December 1, 2011 – First Snow

Welcome to December, in many places it’s time to anticipate the first snow of the winter. In some places it has already happened and they’re waiting for more. In October I dodged the first snow and headed south through the Owens Valley after a day in Bodie. I was ahead of the Sierra’s first storm of the winter. Many years I have had my first snow quite unexpectedly in October or September. I’ve had to cancel trips to the North Rim of the Grand Canyon, change course in Utah, hit road closures in Oregon and cranked the heat in the car as I found myself in a snow covered pass in Colorado. Lesson #1, altitude trumps the calendar.

A few years ago in October I went up from New Mexico into Southern Colorado. The photos I had seen of Great Sand Dunes National Park were striking. Massive dunes in the middle of the Rockies — I had to see it for myself. I woke in an Alamosa, Colorado motel to an ice encrusted rental car and a few inches of snow. In the national park the sky was heavy, the dunes were covered in snow and it was really cold. Next time, I have to get there before the first snow.

August 12, 2011 – Does a bear sit in the road in the woods?

As a kid, I remember being fascinated by the thought of going on a car trip with my family to some national park where bears would come up to the car. Those images of happy families feeding snacks to bears in the middle of the road — who wouldn’t want to try that? By the time we all knew better, bears were better managed in parks. But it’s not surprising that I tend to collect those of bears with people on old postcards and in old photos. In my bathroom I even have some framed photos of bears and a car in the 1930’s. It wasn’t until two years ago that I finally saw a bear along the road. It was in Sequoia National Park and the bear was big and brown and completely uninterested. Not even willing to look up when I snapped a picture from the safe confines of my rent-a-car.

March 21, 2011 – Melt

The recent winter blast of rain and snow has put the Sierra snow pack over the top. I know how good it is for all us of us in California to have that water dense, snow pack. But, what I am really excited about is the melt. Before San Francisco, I lived in a lot of wintery places. Waiting for the melt and for winter to end, seemed endless most every March. And just when you’d think spring had arrived, it was snowing again. It was gray days with crocuses poking through snow — herring waiting to run. Here in San Francisco, there is no such thing. But I wait for the melt in Yosemite. It’ll still be a while at that high elevation. There is nothing like the rush of water into Yosemite Valley during the melt. The first time I experienced it was back in May 2005. That started me painting moving water, something I had avoided beforehand. I have about six weeks to go, but I am already planning the trip.

March 1, 2011 – Yellowstone

Happy Birthday Yellowstone! It’s the world’s first national park, established in 1872. Of course it was there long before then, but I am so happy that it has been preserved for us all. Having just been to a few of California’s national parks last week, I can once again say, the National Park Service is one of the things America has really gotten right.

Sure it’s beautiful, but what really makes the place so special is the abundance of wildlife. There are not many places where you can wake up in a freezing cabin to the sound of a bison chatting with a Toyota just outside the window. Step outside and find fresh wolf tracks right outside your door. Something about sleeping on top of that caldera fills your head with weird dreams. If you stop a moment, you can just feel it percolating. So many places in the park are steaming and stinking. My immediate reaction when I first visit was primeval.

I’ve been to Yellowstone twice. It’s not the easiest place to get to. Far from any major airport and flying near to the park is quit costly. I actually think the most practical way to get there from San Francisco is simply to drive. It does take three days with plenty of stops along the way. Yellowstone is the perfect main course for a road trip

February 23, 2011 - Mosaic Canyon

Mosaic Canyon is a calming place. The crowd was particular small today. Mosaic Canyon is rarely what one would call "crowded." The canyon has been washed and scoured by millennia of flash floods. There are places where veins of marble along the canyon wall have been polished into smooth waves. As one hikes, you make a few turns up into the canyon and it becomes quiet and still. Today was a cool winter day and the rock walls were cold in the shadows until you reached a higher point where the sun was still warming the canyon late in the afternoon.

Over the years I have found some unique spots in the desert. The energy is different and special in these magical places. Mosaic Canyon is one of those places. Don't ask me to explain why, it's just one of those things you know.

February 22, 2011 - Below Sea Level

Today’s experiment - Can I make art below sea level? Yes I did. At 282 feet below sea level, salt encrusted, at Badwater in Death Valley. On the road and it's time to enjoy the desert. I can write when I get home in San Francisco.

January 25, 2011 – Lichens

It helps to be a painter to really appreciate lichens. Some of them come in garish, bright colors. Colors that, at times, only nature can really get away with. As far as the natural world goes, lichens don’t generate a lot of excitement. You won’t be seeing a National Geographic special on lichens.

Years ago Bay Nature ran a great piece on California lichens that gave me a far greater appreciation of them beyond just their pleasing color palette. When we think of biodiversity, a tropical rainforest is often the first thing that comes to mind. While we don’t have rainforests in California, we are the real hotbed of plant life biodiversity in North America. About a third of the endemic species in North America are only found in California. Lichens are no exception with over 1,200 species present. These intense oranges and chartreuse were everywhere on a trip down to Pinnacles National Monument last Fall. Pinnacles is a little visited treasure of the National Park System. It’s best in the Spring when the wildflowers are blooming, but November is good too, when the lichens have the stage to themselves.