Tackle box

I’ve forgotten how and when I became the proud owner of this vintage aluminum tackle box — complete with a previous owner’s fishing license and a decal from the State of Oregon. I’m sure I had some idea of cleaning it up and using it to store some of my own doodads. But instead it’s been just sitting around my […]

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Hanging with the coots

I’ve seen plenty of American Coots in a number of watery locations, but Clear Lake is the only place I can seem to get anywhere near them. There always seems to be something comical to me about these small birds; maybe it’s just that I’ve come to associate them with the expression “a funny old coot” — what my Merriam-Webster […]

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A walk to the pier

On our most recent stay in Point Arena last month, I was eager to get out one morning and take a walk down the road to the pier. It wasn’t the first time I had visited the pier, but this time I arrived on foot and was able to look around at some of the details I missed before. It […]

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Blue Mesa

Photos can’t even begin to convey how amazing and overwhelming the landscape is when you’re standing in Arizona’s Petrified Forest National Park. I’m so glad that we stopped and took a couple of hours to see this incredible place, even though we only scratched the surface of what the park has to offer. One of our stops along the road […]

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Violence, deconstructed

I think that once you’ve seen one of Al Farrow’s mosaic sculptures you’ll never quite forget it. That was why on my visit to the deYoung Museum in San Francisco last August I suddenly found myself experiencing a strange feeling of deja vu; it took me a few minutes to realize why. His intricate pieces are both jarring and thought-provoking, […]

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The Hot Spot Part 2

We enjoyed our peaceful walk through the ferns and redwoods at The Hot Spot last September, but I’d really love to go back and see if I can learn a bit more about what I saw there! There are 21 wooden posts along the trail with corresponding informational notes in the trail guide pamphlet. Since we wandered somewhat randomly through […]

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Lighthouse

Although the iconic notion of a lighthouse is a lonely structure standing straight and tall on the rocks, dashed by the raging sea, lighthouses actually come in many shapes and sizes. Most US lighthouses these days are either completely automated or else they’ve been done away with altogether. I feel quite lucky I’ve been able to visit a few of […]

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