Closed Down Rural School Near Denton

I love biking around Denton because you the history and changes in the place all around you. This old school has become a community center after it was shut down in the mid-1900s or so. It makes me think of stories my Dad told about going to a one-room schoolhouse as a kid in rural Wisconsin. Farm kids. I wonder what it was like. My Dad and his brothers went to a school like that and ended up going to college eventually. But many of his kin didn't.

Victorian House Museum in LA

The craftwork involved in creating these houses and buildings was amazing. They really are works of art compared to a lot of houses today including my own. And the work it took to keep them looking good and cooking and cleaning up and serving the rich owners took plenty of men- and women-hours by working class people. Almost none of that is related to the visitor taken on a tour by two period dressed guides. Nor do they talk about the sexism of the time or the racism or the class divisions that these houses represent. I'd be the first to say "duh" if any of this was mentioned but I was saying that about the other stuff that was relayed about the lives of the rich who inhabited these homes. Many people who come through on tour probably don't think a lot about those issues when seeing these awesome homes. The presenters told us about parties and gatherings where they dress up like the time. Do you think many of them dress like the servants? Why would someone want to live like the rich of old? I walked out bored with the tour before I asked that question. 

Arroyo Seco Park in LA

I went looking for a bike path in Highland Park and the NE LA area and found this. I was surprised to see a small horse ranch near the interstate that connected to the concreted river. I didn't make it to much of the bike path because the southern LA portion was closed. Two dudes who didn't appear to be working but probably worked for the horse ranch or the city said people bike down there all the time. In my mind I had no idea what was down in that ditch other than concrete and filth. The park that surrounded the entry to the bike path was as run down as Ive seen. If the bathrooms are filthy, graffitied, and locked up, then you probably wont bring your family down there. You can tell when the scene shifts to pics of the north side in South Pasadena that had nice ball golf courses and tennis courts. It was a serious contrast to the rundown in LA.

El Paso Brew Pub

Every city I've traveled to in recent years has numerous brew pubs and I love them. They're usually in old run down places and part of a renewal of the space. Ode Brewery is a good one in El Paso. Tasty beer and food in an old mini mall area. They had a great quesadilla made of bbq pork. Fusion food seems like another trend that is fashionable and creates great possibilities. Its only a couple miles from downtown and the beautiful mountains surrounding the area place it in the western edge of Texas, far away from my home in Austin. The more I stayed there the more I bemoaned leaving the mountain west.

Cool Disc Golf Courses

Most of these pics are from a disc golf course in central LA. I love disc golf. I love hiking around and throwing the discs and seeing the beauty of flying discs and the magic that happens sometimes. And they're usually located in marginal lands with little else for human use. The Austin area has some very cool disc golf courses but I've noticed a few things lacking compared to other course around the country. One is the box you throw from. Seawright park course which you see in the pics that have big wooden trunks surrounding a relatively small cement box What problems? You need more concrete length. Or open the space to let people throw while moving a lot in front or on the follow through. It not only boxes you in it puts you at risk of injury. I'm surprised Ive only once twisted my ankle badly on those darn logs. Notice these holes allow you to throw from a rubber mat and give space before and after the throw. Excellent. I can't think of an Austin course with the mats. Also look at the pic with a hole diagram. That's from the LA course near downtown - one pic shows you how close I was to Dodger stadium. Notice there are numerous hole placings giving you variety. I can't think of any courses in Austin that have that feature, although Im probably forgetting a few that do. But its common everywhere else Ive played. Wake up Austin disc golf clubs and city parks department. I couldn't help but notice the poor state of the trees along the throwing paths. Blame the disc golfers? It may have something to do with it. But I would guess if you watered and composted those areas the trees would live.