This sweet guy was found last night, and taken to Jesse Villaseñor’s house. His wife said they can’t keep it much longer, but doesn’t want to take him to the pound. Do you know this dog and/or his owner:
Category: Classic Big Sur
Big Sur Fire Open House – May 4th
Photo Sunday, 3/10/19
This is a photograph of a watercolor by Dave Allen, the art teacher at Pacific Valley for many, many years.
B-SAGE Day of Action
Photo Sunday, 3/2/19
I just received this delightful book this past week, and I thought I would share a couple of the pages with you. It is mostly the stories of coming down to Big Sur on mules or horseback checking on the schools – in the mountains and on the coast – bringing books and once bringing a social worker to check on a WWI vet living down in the canyon of the Los Burros Mining District. There are a few historical photographs. It is available on amazon.
Big Sur Branch Seed Library
I would like to announce that the Big Sur Branch Seed Library has been re-strategized and expanded to better serve the community. Its new focus is to improve Big Sur residents’ accessibility to vegetables, so the library will provide free seeds to library patrons with a library card and a Big Sur address on file. Peaceful Valley Farm Supply, High Mowing Seeds, and Seed Savers Exchange have donated a generous number of seed packets, all of which are non-GMO, organic, and many varieties are beautiful heirlooms (like Moon & Stars Watermelon!). We have received over 200 packets for you folks to peruse and take home to plant.
If you would like to access the seed library, visit the library and find me. Please request only what you will be able to plant this season so the seed varieties can be shared amongst all of our neighbors. I will divide up the seed packets upon request, but will have a handful of “featured seeds” pre-packaged. Thank you, and I look forward to seeing you at the library.
Best regards,
Justine
Big Sur Library Branch Manager
Day 6 – finally on the home stretch, literally
After Rock Knocker talked to the tourists heading to Treebones, we headed south on South Coast Ridge Rd. At the very first blockage, our neighbor and friend, Peter, came up behind us. They could have both gotten under these trees, but I was too tall. Peter drove 3 miles past his own turn to see us all the way to our back gate. What a guy! Inside the gate, the top of a dead pine came down. I’ll just let the photos speak for themselves.
Will Nacimiento open up?
I sat in the parking lot of Denny’s, using my iPad to constantly check the CHP website. The last posting was that CHP was trying to figure out whether the USFS or FHL Fire would be able to clear it. I watched the site like a hawk, and answered some emails, and PMs and DMs, etc. and while I waited. After about an hour, as I was typing a message, it occurred to me that I could call FHL Fire and find out, so I did. I headed out to the west.
I saw Rock Knocker on the road and we stopped. He needed gas and propane, so we ran back into King City for his supplies, and so he could grab a quick bite at Burger King, and then we were back on the road again, and I was able to get my shoulders down from my ears, where they had been “perched” for days due to stress & anxiety.
We caravaned across FHL. This is the Nacimiento River (apparently it is the San Antonio River – I have been incorrect all these years?) at full steam. Love that view!
After we crossed into the Los Padres National Forest, when the road follows the river, RK stopped at one point to ask me to keep up. I was trying, really, but that Sprinter is a big thing. Because I was “trying to keep up” I couldn’t stop to get a couple photos I wanted of waterfalls coming right out of the rocks and flowing across the road. It was both amazing and alarming!
Finally, at about 3 pm, we got to South Coast Ridge Road. A BMW behind us stopped at the intersection in confusion, seeing us turn onto the dirt, so RK stopped, got out, and went to speak with them. They were on their way to Treebones. See, John Handy? I told you that those seeking out your place would still be coming, even with the road closures.
Anyway, they went on their way. RK and I switched to High Range 4×4 and proceeded on… (to be continued.)
With 2 weeks of groceries on board…
… I had to get a cooler and some ice. There were a few other things that I could use, so I decided to get on the other side of the Santa Lucias and head to the Target in Paso Robles, where I picked up an igloo ice chest and ice and a few miscellaneous items (that I cannot even remember, now).
Blue skies encouraged me to head East, to be in a position to go up Naci, if the opportunity presented
I decided on the RV park at Camp Roberts (I am a vet with DoD ID, and allowed) which is a “no-frills” place to park with full hook-ups, which I didn’t need. The price was fine, and I would not have to worry about a knock in the middle of the night. I signed up for 2 nites, but when I woke, there was a break in the weather …
This was my view upon awakening. Note the Luci light in the windshield gathering sunlight. (Thank you Anni Agren for introducing me to these little wonders.)
So I left messages for Rock Knocker and Son, to see if one of them, could run interference on South Coast Ridge Road with their chain saw for me. Son said he would be able to meet me just after dark, so I headed to King City for diesel and breakfast at Denny’s.
After breakfast, Rock Knocker called and agreed to run interference for me during the daylight and I breathed a sigh of relief. Contacted Son, and suggested he get to the Hermitage to spend the night, and he did.
At 11:30 am – a friend contacted me re a tree down blocking Nacimiento Rd. 2 miles east of the summit. Damn, double damn…now what? (To be continued…)
It was a turn out I used a lot in the 90s…
…when I was going to Cal Poly to add a teacher’s credential to my repertoire. I went to it again in my time of need. Even though it had a “No camping, $200 fine” sign, it was a cold, dark, and stormy night…so I figured the chances were that no cops would be checking. If they did, I had the perfect defense….Necessity. Yes, it is a real defense, and I had it in spades. It was getting dark, the storm was already here. It was crazy to drive further with the rain and wind in a BIG box, so I stopped.
At 4:30 am, I woke, not because of the storm, but because I had to pee. Shortly after I woke, the storm hit full force – I mean full force. The rain was pulmetting the van – a metal box can cause the rain to amplify – and the wind was rocking it, literally. I was in a pull-out immediately adjacent to the ocean. The rain and wind were so strong that I thought the van was going to be flipped. Missy, my dog, and I were completely freaked out. At one point, I crawled into the driver’s seat to turn on the headlights to see what was going on because – this is hard to believe – I was questioning whether this was the storm, or whether I was being hit by monster waves. Yes, that’s how bad it was.
Once I found out it was just a monster storm, Missy and I settled in, awake, to wait for daybreak. We slept no more. We cuddled.
At daybreak, this is what I saw;
And so, I traveled onward and southward. (To be continued…)