POGONIP - CONTROLLED BURN

This is a controlled burn in Pogonip Open Space. It’s a 660 acre area adjacent to Santa Cruz,CA. This burn had several purposes. One was to reid the area of non-native grasses such as ryes, oats, and barleys. These grasses were introduced many years ago from Europe. Almost 30% of all vegetation is non-native! One of the most difficult ones to control is Eucalyptus trees.

Another purpose was to open the area for the Ohlone Beetle or sometimes referred to as the Onlone Tiger Beetle.This insect is found almost exclusively in the coastal marine zone of California. The beetles mate in the open and with extensive coverage of the non-native grasses they can’t find any open space to mate. Every year trails are closed during mating season to avoid any impact on their ritual. I have seen many small holes about 1/8 “ diameter that drop straight dwon into the beetles burrows. At the time of the burn I was a Field Supervisor with the Parks Division and I was assigned to provide individuals to assist the Fire Department.
Several Fire Protection Units from around that area used this exercise to train wildland fire fighting techniques. It was very exciting to be a part of the burn and to document the operation.

NOGGINS

In the Fall of 2002, my wife and I visited Greece. One of the attractions we visited was the monasteries at Meteora. As I walked by a door in the monastery I was quite surprised by this small room with a simple bookcase lined with skulls of hermits/monks that had lived there. The whole monastery complex is extraordinary.













Notice the lower right side of the photo. There is a little car carrying a man. It's suspended by wires over a very deep canyon. For many years that was the only way to have contact with the outside world and to bring supplies into the monastery If you wish to learn more about this amazing place, click this link Meteora Monasteries. It is one of the great wonders of Greece.

BOCAS DEL TORO

In 1996, a group of guys and I visited Bocas del Toro, Republica de Panama. We had a great adventure traveling the length of Panama in a taxi driven by a guy that had never been out of Panama City! His ineptitude and our dependence on him landed us in the very place that we didn't want to get delayed. Chiriqui Grande. It is a town filled with sleazy streets and thievery is commonplace. We managed to get to Bocas del Toro via a high-speed boat. There we enjoyed great food, friendly people, hung out with an expatriated American that owned a bar, went diving over coral reefs, traveled by banana train to cities in the west, sailed to uninhabited islands where we ate island rats prepared by a man that lived on an island with no facilities or utilities. The whole experience was incredible. Check out Bocas del Toro for more information.

TORRES DEL PAINE

October 1998. Torres del Paine National Park, Patagonia, Chile. On our honeymoon. I picked Chile so that I could show my bride this place. It is one of the major images of South America. Galen Rowell , a world renowned photographer took several amazing photos while climbing the towers. To get to this point, we had to boulder up a very long climb. When we arrived, I had one of those goosebumps moments. It is truly an awe inspiring place. You really have to want to go there. We arrived by air from Puerto Montt, took a bus to Puerto Natales, then a car to the entrance to the park. Another vehicle took us into the park. It had to be small and narrow enough to get across a suspension bridge. It's quite a journey. It was worth it! We spent a week at Hosteria las Torres which is an incredible working ranch in the park. It had wonderful facilities and a 5-star restaurant! We found it to be one of the most beautiful places we've ever been.

GRAND GULCH, UTAH

In 1995 I spent a week in this BLM area called Grand Gulch Primitive Area. It is located in SE Utah. Ancient communities inhabited Grand Gulch for over a 1,000 years. It is a fifty two mile long gulch that contains many pictograph and petroglyph panels, as well as remains of Puebloan dwellings. Travel is limited to hiking or horseback. There were no signs, no trails, a very rudimentary map, and no drinkable water. It was very hot during the day and warm in the evenings. There are many areas where native people lived that have been preserved. They are in remarkably good condition mostly because the area is so dry and hot. I climbed up into this open cavern for some shade and discovered a kiva in perfect condition! I went down inside and took this photograph of the ladder and opening. I wouldn't recommend this trip to anyone that was not an experienced hiker/camper. The bottom of the gulch is well over 300' deep in most places and very few ways of getting out if there was an emergency. If you go you will be rewarded with an incredible opportunity to see fantastic rock formations and step back in time to share the same area as that of the early inhabitants of Grand Gulch, Utah.

