Bungalow Bill's Blog

Bad Face Trail

2012-01-24T21:52:00.000-08:00

If you look closely, you will see the light track of the trail constructed on Winnemucca Mountain to connect the city to the mountain top. The communication towers near the peak mark the end of the trail. I took this photo from the street in front of my house, on October 16, 2011. The trail building crew's season was about over. Halloween was the last day that crews were on the mountain. It has been a long time coming.

Forty Mile Desert

2012-01-13T16:53:00.000-08:00

Low Point of the Year

2011-12-27T22:55:00.000-08:00

Death Valley 2011
282 feet below sea level

Thirteen point seven billion years later, it is early evening, and Stuart and I are sitting on the table of camp space #11, looking across the road at #12, our annual Mesquite Springs campsite.

There is a Class B sitting there, and parked in front is a shiny new 1963 Volkswagen Beetle. It was dark green with a British Columbia license plate. There's no one around over there, but we know they are in, we can see the glow of their TV screen.

We're thinking that by using the right mind control technology we can urge them to pull up stakes and leave in the morning. This might work because we did exactly the same thing last year.

Just before dark, this little German gentleman come's over and says, "we are leaving in the morning, and I'll come over and let you know so you can move to our spot. It's the best one here".

When the wind came up on our fourth day in the valley, it was a real reminder that Death Valley would be a very different place if you were traveling in a mule drawn wagon. The rock above provides some indication of the wind's effects. It had been moved several hundred yards in looping arcs and long straight skids, across the playa, leaving a 14 inch wide mark in it's wake.

The racetrack playa, in the Racetrack Valley, is the home of these mysterious rocks streaking across the ground. The trip to this remote valley is a 60 mile round trip of rough wash-boarded gravel road.

Stuart on the Racetrack

While we were there, 10 to 12 other people visited the Racetrack, and I think I saw every one of them lay down flat on the playa. Some did it right away, and others waited until they had done some roaming about. I tried it flat on my back. Seems to be some sort of primal urge.

Stovepipe Wells

We did have an opportunity for a little downtime one evening. We sat on the tailgate drinking coffee and eating crackers, and watched evening settle over Stovepipe Wells. They seem to do a really good job keeping the light pollution to a minimum. There were hundreds and hundreds of people staying within 1000 yards of us, and there was almost no sign of them. The only lights are the few around the Inn.

Death Valley 2011

2011-12-26T19:33:00.000-08:00

Its been a long time since I posted anything here. This time the seven month delay was because I wanted to upload a video to YouTube and embed it here, but every time I tried to upload it I found that my internet connection was too slow. I would try to upload it at home, or at my office, and I would get a message that it was going to take 160 to 180 minutes. And then the upload would time out before it completed. The DSL connections I'm getting are very, very slow, so I'm doing something about that, but that's another story. I got the video uploaded by taking it to Great Basin College and using their fiber optic broadband connection. Took 6 minutes.

So, Stuart and I made another April trip to Death Valley, did some camping, some exploring, and had a great time. While we were up near the crest, on the eastern side of the valley in the Funeral Mountains, near the former site of Chloride City, this is what we across:

Based on the help provided by Sam Hipkins, in the comments below, we now believe these are Crotalus Stephensi - Panamint Rattlesnake

Winnemucca Pink House

2011-05-19T21:17:00.000-07:00

This inactivity must come to an end.

This little gas station building, converted into a home, sits on the edge of the golf course.

I'm all lost in the supermarket

2010-12-12T12:12:00.000-08:00

Stuart on a recent trip to the market.

Rice Grass

2010-11-19T18:14:00.000-08:00

Eastern Sierra.

Creek Grass

2010-11-10T00:09:00.000-08:00

Grass along Green Creek in the Eastern Sierra

Late June Wildflowers

2010-09-01T21:00:00.000-07:00

Mule's Ears

Great Basin Garden

Lupins and Irisis

Some of the images from a June 27, 2010 trip over Hinkey Summit in the Santa Rosa Mountains. Much like the rest of the desert in the Great Basin, there is a beautiful but brief explosion of color each year.

How's That?

2010-08-03T09:35:00.000-07:00

Sam, this is for you!
Shot and posted from the sidewalk with the iPhone.

Reconnaissance

2010-06-14T21:18:00.000-07:00

Went back up to the Santa Rosa mountains over the weekend. This is a great time of the year in the northern part of the Great Basin. The roads have only been open a little while, the snow drifts and mud holes have pretty much given way. The main roads seemed to have been recently bladed.

Everywhere you look there is a little brook carrying away the cold, cold water. It's a big country, and it was completely empty.

Hardheads

2010-06-09T20:18:00.001-07:00

I have much more to say on this topic, but not right now, it will have to wait.

Aquereberry Point

2010-04-18T23:04:00.000-07:00

A view of Badwater, the lowest point in the United States, from Aquereberry Point.

Pete Aguereberry, the miner that built the trail to this spectacular viewpoint, was apparently one of the very few good guys that populated Death Valley in it's early mining days. Late in his life Pete built the trail to this "Grand View" of Death Valley with a wheel barrow and his hand tools, so he could share the view.

This is Bill, having a look:

Badwater
Close up, sort of.

This is the bottom of Death Valley, so people like to walk out and see for themselves. 282 feet below sea level.

Rhyolite Ghost Town

The train depot at Rhyolite badly needs structural repairs. Administrators with the BLM need to develop a new visitor experience. The chain link fence with the razor wire on top that surrounds the entire building makes it look more like a crime scene than a historic treasure.

Blue Mountain from the iphone

2010-04-16T21:48:00.000-07:00

This is the second picture I took with my new phone. The first one was of my lap.

Delicious

2010-02-18T14:00:00.000-08:00

(Click it up Big)

What is he building in there? - Tom Waits

This is another Wordle, made up of the tags from my own delicious bookmarks. May give you some idea about where my attention is much of the time. If you want to investigate further, you might try here: http://delicious.com/bsims

If you want to give it a try, and you can spend hours at this if you are so inclined, you can create your own Wordle here: http://www.wordle.net/

a new year is coming soon

2009-12-31T19:38:00.000-08:00

To the Consolations of Philosophy

by W. S. Merwin

Thank you but

not just at the moment

I know you will say

I have said that before

I know you have been

there all along somewhere

in another time zone

I studied once

those beautiful instructions

when I was young and

far from here

they seemed distant then

they seem distant now

from everything I remember

I hope they stayed with you

when the noose started to tighten

and you could say no more

and after wisdom

and the days of iron

the eyes started from your head

I know the words

must have been set down

partly for yourself

unjustly condemned after

a good life

I know the design

of the world is beyond

our comprehension

thank you

but grief is selfish and in

the present when

the stars do not seem to move

I was not listening

I know it is not

sensible to expect

fortune to grant her

gifts forever

I know

A Wordle of Great Basin A&E

2009-12-24T23:34:00.000-08:00

Toiyabe Range

2009-11-11T19:00:00.000-08:00

This is the eastern wall of the Toiyabe Range, looking SSW, as seen from Highway 50 about 12 miles east of Austin. On the map below the spot would be very near the intersection of U.S. Highway 50 and Nevada Route 376.

