Wild At Heart Photo Journal

Humboldt County, August 2-4, 2005

2005-08-08T09:08:00.000-07:00

These first photos were taken on Clam Beach, just north of McKinleyville, CA, right at sunset on Tuesday. Camie and her friend Alfie and I hung out at the beach and watched the sun go down.

The next day I took the girls into Arcata. I explained on my regular blog some about the homeless types in the plaza, but photos do a much better job. Yes, the guy with the blanket wrapped around himself just woke up and he's changing his clothes. Sigh.

The politics in Arcata, as with most of Humboldt County, tend to lean a tad to the left.

And, of course, no trip with girls is complete without letting them get in a little shopping.

That afternoon we went into Ferndale, the site of filming for "The Majestic" and "Outbreak".
The first photo is the actual theater used for "The Majestic". The second photo is the inn where Jim Carey's character stayed in the film. Others are just about town.

A chuckle for my law-enforcement friends: glamorous Ferndale PD.

We wandered the big Catholic cemetery for a bit. It's built on a hillside, with the oldest placings at the bottom, and the most recent at the top. This place was very neat. Photos in this set are taken by my daughter, Camie.

The next day, before we left, we went to the Jetty in Eureka. The morning was cool and foggy (It was 105 here in Sacramento when we got home that day. Sheesh!). The jetty goes about a half-mile into the ocean, and works as a break-water, protecting Humboldt Bay from the open ocean. We caught a shipment of logs destined for a lumber mill on it's way in.

This One Got Past Me!

2005-06-29T18:14:00.000-07:00

I took this photo of a little oriole in the trees at Scott's Flat. Something about it I like alot.

Camie and Alfie's Photo Shoot

2005-06-27T22:29:00.000-07:00

On that trip last week to San Francisco with my kids, Camie (my youngest) and her friend Alfie (wearing glasses) took off with my camera on a photo-shoot all thier own. They took at least 200 photos of each other, running around and posing by the San Francisco yacht club, and on monuments and stairs, in phonebooths... about anywhere two little girls could take photos. They were having such a good time that I took several photos later, allowing them to "pose" together and generally have a good time. Below are a few photos I thought were kinda cute, and shows them having a really fun time in the City By The Bay.

San Francisco, June 20th, 2005

2005-06-23T20:21:00.000-07:00

I took a trip to San Francisco with my two youngest daughters and one of their friends. We got there around 11:00am on a just gorgeous day, so I took a few shots that I think turned OK.

Golden Gate Bridge shrouded in fog, then same shot later after the morning fog burned off.

A classic Golden Gate Bridge view from the Marin Headlands, with a close-up of the busy traffic, a cargo ship passing beneath the bridge, and the top of the mammoth tower looming over Battery Spencer.

A parting shot of the Oakland-San Francisco Bay Bridge and The City skyline from Treasure Island, in the middle of San Francisco Bay.

Silver Lake and Caples Lake

2005-05-26T12:15:00.000-07:00

Along California's Highway 88 are two lakes that I love. I went on a late spring fishing trip, and came away fishless, but took in some gorgeous scenery.

Silver Lake is at the 7000' level of the Sierras. Lots of snow, and the lake is still partly frozen.

Silver Lake seen just before the sun crested the mountains, right after sunrise, then looking at the body of the frozen lake from just beside Kay's Resort.

These Canada Geese were all over Silver Lake, and they were fearless! I wanted to fish from a spot on shore next to them, and they were leary, but they just watched me and were not going to be moved from their spot! After the sun came up, they wandered into the lake and out to the ice shelf.

Caples Lake, a little higher up the highway, was more extensively frozen. There was only one spot, about 30' square, that was not iced over. You can see the sole fisherman on the rocks in the photo on the left. You can see how low the lake is by the level against the dam, well below the rim. Later this summer water will rush over that in prodigious amounts! The snow-sheet has begun to melt away from the edge, but it's still frozen over with clear ice.

And, of course, there's snow-melt cascading down hillsides all over the mountains.

Fair Oaks Cemetery - May 11, 2005

2005-05-11T21:55:00.000-07:00

Nothing like a walk through a cemetery to make one humble.
The Fair Oaks Cemetery was established in 1903, so it's not that terribly old. But still, I couldn't help but me moved by a few of the things I noticed.

Like this child's marker, or the marker of a former sheriff's deputy.