HALF DOME - YOSEMITE

October 19, 1991. I climbed Half Dome with the same group of guys that I did Mt. Whitney, Mt. Shasta, Panama diving trip, Corcovado Costa Rica, rafted the Colorado through the Grand Canyon, as well as conoe trips and ocean kayaking. We hiked from Yosemite Valley floor up and around the back side of the dome. We passed Vernal Falls and Nevada Falls as we hiked up and up. Getting too close to the top of either falls is quite DANGEROUS! When we arrived at the foot of the last ascent portion to the top of the dome we discovered that the cables the forest service puts up for hikers to use were down! We climbed using only the flat cables which meant that we had to climb on our hands and knees. When we reached the top one of the guys was so tired he threw-up several times. He recovered pretty quickly. The top of the dome is about as big as a football field. It's mostly flat. We stayed up for a while enjoying the afternoon sun and realized that we needed to get back down before it turned dark. Well we didn't make it back to camp in the sunlight. We had only two flashlights (good planning) and one of them went dead about halfway down. We hiked the rest of the way down a narrow trail with virtually no light which took even longer. I was really tired and my feet were miserable. I probably won't do it again. If you think you might want to take this trip I recommend that you prepare yourself. It's not just a day hike for inexperienced hikers.

MENEESOWTAH

August 1999. You betcha! My bride and I went to Minnesota to visit her Aunt "Laney". We borrowed Uncle Marshall's car and drove up to Stewart Lake in Crow Wing County. My wife has wonderful memories of the times that she spent at the lake when she was young. She cried while she walked around looking at the cottage. The place had changed of course but not very much. On the way there I spotted this orchard of trees. This is a field grown tree farm. These Lombardy Poplar trees are ready to be dug up and boxed for sale in nurseries in the area. They are mostly used as "living fences" and windthrows to protect buildings from the harsh drifting snows that Minnestoa is famous for. The yellow color and the hundreds of trees all in very straight rows caught me eye so we stopped for this photo.














A little further down the road I spotted this hay field and couldn't resist taking another photo.

A SAILOR'S DELIGHT

There's an old saying "Red sky at morning, sailor take warning. Red sky at night, sailor's delight". I've wondered about the origins of that weather prediction and this is what I found. "One of today's better known weather proverbs, this saying appeared in the New Testament Gospel According to Matthew (A.C. c 65) as 'When it is evening, ye say, It will be fair weather: for the sky is red. And in the morning, It will be foul weather today: for the sky is red and lowring.' The earliest mention outside the Bible gave only the proverb's second part, 'The skie was very red this mornyng. Ergo we are like to haue rayne or nyght,' and appeared in the 'Rule of Reason' (1551) by Thomas Wilson. Soon after, a version containing both parts was rendered as 'The element redde in the euenyng, the next daye fayr, but in the morning redd, wynde and rayne,' in 'Prognostication to Judge of the Weather (1555) by Leonard Digges. The English author Reginald Scot gave another version, combining both elements in 'The Discouerie of Witchcraft' (1584): 'The skie being red at evening Foreshews a faire and clear morning; But if the morning riseth red, Of wind or raine we shall be sped.' A version comes closer to the modern appearing in R. Inwards's 'Weather Lore (1893) as 'Sky red in the morning Is a sailor's sure warning; Sky red at night Is the sailor's delight.' The current version with the word 'shepherd' substituted for 'sailor' was recorded in the magazine 'Punch' (1920). Versions using 'sailor' and 'shepherd' (usually just the first or second part) were quoted in print frequently during the twentieth century."

This was a particularly delightful beginning to the night. Santa Cruz, CA is blessed with so many wonderful things. One is beautiful sunsets. The end of another day in paradise.

STREAM CROSSING

This photo of me was taken by my wife as I carried a pack for Shaktisha over this log/bridge across the outlet of Lake Ediza in August 1999. It is located west of Mammoth Lakes in the eastern Sierras. The peaks in the upper right hand corner of the photo are two mountains named Banner and Ritter. My wife and I went backpacking with another couple, Dale and Shaktisha. All of us had been to the lake except for my wife. My son and I packed in for a week about 5 years before this trip. We've all traveled a lot and we all agreed that this was the most beautiful place in the world.. After spending 5 days there with my wife, she agrees. The trip from Mammoth Lakes trailhead to Ediza is only about 9 miles. Unfortunately it is mostly up. The beginning is in a meadow and goes down to a stream, then up and up. The first up portion is out in the open so we were exposed to the heat of the sun. After arriving at Shadow Lake, we decided we'd stay there for the night. We weren't like we used to be. The next day we went on to Ediza, camped there and explored the area. We all went to Iceberg Lake and I climbed over boulders up to Cecile Lake at the base of the Minarets which are a very striking series of peaks that are among the best known images of the Sierras. I was accompanied by some guy we met there who was a novice backpacker. He and I got caught in a very heavy rain storm when we were at the top. Coming down was very slippery and dangerous. My wife waited for me in the rain.She really is a trooper.









