Monday, February 13, 2012

Skating on Twin Lakes, Mammoth Lakes, CA

That's me out there at Twin Lakes above Mammoth. I was up there last weekend skiing and on the way out of town stopped at Twin Lakes to try outdoor skating.

It was my first time on a lake. The ice was actually pretty smooth, although harder than at the rink in Pasadena. Temps this day were in the low 30s but it had been in the single digits at night for the four nights we were there.

I'm still bummed I didn't get to the Yosemite high country before Tioga Pass Road was finally closed for the winter in mid-January. It was open during the holidays, allowing folks the rare chance to skate on the likes of Tenaya Lake. If the road opens before winter is over, my ass is in the Subaru and I'm there.

If you're staying in Mammoth, just take Lake Mary Road until it ends at Twin Lakes and Tamarack resort. It's a five-minute drive from town.

--S.H.

Friday, January 27, 2012

L.A Skyline & Sunset, Jan. 24

Yeah, it's not hockey. But a little something from the workplace, taken a few nights ago.

--S.H.

Tuesday, January 3, 2012

Hockey on Tenaya Lake in Yosemite


Attentive readers may recall that I purchased my first-ever Mammoth Mountain season pass earlier this year -- thereby guaranteeing one of the driest Decembers on record in the Sierra Nevada.

My bad! Sorry!

The upside is that the National Park Service reopened Tioga Pass Road to the Yosemite National Park high country on Dec. 19 -- a very rare move. The road is usually closed from early November until late spring or even early summer.

That means people can get to Tenaya Lake and go ice skating (not encouraged by the Park Service, but they won't stop you either). I found this video of a couple of folks passing a puck around and there's a bunch of other videos on YouTube of people skating on the lake. Such as this one:


It's a big deal because the vast majority of Californians who play hockey never get to play outside. And if you're going to play outside, you may as well do it in Yosemite -- pretty much the prettiest place in the Golden State. 

If the road remains open, I have to get up there and have my own personal Winter Classic, even if I only play with myself (ha-ha-ha). The National Weather Service doesn't have any snow in the forecast for Yosemite and the Mammoth area for the next week, btw.

Here's what Tenaya Lake looks like un-frozen -- I took the pic in 2010.

Tenaya Lake, Yosemite National Park

photo copyright Steve Hymon

Monday, January 2, 2012

2012 Rose Parade stealth (B2 Bomber) flyover

2012 Rose Parade stealth flyover (B2 Bomber Spirit)
Wonder if I can arrange for a flyover for Puckalolos season opener next Monday night. We are, after all, defending third-place champions and we pay our taxes and league fees promptly. Just sayin...

Monday, December 26, 2011

Los Angeles, Christmas Day 2011

No hockey today. Just a hike in the Angeles National Forest and this pretty nice view from Highway 2 in the Angeles National Forest above La Canada Flintridge. The key is to hang out until the sun actually sets, bringing a lot better definition to the coastline. Beyond downtown is the Palos Verdes Peninsula and beyond that is Catalina Island. This whole view is more than 50 miles, which is pretty good visibility for Southern California.

Merry Christmas, blog readers!

--S.H.

Saturday, November 19, 2011

ReIgn game

ReIgn game by JulieAndSteve
ReIgn game, a photo by JulieAndSteve on Flickr.
Ontario versus Stockton. Lots of fights and beer league style mistakes.

The building was freezing. Even for hockey. But it was cheap and fun.

Best part: after the game we were walking through the parking lot and some chump took a leak on the side of a car and then got in THAT car and drove away.

I'm trying to decide if that's super classy -- piss on your own car instead of some other bloke's -- or just a sign that the 909 Territories aren't filled with the sharpest of blades, if you get what I mean.

--S.H.

Wednesday, November 9, 2011

Let's Go Kings

Let's Go Kings by JulieAndSteve
Let's Go Kings, a photo by JulieAndSteve on Flickr.

Grabbed this one at last night's Kings-Preds game. Taken with the Hipstamatic app on my iPhone -- great photo filters.

--S.H.

Wednesday, October 19, 2011

Lonely Man

Lonely Man by JulieAndSteve
Lonely Man, a photo by JulieAndSteve on Flickr.

Almost works -- unfortunately the guy's noggin is too dark. Damn iPhone 3GS. Hipstamatic app then processed more in Snapseed for iPad.

Tuesday, October 11, 2011

Monday Night Hockey


Took this one after our game last night (we won!) with the iPhone Camera+ app. The new Pasadena rink, in a tent structure, is actually kind of photogenic. This photo didn't turn out well -- can't wait to get a new DSLR to replace the Nikon D5000 I drowned a couple of weekends ago in the ocean off San Simeon (flipped my kayak in the surf, dry bag wasn't so dry).

Sunday, October 9, 2011

New rink, Pasadena

New rink, Pasadena by JulieAndSteve
New rink, Pasadena, a photo by JulieAndSteve on Flickr.

Took this one last week with iPhone. Miniaturized with Camera+ app.