Dan's Outside

I go, I see, I do, I walk, I think, I like…

Report on California's 'Crumbling State Parks'

From Tom Mangan’s Two-Heel Drive:

Report on California’s crumbling state parks – Paul Rogers of the Mercury News documents the decay of the California state parks system, and just how bad it’s gotten. From part one:

This Memorial Day weekend, campsites are booked from Mount Shasta to San Diego. But California’s state park system – once considered the best in the nation – is falling apart.

Its 278 parks include priceless locales that define the state’s history and natural splendor: Sutter’s Mill, Lake Tahoe, towering redwoods and “Baywatch” beaches.

Yet throughout the system, sewage pipes are crumbling. Roofs leak and thousands of scenic acres are padlocked for lack of rangers.

If you believe we need state parks, and that we need them not to be tattered embarrassments that horrify the tourists, pick up a copy of today’s paper and read this report — the graphics illustrate the forces that got us into this mess, and the photography shows in stark detail how bad things have gotten.

Part 2 on Monday deals with what can be done about it. [Two-Heel Drive]

May 26, 2008 Posted by | Commentary | Comments Off on Report on California's 'Crumbling State Parks'

Not My Usual Memorial Day Weekend

For a number of year my talusdancers friends and I have done a traditional Memorial Day Weekend trip to the eastern Sierra. It has almost become a ritual: camp in the desert on BLM land, ski at Mammoth, take in at least one fine dinner in a restaurant and fix another over a fire at our camp, perhaps do a short ski tour out to Minaret summit if conditions permit. This trip has been in many ways the complement to our annual October “last pack trip of the summer” – the Memorial Day weekend trip says, “Good bye winter (skiing) and hello summer (backpacking)” while the October trip says “Good bye summer (backpacking) and hello winter (skiing).”

But not this year.

My friends are out on the “East Side” as I write this, most likely skiing at Mammoth at this very moment. But I’m at home. (And, no, I’m not upset – I’ll be in the Sierra again soon enough… ;-) Little choice really. There is a lot going on here this spring. My daughter is getting married in less than a month! My oldest son is moving back to the area – with a bit of help from me. The end of the spring term is approaching – with the necessity of staying on top of grading all those papers.

May 25, 2008 Posted by | Commentary | Comments Off on Not My Usual Memorial Day Weekend

Sierra Road Closures

According to article in SF Gate all Sierra passes are closed today (except for highways 50 and 80) due to winter-like weather. The road to Glacier Point has also apparently been closed.

I was lamenting the fact that for the first time in quite a few years I’m home on Memorial Day weekend rather than in the eastern Sierra camping in the desert and skiing one last time at Mammoth. But perhaps I’m actually better off at home this time…

May 24, 2008 Posted by | Commentary | Comments Off on Sierra Road Closures

Wondering About the Weather?

Heard just now on a SF Bay Area television news weather forecast: “Last night’s sunset will look a lot like what you’ll see tonight.”

Uh, yeah…

May 21, 2008 Posted by | Commentary | Comments Off on Wondering About the Weather?

Photos on Flickr

This is just a test…

… of one way of displaying my photographs that are posted at Flickr.

The test is concluded for the moment.

May 19, 2008 Posted by | Photography | Comments Off on Photos on Flickr

Tioga Pass Opens ON WEDNESDAY

Correction: I just saw that the road did not open today… It will apparently open on WEDNESDAY. Sorry!

Just a few days late for me – I was up that way late last week – Tioga Pass has opened will open this Wednesday, at least according to a story in the West Coast Imaging Blog. Let the fun begin! :-)

I discovered something interesting last weekend. I thought that the road, while open for administrative traffic ahead of time, was simply closed to other traffic until the entire thing opened. I was surprised to see a sign about a mile up 120 from the turn off in the park late last week stating “Road Closed 19 Miles Ahead.” I guess it may partially open a bit earlier than the full opening.

BTW, I got a real kick out of the tags at the end of the West Coast Imaging Blog post: Fish Tacos, Lee Vining, tioga pass, Tuolumne Meadows. Anyone who travels over the pass to the east side a lot – as I do – very much understands the reasoning behind the first tag. :-)

May 19, 2008 Posted by | Events, Places, Sierra Nevada, Yosemite | Comments Off on Tioga Pass Opens ON WEDNESDAY

A Day in Yosemite

Up at 3:00 a.m. and on the road yesterday morning with Yosemite Valley my goal. Photographed the usual spring subjects: wateralls, creeks, park visitors, new spring growth in the valleys and forests, and a sunset – this one at Glacier Point. (Oh, I made it home just before 1:00 a.m.)


Vernal and Nevada Falls, Alpenglow on Mt. Clark. Yosemite National Park, California. May 16, 2008. © Copyright G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

Other photographs from this trip will soon show up at my photography web site and at my Flickr presence.

May 17, 2008 Posted by | Commentary, Sierra Nevada, Trips, Yosemite | Comments Off on A Day in Yosemite

Bike to Work Day

I finally did it. Rode my bike to work. Again. For many years this was the way I normally got to work, but it has been several years since I last did this.

Although I used to be a very active cyclist – with several 10,000 plus mile years under my belt – I more or less stopped riding a few years ago. Once you stop doing something like this it is very difficult to get started again. I’m hopeful that I can build on today’s commute and get back into this.

May 15, 2008 Posted by | Commentary | Comments Off on Bike to Work Day

Tioga Pass…

If I were a betting man, I’d bet that Tioga Pass might just open this weekend – perhaps even by Friday?. I’m pretty darn confident it will be open by next weekend.

(For the record, I have no official information – this is just my hunch. If you go up there and find it closed, remember that, OK?)

May 15, 2008 Posted by | Commentary | Comments Off on Tioga Pass…

Heyday Books (or 'How Did I Miss This?')

I like to think of myself as being pretty aware of California history, natural history, geography, and so forth. I have shelves full of books on California history and photography and places – and not just the Sierra.

But somehow I managed to miss Heyday Books. Through a contact I made recently – more about that at a future date – I had a chance to look at the Heyday web site this evening, and I see that it is a tremendous resource for those interested in California and the West.

May 8, 2008 Posted by | Commentary | Comments Off on Heyday Books (or 'How Did I Miss This?')

« Previous Entries     Next Entries »