Beyer's Byways is a blog for travelers and curiosity seekers desiring to see and know about the world. John R. Beyer, award-winning columnist with the USA Today Gannett Network, shares insights from his travel column with a broad audience.
From our own backyard to destinations far and wide, we seek to research, explore, and share the discoveries we make. Whether it's about people or places, near or remote, we hope you find something of interest to you here.
The late lead singer, Freddie Mercury of Queen enthralled fans with the first line of 'Bohemian Rhapsody' from the bands 1975 album, 'A Night at the Opera'.
That's Freddie Fender hiding behind the boa
"Is this the real life, is this just fantasy?"
That's how J and L felt as we stood looking over the quaint centuries old city streets of a village somewhere in Europe. The weather was rather chilly for almost summer with clouds threatening sprinkles at any moment.
But this wasn't Europe.
Could be snow, if not rain very soon.
We were at Universal Studios Hollywood and marveling at what we were staring out in every direction. It really, really looked perfectly authentic down to the cobblestone streets of a village we have seen in our actual travels in Europe. But, NO, this was Southern California in May.
The day and evening were spent with two of our four daughters (Erica and Jessica) and their husbands (Brandon and Justin) as we meandered around the nearly 420 acres of Universal Studios Hollywood - not to be mistaken by Universal Studios Orlando.
The crew excited to explore
Thanks to the brilliance and creativity of writer J. K. Rowling we were standing on a street corner in Diagon Alley - a place where Harry, Hermione, and Ron spent many hours looking through fabulous stores full of imagination, sorcery and magic. They learned many lessons here that were used for the multitude of adventures they were involved in during their education at Hogwarts.
Kudos to Ms. Rowling - due to her, we believe, were created a generation of readers. Our own four daughters among that generation.
Back to Queen and the idea of mistaking reality for fantasy is not as far a leap as one would think while looking down the many streets of the mock village down from the mountaintop home of Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry.
Hogwarts in the rear and Jessica photo bombing
A different view of Hogwarts at night - simply magical - oh, it was wasn't it?
The talent of architecture at Universal was plain to see while visiting such shops as Ollivanders the makers of Fine Wands since 382 BC, or Honeydukes while sampling some of the most 'scrumptious sweets and beguiling delights', or downing a pint of ale at Hog's Head (also, some of the best Butter Beer around), and of course having dinner at the Three Broomsticks.
The Wand will choose you...
Erica was chosen by the wand - magical it was.
I command you to work - and it did - a light went on or something like that.
Every building was created with the illusion of being built many many centuries ago when handicraft meant everything, and appeared to be made by hand. Brick facades, actually carefully formed foam resembling actual brick exteriors, which gave that ancient look all the way around including to tilted - sometimes crazily tilted - chimneys.
Those are some 'crazeeee' chimneys - wonder if they are up to SOCAL code?
Of course, there was more than just Harry Potter Land (J's name for it) as Universal has created the famed city of Springfield where the animated family Simpsons reside, and a plethora of other attractions to keep the entire family entertained.
Yes, they even sell Duff beer - which made Brandon, J and Justin happy.
But be careful to not have too many - the cops will be looking for you!
A must is the 'The world-famous studio tour' which is actually quite fun and educational as a hour ride takes guests through the back lots of Universal. It gives the visitor a chance to see locations of where some very famous films were made as well as two great '3D-HD' attractions including the 'Fast and Furious' and 'King Kong' as well a street scene used in Tom Cruise's film, 'War of the Worlds'.
Looks like Santa had a bad day during the filming of War of the Worlds
Every detail at Universal Studios is created to represent reality or is it fantasy representing reality? A little confusing here and to prove it there are full New York City streets which are nothing more than plywood facades reaching for the sky. Blue screens behind a large empty pool which in a few minutes of movie magic can be turned into an ocean with a poor bloke being chased by 'smokers' as he bravely tries to outrun them to the sanctuary of the floating city. Scene out of 'Water World' starring Kevin Kostner - J wasn't in the film or was he?
