Eating out

OK, you can't tell from these pictures but it warmed up considerably today. I took a walk up in the Susanville Ranch Park canyon trail. It was a little nippy in the deep shadows and the snow there was pretty dry and powdery but most of the time it was pleasant enough for a walk. I ate my lunch on a rock up near the top of the trail. I was walking along thinking that some people go out for lunch but they are talking about eating in a restaurant. For me eating out usually has a rocky component to it and a spot in the sun instead of a waitress and a booth by the window.

Still, it's better to be out even if it's a little cold and snowy.

Winter

First day of Winter... but it's felt like winter for some time now. The winter solstice, today, means it's the shortest daylight time of the year, and the longest night. Now the daylight hours get longer.

But today wasn't too bad so I went for a walk up the Bizz. The storm a couple of days ago dropped the snow but it wasn't deep enough to hinder walking. By looking at the close up snow picture you can see that the snow was not melting much today. I think it got into the mid 30's in the heat of the day. I saw a guy up there on cross country skis, which reminded me that I was going to try to get into that sport. The lack of snow so far this year hasn't been much of a reminder.

Not that I'm complaining, mind you. At least now the weather is more "seasonable" since today is the first day of winter.

Now I have a plan to head back to the desert next month. I think I'm going to go down to Vegas and see my old friend Paul and hopefully get to visit Michelle too. Paul is the closest thing I have to a geek friend. He took me to Fry's when I visited him in 2005 and we were kind of like 2 kids in a candy store. This time I actually need a few things and even though I could easily buy them online, I want to see what they have, how much it costs, be able to pick it up and look at it... you know. Anyway, after that I want to spend a few touristy days in Death Valley and also my favorite... Saline. Oh yeah!

Ice flowers

This is the time of year that we get to see some interesting formations. As of yet this year we haven't had too much hoar frost. The local Indian name for that is pogonip. Now I might not have spelled it correctly but at least that's the way it's pronounced. Needless to say there's still enough moisture in the air at night to grow some interesting ice crystals. This morning when I got in my truck the windshield had an interesting coating of ice. So interesting in fact, that I felt it was picture worthy.

Had a long walk up the Bizz today and found some more interesting ice formations on one of the bridge railings. Winter is still one week away but I'd say it started early this year. As much as I love seeing the flowers in the spring, this time of year the only flowers that can be found around here are ice flowers. Ya Gotta love that!

Not winter yet!

I've been out walking up in the Susanville Ranch Park the last couple of days. Yesterday I took these 2 pictures, one of a sandwich... OK, the antler is what I was taking the picture of. It was a fairly recent shed. The sandwich is there for scale... duhhh.


The other picture kind of looked like a grave but after looking more closely at it, I concluded that somebody just lined those rocks up like that. At any rate, the temperature today and yesterday probably got into the mid 30's, but with the sunshine it didn't feel too bad. Still it's colder than the average temperature for the date... but what is that, huh? We have been keeping records for such a short time that average temperatures can't be all that much of a guide.

But it's still not winter yet.

Wishin'

I could be wishin' for being down in Saline again, but with the storm that came through here last night moving down there, the roads going into the valley must have gotten some snow on them. I'd just as soon not be sitting at the hot springs watching the snow fall on the mountains not knowing the status of the passes. Oh well, I'm home now but you never know when I'll be heading down there again... hopefully soon... once the roads are open.

In the mean time, the fish at Eagle Lake are getting some sore spots in their mouths from my jigs. I went yesterday, got rained on the whole time I was there but also caught one fish. I had several other bites but missed them. I want to go again in the next couple of days which effectively keeps me busy so I'm not wishing for being down in a warmer climate in You-Know-Where!

Brrrrr...

Man... got back from the desert on Saturday and I have to get used to the cold all over again. Not that it was all that hot down there, but it was warmer than it is up here.

I found a place to live down there so I took a picture of it. I still have to get the internet service connected, so I'm not moving in right away. Nice little spot, huh? Only gets up to 120° in the summertime. OK, so I'm not moving there but I can dream, can't I? Actually I never knew this cabin was here on my last trips to the valley, so I wanted to check it out. It was an 8.5 mile walk, round trip. Funny thing is, you can see this cabin from the hot springs if you know where to look and have some binoculars.


