caroline. Twenty-one years in the making, we have developed a bond that, while probably not unbreakable, is as strong a force of togetherness as one might ever hope to have. A kind of synchronicity has formed between us where we will smile at one another at the same instant as we both become aware that we are witnessing or experiencing a perfect moment. The smile arises, knowing that the other is at the same point of awe, and we find each other’s eyes for confirmation that things are, in fact, just perfect. Our emotions spill into the other’s senses. Caroline’s tears can easily awaken my own tears to overflowing, and her smile just as easily puts my face beaming. We travel side-by-side, we laugh face-to-face, we nurse each other’s hurts, and we care for one another. As we walk along in life, we go hand in hand even when not literally hand-in-hand. As far as I know, we both have the best of intentions for our other half, the half that makes us whole. It is as though this pairing requires four eyes and two minds to make sense of and take the greatest pleasure of this world – our spirits kindly obliging this shared moment of our short existence.

Caroline Wise rescuing a turtle from the road near the Chesapeake Bay in Maryland May 2007

I love Caroline in ways spoken of by many a poet or romantic whose words have preceded my own and may have more eloquently captured the essence of love, but still, I cannot stop myself from wanting to let her know in my own words that she means the world to me. From the early years of our relationship, my love of her intellect and personal interests has matured to a love where I better sense and share her delight and recognize her appreciation for the beautiful. This intimate knowledge of her own connection to life fuels my continuing love for my best friend. It has been more than twenty years since a chance random kiss ignited a chemical chain reaction of olfactory exuberance that threw my senses into a long-lasting spell of infatuation. Over the intervening years, we have learned more about who each other is and plan to remain interested and involved in who we are becoming. We come to appreciate more of the diversity and abundance that life, culture, and friendship can bring to one’s life. We have endured and continue to stand hand-in-hand.

Caroline Wise leaving Yellowstone National Park January 20, 2010

Through this incredible love, life appears more colorful, more robust, and more full of passion. What is mundane or foreign can be embraced because our comfort and friendship have grown accustomed to accepting change. With a world of possibility, our horizons appear boundless, even with the realization that there are limits to time and to all things manifested by our fragile emotions and the uncertainty of physical being. But from a spiritual or soulful perspective, today is a perfect day to be in hopeless, infinite, apparent, ceaseless love. Four eyes, two minds, and two smiles dancing through a wondrous life, celebrating its rewards and travails.

Visiting Another World

January 7, 2010 JWise Photo of the Day, Travels

Inside the warehouse of India Imports in Los Angeles, California

Tuesday, January 5th, 2010, shortly after 6:00 a.m. I get in the driver’s seat of Sonal’s van for the drive to Los Angeles, California. The reason for our short two-day trip was to visit the suppliers that keep her store stocked with Indian and British goods. Thanks to the one-hour time zone difference between Arizona and California, we arrived at the first supplier before 11:00 am. Nirav is near the downtown L.A. area, and Sonal is here to say hello, order Ready to Eat items and see what’s new. Next up is India Imports, who, we learn, are also handling Deep Frozen Foods. Sonal usually orders Deep Foods from New Jersey, this offers the opportunity to save a little on shipping – if this distributor can consistently have what she needs in inventory.

Little India Market Place in Artesia, California

South on the 110 freeway, we go to Gardena, home of Kostas International, to pick up flour. Not just any flour, though; most Hindus have their favorite brand of flour, or Atta, as it is known. We were picking up 320 pounds of Sujata Atta, a whole wheat flour popular for making chapati and roti. By now, we are starving; it is just past 2:30 pm as we hop back on the 110 south to the 91 freeway east, exiting Pioneer Blvd. in Artesia to visit Little India for something to eat. Lunch is a couple of Indo-Chinese dishes fixed for us by the owner of Mumbai Ki Galliyon Se. In the same plaza, we also visit Ajay at Little India Market Place. Sonal and I met Ajay when he was working for Nirav some years ago he now owns and operates this small grocery with a beautiful display of garlands as you walk in.

Inside the warehouse of House of Spice in Cerritos, California

House of Spice – the granddaddy of and apparent current giant in the Indian food distribution arena was the last business stop of the day. While I enjoy the hospitality of all the business owners who invite me in to look into their operations, it is definitely House of Spice that is the most welcoming, open, and helpful in explaining the current trends and situations regarding the logistics and market conditions that surround the Indian grocery distribution world as it pertains to the western United States. I would like to share with you what I learned, but I suppose that for those of you with no interest in the mechanics of this industry, it would be boring. It’s nearly dark as we wrap up our visit while the workers at House of Spice rush to empty a container of food that arrived the day before from India.

Our hotel is the Rodeway Inn on Artesia Blvd – they have four Indian channels available on the TV in the room. We check-in, and just as quickly as we drop our bags, we get back in the van and head back to Pioneer Blvd. At Sukhadia Sweets, Sonal buys something special for her and her girls, and I bought some coconut and cardamom burfi for Caroline.

Ziba Music and Gifts in Artesia, California

Ziba Music & Gift was still where they have always been, it was encouraging to see them still in business after so many other music resellers have gone out of business. Ziba sells music, movies, and Indian musical instruments. The music on offer ranges from bhangra to Bollywood and Carnatic to lounge. I was here to pick up a copy of the soundtrack to Veer Zaara; after listening to it for so many years, it was time to support the industry and buy a copy.

