Social+Activities

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Group Dinner on Thursday December 12
Destination: [|Del Pueblo Cafe], an authentic Mexican restaurant conveniently located in Goleta, on the east side of the Magnolia Shopping center.

Address: 5134 Hollister Ave, Goleta Phone: 805-692-8800

We will meet at the KITP's front entrance at **6:15pm.** We have a reservation to start at 6:30 pm. Please indicate below if you are coming (include guests in the count) and if you need a ride.


 * LIST:**

Greg Huber (I have a car and can take 3 others) Chris Johnson (need a lift) Keld (I have a car and can take 3) Michael (I need a lift) Alberto (I have a car and can take 3 others) Marco Colombini (I have a car and can take 3 others in any place BUT the Spring Cold Tavern - Was it the Cold Spring Tavern, maybe? I need to check on my GPS :-)) Kumaran (I live nearby, will come directly to cafe at 6:30) Haim (I will go directly to the restaurant at 6:30) Greg Bewley (need a lift) Diego, Daniela and Matteo (7 weeks old) (we have a car and can take one more) Alexandre (need a lift) Jim McElwaine (I have a car and can take 3) Klaus Kroy (car can take 3) Pascal Dupont (can ride my bike, but...) Marc Laemmel (need a ride) Joshua Caplan (need a lift) Jim Jenkins and Kathy Kelly (room for three, Kavli at 6:15 pm) Nicolas Le Dantec +1 friend (who has a car and can take 2) Jan-Thomas (need a ride) Nathalie, Mark, Tim and Ben (sorry, car is full!)

Areas in Southern California with a particle interest
With the long weekend coming up, you may be interested in taking a roadtrip to some interesting places in Southern California. I am listing some specific places below, please familiarize and investigate yourself the local road and weather conditions before you head out!

Eureka Sand Dunes -- one of the famous booming dunes
Eureka dunes (latitude 37◦ 07' N, longitude 117◦41′ W) are situated in Eureka Valley in the northern part of Death Valley National Park in California, USA. The highest peak of the Eureka Dune system rises about 200 meters above the surrounding valley floor. The expanse features linear and star dunes and on its top peaks one can create the so-called "booming sounds" when sliding on a slope at the angle of repose.

Description of journey
As the connection road (eastern Big Pine Road) between Ubehebe Crater and Eureka Dunes is closed for an indeterminate time (November 2013) due to wash-outs, the only approach road is via Big Pine and the western portion of the Big Pine Road. The one-way trip from Big Pine to Eureka Dunes is 50 miles and 2 h, 15m over mainly paved roads, but the last section features some (9 and then 12 miles) unpaved, gravel-topped road.

Route
From Big Pine, head north on the US395 and turn right at the CA168. After 2.3 miles, turn right on the Death Valley/Waucoba Road. This road twists and turns into Eureka Valley, and after 36,5 miles, when you are in the middle of Eureka Valley, turn right on the South Eureka Road. After another 10 miles, you reach Eureka Dunes Dry Camp. There are no facilities or running water here, just a pit toilet in a varying state of cleanliness. Please note, do not follow the road south passed Eureka dunes to access the rest of Death Valley, as this road is currently closed and in usual conditions is only suitable for experienced 4WD drivers.

Preparation
As is expected, travel in the desert can be dangerous with the incorrect preparations. Please, do take several liters, if not gallons, of water with you in the car when you venture out and be prepared to spend the night in the worse case. Traffic is low in this edge of Death Valley and cell phone coverage is poor. If you decided to climb the dunes to the top (approximately 1 hour across ridges), take at least 2 liters of water a person with you and try to avoid the heat of the day (12 - 4pm). Even in the winter time, temperatures in Death Valley can be soaring.

Science
If you are interested in learning more about the booming dunes, I can recommended reading the following papers:
 * Vriend et al., GJI, 2012: [|"Sedimentary structure of large sand dunes: examples from Dumont and Eureka dunes"]
 * Hunt and Vriend, Annual Review of Earth and Planetary Sciences, 2010: [|"Booming Sand Dunes"]
 * Vriend et al., GRL, 2007: [|"Solving the Mystery of Booming Sand Dunes"]

Racetrack Playa -- the sailing stones across a dry lakebed
The Racetrack Playa (approximately 36.6813°N 117.5627°W) in Death Valley National Park in California, USA is an extremely flat (4 cm elevation change over 4,5 km length, according to Wikipedia) dry lake in the mid-Northern part of Death Valley National Park. The surface of the playa in covered in dried mud for most of the year, forming regular polygons and giving the area a rather out-of-earth atmosphere. The playa features the sailing stones, where visible tracks are carved during rare events that can either be straight or curved. Along the way one passes Ubehebe Crater, which is a large (1 km diameter) implosive volcano crater -- it is difficult to appreciate scale when standing at the edge!

