I had a very enjoyable day today, driving out to Santa Susana Pass Road to visit the Garden Of The Gods movie location on the site of the former Iverson Ranch. I've been there many times before, dating back to 2014 (or was it 2013?), and you've probably heard me mention it, or have seen my photos of the place and it's gigantic sandstone formations, aka the "Gods" in question. Today I went because I wanted to get a photo of the brass plaque that is set into the side of a boulder at the entrance to the park. It was put there to honor the Western movie stars who acted in hundreds of films there, over a 50+ year period from 1912 to the late 60s. I began to notice the distinctive-looking Garden in various Westerns after I first visited there. Before that, I would have just thought to myself, "oh, looks like they shot this one out in Chatsworth", but now I was aware of the specific location. Recently I have seen the Garden Of The Gods in a truckload of movies, because I started the year by watching, among other things, all ten of the films in my "Durango Kid" collection, which starred Charles Starrett. His name is on the plaque.
When I ran out of "Durango"s, I needed a new Cowboy Hero to keep my Western Fix going. Amazon recommended "The Tim Holt Collection", which has several volumes of 9 or 10 movies apiece. He made a ton of Westerns of the 60 minute variety, which I love. I only knew Holt from "The Magnificent Ambersons" and "The Treasure Of Sierra Madre", but he was very good in both and made his mark as a Westerner in the latter, so I purchased one of the volumes of his collection last month. I am now seven films in, and six of those have been shot either at Iverson Ranch or the nearby locations of Burro Flats and Corriganville. And, you can see shots from the Garden Of The Gods in almost all of them.
So I was surprised to see that Tim Holt's name was not on the plaque, although the wording does mention "the many others" after the initial names are listed, meaning other famous names who filmed there, including even Buster Keaton. But Holt was a big name in the early 40s, bigger than some of the guys who are listed. He made a lot of Westerns, too, and most were shot at or near Iverson. So it must have been a forgetful omission on the part of the plaque designers, kind of like when you are trying to think of your Top Twenty favorite rock bands and you inevitably leave out one of your most favorite artists.
At any rate, since I was already in the Santa Susana Pass (which is located a mile north of the entrance to the Santa Su State Park), I decided to continue over the Pass to Simi Valley, because Corriganville - another of my favorite parks - is located almost exactly at the end of the road as it levels out at the bottom of the Santa Susana mountains. I couldn't remember if I had been to Corriganville since the horrible fires of last November. I was under the impression that I had been there. This was because on the day the fires broke out, a friend reported that Corriganville had been destroyed in the conflagration. I was pretty sure I had gone to Corriganville in the weeks afterwards, to check it out for myself. I sort of recall going there in December, seeing that the damage was nowhere near as bad as my friend had reported, and feeling relieved as a result. Maybe I should check my journal, because I write in it every day, keep a record of my activities and thoughts, but for now I'll just go with my gut instinct and say that I know I went to Corriganville last Fall........I just can't remember for sure if it was Before The Fire or after. But it must have been after, or I would certainly have been worried and stressed about it's condition, given my friend's dire report.
Today, however, I did go to Corriganville, that I am certain of, haha, and I was a little surprised to see that the fire damage was a fair bit more extensive than I had thought (or remembered) it would be. Or something like that. :) Now that I think back, I am pretty sure I did go in December, but the fire damage to the oak trees may not have registered because - a) I was expecting total devastation, and b) the light quality is a lot different at 3:30pm in December, when dim shadows are growing long, than it is at 2pm in April, when bright sunlight is on the rise.
To sum up, there is a lot of fire damage around the perimeter of the Corriganville park. Last November I mentioned the very extensive damage to El Escorpion Park, ten miles to the south. That park had at least 50% of it's acreage blackened by the fire and much of the flora destroyed, some trees as well.
In comparison, I'd say that perhaps 30 percent of Corriganville has fire damage, though only about half of that percentage is significant. It appears that most of what burned was chaparral and small bushes and trees. A wide section of oak trees on the edge of the park did burn also, and this was what struck me right away when I entered today. Those oaks are blackened top to bottom, just like the ones at El Escorpion, but just like the Escorpion oaks, the blackened ones at Corriganville are growing new leaves.
I was blown away, and my heart soared, because one look at these burned trees and you'd think they were dead. And a few were. One or two had fallen over. But the majority of the two or three dozen severely burned oaks had new green leaves sprouting from their tops.
I must ask you, how amazing is that?
I was thinking of our old friend, the philosopher Mr. Schopenhauer - he of the ultimate Pessimistic vision - and I thought, "man, I wish Schopenhauer was here to see this". I thought, "if he were here today he would change his philosophy". There would be no way he could see those oaks and think life was pointless.
Because I have been listening to a lot of Wagner operas lately, I have been thinking of old Schopenhauer here and there. He was obviously a great thinker, but for some reason he threw in the towel as far as the potential for happiness was concerned. I have been trying to get him to change his mind, pointing out a Bird Chirp or a Fast Tail Wag - things I find worthwhile - as I go about my daily business. I can tell he likes hanging out with me. :)
The kicker was that tonight, after listening to the NCAA Championship game, I watched one of my Tim Holt movies, called "Red River Robin Hood". Lo and Behold, it was filmed almost entirely at Corriganville. I was watching and saying to myself, "that's where I just was!" just a couple of hours ago.
I was just on that trail, I was just in front of that rock, etc. Every section of Corriganville is instantly recognizable after you watch enough Westerns.
So that was amazing, too. To see the places I'd just been, in a movie made 77 years in the past.
It was a good day for a day off. I still need to shop for some Spring shirts though, and there is another phrase you can say fast ; "Shop for some Spring Shirts"....."with Schopenhauer".
That should cheer him up.
See you in the morning after a sleep in. I've still got one more day off.
Tons of love. xoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxo :):)
No comments:
Post a Comment