#and at the other end of the complex was a dry land portion of park with the Soup Hallway

[monster-noises]

Also i Gotta tell ya'll about this one dream i had last night...

Or at least a part of it cause like

Disregarding everything else that was already pretty surreal, this was just.. flabbergastingly strange?

Me and the group i was with walked into like.. a fun house type situation, and found ourselves in a short bright yellow hallway with kinda dingey lighting and on the walls were these little glass panels

And behind each panel was a box with its own top-down light

And a little miniature bathtub.

Each bathtub with filled with a different kind of soup. And as you walked past and viewed each window the tub would drain the liquid portion of its contents, leaving behind any solid chunks. The box would then go Completely black, and the tub would be full again when the light came on.

Each little window had a placquard next to it explaining what kind of Soup was in there in the same way a museum has artists statements next to displayed pieces.

They were all also like.. two feet off the ground so you really had to bend down to see 'em.

It was Very bizarro Backrooms vibes

Which is exactly what I said to my companion and then Immediately woke up.

[laconservancy]

The Erasure of Rancho Los Amigos, and L.A.’s Public Health Care Story

At a time when societal inequity is heightened, places like Rancho Los Amigos Historic District remind us of our humanity and the importance of providing medical care to those who are most vulnerable. 

Yet, the road to health care in the United States and Greater Los Angeles is a complex story with highs and lows throughout history.

Communities have generally adapted, and our built environment evolved, in response to public needs—establishing new types of hospital facilities, zoning laws to ensure to fresh air and light access and separation of incompatible land uses, and sanitation infrastructure providing clean water and sewer systems.

Various health scares over the years have also left their physical imprint, whether it be the polio epidemic or tuberculosis (TB), both contagious and infectious diseases. The 1902 Barlow Sanatorium and Respiratory Hospital, for instance, provided patients with TB a slow recovery treatment centered on the clean, dry air of the West. Tucked in the Elysian Park neighborhood of Echo Park, Barlow continues today in its original location and historic bungalows, which are listed as an L.A. Historic-Cultural Monument (HCM). 

One of the oldest places representing local public health care is the currently endangered Rancho Los Amigos in Downey. From poor farm to a nationally renowned medical facility, Rancho’s campus tells the stories of the thousands of people who passed through their doors—people who have been traditionally marginalized and forgotten, including those with medical and mental health issues, and those who are elderly or experiencing destitution.

Today, Rancho Los Amigos (south campus) is threatened with nearly wholesale demolition, as the County seeks to fast track its effort to use portions of the site for a massive expansion of operations for the county and a Probation Headquarters. Please help us preserve this part of L.A.’s history before it is too late.

A Rarely Told Chapter 

 In Los Angeles County, the public health system traces its roots to 1878 with the opening of the first county hospital. Ten years later, the County opened a Poor Farm—later renamed Rancho Los Amigos.

The poor farm system was based on the simple idea to offer people experiencing destitution access to work, housing, and medical care. Throughout the U.S. various state and county administrations assumed this role and responsibility, especially prior to the establishment of the Social Security safeguard.

While some are unfamiliar with poor farms, there are many others for whom ‘ending up on the poor farm’ has negative connotations. One reason is that poor farms shared the County’s responsibility for treating patients with psychiatric diagnoses, something they were ill-equipped to handle. Poor farms established themselves as early examples of sustainable, self-sufficient living, with residents—then referred to “inmates”—providing the labor to run the agricultural operations, raising livestock and growing food. In many ways, poor farms were early forms of the American welfare system.

With its initial 124.4 acres of rural farmland, Rancho operated as a classic poor farm. As its medical operations and the number of people served grew, its agricultural roots and farming operation decreased. The farm became more of a convalescent hospital than a traditional county poor farm. In the early 1930s, the Poor Farm officially changed its name to Rancho Los Amigos (“ranch of the friends”).

Contagious outbreaks, now and then 

By the late 1940s and early ‘50s, the U.S. was experiencing a surge in polio outbreaks, including L.A. County. Like COVID-19, there was no known vaccine at the time for the infectious disease. Polio was also referred to as the “invisible enemy” with the virus spreading through person-to-person contact. Social distancing was employed, as were travel and commerce restrictions in hot zones.

The difference between now and then is polio primarily affected the young, children who could catch the virus and ultimately experience death or paralysis and a lifetime of crutches, wheelchair, or being placed in an iron lung (respirator allowing them to breath). During the summer season polio flared up with swimming and wading pools feared especially as transmitters for the virus. Concerned parents pressed on civic leaders to drain or fill in the pools. Today you can still find remnants of this remedy.

To address the growing epidemic Rancho adapted its focus in the mid-1940s and operation as a polio respiratory center, expanding to a northern campus and eventually becoming one of the leading post-polio respiratory centers in the world. By 1955 polio was finally addressed through a vaccine developed by Jonas Salk. Rancho would then slowly transform itself into a respected rehabilitation center.

Throughout its history, Rancho Los Amigos ebbed and flowed in terms of its operation, with a constant theme of overcrowding, expansion periods with new facilities, and evolving its focus and mission. It would grow to well over 500 acres in size and serve nearly 3,000 patients at its peak. By the late ‘40s, it was primarily operating as a hospital with minimal agricultural operations, prompting the selling off of the property.

Planned demolition of a historic district 

 By the early 1990s Rancho’s south campus was whittled down to 74 acres and effectively abandoned with most of its 100+ buildings vacant. For well over a decade, the Conservancy has been working closely with various County representatives in regards to Rancho and its future, with numerous reuse and redevelopment proposals coming and going. During this time Rancho has been listed on the California Register and determined eligible as a national historic district.

Without adequate security and maintenance Rancho has been allowed to deteriorate and buildings fall into accelerated disrepair. In recent years, contributing buildings within the historic district have been destroyed due to neglect, vandalism, and a recent spate of numerous arson fires.

The current deteriorated conditions and neglect which have occurred under the County’s stewardship are now cited by the County as a health and safety concern and justification for the proposed demolition of the historic district. Despite not planning to redevelop the entire site or impact all the remaining historic buildings, the County is planning to virtually demolish it all.

Under a new proposal by the County, the historic district would be lost; 105 structures and resources, including 61 historic buildings. Even buildings not impacted by the proposed project are planned to be removed with no meaningful alternatives, a failure by the County to adhere to the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA). Overall, the project would retain just five contributors to the current historic district: the 1926 Administration Staff building;1930 Casa Consuelo patient; 1913 water tower; 1909-26 Power Plant building; and a Moreton Bay fig tree.

We strongly believe there is a “win-win” scenario available to the County where both preservation and new construction is possible. The opportunity exists to modify the County’s plans by pairing new construction with adaptive reuse, and a potential public-private partnership. 

Our job in preservation is to unpack and better understand our public health care past, and show how places like Rancho help make this story real and, if lost, so much more difficult to understand. If we do not stand up for the places and people that represent our public health care past and show us how we got here, we stand the risk of forgetting where we have been and how far we have come. 

Rancho Los Amigos and all it represents to our public health care past and present is deserving of a better fate than demolition. Help us convince the County that we can do better. 

[taesthetes]

the duality of man.

Once again, soft boys with pretty smiles—specifically one named Park Jimin—will surely be the death of you.

pairing: park jimin x reader genre: fluff type: college au word count: 4,632 words warnings: none author’s note: based on a true story — except he was my marketing project partner and not on the dance team but we’re great buds now lmao i’m never gonna let him live this down

⋆ ⋆ ⋆ ⋆ ⋆ ⋆ ⋆

Group projects are the worst. You would rather shove a cactus up your behind or rip out a dry tampon than partake in one of those again. Hell has places designated for professors who assign those grade crushers. However, there is an even more special spot reserved for the heathens who assign random students to a group.

Because here you are, sitting in the library and tapping the end of your pen against your notebook absentmindedly, as you wait for your group members to show up. Your friends all said Basic Drawing was a good, fairly easy class to take to check off your lower division art requirement. What they did not tell you was that there was a group project focusing on frame by frame drawing animation with the minimum of one hundred frames that was worth forty percent of your grade.

You are quite certain Kim Taehyung is not going to show up, purely based on the fact that you saw him do several keg stands last night. Hungover is never a good look on anybody, and everyone on campus knows that Taehyung would not be caught dead looking like a two on a beauty scale of one to ten. As for the freshman in your group—Jeon Jungkook, was it? —you passed by him earlier today, and he gave you his sketchbook, mumbling something about drawing out some of his ideas in there and that he will not be able to make it to the meeting because of an impromptu football practice.

So, that really only leaves you with—

“Hey, ________.”

Park Jimin.

From what you know about him, he is a quiet one and is good friends with Taehyung but more on the wallflower side. Jimin greets you softly, and you give him a small smile in response. He slides into the chair across from you, pulling out his own drawing book and pencil.

“Tae can’t make it unfortunately,” Jimin says, and you nod in acknowledgement before replying, “Yeah, Jungkook gave me his notebook. He has football practice.”

You slide the notebook towards Jimin, who opens it and flips through the various drawings. “These are all really nice. Check out this hummingbird one.”

He flips the book towards you to give you a better look. “Oh, wow. That’s amazing.”

“You think we should do this one for the project?”

You hum quietly, contemplating. “Well, we can’t make Jungkook draw all one hundred frames of it, and it might be hard for the rest of us to replicate the bird. Maybe we can find each do separate animations with a connection?”

Jimin’s eyes light up as he nods enthusiastically. “That’s a good idea! I think Tae likes drawing nature best, so if Jungkook’s bird can fly around until it lands on a tree branch and we can zoom out from there to show a full landscape. Tae would be down for drawing that part.”

“But what about you? What do you want to draw?”

“Oh! Um...” Jimin is quiet, contemplating over his answer before answering quietly, cheeks reddening. “This might be a little weird, but... I like drawing mechanical things? Not just cars, but like old telephones and clocks and devices... and yeah...”

He trails off, and you give him a reassuring smile. “It’s not weird at all! That’s really cool! Those are always so detailed, and there are a lot of reflective surfaces, and those are never easy. You must be really good!”

Jimin brightens up, pulling out his own sketchbook. “Really? You think so? I’ve been drawing this toaster, and I thought it would be cool to do an animation of bread popping out of it, but Jungkook’s bird looks really pretty, and it’ll fit with Tae’s art better, too...”

“We can still include it!” Jimin gives you a curious look, and you quickly explain, “How about if the bread pops out from the toaster, but in a comical sort of way, like how in cartoons, the toaster looks like it’s being squeezed before the toast shoots out, and then a sunny side up egg is placed on the bread, but then we do a sort of rewind on the egg? The egg returns back into the cracked eggshells, which come together back into a solid egg, and then the egg cracks open, but a baby hummingbird pops out of it. I really like drawing food, so I can do the toast and egg part of it.”

Jimin is silent, mouth slightly agape, and you flush a little, rambling on. “I know it’s a little eccentric, but I think our professor will like it, and—”

“You’re a genius.”

Your cheeks warm up even more at his compliment. “I, uh, I—thank you?”

Jimin laughs, eyes turning into moon crescents, and your heart nearly jumps out of your chest. “You’re welcome, but really, that’s such a creative way to mix everyone’s strengths and just wow. Jungkook and Tae will love this.”

