Tulelake 2007

Tulelake - Siskiyou County  2007

Clyde Hotel (Tulelake) - Siskiyou County  2007

From my 2007 visit to this area. Both photos taken with the Sony DSC-R1 that I had at the time.

My primary purpose that year was visiting Lava Beds National Monument. Also, Tulelake was the site of Tule Lake War Relocation Center, a concentration camp for Japanese-Americans during WWII.

County Road 59

County Road 59 - Modoc County  2017

In order to get to the turnoff to the Modoc National Wildlife Refuge I went a little farther down the road than I should have. But that was good, because I found this scene on the way.

Consists of three vertical photos combined using Photoshop.

Every now and then, flights of geese overhead:

Geese - Modoc County  2017

Alturas Sightems

Pit Stop - Alturas  2017

Gracepoint - Alturas  2017

Very photogenic town.

Alturas Evening

Hotel Niles - Alturas  2017

Niles Theater - Alturas  2017

In Alturas, Main Street is Highway 395, for me, a much-traveled route just east of the Sierra Nevada mountains. But up here, not so often.

Alturas is over 4000 feet elevation, which I didn't know. Nice evening light.

Alturas

Flag, Forest Service Parking Lot - Alturas  2017

Emergency Response Trailer - Alturas  2017

I arrived in Alturas later than I had planned. I checked in at my motel (an Emergency Response trailer parked opposite) and drove over to the local Forest Service HQ, where I got some maps and pointers from a helpful government employee.

In point of fact, the largest employer in Alturas is the government (Federal, State and local.) All its elected representatives are Republicans.

Monday Horse Blogging

Horse (Sierraville) - Sierra Nevada  2017

More eclipse light.

The horse wasn't there when the Google car went by in July, 2015.

Some Smoke

Mt Lassen, Lake Almanor - Plumas County  2017

Telephone Poles, Hills, Smoke - Sierra Nevada  2017

Driving from Boomtown to Alturas on Highway 89 I came to a viewpoint over Lake Almanor with some odd white shapes in the distance. It wasn't until I got out of the car that I realized that they were snow fields on Mount Lassen. Here's a nicer photo of the lake from 2007: Lake Almanor & Forest.

The air became progressively smokier and I started to get a wee bit concerned. Eventually, the atmosphere cleared up somewhat.

River, Truck - Sierra Nevada  2017

Fritos & Beer, 2007

Fritos & Beer - Modoc County  2007

I visited Lava Beds National Monument in 2007, camping there while using two of my first "real" digital cameras, a Sony R1 and an Olympus C-8080. Photos from that trip to Modoc County were never posted to the blog, so I thought I could show a few interspersed with photos from last month's trip there.

Also, check out my powerful Infiniti G35, nice to zip around in, but not nearly as useful as my current Toyota RAV.

Church (Eclipse Light)

Church - Sierra Nevada  2017

Highway 89 travels through the northern Sierra Nevada, a mountainous tree-covered region, not as spectacular as the granitic areas to the south. I noticed this church and pulled into the small parking lot, and got out for this photo. The eclipse reduced the contrast significantly, making for a nice effect.

Eclipse

Eclipse Viewing - Sierra Nevada  2017

So, it was on this date last month that the famous eclipse occured. No totality where I was, but there was a definite dimming of the sun.

Mike Eclipse Viewing - Sierra Nevada  2017

Boomtown Color

Red Branches, Yellow Flowers - Nevada  2017

Sage, Barbed Wire - Nevada  2017

Every now and then I'd get some nice cloud-filtered light. Photos taken using an Olympus E-PL7 with a Panasonic 12-60mm zoom lens.

Boomtown Black and White

White Van, Clouds - Nevada  2017

Vacant Lot - Nevada  2017

Walking around the sagebrush and concrete.

There are those that think that converting a color image to black and white is . . . is . . . somehow just not right. Obviously I disagree.

Monday Cow Blogging

Cows - Sierra Nevada  2017

Nice rural scene just off Highway 89, a Sierra highway north of Truckee. I used an Olympus 75-300mm zoom lens for both shots. Cows were ignoring the sign on the fence.

Eat Beef - Sierra Nevada  2017

Return to Boomtown!

Boomtown - Nevada  2017

Union Pacific - Nevada  2017

Hali and I stayed here earlier this year. Purely a financial choice, although the rooms aren't bad at all. I'm sure that they expect one to spend some time in the casino.