Keep gunning it brave soul - you will outrun the smokers - maybe not though
Universal has a twenty minute heart pounding adventure with people on fire, taking high dives of collapsing structures, shooting at each other, jokes, and just all around fun. A time to sit back and watch some amazing talented actors showing what the earth would be like without land.
When the 'Deacon' takes over the Sanctuary, there is heck to pay.
The Deacon even loses his only chance of escape - too sad, too bad.
Of course the house and motel from 'Psycho' are also in the back lot and as the guest tram drives by the scene, a sedan is seen with it's trunk open and suddenly from the hotel marches Norman Bates carrying a female body which he unceremoniously dumps into the open trunk. Not much into chivalry, but what serial killer is?
Norman, that is not the way for a positive cash flow!
As the tram slowly, very slowly moves on Norman withdraws a huge butcher knife and chases after the tram with people screaming and taking photos of the crazed madman.
Luckily, to the date of our visit, Norman hasn't caught up to any of the trams and we hope that it continues that way in the foreseeable future. Of course, depends on who may be on that tram - hmmm. A little gallows humor there.
Of course, there are also rides where blockbusters are featured. Jurassic Park, Despicable Me, Transformers, Kung Fu Panda, Revenge of the Mummy, and much more. There is so much to do that one day may not be enough. Though a day is a pretty long time walking, talking, laughing, and screaming. By night - we all were tired but thrilled to have spent a day together really enjoying the magic of Hollywood.
Welcome, but no feeding the Raptors
Again, in the world of J and L we encourage everyone to go out and research and explore at every opportunity. We traveled a short hour to explore an amusement park with our adult children and did the research to make it more of a learning experience for ourselves than just a day on rides. But that's okay too - just get out and explore. And be a grown-up child every now and then.
We like it that way and hope everyone feels the same.
And Freddie - we loved Bohemian Rhapsody and we're pretty sure J. K. Rowlings does, too, with this quotation from her 2007 novel, 'Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows': "Of course it is happening inside your head, Harry, but why on earth should that mean that it is not real?"
L leaving a bistro in Paris - or is she?
We especially wish to thank Justin Barr for the photographs in this blog. At least ninety-nine percent of the pictures for the day were taken by his expert photographer hands. One or two were probably mistakenly placed here by J from his smartphone. We apologize!
We will leave you with this, as we share our magical memories of a Mother's Day/Father's Day and the power of imagination:
J and L often think that all we need to do is to look in our own backyards for new adventures and exploration. We truly believe this, and a recent weekend outing proved that assertion to be true.
On the way home from Bullhead City, Arizona, J and L decided to venture off Interstate 40 westbound and strike out along a portion of old Route 66, near Amboy. Amboy was once a famous, or perhaps infamous, little burg that was once the stopping place for weary travelers traveling west toward California from places to the east - way east.
A relaxing respite from day and night travel; what better place to spend a few minutes, a few hours or even a night to catch up on energy spent on the road?
Harrison Ford cruising Amboy
But this blog is not about the town of Amboy, although the town is actually making quite a comeback. Roy's Diner is open seven days a week, as more and more tourists stop to take photos where numerous films and commercials were shot. As a matter of fact, the sign for the restaurant is a 1959 addition to the property, the same year the film, Journey to the Center of Earth was filmed, in part, in Amboy. Rutger Hauer's cult classic, The Hitcher was filmed here in 1986; and Brad Pitt and David Duchovny were hanging around Roy's during the filming of Kalifornia in 1993. Casting no aspersions on the place, most recently Amboy has served as the locations for more than a few B-rated horror flicks.
On a lighter note, the area served as the backdrop for Enrique Iglesias' music video Hero, as well as the cover art in 2008 for Rush's album Snakes & Arrows Live. And, local legend has it (and autographed photos in the diner tend to add credence) that Harrison Ford is a frequent visitor, landing his personal place at a nearby strip -- the oldest in California.