View Larger Map

Red Cat Records

2009-10-23T23:22:00.001-07:00

So I was digging around in my files, and found this.

If the Red Cat were still with us, it would just now be preparing to celebrate the end of its 10th year. Gone but not forgotten.

Big Rocks

2009-10-23T19:01:00.000-07:00

Chocolate Mountain, Santa Rosa Range, Humboldt County, Nevada
October 7, 2009

Hinkey Summit, Santa Rosa Range, Humboldt County, Nevada
October 10, 2009

Took these photos during three trips to the Santa Rosa Range. My friend Stuart invited me to help out with a photography field trip for his class at Great Basin College. We went out on "scout" trips twice to find a good location for a large group. Then we took about 18 people out to one location we'd found in the mountains, and then on the way back to town spent some time in Paradise.

This sounds like much more of a report, than a story....argh...

Try the full screen feature.

Austin Summer of 2009

2009-09-02T22:23:00.000-07:00

This is the nearly the longest time I have ever gone between posts. Just too much life and not enough time for creativity.

I spent today judging photos at the county fair, or the Tri-County Fair. This is interesting work. You get to claw your way through a huge pile of mounted photos that range from the sublime to the truly awful.

People tend to enter photographs that they have some sort of emotional connection with, or that evoke a fond memory, no matter what the subject matter or quality of the image.

Our job was to score each one independently, and then write some notes, constructive suggestions, on how the image might be improved, to "offer the entrants encouragement".

It was with this in mind that I chose my own image, above, to post today. This picture, while rather poorly done, represents my current, confused, state of mind. It was captured in Austin Nevada 7/26/2009 when I was on my way to a meeting in Ely.

Sacred Ground

2009-01-18T22:00:00.000-08:00

Inspiration - Illumination

We sent our brother John Allen off in a manner he would have fully appreciated. A wake filled with his spirit, his friends, his artwork & totems, and his writings & poetry. Conversation, music, singing & dancing, smiles & tears, and hugs. The land, the wind and the sun.

Home was filled with small children of all sizes playing hide-and-seek on the stairways and in the doors.

The moon, and then fireworks, and likely some gunfire off in the distance.

We spread his ashes over his 80 acres. These lands along the White River hold a powerful medicine, and now he has joined with it.

more photos

John Allen's Blog - Mind over Matters

Dunes

2008-12-07T22:23:00.001-08:00

The High Desert. That's an accurate name for this part of the Great Basin. I'm beginning to think in terms of years, to remember when this dry spell started.

And no, these are not snow drifts. These are dunes.

It seems I always end up making a trip to the dune fields about this time of the year. This year it got dark, and I almost missed the light. I don't think I have really adjusted to moving the clock, and the days getting so short.

The blue light is what had my attention. The shadows on the dunes were filled with a beautiful blue light.

W.V.F.D

2008-08-22T22:51:00.000-07:00

Old Trees

2008-07-30T22:53:00.000-07:00

I've just uploaded some more images to my long ignored flicker account. Have a look.

Landscape-Mindscape

2008-07-21T22:04:00.000-07:00

White Mountains, in California, at a photography workshop.

It was a beautiful spot, among groves of Bristlecone Pines, some of the oldest living organisms on the planet.

Independence Day 2008

2008-07-04T23:00:00.000-07:00

We had a nice spot to watch the fireworks tonight. Sitting in the grass on the slope of the # 8 tee box at the WGC. Beautiful evening; clear, cool, calm, and not a cloud in the sky.

Wishbone

2008-06-27T23:49:00.000-07:00

There is this shot. It's a little late since it was taken in March I think. But I liked it. The last snow of the season. About three days later it was all gone. The trail will wrap around the back side of this ridge when it is constructed next spring. Those Humboldt's over in Pershing County, and the Humboldt River Valley show up nicely.

Which Way Did They Go ?

2008-05-23T20:19:00.000-07:00

It must be a sign of the times.
end-of-scenic-route reminded me of this shot.

One thing you might want with you up on the mountain is a good set of body armor. A little thicker than this sign. A helmet might be a good idea as well.

Happy Mother's Day

2008-05-11T00:01:00.000-07:00

These young orphans wish they had their mothers.

They get special love and care, and have their stories told in a color-coded alpha numeric script code.

Sun Down again

2008-04-28T21:48:00.000-07:00

The view down the street this afternoon.

We've been having some strong wind storms. This afternoon, about sundown, the wind was taking the dust northeast. The wind blows huge amounts of soil, very fine dust mostly, into the air, and then carries it away in huge choking clouds.

The lands producing most of this dust are the vast acres burned by wildfire. The oceans of sage and clump grass having been burning away over these lands in what has become a annual ritual. The burned lands may never recover. There are now invasive species of grass weed that are propagating so quickly that the same lands can burn year after year. Mostly cheatgrass. There are a lot of different strategies, and tactics, much discussion, and some execution, on how to best address this problem.

I don't think there is a local solution. It appears to me that a different climate, one that provided more rain and snowfall, might be required. That may not come anytime soon.....

I wonder if 500 years from now this area will be the north reaches of the Mojave Desert?

Jungo Flats

2008-04-25T14:41:00.000-07:00

This afternoon we made our way in the sedan, to the beach, but we couldn't ever find the water. We could always see it, just over there, but we couldn't ever sneak up on it.

This image reminds me of a vistor from the far east we saw in NYC, on the south tip of Manhattan Island. He had his cell phone mounted on a 5' tripod, and was taking a photo of the Statue of Liberty The photographer above is using her iPhone.

Wait till you see the video morsa made, you'll be amazed.

Sleeping Giants

2008-04-19T21:57:00.000-07:00

quarter past six

2008-04-11T22:38:00.000-07:00

The snow on the north side of this low peak reminded me of a sports car, a 911, with door handle.

Today the proposed route layout is complete.

WINNMO

2008-04-10T21:31:00.001-07:00

It's coming together. JP, the trail designer, is laying loops on the mountain. This is him, at the
foot of the mountain. headin' up.

This is JP talking with the mountain.
Seeking permission to seek the summit.

ICE

2008-03-17T22:02:00.000-07:00

Used to be that ice was a real valuable commodity around these parts. Still is I guess, but not like the days when you had to cross Nevada on Highway 40.

104 degrees, dry hot wind blowing, driving the narrow blacktop with all the windows rolled down. The Mayor, he used to sell ice cream cones, said people would stop for a while just to let their tires cool down. The big swimming pool, right downtown under a canopy of huge trees, was a real popular stop on a family trip.

