March 17 - Hiking Club in Solstice Canyon, Malibu

Looking downcanyon

We were out for an 8-mile hike on the first sunny day after a week or so of intermittent storms.

 Solstice Canyon once was a ranch, but the area burned out in 1982, and the family sold or donated it to the Santa Monica Mountains Conservancy. They had a really nice home in the canyon, next to a waterfall and surrounded by tropical trees they planted.

Malibu coastline and LA

The view of Santa Monica Bay is superb from the hike's high point, a thousand feet above the ocean.  Those big houses are owned by movie stars, including Charles Nelson Reilly, Larry "Bud" Melman, and Mister Ed.

Santa Catalina Island, 44 mi offshore

Point Dume jutting out from the Malibu coastline

February 24 Hiking Club in Downtown LA

The art deco LA City Library, against a backdrop of office buildings from the last 50 years, including the newly built, spired Wilshire Grand Center in back

The 73-story US Bank Tower, center, is the tallest habitable building in LA

On Broadway: the Orpheum Theater and the art deco Eastern Building

We had a group of 21 on this year's LA Conservancy guided tour.  This year it was the art deco buildings tour, and though we saw a dozen great examples, it was such a great day for picturetaking that I'm posting some of the other buildings. Our 'urban canyon' hikes every February are some of our funnest outings.