Echo Valley Road

I wrote that the day before on April 25, 2021 I rode to Shiloh Road and crossed the 101. The bus wasn’t scheduled until 1 o’clock so I went to a neighborhood bakery.

The bus was quick and when I got to Cloverdale I confirmed Sunday service before going to the Wine Country Inn.

I spent a bit of time there before getting a bag of chips and a beer and visiting Cloverdale depot. Then I rode to an old cemetery on Crocker at East First and proceeded to River Park. I also went to Preston depot. I enjoyed the turkeys flying through the air.

I returned to the Crocker bridge and headed up river to The Geysers Road. I got photos of the old Preston Bridge Crossing and could see the track across the Russian River from there. I also had looked at an online resource which indicated that most of the historic town of Preston had been on the east side of the river there but didn’t see any evidence of it really.

I noted that The Geysers Road was folded and eroded in places but easily traversed. It wasn’t very steep either. It also wasn’t busy since it connects to the 101 at both ends and there isn’t much more than an RV Park called Thousand Trails and a few residential roads leading to the remnants of the town of Preston.

I asked the attendant at the RV Park about occupancy and forward vacancy. I snooped around the beach and then proceeded to the Russian River bridge all the while taking photos of the old tracks across the Russian River.

From there I followed Echo Valley Road to the railroad tracks. I ate my snack in the middle of the Echo Valley overpass and when I was done I left my bottle to be discovered. I rode back plucking fennel – not recommended.

When I got back from The Geysers Road, I stopped at Pick’s drive-through in the center of town. Later I went to the sawmill bar. I wore a mask, which I swear looked strange to the patrons and sat outside. Later I brought a beer back to the Inn.

In the morning of the day I wrote this I awoke to allergies and it was raining.

This is an occasional series chronicling my life. This Notebook Analysis series is meant to be contemporaneous piece developed as an agglomeration of my notebook pages. In each of these posts I used my notes to develop my recent thoughts.

Many Butter Laps

On April 16, 2021 I wrote that in the evening of the previous Wednesday I went to Cancun Taqueria and onward to the ferry building. There I met a new person in the crowd, she had gone on many butter laps, but was new to me.

More people showed up and then we went to Fort Mason where I took a great picture. Many others had arrived there. I stopped at Safeway to put batteries in my bike lights and then climbed to Pacific overlook.

One of the regulars was there and I met a landscape guy. He ended up tweeting at me later but he had a private account so an acquaintance sent me a screenshot.

We climbed to the Legion of Honor and I connected with one of the regulars. I saw a few people I knew but some of the people I wanted to see weren’t around. I was chased by a coyote at the veterans affairs hospital. A few of us rode to the jumps. A lot of people ended up going to Golden Gate Park so we ended up heading there.

Many others peeled off going up Martin Luther King to twin peaks but my small group went to Stanyan. We saw a whole bunch of coyotes there too.

This is an occasional series chronicling my life. This Notebook Analysis series is meant to be contemporaneous piece developed as an agglomeration of my notebook pages. In each of these posts I used my notes to develop my recent thoughts.

East Bay Bike Party

On April 10th, 2021 I wrote that on Friday the ninth I made geobreakfast fine and my kids came in many times (instead of doing distance learning) which the participants appreciated. I learned about marine Geography. My work call was better. I just turned off the video when the boys came on.

After the call we went to the laundromat and cafe and later drop the boys off with their mom. We walked the whole way. I got some fresh air and returned to work.

When work was over I ate quickly and headed to my first East Bay Bike Party in a long while. I grabbed clothes and boarded BART at Civic Center. I found my easily enough. The ride started late and I hung out with one of the organizers though much of the beginning.

We rode down 40th to the bike path and then out to the old Bay bridge pilings. I got a picture of the bridge – with a Bike Party Acquaintance. We walked back to the start of the pier through a huge crowd together but I knew BART was on a pandemic schedule.

I said bye to everyone and rode away. There was some really good people watching. I got lost once and discovered that grand is an overpass but it was all right.

This is an occasional series chronicling my life. This Notebook Analysis series is meant to be contemporaneous piece developed as an agglomeration of my notebook pages. In each of these posts I used my notes to develop my recent thoughts.

Up Lone Mountain

On April 2 I wrote that the day before when my meetings were done I got some coffee and drove to see my brother’s neighbors in Grant’s Pass at the house they were remodeling. I noted that drivers on highway 199 are very rude but listening to the local radio station calmed my nerves.

The house was not too old but needed a lot of repairs. Apparently, it had been abandoned for a few years and had become overgrown. When I was done, I went into the town center to do laundry and visit the grocery store.

I went back to my brother’s place after I had had a bite to eat and found that my brother had already eaten. I took over with the kids. Unfortunately, when we finally went to bed I discovered that I didn’t have enough sheets.

In the morning of the day that I wrote this my brother was perfectly hospitable - making pancakes and coffee. However, I could tell that my presence was a source of stress so when he was cleaning up I tried to stay away.

After that my brother went to his office and the boys played in the forest while I met with my coworkers online. I finished up some work and then showed the boys around the property - the local flora - limke manzanita- and my brother’s composting toilet. We played with chalk.

Later, when my brother returned, we went on a walk. We took the boat to ferry across his river and walked through some of the fields he had on the far side. Then we borrowed the neighbor’s tractor - he called it a “mule” - and we climbed Up Lone Mountain.

When we returned, we had an amicable dinner and the boys went to bed great. My brother and I talked about life and looked at maps.

This is an occasional series chronicling my life. This Notebook Analysis series is meant to be contemporaneous piece developed as an agglomeration of my notebook pages. In each of these posts I used my notes to develop my recent thoughts.

Rough and Ready

On April 1st, 2021 I wrote that my brother dropped me at Rough and Ready and I walked to his house. I took pics of powerlines and found the trail that connected them to a local road. When I arrived at my brother’s Haybale house he was making dinner and the boys were playing. I made an appetizer and then we sat down to eat. Later we had some candy with them and I cleaned while he visited with the neighbors. When he returned the boys were in bed and I was winding down.

In the morning of the day that I wrote one of the boys had a hard time early in the morning. Hours later, when woke up, the boys got dressed with my brother in an orderly fashion and then left me alone at the house.

I got an hour to myself then. I dropped some stuff off with them later and went to do a meeting at his office. After that I prepared to meet my brother’s neighbors in Grant’s Pass.

This is an occasional series chronicling my life. This Notebook Analysis series is meant to be contemporaneous piece developed as an agglomeration of my notebook pages. In each of these posts I used my notes to develop my recent thoughts.