Finding a gas station with a good supply of ice to keep things cool to the next stop was a near necessity. That and a couple of canvas bags of water strapped on the front, catching bugs, and the odd jackrabbit or deer.

Walt Whitman

2008-02-26T23:37:00.000-08:00

The teeming streets of Walt Whitman's America. A hundred and fifty years later.

I think it was the prospect of a new start, a new administration in Washington, that brought Walt Whitman's Leaves of Grass to me. I bought the anniversary edition of this work a few weeks ago, and for the first time, read this famous piece of very American poetry.

Walt knows.

I recommend it.

This is from the opening of the preface in the 1855 first edition:

The Americans of all nations at any time upon the earth have probably the fullest poetical nature. The United States themselves are essentially the greatest poem. In the history of the earth hitherto the largest and most stirring appear tame and orderly to their ampler largeness and stir. Here at last is something in the doings of man that corresponds with the broadcast doings of the day and night. Here is not merely a nation but a teeming nation of nations. Here is action untied from strings necessarily blind to particulars and details magnificently moving in vast masses. Here is the hospitality which forever indicates heroes . . . . Here are the roughs and beards and space and ruggedness and nonchalance that the soul loves. Here the performance disdaining the trivial unapproached in the tremendous audacity of its crowds and groupings and the push of its perspective spreads with crampless and flowing breadth and showers its prolific and splendid extravagance. One sees it must indeed own the riches of the summer and winter, and need never be bankrupt while corn grows from the ground or the orchards drop apples or the bays contain fish or men beget children upon women.
Other states indicate themselves in their deputies . . . . but the genius of the United States is not best or most in its executives or legislatures, nor in its ambassadors or authors or colleges or churches or parlors, nor even in its newspapers or inventors . . . but always most in the common people. Their manners speech dress friendships the freshness and candor of their physiognomy the picturesque looseness of their carriage . . . their deathless attachment to freedom their aversion to anything indecorous or soft or mean the practical acknowledgment of the citizens of one state by the citizens of all other states the fierceness of their roused resentment their curiosity and welcome of novelty their self-esteem and wonderful sympathy their susceptibility to a slight the air they have of persons who never knew how it felt to stand in the presence of superiors the fluency of their speech their delight in music, the sure symptom of manly tenderness and native elegance of soul . . . their good temper and openhandedness the terrible significance of their elections the President's taking off his hat to them not they to him these too are unrhymed poetry. It awaits the gigantic and generous treatment worthy of it.

The Wheel Turns Again

2007-12-21T19:28:00.000-08:00

My calender and most football players think that January 1st is the first day of the new year, but today, the winter solstice, is the beginning of the new year. The wheel has turned, and it begins again.

How about a movie?

The Winter Solstice

2007-12-21T19:00:00.000-08:00

Counting Cows - 14

On the shortest day of the year, just before nightfall, I visited this hot spring planning for a great image of the walls of steam rising into the orange sunlight.

What I came away with surprised me.

Kyle Hot Spring December 21, 2008

Somehow, when I was passing along here, Boomer came to mind, driving along in the stuffed turkey, counting cows.

I've been sitting on this post now for nearly a month, and so it's either, let it go and delete, or post it as is........

Samsara

2007-12-17T20:09:00.000-08:00

This is some of the work by our man on the high plains. He lives up on the White River. As you can see, it's a very interesting place.

A Trail

2007-10-17T18:50:00.001-07:00

We've just gotten the resources together to build a trail from Winnemucca to the top of Winnemucca Mountain.

A single track bike trail, winding around the mountain for up to eleven miles.

The concept is to keep the overall grade to the top at about 6%, so you won't have to be a mountain goat to ride all the way to the top. Or, you could have somebody drive you up to the top, and drop you off. Then ride downhill, or coast, all the way to town.

The entire length is to be new single track construction, likely with the use of some existing single track game trails, None of the route is to be on two track jeep roads. The trail is intended for the use of hikers, bicyclists, and horseback riders. It would be nice if we could find a few water seeps, so that a drink might be had along the way.

Now that the funds are secure, or we hope nearly so, the next steps are the layout and design, and of course, a mountain of paper processed to make sure everyone's interests are addressed, and to ensure the agencies are all lined up, with the proper authority identified, so they can give each other permission.

There is still much work to do, and many questions to be answered, but the funding carries with it a certain kind of inertia that should help move the project along.

One thing we know, there is not much shade to get under anywhere on the mountain.

Artifacts

2007-10-12T20:50:00.000-07:00

We could have some of this kind of fun.

Grade 2.6

This class photo was taken just a couple of months after I moved to my hometown on the High Plains. Didn't know any of these people just yet. Some would become my best friends, some my enemies, a couple became my secret sweethearts. Imagine that.

Outpost

2007-10-06T15:25:00.000-07:00

Up on the corner.

This is where one goes in these parts for provisions. You can clean your duds, get right with Jesus, by imported Mexican goods, and get convenience items of all sorts. I like the atmosphere in this photo.

It's not dark yet, but it's getting there.

Rare Bear

2007-09-16T23:13:00.000-07:00

Here is the working end of the winner of the unlimited class gold at the Reno Air Races today. A 4000 horsepower Grumman F8F Bearcat that in 1989 set the closed course world speed record of 528.3 mph.

It's a great airshow and the only place in the world you can see aircraft racing around pylons on a closed course.

No Feed

2007-09-13T17:51:00.001-07:00

My RSS feeds are turning up nothing. Broken. Rats. Where do I start looking for the cause? Zack are you out there? Are they feeding to Yahoo?

Sailing Along

2007-09-09T22:37:00.000-07:00

The most fun I had this summer came to me as a very pleasant surprise. Our office had a little retreat for an afternoon at Lake Tahoe a couple of weeks ago. I thought I was going up there for a sort of picnic or barbecue at the home of one of our advisory board members. Turned out that he had a couple of boats moored in the lake, and offered to let us take a little ride. Eight people opted to take out the big power boat, and six of us went out with our host John and his house guest Isabella on the sailboat, leaving about as many people ashore to prepare the barbecue.

Our host John proved to be a very kind and generous man. As we got underway, with John at the helm and Isabella acting as first mate, they directed us patiently in how to handle the lines, and deploy the sails. As soon as we were squared away, John offered to let someone take the helm. Standing by and offering calm and patient guidance, and an occasional hand on the wheel, he would instruct us each in turn, and then let us have the helm. Three of us got the opportunity, and I was allowed to handle the wheel for nearly an hour. Wow what a treat that was.

This boat, for a few minutes sailing very nearby, was very similar in size and design to the 36 foot vessel we were on.

Standing at the helm, feeling the wind in the sails, the waves, the feel of the vessel underfoot, it was truly a transcendent experience. What an unexpected joy for me! I had no idea. I can still close my eyes and experience that serene feeling. At one with all that is.

