'Rahdo, dude!

As I prepare to (finally) upload this entry, one of my best friends, Chris (moron) LeMay is getting settled in his new city of Boulder, CO. I am REALLY envious!

“‘Rahdo, Dude!” Apparently this is THE way to say it according to my colleague Hans. Not only do you say it with your best Valley Boy/Girl inflections, but you also have to hold your hands with the thumbs and little fingers extended and the other three fingers folded like this:


With your hands folded like this, you waggle them back and forth while saying” ‘Rahdo, dude!” This is the proper way to refer to Colorado. While I was there no one did this.


I arrived in Colorado at the Denver International Airport late in the day on August 23 after a flight where the flight attendants were kept in their seats with seatbelts on. Denver is perhaps my least favorite place to land due to lots of wind and very few smooth landings. So, I was expecting a terrifying landing complete with firetrucks and a slide down the emergency chute. It turned out to be the smoothest landing I have ever had in Denver.

After collecting the big yellow duffle and my other bags, I picked up the rental Jeep and headed up to Longmont for a stay at the Super8 motel. I figured that I would like a night to collect my thoughts, take a shower in the morning before heading up to Rocky Mountain Nat’l Park (RMNP). It was the right thing to do because I had never been in this part of “Rahdo, dude” and would rather explore during the light of day.

I checked out the next morning and went to the Albertson’s I had noticed the night before to load up on supplies for the trip. A full shopping cart later, I headed south to Boulder to visit Neptune Mountaineering and pick up a couple other things I needed, like a stove and fuel. This place is really neat with little “museum” nooks containing climbing gear from the ages scattered around the store. I could have spent the entire day in there just browsing, but I was on a mission.

So. After collecting my stuff from the store, I drove through Boulder up to Lyons where I picked up CO Rt. 7, which took me all the way up to Estes Park. This route is jaw dropping gawjus! It passes below Long’s Peak, part of my quest, while continuing north. I stopped in to the ranger’s station at Long’s and picked up a map and other info before heading down to Estes Park.

Estes Park is a real tourist trap with t-shirt shops and knickknack shops cheek by jowl along Main St. and tons of people strolling along. I am told that by now, the town is pretty much rolled up for the winter and largely deserted. Anyway, I continued through to get up to the RMNP Visitor Center to get more info about camping.

Now, I must admit to a rather lengthy and strenuous debate with myself about actually camping, alone, for 3 days. I have gotten so far away from my dirtbag roots, that the thought of it was beginning to terrify me. Oh, what the hell, I’ll just get a room for tonight. I did this in CA in June and it bugged me. I finally settled down and got some cash and headed back up to Long’s, where there is a drive-in, tent only campground. Perfect base of operations! The extra bonus is sleeping at over 9000’ which is one of the recommendations for acclimatizing to the altitude.

Home

So, I found a site, paid the $60 for 3 nights and pitched the tent. I had no sooner finished this than it started to rain. It was the afternoon thunderstorms that roll through the mountains during August. I climbed into the Jeep and tried to wait it out. It stopped long enough for me to cook dinner (Mmmmmm…..Top Ramen) before it started again. Once again it stopped and I decided to head down to Lily Lake and see if it would clear enough for some sunset photos. Nope, it just kept raining, so I turned around and headed back to camp.

The T-storms continued throughout the night waking me several times. The lightning flashes quickly followed by thunder (Eeeek! That was close!) gave me pause as to the wisdom of my decision for camping. But, I decided to see what the morning would bring.

I got up about 90 minutes before sunrise and raced down to Lily Lake again. I didn’t worry too much about waking anyone else since most of the folks who camp at Long’s are there to actually try and climb to the summit (14,275’). This usually means up and ready to hike by headlamp at 3AM. This early start is crucial to success, since you want to be on the way down in time to miss the afternoon storms. Once it started to brighten I was witness to the deposit of snow on the mountains. August 24 and there’s snow in the Rockies. I like winter but that’s pushing it a bit.


Once the light was gone, I went back to camp and made breakfast. This included “The Ritual” started by Chris LeMay and me back in Tuolumne. The ritual is strong, black coffee perked on the camp stove. This is the requirement for breakfast. Everything else is just fluff. The Ritual

After breakfast I packed my stuff for the first hike. Over dinner the night before I had settled on hiking the Glacier Gorge trail out to Mills Lake which has a beautiful view of the back side of Long’s Peak as well as views of Hallett Peak, Chiefshead and the Spearhead in a beautiful alpine setting. Only problem was that I was staring late and by the time I arrived at the parking area for Glacier Gorge, it was full. I could take the shuttle bus that the Park Service runs, but I thought I’d see if the Bear Lake lot had any slots available. I could connect up to Glacier Gorge Trail from Bear Lake and it was only a wee bit longer so I figured why not.

