Roadside Treasure: San Marcos Blanket

Well, I keep taking the dogs for walks, and the Universe keeps putting the most interesting things in my path. This time, it was a huge, folded-up blanket in a large basket, set out by trash cans in an alley. I don't need the basket, but I thought the blanket might be good to cut up in fourths and donate to my city's pound. (Pound puppies always need more warm blankies.)

When I got the blanket and unrolled it, however, I realized this is NOT a blanket to cut up. This is one of the famous San Marcos blankets! I remembered reading about them in an article in the Los Angeles Times:

Thick, plush, and a bit garish, they have been beloved by Angelenos, especially those with a Latino background, for decades.

But the San Marcos factory stopped making the famous reverse-image blankets in 2004, so they are a coveted item now. Folks buy and sell them on eBay.

This one features a couple of bison thundering across the plain under a moon--or is it a sun? The blanket reverses image, so it looks more like a night scene on one side and more like daylight on the other:

 (It also looks like that bison is heading for Mu Shu's butt!)

The blankets are famously soft and cozy. Mu Shu noticed that right away, and as I folded up the blanket after I took the above shots, he plopped himself down and refused to move off:

Eventually he'll get tired and move off, then I can take it in to launder it.

Meanwhile, don't fawn pugs look good when photographed against teal-and-black blankets?