This story is about that - the Amboy Crater, let's go
Pretty impressive for a place in the middle of nowhere, little Amboy has quite a history but again, this is about the Amboy Crater.
Middle of nowhere - not quite - a lot happening in this part of Route 66
The Mojave Desert is an amazing source of research and exploration. The cinder cone of the Amboy Crater is believed to be about 80,000 years old with periodic eruptions ending ten thousand years ago. A very active part of the Mojave Desert has similar but not as definitive cones (areas sunken with remaining side walls of material encircling the actual eruption site) as the Amboy Crater.
That little volcanic area that erupted in the Mojave Desert is what placed Amboy on the historical map. While ten thousand years in geologic time is like yesterday, we are glad it wasn't yesterday since J and L live in the Mojave Desert; and that would be awkward and potentially life threatening. Seriously though, Southern California is known for earthquakes but not so much for the volcanic activity which once proliferated all around the Golden State. With tectonic plate shifting comes the chance of volcanoes erupting here and there and Southern California just happens to be in the 'here' area.
This baby isn't going to blow any time soon - we hope!
Of course, most if not all volcanoes in the Mojave Desert are inactive - which is simply a geologist's way of saying: "I don't think anything will blow up soon around here. Oh wait, I have a plane to catch."
Hundreds if not thousands of visitors come to this remote area to walk, hike, and explore the area which is like stepping back into time.
There is a short area of smooth walking but most is over level rocky trails
The actual material was layer upon layer spewed up out of the earth over eons and consists mainly of pahoehoe which is a Hawaiian term (Hawaiians being the notable volcano experts) for smooth or unbroken lava.
This basaltic lava has a smooth, billowy, undulating or ropy surface. That happens when the lava below the surface is still very fluid, like molasses, but the top is quickly congealing so the lava path has a chance to stretch out and become smoother, often forming tunnels. The temperatures at the time of formation are a cooling two thousand degrees Fahrenheit. No matter what, the surface around the crater is crammed with hardened rock that, to the naked eye, may not appear to be particularly smooth. But J and L aren't geologists and only look at things as they appear. Smooth and billowy - nope. Hardened and at one time dangerous to walk on - yep.
This looks pretty hard for both bipedal and quadrupedal creatures.
At the ridge line of the cone, nearly 250 feet above the rest of the lava-strewn valley, the views of the desert are amazing -- a delight for photographers and artists who want to capture the reality of a violent past to a peaceful present.
The moon, right?
Walking into the crater allows the explorer a chance to look around at a surface that could be compared to that of the moon. Sandy, rocks here and there, but most notable is the silence. Yes, the wind does blow but when it stops so does everything else for a moment. When that quietness engulfs the crater you feel as if you are on another world. This is definitely the place to go if the adventurer is out in the Mojave Desert driving down Route 66 and just happens to pass a sleepy depot known as Amboy. Stop and have a bite at Roy's but don't forget that strange-looking thing just south-west standing against the backdrop of the Mojave Desert. Take a stroll to the Amboy Crater and realize that stroll has now
brought you to where the past meets the future.
Pretty steep walls - makes the place quiet
As we've said many times, we relish the thought of seeing things in your own backyard. It can be fascinating as we found out by simply getting off of the state highway and taking a two lane road home.
Sit a spell and learn about the area of Amboy
A little time consuming? Perhaps, absolutely worth it when we realized we've experienced something thousands of drivers will never see driving westbound on Interstate 40 heading to the Pacific. Taking a philosophical page from Miriam Beard: "Travel is more than the seeing of sights; it is a change that goes on, deep and permanent, in the ideas of living."
That is the human spirit - go to the mountain and learn what is there to be learned. Just the experience is worth the travel.
"Try to relax, everyone, try to relax, I'll take a bullet before you do, that's for damn sure. Just be cool, OK?"
