Eureka - August 2017

August 6, 2017.

This was a quiet week. The weather is still very good.

On my Monday walk I saw those kayakers in the Bay.

Tuesday. I went with Nicolette and Jacob to the swimming hole in Freshwater. Some of their friends were there and they had a lot of fun.

Thursday, I went to the Summer Concert at the water front. Kayakers and boats were enjoying the music too. One kayaker had a BBQ attached to his kayak. The group probably had hamburgers or hot dogs.

Saturday morning, I went to Halvorsen Park where they had music. They also had a church group singing. I did not stay very long.

In the evening was Arts Alive in Old Town. I found one gallery I had not been in before.

On the Plaza were booths and displays. The Kinetic Sculpture organization had a display of a flying saucer.

This afternoon, I went to the Swiss Club for their celebration of Swiss Independence. I danced most dances, but not the chicken dance.

I called two of my Army buddies today. Rainer Mai came out of the hospital today. He needed another stent.

Noel Lacy had a stroke and he does not see much with one of his eyes. I am very lucky so far.

August 13, 2017.

On my Monday morning walk I saw those three beautiful houses. They are Bed and Breakfasts.

Tuesday, I walked in Sequoia Park and spotted those turtles on a floating log.

Thursday, I danced again at the Summer Concert at the waterfront.

Friday, I walked with a group in the MA-LE’L DUNES. Ma-le’l is the place name for one of several villages that existed on the north spit of Humboldt Bay. It comes from the Wiyot word Moulu’l, meaning “his house”.

   

The area abundant resources have sustained the Wiyot people since time immemorial.

Today was a very low tide and the sloughs were muddy and the salt marshes did not have much water. We started walking at 9:00 AM and it was still a little bit foggy.

One kind of buckwheat was in bloom.

Part of the dunes were covered with different flowers.

Other parts were just sand.

A dairy farm with black cows is located across the slough.

This was a wonderful walk. We picked a few huckleberries when we walked through the forest. I am going to join the group.

Saturday, we had a light rain when I drove to Pierson Park in McKinleyville.

The Humbugs Volkswagen Club had their annual show there. All of the cars and Buses had to be over twenty five years old. They were in top shape.

This camper was just like new.

This hippie bus was the exception.

In the afternoon, I went to a picnic in Fortuna. The people, who I walked with yesterday, had a get together.

We had some good conversations. Since there was no sun, some people sat inside.

Today, the sun has come back. In the morning, I drove to Rio Dell for Wildwood Days. Rio Dell is a small lumber mill town. On the main street old, beautiful cars were on display. I liked this small car with a five horse power Briggs and Stratton engine. The boy’s grandfather built the vehicle.

The band played wonderful music.

There were a few booths, but the big event was eating a BBQ Beef meal.

My next stop was the Humboldt Bay National Wildlife Refuge. I saw some white egrets and some hawks.

In the fall 75,000 Canadian geese use the refuge for a stopover.

August 20, 2017.

Monday, I had a busy day. In the morning, I walked with the Ramblers to Whisky Prairie. It was a 3.7 mile round trip. There was a 550 feet elevation gain.

We drove to Founders Grove, which is about forty miles south of Eureka, and met there the southern group of the Ramblers. From there we drove 6.2 miles on the Honeydew/Mattole Road to the trail head.

The road had a lot of pot holes and I had to be careful

There was no flat section on the trail. It was all uphill and coming down again. But walking through the forest and smelling the leaves we were walking on brought back many memories. When I was a child, my cousins and I collected leaves in the forest and brought them to their house on a small wagon. They used the leaves, instead of straw, on the floor of the stable where the cow was.

We had a wonderful view of the valley.

In the evening I danced at the Moose Lodge.

Tuesday evening I attended a multi media presentation by Richard Kimball, president of Vote Smart- Facts Matter. The organization does not tell people how to vote; it has files, and voting records of all major politicians.

Unfortunately, most voters go by emotions instead of facts.

The program was sponsored by the League of Women Voters of Humboldt County and the American Association of University Women.

Some of Doris’s friends from the American Association of University Women were in the audience.

Thursday, I danced at the waterfront. It was the last summer concert.

Friday, the Senior Center had a Hawaiian Luau. This young girl is the daughter of one the cooks and she serves the meals as one of the volunteers.

Friday evening, I attended a slide show about the National, State and local parks in Humboldt County. Jerry Rhode, a local historian, gave a presentation about the history of the parks. The parks came into existence because lumber companies were clear cutting the redwood forest.

“Safe the redwoods” became a battle cry and concerned citizen collected money and bought groves of redwoods.

On my way home I stopped at the Elks Lodge and danced for a while.

Saturday was Open House at the Coast Guard Station. I was there at 10:00 AM when The US Army Engineers unloaded a boat which is used for the assembly of floating bridges.

The Cal Fire helicopter was there too.

Several Coast Guard boats were open for inspection.

The Coast Guard helicopter landed while I was there.

The Coast Guard building is old and very beautiful. We were able to go in and check out the offices and other rooms.

My next stop was the Sizzler restaurant where the Nooners had lunch at 12:00 noon. The group is from the Senior Center and they meet every Saturday at a different restaurant. I like the salad bar at Sizzler. They have soup, ingredients for tacos, pot roast and dessert.

Today, Nicolette, Jacob and I went to the Nooner Café for lunch.

At 3:00 PM I went to the Morris Graves Art Museum for “Wine and Jazz at the Morris Graves”. Every third Sunday of the month the museum invites a band. The music was not for dancing and I stayed only an hour.

August 27, 2017.

Monday was a foggy day in Eureka. A lot of people were disappointed because they could not see the eclipse.

I drove twenty miles east on highway 299 to be out of the fog. A lot of people had the same idea and every free spot along the highway was filled with cars. One lady had driven fourteen hours to see the eclipse.

People used an assortment of eye covers. Several eclipse watchers used welding eye protection.

There were also people with cereal boxes. They used pin holes to see safely the eclipse. Several people brought colanders and sheets of white paper.

I brought my welding glasses. A young man had brought several of the recommended paper and plastic glasses. He gave me one. Those worked the best. Since we have fires in the area that made the sun red, and made the viewing spectacular. I was able to take one picture when the eclipse started. Later pictures did not turn out satisfactorily.I stole the two pictures from Diana's blog. She was in Wyoming and saw the total eclipse.

The hills were covered in light fog but the sky was clear. The moon covered the sun 86 % in this area. It was worth watching this event.

Going home was slow. There was a lot of traffic. I can imagine how the traffic was today in Portland, Oregon.

Tuesday, I walked on G Street and noticed a new mural on a building across the street from the building with the giant Tokyo mural. There seems to be some competition. I hope they keep it up.

Friday, I walked with the Ramblers on the Grasshopper Trail and Bull Creek South Trail. It was a five mile wonderful hike. It was a dirt trail and easy to walk on.

We were thirteen hikers. The oldest was 93 years old. She kept up with the rest of us.

The trail went through a burned out redwood tree.

We stopped at the Giant tree. The lumber company must have missed this one when they came through here clear cutting.

After the walk I went to the Humboldt County Fair in Ferndale. I enjoyed some free Ice Cream from the Humboldt Creamery.

On one stage, a small band was playing good dance music but nobody was dancing. At another stage the Chicago Boyz were performing. It is a black acrobatic group. I got one picture where a young man jumps over two men, one standing on another man. This was a lucky shot. The young man is visible between the two flags.

Sunday, I had planned to go dancing at the Swiss Club. When I got up in the morning my left leg hurt and I could not walk without pain. I spent all day on the couch.