You smile widely. “You really think so?”

“Of course! And, um, since our parts of the animations are connected, do you want to work on them together?” Jimin shyly asks, fiddling with the ends of his scarf.

“Oh! Yes, of course, when are you free?”

“If you don’t have plans after this, we can work on them now?”

“Sounds great! I’m done with classes, so I’m free.”

You give him another smile, and he beams back at you brightly. Your heart skips a beat, and you internally chide yourself. Curse your heart for being so weak against soft boys with pretty smiles.

But you swear, something about this boy in particular makes you think that he will be the death of you.

⋆ ⋆ ⋆ ⋆ ⋆ ⋆ ⋆

You and Jimin manage to get through twenty of the frames needed that night and in the week’s class sessions, so he suggests meeting up in his and Taehyung’s shared dorm to work on the remaining ones on Thursday and Sunday evening. Taehyung would be busy with his play rehearsals around that time, so their room would be free. The two of you had already texted the group chat about the animation plans, and the others were quite enthusiastic about the idea. Taehyung had notified you all that he and Jungkook will work on their half of the project on Friday together.

You had finished all your Thursday classes for the day and made a stop at your dorm to collect your art supplies before making your way to Jimin’s dorm building. You are currently standing outside of the complex on the steps, texting Jimin to let you in. The sun was already beginning to set, and you can feel the weather getting chillier. You pull down the long sleeves of your shirt to cover your fingertips. You mentally chide yourself for not putting on an extra layer—Joy had warned you before you left your shared dorm, but you did not think it would be this cold.

“Hey, _______!” Jimin waves at you from the front door. You hurry over to him, the bag filled with art tools hitting against your side noisily, as the eighteen by twenty-four large drawing pad tucked clumsily under your arm nearly falls. Jimin quickly grabs the drawing pad, and you smile gratefully. “Thanks, Jimin.”

“No problem! Maybe next time, we should meet at your dorm—if that’s okay with you, I mean!” Jimin hurriedly adds, and you chuckle quietly. “That’s totally fine. My roommate won’t mind.”

“Great,” Jimin murmurs before stopping in front of an open door. “Well, uh, here’s my dorm. Feel free to sit anywhere! You can use Tae’s desk if you want—or mine! Either one is good!”

“Thanks, Jimin.” You set your items down carefully on the surface of Taehyung’s desk, which is surprisingly clean, compared to his art space you see every class. The two of you fall into a familiar groove as last time, one where Jimin draws his portions while you draw your solo frames of the eggs receding into the egg shells before cracking open once more. It may sound simple, but repeatedly drawing a realistic egg changing its position by a millimeter is tedious and quite frankly, a bit boring.

Last time, you and Jimin engaged in a game of twenty questions, but it ended up with thirty extra questions between the two of you. Amongst other things, you had learned that his favorite color was blue, he loves anything that is chocolate except for ice cream, he is a sucker for those Christmas Hallmark movies, and he still believes Candy Crush is the greatest game to ever exist, no matter what anyone says. He is a nursing major, hoping to become employed in the pediatric ward, and is minoring in studio arts with an emphasis in drawing, much like yourself. He also briefly mentioned being on the school’s dance team. You know your school has several dance teams, and although Jimin never specified, you can easily imagine him in ballet. You are not well versed in the types of dance, but from what you can remember when you saw The Nutcracker and Swan Lake as a child with your parents if that is anything to go by, Jimin would fit in with those elegant and graceful dancers.

“Do you mind if I put on some background music?” Jimin says, and you shake your head. “Go for it.”

The melodic, soothing notes of the piano fill the air before a lilting voice accompanies it. A couple minutes later, a softer voice is heard, and you are startled, peeking over to your project partner. Jimin’s gaze is concentrated on shading the corners of his subject as he quietly sings along. He looks over at you a few seconds later, flushing a pretty shade of pink.

“Sorry, I do that sometimes,” he apologizes, “Tae always complains about it when he’s studying. I’ll stop now.”

“No, it’s totally okay! Your voice is really nice,” you rush to say before wanting to smack yourself on the forehead. Your voice is really nice? That has to be the lamest compliment you can say. His voice is more than nice. It was absolutely wonderful and warm and—

“Really? You think so?” Jimin beams at you, and you lose your train of thought, flustered.

“Yeah, your singing is beautiful.”

“Thank you,” he shyly says. His smile becomes even brighter if that is even possible, and you feel that all too familiar rush of adrenaline to your heart as it pumps even faster.

The two of you fall into a comfortable silence once more as you work on your drawings. An hour passes by quickly, and soon, the two of you finish your respective parts and start to work on the joint portions: the frames that incorporate the toaster and the bread. You and Jimin manage to complete four frames before you take notice of the time. The bright 9:48 p.m. stares back up at you on your phone when a message from Joy pops up, asking where you are. You quickly type back a response before hitting send.

“Hey, Jimin, it’s getting late. Do you mind if we stop here?”

“No, of course! It’s dark out, let me walk you back,” Jimin offers as he helps you put your art supplies back in your bag.

“Are you sure? It’s a bit far...”

Jimin frowns at you. “All the more reason to walk with you. It’s far, dark, and late. You shouldn’t go out alone like that.”

He slings your bag over his shoulder, shaking his head when you reach for the drawing pad tucked under his arm. “It’s okay, I’ll carry it! Did you bring a sweater? It’s a lot colder at night, too.”

“... No, I didn’t,” you say sheepishly, tugging your sleeves down. “But it’s fine! We’re walking, so the exercise will keep the heat circulating.”

His eyebrows furrow slightly before he goes to one of his drawers, rummaging through it and taking out a hooded sweater. “Here, put this on.”

“No, it’s fine, I—” You start to protest but he interrupts softly, “I don’t want you to get sick. Please put it on.”

Defeated and knowing he is right, you grab the sweater, quietly thanking him as you slip on the warm article. It smells faintly of laundry detergent along with a mix of something woodsy and citrusy. The hem is long, reaching mid-thigh, and the sleeves extend over your fingers, enveloping your hands entirely. Jimin smiles at you shyly, ducking his head, as the two of you begin to walk out of his dorm.

“You look really cute, _______.”

Your heart hammers loudly in your chest as you bring up your hand to cover your face, blood rushing to your cheeks and a silly smile making its way across your face. You murmur a quiet thank you to him, and crimson blooms on the apples of his cheeks.

Once again, soft boys with pretty smiles—specifically one named Park Jimin—will surely be the death of you.

⋆ ⋆ ⋆ ⋆ ⋆ ⋆ ⋆

“Our baby is turning into an adult!”

It is Saturday night, and Jisoo is wailing, clutching onto you tightly, as the rest of your friends are scurrying around to hang up streamers and put up balloons around the sorority house. Rosé and Yeri are struggling to tape up the banner, and Eunha walks in with several bottles of sparkling pink lemonade. You had picked up the gorgeous cake decorated with loopy cursive saying “Happy Birthday, Lisa!” from the shop earlier, and it was stored safely in the bottom shelf of the refrigerator, which was also packed with drinks. Sooner or later, Lisa will walk in with Umji, who was trying to keep her preoccupied for the most part.

“She’s coming!” you hear Soyeon yell, and there are a few more screams before everyone finds their places just as the door opens.

“Happy Birthday, Lisa!” A chorus of voices exclaims as the grinning birthday girl walks in. A pink sash and crown is placed on her amid the cheers. Someone pops a bottle of champagne and turns on the music as the multicolor fairy lights blink on and off above your heads. The party has begun, and Yeri starts to hand out the pretty pink Jell-O shots made earlier. The party is in full swing, and Joy pulls you onto the dance floor among the other girls.

Several shots, a game of beer pong, and a slice of red velvet cake later, you may be more than a little bit tipsy, but you are having the time of your life. Jennie pulls you aside and away from the loud music, eyes sparkling with mischief, as she waves her phone in front of your face to show you a text from her boyfriend.

“The surprise is here.”

“What?” Your mind is slightly fuzzy as you try to concentrate and read the message. And as if on cue, when you reach the last word, the front door opens, and a group of boys come in. Your mind finally registers the connection between the text and your university’s hip hop dance team in front of you.

Oh, right. The surprise.

Sowon and Eunbi tugs Lisa forward to sit on a chair that has been placed in the center of the dance floor, and all the girls start to scream, raising their glasses, before quickly fumbling for their phones to videotape as the boys start to dance around the guest of honor. Shirts are thrown off, body rolls are done, and the birthday girl—scratch that, every girl in the room—seems to be highly enjoying it.

Jennie pulls you closer to the front. “C’mon, I need to get a good video of Jongin.”

“Why take a video when he’s going to give you a personal recap later tonight?” You hear yourself saying. Wow, your mind to mouth filter really takes a hit when alcohol comes into play.

She laughs, her cheeks turning a rosy shade, before she yells above the noise, “You’re right, but it doesn’t mean I can’t enjoy the current show right now.”

Well, you cannot argue with that logic. And you deserve some eye candy after a stressful week filled with pop quizzes and semester paper deadlines. You reach for your phone, opening up the camera function, and start to film, focusing first on Lisa’s reaction. Grinning and cheering along with the rest of the girls, you zoom out to get the whole group dancing before your eye catches on one figure in particular.

Oh my god.

Your eyes widen and your mouth pops open in surprise as you drop your arm, phone loosely grasped in your hand. Your other hand comes up to cover your mouth in shock. You really had too much to drink because that cannot be—

Jimin makes eye contact with you, and he stops mid body roll.

You were right.

Jimin is going to be the death of you.

“I need another drink,” you shout to Jennie, quickly tearing your eyes away from him. She nods in acknowledgement, giving you a thumbs up before continuing to cheer on her boyfriend. You lightly push your way to the kitchen, making a beeline to the fridge. Taking out two bottles, you take two shots first without a chaser, ignoring the slight burn in your throat. You then mix vodka and soda into a red cup for yourself, chugging down half of it immediately afterwards. You really hope the effects of alcohol will come soon.

“Hey, can you pass me the vodka?”

“Yeah, here y—” You pause, turning over to face the familiar voice.

“Hi.” Jimin smiles at you sheepishly. His shirt hangs loose on him, unbuttoned still, with the sleeves rolled up. You try hard to concentrate on his face.

“H-hey, Jimin.” You take a sip of your drink. Maybe another sip, too, for good measure, you think to yourself before downing the rest of it. “So you’re a part of the hip hop dance team...”

“Uh, yeah, Jongin told us his girlfriend wanted us to, um, dance for a party.” He rubs the back of his neck awkwardly. “Oh! Sorry, I’m probably making you uncomfortable, I should button this up.”

He reaches for the one of the middle buttons of his shirt, fumbling for a bit, and you cannot help but let a laugh bubble up from your throat. He halts, looking up with a questioning gaze.

“It’s just—you were literally out there, stripping and body rolling for everyone to see, and you’re worried about making me uncomfortable now?” You smile, the hazy feeling of alcohol making its way into your mind along with  the familiar skipping of your heartbeat all because of this all too endearing boy standing in front of you. “You’re really cute, you know that? Like not cute in the physical sense—I mean, you are, you have a cute face and cute butt but also wow, your body is like sculpted by the gods—but wait, I’m getting sidetracked, what was I saying again?”

