Explore Elko

www.exploreelko.com manages to make Elko, Nevada seem way more exciting than it is while missing its real charm. We stayed at the Shilo Inn, which was pet-friendly, had a pool AND had a movie multi-plex, two restaurants, a Starbucks, a Joann Fabric and a Famous Footwear within walking distance - that's my kind of place!


Brian and I spent a few days there recently, visiting family (on Brian's father's side). Here's the view up I-80 from the Shilo, which I had a lot of time to contemplate while waiting for Morty to do his business.








We had a hillbilly picnic while on the way to the Ruby Marshes.









The Ruby Marshes themselves were incredibly beautiful, and almost completely devoid of people on a Saturday afternoon.








Brian (right)and his brother, Thayer, after a little rock-climbing.










Brian at the height (ahem) of the afore-mentioned rock climbing expedition (overlooking the South Fork of the Humboldt River).












It was all a bit much for Morty, who is old, fat, AND lazy. Fortunately for him, Brian's mom, Pam, had a broken foot and was not as mobile as usual, so Mort and I hung out with her. On the other hand, he got more meaty treats on this trip than he's probably had in the entire previous year, so it wasn't really so awful.




Taken while walking in one of the campgrounds at Lamoille Canyon. The campgrounds host's campsite is at the base of the mountain.









Basque Family Style Dining at the Star Hotel, where they bring you bread, soup, salad, Basque beans, green beans and french fries before plopping down in front of you the biggest piece of animal flesh you've ever seen. (Yes, I did cave and have the salmon, which would have been three salmon entrees at any other restaurant.)








All in all, a lovely getaway. Go ahead, explore Elko!

Is It Spring Yet?

Was in Chicago recently (did some work for Columbia College Chicago, spent time with friends - especially the awesomest hosts in the world, Jason and Michael) where spring is still taunting them with its nearness while staying just out of reach. Missed what will probably amount to about half of the 70-degree-plus days for the year here in the Bay Area, but am not complaining (much). After that little spate of warm days it has cooled off again here, but hopefully will also dry out a bit so I can start to get my garden in. Right now, it looks like summer (stuff is blooming everywhere) but feels more like fall - that's the Bay Area for ya.

Here are a few of my favorite recent photos:


San Francisco Airport. I'm not sure what to make of this. You should eat before you go through security? Is there more secure dining elsewhere? Or perhaps there is a time machine where you can go back to before 911 when we were so much less secure?







I was shocked to find my favorite Walgreens, the one that has stood forever on the corner of State and Jackson, closed. It was crowded and dingy, the clerks were rude and the customers downright savage. God, I loved that place.










Beautiful night-time view of N. Lake Shore Drive at Belmont Harbor.












Got back in time to have a couple of days with Brian's parents, visiting from Baltimore. And I did get to enjoy one of the those beautiful, warm days I mentioned before. Here we are at Miller-Knox Park at Point Richmond.









Had to take Violet in to get some teeth pulled a few days after I got back. She was not happy, and the kicky bandana and tourniquet they gave her at University Vet Hospital did nothing to improve her mood. If she ever does get her fondest wish (the power to decide who lives and who die), I'm a goner.

The Season of Light

I was looking at recent images on my phone, and realized I must really like taking pictures with light sources in them.

At the Oakland Airport VERY early in the morning to catch a plane to San Diego (and then on to Texas) for Thanksgiving. You don't really expect to see an awesome sunrise while on the moving walkway, but there it was.










On our way to dinner in Oakland. You've got to love a theater that uses all that juice to protest increased parking fees.












I met my friend, Linda, in San Francisco recently for dinner, and we walked through Union Square on our way to the train. The skating rink had exactly one guy in it, and I'm pretty sure he was getting paid to skate around in an effort to entice more business.










OH MY GOD, WHAT IS THAT ANGEL DOING TO THAT REINDEER! MY EYES, MY EYES!

Evil. Pure Evil.

I never know what to expect (weather-wise) when I go to Chicago in November, but (after rain the first evening) I got really lucky this time. Sunny, temps in the 50s and then even 60s on Sunday.

