Nature Says Stop
My folks are in town these days and when I am not crushed under the weight of my overbearing job I try to show them around the Bay Area. This Saturday we went to Big Basin State Park to show my brother the redwoods. The weather was inclement the entire time my father was in town so we tried to take advantage of the quick break in the clouds.
My cat herding skills are not quite what they used to be and by the time I managed to shepherd everyone out of the door, the clouds had gathered again. By the time we got to Los Gatos we were sitting on the fence about going forward. I'd had a nasty incident driving my mom in the rain once (a microburst over Phoenix) and this has colored her impressions of me behind the wheel. We forged ahead anyway and found ourselves driving through misty hillside roads that were only missing a band of proud silverbacks to make it all complete - that and a machete wielding poacher or two, but you get the idea.
The mist alternated with rain as we found our way to the rear entrance to the park. About a mile in we pulled over at a clearing I like and got out of the car. By then it was raining fairly steadily, but none of it was reaching the ground at all. The canopy was deflecting most of it and as we stepped through the soft cushion of pine needles I reflected on how amazing it all was. That we could walk around in the rain and stay bone dry, washed only by the sound of the wind and the raindrops hitting the foliage at treetop level. But I'm waxing lyrical ... and that's not the tone we're trying to set here.
As we walked around, I saw a brightly colored spot on a fallen branch. Upon closer inspection it seemed to be a slimy, unpeeled banana clinging to a branch. It was actually a banana slug! I had only ever seen them on John Travolta's tee-shirt in Pulp Fiction, and had no idea they were real creatures. And what vile creatures they are, orange-yellow, and glistening, a cross between a banana and the Devil's phlegm. I couldn't figure out the head from the tail, but after staring at it for a few minutes I turned away, only turning back to yell at my brother to stop poking the damned thing with a stick. We're city kids, is the only excuse I can come up with.
There's only so much tromping about in the woods in the rain (albeit rain not getting to us) and cold, and after an hour or so we turned around and drove back. Predictably the sun came out as soon as we were close to civilization, another message from the Great Chicken that this family vacation will be spent indoors staring at one another forlornly. Who am I to question the will of the Great Chicken?
Comments
My first foray into the blogsphere. I don't understand why it's such a big deal yet, I'm counting on Mo to prove they're worthwhile. No Pressure. Anyway, Katie and I went to the Bay Trail at Baylands Park in Sunnyvale this last weekend (Jan 8), and while it wasn't raining, it did turn out to be a better than expected tour of the Sunnyvale landfill/wastewater treatment/recycing centers than we were expecting. Usually I'm used to be the most sulpherous activity in an area, but was overwhelmed by the landfill. Believe it or not you can actually hike to the top of it for a nice view of the bay.
Posted by: B_Cleereman | January 9, 2006 10:00 AM
Giant slugs are wicked cool! I saw one on a hike somewhere (I think it was on Vancouver Island...) and had to stop for a while to watch it.
Posted by: Nikki | January 9, 2006 10:49 AM
Well Brian, the "big deal" really depends on the blog. Some people's blogs are actually brilliantly prescient, some are ironic and funny, and some just suck. Let's hope I'm not one of the latter.
My only question is who ended up resuscitating you guys when the fumes from the Bay overwhelmed you?
Posted by: Lo Fat Mo | January 9, 2006 11:36 AM
Slugs are by far the most distugsting substance I've ever had the displeasure of stepping in/on (and this includes but is not limited to dog poo). They squish between the toes and that slime doesn't wash off easily... ugh, I'm getting grossed out just thinking about it.
Posted by: -g | January 9, 2006 1:07 PM
Yeah we were fascinated/horrified by the thing and the slimy trail it left behind it. The lesson to be learned is to never walk around barefoot if you can at all help it, especially in "the woods".
Posted by: Lo Fat Mo | January 9, 2006 1:29 PM
There are natural parings in this world: Men and women, carrots and ranch, ants and aphids... Slugs and salt. It's wicked the way they'll fizz and shrivle!
You know, just in case you wanted to make banana slugs any grosser.
Posted by: Alex | January 10, 2006 7:47 AM
They are nasty critters. It makes you re-appreciate the UCSC mascot choice and their lack of organized competitive sports. When I went to camp as a kid, I saw a kid eat one on a dare. I was never the same.
Posted by: phatmunkay | February 8, 2006 2:21 PM
Holy crap, that's terrible! Eating one of those things? Jeez!
Posted by: Lo Fat Mo | February 8, 2006 7:50 PM