Leaning against the counter, Jimin has an amused grin on his face now, and you are flustered, face warm from not just the alcohol. He laughs, reaching forward to tuck a loose strand of hair away behind your ear, and your face feels as if it is on fire. “You were calling me cute. But not in the physical sense, but also yes in the physical sense.”

“Oh! Right.” You find yourself nodding, and Jimin lets out another chuckle, smiling widely at you. “So as I was saying, you’re really cute, like your personality is adorable and soft and I have fun doing the art project with you and you make me hate group projects a lot less and you look really kissable, did you know that?”

“No, I didn’t know that, but thank you for telling me.”

Well, you hear no rejection in that, and the alcohol running through your veins gives you that boost of confidence to finally act on your feelings.

“So can I kiss you?”

Jimin is positively beaming at you, and you think his eyes look more sparkly than ever. He reaches over to softly grasp your hand and intertwine your fingers with his. You admire how soft his hand is, squeezing it lightly, before giggling to yourself when Jimin squeezes your hand back gently.

“How about this? How about you give me a kiss on the cheek now, and tomorrow, when you have had less to drink, if you still want to, you can kiss me?”

“Okay!”

Positively giddy, you lean over and press a kiss against his cheek. Jimin’s eyes crinkle as the corners of his lips upturn into another wide smile. He gazes at you tenderly as you stare at him with all the stars in your eyes.

Maybe, you think blissfully, you already died and went to heaven because you just kissed an angel.

⋆ ⋆ ⋆ ⋆ ⋆ ⋆ ⋆

You awake past five p.m. the next day, extremely glad that it was a Sunday. You are beyond grateful that you are experiencing no sort of hangover. You are briefly reminded of Irene telling you all to appreciate your youth because once you are out of university, your body just somehow knows and you will be suffering the worst kinds of morning hangovers after only a couple sake bombs the night before. Reaching for your phone, you flick through the mass of notifications, such as several Instagram ones for photos you were tagged in, no doubt from last night. Joy had texted you, saying she went to Sungjae’s place. You scroll back to the top, eyes widening when you read it.

[ 4:27 p.m. ] Jimin: hey, we’re still meeting up at your dorm to finish the art project? At 6?

Hurriedly, you swipe open his message and type out a response.

[ 5:13 p.m. ] you: yes! I’m so sorry I just saw this

Immediately, the three bubbles pop up, and a new message appears.

[ 5:13 p.m. ] Jimin: it’s cool, no worries!! I hope you’re feeling fine. See you soon!

You send back a quick confirmation text before throwing your phone aside with a groan. A rush of memories from last night hits you from your mortifying confession to Joy dragging you home soon after, and you just want to bury your face into your pillow and go back to sleep. Maybe last night was just a bad dream, and you did not make a complete and utter fool of yourself in front of your project partner.

Unfortunately, you are very much awake, and after laying there for thirty minutes, you pull yourself off your bed with a heavy sigh and start to get ready, brushing your teeth and washing your face. Embarrassed or not, you refuse to throw your grade out the window over a boy. You are going to get through this project no matter how painfully awkward it will be.

You change out of your pajamas and tug on a sweater and a pair of leggings that were thrown haphazardly on your desk chair. You finish just in time as the lighting up of your phone screen indicates another text from Jimin. When you check, it’s a short message saying he is at the front of the building. You respond, telling him you are coming down right away, before grabbing your room key, and going down to meet him. You take a few deep breaths in the elevator, hoping to calm down your racing mind and heart.

You see Jimin standing outside, drawing pad leaning against his leg and bag over his shoulder. Distracted, he taps away at his phone with one hand, while the other clutches onto what looks like a drink from the nearby coffee shop. You push open the door, greeting him nervously.

“Hey.”

He looks up at you, tucking his phone in his pocket, and seems startled for a millisecond before grinning happily. “Hey!”

He extends the drink towards you, and you hesitantly take it. “I figured some hot chocolate might help after all the drinking from last night. I wasn’t sure if you like coffee, but everyone likes hot chocolate, right?”

You smile gratefully at him, hands curling around the warm drink. “Thank you, Jimin. I love hot chocolate.”

“Yeah, of course! My friend works there, so I get a pretty good discount if you ever want to get another one. With me. Only if you want to!” He looks a little flustered as he follows you into the building and onto the elevator.

Your smile only grows wider as you begin to relax, taking a sip of the drink. “I’d love that. And I want to apologize if my drunken self made things super weird last night.”

“O-oh! Actually, I wanted to ask if you remembered what you said last night,” Jimin says and you nearly freeze in your steps as you get off the elevator. You would be lying if you said you had not hoped he would just accept your apology and move on.

“... Yeah, I do remember all the embarrassing things I said,” you mumble, unlocking your door and gesturing for him to come in. He walks in, carefully leaning his drawing pad against your desk and placing his bag alongside it. After closing the door, you carefully place the cup of hot chocolate on your nightstand before turning to face him.

“Were they all true?”

He stares at you, biting his bottom lip nervously, as you anxiously fiddle with the strings of the hooded sweater you pulled on, scared to answer. Taking a deep breath, he continues, “Because I think you’re really cute, you know that? But not just in the physical sense, but also yes in the physical sense. And you look really kissable, especially when you’re wearing my hoodie, did you know that?”

Shocked, you are frozen for a few seconds as your brain finally processes what he said. And then, you look down with a thudding heart and realize you are indeed wearing the sweater he lent you days ago.

“And,” Jimin speaks up, and your eyes meet his. He reaches over and takes your hand, interlocking your fingers once more. “My offer from Saturday still stands.”

His words from last night echo in your mind, and you can recall him gazing at you with the most tender smile. How about this? He says, how about you give me a kiss on the cheek now, and tomorrow, when you have had less to drink, if you still want to, you can kiss me?

And yes, you still very much want to.

So you do.

Jimin’s lips are soft and gentle, pressing against yours delicately, as his hands cup your face and your eyes flutter close. You can feel his heart thudding rapidly inside his chest, and you know yours is as well. Your fingers curl as they tug on the ends of his scarf, bringing him even closer to you.

When you finally pull away, Jimin places a small kiss on the tip of your nose, causing you to adorably scrunch your nose up before burying your face in the crook of his neck. He laughs, wrapping his arms around you and hugging you tightly. You are absolutely too cute and too soft for him.

He swears, you are going to be the death of him someday.

⋆ ⋆ ⋆ ⋆ ⋆ ⋆ ⋆

You all receive an A on the completed animation. And you will have to thank Taehyung and Jungkook one day for not coming to the first group meeting. Who knew having group members who don’t show up would pay off for once?

[coldcanyon-blog]

Cold Canyon- Saison

This is the fourth batch I’ve brewed of this recipe as I try to hone in on my ideal saison. The most recent change I’ve made, which is a big one, is to switch the yeast strain from Wyeast’s French Saison 3711 to their Belgian Saison 3724. I’ve brewed a couple batches with 3724 and although I’m still getting a handle on this yeast I am really happy with it so far. 

I fell in love with 3711 at the first brewery I worked at, it was our go-to for saison and we even brewed our witbier with it. Back then I found 3711 to give a super clean profile with a great balance of punchy fruitiness and spice without being too “hot” with alcohol or muddled like a lot of other saison yeasts. When fermented on the cooler end we found at the brewery that 3711 created a unique orangey spice. People swore that we put orange zest and coriander into our witbier when in fact it was all yeast character they were tasting. When I started doing trials of this saison recipe I started with 3711 but after a few batches was getting a completely different character out of it. Each batch had this astringent bitterness to it that was like a combination of rust and soil. I wasn’t sure at first if what I was tasting was hop-related or perhaps an unhealthy yeast pitch, but after a few batches and some research I decided what I was tasting was the “phenolic bite” that is said to come from certain saison yeast strains. Still haven’t figured out why the character I got from 3711 is so different than how I remember it from a few years ago at the brewery, but at any rate I decided to move on from it.

I had started looking into a new yeast to try when I was out at one of my favorite bars in LA, The Hermosillo. The Hermosillo is the original home to Highland Park Brewery, probably the best brewery in LA, and in addition to HPB beers always has an awesome selection of guest beers which often includes a saison or mixed culture beer from Perennial Artisan Ales from St. Louis. I had a glass of Perennial’s Prism, a dry-hopped saison, and immediately knew that whatever yeast they used in it was exactly what I was looking for. Prism had a great balance of yeast fruitiness and spice that worked well with the heavy hopping and a unique mouthfeel that softer that most saison. From Perennial’s website (http://www.perennialbeer.com/beer-lister/) I found that they use a Belgian saison strain so I took a chance with Wyeast’s option (https://wyeastlab.com/yeast-strain/belgian-saison).

After a few brews with 3724 I am fairly confident that it is indeed the yeast that Perennial uses in Prism. I’m pretty happy with the results so far. I might not be completely sold as it is a bit finicky. The yeast tends to stall out in the 1.020-1.030s halfway through fermentation. It will eventually finish out but it takes some time and/or warming the beer into the 90s Fahrenheit. 3724 also seems to land at a higher FG than other saison yeasts I’ve brewed with. I’ve read it does get down close to 1.000 but I haven’t seen it get that far. (Rather I haven’t been patient enough to see it get that far). But maybe the attenuation will improve as I harvest and re-pitch it a few times. 

Brewed 3/18/2020

Water Profile:

.5 tsp Calcium Sulphate and 1.5 tsp Calcium Chloride into 6 gallons strike water

Yeast:

Wyeast 3724 (2nd Gen)

2 Liter starter. Stirred 48 hours. Refrigerated overnight and decanted. Yeast “bloomed” on brew day with first runnings.

Grist:

Weyermann Floor Malted Bohemian Pilsner Malt- 6 lbs (55%)

Weyermann Pale Wheat Malt- 3 lbs (27%)

Flaked Oats- 2 lbs (18%)

Raw Organic Honey- 1 lb at end of boil

Boil: 60 minute

Magnum Hallertauer (13% aa) - 1 oz @ 60

Magnum Hallertauer - 1 oz @ 15

Wildflower Honey - 1 lb @ 10

Mash pH: 5.17

60 min O2 through aeration pump. Pitched yeast and put in fermentation chamber at 77F with no temp control on it (free-rise)

OG: 1.046 - pH 5.07

FG: 1.012 - pH 3.8 (as I mentioned before, could probably have waited for the yeast to attenuate more fully but the beer tasted clean so I decided to keg as I’m under quarantine and NEED BEER)

Kegged 3/30/2020 w/ ~2oz ground coriander

Notes:

4.5% ABV

Super aromatic, coriander and cinnamon.

Silky mouthfeel, soft on the palette, 3724 give a super unique pillowy-marshmallow-like sweetness that balances well with the spicier notes it also creates.

Overall I’m stoked on this beer as a base saison to continue tweaking. "Farmhouse” (whatever that means) styles are my current brewing obsession. Specifically the lower ABV, refreshing, rustic, I’m about that shit. I feel like the best farmhouse beers have a level of flavor and complexity from letting yeast do it’s thing in combination with adjuncts like wheat and oats, and plenty of hop flavor, that you don’t find in other low ABV styles. To me this beer drinks almost like a dry white wine or cider and as it warms in the glass it just becomes more aromatic and punchy.