Another thing I noticed was several headstones listing both husband and wife, but without a passing date for one or the other. Obviously, one is still alive. I was moved by what a bond that represents. To have loved and lost, and now after a death, to pledge to be committed to that one and only, even after death, and to be placed next to the departed partner when you go, is a love that one day I hope to experience. That depth of commitment and honor is not so common in today's society as I think it once was.

Then there were the husbands and wives who, after living long lives together, die within a year, and sometimes months, of each other. The power of that bond in life, and the depth of the loss to where the strength and will to live without that partner leaves you, is staggering to me.

And then there are the recent losses. The fresh memories of loved ones.

This photo was taken on the one year anniversary of the death, and it's obvious the family had been by recently.

This grave is well tended and often visited even four years after the loss.

And this tombstone shows the remebrences offered on Mother's Day, last Sunday.

These are fresh flowers, all placed within a day or two, for reasons known only the those that remember him.

Miscellaneous

2005-05-11T16:39:00.000-07:00

Cooling Towers at Rancho Seco. I know these photos are a dime a dozen, but they are just so impressive up close. Much larger than they look, and they LOOK big.

This lady was selling strawberries at the stand, Sunrise & Jackson, May 11, 2005. She was really kind, but what a way to make a living.

Local Wildlife

2005-04-12T22:14:00.000-07:00

This little duckling was just itching to stretch his wings. Taken at the duck pond, McKinley Park, in Sacramento, Ca.

This bad boy would just as happily have eaten the little duckling. The coyote ran right in front of my car, and up this hill where he just sat and watched me. Taken on Salmon Falls Road, outside Pilot Hill, CA.

I think this guy is a Red Shouldered Hawk. He, too, would probably enjoy the little duckling. Salmon Falls Rd, near Pilot Hill, Ca.

While I'm talking wildlife......I just had to stop and laugh when I saw this at the entrance to "Safari Estates" in the rolling, none-safari hills north of Folsom, Ca, on Salmon Falls Road.

A Few More from Cinder-Ella

2005-04-11T22:49:00.000-07:00

I finally figured out how to make the camera take a little bit better photos in low light. I don't have it quite figured out, but I'm working on it. These are from the closing night's production of Cinder-ella, April 9, 2005.

I love Lindsey's face.

Stepmother and daughters strike.... well... a pose.

The Wicked Stepmother talking to Cinder-ella in no uncertain terms.

I really like this photo. I don't know how I got it, but I think it captures the Fairy Godmother rather nicely.

A radiant Cinder-ella charms The Prince.

Cinder-ella and Tok-Tok the mouse

Sisters Cameron and Lindsey after the show.

Catching up on some older photos

2005-04-09T18:03:00.000-07:00

I love this photo. I had it as my desktop for a long time. It's the Lake Clementine Dam, above Auburn, California, spring 2004. The water was running high, and that log perched on the face is about 30 feet long, just waiting to roll over the top of the dam.

And this is my oldest, Emily, at the fish hatchery in Rancho Cordova, last November, 2004.

Cinder-Ella

2005-04-08T17:51:00.000-07:00

After several months of rehearsals, the drama department of the San Juan High School presented nine performances of "Cinder-Ella" this past week-and-a-half. It is a somewhat twisted re-telling of the traditional tale. My daughter Lindsey snagged a roll as Falafal, one of the wicked step-sisters, although in this re-telling they are less evil than they are simple and silly. I did my best with the low light on opening night, and got what I think are a few decent photos.

The Wicked Stepmother bestowing a loving hug on her poor, misguided daughters.

The Wicked Stepmother (center, as if that needed pointing out) with Lindsey as Falafal (left), and her sister Marmaduke.

Falafal (Lindsey) and Marmaduke, the confused stepsisters.

Prince Johan, Eleanor (Cinder-Ella) and The Fairy Godmother, Peridot.

My youngest, Camie, was a stage tech during the production. She will be attending SJHS next year as a freshman.

Hope Valley, October 2004

2005-04-07T14:20:00.000-07:00

Being the first stab at a photo journal, here's some older photos from last fall, up Highway 88, near Hope Valley, CA. It was October, and the fall leaves (such as they are here in Calfornia) were at the height of their color.

Aspens in Hope Valley, CA, during fall 2004

Artists taking advantage of the fall colors, Hope Valley, CA

Rolling hills of color, fall 2004, Hope Valley, CA

Aspen stand near Caples Lake, on Highwy 88 in the Sierra Nevada mountains, fall 2004. This is at about the 8,000 foot level in the mountains.