There were plenty of parking spaces there since it is one of the most popular spots in the park. Bear Lake is only about 300’ from the parking area and the entire trail around the lake is handicapped accessible. There are those who would argue that a handicapped trail around a lake is an abomination, but I would much rather have those be able to enjoy what I take for granted. The more people who can participate in the outdoors, maybe the more people will voice disapproval when the government wants to limit the parks. Or not. I still would like to think that they would.


The hike was really enjoyable and I was really glad to have spent the night at altitude because I did not suffer any ill effects. In fact, I felt so good, I decided to extend my hike and go out to Black Lake. It added another 4.5 miles to the trip, but it was well worth it. As soon as I left Mills Lake, the crowds thinned and I was pretty much alone until I made the return trip. I made it back to the camp in good style, had a beer while cooking dinner (Mmmmmm….Top Ramen) and was asleep soon after. Chief's Head
Glacier Gorge
Black Lake

Chief's Head from Black Lake

There were no T-storms on Friday night, so I slept through. At least until everyone else in camp started preparing for their assault on the Long’s summit. Most folks were turned back on Friday due to the snow at the higher elevations, so, coupled with regular weekend traffic, it was really crowded on Saturday. I got up early enough to shoot sunrise, but the light was pretty boring.

After “The Ritual”, I packed my stuff again for a hike up to Chasm Lake, which sits at the base of the east face of Long’s Peak, aka the Diamond. The Diamond is one of the most prestigious alpine rock faces to climb in the country. It was really humbling to sit below it and gaze up. By the way, it’s HUGE! Once I was above treeline I ran into a steady stream of people on their way down. Saturday was another tough day to summit due to dangerously strong winds. Conga Line

Much of the hike is above treeline and the lake itself sits at nearly 12,000’. It was a beautiful day. Again. And I was alone at the lake for nearly 30 minutes before anyone else arrived. There were, however, climbers calling to each other up on the face. I could only imagine how miserable it had to have been Thursday night with all the rain and for them, snow. Chasm Lake and The Diamond
View Down from Chasm Lake

After eating a bit of lunch, I headed back down. This was my second day of hiking above 10,000’ and I was pretty tired. I made some dinner (Mmmmmm…..Top Ramen) and had a beer while I built my campfire. It was, after all, Saturday night and what would a Saturday night be without a fire. This is another tradition from weekends at the house in Charlemont. I was asleep soon after the fire died down to coals.

Sunday was checkout day and I wasn’t sure what I wanted to do. My legs were sore from the pounding down the trail and I needed a break. Jackie, the host for the campground, suggested that since I had only seen a small portion of the park, that I should drive the Trail Ridge Road. Jackie and her husband Kas, are retired folks who sold all their possessions and bought an RV. The Rv is home. From my several conversations with her, they are having a ball. A tip of the old chapeau to them!

Anyway, the Trail Ridge Rd is the northernmost road in the park and most of it is in the alpine tundra zone. I decided that this would be a perfect way to get my self over to Loveland by Sunday night so I would be ready for my training class (the actual reason for my being in ‘Rahdo, dude in the first place) on Monday. I was impressed to see the number of people on bikes pedaling their way up and over the Divide. The road crosses the Continental Divide and then continues west and south ending up on the western side of the park down around Grand Lake. Robert at the Continental Divide

From there I drove north to Walden and Gould and then down through the Cache le Poudre canyon. This was spectacular but was so busy with fishermen and kayakers that I couldn’t find a place to pull off and get out. It also was another rainy day, so I just kept driving, finally ending up in Loveland by way of Fort Collins. All in all, a pretty nice and low key day and the perfect way to end the vacation part of my trip.

By the Time We Got to Woodstock

“By the time we got to Woodstock
We were half a million strong
And everywhere there was song and celebration”
Joni Mitchell

Holly and I made the trip to Woodstock on Saturday to hear photographer Robert Glenn Ketchum speak at the Center for Photography www.robertglennketchum.com . He is one of the leading voices of the conservation movement and is one of the most respected environmental photographers on the planet. If you can think of a superlative, it applies to him and his work. So, he was leading a workshop there and part of the deal is that the Center has the workshop leaders give a lecture on Saturday night. It’s open to the public and so we decided to go. It’s about 2 hours, maybe a tad longer, and not a bad drive, even if you take the long way.

