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| Marco and Gypsy at San Simeon |
…13 days and 2500 Miles in the Raven Van.
Our longest camping trip yet, in California, was a whirlwind
of weather, great light, friends, food, and beer & wine. Now I’m wondering when we can hit the road
again.
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| Haboob from a distance, Death Valley |
We thought that 5-6 hours of driving each day was a civilized
maximum, so Mojave Desert camps were great first and last night stops. We started in the southern part of Death
Valley National Park at a lesser-known sand dune field. The evening light was forgettable, but the
wind kicked up overnight and I decided not to walk the mile or so onto the
dunes pre-dawn and get my eardrums and camera gear sand blasted. Rather, I climbed the alluvial fan in the
other direction and was treated to sunrise backlighting the haboob.
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| Rainbow Basin Sunrise |
On the night before heading home, we choose Owl Canyon/Rainbow Basin, north of Barstow. I’d never been there. Sunrise was lovely and this trip was enough to whet my appetite to shoot there again, though the BLM campground is neglected, especially the pit toilets. Enough said.
Gypsy’s favorite thing: Sand
In trip planning, we’d thought to drive up through Nevada
and down the coast. In practice, that
plan would have put us in snow and required some difficult driving. Instead, we took the western route both ways,
and landed in SLO County for one night in each direction.
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| Impossible reflections, Pismo Beach |
After a stop at Mosby Winery, a favorite for 20 years which, sadly, is closing for good soon, Pismo Beach was the camp on the way up. The dunes are striking. Gypsy loved running on the beach, too. The pink light and reflections at sunrise were not quite believable.
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| Moonset, San Simeon |
On the way home we stayed at San Simeon. This place was nice and dry (which we sorely needed by then) and comfortable, but not so dog friendly. We would, of course, never let her run off-leash on the trails. In the morning I braved the coating of frost on the boardwalk (really) and caught the full moon set.
Gypsy’s favorite thing: Sand
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| Sycamores in the campground, Clear Lake |
I’d never heard of Clear Lake but choose it from the map during trip planning. There were just two other families at the camp, and the fog off the lake was striking.
Gypsy’s favorite thing: Squirrels
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| Backlighted mushroom bombshell, Humboldt County |
After three nights of waypoint camping, it was nice to settle down for a few in Arcata. Our friends had rented a house for a month and graciously invited us to stay a while. Showers and laundry are always a great gift during road trips, as are cooking in a kitchen and a grocery restock. They took me to two locations to shoot; a forest full of mushrooms (I had fun with my LED panel light in the very dark glade) and stormy Trinidad Beach.
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| Drury Chaney Grove Trail |
Marco and Gypsy and I also had a chance to hike a couple of redwood forests. We especially liked walking the Drury Chaney Grove on the way back south.
Gypsy’s favorite thing: Running atop the wet, downed trees.
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| Sunrise near Bodega Bay |
Jerry
Dodrill (check out his fabulous work) has been a friend and mentor since we
met at his photo workshop with Justin
Black on the Sonoma Coast in 2011.
He’s got a delightful way of looking at things and is so much fun to be
around. This time we camped behind his
house for four nights and combined running around this beautiful area with
beer, wine, and great food. There seems
to have been a different bakery stop every day as well.
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| Sonoma County ephemeral waterfall |
A couple of highlights were some gorgeous sunrises and an
ephemeral coastal waterfall. I was almost glad for the rain because it gave us
the opportunity to shoot this beauty.
Almost.
Gypsy’s favorite thing: Jerry’s cat. Well, maybe not. Actually, beach sand.
Marin County
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| Cypress tunnel, Marin County |
Though we didn’t stay in Marin County (we are likely not posh enough), we did sightsee and shoot. It was great to scout Point Reyes for the first time. I’m already plotting my return. Then there was the cypress tree tunnel (how I love them!) in the fog. Fog creates a lovely sense of mystery as well as depth (critical in 2D art) and is so rare where I live that it’s a bit of a thrill to experience.
Gypsy’s favorite thing:
National parks are not so dog-friendly, so she hung out at the beach
with Marco. So, Sand.
More images from this trip are in the Northern California Gallery
on the website.
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