Although the weather was mostly pretty good as you can see in the pictures, a couple of evenings we had some clouds which made some quite spectacular sunsets.




A regular thing for me now is riding my bike across the valley and this last picture is the view I have on the way. I just love this view and have quite a few duplicate pictures of it as a result, all taken on different trips.




On the way down we came across an older couple coming back from Thanksgiving at the springs. They had a flat tire on a Toyota, but no handle for their jack or to let the spare down from the storage area. Of course I had the thing they needed so Cliff and I stopped and changed their tire for them. The flat tire was bald so no wonder it went flat. Flat tires are common on that road, but riding on a bald tire is really pushing the envelope. I put the other tire that they had on the vehicle, but that one had been patched and who knows if it would hold. I certainly would have hated being in their position, they still had a couple of hours of dirt road before getting to a paved one.

But the reason I brought it up is that I want to say that if you go out in the desert with questionable equipment, like bald tires and no jack handle, you are relying on putting someone out of their way to help you. For me, one of the last things I want to do is impact anybody else unless it is a true accidental breakdown. Some things are preventable if you take reasonable precautions. But then, after we left these folks we ran into another person who was broke down. Their problem was more severe.. a broken transmission line or hole in the pan where they lost all their transmission fluid. At least they had a small motorcycle and were getting ready to ride into town on it to get help.

My ride out on Saturday was totally uneventful, only passed one vehicle and he was still rolling. I had a great time down in that desert, and I'll be heading back soon... no doubt! More pictures at my Web Album.

Saline bound

Well, tomorrow I'm heading for Saline. Valley, that is. With the recent cold spell we've had up north it should feel nice to get down in the desert and soak up some sunshine. I would've gone the week before Thanksgiving but I had to work that week. Since most of my life revolves around outdoor activities the weather plays an important part in my plans. The week before Thanksgiving the weather was wonderful for just about any outdoor activities. Next week, who knows what will happen. Just to be on the safe side I made an alternative plan with my friend Paul who lives in Vegas. I'm planning on being in Saline until next Saturday and if the weather turns bad on me while I'm down there and it looks like my travel will be affected, I'll just go down to Vegas and visit Paul for a couple of days.

Saline Valley is very remote and subject to access restrictions when there is inclement weather. The two main roads leading in there, the north pass and the south pass are both susceptible to snow events. Both of these roads are narrow and steep and snow on either one of them can cause problems. Fortunately there are a couple of other roads that aren't affected quite as much, specifically Steele pass and Lippencott road. Both of those options are open for me however my friend Cliff who is going with me is driving a 2 wheel-drive truck and both of those alternate roads are recommended only for four wheel drive. I've never been over Steele pass but that one is probably the easiest of the two alternatives. Hopefully I won't need to find out.

So by tomorrow evening I should be sitting in a tub of hot water somewhere in the desert south of here. I can't wait!

Cold!

OK, I guess I'm really not ready for winter. It's gotten a little bit too cold to ride my bike, even though yesterday I saw an old guy up on the Bizz riding his bike. In fact, I told him it was a little too cold for bike riding. He seemed to agree with me but I couldn't hear him very well through the music that was coming through my headphones so I just kept walking. Nice guy,huh!

Tomorrow is Thanksgiving day. I'm going fishing in the morning up at Eagle Lake with Rene, an old friend of mine. I've been skunked four times already, which incidentally, is the total number of times I've been up there this year. I'm hoping tomorrow breaks that string of bad luck. Unfortunately, the weather is not looking too favorable for a good day at that lake. I usually like to see some clouds, some wind, and my bobber going down a lot. The forecast is for clear and cold so bundling up will be the order of the day.

My Vista computer has been experiencing some strange behavior since a Microsoft update was applied a couple of days ago. Previously, when I click start and then shut down it would go into sleep mode, completely powered down with just the power led flashing. Now, when I click the power button the monitor shuts off for a second and then comes right back on. After several tries I can keep the monitor off but nothing else is powered down. I'm almost positive that it's related to that update, which is the only change that has been made to my computer since the problem started. There are several work arounds that I have available to me but applying an update should not be causing these types of problems. Ahhh... The wonderful world of computing.

Well by looking at my thermometer I see that the temperature is finally gotten above freezing so I guess I'll head to the store. You Gotta love the cold!