Concept:

At least partly inspired by the visuals in this Kanye video: 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ivCY3Ec4iaU

Been playing with the visual component of beers more lately. Above is something I threw together with this one as I was first tasting it. Something about the smell and mineral flavor of the beer makes me think about winter, COLD AIR, throat chilling humidity, crunchy frozen grass under your feet, river rocks. Thought it was a funny play on the stories about farmhouse beers that they were traditionally low ABV refreshing beers made for the farmworkers in rural Europe. Always thought that was a dope visual. A bunch of tired farmworkers cresting a hill on the way back to the barn at the end of a hot summer day. Sitting down in the shade and tapping a wooden cask of crisp, rustic saison. Imagining how satisfying that would be. With Cold Canyon I’m picturing a solo creekside walk in the afternoon in the dead of winter. The sun is about to set and the ground begins to freeze agin after only having thawed a couple hours prior. You sit on the one dry rock you can find by the barely flowing, almost entirely frozen creek. Pull out the thermos you packed this morning and pour a portion into the lid. It foams and crackles with carbonation despite having sat in your bag all day. It’s colder on your lips now than it was out of the fridge that morning. A light breeze blows through the bushes nearby and as you take your first sip a waft of floral aromatics from the only remaining live blossoms around for miles hits your nose. A perfect moment of solitude.

[kapampangan-traveller]

It was a sudden plan to visit the landlocked province of Abra. Taking advantage of the long December holidays, we embarked on a cutting trip from Pampanga to Abra. I was to meet in Calasiao my travel buddy Ella where we will both take the bus to Vigan, eventually to Bangued, Abra.

THE CUTTING TRIP

It was a jam-packed bus terminal in Mabalacat City, as many passengers are rushing to their respective hometowns to celebrate the New Year. Having the youthful agility (that time), I was able to squeeze myself in the midst of sea of passengers and able to secure a seat at the rear portion of the bus, saving me from another standing commute. Few hours passed, we arrived in Dagupan and took a jeep transfer to Calasiao. In less than an hour, I saw the Calasiao spelling on many establishments, signalling our arrival. We had a quick lunch in a fast food chain before hailing a ride to Vigan. Even buses at this spot are full of passengers already. We are able to board a bus and take seats just beside the driver. It was one of the rare moments to stand behind the huge windshield.

In Calasiao downtown while waiting for a bus ride to Vigan

Me and Ella and the bus driver, bound to Vigan

THE VIGAN SIDETRIP

We intend to spend a night in Vigan before visiting Bangued. Taking advantage of the yuletide season, we strolled around the heavily decorated main streets of the touristy side of Vigan. Stalls brimming with tourists, the streets are breathing alive even at nightfall. Children running around with their apparent christmas garbs and presents and the clippity clops of tourist calesas are the usual busy attractions in Calle Crisologo.

Empty Calle Crisologo at around 4:00 AM

After calling it a night on the quieter side of Vigan, we planned to leave as early as possible to see the Calle Crisologo complete and utter void of tourists. We left at 4:00 AM and hurried to the very spot – we practically owned Calle Crisologo. We left soon as the skies turn from starry black to deep blue and few tourists starting to tread the renowned street.

Selfie with the bus before it leaves for Abra, and Ella seating at the front

Arriving at the then dimly lit Vigan Bus Terminal, the first leaving bus of the day bound to Bangued seats composedly in its slot waiting for the first passenger to board. With lengthy time for waiting, we decided to have our breakfast in the terminal-located eateries and tried on the local dishes they serve – Sinanglaw (warm sour- bitter profiled soup with beef innards) and Dinakdakan (Chopped grilled pork parts with onions and chilli peppers). Soon as our tummies are filled, we decided to board the bus and catch some quick snooze. The mini bus interiors looks like an oversized traditional pinoy jeepney with 3 by 2 seat configuration. As first passengers, we took the front seats.

My breakfast in Vigan with Sinanglaw and hot instant coffee

CROSSING BORDERS

One must not miss passing through the Tangadan Tunnel located in San Quintin municipality. Construction of the tunnel commenced last 1934 as many workers pummeled through sheer hard rock just to connect the new road sections, shifting the new path to Abra to a safer and easier to navigate terrain. The tunnel became the main gateway to access the hidden wonders of the Abra province. Years after its completion, the tunnel marks as one of the destinations in the province. Tourists on private vehicles take the opportunity to have a photograph with the view of the tunnel as their backdrop.

Tangadan Tunnel in San Quintin, able to capture this since of our front seat access

It was more than two hours of driving when we finally on the bustling capital. Before arriving, we enjoyed breathtaking views of the mountainous landscape of Abra through its winding provincial roads. With nothing but thick forests on view, this is the one of the best spots in Abra to enjoy mother nature. Soon as we set foot finally and officially onto the soil of Bangued, I breathed excitedly and started scanning around. Hordes of tricycle drivers offering us ride, mobile vendors yelling out loud their products, porters heaving sacks of produces onto their backs and passengers hurrying to exit the terminal borders. Reaching on the main streets, busy foot traffic on both street edges and establishments brimming with customers was a welcoming sight. More vehicles stuck in traffic jutting out thick grey smoke while motorcycles squeeze their away into tight traffic spaces just to get ahead – really just a typical town, only within the borders of Abra. It was national campaign season, and campaign collateral litter the streets, walls and buildings.

My shoe size did not comfortably fit on the foot space of the bus front sea

In every corner of the Bangued town, you would notice armed authorities in pairs – an army and a police officer, sometimes a trio with a traffic enforcer. This is a normal scenario during a campaign season confirmed by a random local. Using digital maps on our smartphones, we are able to locate the capitol grounds on foot.

AT BANGUED, ON FOOT

At the center of the capitol complex features an open park area with a recognizable half dome covered platform fronting the geometric-hive facade of the green colored Capitol building. Its ground floor roof extension features the typical Ionian column heads topped with a triangular roof.

Ella and the Abra Capitol Building facade

On the other side of the park is the Bangued Cathedral – St. James the Elder Parish. Already on a modern architectural style, the structure features a towering octagonal bell tower with four levels of arched windows. It features also a glittering retablo placed higher on the altar side. The ceiling is embellished with an elegant chandelier and the walls are parted by high arching windows, allowing natural light to enter through it s mosaic design glasses. A mass is celebrated at that time we visited.

We checked our digital maps and located the Calaba Bridge. One of the  longest modular bridge in the Philippines, spanning the wide yet seasonally treacherous Abra River – at 900 meters end to end. We chartered a tricycle to bring us on both of its ends, as walking under the afternoon us proves taxing. After agreeing on the amount we would pay the driver, we sped to the bridge. Soon after, a caged like structure emerged at the end of the road and there we met the signage of the bridge. The driver also instructed us that we can see and visit the riverbed below. True to its definition, the Calaba Bridge is indeed long. Seeing how vehicles turns into miniscule portions as they reach farther end. From there, we can see clearly the Sleeping Beauty. A portion of the mountainous skyline of Abra depicting a sleeping lady, with the face, chest and abdomen above the lower hills of the mountain ranges.

DCIM100GOPROGOPR1860.

Sleeping beauty mountain viewed from Oval Era Hotel

Since the sky was dry for days, the Abra River below apparently flows calmly against the clear blue sky. Noticeable are stilted huts above the river surface that visitors can rent should they wish to bathe on the river. There are no authorities that time to ask permission if we can try and check the huts, we just enjoyed seeing them from where we are. We took the chance to take road to the river bed. We marveled on the gigantic and massive support columns of the bridge. From there, we can hear and feel the clunking of steel whenever heavy vehicles would hit the bridge deck. Undettered by the noisy traffic above, scantily dressed children jumped back and forth onto the calm river.

After an exhausting afternoon tour around the main downtown area, we decided to check in with Oval Era Hotel (Contact: +63 917 184 6825) . This hotel is located on Cassamata Hill. We hailed a tricycle since our feet would not be able to carry us to the ascending road inside the park. We have made the right choice. At the wide balcony and open air veranda of the hotel, we can view the Bangued downtown, with the roofs below our feet. We chose an airconditioned twin bed room with private Toilet and bath. It was the best decision we made since we enjoyed much of our room. It also has a room balcony with view of the highers slopes of Cassamata Hill.

Our driver waited for us since he promised to bring us to another view deck within the Victoria Park. We continued the uphill road until we made sharp turn to the entrance of park. We saw an open air semi circular arena and a grotto. We walk around the park and enjoy the better panoramic view of Bangued and the mountain range backdrop.

DCIM100GOPROGOPR1881.

Finally, our driver dropped as off on the gates of the hotel and we hurried back to our room to rest. Soon as we are done refreshing ourselves and our back against the supporting mattresses, we decided to end our tour.

My bed while in Abra

At dinner, we visited the neighboring Ayesha Cafe. We are amazed by its interior and garden inspired alfresco dining area with the view of the Bangued town. I ordered then Crispy Beef Ribs with Gravy for my dinner. It took less than 10 minutes before the smoking hot dish landed on my table. The meat is tender and tasty against the crunchy breading. I decided to end my meal with an iced tea beverage.

We called it a night when we returned to our hotel room. The relaxing and calming cold room and soothing mattress instantly drawn to dreamland.

SINCE WE CAME A BIT EARLY

The province of Abra, being part of the Cordillera Administrative Region, proves its tourism potential. At the time of our visit, visitors are rare and locals seemed to be not used on sights of backpackers sauntering their thoroughfares. That time, December 2015, when tourism activities are not yet rampant, we had a hard time in obtaining information from locals. There is a different vibes as to a tourist town like Banaue where locals are more warm to visitors and a smile is like a permanent gesture. I remember when the now famous Kaparkan Falls of Tineg municipality is still reachable by 6-7 hour trek or 3-4 hour horseback ride according to a local we have spoken with. We also lack in coordination with the tourism office and we are only able to see spots on what we just researched in the internet. I am now happy that Abra has taken huge strides in tourism, and social media was an effective marketing tool on bringing to a wider reach the beauty of Abra. I am thankful to my longtime travel buddy and confidant, Ella, for joining me in this tour and herself braving the long commute. As of posting, I could imagine the impact of increasing tourism activities in Bangued. I have learned many destinations now, like the rolling hills, rice terraces and many waterfalls. I tried to plan an itinerary for this a weekend trip would not suffice. I want to see myself what could be the difference from years back. This lingering travel thirst would want my itching feet board that “Abra” or “Bangued” signed buses.

Photo of Mt. Bullagaw in Abra by avid mountaineer and trusted financial advisor, Mr. RJ Garo,

View this post on Instagram

WAKE UP- KICK ASS- REPEAT 📷 Saab

A post shared by @ rjgaro on Jan 31, 2017 at 6:52pm PST

Photo of Kaparkan Spring Terraces Falls in Tineg, Abra by Mr. Hancel Reyes ofThe Restless Pinoy Traveler blog

Dreaming still to visit this seasonal Kaparkan Waterfalls

TRAVEL GUIDE to BANGUED, ABRA: 

From Manila, you can take Bangued bound bus (Dominion Lines and Partas Line)

Alternatively, you can take Vigan/Laoag/Pagudpud bound bus and alight in Narvacan Junction. Take jeep, bus, van bound to Bangued

Will I ever go back? I will and that’s for sure. There are many section in the province still void of blog article and I am willing to spend time and effort to return to the province.

