So, I wanted to get in a wild wing-ding of a weekend - with special emphasis on the "wild" part - on this, my last weekend before I have surgery. Since I will be unable to get out in any big way for at least a month or so, I decided I would push hard this weekend and get in some big-time virgin mileage down in SoCal, and this I definitely did.

I took Friday off and did my driving down to Kern County/Bakersfield, where I would spend the night before heading out for the big stuff on Saturday. I made it down south with enough time and sunlight to spend some time at one of "my" trees. The one I went to, after only seeing it in passing a few weeks back, has turned out to be my favorite in the state, at least so far. I will get to it in detail here as soon as I can; just know that I am now calling that spot "Walden West". Again, this was just Friday night; the real stuff was supposed to come AFTER that, and I bet I could do 4000 words just covering my short visit to Walden West. Sigh.

My plan for Saturday was to get out and see a place called the Carrizo Plain National Monument, a very remote area along the San Andreas Fault, at the point it starts heading to the southeast towards Palmdale and LA. Pretty much the pictures you have seen of that fault were taken there.

Saturday turned out to be everything I had hoped it would be. I wanted something big, and I got it. In looking at some of the shots I got, I realize this is gonna take awhile to get things in order. With the surgery just a few days away, I have so much to get done that I am not sure if I can get my travelogue finished in a timely manner. It may turn out that I can finish it with some sort of savant one-arm typing frenzy as I recover, but I am not sure that will be the case. It is possible I might get it done this week, and certainly, that is my preference. I will try try try, but I literally have to get all my shopping & laundry done, as well as trying to clean the house and such; I expect I will be totally incapacitated and on my back for at least 3 or 4 days, if not much longer, so prepping my future life will have to take precedent over documenting my past life. Why oh why must I be such a linear thinker!?!

Hang with me chums, this weekend was surreal-good and did wonders for the spirit. I can't promise my account of it will be of the same caliber, but with this source material, I am pretty sure one would have to try pretty hard to screw it up. At ya with it as soon as I can.