Ever have gooey mud from the bottom of a river bed ooze through your toes as one gets thrown off of a plank or in our case, a 10 foot long surfboard? YUCK is the only word that comes to mind. Hello, When we were in the last years of our teenage experiences, it was established that we had done quite a few things available to us in So Cal. Obviously, surfing all over So Cal coastlines and into Baja, Mexico. Snow ski up in the local mountains during the winters and within a few months, experienced the long, dusty, 45-50 miles of desert paths out in the Mojave Desert motorcycle racing layout. The one thing we planned was the late Summer water ski trip to the Colorado River just below the Parker Dam area. But, before we could go to the clear water river area below the Parker, Arizona dam, the owner of the Ford V8 powered 18 foot Howard Hull boat wanted to see if I could water ski on a surfboard. So, we all met at the Long Beach Harbor West end. There the Queen Mary had arrived and was permanently docked behind a rocky enclosure and protected from all incoming tides and power boats, zipping by at high speed. The area is also the “end of the road” for the long and winding Los Angeles River. The river starts at the base of the foothill far inland and winds through the whole central Los Angeles area to head for the ocean. Before there were houses, the history of the area was a large flood plain, similar to the early Mississippi River. Narrow at the beginning and wide spread at the ocean outlet as that was the way nature made rivers empty into oceans. So, as the years rolled on in history, the L.A. River flooded during the heavy rains and the whole basin was rich with mud as it spread its fingers wide, heading for the ocean in Long Beach. Where our house was on the Westside of Long Beach, history pointed out that it was a total muddy plain before highways, bridges and homes were even considered. That is why our mom’s backyard was so rich with nutrients that anything she planted, grew with a flourish within days. The soil was dark and rich from the old history of the area. Not like our clay, rock strewn hard dirt of the South Coast backyards of today. Jnaki The friend with the Ford powered ski boat set up his boat and we were waiting with our longboards at the water’s edge in the Flathead 40 Ford Sedan Delivery. The view was the Queen Mary across the water and the L.A. River emptying into the large salt water bay/outlet to the ocean. The easiest way was to head for the Queen Mary and it was a simple… stand on the middle of the longboard and get pulled to a tilting board sticking up in the air. So, a simple walk to the nose or planning area was necessary to bring the nose of the board down. towards the Los Angeles River Now, as the wide area allowed sweeping turns, we headed back towards the rivermouth. The driver wanted to see how far back up the river we could go. From the Ocean Blvd Bridge back towards our own Westside of Long Beach house was a couple of other bridges and the water was flush covering the normally exposed white sand bottom from our PCH area toward the ocean. As the boat accelerated, the planning position was perfect for me. Up out of the water and moving behind the guys in the power boat. The first bridge was nothing as we continued to the next. It was medium to high tide and we did not know how far back we could go. So, as the power boat began to catch on something sporadically, the owner decided to turn around and head back to deeper water. The signal was given and we started our circle move to turn around. The power boat blasted around and now I was swinging around in a circle at speed. But, half way around the arc, I found myself flying through the air hanging on to the ropes. The power boat blasted through some shallow muddy areas and was in a direct angle headed to the ocean. I was now being tossed into the L.A. River waters, hitting the water with my face first splash. Ha! It was the worst feeling of hitting the awful color water and in an instant, my hands/arms were out in front trying to protect me from going deep. As it came to a stop, I was in two feet of water and the dark muddy ooze was squeezing through my toes. A big YUCK!!! My feet were below the level of the mud on the bottom and felt awful. Despite the rounds of laughter coming from the powerboat, they all got the finger of fate and laughter continued for several minutes. I was standing up covered from head to the water with dark muddy ooze. Another bigger YUCK!!! There was nothing I could do except to wash myself off with the strange water and get going on the surfboard headed for the harbor docks. The wide surfboard was easy to stand up and ride versus the narrow single water ski board. So, there was that…YRMV Yes, I had to take a "hose off shower" afterwards at the ramp area, as I did not want to get the inside of the flathead 40 Ford Sedan Delivery smelly. The trunks also got the full blast of the hose spray. All the way home, I kept thinking I still had the L.A. River aroma... even after a soapy shower and clean clothes. It must have permeated my senses into thinking of that black "gooey" mucky smelly muddy bottom.
The Jalopy Journal