Now I really understand what it means to be "sailing along".

When we got back to shore, near dusk, the barbecue had pretty much been cooked and eaten, but I would much rather have still been out on the lake.

What Is It?

2007-07-19T18:36:00.001-07:00

So I'm trying a new contest, to see if anyone is listening out there. Do you know where this is? Take a guess, and leave it in the comments. Second question: What state is this?

.................

I found this in the papers the other day, and thought you photographers might find it interesting:

Liar, Liar, Pants on Fire

July 10, 2007,
By Errol Morris

From the New York Times Opinion Blog

Zoom - A Filmaker Under Covers the Hidden Truth of Photo's

Pictures are supposed to be worth a thousand words. But a picture unaccompanied by words may not mean anything at all. Do pictures provide evidence? And if so, evidence of what? And, of course, the underlying question: do they tell the truth?

I have beliefs about the photographs I see. Often – when they appear in books or newspapers – there are captions below them, or they are embedded in explanatory text. And even where there are no explicit captions on the page, there are captions in my mind. What I think I’m looking at. What I think the photograph is about......... more >

Aftermath-Thomas Fire

2007-07-13T21:14:00.001-07:00

All the news here is about the fire. It started like this last Thursday afternoon, the day after the Fourth of July. The first edges of the weather front that caused all the trouble was just starting arrive. The leading edges carried enought moisture to cause these squalls. This is looking southwest, down the Humboldt River Valley, toward Lovelock and the Humboldt Sinks. The rain was falling out of these clouds but you can see it vaporizing just under the clouds. Virga

Then came the real thunderstorms on Friday night, still little or mostly no rain, but this time with lightning. By Saturday night it was fire and brimstone all around. I didn't get a decent photo of the fires, but this will give you some idea. This was about 10:30 Saturday night after the fire had burned all the way from Thomas Canyon, past Water Canyon and on towards the east. This is the edge that looked to be headed for the Kluncy Canyon part of town.

Last night, just before sunset, this is what the after effects look like.

This is a closer look at the Grass Valley Area. It is truly amazing that no homes were lost in the fire.

Water Canyon:

There is lots of discussion around town about the tactics used to fight the fire.

From what I hear, the local fire fighters, the Winnemucca Boys, were responsible for holding the lines Saturday night, and saved many, many homes from destruction.

Local folks are not at all pleased with the work of the BLM, especially the experts that arrived late on the scene, took control, and just let it burn. That's what I hear. I was trying to stay out of the way, so I don't have any first hand knowledge of the situation. The people that live up in the Water Canyon Estates have lots to say.

Some other folks came up on the mountain for a look while I was there. It had cooled down to 97F by this afternoon.

High Desert Heat

2007-07-05T22:33:00.000-07:00

I've got a rocket
in my pocket,
I cannot stop to play.
Away it goes !
I've burnt my toes.
It's Independence Day !

Yesterday, July 4th, it was 103 F in these parts. Today at 5:00 PM it was up to 105 F. Seemed like ideal conditions for a short expedition. My friend Mike went along for the trip. Surprised me a bit, cause it was a real spontaneous plan.

These shots are taken from Winnemucca Mountain. It was very quiet up there today. We never made it to the top, but stopped off along the western flank, about half way up.

The vehicle in the image above is coming in from the Black Rock Desert, on Jungo Road. You can see the effects of a recent fire in the middle of the photo.

The Jackson Mountains this evening.

Hungry?

2007-07-03T19:28:00.000-07:00

If you get that feeling in your stomach, and make a drive up for a number 2, you might see this. Blue Mountain. Taken from the drive-through at Burger King.

Been absent for some time, but there is news. JA is blogging! Check out the first post at Mind-Over-Matters. Be the second visitor to view his extensive profile. I just added it to the neighborhood. Wheeeeee Isn't this fun!

2007-03-30T17:44:00.000-07:00

Shelby

This young one, from the streets of New York City, just spent a week in Nevada. She had a great time on the shore and in the water at Pyramid Lake. I wonder what she thought about it, a huge beautiful blue lake, nearly all to herself.

2007-03-28T21:08:00.000-07:00

VCNV

Went up to Virginia City last Saturday. What we found was a town full of folks that were dressed up, like they were expecting us. This guy here, I call him Red, was absolutely sure that I was a National Geographic photograper, and said he was expecting me today. Said he had met me the last time we shot Virginia City. Red claimed he had gone to great trouble, and with much difficulty, to aquire a DVD that contained the photo shoot I had done on the last trip. Had to get it from the bartender at the Bucket of Blood Saloon, in fact.

First time I was ever in Virginia City.

People that looked like this were strutting up and down the street, and leaning over the bar rails telling each other tall tales.

If you want to dress up, you can just step into one of the dry goods stores and buy the whole outfit. You can even go into the gun shop and get your self a gun belt, and a toy pistol. At least I hope they were toys.

It's an amazing 19th century western mining boomtown. The nation's largest Historic Landmark, tucked away right here.

The streets had been taken over by Harley Davidson motorcycles, which were backed in to the curbs in big buches, dozens and dozens of them, and the black leather crowd was holed up in just two or three of the bars, sipping their beer politely and having a nice afternoon visit with their pals.

Blackie here was a deputy sheriff, I watched as he and three mates were all sworn in for the afternoon. Got a badge and everthing. I think part of the oath included a promise to drink beer till dusk.

He beat me in a stare-down.

Reminded me of Deadwood, in the good old days.

2007-03-19T23:09:00.000-07:00

Spring Again

It seems like we just did this last year. The wheels keep on turning.

Inspired by the great photos I saw this weekend at Shooting the West, I went up the slope of the Sonoma Range and took this picture across the Humboldt Valley. Winnemucca Mountain just after sun up.

2007-03-15T22:50:00.000-07:00

Shooting the West

Shutter bugs will invade Winnemucca this weekend, and take home thousands of photos of the town and surrounding area. (this is a great, yet apparently unrecognized marketing tactic)

Many come with a collection of their own best and favorite images and books .

About 250 photographers will meet for Shooting the West XIX - The Nevada Photography Experience. A weekend of hanging out with a crowd of people who all share the same passion. A chance to view hundreds of great photos. Most are printed in large formats, or projected to huge images. During the presentations the photographers discuss their works; this is the first one:

Travels with Robert Holmes

Robert Holmes is widely acknowledged as one of the world's finest travel photographers with his work appearing in virtually every major travel magazine. With more than 30 books in print, Holmes is willing to share with us his tips on travel photography.

So far I have missed it 18 times, but this year I'll be there.

If I were entering two photos in the "Give It You're Best Shot" it might be this one and this one.

One thing they could really use is a new website. You might think it would be full of examples of the works of past presenters and contest winners, but think again. (any of you site designers I know listening?)

2007-03-13T23:47:00.000-07:00

Transparent Things

I look though transparent things and I feel ok.