The Admissions staff for Columbia College Chicago Fall Open House was in the new Spertus Museum on Saturday, and it is really an amazing building. And you'd think I'd be used to spectacular lake views in Chicago after working downtown for several years and now staying with The Greatest Hosts Ever when I visit (thanks, Jason and Mike!) but they still take my breath away.


Looking out from the 10th floor of the Spertus.














Looking out over Belmont Harbor from the World's Greatest Hosts' fab pad.













I even had a chance for a walk along the lakefront, from Belmont up to Bill Jarvis Bird Sanctuary (nice walk, no binocs, no birds of note).











I saw so many friends and had a really great time. And then....


...O'Hare Airport, Terminal 3, K Concourse, women's restroom. These are mirrors when you stand in front of them, and ads when you're looking at them from an angle.

They charge you for bags, they won't give you any food, and now this.

Evil. Pure evil. And all the automatic faucets and soap dispensers in the world can't cleanse me of it.

Ikea Cast-offs: a Semi-Regular Recurring Feature?

The Dear Reader may be aware that I am not a huge fan of Ikea. For one thing, I don't eat meatballs, Swedish or otherwise. For another, I find going there extremely dispiriting, a cross between going to the airport and going on an endless tour of campus dorm room models. And, of course, there's the fact that it's all horribly cheap crap, designed to be in vogue one season and tossed out the next time you move. Or redecorate. Or get paid.

But after the tossing out, that's where I start to like Ikea. We now have six Ikea items in our house, each of which one of us has found abandoned on the curb. (We have lots of things in our house now that we've found abandoned on the curb, one of the benefits of living in an extremely ecologically-minded city with a large student population and a climate in which it is guaranteed not to rain for a large chunk of the year).

Here's my latest find: a metal table. Not sure where it's going to go yet, and we didn't really need it, but it was in perfect shape and I couldn't pass it up.










We also have two tables, the smaller of which is featured here. We have another one, just like it only much larger, that's currently in our kitchen. These two items were definitely the most work getting home of any of our Ikea cast-offs.









We also have two lamps, one of which is in the corner in this picture (kind of hard to see). The shades were not in great shape; one of them was so bad we threw it away, but then Brian found a shade that fit it one day - where else? on the curb in our neighborhood. Ikea? We're not sure about that one. The final item is a lime-green waste basket (that one was easy to get home).






So, do you have any Ikea cast-offs? Send me an email, with text or a picture, and I'll put it my blog.

Logic-free

Can I just ask a question, please? Why would you develop ice cream flavors based on your coffees, make a big deal of calling them coffee free, and then put an asterisk next to the words "coffee free" and put a tiny disclaimer in the corner that says "not a caffeine-free food"? Just, WHY? Ladies and gentlemen, that does not make sense!

Vacation? What Vacation?!

My plan to quickly get up a series of posts about our vacation while it was still fresh in my mind has, of course, gone by the wayside even more quickly. I do have photos up on my flickr page: http://www.flickr.com/photos/21380180@N08/sets/72157624433600761/.

But, in the spirit of Better Late Than Never, here are some photos from the early part leg of the trip.

On our way north to Oregon, we stopped off for lunch at William B. Ide adobe State Historical Park, where there were lots of picnickers with dogs, and a family of wild turkeys. There was an adobe house, too, but it was not the original one, and in my opinion the dogs and the turkeys were far more interesting.







We spent the first night in Klamath Falls, Oregon, and attended meeting at Klamath Friends Church on Sunday.











In Klamath Falls, we spent some time pondering how, exactly, recliners, mattress sets and tables were different from sofa's and loveseat's and therefore merited different punctuation.










From there we went north, and made a couple of stops in the Klamath Basin. This photo is from Klamath Marsh, where we saw a Black Tern (one of several lifers on this trip).











Mountains!













Here's our cheese shot at Crater Lake (see previous post for more shots from Crater Lake).












The Rogue River, at a place called Natural Bridge. We would not have stopped at this place but for a tip from the guy who gassed up our car in Prospect, where we stayed while visiting Crater Lake. Awesome spot, there a place where the river flows through a big lava tube, making a natural bridge (get it?).








Mountains! With explanatory displays!












On to Portland!