North Atwater Park: Up Close and Personal with the Los Angeles River

Oh, it's been one of those blog lapses again.

Very well. Moving forward...

It was an ordinary Saturday...The Militant was dropping off some E-Waste at a local Los Angeles City S.A.F.E. disposal center when he ventured around the area out of his own militant curiosity. He found himself on Chevy Chase Drive in Atwater Village and the voices inside his head his militant instinct told him to venture forward, to the road's end. It was there where he saw it: North Atwater Park.

There was a small parking lot along with a bicycle parking rack, so he knew he was in the right place. Any beyond the lot was an open area with picnic tables, benches, a clay dirt path and various California native plants. But beyond that...

...The Militant found his personal El Dorado.





It was the Los Angeles River, flowing, running wild and pure. Yes, he had encountered The River before. But this time, there were no fences or railing to encumber him.

This is what nearby Griffith Park, just yards away, past The River and the the 5 Freeway, was meant to be like over 60 years ago. A peaceful parkland that welcomed one to the Los Angeles River, interrupted due to the aforementioned freeway. All but realized until recently.

On this day, there were several people painting along the banks of the river. No, not taggers or graff artists wielding spray paint cans, but people holding brushes, painting on canvases set up in locations to their liking (pictured left).

According to one of them, they were all enrolled in Barnsdall Art Park's 3-hour Plein Air painting class, where they were assigned this week to show up at North Atwater Park and paint their subjects along the riverside.

The Militant was in awe. He could hear the river water rush just inches away from him. He walked further south along The River's east bank, passing by some people chatting, one of them greeting The Militant, and an Australian Shepherd dog who seemed to take a liking to him. He saw ducks walking in the standing water along the concrete riverbed, watching them march hurriedly towards the water as The Militant approached.

It was the perfect scene that was marred only by the sound and occasional sight of cars whooshing by on the 5 Freeway on the other side of The River. If not for that, The Militant would probably never leave (which may or may not be problematic, as he couldn't blog again if he did).

Next to the native plants area was a large dry ravine, with native wildflowers, which ran diagonally towards The River (pictured right). It's gated off by temporary fencing, but there are stairs leading down to it, so it might be accessible in the future. The purpose of the ravine, according to an informational sign, was for a means to allow runoff water from the nearby water treatment plant to cleanse itself naturally by entering the local water aquifer. It seems that sustainable water runoff treatment is the in-thing these days.

This is Memorial Day weekend, and most of you have better things to do than to real local blogs (unless you're looking for something to do). If you're like The Militant and don't get leave town (or at least never publicly admit to doing so), he recommends spending a few hours chilling here by The River at North Atwater Park. It's free to visit, after all. Our river is a link to both our past and our future. A pedestrian/bicycle/equestrian bridge across The River here will begin construction next year.

Most of all, The Militant found his new Happy Place. You may or may not see The Militant here sometime. But if ever you do, please turn off your cameras/recording devices and raise ya fist!

Deux Ducks.

The Militant makes a new friend.

Save for these motorcycle remains, The River was amazingly clean and junk-free!

Rapids transit.

Urban Serenity: The Los Angeles River Bike Path

The Militant finally had an opportunity to ride the new section of the Los Angeles River Bike Path through Elysian Valley this week, which opened to huge fanfare two months ago. The Militant really wanted to check out the opening festivities, but he was tied up with some Militant community activities that day, not to mention that he may or may not have been easily spotted there.

But although the opening was blogged about many times, The Militant has always been about showing you a different angle. So during his recent ride, he was able to enjoy the bike path, not with politicians and crowds, but the way it was meant to be experienced.

After riding south through Atwater Village, he finally broke on through to the new section past Fletcher Avenue, marked by asphalt paving so smooth and dark, it almost looks like it was still wet from this past weekend's rains.

After passing the 2 Freeway overpass, the harsh white-noise roar of cars rushing above soon transitioned into the soothing rush of water and the intermittent quacking of ducks. Ducks? Yes, ducks! Lest you forget, the entire section of Los Angeles River, from Griffith Park to Elysian Valley, lies close to the underground water table, and was therefore never fully paved. The result is a glimpse of the what the River used to be -- and what many hope it will once again become -- replete with islands boasting California Bay Laurel trees protruding from the riverbed, and both native and migratory fauna walking, swimming or flying throughout. There are even mini-rapids where water rushes through rocks in the riverbed, forming calming sounds which soothe the senses. Aromatherapy, anyone?

It is in this section you can witness the Los Angeles River in pure serenity, with only the occasional whoosh and horn blare of a passing Metrolink train across the river interrupting the unexpectedly pastoral setting in the middle of this bustling metropolis.

Once in a while, you'll get a view like this, which just blows away most people's (predictably negative) perceptions of The River:
It was also a unique glimpse into the Elysian Valley (a.k.a. Frogtown) neighborhood - a tiny nook of 8,000 working-class residents living in the shadow of Chavez Ravine. A handful of pocket parks line the route, and the backyards of several houses face the river, some of which have roosters, dogs and California native plant gardens. Interesting to note, that the opposite side of Elysian Valley -- Riverside Drive -- is also a popular bicycling corridor, which The Militant has rolled through many times.

There was a time when the Los Angeles River Bike Path was just a boring, tiny little strip that ran 3.2 miles along the east end of Griffith Park. Whoopty-doo. But now it's grown to a decent 7.2-mile ride (that's 14.4 miles round trip - without worrying about cars); and even a one-way ride through its entire length will take you a while. Now all we need is a link south past Downtown to link to the rest of the River Path and north to the Valley! Let's do this!

