WEEKEND GETAWAY - JOSHUA TREE (PHOTO ESSAY)

The Pico crew took to the desert this weekend for some much needed R&R.





Joshua Tree National Park is about 2 hours outside of LA. Park admission is $15 or $30 for a year long national park pass.



Days are typically clear with less than 25 precent humidity. Temperatures are most comfortable in the spring and fall, with an average high/low of 85 and 50°F (29 and 10°C) respectively. Official website



We hiked Ryan Mtn. 3 miles round trip. Beautiful Views. more hikes here



There are countless places to explore.




The 29 Palms Inn is a excellent place to stay. Quaint bungalows and cabins.



You know you want to.

POLITICALLY INCORRECT SIGNAGE

Apparently they don't bother with being politically correct in the desert:



I'm sure they do good work, but someone ought to forward them the memo that people don't like being called "crippled" anymore.

And a preemptory response to any criticism for stopping and taking this picture: a) it was all Mr. N's fault, and b) if the sign said "foundation for the developmentally disabled" we wouldn't have stopped.

HAPPY HOLLY-DAZE

Hope it's merry and bright wherever you are.

Love,

Pico

POSTCARDS FROM THE FAR EAST--Part One: Vaginoplasty

For reasons of familiar and historical obligation, we here at Pico sometimes find ourselves in the outer reaches of the universe that is LA County, in the part of the world known as the IE (for Inland Empire) or 909 (for the dominating area code for most of the area). Parts of the 626 and 714 also apply, though they are loath to admit it. The part we tend to frequent is not as completely void of culture and civilization as rumor might have you believe, but there is a rather large quota of monster trucks and Jesus-fish stickers. There's also mountain vistas and plenty of free parking. Some things, however, do tend to remind us that we, indeed, are not in Kansas anymore. Or, rather, we are in Kansas, just in a strange David Lynch version of it. Anyway, we hereby introduce the first of what we promise to be an ongoing series of missives from the far eastern provinces of LA County, called Postcards From the Far East:

First Postcard: Vaginoplasty. Also known as "Laser Vaginal Rejuvenation." Yes, you heard it here first. While we realize this is not limited to the 909, and that in fact, this practice probably began (as indicated on the billboard) in parts much farther west, such as, say, Beverly Hills, or Malibu, those places aren't exactly putting up billboards for it. The sad part is, that in the IE, keeping up with the Joneses usually means keeping up with the folks in BH and all the things they were doing 2 years ago. But while it may be de riguer in Beverly Hills to have your vag rejuvenated back to adolescent splendor, no one in the IE finds out until it's advertised for miles.

Please excuse the low-res of version of our cell phone photo, but on-the-fly journalists that we are, we are limited by the equipment at hand. Here's a much more scenic version:

Here's a fun 909 factoid for all the geography-buffs in the room: that"s Mt Baldy (or Mt. San Antonio) directly behind the middle telephone pole. It's the lowest peak in the photo, but it's actually one of the highest peaks in the western US at 10,064 feet. Special prize for the first person to identify what parking lot of ill-repute we had to pull into to get this shot.