Those words from a brave police officer as he escorted terrified civilians to safety during the horrendous Islamic Terrorist attack at the San Bernardino Regional Center on Wednesday the 2nd of December. No mention of the assassins' names will be printed here since that would only bring recognition to two purely evil individuals who may have believed they got a ticket to Heaven but undoubtedly are feeling the heat of Hell at this moment for the mass murder of innocents.
Or at least we can pray that is their end reward.
A Good way to end a bad terrorist!
The police officer - probably didn't know he was being videotaped and would simply shrug his shoulders and respond if asked about the heroic deed: "It's all in a days work."
Being an ex-deputy sheriff and former member of SWAT - J knows all too well the diligence and duty that goes along with wearing a badge. Those years working for the Riverside Sheriff's Department were special with friends made, lives saved and the satisfaction of realizing his badge, like all those who wear them, is the thin line between civilization and anarchy.
Are there sometimes rotten apples - bad cops - yes there are just like there are bad attorneys, bad teachers, bad business people, bad judges, and bad politicians (probably more of those than all the others put together) but this blog isn't about the aberrations within respectable careers.
This is about the men and women who each day don their respective uniforms, kiss their loved ones good bye not knowing if they will be coming home after their shift. It's not morbid but simply a reality these law enforcement personnel live with on a daily basis.
A routine day - no - but maybe . . .
It's about the overwhelming good people doing what they are supposed to do every day.
When J was a 'copper' on the streets he would say that most of the time the job of a police officer is 97% routine and 3% stark raving terror.
That is what the fine officers - SWAT and regular patrol and detectives -faced around eleven in the morning on the 2nd in San Bernardino, California. They got dressed, said good bye to their loved ones and went off to a day at work. Hours later they would be involved in one of the largest terrorist killings in United States history.
Terrified = Terrorism
Common patrol routes turned into racing toward 'shots fired' - a training session ended in speeding toward those shots fired as 'civilians down' crossed the radios - sunny weather turned into tears from heaven as the death and casualty toll climbed minute by minute.
Not a regular day at the office for any of them - nor for the poor innocent people who were simply trying to enjoy a Holiday party at work with friends and co-workers. They to had gotten dressed in the morning, said good bye to their loved ones and went off for their normal, or thought to be, day. Horribly fourteen of these wonderful people never will return home to the comfort of their loved ones.
Some will return home but scarred anyway
It was a day which fate - that sometimes cruel master - had decided to reduce the human population by means of a couple of monsters.
The heroes on that fateful day were the police officers, the civilians who obeyed the frantic but professional order given by those police officers, and the citizens who lost their lives.
Like 45 year old Shannon Johnson who was in the building when the shooting started and ducked beneath a table for safety and then put his arm around a female co-worker and said "I got you", shielding her body from the onslaught of bullets coming their way. Mr. Johnson died - his co-worker lived because of him.
Hero - Shannon Johnson and his girlfriend at a happier time
The people who perished on Wednesday were heroes - they didn't start their day believing they would be but as they were tragically and gruesomely shot there was one other person not being shot. In a sadly rational way they too were willing to take a bullet so someone else could survive.
We can pray that there will be no more mass killings but that would be naive when humans with hard held fanatical beliefs are allowed to roam this globe. Humanity must see that these individuals should not be thought of as human with a moral understanding of what it is to be truly human - one with empathy, sympathy and the knowledge of right from wrong. This is not what they believe - only pain and suffering is their desire.
It's okay to pray
It's not about gun control but about understanding the enemy at large and then doing the right thing.
During the late spring of 2013 J of J and L along with photographer and friend Paul Bakas took a long drive into the valley of death.
The very name, Death Valley, conjures up images of people struggling through the vast desert east of the Panamint Range, with temperatures soaring during the summer upwards of one-hundred-twenty degrees. The hottest temperature on earth was actually recorded in Furnace Creek in Death Valley on July 1st, 1913 at a blistering one-hundred-thirty-four degrees. It was so warm that it was reported that birds fell out of the sky dead littering the ground.
Yikes - that is mighty hot!