Here she is practicing her tai chi. Mount Ritter is in the background.















Look at that big backpack. The whole trip was a great adventure and it kicked our butts. We haven't attempted something like that since.

LANDING AT O'HARE - 1972

Ever wonder what the pilot is seeing just prior to landing? I had an opportunity to sit behind the captain several times while I was working for TWA. This time I brought my camera and shot several photos during the landing process. I was riding on a Lockheed Tri-Star L-1011.

DID THE INDIANS SEE COLUMBUS?

I have participated in discussions regarding the inability to see something that was right in front of me. Case in point, the indigenous people that stood on the beach and watched Columbus row ashore might not be able to see the ships anchored just off shore because they had no concept of a large ship with cloth sails. I saw a movie recently that talked about that same issue. The name of the movie is "“What the #$*! Do We Know:”. While it may seem ridiculous that an object so large couldn't be seen by the people on the beach, I can testify that in the last few years I have experienced the same thing. If I'm looking for something and I have a mental picture of it, I can be looking right at the object of my search and not see it because it didn't fit my holograph. Sooo...maybe there is something to all that. I did see this ship just off the coast of southern California near Morro Bay.

YOUR HOST

Yep! A drug crazed hippie in 1973. After I quit working for TWA in Chicago I went to work for a landscape construction company and decided to live laid back. I even moved to the nearby mountains so that I could "drop out". I kept this appearance until 1979.I started my own business in 1975 and was becoming quite successful when I realized that I needed to look like my corporate clients in order to be taken seriously. I changed the way I looked but I'm still the guy in the photo.

MIDWEST COLD

I spent a couple of winters in the Chicago area while I was working for TWA(Trans World Airlines). Coming from the SF Bay area this weather stuff was quite a shock. I can see now why they call this area after the "Windy City". It is bone-chilling cold in winter and hotter than hades in the summer. The time that I was there, there was one week of Spring and one week of Fall! The rest of the time is hot or cold. I loved Chicago but it's a nice place to visit. I wouldn't want to live there now that I'm a weather wimp living in Santa Cruz, CA.

SAUCER CAR!

It's the Santa Cruz "Saucer Car"! Santa Cruz has several very unusual cars and this is one of the stranger ones. It's a Volkswagen that has been altered with aluminum panels and a skylight. It was taken to the the annual "Burning Man Celebration" in Nevada. The car looked quite different at night. Just another way that Santa Cruz retains it's WEIRDNESS

MIRROR MIRROR

During a trip to San Francisco I visited the Yerba Buena Gardens and park on top of the Moscone Center. The gardens are across the street from San Francisco Museum of Modern Art (MOMA). A new building was underconstruction so I was able to use the glass in an adjacent building as a great mirror for the MOMA and nearby buildings. MOMA is the brown building in the lower right.

OH! JUST VISITING....HONEST!

When I lived in San Jose, CA, I had a great cat and parakeet. One day I put the bird outside for some fresh air. What I didn't realize is that I hung the cage in a place that the cat could crawl up and look in. I noticed the cat tentatively pawing the cage and the bird calmly sitting on its perch. I grabbed my camera and took this shot. My cat had that guilty look on its face didn't he?

FISHERMAN GETS CAUGHT

The Great Clam Chowder Cookoff! Every year the City of Santa Cruz Parks and Recreation Department sponsors the Chowder Cookoff. One year I joined 5 or 6 other people that I work with and entered the competition. Didn't win anything but we all had a great time. In the photo above, Jim, Gwen, and Angela all posed in front of the Santa Cruz Boardwalk. Lucky guy!

