Another year rolls around as long-time residents of the Paso Robles area are hosted to a fabulous lunch by the local Rotary Club. Thank you, Rotary! Your members did a great job of organizing and serving (and don't forget clean-up).
Use the Slideshow button at the upper right for the largest photos. Adjust the background to black at the upper center.
The Little Cowboy and Cowgirl Contest starts at 8:00 before the Pioneer Day Parade each year. It has grown into a formidable event for the kids, starting with the best pet category. How often do you see a rooster with a saddle and bridle on a leash?
Due to the large crowd and having to take pictures of the Paso High alumni at the Library/Museum at 9:00, I couldn't shoot all the different categories at the gazebo gathering.
Weaverville is an hour west of Redding, an old mining town that the locals have preserved. The museum is a masterpiece of memories of the area. Two levels and numerous out buildings that host living history presentations. The blacksmith shop was manned the day we were there, but closed too early for us to see.
The local car show had also closed by the time we got there, but there were about 25 cars left. Too little time, too few cars. But it was blazing hot (about 100 degrees), so we got our fill fairly quickly.
Tom and Linda met us in Paso for Pioneer Day before we all headed to the beach after church the next day. We all were refreshed by the warm ocean breeze and views in Morro Bay. A surfer contest was in progress, along with sea lion watching and native gorging.
Our next stop was Oceano for the Railroad Festival event at the old station.
Then it was on to Arroyo Grande and Doc Bernstein's Lab for ice cream and a look around before heading to Hwy 46 and the back road back to Paso.
I was surprised to see so many cars parked at the South Tufa parking lot at Mono Lake in mid-October, but realized that there are probably about 2000% more photographers out shooting now, compared to the last time I was at the lake in 1970 or so.
So there were photographers in the way of other shooters, not the best situation. Thankfully, we are a patient and kind lot.
Mono Lake - we are not impressed. A basically dead lake in a half-dead desert is not my cup of shutter tripping tea.
Built in the 1920's, Locke accommodated the Chinese business population just north of Walnut Grove. Many of the buildings are still working stores.
The last photos of the barn, bridge and grape leaves were taken on Hwy 160 at Steamboat Landing/Acres.
The very last photos were taken on Staten Island Road before heading to the Sacramento River.
The old road to Cambria from Hwy 46 proves to be fourteen miles of tortuous pavement. Santa Rosa Creek Road winds northeast along the creek on the east side of the Santa Lucia Range. They call it a creek for good reason: before the rains start, it's a piddly five foot wide and moves slothlike over small boulders and rocks down the valley to Cambria. Probably rages in the winter, though.
Moonstone Beach in Cambria is a must-see expanse of pebbled shoreline that showcases colored gravel, including lots of California jade. It was all the more exciting on the day we visited: a lone surfer hoping for surf didn't mind me taking pictures of him, and a lone beached and very dead sea lion provided a scrumptuous meal for more than a dozen vultures.
The west side of Morro Rock in the afternoon is a dull and lifeless mass of weathered volcanic dacite, sitting in deep shadows, but there are all sorts of lifeforms around it - cormorants, pelicans and other seabirds, non-native squirrels and homo-sapiens by the droves.
Labor Day - a great day to get up before dawn and head out to find a sunrise. I knew there would be clouds this morning since we had a 10-20% chance of rain, and was hoping they wouldn't be too full. Saw a flash of lightning in the black sky over Lodi while driving east on Eight Mile Road to Clements Road. There is a beautiful stand of oaks a few miles south of Hwy 88 past the little town of Clements, where I've taken 'tree' photos before. I accidentally had my white balance set wrong on my D90, so a number of these have a 'lavender' cast to them. Looks kinda cool, so I left it during processing.
Driving home on Eight Mile Road, I parked below the new train overpass to get shots of Mt. Diablo and surroundings. You get a great view of the valley from here, but the power pole wires were hanging right in front of the mountain at the highest point on the bridge, so I had to shoot it from about half way up - without anything to prop the camera on. The girl measuring the bridge was there with a group of kids - why, I don't know.
The macro pictures are part of an assignment for the Stockton Record photo challenge for this month. I mixed them in for shock value.
Couldn't stay home again today and headed for new vistas, including Valley Springs and Mokelumne Hill. We included another drive down Electra Road - this time all the way to the power station.
It was another beautiful day, although the poppies are waning. My apologies for the out-of-focus shots.
D70 Nikon with 55mm MicroNikkor used for closeups. Nikkor 18-70 for wide angles and Nikkor 55-200 VR for telephoto shots.
Named after famous generals, the largest Sequoia trees in the park are named for General Grant and General Sherman. This is the most popular tourist spot in Kings Canyon National Park, since driving all the way to the end of Hwy 180 will take you another hour or more on a wildly twisting up and down road. But the drive is worth it: there are VERY few people there and the sheer, steep and spectacular cliffs are breathtaking.
Our fellowship group had lunch at Nena's at the downtown waterfront building, a warehouse style, two-level shopping/restaurant/office complex. Massive open-beamed construction - dark - dusty - vintage look.
I think Angel was a bit more creative than yours truly in the photography department.
This was an opportunity to try out my new 12-24mm super-wide angle lens. I'm pretty happy with it.
It was wonderful getting back to the Preserve after a month's hiatus. A beautiful sunrise on this cool summer morning made the long hike with the tripod worth the effort (although I was pretty pooped after walking three hours here and there).
There were a number of critters to be seen, including a noisy raccoon pilfering wild grapes in a tree by the trail. The dragonflies are abundant and friendly, especially the variegated meadowhawks (small, rusty-colored).
People were friendly, especially volunteer Erin, who was eager to talk awhile. Thanks, Erin, for your contribution to the Preserve.
After missing over a month of shooting, I headed back to the Preserve to see the changes. The grasses are dead and dying, but there are a number of flowers still blooming. The goldfinches, bluebirds and flycatchers are feasting, but I only saw one raptor in flight. No egrets - only one heron spotted.
I was surprised to see the beauty of the curly dock layered with other plants on the dry north pond. At sunrise, the rusty reds are striking.