The wall outside Glenhaven, Lake County

One of my strong childhood memories is of riding in the car with my family as we traveled northwards on the shore of Clear Lake, heading to Fort Bragg on the California coast. Clear Lake was pretty much a mystery to me in those days; I saw very little of it — but I did see the low, arched, brown stone wall that ran along the edge of the highway. It seemed to guard the mostly empty shoreline from the lake’s waves and from the mountain looming in the background. I’m not sure how far this wall actually ran along the road, but to me it seemed to go on and on.

These days, a lot more houses and docks line the shore, and the wall, still present, feels much diminished. Maybe it’s just that I’ve grown up; maybe it truly has shrunk. All I know is that on this day, I was determined to pull over and take pictures… just in case the time comes when that wall disappears completely.

The name Konocti comes from the Pomo language, roughly translated as “Mountain Woman”