Redwoods,Friends and F4's

Say what you will,Healdsburgians know how to get down with a party.The town turned 150 years and some of the dancers may have been there for the first birthday.Never saw so many grey hairs boogying away.The wine was flowing,music was great,atmosphere was peace&love-a real celebration!!Classic cars,including Keith&Terri's T-bucket,all on the town square.Every town in america should have one day a year set aside to celebrate who they is.

Next day off to Ron's deck for coffee and medicinal smoke-Ron,Mailyn,Lou,Colleen,Pat,Terri,Keith,Perky and el E in attendance.Somehow we lost our sense of time and Ron,el E,Pat and Perky had to haul ass to the Wings Over Wine Country airshow at sonoma County airport but we made it and even slid into a great parking spot.Made our way thru the gate and straight to an F4 on static display.(Perky made us go for which we are eternally grateful.)Up the long ladder and down the short rope and into the cockpit for the first time in 35 years.Like t-shirts and blue jeans,cockpits seem to have shrunk.after squeezing our fat asses in,ther's an audible click and we're home.We(Ron&I)have between us 3000 hours in these cockpits and every one of those hours came rushing back,in color with g's.Somewhat shaken,we exited the aircraft,back down the ladder,momentary confusion,hugs and tears all around and "Let's go get a drink" had us back on the road.

Hwy 395, Mammoth Lakes, Hot Springs, Tioga Pass

Mammoth Lakes....you climb and climb to each lake. The first lakes, Twin Lakes, have a canal connecting them. The wind was fierce! You could barely stand up! Screaming down the canyon. It was wonderful. On up to Lake Mamie and Lake Mary. There was a large area of dead trees at one end of Lake Mary. The water level had dropped 75' which is supposedly natural. The trees were killed by co2 emmissions from the lake. Not natural. Eerie to see. Mammoth Creek begins around Lake Mamie and travels down the mountain, across 395 and there is a section of Hot Springs. The springs are no longer accessible because the temperature has risen, geysers have begun, and are unpredictable. But we were able to get to them and take pictures. Owens Valley is truly amazing. Mammoth Creek continues on and empties into the Owens River which then feeds Crowley Lake. A fantastic visual lesson in geology. You stand there and look up at the Sierras which loom above you. Turn around and it is wide open valley. Back on the road north. Heading to Mono Lake. Mono Lake is a nesting area for seagulls! Imagine all those seagulls from the Pacific flying over the Sierras to nest! The road across Tioga Pass (Hwy 120), through Yosemite, turns off 395 at Mono Lake. We stopped and bought a loaf of Sheepherders bread....yummmm and headed up. Tioga Pass is only open in the summer. You could still see some snow up high. The pass at the summit is 9,4oo feet. The lakes are crystal clear and blue as the sky. There is a place where you can see Half Dome in the distance.

The rock formations look like someone took a trowel and smoothed them out. Then there are boulders just sitting here and there, as if someone said, oh, that rock would look nice there! The trees and formations thru the pass are spectacular. We emerged on the west side and took a fun, winding, switchback road down. Spent the night in Oakdale and up early the next morning heading for San Francisco! We stopped at one of our favorite tourist shops on Fisherman's Wharf and bought 2 for $24 fleece jackets! Had nary a jacket with us and figured we needed them. We did! Hallelujah!!!! Had a great lunch, went to another favorite stop, The Buena Vista, for famous Irish Coffees to go! On to 101 north, over the fabulous Golden Gate Bridge, heading to Sonoma County, to see friends, the redwoods, music, the river, bay leaf trees, the mouth of the Russian River at Jenner, Goat Rock. We arrived at Terri & Keith's in Healdsburg, about 2:30 and the communing with friends began! Keith greeted us, Terri was still in LA at that time, Ron & Marilyn came over. We were home! The next day was hanging out with the above, music in the town square in Healdsburg, dancing, food and fun! On Thursday we all gathered at the Windsor Town Green for music and dancing! Lou and his friend, Colleen, came up from San Francisco to join all of us! The band, The Heartbeats, was fantastic! If you ever have a chance to see them...go! They are a cover band, complete with costumes! Very danceable and fun! We all went back to Terri & Keith's for swimming and the hot tub! Not a lot of sleep that night! On Saturday we headed for Guerneville via Eastside Road. I lived in Guerneville and on the Russian River for 10 years. It was great to be back home. It's a place which touches my soul. We went to Monte Rio to see if the Pink Elephant bar was still there. It was! Then up Bohemian Highway to THE Bohemian Grove. The "spook" place. Spook as in "those people". If you don't know about the Bohemian Grove....google it. Your skin will crawl. We drove into the parking lot and turned around. Don't want to have to answer any questions to those people. Back on Hwy 116/River road out to the coast. We ventured out to Goat Rock first, drove down the dirt road to Marilyn's old house. It was part of a radar station during WWII. Then down to the beach. It was a bright, clear, windy, beautiful day! The Russian River empties there. In the winter, when it rains 50-75 inches the river floods, and widens the opening. All kinds of driftwood piles up. Back in the day people would build makeshift dwellings out of the huge pieces of trees. Can't do that anymore....like so many other things. One of the highlights of our visit was all the political talk! Each of us supporting the other and offering any new information! Very energizing! The spiritual and political climate of the River area is so comforting! Like minded people everywhere...even the air! We went out to Jenner for a drink at the River's End. And a look at the mouth of the River from the north side. Big ole fat seals sunning on the beach. We stopped at the Blue Heron, in Duncan's Mills, where I used to work. Absolutely the most wonderful job I ever had. Bartending is still my favorite thing to do. She is closed right now, but I met the new owner and we had a great talk. I was able to share about the good ole days. He remembers it and wants to bring it back. Wahoooo! Should reopen in September...or so. He is committed!A mention of the weather-foggy first thing and cool,60 or so.Fog burns off around 10 leaving crystal clear blue skies,warming to 80 or so.cooling in the evening to the mid 50's with a bazillion stars.Perfect.Drove up to the top of Fitch Mt. in Healdsburg for the meteor shower with Ron & keith-took wine and medicinal Mary Jane,laid on our backs in the parking lot with our heads on the curb to avoid neck strain.Fabulous show till we got actually cold,also mightily stoned.Rest of the week passed with the return of Pat(remember her?),trips to Cazadero and Guerneville,picking blackberries and plums and making jam,generally hanging out and wine and more wine plus cheese.GOOD cheese,Ron.Enough for now.

