80 Miles....1 Day.....10 dollars....

Go Metro! I started off the day with $10, two bottles of water, half a bag of chex mix, an apple, my binoculars, field guide, and a pocket knife. That's really just about all you need for a birding adventure. I left my house at 5:00am with only a general idea of where I was going (I didn't exactly do my research this time). The main goal of this trip was to reach Franklin Canyon Park in Beverly Hills (a photographer friend of mines recommended the place) only using a metro day pass($6). It was 5:30am and I was waiting for my second bus in near darkness, this bus was heading towards west Hollywood (that's close to beverly hills right?). Finally I got on and shortly after a talkative hobo got on and picked the seat right across from me, and he talked nonstop for the hour long bus ride. Man was I glad to get off that bus. Two buses and a fair amount of confusion later I was at the base of beverly hills drive. One bad thing about Beverly Hills......there are hardly any buses. I was kind of lost at first, so I asked a taxi driver where Franklin Canyon Park was. He told me it was all the way up beverly hills drive and that he could drive me for $40. I told him I was walking *laughter* and he wished me luck.

a weird thing i do......eat apples when
I'm lost

made it!

So i began that grueling six mile hike up beverly hill drive.....and it's not really the fact that the hills are kind of steep that bugs me, or even the six miles. The thing that really bugged me was the lack of sidewalks, the HUGE houses, and just feeling completely out of place, not to mention the confusing streets....

silver fire hydrants? I'm definitely not
in Kansas anymore......

modern sculpture thing in a park...
its pretty cool i guess

So yeah....halfway through this thing I run into this little park next to a preschool. Why this park called my attention? First thing I saw was a white winged dove fly onto a streetlight-a new bird for me. I mean...i guess it's normal for the area, but at the moment I was freaking out. I decided to stick around and see what else I could find. 

spotted towhee

dark eyed junco (Oregon)

lesser goldfinch

Only the junco and the dove were new to me, and this was the first time I've seen a towhee out in the open. It was time to get moving. Just as I was starting to lose hope (it was a LONG walk), I finally saw the sign. I was finally there.





Finally!



I'm Here!



Now that I was here....I wasn't exactly sure where to go. My friend gave me a list of birds that I could find here, but the place was HUGE, and I had no idea where to start. The first trail I went on was incredibly steep and ended up nowhere. I decided to head back, but on my way down I heard some weird noises....







First and last quail (California)
I saw that day....

So I eventually decided to take the main trails instead of risking getting lost. I eventually found this small lake and saw some pretty cool things there.



male wood duck



california thrasher



acorn woodpecker



Also seen around this area was a mnt. Chickadee, which was basically the reason why I came here In the first place. It was a pretty awesome day and I decided to go for a nice hike away from the main trail.

trying not to get lost.....

red tails flying overhead












beautiful day in February

So yeah...that's basically Franklin Canyon Park to you. It was getting kind of late (1pm lol) and I decided to head back in case I got lost on my way back.....

and lost I became -_-

I ended up spending the last of my money on a vanilla bean frappuccino at some Starbucks, near some airport, in the middle of nowhere. I eventually asked some guy to see if he could find directions for me on his laptop. He told me to take the metro green line south, and get off at harbor freeway station. I thanked him, and went on my way. Only one problem...I had no idea how to take a metro rail. I was freaking out every little step of the way and almost took the rail in the wrong direction.


it felt so weird being up there....

freeway

I finally made it home just before dark, just an hour after i boarded the first rail, and I was tired! Then the exact moment i lied down on my bed I received a phone call. It was my best friend inviting me to the beach. I said....and I quote,"FUCK YEAH I WANNA GO TO THE BEACH!"

even the graffiti in beverly hills is nice.....