Tecopa Hot Springs

fire makes campsite better...

the noble gigabyte, he loves camping

walk out onto the spongey desert, up onto hills made of tailings, and put a rock on the formation...

landscape, skyscape

gig, please do not pee on that stack of rocks...

panoshot

snow in the distance, yes it got cold at night...

Over the HUMP

Tehachapi Pass:

Colonel Allensworth Historic Stuff

Naval Air Station - Lemoore Ca

This is my son Leo. We went to the Lemoore Naval Air Station to spend a week with him and his little family. The photos of the children will not be published for security reasons, however, Leo's not afraid of anything.
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hey, that's my favorite nephew, Leo. Patriarch of the clan, now.
my gosh, he has a look of my dad about him...


He took me up to the tower, this is the side of the tower where all the squadrons post their logos.
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i can't believe they let sis take photos...

This is a shot from inside the top of the tower... notice the full moon out there in the sky.
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full moon, schmull moon... what sis does not mention is
the extra heavy chemtrailing happening over the Central Valley
on the day we got back on the road... we landed at
Allensworth State Park and stayed two days/nights... pics soon!

The Pine Flat Series...

Our camp hosts... they are SO cute.
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our trip has been blessed with people like this... they were
so kind and supportive...

The view from my tent...
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sis has deluxe accommodations... i inherited her single-person tent.
it's cozy, not quite water-proof, but it's better than what i had
before, so i am grateful...

Mushroom detail
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no, we did not "try" any of the mushrooms.
we both expressed regret at the lack of knowledge
between us regarding botany. cool drops, though,
artwork totally by mother nature.

The incredible mushroom.
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Hope you are happy where you are, Terence McKenna...

Our campfire.
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the whole fire thing is so ingrained symbolically...
camp is always so much better with the fire, however
campers are expected to bring own wood in most places
we have been, and that's kinda tough when our auto is
packed full of stuff...

The woodpecker had all his nuts pointy side in this pole.
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excuse ME?

The chow dog.
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she's been a fine little camper...

The Gig.
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he adds a little bit of dignity to our group...

On the water.
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that's not us, by the way

Yellow flower detail.
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here's to the idea of more sunshine and wildflowers...
(cold, numb fingers crossed)

The Blue Oaks.
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huggable trees... and i did

The amazing non-rolling boulder.
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just give it a nudge...

Moss on the rocks.
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some lichen, too

Morning light.
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light is good

Oh BOY!!!
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yeah, gig, this is cool...

While at Pine Flat

we are still sitting out the weather at Leo's house, it
looks like we will be continuing on in a day or two...
meanwhile, thinking back on the days at Pine Flat:
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i was making coffee at sunrise at Pine Flat...
sis went for water and to find some more wood
to add to the fire, she was gone for some time
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then i spotted her coming up the hill. she had a
big oak branch, a jug of water and in her hat,
some fresh picked greens
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she called it miner's lettuce - it grows low to the
ground in shady damp spots, it has a bright green
round leaf with a hint of a flower where the stem
meets the leaf - she had picked handfuls
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she rinsed them and put them in our bowls, drizzled
some seasoned rice vinegar and olive oil on them
and added a pinch of sea salt
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at that moment, i had never tasted anything better
in my life! the rush i got from the chlorophyll was
amazing and our tongues turned bright green!
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i want to find out the botanical name....
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ok, it's "Montia perfoliata"

Pass the Crescents

This is what happens when you try to zoom and shoot a photo at night without a tripod:

Reflecting on Fairfax

Before we left Redwood country, we stopped in Fairfax Ca. to visit with our good friend Kimmy. She's been in the family for over 20 years and we love her dearly. She and her honeypie Jonathan have a leathercraft shop there and they make the most original and beautiful leather THINGS! http://jonathansleathercraft.com

Camp Pussy

2.1.2009

Welcome to Camp Pussy

Sunrise around 7am, sis been in her car with heat on
and off since 4:30... and she thought she was the tough
one!

We are at the Merced River, long ago a flood plain for
the Central Valley, inhabited by tribes in the summer
after waters receded and alive with birds, wildlife.

We stayed two nights because one night per spot is a little
much, what with tent set up, fire building, etc

So we packed up and headed to the closest Starbuck's
wifi to research our next stop... we find it is necessary
to cross-reference our books and maps with internet
because not every source material is accurate. Once
we find a place ahead that sounds good, we check it on
google earth to make sure we can see roads and trees
and, preferably, water.

We are looking for a place that will shelter us from now
until Wednesday, when it looks like there may be rain...
we have positioned ourselves so that when it clouds up,
we can be in Lemoore at Leo's to wait out any inclement
weather... a few days there will give us time to figure out
where to go next... probably towards the desert.

So, who was that, got up at 4:30am and started their car at the campground? Camp Pussy did, you d'camp pussy? When your bones are so cold that you can't even sit still and you can't build a fire in the dark, you go warm up the car... Start d'car! Warm that sucker up and you can finally thaw out and relax, dang, frozen fucking fog? I be d'camp pussy, in d'car. When the leaves crunch when you walk on them and your tears of laughter are making ice cubes on your eyelashes, you'd be d'camp pussy too. Burn some petrol and warm up or else you be d'ignorant camp pussy and I'd much rather be a warm pussy than clenched up frozen pussy. The sun is coming up and warming everything on this magnificent day, but not soon enough for my pussy dog and me. We're somewhere near the Merced River with all the ducks and geese. Not many campers out this weekend, pussies.