Burro Schmidt's Tunnel

January is passing, as it does -- that is to say, not nearly quickly enough. Last week we were very sad to learn of the death of Huell Howser, our all-time favorite TV personality. In his honor we watched one of his shows online -- it was about visiting a place where they make menudo, the classic Mexican soup made of tripe (http://colorlines.com/archives/2013/01/huell_howser_redefined_who_could_be_californian.html -- scroll down to the bottom). Just hilarious, classic Huell. He was trying so hard to be positive and enthusiastic, and you could just tell he didn't want to have to eat tripe soup. Finally he took a deep breath and tried some, and actually seemed to like it. It was so very dear. Rest in peace, Huell, we'll miss you, but what a wonderful legacy you've left to all of California.

For a much less well-done video, you may want to check out this YouTube selection, showing Rocket Boy building a tortoise burrow in our backyard: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VLS5rG02keU. I was the videographer for most of it, so I'm to blame for the poorly composed shots, wild camera movements, etc. Baby A provides comic relief, picking up a pickaxe and a saw. At the very end, after several seconds of blue screen, I pop up showing off the completed tortoise pen and tortoises. I'm wearing a shirt from Kmart and pants from Walmart and the scene is so badly in shadow that you can't see much of anything. I hope this video stays up forever in memory of our time in Ridgecrest.

This past weekend we visited a local tourist attraction, Burro Schmidt's tunnel. Burro (I keep wanting to type Burrow, have tortoises on the brain) Schmidt was a typical crazy desert person who spent 38 years digging a tunnel through the mountains near here. Digging by hand, that is. 

Huell Howser did a show about Burro Schmidt's tunnel several years ago, which we had seen, and Rocket Boy took the twins to see the tunnel a few years ago, but without flashlights. I'd never seen it. So we decided now was the time. We brought six or seven flashlights and some extra batteries. Ten years ago, Rocket Boy and I had to hike all the way down Half Dome to the Yosemite Valley floor in the dark and all our flashlights ran out of batteries on the way, so we're sensitive about stuff like that.

The turnoff to the tunnel is on Highway 14 a few miles north of Red Rocks State Park. The sign (see above) is easy to miss. If you don't miss it, you get the fun of driving 10 (not 8) miles on a very rough road up into the mountains. But it's pretty well marked. Here's Baby B getting ready to go into the tunnel.

It's been just freezing here recently, as it is all over California (can't help thinking it has something to do with Huell's warm personality having been snuffed out). I was thinking a dark, dank tunnel would not be a good place to be, but of course it was a lovely place to be, nice and warm. It's probably really nice on hot days too, nice and cool. I guess it really is a kind of burrow.

It took us about 15 minutes to walk through it. Here's a shot of the twins inside:

And here we are coming out the other end:

It's just not at all apparent why this tunnel was dug, because when you come out the other end you aren't actually NEAR anything. I mean, it's the other side of the mountain, so I guess that's good, but you're so high above the Garlock Road that the cars on it look like ants. Or something smaller than ants. Dust mites.

After a few minutes we turned around and walked 15 minutes back through the tunnel to the car. There's a lovely view of Robber's Roost and the Eastern Sierra from the parking area.

Oh yeah, it's pretty here, if you know where to look. And Huell always did.