More picturetude!

Cleaning crews were here today to maintain the Path.

FROGTOWN REPRESENT!

Frogtown? A couple of locals beg to differ.

The Militant wasn't the only one taking pictures of The River today.

A Deflated Change in Plans

The Militant has plans. Future plans. Urban plans. Master plans. The Death Star Plans. Plans for his Militant revolution. A Man A Plan A Canal Panama Plans. One can say the Militant is a planning freak (the Militant is not much of a party planner though). But as life runs its course, plans have to change.

Wow, that all sounds real heavy. No the Militant isn't hanging up his combat boots (the Militant has only just begun!), but he had to change some minor plans today.

It all started after the Militant had a nice hour-long talk with the head of a local non-profit arts group in his community, having a nice chat about the community, and sharing with each other our own plans (see? There you go!) for it. The Militant had to ride on over to the AWV for an appointment. When it was done, after, snapping pics of the River (pictured above), the Militant had planned to bike on over to Little Tokyo via Frogtown, Lincoln Heights and Chinatown to do more research for Part 3 of his Ethnic Iced Dessert Quest, and maybe check out a little bi-monthly talent show there as well.

Well something happened after the Militant crossed the bridge over the Los Angeles River where Riverside Drive suddenly becomes Figueroa: The Militant's rear bicycle wheel felt suddenly uneven and he dismounted immediately. There it was.

A flat.

Not just a flat, a "Your inner tube has less air than the vacuum of space and your rear tire is literally falling off the wheel" kind of flat. And that can only mean one thing:

Sabotage.

The Militant knows he is being under attack. The East Coast media powers are out to stop him, at all costs, and have sent their expatriate minions "out here" to stop the Militant. So they scored a microscopic victory against me by finding a way to deflate my rear tire, perhaps via the use of some laser device. There was absolutely no evidence of debris or sharp objects stuck in my tire, as there normally is when the Militant hits a flat (as Will Campbell knows, the Militant is phobic of riding on the Los Angeles River Bike Path for fear of getting puncture weeds stuck in his tires). The Militant was lucky, as this happened just after he had crossed the Los Angeles River, which meant that he had entered The Real Eastside, and that he knows that those who want to stop the Militant never venture into The Real Eastside, so that is probably what saved his front tire from destruction.

The Militant called roadside assistance at around 6:30 p.m., who informed him there was a bicycle shop further north on Figueroa by York in the Highland Park/Eagle Rock/Garvanza area but the Militant didn't want to take the chance of arriving at a place that was closed for the day. So he lifted the rear wheel off the ground and manually walked his wounded chariot a few blocks where the (M) Gold Line Avenue 26 station (pictured left) stood. Pure gold. The Militant rode the train to Union Station where he transfered to the (M) Red Line and on to the Vermont/Beverly Station. While on the train, the badly-flattened tire was an easy conversation starter from fellow passengers, though the Militant had his eyes fixes on a real hot looking Angelena sitting in the middle of the subway car (Damn, she was hot...). After alighting the train and hopping onto the elevator, a quiet, unassuming , but still cute Angelena asked him questions about his bike and bicycles in general. The conversation continued on the mezzanine level and on the second elevator to the street. The Militant didn't hesitate to give her his contact info, you know, just in case, she had more questions about bikes. She may or may not call him back, but hey...the interesting things that can happen outside the confines of a car.

After schlepping his bike on the sleek articulated 204 bus, he brought it to his mechanic where he not only replaced the tube, but got new road wheels, also bumping unexpectedly into a few of his operatives, of all people.

You know the city well enough, and it becomes a small town.

So changing one's plans isn't necessarily a bad thing, it can pave the way for good or better things. The only thing that really matter in the end is...that the Militant still came away with something to wrote for his blog entry for the day.

Absolut Reality

The Militant can be rather verbose, but at times the Militant lifestyle can be downright tiring, so this Militant is going to keep it (relatively) brief today.

Pasted ad bills are a common urban sight, hawking everything from events to cable TV shows to movies to CDs, posted in multiples as if its repetitive motif as an artistic statement transcends its original intention as a visual advertisement, ever temporary, until they are pasted over by another ad. But this particular one in the hood caught this Militant's eye. This one (pictured left) for Sweden's Absolut Vodka depicts an "Absolut World" where the urbane concrete flood control ditch known as the Los Angeles River is a lush urban greenbelt, filled with enough pristine-quality agua to support boats and other recreational watercraft. It's almost as if this ad agency consulted the Los Angeles River Master Plan instead of one of those hegemonic Madison Avenue ad executives. Who knew an alcohol ad could be something Friends of the Los Angeles River could love?

Berd of Paradise

Continuing his theme of "Neat things I saw around the neighborhood as an excuse to make today's blog entry" the Militant presents one of the newest "Berd" installations by the enigmatic Angeleno street artist named Browne, located in the general area of the Militant's compound, at Vermont and Melrose avenues (pictured right). From a different vantage point, the Militant saw the plywood-rope-and-padlock wonder of the Berd juxtaposed against a background of clear blue summer sky, the tip of a Vermont Avenue Canary Island pine tree and the majestic uncloaked ridgelines of both the Verdugo and the San Gabriel mountains looming boldly in the distance.You just had to see it to believe it. To quote the great Angeleno songsmith Randy Newman, "Looks like another perfect day..."