On the wall
Murals seen along Main Street in Point Arena…
A short exploration
We had parked alongside Highway 1 not too far south of Fort Bragg in Mendocino County; while I wandered the windy bluff top, the Big Guy was getting down to the serious business of casting out into the surf, looking for fish. It was just across the road from where he was fishing that I eventually discovered part of the […]
The Adventure Continues… Arrowhead Springs
This Classic episode of California’s Gold first aired back in 1998. This wasn’t Huell’s only visit to the area; two years later he returned to explore Under Lake Arrowhead in an episode which I previously featured in 2018. The Arrowhead Resort reached the height of fame and glamour many decades ago, and since then has been somewhat in decline. After […]
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 […]
Throwback Thursday: 2009 Amgen Tour of California
Along with the Big Guy, I was a roadside spectator for all but a couple of editions of the annual bike race known as the Amgen Tour of California between in the first edition in February 2006 and its final run in May 2019. I first shared these images from February 2009 soon after the event; Stage 1 took the riders from Davis to Lake Berryessa, then across the Vaca Mountains to Napa County, eventually crossing the finish line in Santa Rosa — a total of 115.9 miles. Two days before the race, Friday, the Big Guy and I drove from Sacramento to Napa to scope everything out and pick a good place to watch. We drove past the first of two King of the Mountains checkpoints, near the Monticello Dam at Lake Berryessa. After accidentally taking the wrong road, we passed through Angwin and came over Howell Mountain, the location of the second KOM, driving in the opposite direction of the race route, then down into Pope Valley. We didn’t drive the race route along the western shore of Berryessa, but we did see some pretty sites on our way back to Route 128. On Sunday, we knew exactly where we wanted to go. And despite the crazy weather we bundled up and made the trip back over to Napa. Narrow bridge near Pope Valley Somerston Vineyards Not part of the peloton! Actually, on race day the wind didn’t […]
Stornetta autumn
I shot these photos near Point Arena during November 2021. The ocean can be surprisingly calm and smooth during the winter months; in our younger days we often camped in our big 1960s-era tent (bought at Sears) in the Bodega Dunes Campground — and frequently had the place almost to ourselves. It’s been years since I used a sleeping bag […]
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 […]
The Hot Spot, Part 1
The great San Francisco earthquake of 1906 may be history, but the cause of the quake — movement along the San Andreas Fault — still occurs all up and down the coast of Northern California. Sonoma County’s Hot Spot is only one of several faults along the San Andreas Fault Zone. I’ve found it nearly impossible to find much information […]
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 […]