Pine Mountain News
Most of the local news still dwells on the La Station Fire. The fire has been burning for nearly a month now. It is now at 93 % containment. It was supposed to be fully contained by Saturday evening but that deadline has now been pushed back to Tuesday September 22. Lots of smoke still lingers in the air especially on the northeastern side of the fire. The fire has blackened 250 square miles of the 1000 square mile Angeles National Forest.
Local News
A San Diego rock group, " A City Serene" was traveling through the grapevine
in their tour bus Sunday when a Halliburton F 250 truck going the other way lost control
went air born and hit the tour bus overturning it. The Band was on it's first tour
through California and Washington. Two of the band members are in a coma
and 3 are in serious condition. The other member is well enough to be released.
Poem of the Week
A Half Thought
by emily d stine
Coughing up the Pee Cee eH, I long for Malibu,
a little bit of beautiful tucked up above the chaos.
We leave the dull thunder.clouds, a carbon footprint
blanket that decorates the skyline of Los Angeles oh
so awfully. Every mile we go, I feel freer, vegetation
shows itself once more and Pacific slaps at my side.
LA swamps me like a parasite. Malibu, a temporary
reprieve. An oasis outlining an urban desert, rapidly
it approaches. Stepping out, we hike along the cliffs,
a certain familiarity in their outline, shape.
The backdrop of one hundred movies whose
names you can't remember and a feeling you
can't possibly articulate. I chew slowly on the
end of my pen, eyes lost in the ocean waves.
Eventually I find my mind, wandering in the Pacific,
string together a half.thought and begin to write.
Feature Story of the Week
Bolivia
by Jordan Williams
La Paz
I’ll be the first to admit that Bolivia didn’t seem like much
of a vacation choice. I had some vague notion of social
upheaval and the sort of general government turnover
you tend to get in South America. But Rich thought it
would be a neat place to visit; under the (what I thought
was flimsy) pretense that it’s one of the great rugged
places on Earth, rich in geography and culture.
He was right about that, actually, so I have to give him
credit for a fine trip. It seems weird to say that a place
has more geography than another, but I can’t think of a
better way to explain it. Bolivia has some of the most
varied and intense terrain in the world, which means
that a vacation there is not for the weak of heart.
But it also has some of the most beautiful wildlife and
culture in the world, and if you’re up for the more active
sort of vacation I can’t recommend it more. If nothing
else, you can see why Che Guevera was here and
understand those kids always wearing shirts with his
face a little better.
We lit down in Santa Cruz or, technically, Santa Cruz
de la Sierra, although I never heard anyone actually
use the full name. This is the largest city in Bolivia,
and one of the most prosperous and beautiful. You
get a mix colonial era building mixed with the modern,
and the end result is stunning.
The food is also ridiculously good, always a plus for me.
The city is situated in an area where a number of
cultures and types of agriculture come together,
resulting in an expanse of different foods. My favorites
things were Locro, a rice and hen based soup that sticks
to the ribs like a slab of concrete, and Mocochinchi, a
drink made from sun dried peaches that are boiled with
honey and then served cold.
Potosi
We then struck out for Potosi, the city of silver. The city
was and is a major source of silver, and we’re lucky
enough to be able to take a mine tour. Now, I should
caution you that the mine tours are kind of strenuous
and take place in working mines, but the experience is
well worth it, to get a sense of where luxury and opulence
really comes from.
Samipata was next up, the home of a pre Incan ruin
known as El Fuerte. The site apparently has some kind
of mystical connotation that brings people in, but I
didn’t feel especially enlightened. But it was interesting
to see the ancient cultural roots of the people around us.
All in all, I thoroughly enjoyed my trip to Bolivia. The
country is spectacular, the food is great and the people
are wonderful. The trip has also opened my eyes even
more to the idea of going to places that you usually
wouldn’t consider a tourist spot. If what you want is
adventure, then getting off the usual map of places to
see is your first step.
Pine Mountain Evening
It is evening once again at the ranch. The fall chill is
in the air again and it is nice to be able to relax by a
warm fire.
Dinner is finished and we are relaxing in the family room.
Tonight my sample coffee is Mocha Java. This American
roast coffee combines the rich taste of Java Island coffee
with creamy Ethiopian mocha. It goes well with a plate of
fresh baked cookies.
My coffee and cookies are finished now and it is time for bed.
Everyone have a great week. We will see you next time.
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