Last Ride on the Red Car - April 8, 1961

My dad grew up in L.A. during interesting times. His parents worked for the Pacific Electric--the operator of the extensive network of electric train lines in Southern California during the early 20th century. He rode on them as a kid, and grew to love trains and electricity, making the former a hobby and the latter a career.

57 years ago--April 8, 1961--my dad had his last ride on the red car. The buses, the sprawl, and the automobile took over, and the last electric passenger train ran in L.A. (until L.A. to Long Beach line was rebuilt in the 1980s).

The L.A. Long Beach
Interurban Train:
On Saturday evening April 8, 1961
Easter Saturday with Joseph Sweeney I had my
last ride on the red car, round trip Watts to
Slauson. In both cases two cars were coupled.
One conductor was glad to see them go, the other
was on the point of crying. When we got off at
Watts there was a long farewell blowing of the
whistle for 103rd St. crossing & a pedestrian and
the northbound train came very shortly with it's
farewell.

3. Central Coast Canyon

#WithoutTheRoar Quiz: Where in California am I?

You walk up a dirt road, entering the bottom of a canyon next to a sycamore-lined creek. You see a classic mix of Central California vegetation: yucca, northern monkeyflower, coastal sagebrush, deerweed, coyotebush, poison oak, bay, coast live oak. There are a few non-natives, notably eucalyptus trees on the hillside to the south. The former sheep pastures at the entrance of the canyon are now covered in relatively new housing and parking lots. Once you are through the narrows, the canyon opens up into grassy hills beyond a ranch house. Horses graze among unique dilapidated structures.

Where is this? Guess at #WithoutTheRoar.

Click here for Quiz 2.

I lost my ice axe on Mt. Borah, Idaho

Well, I didn't exactly lose my ice axe. I stashed it under a bush at timberline on my way up, after hearing a report of the snow field crossing from another hiker--I knew I wouldn't need it--and when I came back down, it was gone.

Last August I climbed the highest peak in Idaho. It was the day before the total solar eclipse, and the mountain was in the path of totality. It would be a zoo on any summer weekend, but it was extra busy that weekend--the rangers I spoke to were expecting three times the normal crowds. 150 people instead of the usual 50.

First Frostless January

Since we moved to San Geronimo in 2011, January has warmed tremendously. Frosty days at or below 32 F have disappeared completely:

• 2012 - 31% of days were frosty, and 25% of days were in the 20s
• 2013 - 53% of days were frosty, and 30% of days were in the 20s
• 2014 - 58% of days were frosty, and 29% of days were in the 20s
• 2015 - 13% of days were frosty, and 10% of days were in the 20s
• 2016 - 7% of days were frosty, and both days were in the 20s
• 2017 - 16% of days were frosty, and for the first time no days were in the 20s
• 2018 - no frosty days

The green and blue minimum temperature lines show dramatic warming over the
last few years. Jan 2013-15 had less than 4% of average rainfall.

Luckily, this January follows a December when 63% of days were frosty. This ties 2013 for the most frosty days, well ahead of any other year.

I say "luckily" because just think of the implications of not having frost. It affects everything--fruit trees, insect activity... it also affects the length of the growing season, since February hasn't gotten below freezing since 2015 and March hasn't been below freezing since 2012.

And for only the second time in 7 years, January had no high temperatures in the 40s--the highs were at least 50 F all month. The lowest max is not shown on the graph.

Luckily, here it has rained enough to make it wetter than 2012 or 2014 at this point in the season. Unfortunately, those were our two driest years since 2011, at 70% and 51% of average, respectively.

Reimagining San Geronimo Valley (Golf Course)

The pent-up demand for open space in the middle of a community--open space that has been locked up for use only by paying customers during business hours seven days a week for almost 50 years--is huge. In the first two weeks since the San Geronimo Valley Golf Course closed, the excitement in our community was everywhere. Even though the former golf course is closed (and warnings have been issued not to use it), and is not yet public open space, locals are heading there (especially on weekends) to play--but not just golf.

January 2, 2017 - the second day of the San Geronimo Valley
Golf Course closure. Locals were enthusiastically claiming the
newly-accessible territory. This access point was already
popular in the evenings after business hours prior to the closure.

I did see a local man heading up the closed links with his clubs. But mostly people are walking, walking dogs, birdwatching, fish watching, riding bikes, flying drones, and fishing. Reports are that local kids are catching four bass in half an hour in some of the ponds.

This desire to access a large area of flat open space in the middle of a community is huge, and visible everywhere. It is the same desire people have who want to use the L.A. River, and who convert rails to trails. It is the same desire kids have who play in parking lots on weekends or in the middle of their street when there is no traffic. This land is your land! And it isn't locked up anymore!

As Marin County begins its process for planning the transition from golf course to "Open Space" with a captial OS, I have the following advice:

How to stop a wind-driven wildfire

You can't. Well, with current technology and conventional firefighting equipment, under certain conditions, you just can't stop a wind-driven wildfire.

Looking north toward Antelope Valley over the burned landscape south of Walker, spring 2006.

Even without wind, some fires are hard to stop. Several years ago I was on a structure protection strike team on the Cannon Fire in Walker (Mono County). I rode in the fire truck's open-air seat in the chilly early morning air during the drive up Hwy 395 from Lee Vining to Walker. The fire was coming into town from the west--downslope--and we went up the canyon where most of the houses are--along Western Drive. We looked at the houses, deciding which ones looked possible to save. Where could we place ourselves in a position of relative safety? Then we waited.

The Labor Day Heat Wave of 2017

Last weekend, the high temperatures around coastal California set many new records. Here in San Geronimo Valley, the same was true, but equally remarkable were the nighttime lows above the inversion layer--there were three nights near 80 degrees! On the valley floor, below the inversion, the minimum temperatures were close to 60 on the days when it was near 80 on the ridges, and warmed each day until a peak of 70 on Tuesday September 5th. This nighttime heat wave on the valley floor peaked two days after the daytime heat wave ended--and insects such as wasps seemed busier than ever that 70-degree morning. 70 was the highest minimum temperature I recorded in the last five years, beating 65 in 2014. Also remarkable--on Monday September 4th, the high temperature of 82 in Woodacre occurred before 8 am!

High and low temperatures each day for two ridge locations and one valley floor location.

The high of 107 on Friday was the highest temperature I've recorded in my five years of recordkeeping, and three other days this summer also beat the previous record of 99 in August 2015. The number of days in the 90s is steadily climbing, with 9 days in 2012 and 2013, 12 in 2014, 14 in 2015, 21 in 2016, and 23 in 2017. Since I miss 30-60 days per year, this is just a sampling, but it is clear that there has been a steady warming trend since 2012 for the warmest daytime highs.