The Hayes Road to Morocco

Parked in front of Michael Christian's "Koilos" sculpture on the Hayes Valley Green was a Moroccan tent...



...which was a prop for the "Spring Hayes Valley Block Party"...



...which had a Moroccan theme for some reason, including an advertised Moroccan Tea Ceremony, belly dancers, and entertainment for children.



I would have documented this affair for you, dear readers, but the community group in charge seemed to be having some trouble getting all their tents up in time for the noon start (it was already 1:30)...



...and terrible, looming deadlines for paying work forced me to waste my life in front of a computer for the rest of the day and night.

Mom the Merciless

On our return to San Francisco, we saw huge new signage at the Asian Art Museum advertising a show that's opening June 27th.



Though it's called "Power and Glory: Court Arts of China's Ming Dynasty," the banners for some reason brought to mind Ming the Merciless from Flash Gordon (above).



It also brought back a memory of being in the old Asian Art Museum in Golden Gate Park decades ago with my mother. The only other people in the museum that afternoon seemed to be another gay man my age accompanying an older woman the age of my mother, and at one point in the Chinese vase room I heard him yell out, "Look, Mom, it's a Ming!"

Burn!

While driving north on Highway 101 near King City, my partner Tony said, "I didn't think coastal fog came this far inland."



"That's not fog, it's a fire," I guessed correctly.



Dozens of wildfires have ignited across California this week and their press coverage seems to depend on how many affluent homes are burned down and how close the fire is to a major city. In the case of the "Indians Fire" above, there has been next to no news except by the Monterey County Herald (click here for the latest story), which reports that the fire in the Ventana Wildnerness has been burning since Sunday afternoon and has spread to over 11,000 acres, making it a true monster.



The atmosphere in the state feels like late fire season, which is usually August through October, and we're only in June. Though we are not being flooded and blown away by tornados like the Midwest, it looks like half the state is going to burn down before the summer is over.

Palm Springs Aerial Tramway

We had never been on the famous Palm Springs Aerial Tramway, an engineering marvel from 1963 that takes one from the desert floor to 8,500 feet in the San Jacinto Mountains.



My mother (above), who we were hosting, insisted that the trip must be made...



...and since we had been driving each other insane most of the week, it seemed the path of least resistance.



I'm glad we went, however, and would gladly pay the $22 to go again...



...since the lodges at both bottom and top were mid-century modern architectural wonders...



...and the views in every direction were marvelous.



Plus, it was a serious relief to be in 75-degree weather when it was close to 110 degrees in the Coachella valley below.



Most of the other passengers took off on hikes around the mountains but after observing at least half of them looking as if they were about to have a heart attack as they climbed back up to the lodge...



...we spent most of the afternoon sitting on an observation deck drinking beers.



Though the trip is only 10 minutes long, it is definitely not for the fainthearted...



...as two sobbing-with-fear young girls in our downward car made clear.



Still, it's a tourist trip that is totally worth the effort.