After running errands in the morning, we headed out just past noon with the intention of meandering our way to NY. Everything was going along just fine and then….. SURPRISE! We’re going to CLIMAX! It was all I could do to hang on to the steering wheel. Thank goodness Holly had made the trip before and knew what to expect, but I was not quite prepared.

Anyway, the town of Woodstock is a hoot with everyone trying to purchase a bit of the cashay, dahling of the ever so trendy happening that is still Woodstock. Mixed in are the burnouts who never could quite bring themselves to leave. It’s hard to walk the streets and keep a straight face.

The lecture began more or less on time and was definitely worth the drive. One of the very cool directions he is moving in is tapestry. He has been working with the Suzhou Embroidery Research Institute in China for a number of years. The embroiderers actually take his images and copy them exactly into tapestries, some of which are 6’x14’. I have only seen images in his book Regarding the Land . Pretty amazing stuff.

That;s about it for now. I gotta go find my tie-dye and love beads.

My Week in SoCal

CAUTION: LONG POST AHEAD!
As mentioned in the last post, I was off to San Diego in late June. The purpose of the trip was to attend the AAPS(American Association of Pharmaceutical Scientists) National Biotech Conference where I was presenting a poster covering some of my recent work. Unlike many of the others attending, I did NOT take the red-eye home or even fly the next day. Hey, when I get my airfare paid by someone else, I use it to my full advantage!
Pretty Swank Digs!

The View From My Balcony

I arrived on a Friday night, picked up the rental car and checked into the hotel too late to get any food. So, I got up early enough to get a big breakfast the next AM before attending the all day forum concerning protein precipitation. I know, it sounds thrilling, right? Once over, we went to dinner at a fabulous pub with Julie (old climbing bud), who as it turns out is coming back to Boston after completing her post doc at UCSD. When I told her of my plans for Sunday she mentioned that the area I had chosen to hike had burned 3 years ago and was now on its way back, but was still pretty ugly.

Her recommendation was to head up to Idyllwild and hike around the historical (from a climbing perspective) Tahquitz and Suicide Rocks. Tahquitz back in the late 50s was the site of the first 5.9 in the U.S. This was the stomping ground of the L.A. based climbers who were at the vanguard of Yosemite big wall ascents and the first ascent rosters are a who’s who in American climbing. This was a really good suggestion. It was cooler since the hike was at a bit of altitude and a beautiful trail led to the summit of Suicide Rock where I lounged in the sun. Sorry no photos yet since I forgot Dig It! Al, the little point-and-shoot camera I use for capturing shots along the way. Once I have some of the images from slides, I’ll post them.

After Sunday it was back to business at the conference with full days of hob knobbing with my fellow wizards occupying my time. However, on Wednesday the only topics of interest to me were in the morning so I had the JEEP loaded and ready to roll by noon and I was off to Bishop, 360 miles to the north.

I arrived in Bishop around 7PM after some stops and some slow traffic. The 395 past Adelanto is really a 2 lane road with lots of semis heading both north and south. There are some passing areas but not nearly enough so it was a pretty long drive. I wasn’t quite sure of where to park and sleep, so being kinda hot, tired and hungry, I decided to take Tom Bodett up on his offer and booked a room in a Motel6. When I went into the office I thought I had stepped into a John Waters film and Divine was behind the counter. I don’t think I have ever seen eyebrows like that except on Divine and I gave a quick shiver and handed over my credit card.

I was up somewhat early the next morning but was having trouble deciding where to go and what to do. I think one of the consequences of withdrawing from Celexa is a sort of anxious muddled feeling that sometimes gets in the way of making decisions. Anyway, I went to the Buttermilks outside of town and drove up through there to evaluate the weather and find a camping spot. The Buttermilks are at a high enough altitude that it gets nice and cool at night, so sleeping in the back of the JEEP wasn’t going to be too hot and uncomfortable. After finding the perfect place to sleep on Thursday night and I headed back to town and an Ortega omelet at Jack’s, home of THE best breakfasts in this section of the Universe!

