Light On Leaves

Temporary Beauty

The flowering plant above is a species of Phacelia (Giant Leaved Phacelia?, Large Flowered Phacelia?) growing in the area along the Bill Cull Trail that was the site of a fire last August.  This is not a plant you would normally see in the canyon.  It's known as a "fire follower" and is growing because the area recently burned.

Velvet Ant

This was spotted in Monrovia Canyon Park earlier this week.  I'm pretty sure it's a velvet ant, which is not really an ant at all.  It's from the wasp family and just sort of resembles an ant.

They come in different colors.  This one happens to be a red velvet ant and makes a delicious cupcake.*

*Not true.  Please don't try this.

1964

A portion of one of the check dams along the waterfall trail in Monrovia Canyon Park.

Color In The Canyon

This is the slope behind the Monrovia Canyon Park Entrance Station that burned in a fire last August.  Looks like it's not only recovering well, but making quite a show of it.

This One's For Eldon

Eldon Davis of the firm Armet and Davis, passed away last Friday at age 94. Armet and Davis were responsible for many of the well known buildings in the Googie style around Southern California.

I don't believe Armet and Davis were involved in the design of the Nu-Way car wash pictured above, but it is the most well known example of Googie architecture here in town.

Does anyone know who did design the Nu-Way car wash?

Happy Easter 2011

Depot Panorama In Black And White

Click image for a larger than usual version.

Earth Day 2011

Hiking in the clouds.

Water On Web

Monrovia Cinco De Mayo Cultural Arts And Music Festival - May 1st, 2011

On Colorado Blvd. in Old Town Monrovia, Sunday May 1st, from 2pm to 8pm.
Featuring Latino Art, Music, Dance, Culture and...this whole family friendly celebration is free!

There will be a lot going on for this event, but the music alone is enough to make this one of my favorite Monrovia events.  All the musicians are so good and so talented but when you can get Kid Ramos and Los Fabulocos and The Delgado Brothers into town to play shows that are free to see, trust me, you don't want to miss this.

Event website: http://monrovia5demayo.org/
Facebook page: http://www.facebook.com/monrovia5demayo

The details:

SAN GABRIEL VALLEY’S LARGEST CINCO DE MAYO CELEBRATION HIGHLIGHTS THE RICH CULTURE OF MEXICO
-A Colorful Celebration of Music, Culture, and Art -
Monrovia, CALIF. (April, 2011) - Monrovia’s Cinco De Mayo Cultural Art and Music Festival will take place on Sunday, May 1, 2011 at Colorado and Myrtle Ave in charming Old Town Monrovia from 2PM to 8PM. The all-day celebration will transform the city streets into a festive block party with educational and cultural exhibits, musical performances from Grammy-award winning entertainers. In addition to an array of dance performances from popular Folklorico and Oaxacan dance troupes.  The event is free and all ages are welcome.

Over 5,000 people are expected to attend this inaugural free, family-friendly block party making it San Gabriel Valley’s largest Cinco de Mayo celebration and the first event in Monrovia’s 125 year’s of existence to pay tribute to Latino heritage. Monrovia will join over 100 US cities celebrating the rich culture, heritage, and history of Mexico.
The event is a community led effort comprised of over a dozen person committee and led by Committee president Rudy Castrellon to pay tribute to the history and contributions that the Latino community has made to the City of Monrovia.

 “I invite everyone to Monrovia to be part of history,” says Castrellon President of Monrovia Cinco De Mayo Committee and local business owner.

The event kicks off with performances from CaliMex roots quartet Los Fabulocos, and popular Latin Jazz ensemble the Banda Brothers.  The fiesta continues at the children’s stage where Folklorico and Oaxacan dance troupes will perform into the early evening.  Throughout the celebration, attendees can enjoy works from over 75 local artists displaying a variety of media including: watercolor, oil painting, photography, ceramic, and glasswork.  Visitors can also sample popular Mexican fare from a variety of Monrovia restaurants including Rudy’s Mexican Food Restaurant participating in the event.

The event continues with special performances from the wildly popular Delgado Brothers performing their Latin infused blues.  The cultural and arts festival will culminate with a very special performance from the Grammy Award winning group The Mariachi Divas, a unique, multi-cultural, all female mariachi ensemble.
The Monrovia Cinco De Mayo Cultural Art and Music Festival is produced by the Monrovia Cinco de Mayo Association in partnership with the Nuvein Foundation for Literature and the Arts, a 501 (c) (3) non-profit organization whose mission is to celebrate the diversity that is Monrovia, and to promote an understanding of all peoples and their cultures. 