Snack display at Ras Raj in Artesia, California

Dinner was at Ras Raj. I had the Manchurian Sizzler, and Sonal went for the Chole Bhatura – mine was better, although that is only my perspective. As we waited for our order, half a dozen other dishes pictured on the walls inspired me to want each of them. Being in Little India, it is difficult to pass up dessert, especially when falooda is on offer, so I didn’t pass on falooda – yum.

Inside the Naz8 theater in Artesia, California about to watch "3 Idiots" starring Amir Khan

The last stop of the day, of what by now was becoming a very long day – NAZ8. What is a NAZ8? It is a movie theater a few miles away from Little India that specializes in movies from Bollywood. We were here to watch 3 Idiots starring Amir Khan. While older Hindus would argue that the golden age of Bollywood was in the 50s and 60s, for Caroline and me, it began in the mid-90s and ended in 2009. 3 Idiots was a good film, with great laughs and great acting, even from Kareena Kapoor. The problem is for me that Bollywood is going the way of Hollywood, as in American Pie kind of humor. Not that the Masala film has gotten to that level yet, but the groundwork is being laid. For the first time in a Bollywood movie I have seen, men are seen from behind relieving themselves at the urinal while other men are filmed from overhead sitting on the toilet – all of this as part of one of the musical numbers. If you don’t know Bollywood, then you don’t know how revolutionary this is. All the same, three hours later, we are leaving the theater, and I’m thinking 3 Idiots was pretty good.

Watching Hindu television at the Rodeway Inn and Motel in Artesia, California

Without an alarm or wake-up call, I’m up early, turn on the TV, and check the Indian stations. Cricket, cricket, soap opera, and an old movie. I decided against the absurd chase scenes in this movie not featuring an actor I can recognize and tune in to the news about cricket. I don’t particularly like cricket, or sports for that matter, but the difference of it all and the great lettering in the onscreen graphics had me entranced for a short time. Starbucks called me from across the street, and soon, I was replenishing my caffeine stores.

Spices on display at Rani Foods in Los Angeles, California

Ajay over at Little India Market Place told us that Rani Foods wasn’t far away, so they were our first stop of the day. Another good place to find out more interesting facts regarding FDA involvement with food suppliers in India, embargos against particular products, who is really behind some of the popular brands Indians insist are the best, and how the Indian food industry is changing.

A new container of British foods unpacked and ready to be shelved at Piccadilly Imports in Los Angeles, California

At Piccadilly Imports, we spend a good part of the day with Emma and Ben, learning why certain British foods are, at times, impossible to find in the American market. Be warned, lovers of Smarties: the FDA has banned Smarties in the U.S. until the blue Smarties are removed, as the food coloring is not approved for the American market. Later Ben shows me a cherry red 1961 Porsche parked in the warehouse, which he has restored. It seems that the food industry is about to take the backseat as he looks to expand his time into more ‘me’ time and maybe less career time. Emma takes her time to walk around the shelves while we slowly shop and check out some products we knew nothing of, such as the case of award-winning Scottish Haggis made in America that will now be on the shelves of Indo Euro Foods in Phoenix, Arizona.

Sugar cane and various vegetables packed and ready for shipment from Samra Produce in Los Angeles, California

The last distributor to visit is on the edge of the downtown Los Angeles area, Samra Produce. Samra specializes in Indian and Oriental vegetables. If you are in need of guvar, tindoora, bitter melon, Thai chilies, Indian eggplant, or sin qua, Samra likely has it – as long as it’s in season. With the vegetables loaded into the van, we are once again heading back to Little India.

Street signs in Little India located in Artesia, California

Lunch was at Tangy Tomato on Pioneer Blvd. We had the buffet, and while I would have enjoyed the foods being warmer than they were, they were well-spiced, flavorful, and all-around pretty good. The Sag Paneer was my favorite, as was the hot fresh garlic naan. With stomachs full, we head back over to House of Spice to pick up a few items they packed up for us; the van is almost full. Around the corner, we meet up with the girls of Nanak Foods as Sonal has a client with an immediate need for paneer who cannot wait for her next shipment. It is now getting late; there is no way to avoid the afternoon rush hour as millions clog the freeways on their way home. It takes us almost two hours to finally get through the 50 miles of traffic jam and see a break on the road that allows us to start driving home faster than 25 miles per hour. It’s midnight when we get back to Phoenix.

Real Purpose

October 5, 2009 JWise Photo of the Day, Travels

Early morning in Santa Monica, California

The real purpose of this weekend trip to Los Angeles was not to go to Disneyland or see Toy Story; it is related to the reason we are here on a Monday morning, and considering we are rarely in L.A. outside a Friday night through Sunday, it must be important.

Caroline Wise in Santa Monica, California

Trust me, it wasn’t just so we could have breakfast like a couple of swingers at Swingers Diner.

Early morning in Santa Monica, California

Nor was it to gaze at the full moon.

Hollywood, California

Caroline had an appointment with the German Consulate to get fingerprinted so she could get a new passport. Of course, this being a government office, it is only open Monday through Friday. After an uneventful, pleasant, even visit with a German official for the first time in over 15 years, we had some time left before having to return to Phoenix. This was our view from the waiting room at the German Consulate.