I finally made a decision about what to do and checked out of the Motel6 and headed up to South Lake and the trailhead for the Treasure Lake trail. South Lake is about 15 miles up and outside of Bishop. The road ends at the lake, which if it isn’t entirely man-made, is at least man-enhanced by the construction of a dam at the north end. The trail starts at about 9500’ above sea level, which means I was huffing and puffing while putting on my boots!
The view down the trail toward South Lake

Shooting Star along the trail

Thankfully, the same folks who built the trails in the White Mountains of NH did not build the trails out in the western states. See the post below concerning the Nelson Crag Trail. The Treasure Lake trail steadily climbed, but the use of switchbacks made it much easier than the typical White Mountain beeline. I took my time and made it to the lakes in pretty good style. Of course my non-Alpine start of around 10AM insured that I would arrive at the lakes at midday, perfect timing for photography. NOT!!!! Midday is probably the worst time to try taking good photos and the resulting images are not among my best. No problem though, since my aim was to hike and be out and about in one of the most stunning places on the planet.
Mt. Goode from Treasure Lake

I was back to the JEEP around 3 and a call back home was in order. Holly asked about my plans for the rest of the day and suggested that I think about capturing sunset at Mono Lake, since there we really had no sunset images from there. I figured why not? It’s less than an hour north along the 395, I could have dinner at the Mobil Mart and be back to the Buttermilks and the camping spot I had scoped out early enough. I headed north and decided along the way that I would go by way of the Benton Rd which would connect with the 120 and bring to the Tufa State Reserve from the south. It was the right choice and had me driving through beautiful backcountry.

I arrived at the Reserve with plenty of time to scope out the Navy Beach. The Navy Beach is the location of the sand tufa which are quite different from the more well known tufa of the lake. I wandered around looking for spots to set up for the sunset and having figured it out, I went for dinner.
The Navy Beach

Now dinner in Lee Vining, CA may appear to have limited choices and for the most part this is true. However, they also have Tioga Toomey’s Whoa Nellie Deli stuck in the corner of the Tioga Mobil Mart. Dinner at a gas station? you ask. Yes! And it is worth the drive. Fresh made on the premises are cheescakes, chocolate cakes, pies and more. Pork tenderloin, a steak salad that will make you salivate like Pavlov’s dog, fish tacos and jumbo burgers are just a few of the entrees. They also have wine and beer. Mmmmmmmmmmm!

So, I said hello to Matt the Chef (I understand that he actually is a trained chef) and ordered up a cheeseburger to go. I grabbed a six of Fat Tire Ale and headed back to the Navy Beach to wait for the sun to go a bit more. Apparently this is one of the spots on Mono Lake where people swim. A guy was there with his kids and he had the van all tricked out with tunes, a grill, coolers and beach chairs. Looked like a lot of fun. I ate my burger and washed it down with a couple of Fatties and listened to some classic rock while the sun slowly dropped.

Once the burger was gone and the light was changing for the better I grabbed my camera and tripod and wandered out amongst the tufa. I spent the next hour or so happily shooting images of these little deposits. The tufa form in the very alkaline waters of Mono Lake when fresh water from underground springs bubbles up into the lake, mixes with the carbonate rich water and form an insoluble deposit of calcium carbonate. There are 2 kinds of tufa, the calcium carbonate variety and the sand tufa, which are formed of sand cemented into columns that support a calcium carbonate crown. The 2 types are quite different and striking in their own right.
Full moon rising

My plan was to finish up after the sun had dropped behind the mountains and head on down to the Buttermilks, but as I walked back into the parking area, someone else was there parked next to my JEEP. In passing I mentioned that I was impressed with the van conversion (this minivan had been converted for roadtripping with a sleeping platform/storage set up that replaced the back seats) and this elicited an invitation for a glass of wine. I wasn’t really quite sure what I would be doing the next day and figured that a stay at Mono Lake for sunrise would be a wonderful thing to do, so I accepted the wine. I spent a lovely evening chatting about all sorts of topics and was up for a beautiful sunrise at the Lake.
I love the sight of sand tufa in the morning

The view toward the more famous south tufa with the Dana plateau in the background

After taking a number of images at sunrise, I headed back over to see Matt for breakfast. While eating I decided that I would head up to the Little Lakes Valley at the top of Rock Creek Canyon. I hiked one of the trails last year and figured I’d take another trail up towards Mono Pass to Ruby Lake. It was another gorgeous day and starting out at 10,000 feet it was already nice and cool. I hiked steadily up to the lake on another really nice trail. The view back down the trail

