stageleft

It’s 1:05 AM. Jim Edmonds just grounded into a double play. We’re going into the 22nd inning. EPIC.

UPDATE: 1:21 AM. Rockies win. Sigh.

UPDATE 2: I’m so fucking disgusted with the Padres offense. Peavy, Hoffy, Bell, Thatcher, Cameron, Ledezma, Rusch all pitched magnificently. KG’s error was so damn costly, ultimately resulting in the game winning run. What it comes down to is the Padres offense, which is no where to be seen. The Pads have gone 94 innings without a HR. Fucking pitiful.

Looks like Time Warner Cable’s move to switched digital video is freeing up some bandwidth. Hopefully this is just the tip of the iceberg. On April 8th, they are rolling out History HD, CNN HD, Discovery HD, and Lifetime Movies HD. My lifelong dream of watching Cher in Mask has finally come to an end.

I went shooting last weekend with Hanie, my sister Julie, and her boyfriend Mike. We went shooting at a place that Mike was very familiar with, Orosco Ridge. As opposed to an indoor shooting range, Orosco Ridge is basically an open area where you can freely fire guns in the Cleveland National Forest. There are various spots and ridges where you can pull over and shoot. There are no paved roads. It is basically mother nature, you, and some guns. Set on the outskirts of Ramona, Orosco Ridge overlooks the very picturesque Pamo Valley, which although partially scorched by the recent Witch Fire, still looked breathtaking after the recent rains. You will need a National Forest Adventure Pass to enter the Orosco Ridge area. However, there is no ranger station or physically manned booth that checks for the pass.

We went late afternoon and there were only a few people in the area. I don’t know if that is how it is all the time or we just got lucky. The area feels very remote and you feel like you are the only ones shooting. There isn’t that unsettling claustrophobia that you feel at indoor ranges, where strangers are shooting literally right next to you. We arrived at one of the many ridge locations, just as two relatively young guys were finishing up shooting. They left in a Nissan Sentra, which we all found both surprising and impressive, since the road to get there is rather uneven, unpaved, and peppered with rocks. We probably had a much easier and fun time getting there in a truck.

We all shot 2 different guns: a .45 revolver and a pump action shotgun.

The .45 is heavy, massive, and incredibly loud. The bullets are huge, dwarfing the more common 9mm or .22. The sound is also deafening. It is distinctly louder than other handguns. Where most handguns have a popping sound, the .45 is more of a thunderous boom. You can feel it in your chest. Mike brought out a bowling pin for us to shoot at. The bowling pin is surprisingly dense and shatter resistant.

The shotgun was a blast, no pun intended. It was surprisingly light and quieter than the .45. We shot clay targets, which is both extremely fun and challenging. I think I hit 10 or 15 percent of my targets.

Regardless, I had a lot of fun, as did everyone else. After an hour or so, we picked up all our spent shotgun shells and headed out of the area as the sun was setting. It was a fun time.

A few weeks ago, Hanie and I visited Anza Borrego Desert State Park to do some hiking and check out the desert wildflowers, which were blooming for a short time after a generous amount of recent rainfall. Roughly an hour and a half drive outside of San Diego, Anza Borrego is the largest state park in CA and the second largest in the US. The majority of the park is located in San Diego county, with a few parts that bleed over into Riverside and Imperial county.

The drive out to Anza Borrego is a relaxing and fun drive, comprising of curvy mountain roads, small towns, and scenic views. The best part of the drive is the descent from the mountains to the desert floor via S22. The road has an 8% grade and gives you a wide view of the desert all the way out to the Salton Sea. S22 continues through to the town of Borrego Springs, which sits quietly outside of the park and the park visitors center.

The Anza Borrego Desert State Park visitors center is actually one of the best visitor centers I’ve been to. It has a very pleasing, low profile southwestern architecture that compliments the desert scenery. The visitors center has a small trail that winds around and nearby, presenting the various plant and animal species within the park grounds. Informative and well executed, you can tell this part of the visitors center was never an afterthought and an integral part of the center’s design. The interior of the center continues the same theme, with nice displays of the history of the park and its environs. Most importantly, it was properly air conditioned and contained numerous bathrooms.

Prior to checking out the wildflowers, Hanie and I hiked the popular Borrego Palm Canyon trail, which starts near the visitors center. A little over 3 miles roundtrip, the trail follows a creek and ends in a massive group of native California palms. Surrounded by boulders, Hanie and I had fun climbing and scrambling up the various boulders. The weather was perfect the entire hike, staying in the high 70s. During the heat of summer, even an easy hike like this could be punishing.

After the hike, we drove to the outskirts of Borrego Springs, which lies adjacent to the park, and took pictures of the desert wildflowers as the sun was setting. We chose the easy spot for picture taking, off of Henderson Canyon Rd., as we only had a 2WD drive vehicle. The other wildflower spot, Coyote Canyon, has a more varied collection of wildflowers, but a vehicle with 4WD or AWD was recommended as the road isn’t paved. Our good friend Val actually went out to Coyote Canyon, with the help of some good ole 4WD.

I definitely plan to return. The park is massive and there is a lot left to explore and hike. Here are some teaser photos from our trip, following with the link to the entire gallery.

Anza Borrego Desert State Park

About 2 weeks ago I got into another accident. I’m totally fine, but the car is in the shop. For those of you who know me, me and my car have had a pretty colorful past together. I’m sure my Carfax report would read like War & Peace. Anyways, my car is MIA until April 18. Basically, I’m waiting at a light to turn right. A Ford Explorer rear ends the Toyota Corolla behind me, who then rear ends me. The SUV was moving pretty quickly, plus it has a huge size and height advantage over the poor Corolla. Needless to say, the Toyota is fucked, while the Ford is barely scratched. My car has damage on the rear bumper, rear right quarter panel, and probably the rear rails because my spare tire compartment is pinched. Here’s a peek at what the scene looked like.