I’d never been to California before, but it felt like I had since I have a TV.
One of the first shows I can remember watching is “The Brady Bunch,” set in Los Angeles suburbia. Southern California culture is pervasive from “Perry Mason” to “The Simpsons” and beyond. And I’ve been following the wildfires, earthquakes, and car chases on KTLA and other LA newscasts for decades.
The car culture, the fast food, the scenery, the suburbia. It felt like I’d already been living it even without being there.
So, it felt like a bit of a homecoming when I visited for the first time this spring.
My visit to the Pacific coast was actually an extension of a planned trip to several national parks, including Joshua Tree and Death Valley. I’d get to the parks eventually, but somehow I’d made it to age 45 without ever getting to the Pacific and it was time to fix that.
I knew there would be a lot of people. I knew there would be a lot of traffic. I knew there was a water shortage. I knew I still wanted to go.
My roadtrip took me directly from Minnesota to Malibu (with overnight stops in Nebraska and Utah) to get to Leo Carillo State Park on a weekday, since it’s all booked up on weekends.
Entering the LA area on the 15 and the 210 (I think that’s how they’d say it?) I was travelling against traffic at first. Appropriately, “California Love” came on KDAY as I cruised westward but the KDAY and KDEY transmitters, both broadcasting the same format on 93.5, were about a second out of sync, creating a unique remix as they competed for dominance.
Really, it didn’t feel that much different than driving around the Twin Cities metro. Just a lot bigger.
Eventually I did hit traffic as I reached the route used by commuters headed home to the San Fernando Valley, but I was expecting that, so it wasn’t a problem. The Ventura Freeway took me to the Santa Monica Mountains, where I headed down to the legendary Pacific Coast Highway.
After setting up camp, I walked down to the beach just in time for a glorious sunset. What a welcome!
I didn’t have any specific plans for what I wanted to do while I was here, but I knew I wanted to avoid going into the developed areas. I’ll save the city things for trips in the future.
You don’t really have to do anything special to feel like you’ve visited the Southern California that you’ve seen on TV. It’s all around. The opening sequence of “M*A*S*H” was filmed in these mountains and the view around every corner feels like another outdoor scene from a TV show, probably because it was actually filmed here.
The Santa Monica Mountains are a National Recreation Area with an abundance of hiking options. The All Trails app directed me to the Grotto Trail.
I’d remembered seeing coverage of the Woolsey Fire in 2018 and the area of the trail was burned. It’s amazing to see the area regrowing, juxtaposing delicate flowers with damaged trees, one of which was scarred to look like a leopard print.
After hiking, it was time for a drive, and the Mulholland Highway heads east. After some gorgeous views on the western end of the highway, I couldn’t figure out where to turn. When I got back on track, rush hour traffic was already jamming the scenic highway. So it was time to head back to camp for another glorious sunset.
The next day I was headed to Joshua Tree but I had plenty of time, so I decided to check out the Angeles National Forest and Mount Wilson, which is known both to astronomers and to broadcasting nerds. I was happy to learn you can actually drive right up to the Mount Wilson Observatory, passing through the antenna farm, and walk amid the many telescopes that have been constructed there over the years. You can even go inside one building for a quick glimpse.
While my car was parked in the observatory parking area, I was also doing a nerdy thing: I opened up my laptop and started a software-defined radio (SDR) program to record a chunk of the FM band as I saw the sights. The beauty of SDR recordings is that you can scan through the entire dial after you’ve already returned home.
Here’s a screengrab of what the lower end of the FM band looks like, with KCBS-FM playing Kate Bush’s “Running Up That Hill” two weeks before the classic became a hit again thanks to “Stranger Things.”
Later, I pulled out a portable TV, plugged in a paperclip, and did a channel scan. 145 free channels. There should’ve been more because the scan missed KNBC for some reason.
Here’s a compilation of the stations my SDR recorded from Mount Wilson in two different sessions. (Some stations from the middle of the dial are missing from my recordings).
After the geeky fun, I headed east on the Angeles Crest Highway to see some of the many great overlooks and sights within the forest. But it turned out the highway was closed towards the eastern edge of the park, so I had to double back… getting stuck again in commuter traffic as I attempted to exit the mountains on the north side. I didn’t get to my campsite at Joshua Tree until sunset, but it was worth it.
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