Lassen National Park

Yesterday was my day off. But, today kicked my butt!

Maybe it was the altitude. Maybe it was because I hadn't been on a horse in 6 months. Or, maybe I'm just out of shape. Whatever the reason, my trail ride up into Devil's Kitchen in Lassen Volcanic National Park (part of Lassen National Forest) wore me out.

But, it was worth it! As the cowboys say, "That there's God's Country."

My friend, Carrie, and I were guided up the path to the geothermal vents and springs by a cute, sweet, young woman named Kelsey from Drakesbad Guest Ranch. It was a relaxing ride, our horses were terrific, and the views were phenomenal.

We stopped the horses at the top of the ridge about 100 yards from the sulfur pools and hiked the rest of the way in. Almost immediately we could smell the sulfur, and combined with the lush forest and bubbling streams, it made for a somewhat ethereal experience. You could actually feel the sauna-like heat steaming from the vents as you looked over the rocks at the bubbling mud pools and sulfur-stained rocks. It's just one more spot that deserves a lot more time than the three hours we spent.

Lassen is one of those areas that has, up to this point, actually been saved from development by its weather. When winter hits, just about everything shuts down. The roads become impassable and snow socks in the whole region.

However, with improvements in home building, road building, and man's desire to fulfill his "Manifest Destiny", it's only a matter of time before the quaint little villages in and around Lassen National Forest become bustling towns, complete with a Burger King and Wal-Mart. You can see the signs already, as old establishments are being torn down and newer businesses take their place. The town of Chester, just outside the National Park, is seeing the biggest development with more people moving in to permanent homes and more lodges and businesses being built to cater to the rising population of visitors on vacation.

One sign that the slow, lazy days of living in the mountains is starting to fade is the arrival of fast drivers in new cars. Now, don't think I'm going on a rant about driving fast or spending good money on a fancy car. Heck, I love to drive fast, and I love nice cars. But... there is a time and a place for them, and a quiet mountain road ain't it!

On the one-lane gravel road leading to the Ranch, we missed being broadsided by about two inches by a guy in a brand new Land Rover doing 50mph around a blind curve that should have been taken at 25mph. A few minutes later, two new Jeep Cherokees whizzed by us at the same speed. The hustle and bustle of the big city is here, and it doesn't look like it's going to stop for any wildlife, including the old-timers in their rusty pickups.

---

As gorgeous as Lassen was, my artistic eye was astonished by the vistas along Hwy 36 as the sun dropped low in the sky. In a few days, weather permitting, I'll show you some fantastic images of yet another ethereal landscape.

Tomorrow, I head out to the Wild Horse Sanctuary in Shingletown to scout the place for good images for my Untamed series and for some good Hi-Def video footage for the documentary.

As always, I'll keep you posted...

The Record Searchlight and Sunset Marketplace

Today I did an interview with Dylan Darling, Environmental Reporter for the Redding Record Searchlight newspaper. Both he and his photographer, Mike, were great to talk to and really seemed to enjoy their work. Since the piece isn't urgent news, it may not hit print for a week or more, but I'll be sure to let everyone know when it does!

I also did a little grocery shopping today. I didn't go to Vons. I didn't go to Albertsons. And, I sure as heck didn't go to Wal-Mart. I went to a local grocery called Sunset Marketplace. And, let me tell you, I'm glad I did.

Sunset has been around for over 15 years and is relatively small, but is one of the friendliest, cleanest, most delightful stores I've ever been in. From Jamie, the sweet cashier, and Alex, the friendly butcher, to Rachel, who helped me out to the car, everyone in that store was as nice and helpful as anyone could ask.

The shelves were all full, the food was fresh and beautiful, and the selection was exceptional. If you live in or near Redding, and haven't been to Sunset Marketplace, do yourself a favor, stop in and see my friends. Tell them I sent you. :-)

Warm Georgia Rains...

I didn’t need much time to recover from last night – a little yoga and some fresh fruit seemed to do the trick -- but I was still sleepy from my long journey the day before. My family and I went to lunch with the Cromie clan and I got my first taste of a Georgia summer rain since almost 10 years ago. It was great just sitting on the front porch watching the summer showers and feeling the cool rain splashes dance in the warm southern air. The trees were so green, the air was so fragrant… I couldn’t have asked for a better welcome home.

After a little relaxation on the porch, I walked over to my neighbor’s to visit my friend Doug. (He was spending the next few weeks at his mom’s recuperating from knee surgery.) We spent about an hour talking about how Alpharetta was when we were kids, while his mom, Linda, and her friend, Becky, spent their time in the kitchen cooking up homemade chicken, biscuits, and all the "fixins" for their church dinner that night. It was a snapshot of the South I hadn’t seen since I moved to California. I took it for granted when I lived it, but I’ll admit, I miss it now.

