The family gathered in Blue Lake for Christmas festivities, good food and great company.

Christmas 2012

Took a drive over to Samoa and took a few pictures of the surf.  Also, some evening pictures of Woodley Island Marina and the Eureka waterfront.  Later scouted out a "View" area about 25 miles east of Arcata on Hwy 299.  May come back for pictures of the meteor shower on Aug 12.  Aug 8, went up to Big Lagoon and took a few pictures at the County Park.  There are other pictures that I thought were interesting, you may not agree?

Arcata Area

Members from several motorcycle groups in the area met at the Veterans Hall in Arcata for a ride to Seaview Cemetery for a Veterans Day Ceremony.

Veterans Day 2012

Pictures of the chalk drawings on the sidewalk around the "Plaza" in Arcata.

Pastels on the Plaza 2012

I Visited Mycality Mushrooms in Samoa, CA today. They grow severral veriaties of mushrooms. One of their problems is how to ship out of the area. Federal Express charges them $500 to ship 100 pounds out of the area. The broker only pays $450 per 100 pounds! That really cuts into the profit

Mycality Mushrooms

Traveled 25 miles East of Arcata on Hwy 299 to look at the meteor shower.  Tried to get some pictures but couldn't get the meteors to stand still!  Got some night sky pictures that I like though.

Night Sky 12Aug2012

I stopped by Jeremys shop, Woodlab Design, and took a look at their creation for Burning Man this year.  There is one, The Tug Boat, which will be a traveling display and one, the Light House, which will be set on fire and burned.

Burning Man Construct

Took a ride out to Samoa and went on the "Speeder" ride.  The Speeder is a crew engine and car used to transport railroad workers and support them while working on or laying new track.  It is powered by a 1953 Ford Flat Head Six which does a good job of moving the engine and car down the track.  It was noisy and bumpy, guess they didn't worry about comfort of the workers too much.

After the Speeder Ride I went on out to the Coast Guard Open House.  There were a lot of displays from law enforcement and fire units as well as the Coast Guard.  There was a Cal Fire Helicopter and on closer inspection it was the one from Kneeland that I visited on the 22.  I just keep running into the same people.

Took a couple pictures of the pulp plant where they turn logs into chips for paper pulp.

Speeder and Coast Guard

After breakfast I too a drive to Kneeland.  I had heard about the airport at Kneeland as it is in the mountains, 2,700 feet msl, and is often clear while the airports at sea leval are fogged in.  I drove up the mountain looking for the top of the fog and it was still with me when I got to the town.  The airport is about 6 miles further down the road and sure enough the sun was shining.  I stopped by the fire unit and they let me take pictures of their facility.  A nice morning.

Kneeland 2012

Silks Perf Elisabeth

Pancake breakfast at the Grange in Blue Lake with Tisha, Jeremy and Elisabeth then off to the parade and a visit to the car show and vendor booths.

Ann and Mary 2012

Decided on a follow up trip to Capistrano.  Went there last Saturday and couldn't find a place to park the truck so thought it would be a god idea to take the train.  The Metro Link Station is only one block from the Mission.  Went to Corona for breakfast and to catch the train.  Couldn't find a place to park the truck at the train station!  The lots were full!  Drove back to Capistrano and had a good day wandering through Dos Rios, a narrow old tree lined street with lots of shops, then over to the mission and the gardens.

Capistrano 2012

Took a harbor tour to see the USS Iowa which is being moved to a dock in Los Angeles Harbor to become a museum. The Container ships are impressive, don't know why the don't tip over?  Each of those boxes is a full load for a semi truck.  Half of the boxes go back to the far east empty.  The whole port area is just one big parking lot for containers.  The USS Iowa will be open to the public next month and I look forward to going aboard.

USS Iowa 9Jun2012

Friday the 13th and rainy but friends of Max Hackett met at Riverside National Cemetery to recognize his life.  I worked with Max and his wife Betty at Ontario TRACON.  It was good to see all of the people who came out for the military service and recognition of his service both in the Navy and as an Air Traffic Controller.  We will all miss him.

Max Hackett

Easter Sunday so I mooched dinner from Bill and Toni.  First was the traditional egg hunt in the back yard then we ate.  Ribs, Ham and all the trimmings.

Easter 2012

Drove down to Hofs Hut in Long Beach for Breakfast with Marilyn. After breakfast we went to San Pedro and looked at the container ships then on the the Wayfarer Chapel.  Along the way we noticed that the road along the coast was 'mushy' in places.  We later found that the section of road moves about 6 feet a year and is resurfaced weekly!  Spent some time at the Wayfarers Chapel then to Redondo Beach Pier for shrimp and fish and ice cream.

Redondo Beach Pier

March Air Reserve Base Air Museum will be the next stop for “The Wall That Heals”. The people at the ARB have very graciously invited Paul “Peacekeeper” Anderson to organize a ride to accompany the Wall from Ontario to the Air Museum for its visit there Mar 27 thru Apr 1.

I braved the rain to be at the March Air Museum for the arrival and erection of The Wall That Heals.

Wall that Heals 2012

Levitated Mass by artist Michael Heizer is composed of a 456 foot long slot carved into the earth, over which is placed a 340 ton granite boulder.  As the viewer descends through the monumental slot, the boulder appears to rise.

The appropriate boulder was discovered in Riverside County, California.  Visit lacma.org to learn more.

I intercepted the boulder in Roland Heights where it is spending the weekend.  It will be moved 105 miles in 11 days.  The Transporter is 260 feet long and 32 feet wide.  Look closely at the dolly's, each steers  individually and the whole thing is pulled from the front and pushed from behind..  Imagine going around a corner. The rock was wrapped in "shrink-wrap" to protect it.

Levitated Mass