I had wanted to take a photo trip to Alturas (California) in winter, last March, but road conditions were a little dicey so I postponed the trip. Last month's short trip was a chance for me to scout out locations without worrying about the weather. So I was in Boomtown one night going to Alturas and one night coming back.

It was pretty warm . . . I got there early enough that I could take some pix. In a way, the area kind of reminds me of Bryce Canyon City.

Please note that when I include my shadow in a photo, I label it as a self-portrait. Don't know if that's correct, but, oh well!

San Francisco (from the back seat)

Photo Shoot - San Francisco  2017

Man with Satchel - San Francisco  2017

I was using an Olympus E-PL7 and a 25mm "prime" lens while sitting in the back seat of Ben's Toyota Tacoma.

Chili Relleno-A-Thon 2

Egg Whites - Marin County  2017

Chili Rellenos - Marin County  2017

Heat the vegetable shortening in a skillet over medium heat. Roll each stuffed pepper in flour, tap off excess flour, and dip the peppers into the egg mixture to coat both sides. Gently lay the coated peppers into the hot shortening. Fry peppers until lightly golden brown and the cheese has melted, about 5 minutes per side. (allrecipes.com)

Yum!

Chili Relleno-A-Thon 1

Eggs - Marin County  2017

Tomatoes - Marin County  2017

Annual Chili Relleno-A-Thon held at Barbara's house on the occasion of her poblano chili harvest. (This year, quite abundant.)

Eggs for the egg whites, tomatoes for a salad.

For those who might be interested, here's a complete list of words ending in "o" that are made plural by adding "es."

Earthquake Trail

Bay Trees - Point Reyes  2017

Ferns, Alders, Creek - Point Reyes  2017

A short trail near the visitor center, with earthquake information signs (right on the San Andreas Fault.)

Point Reyes Overcast - 2

Ranch Buildings - Point Reyes  2017

Beach Grass - Point Reyes  2017

Top photo a three-vertical-shot merge.

Bottom taken with an Olympus 9-18mm wide-angle zoom lens. No photos of the actual ocean this time, however. Nothing much happening down at the beach.

Monday Wilson's Warbler Blogging

Wilson's Warbler - Point Reyes  2017

Compare to 2012 photo. Both pix were taken through glass, so not the best quality. Still, fun to see these little birds.

This one taken with an Olympus E-M10 and a 14-150mm zoom lens.

Fog on the Ridge

Branches, Fog - Point Reyes  2017

Tree, Branches - Point Reyes  2017

I went to Point Reyes looking for fog, but only found some on the Limantour Road's ridge, where the trailhead for Sky Camp is located. So, not that unusual.

Both photos were HDR jpegs, generated in-camera.

Point Reyes Overcast - 1

White Fence - Point Reyes  2017

Two Windows - Point Reyes  2017

I visited Point Reyes last month, hoping for some low-visibility fog conditions. No fog, alas, but it was nicely overcast.

Late Afternoon

Cows, Afternoon - Marin County  2017

Ranch Road - Marin County  2017

I needed to drive the truck to charge the battery, so I took the opportunity to go out to the San Geronimo Valley, just over the hill.

Had to remember not to turn the engine off while I took these pix.

View of Fennel, Mt Tamalpais / Eucalyptus Leaves

Fennel, Mt Tamalpais - Marin County  2017

Eucalyptus Leaves - Marin County  2017

Photos taken with an Olympus E-PL7 and a (new!) Panasonic 12-60 zoom lens.

White Buildings

Tons of Bubbles - San Francisco  2017

White Building - San Francisco  2017

Top photo taken with a Canon G5X.

Bottom photo taken with an iPhone 7 Plus. (Panorama mode.)

Champagne Campaign / Delightful Massage

Champagne Campaign - San Francisco  2017

Delightful Massage - San Francisco  2017

An evening of ignorant party rap, at Pop's Bar - "The City's longest happy hour."

**

From a Yelp review of Delightful Massage: "I like my massages with lots of pressure, cracking, and force, and most (not all) of the masseuses are great with this." Whoa.

**

Top photo: iPhone 7 Plus.

Bottom photo: Canon G5X, before it went missing.

Monday Cat Blogging

Cat - Berkeley  2017

Seen on Carlotta Street in Berkeley. Someone mentioned the cat's name, but I've forgotten it.

[Update: Name is "Cloudy."]