Description of journey
As the connection road (eastern Big Pine Road) between Ubehebe Crater and Eureka Dunes is closed for an indeterminate time (November 2013) due to wash-outs, one cannot easily combine the Racetrack and Eureka dunes in one trip without making a large detour outside of the national park. The easiest route is to go from Furnace Creek north to Ubehebe Crater (57 miles, 1 h, 15 min) and then continue over a rough dirt road to the Racetrack Playa (27 miles, 1 h, 45 min). Please note that the later part is very rough, punctures occur frequently due to the sharp, irregular stones on the road.

Route
From Furnace Creek, head north on CA190 and then turn right (it is in direction more straightforward!) north to Scottys Castle Road. Turn left on Ubehebe Crater Road for 5.6 miles and take the 1st right onto Racetrack Valley Road for 26 miles.The Racetrack will be on your left, with various spots to stop and take a stroll. Please note that the southern continuation of the road passed Racetrack Playa is rough, may or may not be open and requires 4WD.

Science
If you are interested in learning more about the sailing stones, Bob Sharp from Caltech produced some interesting papers about 30 years ago. He marked the stones and observed their tracks for a long time. Examples of his papers include:
 * Sharp, R.P.; Carey D.L. (1976). "Sliding stones, Racetrack Playa, California". //Bulletin of the Geological Society of America// **87** (12): 1704–1717.
 * Sharp, R.P.; Carey, D.L., Reid, J.B., Jr., Polissar, P.J., and Williams, M.L. (1996). "Sliding rocks at the Racetrack, Death Valley: What makes them move? Discussion and Reply". //Geology// **25**: 766–767.

Blackhawk landslide -- large prehistoric landslide spreading across 8 km
The Blackhawk landslide (approximately 34°24'35"N, 116°47'9"W) is a large granular slide in Lucerne Valley that originated from the northern slopes of the San Bernardino Mountains and occurred approximately 17,400 years ago. It is locally the largest landslide that one can observe, and the runout is approximately 8 by 3 km. Noteworthy is that the local slope in the runout zone is only a few degrees and that estimates guess that obtained slide velocities may have exceeded 250 km/h.

Route
From Barstow, take the 247 south or from Victorville take the 18 east to Lucerne Valley. In Lucerne Valley, continue on the 247 east (Old Woman Springs Road) for another 10 miles, until one sees the Blackhawk Slide on the right hand side of the road. The slide could be approached by foot from the 247 (approximately 200 m), or one can turn right into Santa Fe Fire Road (paved/unpaved?) which leads directly to the deposit.

Science
If you are interested in reading some scientific material on the Blackhawk slide, a good starting point is:
 * Shreve, Ronald L., 1987, Blackhawk Landslide, southwestern San Bernardino County, California, Geological Society of America Centennial Field Guide.
 * Shreve, Ronald Lee (1959) //Geology and mechanics of the Blackhawk landslide, Lucerne Valley, California.// Dissertation (Ph.D.), California Institute of Technology.
 * Friedmann, S.J., Kwon, G. and Losert, W. (2003), Granular Memory and its effect on the triggering and distribution of rock avalanche events, JGR 108

Group Dinner on Friday November 22 -- Vietnamese
Destination: Saigon Vietnamese Restaurant in Santa-Barbara, 1230 State Street

We will meet at the KITP's main entrance at 6:15pm. We have a reservation dinner to start at 6:45 pm. Please indicate below if you are coming (include guest in the count) and if you need a drive.

Alexandre (have a car and can take 4 passengers) Chris (need a ride) Rama (need a ride) Nathalie (+3 guests (including one highchair please), we will transport ourselves and don't have seats left, unfortunately). Michael (need a ride) Diego + Daniela + space for 1 infant (I can drive 1 person) Andrew (I have a compact car - perhaps I could take 4 passengers, though 3 would fit in more easily) Luigi (need a ride) Nico (need a ride) Jan-Thomas (need a ride) Marc (need a ride) Dieter (need a ride) Greg Huber (i have a car, and can i can provide 3 additional seats -- 4 additional, if some passengers are skinny) Jim McElwaine car + 3 seats
 * LIST:**

Halloween night -- Thursday, October 31st
Destination: Woodstock's Pizza IV in Isla Vista 928 Embarcadero Del Norte

The restaurant is located in Isla Vista, 20mm walk from KITP or 10mm bike ride. We will meet at the KITP's main entrance at 5:45pm. We have a reservation dinner to start at 6:15pm. Costumes are optional but recommended.