Big Shrimps Fish Grill Is Now Open

Just opened this past Sunday, April 17th, and is located in a brand new building at 123 E. Colorado Blvd., Monrovia.  Ribbon cutting is scheduled for this Wednesday, April 20th, at noon.

Big Shrimps Fish Grill Facebook page.

Pretty Bear

Update 04/22/2011: Drove by today and the bear was no longer in the window.


One of several statues of local celebrity Samson The Hot Tub Bear painted by local artists and set to debut in the May 12th parade celebrating the 125th birthday of the City of Monrovia.  The parade theme this year is "Cruisin' With Samson".  (The date on the city website is incorrect - Thursday is the 12th).

The bear above was purchased by Creative Woman - Wizard of Bras and can be seen in the front window facing Myrtle Avenue at 1536 S. Myrtle Avenue.  This is the building next door to the south of the Creative Woman store.

Since I don't think Samson wore pearls, I believe they named this bear "Delilah".

I like the little dancing bears on the bottom of the wall in the background - nice touch.

Chef Chou - Coming Soon

To the Henry's Farmers Market shopping center on Huntington Drive.

Ben Overturff Trail

Heading south near the lower end of the trail.

California Poppy

Along the Ben Overturff trail in Monrovia Canyon Park.

Aztec Hotel Neon Entrance

A Route 66 landmark in Monrovia, CA.

Aztec Hotel - Wikipedia.

Old Town Monrovia Gateway At Night

Election Day

Today is the day to vote for who is going to oversee the city.

Horses

Don't see many horses up in the canyon.  These three were just passing the Sawpit Dam on the left anxious to get onto the dirt fire road that parallels the Ben Overturff trail.

Partly Cloudy

The weather earlier today.

Bill Cull Trail Reopens In Monrovia Canyon Park

The trail has been closed since last August 23rd after a fire broke out in an area that the trail passes through.
Since then, a LOT of people have been asking when the Bill Cull Trail will open again.  The answer is...it opened again this past April 1st. (Not a joke, it really is open).

Now you can once again hike all the way to the waterfall from the entrance station and, hopefully, it will also mean less people walking in the roadway.

For those of you planning to run in the Fountain To The Falls event this May 14th, the sign in the lower right of the photo marks this trailhead as the 2 1/4 mile mark on the course.

Next time you hike the trail, here's a photo taken shortly after the fire to use for comparison.  The difference between then and now is truly amazing.

Burrow

A little critter has built him or herself a nice little covered entryway for their burrow in the hills above Monrovia Canyon Park.

Bees

Buzzing around a pipe in Monrovia Canyon Park.

Living Spaces - Manufacturer Closeout Tent Event

The tents are set up right along Huntington Drive and the sale runs through April 11th.
Monrovia Living Spaces is located at 407 W. Huntington Dr.  Monrovia, CA 91016.

Monrovia High School Update

Taking a peek over the fence, there's a new walkway replacing a section of grass directly in front of the main entrance.

And Now For Something Completely Different

No, this isn't Monrovia.  It's the Las Vegas Strip.

I came back from an overnight camping trip and visit to Red Rock Canyon National Conservation Area earlier this past week to some internet connectivity problems.  So, instead of taking and working on photos, I've been trying to install a new modem and get it working.  A modem that arrived DOA.  The issues continue.

Since I do have access for the moment and didn't have anything local ready to go, here's a night shot of the Las Vegas Strip from my visit.  This looks nothing like Red Rock Canyon, maybe I'll share some of those in a "Sunday Road Trip" post one of these days.

You might also want to check out the two City Daily Photo blogs from Las Vegas:

-Another Las Vegas Daily Photo
-My Eye On Vegas

April 2011 City Daily Photo Theme Day: Edges

This was taken earlier in the week when some recent rains added quite a bit of water to the stream along the Ben Overturff trail in Monrovia Canyon Park.  Here the stream drops over the edge of a check dam near the lower end of the trail.

That's poison oak all along the foreground in the photo, be careful!

To see how City Daily Photo photographers from all over the world interpreted the theme this month of Edges, just click the link below:

Click here to view thumbnails for all participants