#185: The Bat Caves (aka Bronson Caves)

Batman's got some prime real estate in Griffith Park. Check out that sweet view of the Hollywood sign in his backyard:

Yesterday Mike and I took a short walk in Griffith Park to the dwelling of the Dark Knight. The Bat Caves, otherwise known as the Bronson Caves, have been featured in countless films and t.v. shows, including Batman, Star Trek: Voyager, The Lone Ranger, Bonanza, Fantasy Island and Little House on the Prairie.

The caves were made around the early 1900's when the area used to be a rock quarry. The tunnel is rather short, so it's usually filmed at a side angle so as not to show its opening on the other end.

You can get to the caves from Canyon Drive. Drive north on Canyon, through the gates to Griffith Park, until you see a gravel lot on your right. Park here and keep walking north. Shortly you will see that the red street curb becomes ridiculously thick:

Follow the curb to the right and walk up the hill. Soon the road will fork. Keep to the left and you will see the Bronson Caves in front of you. It's only 1/4 of a mile from the parking lot to the caves.

Have you been to the Bat Caves? What did you think of it? Leave me a comment below!

The Bat Caves (Bronson Caves)

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#184: LACMA

You can easily spend a whole day at LACMA, which holds the title of the largest art museum in the western United States. Last weekend we headed over to this twenty acre stretch of Wilshire to take a peek into the twisted, demented world of Tim Burton. LACMA is currently hosting an exhibit featuring over 700 of Burton's drawings, films, props and costumes, many never-before-seen by the public. The exhibit just opened a couple of weeks ago and lasts until October 31.

Tim Burton grew up in Burbank and studied at CalArts. He worked as an animator for Disney Studios before striking off to pursue his own creative ventures. With its power trio of Tim Burton, Danny Elfman and Johnny Depp, Edward Scissorhands still remains my favorite Tim Burton film, but there are so many other great films of his:The Nightmare Before Christmas, Corpse Bride, Batman, Big Fish, Beetle Juice... The list goes on.

Fair warning: this just might be the hottest ticket this summer, as we soon realized when we saw the long line to enter. After waiting in line for half an hour, we were herded inside only to be stuck in a traffic jam of people. Elbow-to-elbow, we uncomfortably shuffled from piece to piece.

from daydreampilot

Brad got upset at how LACMA seemed to oversell the event, and whispered "Don't blog about this!" and "I'm gonna write an angry letter when I get home!" In ten minutes, however, the crowd thinned and he quickly changed his mind. I think it helped that we came right before closing time. Highlights included Edward Scissorhand's costume, the heads from Batman's costumes, storyboards for Stain Boy, and concept art showcasing Burton's wickedly bizarre sense of humor. We spent a good hour wandering around the exhibit.

pic from missrosen

Tickets can be purchased at the box office ($20) or online ($22) and includes entry to all the other exhibits at LACMA. Entry times are every hour. If you are going on a weekend, I suggest buying tickets for the last show time (either 6 or 7 pm) like we did. Show up about 15-30 minutes after the entry time so that you can be the last ones to enter and are not stuck doing the line-shuffle.

Have you been to LACMA and the Tim Burton Exhibit? What did you think of it? Leave me a comment below!

LACMA

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#183: Noguchi Sculpture Garden

This one's for all you design junkies. Yes, it's that Noguchi. As in the iconic Noguchi table:

photo from hermanmiller

One of the most knocked-off pieces of furniture

Isamu Noguchi was a renowned Japanese American artist and landscape architect whose works can be found around the world. In 1947 he began collaboration with the Herman Miller company, where he joined Charles Eames, George Nelson and Paul Laszlo to create a catalog considered to be "the most influential body of modern furniture ever produced."

The Noguchi Sculpture Garden (aka The California Scenario) in Costa Mesa is Noguchi's abstract representation of California's landscape. It features six pieces: Water Source, Water Use, Desert Land, Land Use, Energy Fountain, and The Forest Walk.

Cutting across this futuristic desert landscape is a stream with an unusual origin:

Water trickles from the top of a triangular sandstone mountain ("Water Source")

As the water travels farther from its source, the waterway's rock edge becomes thicker, suggesting the creation of a thick rich topsoil.

The stream ends at this pyramid ("Water Use"). Walk around the pyramid to get a different view from the side.

Around the pyramid are odd shaped rocks, a cactus dome, and places to sit and relax. It's a great place to enjoy a lunch if you're in the area or passing through. Read more about the design of the garden here.