Exploring BANGUED: capital of Abra province It was a sudden plan to visit the landlocked province of Abra. Taking advantage of the long December holidays, we embarked on a cutting trip from Pampanga to Abra.

[the-panam-experiment-blog]

FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS, or: WHAT A BIKETRIP IS AND WHAT IT IS NOT

This is probably our most honest and important blog entry so far. Grab a coffee, take a seat. In the following lines we try to answer some of the questions that we hear so many times...

1.) Is it like you expected it to be? NO - and that is good! If it would be exactly like we expected it to be, we would have missed out on a lot of surprising encounters and experiences that are very essential to make this journey interesting. To be honest, in the beginning we brought much more expectations with us as we assumed. Most of them were not fulfilled. On the other hand, we experienced situations and met people, we could not even have thought of. The last six months showed us, not to expect anything - to be open for what so ever may happen. We took off to meet countries, people, cultures. This only happens with a big portion of openness. "The traveller sees what he sees, the tourist sees what he has come to see".

2.) Do you like Canada/USA/Mexico...? Yes and No. How should you summarize the complexity and diversity of a whole country in a few sentences? A few sentences that in addition satisfy the questioner? There is way more to a country than national parks or pretty historic centers or nice beaches. There often is a lot of tristesse, poverty, social inequality. Trash, smog and reek. Potholes, so big you could bath a child in there. For day long stretches pedalling can be incredibly exhausting. Feeling hungry, thirsty, patching flat tires in the midday heat of the desert or on the side of a busy highway is not fun at all. Even though you feel absolutely miserable during many of those situations, they in the end are also essential experiences. Those situations are part of the game, to round it up, to really "see" a country/region. They are at least as important as the "everything is so great, I love this" moments. You need those contrasts, to be even more able to enjoy the beautiful and nice moments. If not, the journey would probably be boring very fast. Almost like a two week all inclusive vacation at the beach. Nice to relax for a few days, but after ten days at the latest you are done and can´t wait to go home soon. All of us can only preceive contrasts, no absolute values. "Nothing is harder to bear, than a row of good days."

It increasingly seems like that describing the positive AND the negative aspects often surprise and overstrain some listeners. "You gave up so much to do that journey, and now THIS?". Even travelling is part of our success-driven society. If you do not love and enjoy every second, there is definitely something you are doing wrong, right? This leads to a lot of unhonesty and concealment. We follow/ed quite a few blogs of other (bike) travellers, and soon it is obvious who is reporting about reality and who is not. Who is trying to satisfy followers/sponsors/friends at home. People want to see the nice and pretty beaches, and not those that are full of trash, the friendly smiling local people, not those that try to rip you off, a cristal clar mountain river, not the rotten smelling brown creek. Success and efficiency is not just part of our daily lives, we also take it with us on our vacations/journeys. We are expected, and also expect from ourself, to maximize our time, to pack in as many amazing moments as possible. To see as much as we can as fast as we can, enjoy every minute and every day has to be nothing but awesome. If not, or if you even admit that you do not like some aspects of a culture/country/whatsoever, it must be your own fault, and you should adapt accordingly. Reality often is "awesome" and "beautiful", but many times it is not.

3.) You are way too fast! Why are you rushing? This is not a vacation in order to get away from the daily routine and to relax from a stressful week at work. This IS our daily routine now, but in different aspects. The way is goal. "Easy riding" take turns with absolutely energy sapping stages. Further, our motivation changes a lot - from "I can not do this anymore" to "I want to do this forever" and everything in between within a day. We do not rush at all. Sometimes we are dependent on some circumstances though. Water, food, shelter are quite essential. And not everyhere to get. Also, a look at the milage after a long hard day is quite satifying, too. And the feeling of being exploited. We definitely do not know problems with falling asleep! The impression that we are moving too fast seems to be quite prelavent within our friends and family. And, yes, sometimes it surprises us too how far you can travel on a bike within a few months, from Vancouver to Oaxaca, 7.000km! Compared to many other cyclists we met on the way, we actually are travelling pretty leisurely!

4.) Why don´t you stay longer at a place, enjoy and relax more? That´s exaclty what we do! Without taking breaks, relaxing our bodies and our minds, we would have quit a long time ago! Regeneration is so important. Curiosity is one of the main motivations for continuing. What´s behind that mountain? What´s that village over there like? But often it is also the necessity of something to eat or a place to sleep that makes us going further, although we are tired and exhausted. If you are in the middle of nothing, there are some more kilometers to be coverd even if you do not want to anymore. Even more you enjoy the pleasure of a (maybe even warm) shower at the end of the day and a good meal!

5.) Where will you be for Christmas? When in Costa Rica? And when do you come home? No idea. And we like it that way! Of course we have a rough plan. Of course we have to / want to follow the (dry) seasons. But there are so many reasons for changes that make the trip longer or shorter. You get some tips of which you did not think of before, are in a region where you do not like it and just want to get away, or some regions may just be dangerous. Others are so nice, you stay much longer than expected. Not having a plan feels good, gives freedom!

We hope this gave a slight insight in the life on a bike, what we are confronted with, how we feel. Things, especially time, have a totally different significance here. We started off with a certain goal, cycling from Canada to Argentina. This goal has now, after half a year, not so much of prominence anymore. And even if we should "not make" it all the way to Tierra del fuego, we would not see it as a personal failure. Many times already we went out of our way, changed the route. And never have we regretted it. It´s about openness for whatever comes along the way!

Vorweg: Dies ist kein Reisebericht, dafür der bisher wahrscheinlich ehrlichste und wichtigste Blogeintrag. Nimm dir etwas zu trinken, setz dich, und pass gut auf. Denn heute beantworten wir Fragen, die uns so oder so ähnlich schon unzählige Male gestellt wurden.

1.) Ist es so, wie ihr es euch vorgestellt habt? NEIN - und das ist gut so! Denn wäre es so, wie wir es uns vorgestellt haben, wo wären dann die überaschenden Erlebnisse und Begegnungen, die das Reisen erst wirklich aufregend und interessant machen? Wir haben mehr Erwartungen und Vorstellungen mit auf die Reise genommen, als uns selber klar war. Die meisten davon wurden nicht erfüllt, im Gegenzug haben wir Dinge erlebt und Menschen getroffen, die wir uns nicht einmal annähernd hätten vorstellen können. Die letzten sechs Monate haben uns gelehrt, nichts zu erwarten, dafür aber umso offener zu sein für das, was uns begegnet. Wir sind aufgebrochen, um Länder, Menschen und Kulturen kennenzulernen, und dies gelingt nur mit einer großen Portion Offenheit. "The traveller sees what he sees, the tourist sees what he has come to see."

2.) Gefällt euch Kanada/USA/Mexiko? Die Antwort ist klar: JA und NEIN. Wie will man denn auch die Komplexität und Vielfalt eines ganzen Landes in ein paar Sätzen beschreiben, die dann auch noch denjenigen, der fragt, zufriedenstellt? Länder bestehen aus mehr als schönen Altstädten und Nationalparks. Es gibt oft genug Tristesse, Armut, soziale Ungleichheit. Dreck und Gestank. Schlaglöcher, die groß genug sind, um ein Kind darin zu baden. Oft ist es unglaublich anstrengend, man ist unterzuckert, das Wasser geht aus, oder man flickt in der hochsommerlichen Nachmittagshitze der Wüste Arizonas am Straßenrand bei 47 Grad Celsius einen Patschen. Auch wenn das im Moment alles andere als angenehm ist, ist es eine Erfahrung mehr, die einen bereichert. Die anfangs oft nicht willkommenen Situationen runden das Bild des bereisten Landes/der Stadt/der Region ab. Nicht nur dies - man BRAUCHT diese Kontraste sogar, um die schönen und angenehmen Momente besser wertschätzen zu können. Andernfalls wäre es schon nach zwei Wochen langweilig geworden, wie ein Badeurlaub mit Halbpension. Am Anfang scheint es paradiesisch zu sein, aber nach 10 Tagen freut man sich schon wieder auf zuhause. Der Mensch nimmt nur Kontraste wahr, keine absoluten Werte.  "Nichts ist schwerer zu ertragen, als eine Reihe von guten Tagen." (Goethe)

Mit zunehmender Dauer der Reise ist es aber auch immer klarer geworden, dass Menschen durch eine Beschreibung der positiven UND negativen Aspekte (zumindest im ersten Moment) oft überrascht und überfordert sind, nach dem Motto "ihr habt so viel aufgegeben für diese Reise, und jetzt DAS?". Diese unausgesprochene Erwartungshaltung beim Rezipienten führt zur Situation, die wir jetzt unter anderem in den sozialen Medien vorfinden: eine ausufernde Unehrlichkeit, gepaart mit dem konsequenten Verschweigen alles Negativen. Wir folgen vielen Blogs anderer (Rad-)Reisender, und bald kristallisiert sich heraus, wer offen berichtet und beabsichtigt, Sponsoren zu gewinnen/behalten oder seine Reise auf eine andere Art und Weise zu vermarkten. Letztere sind auf möglichst hohe "Follower"-Zahlen angewiesen und gut damit beraten, nur Traumhaftes, Wunderschönes, Unglaubliches zu posten. Man möchte seine Follower schließlich nicht mit Bildern von vergifteten Flüssen und Müllbergen vergraulen. Diese sitzen nämlich gerade zuhause bequem auf der Couch und möchten unterhalten werden. Das gesamtgesellschaftliche Phänomen der zwingenden Erfolgsorientiertheit wird viel zu oft überhaupt nicht mehr hinterfragt. Es ist in uns so tief verankert, dass es von vielen als Misserfolg bzw. als Scheitern angesehen wird, wenn man auch über die negativen Aspekte ungeschönt berichtet. Analog zum Diktat der Gewinnmaximierung und des Effizienzdenkens wird auch von Reisenden erwartet, dass sie das Maximale aus ihrer Zeit "herausholen", alles andere ist ein Versagen. Ein Umdenken ist hier längst überfällig.

3.) Ihr seid doch viel zu schnell! Warum stresst ihr euch so/fahrt ihr so schnell? Eine Radreise ist kein Urlaub, der dazu dient, sich vom Alltag zu erholen. Eine Radreise IST Alltag, aber eine andere Art von Alltag. Der Weg ist hier tatsächlich das Ziel. "Easy Riding" wechselt sich mit kräfte- und nervenzehrenden Etappen ab, genauso wie unsere Motivation sich ständig ändert. Von "ich kann und will nicht mehr" bis zu "das könnte ewig so weitergehen" ist alles dabei. Oft sogar innerhalb ein und desselben Tages. Wir stressen uns nicht, sind aber auch an die Umstände gebunden. Wüstendurchquerungen müssen nach den Möglichkeiten, Wasser und Proviant besorgen zu können, geplant werden. Da kann man oft nicht trödeln, sonst wird's unter Umständen gefährlich. Außerdem verschafft nach einem Tag des Radelns der Blick auf den Radtacho, auf dem weitere 80 Kilometer verbucht sind, eine gewisse Befriedigung, genauso wie das Gefühl des angenehm Ausgepowert-seins. Einschlafprobleme kennen wir nicht! Der Eindruck, wir seien zu schnell unterwegs, scheint unter unseren Familien und Freunden ziemlich weit verbreitet zu sein. Es verblüfft uns oft selbst, welche Distanzen im Laufe einiger Monate mit dem Rad zurückgelegt werden können...in knapp einem halben Jahr sind wir von Vancouver nach Oaxaca gefahren, 7.000 Kilometer weit! Verglichen mit vielen anderen Radreisenden, die wir bisher getroffen haben, sind wir sogar recht gemächlich unterwegs!

