How Far Is It From Arcadia Park To Legg Lake

Southern California's monsters are hidden in plain sight. I've lived in L.A. for more than four decades and simply recently discovered Minnie the whale, Stella the starfish, Ozzie the octopus and dolphins Flipper, Speedy and Peanut in Vincent Lugo Park. La Laguna de San Gabriel playground (some call it Monster Park; some call it Dinosaur Park) opened in 1965 with xiv midcentury slides and climbable creatures. About 15 years ago, the city of San Gabriel accounted the structures dangerous and planned to annihilate them.

And so a funny thing happened.

The piffling kids who had climbed up and slid down the backs of whales and bounding main serpents for years were at present adults who cherished the whimsical genius of trivial-known sculptor Benjamin Dominguez. That's right — the monsters had loving friends, some in loftier places, who didn't forget their babyhood playground when it was threatened by the wrecking ball.

Women stand next to a curving slide as children slide down.

Eloy Zarate, a history professor at Pasadena Urban center Higher, was 1 of them. "It'south a time capsule of parenting, a time capsule of how kids used to play," said Zarate, who grew up in San Gabriel and played at La Laguna. "It's such a different place. And then when they said they were going to demolish it, my wife [Senya Lubisich] and I looked at each other and said we would practice absolutely everything possible to be able to save [information technology]. If nosotros have to put up our house or whatever else — we merely firmly believed that San Gabriel is not San Gabriel without La Laguna."

Zarate wasn't alone. He co-founded the nonprofit Friends of La Laguna and eventually enlisted the assistance of L.A. Canton Supervisors Kathryn Barger and Hilda Solis, who also remembered playing on Dominguez's creatures. Fast-forward to today: La Laguna is on the National Register of Historic Places. Over the grade of more than a decade, the grouping raised almost $700,000 — with help from the Annenberg Foundation, the Los Angeles Conservancy and county supervisors, among others — to preserve the playground that cost $12,000 to build in 1965. One more piece, a lighthouse that doubles as a slide, needs to be restored. Donations can be made through the Friends of La Laguna website.

A child sits on the leg of a large sculpture of an octopus in a sandy area of a playground.

La Laguna is not the only place with Dominguez's works. His creatures can exist constitute effectually Legg Lake at Whittier Narrows Recreation Area in South El Monte (Solis allocated money to preserve this site and invited Dominguez's descendants to a ceremony with the restored creatures), the Atlantis Play Center in Garden Grove and sites in Nevada and Texas.

Merely his story was nigh lost to history. Dominguez was a well-known Mexican concrete creative person before he came to the U.Due south. in 1956 at the historic period of 62. La Laguna was his last work, completed when he was lxx. All the same when Zarate began looking into the story behind the sculptures, he constitute references to "the Mexican" instead of Dominguez being identified by proper noun, fifty-fifty though he is up there with Isamu Noguchi and Pablo Picasso every bit distinguished artists who also designed playgrounds.

La Laguna stands as a attestation to his legacy in Southern California. "We stayed true to the vision of Benjamin Dominguez and stayed true to the vision of what San Gabriel had in mind in the 1960s," Zarate said. By all means, take time to visit the monsters — and revel in the imagination of an near-forgotten immigrant creative person.

5 things to exercise this week

Small figures on a snowy mountainside with tall evergreen trees.

1. Ski or snowboard in the Polar Bear Run to enhance funds for children affected by the state of war in Ukraine. Mount High ski resort near Wrightwood invites all who make a $25 donation to UNICEF USA to a twenty-four hour period of spring skiing. The donation gets you a single-mean solar day lift ticket (unremarkably $109) to participate in the Polar Bear Run at 1 p.m. Sun. Skiers and boarders are encouraged to article of clothing white swimsuits (the polar bear theme). The event is limited to the first 100 participants who show upward starting at eight a.grand. Bring an ID, a receipt for your online donation and a liability form found on the website.

A coastline and lighted pier are shown after dark with a large lighted Ferris wheel.

2. Plough out the lights during Earth Hour on Saturday. Earth Hour 2022 volition take place at 8:30 p.yard. (wherever you are on the planet) Saturday. What's the bespeak? "[W]e were trying to discover a mode to unite hundreds of millions of people to protect the planet, so we came upward with a symbolic act of switching lights off as the first step in the Earth Hour journeying," creator Andy Ridley previously said in a media interview. Locally, the solar-powered Pacific Bike on the Santa Monica Pier will dunk the lights. Last year, people from 192 countries and territories participated in the grassroots environmental human action. In past years, the Eiffel Tower in Paris, the Las Vegas Strip and Rome's Colosseum have gone dark in solidarity. What should y'all do during the 60 minutes in the dark? Play a lath game, continue a night hike or accept dinner by candlelight.

Illustration of brightly colored leaves against a blue background.

iii. Larn what flowers are trying to tell y'all on this night hike. Floriography might exist described as the cloak-and-dagger linguistic communication of flowers. People in the Victorian era used unlike flowers to send underground messages to lovers and friends. Daisies meant purity; jonquils, respect and friendship; and narcissus, sweet and self-honey. The Los Angeles County Arboretum & Botanic Garden in Arcadia invites all to learn more than about "the subtle art of communication through flowers" on a night hike from 7:30 to 9 p.thou. Sabbatum; tickets cost $20 to $25. Annals hither.