Since it's my birthday I thought I should throw something up here to mark the auspicious occasion.

The shot above was taken in Williamsburg, NYC. This piece of art is painted on a concrete wall down by the East River. About 30 inches tall. Looked to be airbrushed, in very fine detail. I seem to remember that this was created by someone that has become well known for his street art.

I just got Fujiya & Miyagi thanks to spaRse. Interesting. Thank You.

It's all good!

Late February Afternoon

2007-02-25T23:12:00.000-08:00

A series of storms is blowing in over the Sierra range and we have a chance for some snow showers or rain for the next week or so. As these big storms approach, the leading edges are ripped apart by the Sierras, and the skies around here are full of dark fragments and bright sunshine.

This afternoon the light was just brilliant, so I took a little trip up to Water Canyon and got this nice shot of the city and Winnemucca Mountain.

Tonight it will be snowing.

2007-02-13T23:58:00.000-08:00

Zazen on Ching-t’ing Mountain
Lo Po (701-762)

The birds have vanished down the sky.
Now the last cloud drains away.
We sit together, the mountain and me,
until only the mountain remains.

Happy Valentine's Day!

2007-02-09T22:05:00.000-08:00

RAIN

I purchased my first itunes this evening and then loaded it to the ipod. It was all good. Simple and easy. All from the couch. Ecdysis - Miho Hatori

She will be cozy in there with Ralph Stanley, Mother Maybelle, and Doc Boggs.

Recommended by BAGHEAD.

2007-02-05T21:11:00.000-08:00

Town of Humboldt Redux

I've done a bit more research on this, and have determined that I have posted photo's of "Humboldt House" in the previous post, not the "Town of Humboldt".

Not sure there is a "town" of Humboldt.

There is a "Humboldt City", which lies a few miles east, up in "Humboldt Canyon", in the........ you guessed it, the Humboldt Mountains. Just about where the Humboldt River wraps around the north end of the Humboldt Mountains.

"Humboldt House", pictured above and below, was the name of the stage station, and then railroad stop.

All of these Humboldt's were in Humboldt County, until someone burned down the courthouse in Winnemucca. Because of that fire, the Humboldts all moved to Pershing County, where they have remained since 1919.

2007-02-02T23:06:00.000-08:00

Town of Humboldt, Nevada

It's that time of the year, when the landscape is washed over by the late winter sun.

I had occasion to drive over to the Biggest Little City after work yesterday and stopped off at Humboldt to watch as the sun went down.

The town of Humboldt lies just off the north tip of the Humboldt Mountain Range in Pershing County.

Humboldt used to be in Humboldt County until someone accidentally burned down the courthouse in Winnemucca.

When the folks over in Lovelock got a glimpse of the plans for the new courthouse, with its columns and marble staircases, they didn't believe they wanted to help pay for such an expensive building over in the county seat, so they seceded, and formed their own county. Then they built their own special courthouse. Folks around here don't seem to have got over that little spat yet.

When the boundary was set to cleave Humboldt County into two parts, the town of Humboldt, a service stop on the transcontinental railroad, found itself in the new Pershing County. Named for WWI hero General of the Armies "John Joseph "Black Jack" Pershing.

This the the entire town. I saw two satellite dishes, so they are probably inside watching FOX News.

Molten sun on a chilly afternoon.

2007-01-26T19:46:00.000-08:00

East Ely Rail Shed

One of the sheds in the Nevada Northern Railway yards at Ely.

It's number 5 on this map.

There are some more of my images from down that way right here.

2007-01-14T21:18:00.000-08:00

What were they thinking?

This was supposed to be a post about the fact that we may now be living in the only small town in the west that does not have its news presence on the web. Or maybe us and BM.

Our newspaper made a half hearted attempt about a half decade or so ago, and after a few months of effort it went dark. I think as far as they got was posting the classified ads. Instead of trying to draw readers to their site with information and content, they tried to make it pay from right out of the box. If you think back, this was in the stone age of website design and content production, and most of their readers didn't yet use or own a computer, and if they did, they were using a slow and difficult first generation dial up connection.

But we did have a brief recap of the news each day, posted by our local radio station. Each day they would post the transcript of the live noon local news broadcast, nothing fancy, but it was a good recap of the most important of local events each day.

Now that source has gone dark. The radio station was purchased on the first day of December by a new owner who lives in the BIG City down in the bottom of the state. January 8th the news page changed to this:

"We apologize for any inconveniences, KWNA is currently undergoing changes to our news department. Please continue listening to our Northern Nevada News, on-air, at thirty minutes past the hour, 5am through 10am and at 12:05pm."

I guess the world really is flat.

The picture above was captured on a wall in Brooklyn, NY during my one and only visit there.

I guess it must have been painted by someone that was lonesome for the farm, maybe someone from California, near San Andres.

2007-01-01T18:36:00.000-08:00

New Year's Day on the Flats

Took a little trip out west this afternoon, to the Jungo Flats, about 35 miles west of town. It was a nice quiet place to spend a bit of the first day of the new year. No people, no birds, no insects, no animals, no sound, no wind, just beautiful space and light. This playa is large enough that you can see the curvature of the earth if you look closely. Its a good place to think about the great wheels at work in the universe.

I did find this shadow lurking about, watching me over its shoulder.

2006-12-01T17:49:00.000-08:00

Bob and I have a long history.

Frank and Friends
(This is not my photo.)

I think my first Bob Dylan album was of course, The Greatest Hits. But the next one I got, John Wesley Harding, was the one that hooked me for life.

I got it shortly after my big brothers moved out and I got my own space, my own room. I've only been living with these two guys in the same bedroom, in our large three room apartment, with the folks, the last 17 years or so. Finally the guns and knives were all gone.

Some time I'll tell you about the deer head on the wall, and the bows, and quivers full of arrows, and more weaponry that you can image, tucked away under the beds and in the corners of the closet. Slingshots, razor blades, and such.

Anyway, back to Bob.

It's truly been a long a long and winding road, a strange trip, if you know what I mean. And yeah, he is still out there.

If you don't have a copy of the latest, Modern Times, I suggest you get one. It's truly wonderful.

Yeah, I'm a fan.

Thanksgiving in the Big Empty

2006-11-27T21:46:00.000-08:00

Thanksgiving morning, not long after getting up, I was feeling, well, melancholy would be the best word I know of for describing the feeling. So I got my camera and set out with the intention of capturing that feeling in an image. I drove up to the top of Mount Muccabull, and found the world to be gloriously beautiful, with the new fallen snow, the puffy clouds hanging off the tops of all the mountain ranges in sight, and the sky a bright clear blue. This wasn't helping at all with my project, so I thought I might come back into town and find the shot I was seeking.

The picture above was taken on the return, from very near the town dump, and gives a nice view of the Little Humboldt Valley. You can just make out a homestead in the lower middle field of winter dried sagebrush. It also provides some much needed scale to the photo.

