I See a Saw
8.22.26
Early this month I joined some friends for a birthday trip to The City on the ferry via Richmond. We had lunch, and coffee, and Varmint and I bailed on the big party, hung out and walked around, then ferried home early. It’s an adventure I should partake of more often.
In between and among festivals, camp outs, and cat-sitting, when I’m not living in my van in Canyon, I drop by my little studio apartment, sometime for a night or two! and sometimes just to water my garden. I’m playing music here and there, a jam and a set at the International Musical Saw Festival, fresh from three nights in Guerneville where we made hand crank ice cream, and got to play and sing a bit around the campfire. Darn if I can barely remember my repertoire, but when I do muscle memory takes over and it (usually) flows.
There were many critters, LB got a video of a deer swimming across the Russian River, greeting a heron hunting in the water plants on the other side. We saw ducks, an otter, a kingfisher, possibly an osprey, and the tiniest bats I have ever seen.
After one night at home in my own bed I drove down the coast to Felton/Roaring camp, where about 12 of us had a campfire in the parking lot, ate dinner and played some tunes. The crescent moon and Venus followed a beautiful sunset. After waking at around 5 AM I got up in the dark, made coffee and got sorted, then hung out to chat with three other people who spent the night and hiked my gear over to the hall at 8 AM. No one else was there so I positioned my amp and bass at the back of the stage and wandered about until the Blacklocks showed up and I could participate in some setup.
Thanks to my thrifting buddy for finding the awesome vintage dress! Art drove down on Sunday, and we had coffee and snacks to eat in the shade and got a nice photo or two in the bargain. Our set was before noon, all went well, and we caravanned back to Canyon to unload. It really was a treat to play again, and to see everyone, all the hugs and greetings were so welcoming.
Back in Canyon for a couple of nights, I heard great horned owls in the trees, one very close. The naughty raccoon came looking for more tasty snacks and an open window. Then I was off to the cat-sit to indulge in some urban adventures and quiet time reading in the upstairs room where lights twinkle on the little hill and the crows fly by on their way home for the night.
I’ll be home tomorrow. Heck, maybe I’ll spend some time there and sort out the chaos. The summer is ending, and the garden has gone wild.
Another Oregon
November, 2024
I left home not very early on Monday, November 4, because AGAIN with the bad battery, AAA, and a replacement, under warranty. In fact, the same guy, Don, came to switch it out. I hosed the van off, stopped for gas, didn’t waste time at the carwash because I was going to stop at Varmint’s for coffee and to see the new foster kitten. I made it to Van Damme by 3:30 PM. I was heading for Jughandle, but the Ranger said there was no camping there. Just lucky I pulled in. $38 + $1 for a 5 minute shower.
In the morning I had wifi but no phone signal, so I emailed my safe arrival, and regrets that I would not be in town for dinner. There was a beach, a forest, a hike, and my little sanctuary. In Eureka I stopped at a thrift store and found a perfect shirt, and texted my cousin a song about it I made up on the spot. Up the coast at 5 PM I had a guy riding my bumper, so I turned in at Humbug Mountain campground, where the nice camp host brought me a bowl of chicken and pasta in homemade tomato sauce, and I gave him one of the large pink tomatoes I had bought at a farm stand. Camp site $18, free showers, plus a snack. Only drawback, I had to sleep with an eye mask to block out the light shining through the curtain.
By Wednesday afternoon I hadn’t dawdled long enough, my cousin was not yet home. I had driven all the way to Pacific City and could not find camping, so I turned around and headed south, past Lincoln City to Beverly Beach. I hiked all around and took the first photographs of the trip. What a beautiful campground, with a big marsh in the middle, $21. More than half of it was closed for the winter, and it took some backtracking to locate the open (free?) showers.
Up the coast again, I stopped at a little antique store in Bay City where two little chairs sat on the sidewalk, $19 each and I considered I would (not) be able to put them in the van and still camp at my cousins’. I decided to risk it, and they were still there when I drove back five days later. I also bought a little graniteware pitcher for heating coffee, as well as the cashmere scarf in a thrift store in Lincoln City.
My cousin texted that they were home, so I headed up to Hammond. I spent five days there, and hiked through nearby Fort Stevens almost every day. The herd of Elk were sometimes tricky to navigate around. My cousin has vast quantities of family memorabilia, old photos and documents, and I found some surprising information and filled a memory card with files to sort through and try to remember who was who. On Veteran’s Day I drove to Astoria and wandered through thrift and antique stores, found some gift items, and brought home dinner from Mo’s for everybody.
Then I was off to my Sister’s for a few days, which turned into an extra week when a huge storm, a “bomb cyclone” came through. I spent days doing five 1000-piece jigsaw puzzles, fixing my sister’s gate, and navigating around the electrical installation that had delayed my trip since before October. One day we drove to Depoe Bay to see the king tide splashing over the sea wall, and to eat chowder.
There was still a bit of storm on my return trip down the coast, but I made good time, camping at Floras Lake, and Standish-Hickey, which was empty except for the camp host and me, and some deer. I was home Tuesday before Thanksgiving, and enjoyed the holiday curled up in bed with a nice steak.
Arizona!
March 24, 2018
Just back! from a 2000- mile, ten-day trip–Berkeley to Needles–theBenson! Kartchner Caverns! Tombstone! El Dorado!! Tucson, my old neighborhood and thrashing grounds. I almost expected to see my 23-window 1957 VW van there . . . Tucson Mountain Park and the Phyrroloxias and Phainopeplas . . .
A yummy lunch somewhat reminiscent of meals I remember from back then. Glorious sunsets and sunrises, mystical moons and mountainscapes. Hotsprings and scruffy campsites. New bushings and a smoothly operating roller door. All is good.
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