Milton High School Class of '87 Twenty Year Reunion!

20 years. Twenty Years!

Saturday, August 25, 2007

Well, today is the day I came for. 20 years ago, I graduated from Milton High School – then the only high school in Alpharetta, now one of several.

I met my old friends, Marc, Steve, and Brandon, at the Roswell Doubletree Hotel around 6pm and we spent the first hour reminiscing and drinking beer like we’d never missed a day. We spent another hour in the hotel bar and then meandered over to the ballroom for the party.

In 1987, Milton High School had a graduating class of over 300, but tonight only about 60 of them (not including spouses and dates) were able to make it (and, I’d actually heard that at least one girl passed up the reunion to go to a concert!)

Despite the low turnout, it was a great time. Everyone had grown older, of course, and many looked quite the same as they did in high school, but what impressed me most was that everyone seemed to have grown up. At our 10 year reunion, people still held on to that clique mentality and still treated other classmates the same way they did in high school (the cool kids ignoring the geeks, the jocks making fun of the band, etc.) This time, though, it was different. The playing field was leveled, and those who were smug and self-centered in high school were now friendly and down-to-earth. It was a truly enjoyable evening.

One thing I was worried about, though, was remembering people’s names. Of course, we all wore nametags, but there’s always that awkward moment between when you recognize a face and when you remember (or don’t remember) their name. And, you can’t cheat by peeking at their nametags without getting caught. But, everyone was in the same boat, so not being able to connect a name with a face was easily forgiven.

The music was hit and miss, but, we had fun, and after a while, folks got out on the dancefloor and let loose. As the party in the ballroom wound down, a large group of us found ourselves carrying on in the hotel bar (the drinks were better there, anyway.) And, when the bar shut down, we all walked down the street to Tony’s and listened to a great band called The Breeze Kings (www.breezekings.com) and ended up closing that bar down as well. I think we made it back to our rooms by 2:30 or 3:00am, still wired and ready to go. Just like in high school, we outlasted the establishment and were still craving more. Just between you and me... I think it was the shared energy of the group, because we’d never be able to do that in our “normal” lives.

For me, it was a short trip (and two days of it was spent traveling), but I’m glad I went, because I truly enjoyed seeing old friends and acquaintances. I may sound like a doting parent, but I was so proud of how everyone turned out – happy, successful, and damn interesting! There were a lot of people I wish I’d gotten to know better when we were younger, and a lot of people who I look forward to getting to know better as I get older. I'm glad that so many people were able to come, and to the people who couldn’t make it... well, just know that you were dearly missed.

If you’re a Milton grad reading this blog, pass it on to your friends. They’d love to hear from you, and I’d love to hear from them. I’d like everyone to keep in touch with me, and I’d be more than happy to be a centerpoint for relaying news and information about what is happening in people’s lives. Just subscribe to my blog (click on one of the links to the right in the blue box) and I’ll make sure it happens.

Photos courtesy of Tracy (Thomas) Archer

Back on the Blog

Alright...

Back on the blog... (sounds like a great album title, doesn't it?) Okay, I'll start by recapping the weekend:

Friday, August 24th:
I drove from Redding to the Sacramento Airport this morning. I was actually running late because I used my phone as my alarm and forgot to take it off "vibrate". Let's see if I remember that lesson.

You know, I actually like the Sacramento airport. Unlike the larger airports like LAX or Hartsfield in Atlanta, the Sacramento airport has trees and grass; It's small and not too crowded; It's personal and it is relaxed; It's a pleasant place to be. But, with it being a small airport, I was unprepared for the change in security procedures. I’m sure everyone is used to security screening: you take out your laptop, empty your pockets, and put anything metal in the bins. If you’re wearing heavy shoes, those come off, too. You walk through the scanner and if anything beeps, they run a wand over you. And sometimes they'll pull one of your items for a swab test. That's the extent of it. This crack team of TSA workers, however, had us take off almost everything – belts, shoes (including flip flops!), rings, hats, pacifiers, jackets, glasses –- you name it, we had to remove it. As I passed through the scanner, all I was wearing were my jeans and my shirt. Good thing I didn’t have to take off my pants... this was not the day to go "commando".

Even as I sit at the gate, ten minutes later, I still see people getting dressed, putting belts back on, tying shoes, and putting on jewelry. I even saw one guy running down the aisle to his gate with a big grin on his face, trying to hold up his pants while his belt swung wildly behind him. I'm thinking next time I'll show up at the airport in my boxers and get dressed at the gate. That ought to speed things up a bit. ;-)

But back to the flight...

