Devouring life, one bite at a time
One of the best things about the camper has been the countless inspiration for projects. And what better way to experiment than with a beat up camper? Like this penny tile floor. I’ve probably spent hours drooling over Pinterest boards with these kinds of things, …
Welcome to our photo album chronicling our adventure fixing up a ’77 Dodge Robinhood. It’s been burly, but boy, have we had fun rolling our sleeves up and making improvements. When we purchased the camper in the spring of 2017, the bones seemed pretty good, …
I’m on the road exploring the Pacific Northwest with my dad for the next week or so. Road trip! Adventure! I look forward to all this fall has to bring.
My first photographic specimen is of Roosevelt elk as we entered Redwood National Park. Around this time of year, a bull will gather with his own personal harem of a dozen or more lady elks. Here they gathered right off the roadside and didn’t seem particularly camera shy.
But they are quick. Or my camera is slow. I just barely got the tips of this bull’s antlers as he ducked behind the brush.
And this one got his head chopped off completely. I guess I’m not ready for National Geographic just yet.
At Redwood National Park, not to be confused with Humboldt Redwood State Park, trees grow under the most unusual conditions (or should I say, around?).
A short stroll left us feeling dwarfed- and we’re not easy to impress with redwoods. Even with visits to Avenue of the Giants and Sequoia National Park, and Muir and Armstrong Woods in my backyard, this is easily the highest concentration of huge trees altogether.
Big Tree didn’t seem that much bigger than all the other ones we passed.
Redwoods love sharing the same roots- this one base has grown three different trees.
We continued heading north and came to this funny tourist trap, “Trees of Mystery” just before we hit Oregon. My dad remembered seeing it as a kid, so I voted we pull over.
Hey, I thought this guy was from Wisconsin.
By evening, we arrived safely in Oregon and had a lovely seafood dinner at Gold Coast. Tomorrow, Portland and beyond!
I went to the coast earlier this week and finally saw the thing I’ve heard so many talk about. Do you ever think you know something because you hear it so much until you actually see it for yourself and realize you had no …
Okay, we’re going to walk through cleaning fish on the deck, but look out! It’s a little messy. After you let the fish bleed out, cut around the gills and pull them out. Cut down the belly to the anus. Open the belly and …
Last weekend gave me the amazing opportunity to go salmon fishing on my buddy’s boat. That’s been a major one on my list! Here’s the lovely vessel, Overtime, fitting because its owner has spent 500 hours on her in the last year.
He can load her into the water in just a couple minutes, and backs up the trailer like it’s second nature.
Out at sea with two ladies and a cute dog, we’re ready for adventure and fearless to the fog and cold.
Less than an hour out, we get our first bite. My friend, Slim, let me reel the first one in.
A hefty 16 pounder was not too bad for our first catch.
What a thrill!
The fish can flap around on the deck for a while, and sometimes even escape, so it’s important to club them and spear the gills so they bleed out.
With salmon you troll the line through the water, and often don’t even need bait. Here is one of the lures my friend is hooking up to the line.
Slim brings in another one. He thinks it was all the female pheromones that helped us get 6 salmon and 1 rock fish for the day.
Here’s a better look at the club he uses, with the curved blade on the end. If this seems cruel, remember that fish would suffer more if left to suffocate to death.
With a hook on the end, when looped through the gill, this shows the fish weight. Our biggest was over 20 pounds!
Check in tomorrow to learn about cleaning fish at sea. Look out, it’s not for the feint of heart!
After a day at Tahoe without much hiking, the next two days needed maximum mountain use. My dad and I went on a beautiful hike up to Dardanelles Lake. I scrambled down some rocks to the water so I could get my feet wet. With …
A couple weeks ago I went to Tahoe with my dad and his friend, Maddy. It’s a three hour drive from the East Bay, which means that you still get the better part of a day after you get there. Our first stop was the …
We took a short hike at Pinnacle Gulch in Bodega Bay. I love this place if you have a dog and are short on time, but look out! Parking is super pricey, though I like to think it’s for a good cause.
Here I’m helping Mitch identify kelp from jellyfish.
We stopped to say hello to Hitchcock in my beloved Bodega, put on the map with the filming of The Birds.
Wine tasting! But not just yet …
The next day we went for a tour and tasting at Korbel.
Then when we couldn’t get enough champagne, we headed to Iron Horse for more. (With a little lunch break, of course.) This is a local’s favorite I hadn’t been to yet, and it has one of the most breathtaking views of vineyards framed by mountains.
Don’t worry, I also gave Mitch a taste of Dry Creek (Unti) and Alexander Valley (Hawkes) wines, not just Russian River.
On our last day, we met up with the colony of harbor seals at Goat Rock.
Aren’t they cute?
Look out, Mitch found a taffy shop! How is this the one candy I’ve yet to understand? Flavors like vanilla cake? Apple pie? Is taffy the new jelly bean?
All I cared about was that she send some home to her amazing taffy-loving husband, who cashed in some miles so she could have a spontaneous trip with her kooky bestie in California.
A few months ago, Inside Sonoma published this article on rare local foods. Sonoma County has four of the 200 regional foods recognized on the Slow Food Movement’s “Ark of Taste” list of foods under threat. Photo by Ariane, Inside Sonoma Our specialties include: dry …