We felt pretty cool and comfortable in the mere one-hundred-seven degree temperature as we tooled past Furnace Creek on our way north to the ghost town of Rhyolite which sits on the eastern edge of the Death Valley just inside the western border of Nevada.
Our destination was the once booming mining town with the Bullfrog Mining District which had its beginning on August 9th, 1904 when Frank "Shorty" Harris and Ernest "Ed" Cross discovered a rich gold deposit on the south side of a southwestern Nevada hill later to be named Bullfrog Mountain. The ore was so rich, $3,000 a ton which would be nearly $77,000 a ton today that thousands of hungry yellow metal seekers soon moved into the area looking for their fortunes.
By 1907 over 4,000 people called Rhyolite home which boasted concrete sidewalks, electric lights, water mains, telephone and telegraph services, a public swimming pool (a good idea in that heat), three banks, stock exchange, opera house, churches, as well as daily newspapers. A full police and fire department took care of any emergencies which may have occurred within the bustling and growing town in the middle of a vast and extremely brutal desert.
But as soon as the boom had boomed the fall came. With a major devastating earthquake in San Francisco in 1906 which diverted capital away from the mines to the south, disrupted railroad services and other financial concerns the town quickly started to slide into a depression. It also didn't help that the mines seemed to have been 'played' out by all those gold seekers.
In 1910 only 675 people still remained in the borders of Rhyolite and soon those too left for greener pastures and by 1922 the Los Angeles Times reported only one ninety-two year old man called the once prospering town his home.
Today there are only partial buildings to remind one of the what this old mining town must have looked like but with a little imagination it is easy to stand in the streets looking at the ghosts of the past. To truly see hundreds of citizens proudly walking up and down the sidewalks of their gem of a city in the middle of nowhere going about their daily activities.
J of J and L, rumored to have a vivid imagination, swore he saw a lovely couple dressed in their finest strolling near the ruin of the opera house hand in hand and smiling into each others eyes.
Perhaps it was only his imagination but then again, perhaps it was not.
We often believe that traveling is the way to view the beauty and mystery of the world but that is the furthest from the truth. One need only to look in the backyard to realize that much we love to look at and appreciate is within walking distance from the back door.
Living in the High Desert of Southern California, we do not have the same plant and tree species as other parts of the country where the elevation is lower and rainfall more frequent. No, in the Mojave Desert there are freezing winters, blistering summers, and less than 10 inches of rain per year. Not a great place for greenery without the use of drip systems and other landscaping aides. But even with this somewhat hostile environment for plants there are, as nature provides, opportunities for the most hardy of plants to flourish and prosper.
One such plant is the Yucca brevifolia - or commonly known as the Joshua Tree. This plant, it is not considered a real tree since the root system is different, grows in abundance in the Mojave Desert. In fact, it only grows wild in the southwestern portion of the United States and nowhere else on earth. It is found in California, Arizona, Utah, and Nevada (southern sections of each state). It grows at an elevation of between 1,300 to 5,900 feet, can reach nearly 50 feet in height and can live hundreds of years given the right conditions. There was one tree which was recorded at 80 feet and almost 1,000 years in age. Getting the age correctly is difficult since unlike an actual tree there are no tree rings in which to deduce the age. The way to tell the age of a Joshua Tree is to measure it's height and calculate the average growth cycle which is usually around one half to one inch per year.
The plant received its name from the early mid-nineteenth century Mormon setters who made their way through the area on the way to the "promised land." The settlers believed the strange looking 'trees' reminded them of Joshua from the old testament standing in the open with his hands stretching to the skies in prayer to God. The name stuck.
Being fortunate to have two acres as our main base, we have Joshua Trees on our property and the vacant acres to the west, north, and south of us. With spring just a couple of days away, we decided to photograph some of these marvels of nature while they are blooming.
The photographs are breathtaking - but don't take the word of this writer - you be the judge and enjoy.
For further information concerning the Joshua Tree -
