I’m cross-posting this directly from the Mendo Community BB Yahoo group because I think y’all should know. The location is Emandal Ranch where I had the absolutely BEST PIZZA EVER last year, made with fresh heirloom tomatoes from their own garden and prepared by a beaming bevy of Chef Bettys in the very impressive outdoor beehive pizza oven. I give this place 5 thumbs up and the event gets five stars. Be there and be square. Original post follows, and the location is shown on the map at the bottom of the page. If you’re coming in from out of town, I’ll be posting a route map as well and you can download the GPX file for your own navigation device by clicking the link below the map. The road is pretty, ah, challenging in spots so be prepared for a long bumpy drive, but I can guarantee you’ll not be disappointed.

On Saturday evening, October 10, Emandal will be hosting the 3rd
almost annual Willits Cowboy Poetry Gathering. This time, dinner
will be served at 6pm, on the Pizza Deck at Emandal. Kashaya Adams,
of “Kashaya’s Pizza” fame, will be heading up the team of amazing
chefs who will be serving up some exquisite culinary delights.

At 7:30, the concert begins…. in the old barn built in 1917 by Al
Byrnes, the “Al” part of “Em” and “Al.” The Emandal Chorale will
start the show, followed by Dave Stamey and Susan Parker.
Reservations ($30 for dinner and show) are essential, and still
available by calling Tamara Adams (459-9252) or emailing
cowboypoetry@emandal.com

“We like to think of this music as a celebration of shared heritage,
an appreciation of the West as both a place, and a state of mind.”
Driving directions starting at Hwy 101 and Commercial St. in Willits

Willits to Emandal

Dave Stamey has been bucked off and stomped by many horses. He has
been stepped on by mules and dragged around branding pens by cattle
of many sizes. He’s ridden in the rain, in the snow, in the rain
some more, in pretty nasty heat, and in feedlot pens where the air
was thick and decidedly fragrant. He’s even wrangled dudes.

He is an entertainer now, and makes his living inflicting himself
upon innocent people at music festivals, agricultural banquets and
backyard barbecues. He finds he prefers this. He has been voted
Entertainer of the Year, Male Performer of the Year and Songwriter
of the Year by the Western Music Association, and Male Vocalist of
the Year by the Academy of Western Artists.

Dave Stamey is one of the best Western songwriters alive today. His
melodies blend perfectly with his lyrics to the point where you can
almost feel the wind against your face and smell the soft scent of
the sage. He never fails to engage his audience and take them on a
rewarding journey through the panorama of the West.”

–Mike Fleming, Director, Santa Clarita, CA Cowboy Festival

Born with a cowboy soul, Susan Parker grew up with a love for horses,
cowboys, rodeos, and all things Western. She rode stick ponies and
played with plastic horses while her friends played with dolls.

Susan began writing contemporary poetry and prose in 1995. Her
passion for cowboy poetry was sparked in 2003, after attending the
Monterey Cowboy Poetry and Music Festival. It burst into full flame
shortly thereafter.

Intrigued by pioneering women of the West, Susan has become a student
of their writings: “I hear their voices as they pour out loneliness
and frustration onto the page. Their courage and determination beg me
to share their work, to appreciate the freedoms I enjoy as a result
of their perseverance and sacrifice.”

Susan resides in Benicia, California.

Popularity: 12% [?]

Chanterelle mushrooms underfoot

Well, winter is coming to NorCal, and with winter comes the rains, and with the rains come the mushrooms; chanterelles, matsutake, oyster, etc., etc. I’ve been picking mushrooms since, as we say in Hawaii, “small kid time” and those many hours spent slogging through damp fern and bracken are fond memories, all the more so those many baskets, buckets and bags dragged up out of the woods of northwest Oregon, full to overflowing with a huge variety of delicious species, but mostly filled with glowing orange-golden Chenterelleses, preciousss, the King of wild mushrooms, we wants them precioussssss.

Riding on top of the normal winter season, this year, according to Stormsurf.com we have a More »

Popularity: 10% [?]

Well, we’ve assembled and completed testing the first prototype of the magnetically stabilized “Mendo Zephyr”. This is our solution to the design challenge of a light weight, single rail adapter for cycle-powered transport on the surface of existing rail. In its present configuration it weighs about 10 pounds and its overall deployed length of 78″ collapses to about 38″ and fits nicely on the rear rack of a bike. There are three quick release attachment points and it assembles to the bike in less than ten minutes.

the various unique aspects of this design as listed in the paragraph above are claimed as the defining characteristics of “the invention” shown here. This information is provided for comment and review, but commercial rights are expressly claimed under US and international copyright and patent law by the author of this document as of the date of publication.

Popularity: 73% [?]