No room at any inn OR Fortuitous Blunder

Correction to the last post-fromPahrump we took Hwy 160 to Hwy95 to HWY 226 TO HWY 168 to Hwy 395 in Big Pine,CA. This was our plan and only contained one flaw-the eastern slope of the Sierras in summer is a madhouse of fishermen,hikers,bikers etc and it was Sat nite.Nary a room from Lone Pine to Reno nor an empty campsite.Woe is us-sleeping in the car is for younger folks unless you got no choice. After a quick burger in Bishop and mucho map looking and teeth gnashing we head north on 395.Very dark,lottsa stars,10PM,resigned to a really long nite.Bout 35 miles up the road we spot a road sign that says "Lodging-next exit". Perky says let's check it out. So Crowley Lake becomes our next adventure. Up the dark road past residences,couple churches and 1 little store. Dark o the moon.Stop sign and sign saying library to the right.Perky says let's go right.We do and finally see a small sign saying lodging.We stop and I ring the bell and wait,knowing this is futile but maybe we can park in their lot.Light goes on upstairs and the innkeeper opens the door. HE"S GOT TWO ROOMS!!! After kissing him and crying,I register.Our room is freakin great-all pine panelled and rustic,7000 ft and crystal clear outside.Mountains all around and about 11:30 a huge red half moon rises from the East.Next morning we wake surrounded by beauty and fresh,sweet air.Command decision is made to stay another nite so we sign up.Off to Mammouth Lakes and more great beauty,really spectacular.Swing by Convict Lake on the way back to our room.Convict Lake has been used in many films and you can see why when you're there-awesome vertical cliffs dropping to this round,crystal clear lake.B ack to our little slice of heaven and a steak on the grill.Our heartfelt thanks to Randy at Mono Sierra Lodge for getting out of bed to rent us a room,which turned disaster into a really great experience.Perky calls these adventures fortuitous blunders.I prefer masterpieces of spontaneity.Please vote for your choice of desriptive label and post yer votes on the blog.more on 395 and Yosemite later-gotta go pick blackberries.

DESERT TO THE MOUNTAINS

Before leaving Pahrump,couple of things bear mentioning.The infamous Hollywood Madam,Heidi Fleiss,has opened a laundromat in the Albertson's shopping center called "Dirty Laundry."The bathroom is straight out of a bordello and she plans to open a brothel for women customers soon.We,of course,felt it imperative that we do our dirty laundry with Heidi so off we went.pulled up in front and realized we were parked next to a red 71 VW bus,only the 3rd or 4th working bus we've seen since Florida.Met the owner,female truck driver and a real hoot.We gathered a pretty good crowd over the next hour.Then it's visit Heidi's pissoir and back to Rancho Charlie.saturday it's farewells and off in a rental car.Up Hwy 160 to Hwy 226 and then to Hwy 128 to cross at the very upper end of Death Valley.TRAVELLERS' TIP-this is THE way to get across DV between May and Sept.Very windy mountain road passing thru abandoned mining towns and one still occupied-Lida,Nev.Long climb up to 8500 ft,very spectacular.Off the main road and continue climbing to 10,000 ft and the ancient bristle-cone pine forest.These trees are probably the oldest living inhabitants of Planet Earth.Real attitude adjustment,makes you feel a little like a mayfly.Then it's down the other side to 2500 ft or so.Then it's climb up to 4000 or so and Hwy 395,our favorite road.The next chapter will have to wait-a gathering of the clan is happening this evening.Old friends are meeting at a free outdoor concert and farmers' market in Windsor,picturesque village about 10 miles from our current position in Healdsburg.The forecast is for a heavy wine and smoke front to move thru causing us to seek after-concert refuge in Terri&Keith's hot tub & pool.Life's hard,uh-huh,uh-huh.