Wandering around

I was walking around looking for several Geocache in the area and in the process noticed a couple things I hadn't noticed before.  Like this for example.  This is the view north along former Highway One where it used to cross the Noyo River and continued on into Fort Bragg.  The old bridge is long gone and now you "can't get there from here" unless you use the current Highway One and the big bridge located one block to the west.

And this is the Old Willits Road which was replace by Highway 20.  I was trying to get the Old Willits Rd sign and the old Willits road all into one shot but it wasn't easy!

While in "South" Fort Bragg I had to stop by and take a picture of Van Peer's latest creation.  This boat works builds about one steel boat per year although it looks like work might have slowed down on this one.

The "Cross Streets Re-d0" continues.  This is the south side of East Laurel between Franklin and McPherson.

This is a little map I put together showing the cross streets involved in the project.

Oh boy!

It looks like the recent wind isn't accepting the change gracefully!

California Weekend

'Nuff said!

Signs of the Times

The last clothes cleaning establishment in Fort Bragg.

A great downtown store front for rent on Franklin Street.

Meanwhile, this horse and buggy era Tie-down ring is still in place.  I will be keeping an eye on it as I expect this side of Redwood Avenue will be jack-hammered next week.

This tie-down ring near Paul Bunyan resides just beyond the remodel section.  It also resides in a handicap zone, hence the blue paint job!

Out and About

A big "Oops!" at Longs Drugs.

A full on bloom at the Guest House Museum.

And at the little court yard just south of Town Hall.

Meanwhile, the new sidewalk along the south side of Laurel Street progresses.

Caffeine addicts continue to find ways to get their fix at the Headlands Coffee House.

At least this should be coming towards an end by the time the tourists arrive.

Morning Oddity thoughts

This Fort Bragg Police SUV seems like an oddity to me in this time of economic downturn and environmental awarness but I don't know the whole story.  It might be a "gift" from a drug bust.

And again, in times like these, seeing something like this doesn't bring joy to my heart!

I know, I know, people need to tour the coast in comfort and...

keeping things simple doesn't help the economy either.

It's all just so weird.

Okay Okay, back to Walking Fort Bragg!

I noticed the lights were on at the Sigrid & Harry Spath Aquatic Facility.

The construction gate was open so I walked in closer for a peak.

Pretty dang awesome for Fort Bragg! Read about it here.

Meanwhile the east/west streets of downtown are getting the Franklin Street Re-do treatment.

A lot going on in these most interesting times.

We are fortunate to have a lot of folks are staying busy.

Everything but the kitchen sink

As some of you know I went on a solo backpacking trip in the hills of Redwood Valley.  Here is my early morning start up the hill.  I followed old logging roads.

Here is a salamander in the early morning light.

The "ghost pine" pine cones were impressive.

Wikipedia says, "The Gray Pine has several additional English names, including Foothill Pine, Ghost Pine, California Foothill Pine, Bull Pine, Nut Pine, and also Digger Pine. This last supposedly came from the fact that the Paiute foraged for its seeds by digging around the base of the tree, although it is more likely that the term was first applied to the people; "Digger Indians" was in common use in California literature from the 1800s. The name is now considered a racial slur, and is best avoided though still in widespread use. It is also sometimes thought of as a pinyon pine, though it does not belong to that group."

After hunting around and making a cell phone call to my friend Doug I finally found the "Upper Meadow".

Snow mountain in the distance and a California Vulture in the foreground.

Friday's campsite in the meadow.

Off in the distance I noticed this female deer before she noticed me.

I'm not sure what this flower is but the springtime flowers were out and about.

Day two, hiking higher.  The top of this hill was at 2,647 feet.  The lowest elevation during my trip was 847!  The walking I did in the hills of Shoreline, Edmonds and Richardson Beach paid off!

I spotted several clusters of Black Chanterelle.  They are very good eating but I left them alone.

Second night's campsite as it started raining.

Morning of the third day.  Snow!

Back down to the upper meadow to a completely different environment!

What a difference a day makes!

Returning to the lower elevations the snow dissapated and "summer returned".

Reading my book while things dry out!

It is amazing how much can be experienced and seen during a three day, ten mile hike.  My hiking poles, water filter pump, cat food can alcohol stove, GPS and backpack worked fine.  The tent was noisy in the wind, slippery on the slope and leaked in the rain!  I need to seal the seams, set it up only on flat areas and carry earplugs!

My first backpacking trip of this year was a perfect shake down cruise!

Holy Smokes

These guys are moving faster than I thought!  My friend Johanna asked me if I was keeping an eye on the tie-down rings and I said "Sure" but then I thought I better go take a look and by golly they were tearing up the old sidewalk on the south side of Redwood Avenue already!

Right across the street I discovered one ring was already gone!!  It had been where now there was temporary asphalt!  I ran over to the headman of the construction crew, "What happened to the tie-down ring you guys said you would save?"

"It's right over there in that chunk of curb" and by golly, it was!  He promised to break it out of the concrete and give it to me so I can have a new ring forged for it by Nick the Blacksmith.  Whew!  Jim the measure guy has already triangulated the location of these rings to help get them back into the same place when the new curb is poured.

Meanwhile, I noticed this "saltbox", kitty corner from the First Baptist Church, has a new coat of paint with lots of detail painting, even gold in places.  Looks great!

And the Azaleas are already out and smelling wonderful!

******

I'm taking off on a shake down backpacking trip and will not resume blogging until next Monday.  The weatherman is promising rain and snow in the higher elevations.  Should be a good test of my new tent and resolve!!  Have a great weekend.

Out and about

I see the sidewalk has been torn out along the south side of Alder Street.  Progress is progressing.

I was very surprised to see that Acme Automotive has a new owner.  Seems to me the original owner had it like, forever!

Eggheads Restaurant is under new ownership and has been for a while.  Because of my early morning walk the lights are on but just barely.

This aisle in Harvest Market is my friend!  This is where I get my dried Split Pea, Black Bean and Sweet Corn Chowder soup mix for my backpacking trips.  Also Trail Mix and bulk raisins!  Sweet!

Speaking of sweet.  This is the first Trillium I have spotted in Otis Johnson Park.