Slug Sex

Humboldt 2009

Most of these pictures were taken in 2009 on trails in Humboldt, Del Norte and Trinity counties. The soundtrack is a song I hadn't mixed down before from 2007.

Remember

Just found this lost guitar duet me and a friend recorded in 2008. Put it to some footage taken at Mad River Slough about the same time.

Lead Guitar Andy
Rhythm Guitar Kurt

Natural Bridge, Hayfork, California

Natural Bridge is a geological and historic land mark located near Wildwood, CA. This link tells of the history and location details. The limestone formation rises over two hundred feet and spans across a small canyon. It is located off Highway 3 in a very remote part of the Shasta Trinity Forest.

Another Sunset, enough already

Trinidad Sunset

Assorted April 2009 Sunsets, Trinidad and Arcata

Arcata, California March 9, 2009

The Flint Ridge Trail in Northern Humboldt

This was one of the better hikes I've been on. It went through several distinct environs, old growth and second growth redwoods. The round trip is 11 miles and it is a fairly rugged climb up, but easy climb back down. It begins a few hundred feet from the shore and goes inland, coming out at the end of the Klamath river.

Prairie Creek Redwoods State Park

Prairie Creek Redwoods in Northern Humboldt has a huge network of trails that go on for over a hundred miles. This hike was just a two mile segment of a bicycle trail that eventually ends up on the beach.

One interesting thing about these rain forests is the opportunism that plants employ when one of these Redwood giants dies.

Several pictures show how one or several trees grow on the fallen redwood giants. Some are "stumps" that tower nearly 100 feet, then at the top have new redwood or spruce growing, running its tap roots like plumbing all the way down the exterior of the redwood until they disappear into the ground.

Even while they are alive the redwoods are coated with layers of life, from the fungi to the ferns and lichen.

Hidden World War II History in Northern California

There were several attacks on the West Coast during WWII. Hundreds if you count the incendiary balloon bombs that were launched and drifted to forests and fields, mostly in Oregon. Out of thousands of balloons launched only 300 made it to the mainland. Most of these exploded harmlessly, but some caused forest fires and one even killed a family of six people in Oregon.

The Japanese actually launched a Zero-type aircraft from an I-25 submarine and dropped two incendiary bombs about 30 miles away from these buildings. Although it might seem like it was a mistake, the Japanese were targeting the forests with incendiary devices to spark wild fires and take resources away from the war effort. The same sub that launched the plane then sank two tankers, one just off the coast of Crescent City.

These attacks prompted the construction of this anti-aircraft and surveillance base that is still very well hidden just south of the mouth of the Klamath River in North California. Two buildings disguised as farm houses are perched on the cliff's edge on what is now called Coastal Drive, the old Route 1. It seems few people in this area know about the buildings, or even the Coastal scenic drive that runs along the ocean cliff's edge for about 10 miles.

Inside they housed a diesel generator, electronic equipment and two .50 caliber anti aircraft guns. This was part of a larger communications network that served as an early warning system in the event of an invasion.

These is more about this attack and some of the other events that occurred during World War II in Southern Oregon and Northern California here

This is an update to an earlier post

Table made from English Walnut

This table was made by a friend from English Walnut. It has two 2' x 6' x 4" thick slabs of wood, solid 4" sides and pull out drawers. The coffee table weighs over 600 lbs. The tree that made this was cut nearly 50 years ago. The tree was estimated to be over 100 years old when cut down.

The top slab is actually a mix between two kinds of Walnut. You can see the contrast in the grain color and pattern. These radiate out from the original grafting staple, still in the wood. For the past two years, the table has been featured at the 9th Avenue Art Gallery in Chico, California. $16,000.

Ghost town of Helena, abandoned mines

Helena is an old mining town near Weaverville, off Highway 299 in Northern California. There are only a few buildings and chimneys still standing. These photos were taken in 2007. Since then a wildfire passed through and these structures may now be gone as well.
There were also some abandoned mine shafts nearby. Some filled with water, some had very precarious supports that looked like they could crumble at any time.

Lost Man Creek

Table Bluff Mountain and the South Spit of Humboldt Bay

Mad River Beach, mouth of Mad River

This is what a dead whale looks like after 30 days of sitting in the sun and rain. the animal washed ashore on January 20th, 2009.These photos were taken February 25. There was very little left of the 60 foot mammal. It was virtually un-identifiable. Two fin whales have washed up on local beaches in the last four years. Their cause of death was unknown.

The first fin whale that washed ashore has been buried in the sand. Apparently, micro-organisms will clean the flesh, they will dig up the skeleton and place it in our local natural history museum.