Stony Ridge

Up on Stony Ridge there is a spring called Cedar Spring. I finally found it today after several attempts earlier in the year. Nothing spectacular, it is a spring that has been developed. It has a trough for cattle or wildlife. Considering the well worn trails coming into the spring, it must get lots of use.

One cool thing about it is that it is totally inaccessable by vehicle. There is a road leading to it but it is washed out in many places and overgrown with brush and even trees that kind of tell how long it's been since it was drivable.

The view from the top of the ridge was pretty good, lots of burned areas from last summer.

Contemplation

Sounds like an exciting topic, doesn't it? Kramer yearns.... I contemplate. I was contemplating some existential topics just today, I might add. One of the advantages of being out by myself is that I have no one to talk to but me. Well, I do admit to talking with some of the animals I run into on my travels. So far none of them has talked back to me, so I guess that's a good thing, like Martha says. Neither one of these pictures was from today I was too busy contemplating to take any new ones.

This buck did not want to leave the apple tree where it was enjoying some of the best apples around. I like this particular tree and one next to it; it has some of the best tasting apples and they are larger than some of the others too. Anyway, the buck just stood there watching me approach so I kept the tree between him and me. He finally went away and my friend Chris climbed into the tree and knocked down enough apples for all of us, including the deer.

Yes, Michelle... same old, same old.

Planned obsolescence

Funny that when I'm out riding my bike in the woods, I think about stuff like planned obsolescence. That's an old catch phrase from years ago. Originally I heard it referring to automobiles. Now days it totally can be connected to computers and software. You buy the best money can buy, and a month later it's slower than molasses. Of course buying the best money can buy does not accurately describe my purchasing strategy when building a new computer, but you look for the sweet spot when it comes to price vs quality.

So I know this guy... let's call him Elaine... No, Randy. He builds a new computer thinking that now he can finally run some of the software he has, on a computer that can finally handle it. He get's it all done, installs the latest operating system from Microsoft and then begins to come to the realization that most of the software he already owns will not run in Windows Vista. So a new operating system means all new software. Big shocker for the guy who only wants to use something he has already purchased. Now I remember when Windows XP was released... similar issues, but not like this! Sure, there were some software incompatibilities with XP, but installing anything not written specifically for Vista is a crap shoot. Randy was fucked.

Oh well, I'm not really complaining, in fact I like Vista. What Vista forced me to do was try open source software, and I have to tell you, I was pleasantly surprised. I now use open source software for image editing, office applications, and anything else I can. So much for buying Microsoft's over priced office suite. Oh yeah, so far the open source software works fine with Vista. So much for planned obsolescence.

Oh, what does all this have to do with this picture... absolutely nothing!

Mining

Yep, I'm a miner on the side. I get out and mine as often as I can. Today I got a pretty large bag of ore. It was so nice that I had to get a picture of it.

I also thought getting a closer look at one of the nice nuggets would be cool too, so here it is.

Ya gotta love it!!

Script errors..

Silicon diodes, cpu cycles, bios settings, or a bike ride in the woods... mmmm, let me see. Actually I like both of those subjects, one complementing the other in many ways. Yesterday I tried to help my friend Tom figure out what was wrong with his laptop. First it didn't have any free space on the hard drive. Finally got that sorted out with a little button that has "delete" printed on it. It wasn't as easy as it sounds but it's a done deal now.

Then he was getting these script errors when you tried to open "Event Viewer" or open the "User Accounts" applet. In addition, the search feature opened with a blank page and web sites were not rendering correctly in the browser... IE7. After a little searching myself on the internet I found that for some reason, sometimes, Internet Explorer 7 causes several dll files to be corrupted. Apparently those dll's are ones that control the functions that weren't working. So, uninstalling IE7 was the first thing to do. After that some stuff worked, you could get into the "User Accounts" but you still couldn't open "Event Viewer" or "Computer Management." More script errors. Anyway, to make a long story just a little bit longer I had to restore, or re-register, the dll files. My assumption is that taking that action corrected those corrupted files. So bandaid as it is I just downloaded Firefox and they can use that browser without difficulty as long as they don't try to go to a site that requires Internet Explorer.

