Copyright © Lawrence Turner 1999
Copyright © Lawrence Turner 1999 |
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 My grandfather, Ralph Brooks, and me after a hike in the early 80's  |
My grandfather used to love to hike up a mountain canyon named Little Dalton in the San Gabriel Mountains and he would take us along with him we were young children. When he first came to California in 1929 he was hired, along with another young man, to build a cabin in the San Gabriel Mountains near Crystal Lake. Although he was not a environmentalist he was a staunch conservative and taught me some of the best lessons on living life with respect and to its fullest. He started something that I never got enough of, exploring natural places. As a young boy I used to get on my bike and ride to the mountains and explore. I have hiked several places in the High Sierras and make it up there at least once a year. I also love canoeing and take the canoe along when I have enough time. As well I love the desert. I've always gone to the desert in the early spring after the rains have come. We used to camp at Joshua Tree but now I only backpack as the conversion to a National Park (with the ensuing onslaught of motor homes with loud generators) and an influx of rock climbers has made finding a campsite nearly impossible and not worth the effort. I now prefer to go to the east Mohave to camp. It is still relatively untrammeled but since it has been turned into a National Preserve federal government "improvements", rules and regulations are eroding the freedoms it once afforded as well. Still it is possible to find places were one can just pull off the road and camp and I have a favorite place in a pinon pine forest that of last spring was still a great place to camp away from "improved" campgrounds. Find below links to pages describing camping experiences. Hope you enjoy Lawrence's Wildlife. |