Roughing it on the ridge

“Roughing it” may be a bit of an exaggeration, but we have had to adjust — for a few days we’re doing without a microwave and a coffee maker! More dauntingly, our only heat source is a small woodburning stove. We’re off the electrical grid, so all the power is battery operated; we need to keep an eye on the […]

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In the Pygmy Forest

The loop trail through the Pygmy Forest forms a huge contrast from previous sections of the Ecological Staircase at Jug Handle State Reserve. Leaving behind the deeply shaded coastal redwood path and soft forest floor, I found myself on a narrow boardwalk in full sunlight lying above highly acidic, poorly draining soil. I was surrounded by a profusion of trees […]

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One last look at Castle Peak

Here is the last of my batch of photos from late July 2006, when the Big Guy took me along on his quest for a good bow hunting spot. I had never stopped to explore this area, not far from Interstate 80, and I honestly didn’t see a whole lot of it even on this day. But there was quite […]

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High Sierra summer

I was going to share a few more images of the Castle Peak area from July 2006, but for whatever reason I can’t get them to load properly. So I’ll just go with the ones that did get through and save the rest for another day. Probably all for the best anyway!

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Albion studio

When we headed over to the Mendocino coast last October, we found ourselves staying in a place that was new to us. Rather than Point Arena or farther north in Mendocino, we opted for a more central location — in the vicinity of the tiny town of Albion, near the Navarro River. At first I was concerned that our lodgings were so small, basically one room. But I actually loved staying here and wouldn’t mind returning sometime. Although Highway 1 was only a stone’s throw from our door, traffic noise was almost nonexistent. And while the view from our rear balcony included a small house below us on the same property, we felt comfortably secluded, with magnificent ocean vistas and a beautiful sunset just about every night.

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Point Arena palette

I’ve discovered that the small town of Point Arena in Mendocino County is a great place to spend a few days — or even longer — no matter what time of year. The last time we were there was in December; the weather was a bit unpredictable, and I didn’t get out and go hiking as much as I normally […]

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At Castle Peak

Whenever I take a deep dive into my photo archives in the search for any specific item, I usually end up stumbling across other images long forgotten. That was how I came across these pictures which I shot back in July 2006. I was using my new Kodak EasyShare Z7590, a compact little point-and-shoot with 10x optical zoom, and the […]

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