4.) Warum bleibt ihr nicht länger an einem Ort und genießt es einfach und entspannt euch mal? Tun wir doch! Ohne uns immer wieder zu entspannen und nicht nur unseren Körpern, sondern auch unserer Psyche regelmäßig eine Pause zu gönnen, wäre diese Art des Reisens überhaupt nicht möglich. Regeneration muss sein! Neugierde auf die Welt war und ist aber der Hauptgrund und die Hauptmotivation für unsere Reise. Was ist hinter dem Berg? Wie sieht das nächste Dorf aus? Zum Großteil treibt uns die Neugierde an, aber wir müssen auch essen/trinken/schlafen, wordurch wir gewissen Zwängen unterworfen sind. Vorräte müssen besorgt, Wasser nachgefüllt, Schlafplätze gefunden werden. Wenn man gerade mitten im Nirgendwo ist, muss man dann halt oft noch den einen oder anderen Kilometer hinter sich bringen, auch wenn man eigentlich keine Lust oder Kraft mehr dazu hat. Umso größer ist danach aber der Genuss einer (vielleicht sogar warmen) Dusche und eines ausgiebigen Abendessens!

5.) Wo seid ihr zu Weihnachten? Wann in Costa Rica? Und wann kommt ihr nach Hause? Keine Ahnung. Und genau das ist das Schöne und Gute dieser Reise. Natürlich haben/hatten wir einen groben Plan. Natürlich müssen oder wollen wir uns an die Jahreszeiten, bzw. in nächster Zeit vor allem an die Trockenzeiten halten. Doch die Route kann durch unzählige Faktoren verändert, verlängert, verkürzt werden. Man bekommt Tips, man hat genug von einem Gebiet und will weg, ein Gebiet ist schlichtweg zu gefährlich, oder man findet einen Ort, der zum Verweilen einlädt.

Wir hoffen, es ist uns gelungen zumindest einen kleinen Einblick in das Radlerleben zu geben. Womit wir konfrontiert sind, wie es uns ergeht. Auf dieser Reise haben die Dinge einen ganz anderen Stellenwert als im "normalen" Leben. Wir sind los gefahren mit einem bestimmten Ziel, von Kanada nach Argentinien zu radeln. Dieses Ziel stellt jetzt, nach einem halben Jahr, keine so große Wichtigkeit mehr dar. Und sollten wir es im Endeffekt nicht "schaffen" bis Feuerland, würden wir es auch nicht als persönliches Scheitern ansehen. Schon oft sind wir von unserer initial erdachten Route abgewichen, und kein einziges Mal haben wir es bereut. Es geht darum offen zu sein für alles, was sich auf dieser Reise ergibt.

[inhandnetworks-blog]

NAS opencart  A’s GRACE Mission Reveals Major Shifts in Global Freshwater

www.inhandnetworks.com

This map depicts a time series of data collected by NASA’s Gravity Recovery and Climate Experiment (GRACE) mission from 2002 to 2016, showing where freshwater storage was higher (blue) or lower (red) than the average for the 14-year study period. Credits: NASA

In a first-of-its-kind study, scientists have combined an array of NASA satellite observations of Earth with data on human activities to map locations where freshwater is changing around the globe and to determine why.

The study, published Wednesday in the journal Nature, finds that Earth’s wet land areas are getting wetter and dry areas are getting drier due to a variety of factors, including human water management, climate change and natural cycles.

A team led by Matt Rodell of NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Maryland, used 14 years of observations from the U.S./German-led Gravity Recovery and Climate Experiment (GRACE) spacecraft mission to track global trends in freshwater in 34 regions around the world. To understand why these trends emerged, they needed to pull in satellite precipitation data from the Global Precipitation Climatology Project, NASA/U.S. Geological Survey Landsat imagery, irrigation maps, and published reports of human activities related to agriculture, mining and reservoir operations. Only through analysis of the combined data sets were the scientists able to get a full understanding of the reasons for Earth’s freshwater changes as well as the sizes of those trends.

Between 2002 and 2016, NASA’s Gravity Recovery and Climate Experiment (GRACE) tracked the movement of freshwater around the planet. Credits: NASA/Katy Mersmann

“This is the first time that we’ve used observations from multiple satellites in a thorough assessment of how freshwater availability is changing, everywhere on Earth,” said Rodell. “A key goal was to distinguish shifts in terrestrial water storage caused by natural variability – wet periods and dry periods associated with El Niño and La Niña, for example – from trends related to climate change or human impacts, like pumping groundwater out of an aquifer faster than it is replenished.”

Freshwater is found in lakes, rivers, soil, snow, groundwater and ice. Freshwater loss from the ice sheets at the poles – attributed to climate change – has implications for sea level rise. On land, freshwater is one of the most essential of Earth’s resources, for drinking water and agriculture. While some regions’ water supplies are relatively stable, others experienced increases or decreases.

“What we are witnessing is major hydrologic change,” said co-author Jay Famiglietti of NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) in Pasadena, California. “We see a distinctive pattern of the wet land areas of the world getting wetter – those are the high latitudes and the tropics – and the dry areas in between getting dryer. Embedded within the dry areas we see multiple hotspots resulting from groundwater depletion.”

Famiglietti noted that while water loss in some regions, like the melting ice sheets and alpine glaciers, is clearly driven by warming climate, it will require more time and data to determine the driving forces behind other patterns of freshwater change.

“The pattern of wet-getting-wetter, dry-getting-drier during the rest of the 21st century is predicted by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change models, but we’ll need a much longer dataset to be able to definitively say whether climate change is responsible for the emergence of any similar  Verizon Embedded router pattern in the GRACE data,” he said.

The twin GRACE satellites, launched in 2002 as a joint mission with the German Aerospace Center (DLR), precisely measured the distance between the two spacecraft to detect changes in Earth’s gravity field caused by movements of mass on the planet below. Using this method, GRACE tracked monthly variations in terrestrial water storage until its science mission ended in October 2017.

However, the GRACE satellite observations alone couldn’t tell Rodell, Famiglietti and their colleagues what was causing the apparent trends.

“We examined information on precipitation, agriculture and groundwater pumping to find a possible explanation for the trends estimated from GRACE,” said co-author Hiroko Beaudoing of Goddard and the University of Maryland in College Park.

For instance, although pumping groundwater for agricultural uses is a significant contributor to freshwater depletion throughout the world, groundwater levels are also sensitive to cycles of persistent drought or rainy conditions. Famiglietti noted that such a combination was likely the cause of the significant groundwater depletion observed in California’s Central Valley from 2007 to 2015, when decreased groundwater replenishment from rain and snowfall combined with increased pumping for agriculture.

Southwestern California lost 4 gigatons of freshwater per year during the same period. A gigaton of water would fill 400,000 Olympic swimming pools. A majority of California’s freshwater comes in the form of rainfall and snow that collect in the Sierra Nevada snowpack and then is managed as it melts into surface waters through a series of reservoirs. When natural cycles led to less precipitation and caused diminished snowpack and surface waters, people relied on groundwater more heavily.

Downward trends in freshwater seen in Saudi Arabia also reflect agricultural pressures. From 2002 to 2016, the region lost 6.1 gigatons per year of stored groundwater. Imagery from Landsat satellites shows an explosive growth of irrigated farmland in the arid landscape from 1987 to the present, which may explain the increased drawdown.

The team’s analyses also identified large, decade-long trends in terrestrial freshwater storage that do not appear to be directly related to human activities. Natural cy lte cat 1  cles of high or low rainfall can cause a trend that is unlikely to persist, Rodell said. An example is Africa’s western Zambezi basin and Okavango Delta, a vital watering hole for wildlife in northern Botswana. In this region, water storage increased at an average rate of 29 gigatons per year from 2002 to 2016. This wet period during the GRACE mission followed at least two decades of dryness. Rodell believes it is a case of natural variability that occurs over decades in this region of Africa.

The researchers found that a combination of natural and human pressures can lead to complex scenarios in some regions. Xinjiang province in northwestern China, about the size of Kansas, is bordered by Kazakhstan to the west and the Taklamakan desert to the south and encompasses the central portion of the Tien Shan Mountains. During the first decades of this century, previously undocumented water declines occurred in Xinjiang.

Rodell and his colleagues pieced together multiple factors to explain the loss of 5.5 gigatons of terrestrial water storage per year in Xinjiang province. Less rainfall was not the culprit. Additions to surface water were also occurring from climate change-induced glacier melt, and the pumping of groundwater out of coal mines. But these additions were more than offset by depletions caused by an increase in water consumption by irrigated cropland and evaporation of river water from the desert floor.

The successor to GRACE, called GRACE Follow-On, a joint mission with the German Research Centre for Geosciences (GFZ), currently is at distribution fault detectionVandenberg Air Force Base in California undergoing final preparations for launch no earlier than May 22.

Publication: M. Rodell, et al., “Emerging trends in global freshwater availability,” Nature (2018) doi:10.1038/s41586-018-0123-1

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[damajority]

DaMajority Fresh Article https://www.damajority.com/nasa-satellites-reveal-major-shifts-in-global-freshwater/

NASA Satellites Reveal Major Shifts in Global Freshwater

NASA Satellites Reveal Major Shifts in Global Freshwater

WASHINGTON, May 17, 2018  — In a first-of-its-kind study, scientists have combined an array of NASA satellite observations of Earth with data on human activities to map locations where freshwater is changing around the globe and to determine why.

The study, published Wednesday in the journal Nature, finds that Earth’s wet land areas are getting wetter and dry areas are getting drier due to a variety of factors, including human water management, climate change and natural cycles.

This February 2016 global map of freshwater stored on land, made using data from NASA’s Gravity Recovery and Climate Experiment (GRACE) mission, shows where freshwater storage was higher (blue) or lower (red) than the average for the 14-year study period.

A team led by Matt Rodell of NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Maryland, used 14 years of observations from the U.S./German-led Gravity Recovery and Climate Experiment (GRACE) spacecraft mission to track global trends in freshwater in 34 regions around the world. To understand why these trends emerged, they needed to pull in satellite precipitation data from the Global Precipitation Climatology Project, NASA/U.S. Geological Survey Landsatimagery, irrigation maps, and published reports of human activities related to agriculture, mining and reservoir operations. Only through analysis of the combined data sets were the scientists able to get a full understanding of the reasons for Earth’s freshwater changes as well as the sizes of those trends.