Yes, I tried uninstalling IE7 and reinstalling it. Still caused the problems after being re-installed. Kind of a weird problem if you ask me. I use IE7 on both my Windows computers and have had no problem so it's something specific to that laptop.

So it was nice today for me to get out and ride my bike... best of both worlds.

Short Hike

Well, I went up the Janesville Grade the other day to get out in the woods. I brought my bike along but didn't ride it. I drive past this hill all the time so I decided to climb to the top and get a different view of things. In this picture it is raining and hailing but it shows the nice pointy top to this hill. Needless to say I got back to my truck just as the rain started. It would not have been a good place to be up on top as this shower also had some active lightning associated with it. The view from the top was nice, especially with the clouds.

This picture is looking back toward Susanville with Janesville in the foreground. It's supposed to clear up some later this week so I want to get back out and do more of this but it will have to wait. No matter what... ya gotta love it!!

Geek?

Who, me? Well, these days being a geek isn't a bad thing... at least not in my dictionary. My old friend Paul is the guy who talked me into building my first computer. He convinced me that it was the cheapest way to go, appealing to my frugal side. Well, that advice is no longer accurate. You can't expect to purchase all the parts of a computer and get anything better than a retail price for all the components. Large companies like Dell buy their parts in bulk. If you buy 1000 processors you can get a better price for them. So today I go out to visit my old friend Tom and his wife Helen. Tom was trying to do some video work and he was looking for some solutions. His computer has 256 mb of memory so they were using the laptop to render the video. Unfortunately the laptop has a small amount of free space so that didn't go very well either. After spending some time talking about the options, it appears that either upgrading what he has or just buying a new computer are his best bets. I just love computers. They end up costing you more money which takes care of that excess income... oh yeah!!

Well, that was today. The last couple of days I was out bike riding... big surprise, huh? Saw some beaver sign up at Devils Corral. Those guys must really have some sharp teeth to be able to chew wood like they do. On my way back down I decided that this tunnel looked picturesque.

It was a cool day, I was cold even with gloves and a sweatshirt on. In a couple of weeks I'll be heading down to Saline to bask in the warmth of the desert.

Early Winter

It's starting to look like an early winter. I took a drive today up Gold Run road to see how much damage was done by the Moonlight fire. Before I reached the summit I started to encounter snow. The slushy snow and muddy roads made it a little slippery up on top. Considering that I had forgotten my chains I was a little apprehensive until I came down the other side to some better road conditions. I went by Antelope Lake on the way back so I stopped near the boat ramp to eat my lunch. The lake is a little low this time of year and considering how dry it's been this summer I was surprised that the lake had as much water as it had. I never saw a soul up there so I had the whole place to myself. No bike riding today I'm not fond of riding in the rain.

Mental musings

Well, since most of the time I am by myself it gives me lots of time to think. Not that it's a bad thing, mind you, since it also gives me ample opportunity to work on issues I have. Recently I built a computer for my grand daughter Laura, and I had a very weird problem with it. When I'm out on a trail or back road, it seems strange to be thinking about technology, but that's where I can usually work on those types of crazy problems.

I solved this problem, as I always do one way or the other, but the answer didn't actually come to me on a bike ride. Needless to say that is where my inspiration usually manifests itself. Yesterday I rode out in an area I like to go and never saw a soul. The leaves are turning and fall is in the air. I'm heading out to a new place this morning and then tomorrow back over to the coast. Maybe I'll have a few pictures of a new area to post this evening...

Beautiful Forest

Well, beauty is in the eye of the beholder, right? OK, I admit it, this is anything other than a beautiful forest setting. In fact, it is the result of many years of fire suppression. I took this picture up in Rogers Canyon yesterday and I was thinking that I am partly responsible for this. After almost 30 years working in this area, running around putting all the fires out, the result is a huge buildup of stuff waiting to burn. I say waiting to burn because if nothing is done to clean this up, it will most certainly burn before it rots away.

In my wanderings , mentally and physically, I have come to the conclusion that if we are to successfully manage national forests, we need to have a regular and recurring burning program so that fire is returned as the natural process to clean up the forest. Once established, it would be necessary to burn each year the fraction of the forest that reflects the burn frequency. Oh yeah! I'm dreaming now! While I know that prescribed fire is a big thing these days, the scope of a program that could effectively treat the large areas that need treating is well beyond funding. Oh well, it's gonna burn anyway, one way or the other.

