Bridge Night

One night each year, Pasadena Heritage invites everyone in town over for bridge. Colorado Street Bridge, that is. They shut down traffic and from dusk 'til long after dark, Pasadena parties all across its favorite icon.

There's food, entertainment, more food...John and I first walked from one end of the bridge to the other (as did many people) to case the joint first and see what our choices were. We settled on beer from the Craftsman Brewing Company, which was so delicious that—well, let's just say "settled" is absolutely the wrong word; and barbecued pork sandwiches from Big Mama's Rib Shack, which were so delicious that—well, let's just say now I know why Mama is so big.

Various local organizations were there to show off not only what they do but what they contribute to Pasadena. We visited the Pasadena Heritage booth to thank them for the party. They've been instrumental in helping to preserve much of Pasadena's heritage, including important structures such as the Herkimer Arms and the very bridge on which we were standing. We even stopped by to visit our favorite heroes at the Altadena Mountain Rescue Team booth, which was being personned by the very team member who experienced her first rappel while I photographed it July 10th.

I'm not sure who worked harder last night: the barbecue servers or the guys pouring the beer or the security guards or the musicians or the volunteers from various organizations. But they all made it a great evening for those of us who didn't do a darned thing but enjoy it.

Hey! There's a new blog in town. Check out Laurie Allee's Glimpses of South Pasadena. A beautiful addition to the SGV blog family.

Dam Rappelling

It's not every day I find the Altadena Mountain Rescue Rescue Team rappelling from the Devil's Gate Dam. But there they were Wednesday as twilight was coming on.

I let them rappel (wasn't that nice of me?) and they let me take photos. When they were finished, they answered my questions. I hadn't known before that to become a member of the Altadena Mountain Rescue Team you must first become a Los Angeles County Sheriff's deputy as well as an EMT.

Wow. I'd heard it was an all-volunteer organization, but let's be clear: these guys are volunteer heroes.

And not just guys. The deputy leaning over the dam is a woman, and so is the trainee in this photo. It was her first rappel ever, and she was already a pro.

The Altadena Mountain Rescue Team has its own website at amrt.org, but I couldn't get it to load. How much does that matter? Do they have to be techies when they've got so much else going for them?

You can see a cool rappel from a helicopter in this video of the Rescue Team.
I shot the trainee's full rappel, and those photos are at Overdog.