To make a long story short, I failed in my original mission, but felt much better having spent a couple of hours outdoors taking in the cold air, light, and space.

I took several dozen shots, and the most interesting one, to me, was this one.

Yield and overcome.

2006-11-13T22:22:00.000-08:00

Yield and Overcome

Winnemucca Mountain - Feb 2006

Be Really whole,
And All things will come to you.
- Lao Tsu - Tao te ching

Reality, the thing I like about it is you to to create it yourself. And the really amazing thing is that everbody else gets to do it too, and at the same time!

It's really fun.

Since you get to create your own reality, you can create your own future.

But, when you begin to plan your alternate futures, it begins, the constant discernment and discrimination. The dual nature of existence indicates that this is exactly the point at which you lose your awareness of reality.

So, there you go, you get to create your own reality, but it doesn't really exist.

NOLA - Revival or Decline?

2006-11-07T19:46:00.000-08:00

I was in New Orleans a year before Katrina, and now have had the chance to return a year after Katrina. The city has a strange feel, something difficult to put a name on, but it is very palpable. Maybe it's the ghosts. Not just those from the storm, but those from times past, back to haunt the city. The streets which once teemed with people are now much quieter.

I remember watching the crowds of people on the streets in 2004, going to and from work, bustling along like a crowd in any other big city, some singing, some frowning, some walking in groups and some hustling along. Like the downtown we have seen in other southern cities, the vast majority were working black people, getting on and off the buses in swarms in the early morning and late afternoon. Now most of those folks are simply gone. By comparison, the streets now seem almost deserted.

We took the Katrina disaster tour around the city in a small tour bus to see the effects of the disaster up close, and it's shameful what is happening here. The stories and the pictures you have seen in the press are much better than anything I could produce, but the miles and miles of damaged, destroyed, and abandoned houses is shocking in its scope. There are still huge communities, and neighborhoods, almost completely abandoned. The local retail network is gone as well. We saw closed, abandoned Wallmart's on this tour for gods sake. This is not just the poor people either, I saw many houses that around here would bring 2.5K to 1.5 million around here. Folks say they are mostly fighting with insurance companies and red tape.

Less than half the original population has been able to return to the city. Huge sections are simply abandoned, and sit silent and rotting away. Everywhere in the occupied parts of the city there are help wanted signs in the windows. Many more jobs than there are people to fill.

The locals say the big problems are lack of housing and the high cost of living. I heard this afternoon that the cost of electricity is nearly four times higher than before the storm. Rents are more than double, if you can even find a place to live.

It's also clear that the people here have not forgotten the failure, and continued failure, of the federal government to come to their aid. Several of the speakers at the conference I attended mentioned the President's fly-over, his slapping FEMA Director Michael Brown on the back with a "Brownie, you're doing a heck of a job", and then his return to stand in front of the Saint Louis Cathedral in Jackson Square to tell them that he and the American People would do whatever it takes to provide the help they needed. With the background lit by generator powered klieg lights, he promised to start a program larger than the Marshall Plan that rebuilt Europe after the second World War. Of course they haven't seen him or the help since then. His people are on it, somewhere filling out paperwork and writing reports, earning Three Figure Salaries doing it. Someplace cozy and far away.

President Bush in New Orleans 9/15/2005 AP Photo

During my trip in 2004 the plaza out front of this church was filled with street musicians playing for the tourists, and tonight it was completely silent. Only a few homeless people occupying some benches.

The locals are also very quick to tell you that it wasn't the storm, or the storm surge, that destroyed their city, it was the failure of the containment walls that were supposed to hold the water in the canals. The levees around the city all held, and the storm surge didn't overtop them. The pilings driven into the bog to hold the canal walls were simply too short to do the job. Again it was the federal government and the Corp of Engineers that let them down.

Folks are also pretty angry at most of the national press for coming in briefly from time to time since the storm and reporting only on rumors of disease and crime, and then leaving. Then it's up to the local press to try and correct the misinformation. During a talk today at the conference I'm attending, John Pope, a reporter from the Times-Picayune , described this as "sweeping up after the elephants". When John was describing the events surrounding the floods, and the problems encountered since, there were several times he had to stop and gather himself to keep from breaking down.

He did praise CNN, NBC, and the New York Times, for keeping the story alive.

Up near Bourbon Street there is some activity. I found these guys, Stony B and blind Grandpa Elliott, playing blues on a street corner. This was the best thing I saw or heard during the whole trip.

Le Pooch

2006-11-02T20:07:00.000-08:00

I thought this photo was up here somewhere, but I've been combing the archives and can't find it. This post will fix that. This is the dog. In this photo he appears to be very happy. This picture made the front page of the local newspaper, but Sammy wasn't that impressed by the news, he is more interested in eating.

Sammy's brain, or maybe it's his stomach, has a built in clock. On weekend afternoons he will come looking for me every day somewhere between 4:45 and 5:00. Then he won't leave me alone until I feed him, cause he knows it's time to eat. Last Sunday afternoon he came looking for me at exactly 4:00 in the afternoon because he didn't know about the daylight savings time running out. It will take him all the way to next weekend to adjust. But that's easy because he gets to eat each night at whatever time I get home, so he thinks I keep his schedule messed up during the week, I'm sure he is probably back on schedule by Tuesday, but I'm not home yet, so it does him no good.

He is adopted. We love him.

2006-10-15T22:14:00.000-07:00

Rocket Man

Photo by Jim Wilson/New York Times

Seems that something else is burning on the Black Rock Desert.

I found this item in the NY Times.

Something else that's going on out here in the big empty that I only heard about once before, about four years ago. I haven't seen anything in the local press, or the regional press about it, ever.

It looks like a lot of fun. The rockets we used to shoot up (hopefully up!) would only go about a thousand feet, and that was a big one, most of them would only go up a couple of hundred feet. The best were the hand held bottle rockets.

"From Florham Park, N.J., and as far away as London, 100 launchers came - plumbers, paint contractors, firefighters, bankers and Silicon Valley techies united by their passion for building rockets capable of blasting 94,000 feet into the air, at nearly three-and-one-half times the speed of sound, as one record-setter did this weekend."

2006-10-04T20:11:00.000-07:00

This, fellow Americans and co-conspirators for a return to a rational, civil and intelligent America, is what we've got.

2006-09-11T22:55:00.000-07:00

Knott Creek

Took a little road trip to spend the afternoon floating around in this lake on a pneumatic chair. Fly fishing in one of the most storied little gems in the state. We hiked up to the top of this hill on the west side to get a nice panoramic shot. And of course, for the view. On the way up, we flushed out fourteen or fifteen mule deer, then watched as they gracefully bounded up the rocky hillside and disappeared over the crest.

