Very, Very Tall Trees

Phil Connors predicted warm weather, gang wars, and some very overpriced real estate for California, and very, very tall trees for the Pacific Northwest. Being from Punxatawney he, like most Easterners, failed to realize that the "pacific northwest" extends as far south as northern California. This very tall tree stands alongside the Miner's Ridge Trail in Prairie Creek Redwoods State (and National) Park.

Southern Del Norte County

I can't decide if the ruggedness of the North Coast is what makes it so beautiful, or just what keeps it so beautiful. While I'd love to have a condo with this view, I love even more that it's not possible. About the only "improvement" this terrain will allow is the California Coastal Trail, and it is from this trail (somewhere between Requa, at the mouth of the Klamath River, and Hidden Beach, near False Klamath Rock) that this picture was snapped. This was a tough day of hiking (for me), a spur-of-the-moment decision that brought a lot of climbing and scrambling over perhaps 8 miles with it, but it was one of the most rewarding walks I've ever taken. I look forward to revisiting this trail soon.

Goin' to the Sun

This photo was taken at sunset on the Summer Solstice at Gold Bluffs Beach. Gold Bluffs Beach is such a beautiful place. There's a non-descript campground there (which seemed to be hosting some kind of hippie event when I was there), and it's two or three forested miles from the highway, so it's as peaceful as the campers will allow it to be. The beach is very, very wide, and a very relaxing if somewhat chilly place to spend the Solstice. Plus it's a short walk to two trailheads that lead back through the forest, one beginning at Fern Canyon, which I will feature later if I can find a good photo.

Eureka!

There's a lot more Eurekas than I'd have ever guessed. In the US alone, towns or townships in 17 states, plus Eureka Springs, AR. Eureka, IL, is the site of Eureka College, Ronald Reagan's alma mater. Eureka, MO, is home to a Six Flags Theme Park and is next to the now-forgotten Times Beach Superfund site. Eureka, MT, formerly a stop on the Burlington's Empire Builder, until the Flathead Tunnel cut it off. Eureka, NV, "the friendliest town on the loneliest road in America," and (according to Wikipedia), with a population of 650, "by far the larger of the 2 towns in Eureka County."

I should try to design a route from here to Eureka (CA) that connects all of the Eurekas between here and there. I could go just about due west through Eurekas in Indiana, Illinois, Missouri, Kansas, Utah, and Nevada, or take a more northerly route through Eureka Twp. Michigan, Eureka Wisconsin, Eureka Twp. Iowa, and Eurekas in South Dakota and Montana.

I could even visit Eureka, Nunavut, the "second-northernmost permanent research community in the world" (Wikipedia) where the highest temperature ever recorded was 68°F, en route to Eureka, California (where the highest temperature ever recorded was 87°F).

All of that is merely to announce that I'm going to post some of the pictures I took on a recent trip to the Redwood Empire. These were taken at a variety of places between Eureka and Crescent City. Today's photo is of a grazing elk in the tidal marshes near Gold Bluffs Beach and Fern Canyon in Prairie Creek Redwoods State and National Park, about 50 miles north of Eureka. (By the way, did you know that you can click on any photo to see a greatly enlarged version?)

Published! (Twice!)

Okay, so it's not the Great American Novel, or even a poem in an anthology; it's a small piece of sportswriting. But it's professionally published ("professional" assumes I will be paid for these one day), and it was fun to do. So here it is: enjoy!

Playing Like Seniors

And here's a second one, from the following week: New Year, New Results (Note: I don't contribute the headlines.)

It's Cliche Week Here at T&O!

When you invest all of your remaining time, money, and energy in growing lemons, derailing your life in the process, you might as well try to make some lemonade. And be thankful that you've at least got some lemons to make it with, which is more than many people have these days. Using your lemons, and perhaps some leftover stewed prunes you canned years ago, to try to make fish tacos is just plain stupid and will get you nowhere.

Actually, it's a futon

I've made my bed. I started making it back in 1999, and it was ready to be slept in by 2004 or 05 or so. Since then, I've slept in it every night, and made it up every morning, usually while I'm still in it. It's gotten less and less comfortable over the years, but I knew it would when I decided to buy it. These days, the mattress is getting lumpy, the sheets are a little threadbare, and it's getting harder and harder to get a good night's sleep. I'd like to get a new one, but it not as easy as I thought it would be. In the meantime, I'll continue to sleep in my old bed, the one I've made for myself every day for more than five years.