Long story short, the flight to Phoenix was uneventful, but for the flight from Phoenix to Atlanta, we were overbooked, had to move to a bigger plane, got diverted to Charlotte, North Carolina because of storms and arrived in Atlanta around 11pm. It was a long, long day, and, you can believe, I was glad to finally be home. I expect I'll sleep in tomorrow. (I need to save my energy for the reunion party!)

Next: Party Party Party!

US Air and Milton High School...

Short and sweet...

I know many of you (how many of you are there, anyway?) would love to see daily updates on my project, but sometimes I'm not near an internet connection, so forgive me if I miss a day or two here and there.

In the next two upcoming entries, I'll fill you in on my very interesting flight to Atlanta and my 20 year Milton High School Reunion party. But, right now, I'm on a dial-up connection, and am away from my laptop, so I'll keep this entry brief, saving the details for when I get back to my satellite connection and my regular computer.

But, I do have a special request: If anyone that attended the reunion has photos of the party, Please send me copies! I was having so much fun that I didn't take a single picture. And I'm a photographer! Shame on me.

You can email the photos to me at holt@holtwebb.com

And, tune in Tuesday, as I'll have new updates for you. Until then... as Casey Kasem used to say, "Keep your feet on the ground and keep reaching for the stars!"

Wild Horses!

Hot Hot Hot!

It’s been a scorcher today. Without the air conditioning on in the RV, it felt like an oven. Now that it’s cooled off a little bit outside, I can shut the air off and just turn on the fans to bring in the breeze. Poor cats.

Good news! I was talking to a friend in Redding who told me of a wild horse sanctuary nearby. It’s on a 5000 acre ranch near Shingletown, CA (www.wildhorsesanctuary.org). I have a call in to them to talk about a visit. This means I can photograph the wild horses now, without having to wait until I get to Wyoming. See… every time I get delayed, something good comes out of it.

Shane’s gotten a bit farther on the Rover – he’s installed the engine mounts (which he had to make from scratch!), and will now be able to make those minor adjustments to make it fit perfectly. I got some good video footage of the installation, too. Completion of the project is still going to take a while (waiting for custom-made parts from other shops), but should have it complete by the end of September. I know, it’s way behind schedule, but that’s to be expected when you’re tackling something that nobody has ever done before.

Biofuel, biofuel, biofuel!

Ultra-Low Sulfur Diesel...

I haven't found any Biodiesel yet, but this is getting close. Today, I found ULSD (Ultra Low Sulfur Diesel) at a local Redding TA Travel Center. ULSD is the government's latest response to reducing emissions from diesel fuels. As opposed to conventional diesel sulfur content (which can be as high as 500 parts per million), ULSD is limited to 15 parts per million -- a significant reduction. And, it's relatively affordable. Prices hover around the same price as traditional diesel (which can vary from around $2.85 to $3.99 per gallon). I've been running my generator on ULSD for much of the afternoon while I work on my images and try to keep the RV cool while sitting in the hot parking lot at the Rover Hybrids shop, and have noticed a significantly reduced exhaust fumes. So far, so good!


And, ULSD is just one option. There are numerous others, including Biodiesel, Vegetable oil, Ethanol (for gasoline engines), algae... the list goes on. To help keep things straight, I've provided a "bio fuel chart" from the Sierra Club's latest online newsletter.


Click on the chart to enlarge itChart Courtesy of Sierra Club

Lessons learned, part one...

Whenever I hop in the RV for an extended drive, I hook up two video cameras to help document the trip... one is mounted on the dash for a driver's-eye view of the scenery, and the second is mounted in the passenger seat for a simultaneous shot of me driving (and talking about where I'm going).

Well, those tapes taught me a valuable lesson -- that I look like a complete jackass when I get frustrated with and complain about other drivers. Watching myself act that way has caused me to be more patient and understanding behind the wheel.

I consider that a Lesson learned.

My first appearance on TV!

Hi Mom, I'm on TV!

Redding's ABC affiliate, KRCR, came by yesterday to do an interview with me about my Vanishing America Project. It actually went well. I felt good in front of the camera, said what I wanted to say, explained the project well, maintained a neutral ground in the political battle over the environment, and was pleased with the whole process.

Unfortunately, my first time in the spotlight wasn't to be...

The Redding News ran my story at 6:30 and 11, but had technical difficulties, so both pieces were cut short... but, I had fun with it, and I'll use the experience to help me improve my technique for the next time.

And, I have to admit, I look good on camera! Who'da thought? ;-)