BAKER BEACH

I was visiting some friends that took me to Baker Beach in San Francisco, CA. It was a particularly beautiful day and took this photograph. It's hard to believe that the Golden Gate Bridge is the number one tourist attraction in the US for foreign visitors but apparently it is. In 1987 I had an opportunity to walk across the bridge....right down the middle! Me and about 250,000 other revelers attended the 50th anniversary of the opening of the bridge. I was caught just past the first tower and could not move. Parents held their children over their heads. One person fainted and had to be delivered to safety across the outstretched hands of other participants. It took quite a while for her to get to the south area of the bridge and safety. The designers of the bridge never allowed for the kind of weight that 250,000 people would present and the bridge actually flattened out at mid-span. A very catastrophic event could have killed thousands that day. Luckily only a few people were hurt by jostling crowds. I finally got to the other side and then walked back. I put my name on some of the Botts dots that mark the lanes.

THE ANT CAR

This is the Ant Car. The owner lives in Santa Cruz and has a pretty wild and creative way of showing their artistic talents. You might not able to see San Francisco depicted on the roof under the insect. The mushroom cloud-like additions to the sides of the car give it a nuclear look.This car was a participant in the Burning Man Festival.

BIG SUR COAST - CALIFORNIA

The Bixby Bridge in Big Sur. This is one of the most photographed bridges in the world. Although I have crossed it many times I am always impressed with the engineering feat as well the beauty of the arch and surroundings. I took the road that the bridge replaced and found to be quite beautiful as well. It serpentines through central maritime chaparral and redwood forests before it reconnects with Highway One. I recommend it to anyone that is not in a big hurry to get to Nepenthe.

BIG JACKS

My lovely bride standing next to the jetty at Santa Cruz Harbor. The concrete objects a huge "jacks" like the ones that children play with. At least I guess they do although I haven't seen anyone doing it anymore. Jacks was a game that boys didn't play much. It was pretty much a girls game. Guys were supposed to play more physical games. They didn't play hopscotch much either. The "jacks" are used as interlocking barriers to ocean waves that would otherwise wash the jetty away.

JACARANDA TREES AT CITY HALL

In December 1990 a "Polar Express" came through Santa Cruz, CA and killed over a 1000 trees with temperatures as low as 11 degrees! All of the trees around City Hall died. I was the field supervisor of tree maintenance then so I had an opportunity to choose the trees that would replace them. I chose Jacaranda mimosifolia (Jacaranda) trees.














Here is an example of what a mature tree looks like.

Santa Cruz is about as far north as they can grow without being affected by fridged temperatures. This photo was taken while the tree crew was planting one of the 60" box trees across the street from the Civic Auditorium in 1996.

LA PARROQUIA

La Parroquia, a pink, Gothic parish church, is one of San Miguel de Allende’s (Mexico) most famous landmarks as well as one of the finest examples of colonial architecture in Mexico. Standing in the city’s main square called El Jardin, the church was originally built in 1683 but was given a facelift in 1880. It was originally built in a plain Fanciscan style, but two centuries later an Indian architect, Zeferino Gutierres, gave the church an imposing facelift. With no formal training, this self-taught man added the tower and Gothic-style facade of pink-hued sandstone, supposedly using postcard pictures of French Gothic cathedrals as his inspiration! A statue of St. Michael the Archangel, namesake of both town and church, adorns the main altar. The original bell, also referered to as St. Michael and cast in 1732, begins ringing early in the morning to summon parishioners; it is still an active house of worship. I was very impressed with this church. It dominated everything around it. It was clear that it held a very special place for the citizens of San Miguel to meet and socialize.
Here is a corner of the square. The central plaza "El Jardin" is on the left.

My wife and I visited San Miguel in November 2003. We intended to stay over a couple of nights and return to Guanojuato. Unfortunately I was stricken with food poisoning from a very highly recommended restaurant named El Atrio de La Capilla and decided to return a day early.













I photographed this young woman lighting candles in the main dining area that night.

FORTNIGHT LILY

This hardy shrub produces several blooms like this over a six month period. It's just outside the front door of our home.It's really great to come home and be greeted by a whole section of the front area covered in these flowers. They are known by several names. I've always referred to them as an African Iris.

GAY PRIDE PARADE 2003

There is a significant population of GLBTQ (Gay Lesbian Bi-sexual Transgendered and Questioning) people in Santa Cruz County. Every year in June they celebrate by holding a Gay Pride Day. The parade is part of the festivities. It's always very colorful, upbeat, noisy, and informative. Each year people "out" themselves on the day of the event. It's a very liberating atmosphere. Here is a photo I took of the beginning of the parade in 2003.