Stars are seen in the night sky with boulders in silhouette below.

iv. Believe it or not, it's Milky Way flavour. Go come across it. NASA describes the Milky Manner every bit "a large barred screw galaxy" that "appears as a milky band of light in the heaven when you encounter information technology in a really dark expanse." At present that yous know what you're looking for, the next step is to know when and where to go to best meet the galaxy. Capture the Atlas says the sweet spot is betwixt midnight and 5 a.m. — and on nights with a new moon — from February to Oct. (The website has a downloadable Milky Way calendar for all-time viewing times in the Southwest.) Times Customs News photo editor Raul Roa got an early on jump with this photograph taken at Joshua Tree National Park in March. He prepare at i a.m. and started shooting photos around 3 a.m. when the Galaxy rose. Hither are tips on how to see and/or photograph the Milky way. Mark your calendar for the Dark Sky Festival on Sept. 22-23 at Heaven'southward the Limit Observatory in Twentynine Palms.

A couple of geese on the grassy shore of a lake that is surrounded by trees.

5. Take a gratis bird-watching walk with a pro. Leap is a special time for bird-watching, when migrating species swing through SoCal. The best style to acquire is to become with a guide. The Palos Verdes/Southward Bay Audubon Society is hosting a birding walk for kids and newcomers at Madrona Marsh in Torrance on Saturday, and a 2d walk at Ken Malloy Harbor Regional Park in Harbor City on April 3. Each event is express to 12 participants; register here. It's a adept opportunity to larn a new skill and to explore two little-visited parks.

Wild things

Three multicolored tropical fish swim against a black background.

The rose-veiled fairy wrasse (Cirrhilabrus finifenmaa) is having a moment. The rainbow-colored marvel that lives in the waters off the Maldives was once lumped in with a different fish. "What we previously thought was one widespread species of fish is really 2 different species, each with a potentially much more than restricted distribution," pb author and University of Sydney doctoral pupil Yi-Kai Tea said in a statement. The discovery is the first to be described by a Maldivian researcher, and "the first species to have its name derived from the local Dhivehi language, 'finifenmaa' significant 'rose,' a nod to both its pinkish hues and the island nation'south national flower," co-ordinate to a California University of Sciences news release. The San Francisco-based academy's Hope for Reefs program collaborated on the discovery with the University of Sydney, the Republic of the maldives Marine Research Institute and the Field Museum.

Three short palm trees with heavy trunks.

Soviet-era refugee Jenny Yurshansky has upended everything you think you know about "invasive" or "non-native plants." The Lincoln Heights creative person created a work that asks u.s. to encounter across what are sometimes "blacklisted" flora and instead think about the trauma of refugees arriving in countries with unrecognizable landscapes. The artist has produced a web-based sound guide that tells stories almost plants not typically found in California, like the Canary Island date palm. "These are the stories of generations of migrants," Times staff writer Deborah Vankin writes of Yurshansky'south work. "What these plants offer us reflects a landscape that is cultural as much every bit it is botanical, everything from humble weeds to deliberate landscaping. The experience is meant to familiarize the audience with these plants to better empathize the ways in which the landscape is not only botanical merely as well historical and cultural — the upshot of human settlement." Yous can heed to an audio tour that puts plants in context as role of Yurshansky's solo exhibition, "A Legacy of Loss: There Were No Roses In that location," on view at American Jewish University through May 12. Read the full story here.

The red flag

Two small vermin with chubby cheeks and long skinny tails.

Imagine losing 95% of your personal habitat (places where you could alive and thrive) in the last 30 years. That'south pretty much the plight of the San Bernardino kangaroo rat, so named because these 3-inch creatures hop like kangaroos. "Today, the rat exists in three isolated populations, one of the largest of which clings to existence on 5,000 acres of alluvial floodplains on the southern flanks of the San Bernardino Mountains," an Fifty.A. Times story says. Endangered species protections should aid, right? With a dwindling population and loopholes in the police, the outlook for the rat's future — and other species in the aforementioned gunkhole — isn't rosy.

P.S.

A person is dwarfed by intricately eroded boulders.

Did you know California has the oldest land park network in the U.S.? The first California Country Parks Week will showcase the bureau'south 279 sites with in-person and virtual events June xiv-18. Each day's activities carry a theme. June 18, for case, is Partnership/Volunteer 24-hour interval, which means you can help fix upward trails at Topanga Land Park in Topanga, restore dune areas at Carpinteria State Embankment in Carpinteria or clean up trails at San Onofre Country Beach in San Clemente. Go to the California State Parks Week website for a list of events. Along with the agency, State Parks Week is sponsored past Save the Redwoods League, Parks California and the California Country Parks Foundation.

"Agatha Christie, Monstera: a plant so large you can conceal a body in it!" illustration of woman hiding behind plant

Any flora with the word "monster" in its name gets my attention. I'm talking nigh the common philodendron chosen Monstera deliciosa, native to the tropical forests of southern Mexico — and enough of Angeleno homes. It's easy to grow, has enormous leaves and just might be Agatha Christie's houseplant of option (perfect identify to hibernate a dead body). That's the opinion of illustrator Kelsey Davenport, who paired authors with what she thinks may have been their favorite plants. Run across how many of these species you lot can find while visiting friends around SoCal.

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Click to view the web version of this newsletter and share information technology with others, and sign up to have it sent weekly to your inbox. I'm Mary Forgione, and I write The Wild. I've been exploring trails and open spaces in Southern California for iv decades.