Above is Part II of the P*Land Blazes video, featuring the P*Land crew skating our first pool at Mountain High Lodge in Wrightwood. Diane Engels was skating with us some in those days. She was a really hot skater from Wrightwood who had skated pools before. She's definitively shredding everybody else in this video.
We had to climb up the side of the mountain to get to pool from the back, so nobody from Mountain High would see us come through the parking lot. If I remember right, we could only skate the pool on Sundays because we knew that was the day off for Mountain High security. I brought my 8-track player and played Hendrix's Crash Landing album over and over while we skated and I will forever associate that album with the pool.
Skating a pool for the first time was almost a sacred experience for me. Although the Mountain High pool was really smooth, fast, and pure, it was also a little too small to skate and it was hard to find very many good lines to take. It would be a couple of years before P*Landers really dominated a pool, when the younger generation would discover a perfect keyhole pool at the site of an abandoned motel on Route 66 in Adelanto. I wonder if any pictures exist of that place?
See the comments for more details.
Sunday, February 25, 2007
P*Land Blazes - Part II
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Boy, this video really takes me back. Makes me homesick for a time when none of us had anything except imagination and a sense of adventure...I'll be in Phelan on March 16th. Where was that motel? I'll try to check it out altho I can't imagine why it would still be there! Thanks, Aaron...
ReplyDeleteP*Land Blazes
ReplyDeletePart 2: The P*Land crew (with special guest skater Diane Engels) skate our first pool at Mountain High Lodge, Wrightwood Calif. (circa 1979).
Skaters (in order of appearance)
*Tony Elfering (red trunks)
*Diane Engels (yellow bandana, striped tank top)
*Sol Gallegos (incredibly rad P*shorts, the official shorts of the P*Boyz)
*Aaron Gallegos (white bandana, tan trunks, awesome hot young bronze body)
Originally shot on Super 8 film by Vince DeMaio.
Transfered to video and music added by the same ambitious tech guy that did the first part.
Both Part I and Part II were transfered to digital by filmmaker Sheldon Norton.
I personally added the high-end studio effects to Part II that bring this film from 1979 right up to 1981.
Aaron Gallegos.."Hot,young, bronze body" OH MY!!! Behave!!! I love it!
ReplyDeletehey awesome hot young bronze body dude, this is great footage but I don't remember that pool, I don't think I was ever there. You said mt.high lodge-where was that? I know there used to be a pool on the main street of our little town-is it that one? or near mt.high ski area? now of course mt.high is mt.high west, holiday hill is mt.high east and ski sunrise sadly just became mt.high north (sledding area).Thanks for posting that little piece of history. Peace, Sharon.
ReplyDeleteHi Sharon,
ReplyDeleteThere was a lodge where Mt. High West now is, and the pool was out front. I heard they buried the pool the year after we skated it.
One summer I worked at the lodge at night after I got off at Smith's Market, washing dishes for a Transcendental Meditation conference from LA...that was one weird experience, but I'll have to save the story for another blog entry!
It's strange you just posted here, because I was JUST thinking of you and feeling appreciation that you were there with me in those years.
Peace!
hey, I asked Mark McCormick about the pool and he remembers it. After he told me where he thought it was located it spurred my memory of it because you were right about being filled in soon after. I also have very fond memories of that time in my life and am glad I shared them with you and Mickey and the others from the area. I had tons of fun in those days. Do you remember the time we were supposed to hop the train down in Cajon with my dad and Greg? We SO could have a got on a few times and it ended up being my dad that held us back. I remember my mom waiting up on old route 66 in that cadillac coupe de ville. She was supposed to go home and wait for the phone call from where ever we ended up. What a crack up! I also remember some pretty infamous desert parties, quite a few at Calvin's out on Goss Rd. Good times! peace, Sharon
ReplyDelete