The route shown below was built in Google Earth for navigation purposes and is the first of two possible routes from the high point on Reeves Canyon Road at the Upper Ranch through the back country and in through the back side of Montgomery Woods State Park to Orr Springs Road about five miles downhill from Orr Hot Springs. Most of the route can be traced visually from the satellite photos, with the exception of the section designated by the group of map pins. At that location, the visible traces of the road are completely obscured by vegetation, and that’s where things can get dicey.
I’m posting this well in advance of riding it and will be posting notice on the Yahoo Mendo Community BB group to solicit any advice or warnings and hopefully avoid disturbing any activity out there. My purpose is solely to pass through, and absolutely NOT to find anything that others don’t want found. I’ll be carrying a penny-whistle and using it frequently to notify any folks who might be out there gardening that I’m coming through. In addition, just like hiking in Alaska, I’ll be giving frequent shout-outs to the forest so as not to surprise any aggressive wildlife. More »

Popularity: 29% [?]

(July 28, ‘09) This weekend, I’ll be riding and documenting the route posted in the map below. This is preparatory to defining our exclusive Lake County Bike and Wine Tours in co-operation with Blue Lake Lodge. The route “as ridden” will be posted on Monday, with the geo-tagged photos and full description.  I’ll be spending the night at either Clear Lake State Park or (depending on gates and permission) preferably at the top of Mt. Konocti (Kuh-nok-tie). That would be the high point in the elevation chart below.

In the meantime, its 5:40 PM and I’m hitting the road in five minutes.

Planned Route

Clearlake Loop Navigation Route
Well, I spent 3 days riding the route and two weeks editing, geo-tagging and uploading the images, due to technical issues ranging from a nominal 42 Kbss dialup line which usually runs at about 10 Kbps to a balky computer which goes to a black screen about 10 times a day., to a messed up GPS file that I still have not fixed. More »

Popularity: 16% [?]

I’ve just finished listening to an hour-long interview on KZXY, Mendocino public radio, with Lierre Keith, author of  “The Vegetarian Myth, food, justice and sustainability”. Her basic thesis regarding the vegetarian/vegan diet is that humans are simply not capable of thriving without quality animal proteins, and that the chronic lack of these proteins in vegetarian and vegan diets is the cause of immense suffering and ill health. She has much more to say regarding the food system as a whole, but her message regarding the consequences of the vegetarian diet strike a very personal note with me.

A dear friend of mine who has been a strict vegetarian for almost 20 years is currently suffering from the whole list of symptoms that the author describes. I have long suspected that there might be a dietary connection to these symptoms but had never heard such a succinct, well researched and eloquently stated argument regarding the relationship of vegetarianism to ill health. I have no axe to grind here, and have for years refrained from expressing my admittedly vague misgivings, in part because I’m an unrepentant carnivore, in part because my default position is to respect others personal choices, and also due to a lack of good research. Ms. Keith has the bona fides of a 20 year vegan and highly qualified researcher so she knows whereof she speaks and has partaken personally of her own conclusions.

In the abstract, if someone wants to be a vegetarian, fine. But when the practical consequences seem to threaten health, well being and happiness,  not just for the person making that choice, but also for the friends and family, making at least a brief two week trial of Ms. Keith’s hypothesis seems a reasonable compromise of principle. Below I post some excerpts and links for http://www.lierrekeith.com/

Popularity: 10% [?]

The Yurok Tribe of northern California is currently performing research preparatory to releasing captive bred Condors into their northern California range. If successful, this would mark the first time these magnificent birds will be seen in the skies of our region in over 100 years. This effort is being made in the context of tribal efforts of “repair the world”, and undertaking that every living thing must be a part of.

For me, every turn of my bicycle wheels is a manifestation of my own personal commitment to healing the world. A small thing, to be sure, but inasmuch as the wheel is a sacred form to many peoples, and great change is the cumulative effect of many small actions, I will continue to ride, believing that my wheels are prayer wheels for the healing of the world too.

The following is quoted from the AP article;

More »

Popularity: 6% [?]

August 3rd, 2009
About half of the car trips in the U.S. are less than five miles—a distance easily navigated by walking or cycling. Reducing short-distance car trips has many benefits—it decreases car accidents, has positive benefits for the environment and increases physical health and activity, says communication professor Edward Maibach of George Mason University. An expert in climate change communication research, Maibach says that community leaders should make promotion of physical activity a priority.

“There are lots of proven low-cost options that communities can use to encourage people to get out of their cars and walk or ride instead,” he says. “Use of these options helps people remain healthy (by promoting physical activity and reducing obesity) and helps reduce heat-trapping pollutants that cause global warming.”
In a recent article in the journal Preventative Medicine, Maibach suggests that policy makers and government officials at all levels should look at communication, marketing and policy enhancements that can be implemented with relative ease to promote active transport.
Maibach cites the Web site Active Living by Design (http://www.activelivingbydesign.org/) as showcasing many examples of successful programs such as city-bike sharing, customized walking or cycling maps and grassroots campaigns.
“One of my favorite examples is ‘walking school buses’ in which children and a few parents walk together to the local school,” says Maibach. He also suggests policy changes such as reducing speed limits, giving cyclists priority at intersections and closing some roads to cars, can also encourage people to consider alternative ways of commuting.
“There is no one magic bullet. All of these examples can be effective here in the U.S., and all should be implemented in as many communities as possible. The more that are implemented, the more we will wean people away from sole reliance on their cars when they could be walking and/or riding, and improving their health as a result.”
Source: George Mason University

Popularity: 7% [?]