Road Closed

Man... Yesterday and today I went bike riding in places where I had to pass "Road Closed" signs. Yesterday I had to pass 3 of them. Now I am usually a law abiding guy, in fact even now, I am trying to stay out of their closed areas but they have road closed signs up when the actual closed area as defined by the Forest Order posted on the Plumas web page, is miles off. Yesterday I went up Janesville Grade after looking closely at the closure maps. I ran into the first road closed sign at the bottom of the grade. Come on now! The actual closed area is at the top of the grade going back toward the west. The area to the east of the road is not in the closure. So on the way up the grade I pass another closed sign, still about a mile or so below the actual closure. This closed area thing is supposed to be for safety purposes but I have no idea where there are any safety hazards, I didn't see any and I worked in the woods all my adult life. I could just go on ranting about this closure but what good will it do. Instead I will continue to use my National Forest as I see fit and stay away from the fire area.

Now today I went up on Gold Run Road all the way to the top. It was a good hard ride, climbing to the top of that hill, but inquiring minds needed to know what it looked like on the other side and it was worth it. (Only 1 Road Closed sign on the way up here) The picture is looking back toward the area where the fire started and the edge of the fire is quite a way off. It was awfully hazy and you really can't see much but it was gratifying to see so much green forest where I was afraid of seeing devastation. I'll be staying out of that country for a while until they get done working that fire. Oh yeah, Fuck the Road Closed signs!

62,500 Acres

Yep, 62,000 acres. That's a big piece of ground! As you can see from the picture there was a wind shift today. This is the break the firefighters needed to get some line established. The head of the fire yesterday is where that smoke is coming up from, but it's blowing back into the burn so that's a good thing. It's not over yet but this is the big break and if they don't take advantage of it, who knows what will happen. My money is on the fire management team getting control of it now.


On a lighter note, I had a nice bike ride up into the Susanville Ranch Park trail system today. I have taken quite a few pictures of this beaver pond already, but the interesting thing I was thinking of when I took this is that the green cover on the dam is all because the beavers push mud up to cover the sticks and logs they use to form the core of the dam. It's totally artificial but not by human hands. Anyway, some of my mental ramblings when out and about..

The carnage continues

OK, that's about enough of this Moonlight fire. If it burns for a couple of more days it will run out of fuel when it hits Honey Lake. Shortly after I took these pictures it got a little darker in my house so I decided to take another little ride up to Skyline Park. I took a couple more pictures but these aren't them.

It's obviously moving again but there wasn't much wind today. A fire that size generates it's own wind anyway, but it would be nice not to see it gobbling away for a change. I just read an estimate of 40,000 acres. If you compare todays pictures with the ones I took a couple of days ago you can see how far this thing has burned. I hate to think of what might happen if this thing comes off the escarpment behind Janesville. I really think that is unlikely unless we have a SW wind event, which isn't predicted in the next few days. I heard Janesville Grade is closed again so that pretty much keeps me out of my favorite bike riding areas. Come on now, put that fire out!

Out in the Boonies

Man, what a great day! Irrespective of the huge fire burning nearby, I had a fabulous day exploring an area I have never been to and had no idea a road existed in. I was out near Dodge Mine and I was planning on hiking into this little valley I found on my maps and in Google Earth but as it seems, people riding ATV's have opened up an old road back into it. There is a nice camping spot at the end of the road right by Last Chance Creek. This is one of the most pristine spots on the east side of the Plumas and it hasn't had fire in it for a long time, so I hope the monster that is lurking to the west doesn't come this way.

About that, I read this morning that the wind shift had allowed the firefighters to gain some ground, but looking at the column in these pictures I can say for sure that it blew out big time today. Driving down Highway 395 it was so smoky that you had to have headlights on as you can see in the picture. This fire has gotten so large that it has the potential to burn all the way to Honey Lake Valley, taking out some beautiful country with it. I would really hate to see that happen but it's up to the whim of the weather now.

Moonlight Fire

I had a few things to do today and I didn't get out of town... but then that was a good thing. The fire near Moonlight pass really started to pick up late in the day due to the strong winds. I rode up to Skyline Park and sat on the bench for a while and just watched the smoke column increase. I read that this fire was 1100 acres this morning and whether that was accurate or not, it's grown considerably today.

