There are limitless places that would be interesting to visit on this planet. I would personally like to go on an African safari to see elephants, rhinos and lions. There are astounding man-made pieces of history that I would like to see as well; the pyramids for example. There are countries and landscapes that I would like to see, like Ireland and Scotland. And then there are some odd and interesting places that would hold zero interest for the average person, but are strangely intriguing to me. These are places that I have read about that hold an inexplicable attraction to me. Well, maybe not inexplicable, but unusual anyway. I enjoy reading Nick Taggert’s Ohio County Trippin’ pieces here on Pencil Storm. Ohio County Trippin’ this is not. It’s the opposite of that.
I will confess right up front that two of the four places I am going to share are places that I find fascinating because I grew up skateboarding in the 70’s and 80’s and I still love it today. The other places may be slightly more universal in appeal…but probably not. My desire to visit these places may be downright odd to most people. To each his own as they say. These places are not in any particular order.
#1 THE GLORY HOLE AT LAKE BERRYESSA
Lake Berryessa is in Napa County, California and was formed on Putah Creek when the Monticello Dam was built in the 1950’s. Rather than have a standard spillway for overflow, Lake Berryessa has the Glory Hole, which is basically a large drain. When the lake water level gets so high as to reach flood conditions, the water simply falls into the Glory Hole and into a huge concrete pipe which has an elbow and an outflow into Putah Creek below. The Lake has only reached that level twenty-four times in all the years it has existed, but it would be cool to see. Only one person has ever died there—a woman who swam to it while it was actively flowing. It was believed to be suicide.
But it’s actually the outflow at the bottom that I am drawn to. And I don’t want to see it flowing, I want to see it dry. It’s a 28-foot concrete pipe that can be accessed if you do a little hiking and take a small boat or rubber dingy with you. Many have done just that in order to explore, or more appropriately, to ride their skateboards in the pipe. Once there, you can skate a fantastic full pipe right there at the mouth of the pipe on Putah Creek and venture no further. But if you have the guts to do so, you can walk into the dark pipe, all the way back to the aforementioned elbow, scale up into it as far as possible and take off for the run of a lifetime. I will let the photos tell the story…
The Glory Hole - draining.
The Glory Hole - dry.
The outlet pipe.
It’s a mammoth 28 feet in diameter.
Skating at the elbow
Nearing the end of the pipe on a ride that began at the elbow.
#2 THE SPIDER POOL RUINS
Like the previous place, you can read about this spot more on your own if you are so inclined, or just watch YouTube videos. I would say that of the four spots in this story, this one is the least likely to be accessible anymore. The pool is gone, but what remains amongst the ruins is the most iconic piece of its history. There was a retaining wall around the pool, a portion of which included a mosaic tile spider web with a spider in it. The story goes that there was a film director by the name of Jack McDermott, who was a writer and director of mostly silent films, and who was a true Hollywood eccentric. McDermott built a house, and this pool, in the Hollywood hills. The house was built by dragging old movie sets up the hill by donkey & cart and cobbling them together to build his residence, known as the Crazy House, which is also gone. The house was by all accounts extremely odd and unique in every way. It was also very remote. At the Crazy House, which featured tunnels and even a room with all the furniture affixed to the ceiling, McDermott threw huge, debaucherous Hollywood parties. At some point in its history, the Spider Pool became a prime spot for photo shoots, mostly of Hollywood women in (and most often out of) bikinis.
Somehow, the location of The Spider Pool has remained somewhat secret, although I am sure with some effort, it could be found (and it has been, by those who have tried hard enough). For some years in the early 2000’s, people who were lucky enough to determine its location made their way to what is left, but the area is entirely private property now. Those who have been there describe a very steep and treacherous hike, which leads me to wonder how all those Hollywood types accessed the property for those parties and photo shoots long ago.
I find the stories of the past, as well as the stories of the secrecy and remote location of the ruins to be fascinating. The iconic mosaic spider wall looks awesome. There are a lot of photos of models posing by the wall that appear to be recreating a photo of Tura Satana (who starred in the 1965 cult classic film “Faster Pussycat Kill Kill”). The Tura Satana photo is a nude photo however, so you’ll have to find that one yourself.
The Ruins of The Spider Pool.
A modern day model posing at the ruins.
A model by the pool, when it still existed
#3 MOUNT BALDY PIPELINE
Here’s a legendary skate spot that you have to have an adventurous spirit to ever even see, let alone experience riding. Mount Baldy is in an area that some call the Badlands. You’ll need to be prepared to do some hiking to get to the pipeline, and then some more hiking to get to the actual pipe. Oh yeah, and then once you get there, you have to do the “leap of faith” over a drop inlet with a ten-foot gap if you actually want to skate. There are plenty of YouTube videos if you really want to learn about Mount Baldy skate history. What I find intriguing is that you have to hike to a very long spillway, climb or cut through the fence, and then hike or skate a long distance in the spillway until you arrive at the pipe. The adventure, and my attraction, is as much in just getting there as it is in seeing this legendary spot.
The photo below is an iconic shot of Waldo Autry, who was undoubtedly one of the first, but not likely the first, to skate at Mount Baldy pipeline. This photo is from early in the 1970’s. The board he is riding is far more primitive than the high-tech equipment ridden today. That fact makes this photo all the more amazing to me. Take note of the pristine concrete, free of graffiti.
Waldo Autry at Mt. Baldy – early 1970’s.
…..and Baldy Pipe now.
The “leap of faith” at the mouth of the pipe. If you use the piece of wood to cross, you don’t have the guts needed to skate this pipe. The pipe is small at fifteen feet, and dark. Many a skateboard has gotten away and been lost in “the pit” I am sure.
#4 CENTRALIA, PENNSYLVANIA
This was known as Graffitti Highway. It is now covered in dirt.
Centralia, located in Columbia County, Pennsylvania, sits atop an underground anthracite coal seam that has been burning for more than six decades. The fire started in 1962 when a trash-burning operation spread into old mine tunnels. The town once had a population of over 1,000, but now is home to just five people as of 2020. There are only a few homes and a church still in existence there. It is estimated that the fire may continue to burn for another 100-250 years. There are places in the town where smoke billows up through the ground. I have always been intrigued by apocalyptic stories and the idea of wandering about and exploring abandoned places. Thus my interest in visiting this town.
I hope some Pencilstorm readers will get some enjoyment from learning about these somewhat mysterious places. I’m not sure what intrigues me more, the wild stories of the things that have occurred at these places or just the challenge and adventure of finding and accessing them. I think it is the latter. Either way, I think they make a great bucket list. But that’s just me.
JCE, or John to his friends, is 63 years old and lives happily in rural VA about an hour and half outside of D.C. His wife of 35 years says he’ll never grow up, and she’s exactly right. He attributes that to his lifelong love affair with all things rock n roll and skateboarding. He’s a fairly normal guy who takes normal family vacations, but there are some crazy offbeat places that he feels compelled to see.