The spirit of adventure is alive! (special photo essay)

A few days back, my friend Carl and I decided we were down for a hike. We settled on the San Elijo lagoon area, which doesn't look like much from the freeway, but is in fact rather large and has a good deal of hidden secrets. I already knew of a small series of caves tucked away in a canyon, and a rather nice hillside forest, but I was surprised to find a few new, and even more interesting, surprises. Our hike ended up stretching out to well over three hours, and taking us around the entire circumference of the lagoon itself. By the end we were hungry, thirsty, tired and mousquito-ridden. Fortunately, we snapped a good deal of pictures, which speak far louder than words. And now, for your enjoyment, a special photo essay.



The more civilized side of the lagoon. Some nice houses, but not enough adventure for my tastes.



The main cave, complete with ancient native american cave drawings of pot leaves and mushrooms.



A view from out of the main cave. Notice the extremely tall cliff in the background with footholds all the way up. Even an adventurer like myself can hardly imagine climbing up something like that - and keep in mind that this area is known as the ideal stoner spot. I wonder sometimes just how many teenage deaths have occured here...



A shot back down the narrow chasm that must be navigated to reach the cave area. It's hard to get a good shot of it, but the rock to the right is carved to look like a giant dragon's head.



Some of the carvings on top of the dragon's head are quite elaborate. This one, in case you are blind, is a turtle.



A nice panoramic shot of the complete area which we covered. Taken from the area just beyond the caves, where few dare tread (aside from us, of course, and some couple trying to find a quiet spot to make out. I wonder what they must have thought we were up there for...)



Some sort of water-release device in the center of the marsh. It looks to me like a puzzle from that old computer game "Myst." Set all of these devices to flow just right, and find a blue page!



The action shot of the day. Finding ourselves on the opposite end of the lagoon from my car, Carl and I decided to trek back across the train tracks. Halfway across, a train came along - at which point we realized that there were only a few feet of ground on either side of the bridge where we could be safe from pounding steam-driven wheels. You can't tell from this shot, but we are kind of huddled on the very edge of the dirt, about to fall into murky swamp water, and sheilding our heads to avoid getting pelted by loose rocks that might be thrown aside by the train. I exaggerate a little, of course, but it was still a rather exciting moment.



My favorite discovery of the day: the ruins of a long-abandoned water treatment facility, hidden behind some trees in the middle of the marsh. I think of all the sinister things this place may have been used for - but I'm sure that the truth is far less interesting.



A cheesy artsy shot taken from inside the ruins. Very much like something you'd see on the wall of a motel room, if that room were decorated by goths.



A blurry shot of the mysterious ladder we found inside the ruins. What did it once lead to? A series of subterranean tunnels? A large underground factory? If my past spelunking experience is any indication of a pattern, it's probably a small, boring room with some pipes. So it's probably better to let the mystery be.



Me playing around in the ruins. Carl said that we should contribute this shot as a label pic for Jones Soda. But alas, it's not in black and white.