Bear Creek Spire at the head of the valley

Once there I found a sheltered spot, though not too sheltered since I wanted the wind to keep blowing the bugs away, to bask in the sun. this little alpine lake is surrounded by some of the most spectacular rock walls I have seen. Apparently this was one of Galen Rowell’s favorite places and I can see why. The Ruby Wall from Ruby Lake

After shooting more film, I headed back down to the JEEP and a trip into Bishop for a visit to Rowell’s Mountain Light Gallery. This is a compulsory stop for me whenever I am anywhere near Bishop. I was able to catch the Carr Cliffton (http://www.carrclifton.com) exhibit which was there for only another few days. The images on display were breathtaking and I am very fortunate to have seen them in person. Of course I had to buy some books and replace my missing ring adapter and filter holder for the neutral density split grads that I REALLY could have used in the morning at Mono Lake.

OK, it’s Friday and I have to be back in San Diego on Saturday evening to re-pack everything and be ready to leave on Sunday morning. I can a. Stay in Bishop overnight and drive back the way I came or b. drive to Joshua Tree National Park, spend the night and drive back through the park on Saturday. This way I could check it out for next year’s Most Excellent Month of March Extravaganza. I chose b. Joshua Trees

Joshua Tree is a most extraordinary place. I was very impressed with the beauty of the area and the campgrounds are amongst the best I’ve ever seen. I started out in the NW corner of the park which is in the Mojave Desert and slowly drove SE through the Park. Joshua Tree National Park

Eye Candy for Dr. Dover

Cholla Cactus Garden

About halfway, there is a transition zone where I drove down from the Mojave into the Sonoran Desert. This was marked by the Cholla Cactus Garden which is amazing. The two deserts are strikingly different with the Sonoran being hotter and more barren. Both are quite beautiful however, even if it was 115°F in the Sonoran Desert. Just before I left the Park, I saw a flash of something off to my right. It looked like a mule, but I only caught a glimpse of the hind end. As I drove a little further I could see the head of a Desert Bighorn Sheep. He had the full set of horns and was quite magnificent. We gawked at each other for a few seconds before he ran off and I kept driving.

Once out of JTree, I had another choice. I could go west to the ocean and continue along the coast to San Diego or I could go a little bit further east and see more desert. I opted for more desert. I drove over to the western shore of the Salton Sea, home to a newly discovered school of pupfish. Pupfish are endangered and thought to be extinct in the Salton Sea, but there they are and they have scientists scratching their heads trying to figure out how they got there.

About halfway down the shore State Route 22 heads west towards Borrego Springs and home of the Anza-Borrego Desert State Park, another destination for next March. I quickly checked out the park’s visitor center, got a map and some literature and was on my way back to San Diego. The Badlands in Anza-Borrego State Park

Anyway, the rest is pretty much anticlimactic. I checked into a Days Inn, re-packed my stuff, made my flight on Sunday in plenty of time, and am now back home. Whew! Another whirlwind tour of California!

You came DOWN the Nelson Crag Trail?

Vindication is sweet. For 4 hours Kim and I had been struggling down the Nelson Crag Trail, one of the steepest trails on Mt. Washington. Cursing was one of the major components of our conversation. The Nelson doesn’t end at Pinkham Notch, but 1.6 miles north of there near the start of the Auto Road. Thankfully the Old Jackson Rd trail is mostly flat.

Even though we were late to get back to let Rosie the Chihuahua out, we needed to stop in the Pinkham AMC shop to buy a book. We met up with a fellow hiker from earlier in the day and began comparing notes. She had taken the Lion’s Head trail to the summit while we had diverted and taken the Alpine Garden trail so that we could view and photograph the alpine flowers that were blooming.

She then inquired as to our hike down from the gardens. We responded that we came down the Nelson Crag Trail. The news that we had done this caused several of the other patrons to put down the books, t-shirts, mugs, etc they were ogling to chime in, nearly in unison “YOU CAME DOWN THAT TRAIL?” The general consensus was that this was not one of the trails to come down. It is unrelentingly steep and much of it is in very thick woods. As I said earlier, vindication is sweet!

