Mick and I left the rest of the riders in Sisters Oregon and headed home. Mt. Shasta provided a motel room, then we rode together the next morning until he split off to Susanville, to return the bike he borrowed from his son-in-law. I headed to Placerville as the starting point to cruise along Hwy 49, through the Gold Rush towns scattered along the Sierra foothills. Windy roads, finding Mark Twain’s cabin (above pic), and exploring the funky towns made it delightful, but a long day of riding. To make the last leg easier, I planned on…
Read MoreWorking Backward
When we moved back to our Temecula house that had been rented out for six years, we discovered that neglect had left much of it overgrown or dead. One of the many tasks: remove the back lawn and replace it with a brick pavers to create a backyard oasis with a waterfall and firepit. Then, semi-miraculously for SoCal in June, over 1" of rain fell over one weekend, which softened the turf enough to remove easily. Well, easier than if it were hard and dry, typical for SoCal summers. So I eagerly started in with a shovel and old muscles and fairly quickly excavated 3/4 of the 600 sq.ft., only to realize…
Read MorePlay Misty For Me
No, the title doesn’t reflect one of Clint Eastwood’s early films, rather James statement that our lives quickly disappear like a mist. Yes, last week had that passage, but let’s revisit one hidden gem. With the passing of each calendar year, I ponder this bit about mist more and more. Maybe you do as well. How do we balance making a spiritual impact on the world if we’re here so briefly, like fog?
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“Vega Alta” by Brad Howe
Just One Bite...
Back in December, I visited the Elena Bulatova Fine Art Gallery in Palm Desert and saw this kinetic art, titled Vega Alta by Brad Howe. No one around to say no, and not a single “Do Not Touch” sign in sight, so I gently touched one of the paddles. As it moved it touched another, that one brushed another, and pretty soon the entire piece gently swayed. All from one small touch.
Life can be like that! One act, seemingly safe, triggers downstream consequences we never imagined. I suspect Eve felt the same when tempted with the proverbial apple. She was told it was safe. She liked the aroma. She tried just a small bite. She liked the taste; she finished it. And we all bear the results. Just a small bite that changed life. The solution may lie…
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Strange Goals
Early on a cold and rainy morning, Rich and I rode our bikes from Stewart, British Columbia over the bridge into the thriving metropolis of Hyder, Alaska. Population 87 in 2010. An American city who uses Canadian money and the Royal Canadian Mounted Police for law enforcement. “Alaska’s Friendliest Ghost Town,” as locals call it. But then, we saw no locals. One nice feature: travelers need no passports to go from Canada to Alaska…only to return…
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