I was keeping an eye on a pair of eagles we had been watching fly around for the last hour. When I got up on the outcrop, one of the eagles came down and started doing tight circles around me as I was standing on the peak of the rock. Then they soared slowly away, drifting over to the other side of the canyon.

It was magical. I can still feel its power.

2006-09-01T19:33:00.000-07:00

M@M
8-31-2006

Ray Abshire, Courtney Granger, and Andre Michot, these guys produce some very strange and mysterious music. Something Harry Smith and his Old Weird America might contain. Singing in Acadian French Cajun, in a high wail that might sound like death, they play trance music typically used in their own big dance parties at a Mardi Gras like the Mamou Mardi Gras Courir

It was an incredible evening.

On the back wall you can see the talisman made from the horsehair that Betse Ellis fiddled off her bow when the Wilders were in town.

2006-08-28T15:35:00.000-07:00

Black Rock Burn
Photo by ra hirschi at Burning Man 2005

The tribe is gathering on the desert about 100 miles due west of here. The local grocery and dry goods stores are jammed with people taking advantage of their last chance to buy provisions.

Burning Man starts today and I'd like to be there. Every time I see all these folks go through town it makes me want to join up. In many ways these look like my people. You can see it in their eyes, they still very much believe in possibilities, and so I'm drawn to them.

About a week later, as they all stream back through town, and look like people that truly have been lost in the desert for weeks, usually covered in a deep layer of fine playa dust and ash, their bikes which looked so nice on top of their cars a week ago destroyed, tents and gear all trashed, I think, well I made the right decision to avoid the whole thing, then you look closely at them, and their eyes are sparkling, and they are still grinning, and only looking for a hot meal and five or six hot showers.

2006-08-20T12:56:00.000-07:00

East Ely Rail Yards

On a recent road trip to Ely I spent a while in the rail yards of the Northern Nevada Railroad. Reminded me of the hours I spent in the rail yards in my home town on the high plains. Living only two blocks from the roundhouse and switching yard provided a great opportunity to a 12 year old kid. We'd go there at night, or on a Sunday afternoon, and climb on and through the railcars and equipment, always on the lookout for the railroad detectives that were known to show no mercy to children.

Interesting picture. Try to find the focal point.

2006-08-03T13:12:00.000-07:00

The Empire State

Frog on the transplant's turf in Williamsburg.

2006-08-01T22:18:00.000-07:00

Into the oven.

The colors in the sky this night looked like hot coals from a fire tossed into the blue ocean.

2006-08-01T19:48:00.000-07:00

Hoods in Muccabull Springs!

The town filled up with hoods.
JD's.
They were all over town, showing their colors and strutting their stuff.

2006-07-30T19:58:00.000-07:00

2.0 NY Doors

- your car is safe with us -

2006-07-30T11:42:00.000-07:00

FABULOUS

Near sundown on Saturday, OLD GLORY waving in the breeze, and the big car show was in town. The Fifties Fever. So we went downtown to see what was happening.

It was empty.

The streets and sidewalks were all deserted. The whole party had moved to the west side of town, either at the street drags behind Arby's or the street dance at the Model T. So we decided to go into the big tent America's Car Museum at the Flying A Garage had set up in the west Winner's parking lot. The tent contains about a dozen or so cars from the collection. The entire collection is said to be over 160 vintage one-of-a-kind automobiles. Every one we saw that night was cool.

This is the famous Winnemucca Propane Car. This car held some sort of land speed record, I should have take a photo of the story that was posted over it.

This small glimpse of the car collection going into the new museum is really amazing. Take a look a just one small item now in the collection.

This one was Miss Patti's favorite, the desert dusty rose CADDY.
It's about 27 feet long.

After that we went home, we had missed the party completely.

Butch headin' out, from the Sundance in Muccabull Springs.

2006-07-20T20:27:00.001-07:00

1.0 NY Doors

Detail of a stencil applied to a doorway in Williamsburg.

2006-07-14T21:19:00.000-07:00

Forty-Four Hours

It's time for the local desert and surrounds to experience the heat of deep summer. And of course along with that comes the famous forty-four hour tournament, which is the biggest event around these parts every year. Small children in Muccabull Springs can't wait to reach the age that they can wander into the swarm and witness how exciting life will be when they finally become of age.

2006-07-06T17:39:00.000-07:00

Dog Licking Himself.

I left the gate open on July 4th, and forgot about it. I then left the house for a few minutes, and when I came back he was gone. I rode all around the neighborhood on my bike looking for him, and after about 1/2 hour I gave up. An hour and a half later he showed up a the Tone Monger's house and I had to retrieve him. Really tired when he got home, but happy about the adventure.

2006-06-29T13:09:00.000-07:00

Cowboy

I went downtown at lunch today to find a picture to post, and this is what I came across out front of the Hole in the Wall.

2006-06-04T12:31:00.000-07:00

Winnemucca Clones

We went to the mule races and the anticipation hanging in the air prior to post time was so thick you could cut it with a knife. The cloned mules both won their heats on Saturday, and will run against each other this afternoon in the last race of the day. It's big news .

Scott Sady AP Photo

2006-06-02T12:48:00.000-07:00

Piece o' Moon

I just added the feed tool, and I'm testing it out.

This shot was taken the other night just after sunset, the piece of moon hanging just above the mountains.

2006-05-27T18:14:00.000-07:00

Bridge Street Bridge

I had something to say about this when I first posted it, and then I didn't. Now I can't remember what it was.

Nice photo; just below the high water mark.

This is before.

Lower photo is cropped from an image in the collection of the Humboldt Museum. Thank You.

2006-05-13T21:33:00.000-07:00

April Sunset

More later......

2006-04-29T12:26:00.000-07:00

Yard Yellow

The tulips think that it's Spring. This is the weekend that the yard work must begin. The first of a long season that will require much cleaning and care outside.

2006-04-20T20:33:00.000-07:00

On the Banks of the beautiful East River NYC
This is a transplant.

Always liked this shot. Hard to believe this was almost a year ago. A hot afternoon and the sun was going down. What's not to love about being in NYC.

2006-04-17T17:01:00.000-07:00

The Black Cats Run for Cover

This all started the other day, when I had to go to the big city for a meeting.

I had dropped my camera out of my backpack, and didn't know when it happened. So I get up in the morning, back in Muccabull Springs, and it was raining very hard, and it had been raining for hours. So I went into my backpack for the camera, cause I was going to go outside and take some pictures. But it wasn't there, cause it was laying under a table in a dark room in the corner of a big important looking building over 150 miles away. Of course I didn't know that, so I had to go on the hunt for about 60 hours, or until it was found four days later.

So anyway, I was going to miss this great photo op because I had lost my camera. So I borrowed one, and took this during the storm. It's Akien.

2006-04-15T16:39:00.000-07:00

Skinny Tires

These tires are great, especially for mounting on the hood, since you have to look over the top of it.