Tuck's from the LionsHead Trail

We had started the day hiking up the Tuckermans Ravine Trail to Lion’s Head and up to the Alpine Gardens so that we could photograph the tiny alpine flowers that were in bloom. There were blooms all along the trail including plenty of Bunchberry and Clintonia a.k.a. blue bead lily.
Bunchberry in bloom

There is actually a fairly small window for the alpine blooms and mid to late June is the usual peak season. I think we were there just a wee bit before true peak. Don’t get me wrong it was gorgeous up there, but the Mountain Avens were still mostly buds, waiting to burst in the next few days and the carpets of blooming flowers were scattered. Since this was my first, but not last trip to the flowers, I may have been expecting more than what is typical.

There were diapensia everywhere and scattered in amongst them were Lapland Rosebay and the tiny Mountain Azalea. We stopped for lunch at a beautiful little stream that led into a small marsh. Hellebore, Hairy Deer Grass were the prominent species there. Continuing along the trail we came to the junction with the Huntington Ravine Trail and considered, only for a moment mind you, descending by way the HRT. It would have involved 3rd classing down some sections with exposure all around. I haven’t been climbing much and my head wasn’t up for that.

The view across the Gardens from the top of Huntington's

So, a quick consult of the map showed that making a loop hike by going down the Nelson Crag Trail would be almost the same distance and since we always think covering new ground preferable to back tracking, we opted for the loop. Note to self: Never take the Nelson Crag Trail again!
The point of no return

Once down and with book in hand we retreated back to Kim’s house in Conway to a very happy (and relieved) little dog. Margaritas and some raviolis and soon the Nelson Crag Trail didn’t seem so bad. Of course 3 days later my thighs still had twinges of stiffness from the constant set of 2.5 miles of deep knee bends.

So, I’m off to San Diego for a conference with other biotech geeks. Aside from I love what I do and I’m presenting a poster of some of my work, I am also going to boogie up to Bishop for a few days of hiking before heading home.

Spring at the Rolling J Farm

June 9, 2007

It’s taken me a little mental re-organization to admit that the BLOG doesn’t have to be only for trips. It can also be used for keeping in touch with folks and a means for showing off the gardens. So, here’s a brief update from here at what I call the Rolling J Farm.

The seasons here at the farm tend to revolve around the fire…winter the woodstove, summer the grill. Cooking on the woodstove or over a wood fire in the fire pit is waaaaaay more satisfying than turning on the electric stove. This time of year after Saturday chores, time in the garden and a bike ride, we start the fire in the grill. A gin&tonic to fight malaria from any potential mosquito bite and watching the traffic roll by is quite relaxing. As you can see, it's quite a comfortable set-up.



So, tonight I’m here at the Rolling J Farm with Mr. Cat while Holly is at Harvard making Livingston Taylor look good. The last of the Harvard events (the 35th reunion concert) is tonight and so begins the final countdown to her summer vacation. Mr. Cat is patrolling the attic and I’m finishing a fabulous porterhouse and watching the lightning bugs. Mmmmmmm.. fresh kale, asparagus from our garden and steak from Avery’s. It doesn’t get a whole lot better. All complimented with a lovely Pinot from Paul’s (http://www.hilltownwinemerchant.com/) in Shelburne Falls. Even the No-See-Ums seem to be a bit more relaxed tonight and are not intensely eating my feet.

Last weekend we were able to get most of our plants into the garden beds. Tomatoes, potatoes, Brussels Sprouts, kale, hot and sweet peppers and alliums of many sorts-onions, leeks, shallots, scallions. I’ve also started transplanting Ostrich ferns under the crabapples so we can have our own supply of fiddleheads each spring.





In the dooryard gardens all the herbs are growing great guns and I’m going to harvest some to dry. Oregano, thyme, savory, sage, and tarragon all seem to have survived the winter unscathed.



The iris, peonies, mountain rue, and tansy are all beginning to flower and the gardens smell lovely right now. I’m in the process of building another small stone wall in the gardens to shore up some slumping soil and create another tier for plants.



There’s always stuff to do here at The Farm. Stay tuned for more!

Retrospective Part Deux-Yosemite and the Rest of the Trip

OK, I have to finish this before I forget too much. So prepare yourself for a long entry!

We spent Friday night in Lone Pine, CA in another generic chain motel. It was inexpensive and plenty comfy. The big surprise was the dinner we had in town at the Merry Go’Round. Holly had the elk and I had a very nice pork loin. They had a fine wine list and we totally enjoyed ourselves. After a week of dinner at the Stagecoach in Beatty, this was downright civilized. Who knew?

