Secret Stairs - Old Hollywood Revisted

This post has been sitting in the "draft" section far too long now. This Secret Stairs walk was a repeat of the very second one we ever did... and it will not be the last. Traipsing all over the original Hollywood hills neighborhoods, this is easily one of the more difficult walks, with some of the most beautifully shaded cases

In 2010 we did our first secret stairs walk, which led to enough enjoyment to continue, but this second walk was what really opened my eyes to what Los Angeles was really hiding in her canyons. These neighborhoods were stunning and so fully of vegetation.

The above picture is the approach to one of the stair cases. If you can look closely at the top portion of the picture, on the left side, you can see tiny steps where the case continues. The two pictures below are from the mid point & nearing the top of the steps. Just one of many...

Wonderful scenes off the busy boulevards.

Over time we have come to trust the author of Secret Stairs (book), he tends to have travelers hike a large case, but then wander around the neighborhood in flat sections before tackling the next arduous battle of 1920s concrete.

I tend to fall behind on these walks b/c there is just too much to take photos of while out and about. There is a perfect blend in many of the neighborhoods of strong colors, odd shapes, flora & breath-taking architecture.

The picture below is of a famous staircase, it has two sides to it, one fore traffic going up, the other for people going down. Alas, it is so steep there are concrete benches built into it from day one. Local residents have fashioned an abacus type contraption to count their accents of the case while exercising on this beast (seen below).

Georgette likes all things cat oriented.

Did I mention there were large numbers of shaded stair cases on this walk? We also managed to take a wrong turn at the very same point as the first trip. Back on the path we slowly descended out of the old 1920s Hollywood hills.

Back to our concerns of the modern world.

Horse Flats - A Second Journey

|CLICK ANY PHOTO TO ENLARGE |

After only four days back in Los Angeles, after Georgette & I's frozen over night adventure... Here I was. Circling Horse Flats Campground again with Carlos Flores this time.



With such a close proximity to LA, any drive up Angeles Crest Highway is going to be a great time out of the city. With any number of hikes that will take you to peaks over 6,000ft or to hidden valley waterfalls.



Carlos & I took a similar route as previous & were thrown into a whole new experience.



Hollyer Peak - Angeles National Forest



Station Fire 2008 burned large portion of the Angeles Nation Forest. While crucial to a forest natural growth, it leaves an interesting trail in its path.



With another great hike behind us, grilled pineapple cheese hamburgers in our stomachs & the fire at our feet, we set in for the night.



All throughout the night Mother Nature tested us in a completely different way than just four days prior. Hours before bed the clouds blew into our campground at 5,600ft & proceeded to cover us with 'heavy moister to light rain' all night. Waking to a beautiful morning, but a chore ahead of us.

The Getty on a Sunday

*click any of the images for enlargement*


There is this small window of time each week. This time is greeted with serene spontaneity & brings a new adventure each week... this window is Sunday.



On Sunday the thirteen of September, my girlfriend embarked on her first visit to The Getty Museum in Los Angeles. It began with a stop at the bakery down the street for morning nourishment & then off.



There were many new things to see this time around. We spent a pleasant afternoon walking about & seeing most of the exhibits before time took it's toll. Alas, it was a great morning spent.

Above, portion of a french landscape drawn by Van Gogh. At the top is a small field in a Monet painting.
Below are Irving Penn photographs I appreciated.

Ennis House - Frank Lloyd Wright

There once was a time... a time close to a decade ago when I was studying the angles and shapes of buildings over the cuts and structure of the motion pictures. There once was a time when I wanted to be an architect. I truly wanted to design roller coasters, though fearing many of them even here in LA at Six Flags.

Alas, I spent years studying other designers, learning AutoCAD, and working to understand landscape and its influence. I even have blueprints for a house I designed on ETID Drive. Even though my path did not continue this way I learned very valuable things from looking at the world around us just a little different.

Another great aspect to this is I was introduced to Frank Lloyd Wright's work. One of the most important days in my architecture history was the day that my parents took me to tour two of the homes he designed in Los Angeles, Ennis House (shown here) & Hollyhock House. I had never seen such inovative design when arriving at the Ennis House that day in the Los Feliz Hills. Built in 1924, it was quite different for it's time. The exteroir portion seemed to flow out of the hill as the drive wrapped around it's castle like structure.

I love how you can see through the driveway out to an enourmous view of Los Angeles. The interior is a gorgeous wood & stone world with many of the rooms seperated by small changes in elevation, which was one of my favorite features.

However, these photos I shot a week ago when I reviseted the house for the first time in eight years. I spent almost tour house walking around the house shooting photos and just looking at the ideas presented in the house's design. You can really see the Mayan influence through the building.

The sad part is the house is no longer available for tours. It had become to costly for the city to keep up the renovations to allow tours. The house is now on the market for $15 million, with an estimated $10 million in work to get it up to great standards.