Wednesday, December 19, 2007

A Free Golf Course-Frisbee Golf/Oak Grove Park

Here's a groovy way to spend a Saturday (or any day laden with the "rat race stress")...go to Hahamonga Watershed Park (formerly Oak Grove Park)...just south of JPL/NASA off Berkshire Drive La Canada Flintridge. One throws a long range, mid range, and putter frisbee into a chained basket...trying to lower the number of throws. There's 18 holes here in a beautiful pacific live oak laden park near the Arroyo Seco (and Devil's Gate Dam). Excellent hiking trails around the area as well and great for dogs.

This started originally by a JPL enginer in the early 70s. Originally all you had to do was throw the frisbee and hit the pole. By the late 70s it was hit the pole. Soon they devised a chain link basket to throw the frisbee into. Yours truly has done this here since 1981 and even had one "hole in one" in 1985. Had a tonne of hole in twos and thousands of hole in 3s.

Many wanabee hippies (a few real from the Era) and vagabonds in the park/many generational X and a few generation Y...but they are friendly and M gets there every Saturday morning in the white van to sell the best frisbees or $1 rentals for a few hours.

Even small red lights can be attached the frisbee for night playing. Great stuff and a very beautiful and generally serene setting near the mego mego megopolis.

Great hiking trails around the Arroyo...EG to Devil's Gate Dam; El Prieto Canyon [someone left a doobie there!]; Millard Canyon; Bear Canyon; Brown Mountain; Switzers; Gabrieleno National Recreation Trail; and so on. Saw my first live mountain lion here in 2001. A big cat to over 250 pounds and 8 feet long. On the dam many mud swallow nest in the dam and dart 100 feet down to feed. Night time the dam bats come out...sometimes to the tens and hundreds. Many frogs/toads in the canyon beginning in June. Owls at night. And many "Nuttals Woodpecker" heard in the day time over here. Great area to watch wildlife and watch the flora and fauna change over time. (more flora and fauna soon)

2 comments:

Anonymous said...

This sounds great. Thank you!

theridion said...

Your welcome...this is a "spiritual" game with the frisbee...and the park setting is very inviting and essentially unchanged...there's a big grassy area near the baseball corner...great for throwing to dogs!