The Noguchi Sculpture Garden is located at 611 Anton Blvd in a small hidden courtyard flanked by office buildings next door to a TGIFridays. I know... It's not exactly the kind of place you'd expect to find world class design. But that's also what makes it special. Being here, you feel like you've stumbled upon a secret place that no one knows about. Park for free in the front lot and walk behind the Comerica Building to find it.

Have you been to the Noguchi Sculpture Garden? What did you think of it? Leave me a comment below!

Noguchi Sculpture Garden

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#182: El Dorado Nature Center

This weekend's adventure took us to the El Dorado Nature Center in Long Beach. There's nothing like clans of sunning turtles, tunnels made of trees, and flowers in full bloom to make you appreciate our beautiful SoCal weather. Entry into the center is free and parking is $5 ($7 on weekends).

duck, duck, duck, turtle!

The center has a kid-friendly visitor's center with live tarantulas, snakes and hissing cockroaches on display. Grab a hiking guide and trail map there, and then choose from three trails: a 1-mile paved trail, a 1-mile dirt trail, and a 2-mile dirt trail. We chose to do the 2-mile one, which splits off from the 1-mile dirt one after about half a mile.

This largely shaded hike took us through a forest, past lakes, and alongside a river. On the way, we saw ducks, squirrels, butterflies, birds and turtles. Tons of turtles.

Room for one more?

The Nature Center wasn't very crowded on a Saturday morning which made it a relaxing and quiet walk. The trails are well marked, and there are water fountains and a bathroom along the way.

If you're looking for more nature in the area, 365 L.A. reader Laura suggests the Dominguez Gap Wetlands Project as another great place to walk in Long Beach. Can't wait to check that one out-Thanks Laura!

Have you been to El Dorado Nature Center? What did you think of it? Leave me a comment below!

El Dorado Nature Center

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#181: Road Trip to Joshua Tree

Itching with wanderlust, Brad and I headed out last Saturday on a mini desert road trip. After 2.5 hours, we found ourselves among the monolithic rock heaps of Joshua Tree. On our hiking itinerary: Wonderland Wash, Barker Dam and Wall Street Mill.

Wonderland Wash

Checking in at the visitor's center, I told the ranger that we were interested in hiking Wonderland Wash, a playground of animal shaped rocks that enchant the imagination. He gave a huge smile and said that the Wash is his favorite hike in Joshua Tree. He suggested that we buy a guide book for directions because the Wash is not a popular or advertised hike, but being the cheap-os that we are, we decided to just rely on our scanty internet directions. Wrong choice. Our first attempt at Wonderland got us going in a totally wrong directions. Undeterred, we went back the second day and found our way.

The Wash is a 2.1 mile out-and-back hike. Along it you get to see the gigantic Whale Flipper:

high five!

and the Astrodome:

The hike through the Wash is level and mostly unshaded. For most of the time you are walking in sandy gravel.

Directions to Wonderland Wash:

Start off at one of the two parking lots for Wall Street Mill. The first lot is a large paved one that is shared with Barker Dam. The second one is smaller and is accessed via a dirt road just past the paved lot. Go on the dirt road and take your first left when it forks. Keep an eye out for that fork because we missed it the first time--it's not too far! Parking at the second lot will make your hike shorter by .6 miles.

Next, follow the small sign pointing to the right towards Wall Street Mill. Very soon you will see a small unmarked dirt path to your left. Don't take that one--it will take you into the brush. Take the next one:

Take the one on the left!

Go down this path until you see the pink ruins of Wonderland Ranch:

To the left of Wonderland Ranch you will see this thing:

See the path on the left?

Take that path through the low boulders into the wash:

Go to the right. You will come across this rock wall in .3 miles. This was an old dam used by the cattle ranchers.

Go over the wall and keep following the path. On your right, you'll pass by the Whale Flipper.

Rock scramble up to see it from the other side. It's amazing (and much larger than it looks in this picture)!

The whale flipper turns into a claw on the other side

In another .3 mile, you'll spot the Astrodome:

Once you reach this point, you can turn back the way you came.

Barker Dam

The flat trail to Barker Dam is easy to find and follow. This popular hike is a 1.5 mile loop.

Wall Street Mill

We encountered a lot of people who got lost trying to get to Wall Street Mill. They actually ended up at the pink Wonderland Ranch house instead. The park service needs to put up more signs here because there are so many unmarked forks.

Remember that trail that we started off on to get to Wonderland Wash? Instead of taking the left fork, keep right and just keep going straight. This is an out and back hike that is 1.6 miles from the second parking lot (the dirt one). The trail is level and unshaded. You'll know you're heading in the right direction because you'll pass this windmill in .3 miles on the right:

Have you been to Joshua Tree? What did you think of it? Leave me a comment below!

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