“This is the first time that we’ve used observations from multiple satellites in a thorough assessment of how freshwater availability is changing, everywhere on Earth,” said Rodell. “A key goal was to distinguish shifts in terrestrial water storage caused by natural variability – wet periods and dry periods associated with El Niño and La Niña, for example – from trends related to climate change or human impacts, like pumping groundwater out of an aquifer faster than it is replenished.”

Freshwater is found in lakes, rivers, soil, snow, groundwater and ice. Freshwater loss from the ice sheets at the poles – attributed to climate change – has implications for sea level rise. On land, freshwater is one of the most essential of Earth’s resources, for drinking water and agriculture. While some regions’ water supplies are relatively stable, others experienced increases or decreases.

“What we are witnessing is major hydrologic change,�� said co-author Jay Famiglietti of NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) in Pasadena, California. “We see a distinctive pattern of the wet land areas of the world getting wetter – those are the high latitudes and the tropics – and the dry areas in between getting dryer. Embedded within the dry areas we see multiple hotspots resulting from groundwater depletion.”

Famiglietti noted that while water loss in some regions, like the melting ice sheets and alpine glaciers, is clearly driven by warming climate, it will require more time and data to determine the driving forces behind other patterns of freshwater change.

“The pattern of wet-getting-wetter, dry-getting-drier during the rest of the 21st century is predicted by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change models, but we’ll need a much longer dataset to be able to definitively say whether climate change is responsible for the emergence of any similar pattern in the GRACE data,” he said.

The twin GRACE satellites, launched in 2002 as a joint mission with the German Aerospace Center (DLR), precisely measured the distance between the two spacecraft to detect changes in Earth’s gravity field caused by movements of mass on the planet below. Using this method, GRACE tracked monthly variations in terrestrial water storage until its science mission ended in October 2017.

However, the GRACE satellite observations alone couldn’t tell Rodell, Famiglietti and their colleagues what was causing the apparent trends.

“We examined information on precipitation, agriculture and groundwater pumping to find a possible explanation for the trends estimated from GRACE,” said co-author Hiroko Beaudoing of Goddard and the University of Maryland in College Park.

For instance, although pumping groundwater for agricultural uses is a significant contributor to freshwater depletion throughout the world, groundwater levels are also sensitive to cycles of persistent drought or rainy conditions. Famiglietti noted that such a combination was likely the cause of the significant groundwater depletion observed in California’s Central Valley from 2007 to 2015, when decreased groundwater replenishment from rain and snowfall combined with increased pumping for agriculture.

Southwestern California lost 4 gigatons of freshwater per year during the same period. A gigaton of water would fill 400,000 Olympic swimming pools. A majority of California’s freshwater comes in the form of rainfall and snow that collect in the Sierra Nevada snowpack and then is managed as it melts into surface waters through a series of reservoirs. When natural cycles led to less precipitation and caused diminished snowpack and surface waters, people relied on groundwater more heavily.

Downward trends in freshwater seen in Saudi Arabia also reflect agricultural pressures. From 2002 to 2016, the region lost 6.1 gigatons per year of stored groundwater. Imagery from Landsat satellites shows an explosive growth of irrigated farmland in the arid landscape from 1987 to the present, which may explain the increased drawdown.

The team’s analyses also identified large, decade-long trends in terrestrial freshwater storage that do not appear to be directly related to human activities. Natural cycles of high or low rainfall can cause a trend that is unlikely to persist, Rodell said. An example is Africa’s western Zambezi basin and Okavango Delta, a vital watering hole for wildlife in northern Botswana. In this region, water storage increased at an average rate of 29 gigatons per year from 2002 to 2016. This wet period during the GRACE mission followed at least two decades of dryness. Rodell believes it is a case of natural variability that occurs over decades in this region of Africa.

The researchers found that a combination of natural and human pressures can lead to complex scenarios in some regions. Xinjiang province in northwestern China, about the size of Kansas, is bordered by Kazakhstan to the west and the Taklamakan desert to the south and encompasses the central portion of the Tien Shan Mountains. During the first decades of this century, previously undocumented water declines occurred in Xinjiang.

Rodell and his colleagues pieced together multiple factors to explain the loss of 5.5 gigatons of terrestrial water storage per year in Xinjiang province. Less rainfall was not the culprit. Additions to surface water were also occurring from climate change-induced glacier melt, and the pumping of groundwater out of coal mines. But these additions were more than offset by depletions caused by an increase in water consumption by irrigated cropland and evaporation of river water from the desert floor.

The successor to GRACE, called GRACE Follow-On, a joint mission with the German Research Centre for Geosciences (GFZ), currently is at Vandenberg Air Force Base in California undergoing final preparations for launch no earlier than May 22.

For more information on how NASA studies Earth, visit:

https://www.nasa.gov/earth

SOURCE NASA

Related Links

[aicarzu]

Foreclosure suit threatens Galisteo Basin Preserve

Preston Miller, left, and his friend Tim Burns, both of Santa Fe, start their bike ride last week at the Galisteo Basin Preserve on the way to the Santa Fe Rail Trail. Luis Sánchez Saturno/The New Mexican

The Los Alamos National Bank has filed a foreclosure suit stating that the owner of the preserve, the nonprofit Commonweal Conservancy, owes $5.4 million in overdue loan payments — excluding interest. Ted Harrison, the conservancy’s president, says the organization still hopes to raise enough money to retain control of the preserve.

The Galisteo Basin Preserve entrance off U.S. Route 285. Of 275 home sites at the preserve, only 48 have been sold. Luis Sánchez Saturno/The New Mexican

John Gulas, the CEO of Los Alamos National Bank, declined to be interviewed, saying through a representative that the bank was unable to comment on matters concerning ongoing litigation.

Located 14 miles south of the city limits near Lamy, the preserve boasts the largest publicly accessible trail systems in the county, with 28 miles of hiking, biking and equestrian paths meandering across arroyos, through willow and cottonwood groves and along sandstone ridges that offer soaring views of three mountain ranges.

Open to the public, at least for the time being, the preserve remains one of the least disturbed portions of the 467,000-acre Galisteo Basin, which contains the largest ruins of ancient Pueblo Indian settlements in the United States. Although there are no signs of such settlements within the preserve, archaeologists believe the widely scattered remnants of pre-historic gardens, seasonal dwellings, campsites, stone tools, projectile points, potsherds and petroglyphs indicate that the preserve was one of the most heavily utilized parts of the basin.

The Galisteo Basin Preserve, seen last week, is a haven for an array of wildlife — including 130 species of birds, small herds of deer and antelope and migrating bobcats, black bears and cougars. Luis Sánchez Saturno/The New Mexican

“We don’t know what’s out there, and we may never find out if it (the conservancy) loses control of the property,” said Cherie Scheick, president of Southwest Archaeological Consultants, who has been doing research in the Galisteo Basin for 15 years.

The viability of the preserve depended on a nontraditional form of financing open space. It called for the sale of 275 home sites to be carved out of the landscape as inconspicuously as possible. However, the post-recession real estate market did not recover fast enough for the conservancy to meet its mortgage obligations — only 48 home sites have been sold — and it is now searching for ways to repay the bank loans or negotiate a settlement that will satisfy the Los Alamos National Bank.

Harrison would not speculate on the current value of the preserve. It consists largely of open land with minimal access and lacks improved roads and infrastructure. The land is subject to zoning restrictions and conservation easements that limit the number of houses that can be built and where they can be located. But the restrictions only overlay parts of the area. Under existing zoning, more than a dozen 160-acre tracts could be developed in the center of the preserve, Harrison added, in addition to the 275 smaller homesites already permitted at the northern end of the property.

Harrison is a former senior vice president of the Trust for Public Land, a San Francisco-based organization specializing in protecting open space and natural areas that are close to cities and suburbs, and thus more accessible than many national parks and wilderness areas. Harrison had a similar goal in mind when he left the Trust for Public Land 15 years ago to found Commonweal Conservancy and begin purchasing land for the preserve.

People hike some of the trails at the Galisteo Basin Preserve on Tuesday, February 13, 2018. Luis Sánchez Saturno/The New Mexican

The land was part of a cattle ranch that dated to the mid-1900s, its windmills, stock tanks, wagon roads and livestock trails about the only signs of modern civilization. That network of primitive roads and livestock trails provided a template for the preserve’s hiking, biking and equestrian trails — a 3,500-acre complex that is slightly larger than either Dale Ball or La Tierra, Santa Fe’s two other major trail systems. The preserve also abuts the 15-mile Santa Fe Rail-Trail that leads into the city with a spur trail to the Santa Fe Community College.

“If the Conservancy lost control of the preserve it would be a pretty significant loss in terms of lowland recreation and open space,” said Tim Rogers, trails program manager for the Santa Fe Conservation Trust. A new owner could close off public access to 40 percent of the trail system, Harrison said. And new homes could be built close to accessible trails. “Instead of being in a natural, wild place, the way it is now, you’d be walking past a neighborhood.”

For archaeologists like Blinman, the preserve is especially relevant to understanding the period from the 12th to the 16th centuries, a dynamic epoch when climate fluctuation, ethnic conflict and European conquest led to dramatic shifts in settlement patterns. Of particular interest are the areas where Puebloan people grew corn. These areas are called grid gardens, so named because because they are outlined by rows of stones that have remained in place where the land has been least disturbed.

Archaeologists believe the late-1100s ushered in a period of heavy monsoon moisture that led to the cultivation of corn in the preserve and helps explain the dramatic increase in population throughout the Galisteo Basin. Conversely, when the rains diminished, corn cultivation appears to have declined. But how much a changing climate contributed to the eventual abandonment of the area by Native Americans remains a question that more research in the preserve could answer.

“The preserve provides an important connective corridor for wildlife, especially large mammals, from the Sangre de Cristos to the Ortiz,” said Jan-Willem Jansens, a landscape planner and co-author of an ecological appraisal of the Galisteo Basin funded by the State Engineer’s Office. Jansens described the preserve as a sanctuary for animals fleeing drought and fire. But he warned increased development — with its noise, night lighting, roads and traffic — would dry up water sources, deplete plant life and generally make the place much less hospitable to wildlife.

Source Article

The post Foreclosure suit threatens Galisteo Basin Preserve appeared first on Find Apartments For Rent In Santa-Fe.

Learn More: http://www.aicarzu.com/foreclosure-suit-threatens-galisteo-basin-preserve/

[delicatelysublimeforester]

Water quality month

  Planet Earth, the World, is in our Hands

Pelican Preenning

Richard St. Barbe Baker Afforestation Area and West Swale Wetlands in the fog

Richard St. Barbe Baker Afforestation Area and West Swale Wetlands , Saskatoon, Saskatchewan

The trees and vegetation, which cover the land surface of the Earth and delight the eye, are performing vital tasks incumbent upon the vegetable world in nature. Its presence is essential to earth as an organism. It is the first condition of all life; it it the ‘skin’ of the earth, for without it there can be no water, and therefore, no life.~Richard St. Barbe Baker

On this blue planet, there is water, a lot of water. According to the U.S. Department of the Interior | U.S. Geological Survey the Earth’s surface is covered with around 71 percent of water, and of this huge vast body of water 96.5 percent of the water on earth is in the oceans. So these leaves 3.5 percent as fresh water as streams, rivers, lakes, and groundwater. Did you know that when considering “total freshwater, over 68 percent is locked up in ice and glaciers. Another 30 percent of freshwater is in the ground.source”

“When the well is dry, we learn the worth of water.” ~ Benjamin Franklin

What does this mean when it comes to the afforestation areas of Saskatoon? Botanists consider the entirety of the lands designated as afforestation areas as wetlands. Of the wetlands, only a small portion are class IV permanent wetlands which may also be termed the north end of Chappell Marsh. The remaining land mass of the afforestation areas are, well, forest to the average visitor to this amazing area of Saskatoon.