Out Riding

For the last several days I've been out in the woods riding my bike in places I haven't been to in years. In fact, yesterday I took a road that I've never been up before and the road ended up petering out before it got to the top of ridge. Needless to say it was a case of forging ahead cross country or going back the way I came. It was a grand adventure and since I knew the country so well I knew exactly where I was and came out right where I wanted to. Along the way I came across these two lightning struck trees that were blasted to pieces. It's a good thing this lightning strike didn't start a fire because of the heavy fuels and the remoteness of this spot.


After I got back to my truck I had a beer and while I was drinking it I noticed the aircraft flying overhead. It seemed a little odd to me so I thought there must be something going on. I drove up the road a little way and looked back to see this smoke coming from well inside the Wheeler fire. I've been up on that road and happen to know that there isn't much left up there to burn. In fact the area this smoke is coming from is surrounded by nuked zones.

Today I went out Gold Run and up on Diamond Mountain for one my favorite bike rides. After lunch I was riding along and I noticed a smoke down the valley. This fire looks like it's right along the road that I rode up this morning. It didn't get much bigger, they got on it right away.


Funny thing was that yet another fire started back up behind Gold Run later in the day and I saw it on my way back to Susanville. In fact, at this very minute it's putting up enough smoke so that I can smell it and its filtering out some of the sunlight. This one is well up in the Plumas, let's hope it doesn't get as big as the last fire they had.

Fitch Canyon

Fantastic day! I can't say I can describe today any other way. I went up to the Fitch/ Cottonwood canyon areas to do a little bike riding and follow a road that has been closed for about 18 or 19 years. I had a couple of lightning fires along this road years ago so I was doing my usual trip down memory lane thing. As you can see from the first picture, the road has grown over a bit and had been ripped so it was a little soft for going up hill. I had to walk my bike most of the way up the canyon but it was a nice walk and once I got up on top I tied into the road system that is still open.

The road hasn't been used much and there were no other tracks than mine on it, as you can see from this other picture. I ended up going down past Doyle Reservoir into Fitch Canyon and back down Cottonwood creek where my truck was parked. I got there just as a real active lightning cell passed overhead, it started pouring and some of the lightning was pretty close. This was a very cool part of the day. The storm was a short duration intense thing and I had to move out from under the big trees I was parked under after a lightning bolt hit very close. It's generally a good thing to do to stay away from the biggest trees around in an area when avoiding lightning.

I'll be heading back up in that area tomorrow and I'll be looking for smoke as I ride long. I'd sure hate to see another big fire around here. Anyway, it was a fabulous day.

Snake Tree

Went bike riding today up at Squaw Valley with Chris. We rode almost all the way around Coyote Hills. The hill climbing was minimal and there were lots of almost level road. Well, we were on a road some of the time.

As we came around on our way back to the trucks we went past the Snake Tree. This tree is a very interesting and unique feature in this area. I have been showing it to people and visiting it for 30 years and I was telling Chris, it is virtually unchanged since the first time I saw it, so it's a slow grower. It's not a large tree, or very tall.



The clouds were building so when we got back to the trucks we found a spot where we could watch for lightning and had a couple of beers. Although there was a little thunder, way off in the distance, we didn't see any lightning or get rained on. I went through a few rain showers on the way home but they weren't wide spread. Our ride was only 14 miles but it was all good.

Cinder Cone

Life is good... what else can I say? Today I took a short drive up to Lassen Park, or the back door to Lassen Park anyway, Butte Lake Road. Butte Lake is a pretty place. There is a parking area, a rather small primitive boat ramp, a campground and a "Ranger Station." I rode my bike up there after parking down below the first campground. As I found out, you can't ride a bike on any of the trails up there so I had to hide my bike so I could hike out to Cinder Cone.

The hike to the top was not bad at all, a little soft but the cone is not that high. The views were really nice and after seeing some of the weird patterns on Google Earth it was cool to see them in real time. There is a well defined crater at the top and a trail to the very bottom. I thought about walking down there but couldn't see the sense in it.

I ran into quite a few people both on the trail and at the top. This is a really easy hike as long as a person is in reasonably good condition and you go slow and enjoy the views along the way. I chugged to the top without stopping so all my bike riding paid off well, I was never out of breath.