Please indicate below if you are coming and include guest in the count.

Jim Jenkins Alexandre Valance Chris Johnson Ahmed Ould El Moctar Luc Oger Marc Laemmel Michele Larcher
 * LIST:**



**SANTA BARBARA CENTURY BIKE RIDE**

 * Saturday, October 19**

Here is more information on the bike ride: [|Santa Barbara Century]

The ride starts and ends near the beach in Santa Barbara. We could do the 100 mile or the 100 km version. The registration fee is $85. It would be excellent to get a number of Geoflows participants together for this, and to ride as a group.

//**LIST**// Eckart Meiburg Dieter Issler (100 km) Alfredo Soldati (100 km) Alexandre Valance (100 km) Joris Eggenhuisen (100 km)



=Soccer game Geoflows-Spintronics 3 - 1= Scores: Chauchat, Meiburg, Valance for Geoflows

4:00pm at Goleta Beach, Area D Please sign up below if you are interested in participating to the game against the spintronics guys.
 * Wednesday October 16,**


 * Team manager:** Luigi La Ragione

Alexandre Valance Julien Chauchat Eckart Meiburg Dieter Issler Marc Laemmel Alfredo Soldati Carlo Daan Edward Sjoerd
 * Participants**

[|Klaus' photos of the winner team]

[|Luc's photo of the team before and during the match]

=Area Restaurants=
 * Arnoldi's Cafe** - Little Italian restaurant in historic stone building from 1930's with seating and bocce ball out back.
 * Beachside Bar & Cafe,** down the hill from KITP overlooking Goleta beach.
 * The Boathouse** - Seafood place right on Hendry's beach. Great weekend brunch.
 * Brewhouse** - Pretty much what you expect - beer and hearty food. For large groups, they require a pre-selected menu with only 4 entree choices.
 * Carlitos** - Nice Mexican restaurant on State Street.
 * Edomasa** - Sushi.
 * Olio Pizzeria** - Highest rated pizza place in town, but kind of pricey (up to $20 for individual pie).
 * Opal** - California/Fusion.
 * Trattoria Vittoria** - Italian. Will only take large groups either early (before 5:30) or late (after 8:00).
 * MORE**

=Beach Barbecue= Goleta Beach, a short walk from KITP, has barbecue pits that you can use. Reservations are usually not required unless you have a very large group and need a certain area. Please note: **beach bonfires** **are not permitted** anywhere in Santa Barbara County. (They are only permitted in certain places anywhere in California.)

=Hiking around Santa Barbara= > Hiking info from atomixrays10. > Sedgwick Reserve, a part of the UC Natural Reserve System, offers public hikes mornings on the second Saturday of each month from fall to late spring, weather permitting. Located in the Santa Ynez Valley, you may choose your degree of difficulty (easy, moderate, or strenuous.) You must register in advance online. This Reserve is unique also as it is the site of the Byrne Observatory, housing a 0.8m telescope, one of those in the Las Cumbres Observatory Global Telescope Network.

=Local Events=

1st Thursday
> Visit more than 30 art venues, talk with artists, view exhibits, listen to live music, and create art yourself. Downtown S.B. will once again open its doors to the public with 1st Thursday, a celebration of arts and culture. You are sure to find an evening full of entertainment as you visit over 30 art venues to talk with artists, watch demonstrations, view exhibits, listen to live music, and create a little art yourself.

Taste of Milpas, Saturday September 28th
A food, live music and arts festival downtown Santa-Barbara on Saturday, Sepember 28th, 2013, 3:00pm

=Music:=

//The Met: Live in HD//
> The Metropolitan Opera broadcasts [|HD simulcasts] of operas to movie theaters all over the world. The live performances are Saturday matinees in New York, so they start here at 9:55am and are shown locally at the historic Arlington Theater in downtown SB and, in a smaller venue at Hahn Hall at the Music Academy of the West in Montecito. It will be rebroadcast again at Hahn Hall at 6:00pm on Saturday and at 2:00pm on Sunday.

Jazz & Folk Music
> SB has but one place that features jazz, folk, and salsa: SOhO Restaurant & Music Club .They have decent food if you want to eat before/during a performance.

=//Santa Barbara Theaters//= media type="custom" key="20478264"