Missed Mythbusters, perused Patchen, bringing Bloggy back, hit-and-helps

Posted on March 14, 2010 by Kris Nelson

Chris and I missed Mythbusters Jamie Hyneman and Adam Savage’s lecture in Palo Alto at Cubberley on Saturday (topics: Are elephants truly scared of mice? Can your trousers spontaneously combust? Can a person actually hold on to the hood of a speeding car?), but we finally* got out to ghost town Patchen while exploring the Santa Cruz mountains.

We only photographed the monument (CA Historical Site marker #448) and a cool old abandoned car this time around. The Christmas Tree Ranch on land that was purchased to protect the town site from development is right across the street and we may check that out when it’s open because its founders are awesome; they cared enough to preserve a whole town.

We’re loving our camera revival (cellphone pics got a little lame too quickly for me… call me old-fashioned), so be prepared for things to turn a little photo-bloggy on the weekend. Maybe it’ll inspire or help Bay Area-ites (or wherever we wind up) find some cool places to explore. I also have a backlog of restaurant reviews coming up, so you can get your nomnoms on.

*Our last outing to find ghost towns in that area was thwarted by some utterly thoughtless a-hole who ran over a young cat. When Chris and I saw the poor bloody kitty, we couldn’t believe it was still alive and moving, trying to drag the deadweight lower half of its body to the road’s shoulder. Chris swept it up in his jacket, cradling it as I frantically drove them to a neighboring farm to quickly ask if the cat was theirs. No one claimed it, so I frantically drove to the closest clinic, led by an awesome woman who offered assistance when she saw us in the middle of the road. No one could help it there, as it was the weekend skeleton crew, so I frantically drove to the next closest clinic (frantically driving on Hwy 17 is suicidal; Chris’ friend actually flipped his car completely over), where they eventually euthanized the kitty.

Over the years, Chris and I have taken little mammals and avian buddies we find in the road to clinics, and I just can’t understand how someone can strike an animal and run away. We even caught a neighbor scooting hurriedly away after inspecting his bumper and watching the animal flail around for a while. It’s the cowardice side of flight-or-flight, psychologically, I know, but doesn’t it all boil down to indifference? Because it’s “just an animal”, is it okay to allow it to writhe in pain for hours? Where’s the compassion? Where’s the mutual respect for Nature? Where’s the general morality? Some people actually take pride in accruing roadkill. Sick. Save it for Grand Theft Auto, right?

For now, I’ll hope for a future where, instead of hit-and-runs, there will be hit-and-helps.

Cubberley Community Center — Palo Alto, CA

Patchen, ghost town — Santa Cruz, CA