Humboldt Bay Wildlife Refuge

Trillium Falls

Manila Dunes Walk

Sunset Arcata, Ca February 17, 2009

Caught some really nice colors and shadows in this evening's sunset.

A Duck's view of the Arcata Marshes

A short journey through the Arcata Marshes and part of the Mad River Slough.

Highway 96 and Clear Creek Trailhead

Highway 96 and the first mile of the clear creek trail.

Spiral Redwood Giant

This was an incredibly twisted Redwood in Prairie Creek Redwoods. Time of day made photographing it difficult but the shape of it is clear.

Guthrie Creek Trail, Lost Coast

Banana Slug, the spotted variety, and tree fungus

Abandoned Highway Series

This is a stretch of Highway 101 south of Garberville. The highway was rerouted to the other side of the hill, but once followed this cliff ride above the river below.

South of here is confusion hill where two very large bridges are being built to avoid a continuous slide.

The Stone Ring and the Legend of Hall City Cave

Hall City Cave Entrance

I stumbled upon this cave about 2 years ago and have been back three times. It is located in the Shasta Trinity Forest in Northern California. It is a small limestone cave, about 100 feet deep. I went in with a friend the first time. As we made our way down with flashlights the end of the cave came up quickly. There were about three additional chambers, two of which we explored, the third required a short swim so we did not make it. The cave had some modest limestone formations but what was really spectacular was the pool of water at the left end of the cave. It was about 4' wide by 8' deep and long, but at the far end of it was a tube, about 6' in diameter, that went straight down as far as the eye can see in clear water.

When I went back home, I learned the history of the cave. Two natives robbed some gold prospectors in the late 1800's. A posse caught up to them and said they would spare their lives if they told them where the gold was. The natives said they stashed it in Hall City cave. The posse hung the natives and searched the cave finding nothing.

There aren't too many hiding places, save the bottomless pit. As it turns out, divers have attempted to get the gold before. This is an incredible account of one attempt (may have been in the 80's?). It is also a great story. Some of the equipment in that photo is still in the cave! I have read that divers are still interested in finding the gold, but it looks extremely difficult.

When I was there, I saw something strange beneath the water in the pool. It was a ring in stone, about 2 feet in diameter. Nearly perfectly round and quite natural looking. It sits just below the surface of the water and above the hole that goes down forever. One would almost have to swim through the ring to get to the third chamber of the cave. I did my best to capture the ring in the photos below. Another part of the legend was that Hall City Cave was a place of worship for the the Natives. I'm not sure if the ring had any influence in the selection of this location. One last interesting note is that there is a natural stone bridge nearby this cave.

In the first photo, the upper dark oval is a passage to the next chamber. It is the circle below it that is the ring. The ring is illuminated in the bottom photo.

Cactus Flower

This cactus was given to me by my Grandmother. For five years it never produced any flowers. The summer after she passed away it produced three of the most beautiful flowers I've ever seen.

Ocean Front Property

The sign above these buildings read the following:

After the bombing of Pearl Harbor in World War II, the possibility of an enemy attack on the us mainland became very real. At one point, Japanese submarines operated in offshore waters and actually shelled some shipping operations and oil installations off the coast of California and Oregon.

To guard against potential invasion, the US Army built the "farm" buildings you see below. The cinder block structures, complete with shingled roofs, and fake windows and dormers, housed an early warning radar staion.

From the air, the sea and even the road, these buildings appeared to part be a working farm. In fact, they housed a diesel generator, electronic equipment and two 50-caliber machine guns.

As part of a network of observation stations, the soldiers and civilians stationed here reported any suspicious boats and planes to a communications center in San Francisco, ready to dispatch fighter planes if the crafts were identified as hostile.

Humboldt Redwoods

Headwaters North

Highway 96 South of Happy Camp

Clear Creek, Siskiyou

High Bluff Overlook just south of the Klamath River

Hidden Beach South of Crescent City Overlook

Trinidad

Sunset at Luefenholtz Beach

Headwaters North, Old Growth Redwoods

Prairie Creek Redwoods

Elk at Gold Bluffs Beach, we almost walked into eachother

Surreal Salmon Berries on Redwood Creek Trail

Rainbow over Clear Creek Trail

Pink and Yellow dunes flowers, mad River Beach

Strange Redwood Deformities

This unusual trail off Howland Hill Road near Crescent City had some very bizarre redwood mutations. This one appeared to be scratching itself. See the slides for more formations.

Spiral Fern