This is not a BB Photo, but the scanned image of the catalog cover.
So the parts catalog showed up and lo and behold it's the same high quality and carefully crafted publication it's been since inception. If the inventory is on hand, it's a simply amazing resource. If you have always wanted a Rover, and wondered about the experince, this is probably the best place in the world to start. Order a copy of the catalog, it will be a collectors item one day. With this book, a good map, and some imagination, you can travel to almost anywhere on the globe, and well prepared, breakdowns and repairs in the field become part of the fun!

This is the view I remember from the operators seat in the cabin, with the larger tires fitted.

This one is not mine either.

Spring

2006-04-09T14:56:00.000-07:00

Spring

-Bah Humbug- Bleak and Gray

This has been the view out the front window. You'll see it is so soggy and wet that the Big "M" up on the hill, the one that stands prowdly for Muccabull Springs, has slid down the hill and turned itself over into a W. It's green and looks like the mold has begun to take over.

2006-04-04T22:43:00.000-07:00

Trout Fishing in America

I snatched this out of the stream as it went by the other day. Now I don't know what to do with it.

"... held a patent on the term "tomatoketchup."

Kathleen Pflueger, Porcelain Fan, Dies at 90
Published: April 5, 2006

Kathleen Powers Pflueger, owner of one of the world's great collections of 18th-century porcelain and 16th- and 17-century faience, a form of earthenware, died on March 30 surrounded by her pieces in the Park Avenue apartment that she had designed to house them. She was 90.

Her death was confirmed by her nephew Donald H. Dewey.

Mrs. Pflueger, who was known as Kiyi (pronounced kai-yai), was born into a family that counted among its ancestors early settlers of Manhattan, Rhode Island and Martha's Vineyard.

She was drawn into the rarefied world of porcelain by her husband, Edward M. Pflueger, who had begun collecting it in the 1930's. They married in 1943. Mr. Pflueger had immigrated to the United States from Germany to establish an American base for Bayer A.G., the pharmaceutical company. He was chairman and president of the company in New York until 1975. Mrs. Pflueger became his partner in assembling collections of more than 700 pieces.

A turning point in their collaboration came in 1949, when they acquired the Otto Blohm porcelain collection, one of the finest in the world.

"The Pfluegers collected for more than 40 years and formed an absolutely superb collection of French faience and German porcelain and faience," said Anne Little Poulet, director of the Frick Collection. She came to know the Pfluegers when she led the department of European decorative arts and sculpture at the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston.

Ms. Poulet, who traveled with the couple to shows and auctions, helped persuade them to donate 377 pieces to the Boston museum. Mr. Pflueger agreed to do so on his wife's death. He died in 1997 at the age of 91. The rest of the collection will remain with the family, Ms. Poulet said.

Tracey Albainy, senior curator of decorative arts and sculpture in the museum's European art department, declined to disclose the collection's estimated value.

The collection is particularly admired for the quality of its porcelains from the Japanese Palace in Dresden, Germany. In the early 1700's, the palace was a getaway for Augustus II, known as Augustus the Strong, who was King of Poland and an elector of Saxony and who built the palace specifically for his collection.

The Pfluegers also acquired an impressive number of porcelain figures modeled on commedia dell'arte, the Italian comic theater.

In 1993 Christie's auction house published two books showing the Pflueger collection.

Most of their acquisitions were housed in the spacious Park Avenue apartment that Mrs. Pflueger had designed for them.

But some went to their country home, Kiyiwana Farm, a 1,000-acre property in Dutchess County. The farm has five houses, stables and barns, and a red tea house, all largely designed by Mrs. Pflueger. Formal terraced gardens feature 18th- and 19th-century statuary.

In Manhattan, Mrs. Pflueger was a founder of the Winter Antiques Show, established in 1954 to aid the East Side House Settlement, on whose board she served from 1947 to 1991. Modeled on the Grosvenor House Art and Antiques Fair in London, it became, and remains, one of the premiere antiques shows in Manhattan. Mrs. Pflueger was also on the arts committee of the China Institute and helped design and establish a gallery there.

Mr. Dewey, her nephew, said that Mrs. Pflueger had been a firm believer in the importance of genealogy. Her father was descended from early New York settlers; her mother, from colonizers of Martha's Vineyard and Newport, R.I. One of her grandfathers became a parks commissioner in New York; another held a patent on the term "tomatoketchup."

She belonged to a raft of organizations with lofty pedigrees in American society, among them the Colonial Dames of America, the Order of the Crown of Charlemagne, the Hereditary Order of Descendants of Colonial Governors and the Order of Colonial Lords of Manors in America.

Kathleen Isabel Powers was born on Oct. 4, 1915, the fifth of eight children of Harry Lord Powers and Elizabeth Robinson Hazard at Shrewsbury Manor, their agricultural and equestrian estate in Shrewsbury, N.J. She lived there until she was a teenager, when she was sent to school in Paris. As a young woman, she worked as an interior designer. "Like a lot of people in the Depression," Mr. Dewey said, "she was left with all the trappings, but not much money."

She is survived by a sister, Patricia Hazard Powers Frech, of Manhattan.

2006-04-04T21:26:00.000-07:00

Its Always a RUSH in the City of Paved Streets
March

This is pretty typical of the last month in these parts. This was what the RUSH looked like at 10:32 AM on 3/8/06, so you can see the kind of GROWTH we've had during the recent goldRUSH. This is one of the photo's I sent to the movie guy in NYC.

Tonight it's raining, and the rivers are rising. Given the snowpack in the mountains, a warm drenching could bring on some misery. I see it's flooding again in Fargo.

2006-03-27T21:00:00.000-08:00

Turns out Ramblin' Jack Elliott owned one of these, maybe he still does.

Let go ridin' in the car, car, lets go ridin' in the car.

I just read an article, "High Mobility", about Hummers and their owners. Say's people spit at you as you go by in an H1.

2006-03-24T13:37:00.000-08:00

Muccabull Springs

When we were downtown last weekend, a young girl, well to me she was young, probably about 30, looked me in the eye and said, "Are you one of them old hippies? You are, aren't you? You're an old hippie!"

2006-03-13T22:30:00.000-08:00

It's my birthday, so I'm dreaming a little.

Here's one. I'd really like to get this thing back on the road.

2006-03-04T19:27:00.000-08:00

FRESH PACK

My most recent work has involved working as a movie location promoter and working to convince an aspiring movie producer and director to shoot a third of his first feature film here.

What is needed is a factory in a small western town, so I made arrangements to visit the potato plant.

2006-02-27T18:33:00.000-08:00

"Need to Know Metallica."

I was coming out of Raley's grocery tonight. This is what I found on the bulletin board in the foyer. While I was taking it down, Michelle Doyle came into the store, so I showed her what I was doing. I handed it to her so she could have a look. She laughed, and said that Sean is in her class.

2006-02-19T11:58:00.000-08:00

Red Eye