We were up early again on Saturday morning to catch the sunrise in the Alabama Hills, below Mt Whitney. The Alabamas have quite the history in the movie biz with many films shot there over the years including Treasure of the Sierra Madre with Humphrey Bogart and loads of westerns starring John Wayne. The landscape is unique and the granite boulders and outcrops contain arches and other features. We wanted to be there for the first light on Mt. Whitney framed by the arches.

We spent a couple of hours there and after the light changed, we headed into town for breakfast and then to check out of our motel. Today’s mission was to arrive in Oakhurst, CA on the other side of the Sierra so that on Sunday we could head right into Yosemite Valley. Since most of the roads across the Sierra are closed in the winter we had a choice of either driving north to Tahoe, like last year, or going around the southern end. This year we chose to go the southern route which was really nice. It was also shorter. Duh!

We drove through the Kern River Valley through the mountains. This was a beautiful twisty, turny road with spectacular river views. Several times Holly asked if I would please keep my eyes on the road. ☺. Once we came out the other side we were in Bakersfield and The Oil Valley. It is truly as lovely as it sounds. One bright spot along this route is the number of farm stands along the road north of Bakersfield. We stopped at what turned out to be the last stand and bought some fruit from one of the nicest old timers ever. He was reluctant to let us go, but when we did finally take our leave, he walked right out into the road to stop traffic for us.

On our way north to Oakhurst, we decided to take a detour through Sequoia and King’s Canyon National Parks. After getting our map at the gate, the road began to go up. And up. And up. Oh, and did I mention the road goes up from there? It’s miles and miles of swithbacks up the side of the canyon until it finally levels off. We kept going until we arrived at the General Sherman grove of giant sequoias. The General is considered to be the largest living organism on the planet at 275’ tall and a circumference of 102’. It’s also ~2500 years old. A teenager to the Bristlecones I visited last summer, though.

After we finished ogling the General, we realized that the sun was going down. Since daylight savings is early this year, that meant it was pretty late and we needed to get going. So, we headed down the other side of the park. And down. And down. Finally we hit Fresno and the freeway north. In no time we were cruising into Oakhurst and the next Best Western (Apologies to Richard Shindell). Dinner of oranges, grapefruits, nuts, etc. as we settled in. It was late and we were asleep in no time.

We took full advantage of the complimentary breakfast the next morning after which we headed to Yosemite. There was still plenty of snow at the higher elevations and the Mariposa Grove and Glacier Point roads were closed for the season so those will have to wait for another visit when it’s warmer. After about an hour we arrived at Inspiration Point, at least the parking area for it. This is the first real iconic view of Yosemite Valley, made popular by Ansel Adams, as we drove up the 41. This was Holly’s first visit to the Valley and the look on her face summed it up nicely.

This was actually my first time driving in the Valley and it took me a little time to get myself oriented. On that first day we poked around, visited the Ansel Adams Gallery where we picked up a small photographers guidebook to the park and Holly surprised me with a beautiful wooden walking stick. The rest of the day was spent locating the spots mentioned in the guide. After a day of exploring we headed back to the motel and had a nice meal at one of the local steakhouses.

These are Yosemite Falls which in March are thundering down out of the high country from all the snow melt.
This is a shot of Half dome taken from the Sentinel Bridge near Cook's Meadow.


The next morning was a repeat of the previous one. We arrived in good style at the Park. We did a little more shopping at the Adams Gallery and in the afternoon took a short hike up to Mirror Lake with stunning views of Half Dome and surrounding peaks. It was warm and sunny and so I took advantage of THE perfect spot for a bit of relaxation beside the lake. As we wandered back down to Libby, the clouds that had been promised began to arrive.


Tuesday was another drive day with our destination Napa for a visit with Charlie, Judy, Jen and Auggie. We drove up through Sonora and some of the vineyards in that area and then over to Napa. We had a dinner that couldn’t be beat that evening and some of the best possible wine in the company of some of the best people on the planet. The visit was much too short and we said goodbye with the idea of coming back in July for one of the jazz concerts at Mondavi.I’m keeping my eyes out for a good deal on airfare.

We left Napa after a stop at a local shop that presses its own olive oil. This is like nothing we can find in Cambridge. We had a 3 liter bottle shipped to us along with a ound of dried porcini mushrooms. We drove over to the coast and meandered our way along Rt.1 across the Golden Gate and into San Francisco. That drive is one of the prettiest anywhere and we thoroughly enjoyed it.