“Water is the most critical resource issue of our lifetime and our children’s lifetime.The health of our waters is the principal measure of how we live on the land.” ~ Luna Leopold

The Chappell Marsh wetlands of the West Swale are teeming with ducks and waterfowl. As one of the only sites in Saskatchewan to view the Ruddy Duck, it possesses the capacity to provide foraging, and breeding grounds for many other species, Blue heron, Black crowned Night Heron, Pelicans.

“We forget that the water cycle and the life cycle are one.” ~ Jacques Cousteau

What will happen with Saskatoon’s growing population? The West Swale is a low lying area with its confluence at the South Saskatchewan River. The trajectory of the West Swale connects the North Saskatchewan River through Rice Lake, Grandora through to Saskatoon. Where the intermittent streams on the surface flow towards the South Saskatchewan River, the bedrock aquifer – the groundwater flows towards the North Saskatchewan River, making the West Swale vitally important to the water hydrology of Saskatchewan, and all communities down stream.

“Anything else you’re interested in is not going to happen if you can’t breathe the air and drink the water. Don’t sit this one out. Do something. You are by accident of fate alive at an absolutely critical moment in the history of our planet.” ~ Carl Sagan

It is quite intriguing to watch the city’s long-range plans. When new neighbourhoods are being planned and developed for Saskatoon’s Growth Plan to Half a Million what percentage of the wetlands are being conserved by developers to sustain water quality for the booming city. How does housing density and formulas for neighbourhood population conserve and interact with area previously designated as wetlands? If a wetlands is not in a preservation or conservation zone, what percentage of wetlands is deemed prudent to maintain? If approximately 570 acres of land are set aside for development of a neighbourhood to be home to around and about 10,000 residents, what happens if this land happens to have wetlands in it? Have any cities set precedents in regards to percentage of wetlands conservation areas as urban centres expand outwards?

Calgary: “In 1981,it was estimated that 78 per cent of the pre-settlement wetlands in Calgary had been lost. Today, the estimate is closer to 90 per cent. Urban development is now extending into areas of significant wetland complexes, some of which are considered provincially and nationally significant to breeding waterfowl.”Source

The Calgary wetland conservation policy ensures that there is “No Net Loss” of Calgary Wetlands by promoting their conservation and/or mitigation within areas of future urban development and within transportation and utility corridors.”

Edmonton:

“The City will dedicate permanent, semi-permanent, and seasonal wetlands (i.e., Class III, IV, and V Wetlands in the Stewart and Kantrud system) and all peatlands as Environmental Reserve upon subdivision of land. (The Way We Green 3.5.2)” In addition to this, Edmonton sets aside municipal reserves, environmental reserves and public lands of water beds and shores.Source

Is it more prudent to infill the wetlands and construct a housing neighbourhood with the pre-requisite low, medium or high density population no matter what the geographical terrain?  Is 23% of existing wetlands inventory maintained as constructed wetlands an acceptable environmental resource for urban growth in contemporary times?

The wetlands existing in the afforestation areas may be “preserved in perpetuity.” However, there are wetlands in the West Swale not in a preserved area for example west of Sk Highway 7 near the West compost depot. What has happened for example in the long range planning of the wetlands in regards to Saskatoon’s neighbourhoods ~ what percent of the wetlands inventory were conserved?  What will happen to the expanses of West Swale wetlands water areas ~ these wetlands outside of preservation zones?

Ask the City of Saskatoon, the Mayor or your city councillor today.

“Thousands have lived without love, not one without water.” ~ W.H. Auden

“In the setting of standards, agencies make political and technical/scientific decisions about how the water will be used. In the case of natural water bodies, they also make some reasonable estimate of pristine conditions. Natural water bodies will vary in response to environmental conditions. Environmental scientists work to understand how these systems function, which in turn helps to identify the sources and fates of contaminants. Environmental lawyers and policymakers work to define legislation with the intention that water is maintained at an appropriate quality for its identified use.Source” We need to conserve, and carve out a place for wetlands for future generations to ensure water quality.

Remember World water Day is celebrated on 22nd of March and Water Quality Month is August.

“Water, thou hast no taste, no color, no odor; canst not be defined, art relished while ever mysterious. Not necessary to life, but rather life itself, thou fillest us with a gratification that exceeds the delight of the senses.” ~ Antoine de Saint-Exupery

while knowledge about nature is vital; passion is the long-distance fuel for the struggle to save what is left of our natural heritage and ~ through an emerging green urbanism ~ to reconstitute lost land and water. Passion does not arrive on videotape or on a CD; passion is personal. Passion is lifted from the earth itself by the muddy hands of the young; it travels along grass-stained sleeves to the heart. If we are going to save environmentalism and the environment, we must also save an endangered indicator species: the child in nature. ~Richard Louv.

FURTHER NOTES Saskatoon Wetlands policy.

Saskatoon Wetland policy document wetlands design guidelines?

Growth Plan Half a Million City of Saskatoon. For more information:

Richard St. Barbe Baker Afforestation Area is located in Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, Canada north of Cedar Villa Road, within city limits, in the furthest south west area of the city.  52° 06′ 106° 45′ Wikimapia Map: type in Richard St. Barbe Baker Afforestation Area Google Maps South West Off Leash area location pin at parking lot Web page: https://stbarbebaker.wordpress.com Where is the Richard St. Barbe Baker Afforestation Area? with map Facebook: StBarbeBaker Facebook group page : Users of the St Barbe Baker Afforestation Area Facebook: South West OLRA Contact the Meewasin Valley Authority in Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, Canada. The MVA has begun a Richard St. Barbe Baker Afforestation Area trust fund. If you wish to support the afforestation area with your donation, write a cheque to the “Meewasin Valley Authority Richard St. Barbe Baker Afforestation Area trust fund (MVA RSBBAA trust fund)”. Please and thank you! Twitter: StBarbeBaker

Water ~ critical long range planning Water quality month The trees and vegetation, which cover the land surface of the Earth and delight the eye, are performing vital tasks incumbent upon the vegetable world in nature.

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Cab Service for Sightseeing in Udaipur

Udaipur is famously called the ‘Venice of the East’ and ‘The City of Lakes’. Udaipur, a city in Rajasthan is a stunning location and has a rich cultural background and a great history. Udaipur-Cab rent a cabs in Udaipur for Full Day Udaipur Sightseeing Tour covers all interesting and important tourist spots includes Fateh Sagar Lake, Udaipur City Palace, Shree Jagdish Temple, Dudh Talai, Lake Pichola, , Saheliyon ki Bari, Moti Magri, Sukhadiya Circle and Monsoon Palace - Sajjangarh. The details of major tourist spots in Udaipur which are featured in our full day Udaipur sightseeing tour are given below.

FATEH SAGAR LAKE Fateh Sagar Lake is an artificial lake built by Maharana Jai Singh in 1678. The lake, however, got its name from Maharana Fateh Singh who made additions to it after a lot of destruction was caused by torrential rainfall. Fateh Sagar is about 2.4 kilometers (1.5 miles) long and 1.6 kilometers (1 mile) wide, with three intake channels and an overflow channel that is brought to use in the rainy season. Three verdant islands dot the lake, the largest being Nehru Park, a favorite picnic destination of the locals. All the islands can be reached by taking a boat ride on the lake.

UDAIPUR CITY PALACE Udaipur City Palace is the largest palace complex in Rajasthan. Maharana Udai Singh stated building this palace in 1559 and it was   completed in 18th century by his successors. The stunning palace stands with proud on the banks of gorgeous Lake Pichola. One major portion of the complex is still own by the present king of Udaipur, other parts are converted in to palace hotels & historic museum which is open for all tourists. The City Palace Museum displays the belongings of kings like attire and weapons etc which showcase the royal lifestyle of Udaipur rulers. There you can also visit a beautiful Crystal Gallery showcasing all furniture and utensils made up of glass. The palace is opens at 9:00 am & closes at 4:30 pm. 

SHREE JAGDISH TEMPLE Shree Jagdish Temple is a world renowned temple of Lord Vishnu. This three stories and 79 feet high temple was built by  Maharana Jagat Singhji in 1651 with a costing of more than 1.5 million rupees. It is owned and managed by the royal family of Udaipur. In the complex the main Jagdish temple is located in the centre surrounded by four smaller temples of Lord Ganesha, Sun God, Goddess Shakti and Lord Shiva. It has 32 steps and 50 pillars, really a brilliant piece of Indian architecture. Every year thousands of devotee came witness this amazing temple.

DUDH TALAI Dudh Talai is located on the banks of Lake Pichola near the City Palace Complex.  Here you can enjoy the beautiful view of the Pichola Lake, Jagmandir Island Palace, Lake Palace, Udaivilas, The Leela Palace, gorgeous Aravalli ranges and Udiapur old city. You can either walk around the lake to watch various birds or can sit in the lush green garden or can enjoy the musical fountains at the park, You can use ropeway trolley to visit the hilltop Karni Mata Temple. It is the famous sunset point of Udiapur.

LAKE PICHOLA Lake Pichola is beautiful artificial fresh water lake, created in the year 1362 AD, named after the nearby Picholi village. It is one of the several contiguous lakes, and developed over the last few centuries in and around the famous Udaipur city. The lakes around Udaipur were primarily created by building dams to meet the drinking water and irrigation needs of the city and its neighborhood. Two islands, Jag Niwas and Jag Mandir are located within Pichola Lake, and have been developed with several palaces to provide views of the lake.

SAHELIYON KI BARI Saheliyon Ki Bari is one the most beautiful gardens and a major tourist destination in Udaipur. The garden is famous for its lush green lawns, marble art and fountains. English translation of Saheliyon Ki Bari means "Garden of maids". This renowned garden is located near the Fateh Sagar Lake, presenting a green retreat in the dry lands of Rajasthan. Garden of maids was built in the 18th century by Maharana Sangram Singh for the royal ladies. 

MOTI MAGARI Moti Magri (pearl hill) is located on the top of a hill overlooking the Fateh Sagar Lake. is the memorial of the Rajput hero Maharana Pratap, which has a bronze statue of the Maharana astride his favourite horse "Chetak". The legendary and loyal horse ‘Chetak’ is as famous as his rider for his courage and fearlessness. The ruins of one of the first Udaipur’s forts and an appealing Japanese rock garden are nearby interesting spots to visit

Tour ends but sweet memories remains always. Please don't hesitate to contact us or email us for Cab Booking in Udaipur any kind of travel inquiries for Udaipur and all Rajasthan.

  Contact Us

23, Near City Palace, Kala ji Gora ji Udaipur -313001

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