Our first stop in the city was to be The New Lab, which is the place we have our film developed before our flight home. Their average turnaround is 2.5 hours, even for Holly’s 4x5s. After 2 aborted trips over the Bay Bridge (Lizz somehow needed to cross to the East Bay) we finally got to the lab. We dropped off the film, had a pint of beer and a bite of food at the Thirsty Bear just around the corner. And then headed up to visit with some friends and dinner in Half Moon Bay at one of the best sushi joints in the area.

Kimber and Steve are in the process of closing up their house in San Bruno and going over to Asia for, as Steve puts it “At least a year”. Our guess is that they move over there permanently. They are both going to be working for the summer with a trekking company that does hoseback treks into Mongolia. Once it turns cold in the fall, they plan to begin a southern migration through China into Vietnam, Cambodia, Laos and Thailand. We both hope the very best for them and we’re going to be following their exploits over the web. Technology is a marvelous thing, eh?

We got a late start from San Bruno, shipped some of the items we picked up during the trip back home, got our slides at The New Lab (with the requisite ogling on the lightbox) and a late lunch at the Triple Rock Brewery in Berkeley. While we were in Berkeley we HAD to stop at The Missing Link bike co-op and pick up a few things. I was able to score a couple of Missing Link jerseys, one for me and one for Chris (our beloved airport chaffeur in Boston).

We spent the night right near the Oakland Airport and were up the next morning very early to catch our flight back to Boston. It was an uneventful flight and we arrived back pretty much on schedule. Ho Hum!

So now the work has begun to sort through the images. I have nearly 400 slides to go through and Holly hasn’t even begun to develop her 4x5 black and white images yet. As I get some of these scanned and prepped for printing, I’ll post them on the blog. So stay tuned, the trip continues!

Retrospective 1-Leaving Death Valley

OK, so we’re back home now. I discovered that trying to keep the blog was nearly impossible with all the driving to and from our shooting spots, up early to catch early light and staying out until after dark for sunset. Most of the trips were 100 or so miles 1 way and much more than an hour. So, I’ll catch up in retrospect.

On Thursday March 15, we were up, checked out of the Motel 6 by 5AM and on our way to the Mesquite Flat Dunes. We were first on the scene, but as the dawn approached we were joined by a growing number of others chasing the light and some of the iconic images of Death Valley. There muffled conversations and we could see parties of photographers staking their claims when suddenly there it was, the light everyone was waiting for. I don’t think I have ever heard so many shutters clicking all at once in my life. It sounded like a Washington news conference.

So, we gathered our images and headed back to Libby. We stopped at Stovepipe Wells for breakfast and continued on our way west. First stop was Wildrose Canyon and the coke kilns. Apparently, back in the mining days, one of the mining companies figured that it would be easier to make the coke for the smelters right there in the area rather than to import it. So 10 kilns were built, each about 25’ high by 30’ in diameter (or it might be the other way around and pine was harvested from the canyon to produce coke for the gold and silver smelters about 30 miles away. I think they were only in operation for a few years before going idle. Anyway, these kilns have been restored and are quite a sight.

Next we hiked into Darwin Falls, which is a lovely little oasis deep within a canyon. It’s a pretty easy hike, though it involves a tiny bit of easy rock scrambling. It ends at the falls, which are about 30’ tall or so and they cascade into a beautiful pool.

After the hike we checked into our room at the Panamint Springs Resort (PSR) and had a cold pint on the porch while waiting for the light to change. After our pint and a little snooze (this is where the trip gets a bit more civilized) we drove down into Panamint Valley to photograph some old abandoned cars in the evening light. Phil had taken us there last year, but Holly’s images weren’t what she wanted so we had to go back. This year we both scored some nice ones, as well as some interesting shots of the sunset.

Dinner, sleep, an excellent breakfast and we were off out of Death Valley Nat’l Park for another March. We stopped at Father Crowley Point to say farewell and continued up to Bishop for the required stops at Mountain Light Gallery and Wilson’s Eastside for some gear shopping. On our way back down to Lone Pine we stopped at the Manzanar Nat’l Historical Site, which was an internment camp for Japanese Americans during WWII. The stories of this site, and others, made us think of the profiling and paranoia that is happening today surrounding Arab Americans. I guess the more things change, the more they stay the same and just when you think we might have learned something…...