Source; PhysOrg.com

University has grand designs to build a house of straw (w/ Video)

July 27th, 2009

Enlarge

Professor Pete Walker and Dr. Katharine Beadle are investigating the use of straw bales as a low carbon building material. Credit: Nic Delves-Broughton, University of Bath

Could straw houses be the buildings of the future? That’s what researchers at the University of Bath will be testing this summer by constructing a “BaleHaus” made of prefabricated straw bale and hemp cladding panels on campus.

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And people around the world will be able to watch its progress online via “Strawcam” from Monday 20 July at: www.bath.ac.uk/features/balehaus/
- part of a site which will also feature blogs, videos, photos and lots of other information about the project.

Straw is the ultimate environmentally-friendly building material since it is renewable and is a by-product of farming.

The crop used for the straw can be grown locally, and because it absorbscarbon dioxide as it grows, buildings made from it can be seen as having zero, or even a negative carbon footprint.

Could straw houses be the buildings of the future? That’s what researchers at the University of Bath will be testing this summer by constructing a “BaleHaus” made of prefabricated straw bale and hemp cladding panels on campus. Straw is the ultimate environmentally friendly building material since it is renewable and is a by-product of farming. The crop used for the straw can be grown locally, and because it absorbs carbon dioxide as it grows, buildings made from it can be seen as having zero, or even a negative carbon footprint. Credit: Sacha Goodwin & Myra Lee, University of Bath

Also, due to its high insulating properties, houses made of straw bales need almost no conventional heating, keeping running costs low and minimisingenvironmental impact.

The research team will be assessing straw bales and hemp as building materials so that they can be used more widely in the building industry for housing, helping the UK achieve its targets for reducing carbon emissions.

The two storey BaleHaus to be built on campus will be made using ‘ModCell’ – pre-fabricated panels consisting of a wooden structural frame infilled with straw bales or hemp and rendered with a breathable lime-based system.

ModCell is the creation of White Design in Bristol and Integral Structural Design in Bath. Other partners on the research project are Agrifibre Technologies, Lime Technology, Eurban, the Centre for Window & Cladding Technology and Willmott Dixon.

Some of the building has already appeared in the media spotlight. Last year the team helped Kevin McCloud, presenter of Channel 4’s Grand Designs programme, to build an eco-friendly house in six days using ModCell panels for the Grand Designs Live exhibition.

All the wall panels used for the ground floor of the Grand Designs house are being reused for the BaleHaus at Bath.

Read the full article at; PhysOrg.com

<Editorial commentary>

So, I guess this means that, yet again, Science is catching up with common sense. Given the old maxim that “Science changes one funeral at a time” it’s then reasonable to presume that someone IMPORTANT must have died. On a lighter note, the combination of straw and hemp is highly appropriate for Mendocino County in particular and northern California in general. Moreover, no matter how commonsensical a technology may be, there’s nothing like a couple (hundred) PhD research papers to legitimize it in the eyes of bankers, lenders, and engineeres. This and other similar efforts could make it easier to get approval for “alernative” methods from agencies, institutions and the powers the be. I call it a good thing.

Popularity: 9% [?]

Since it would seem that any route north out Redwood Valley, other than Tomki Rd.,  is currently unavailable behind locked gates, upon the advice of locals, I’ve mapped the route below. Starting at Hoppers Corner in Potter Valley, I’ll be heading due north to the Eel River and the road of the same name that leads through some very interesting looking country and eventually to Hearst-Willits Road and, perhaps some refreshment at Shanachie. The return to Redwood Valley via 101 should clock in at nearly 50 miles. I’m out the door by 4, camera in hand and the route uploaded to the GPS. Temp is about 85 and sunny with a stiff breeze from the west; perfect. The hammock, night clothes and sleeping bag are loaded and I may just camp out up on the high point, who knows?

Route as Planned

Potter Valley to Willits back country cruising
I’ll post the route below as ridden. Here’s hoping for no locked gates.

July 24, ,09; Back to Redwood Valley, and more or less recovered. Total distance 59 mi., total ascent 7000′, ride time about 7 hrs. And one hulluva ride too I might add. 2 miles from the start point at Hopper’s Corners,there’s a nice warmup climb coming north out of Potter Valley, gaining 800′ in two miles. The road surface is quite good, with clean, if narrow shoulders, until you cross the Russian River. Taking a left on Eel River Road, the pavement narrows and surface conditions fade to quilted asphalt as you head north by northeast along the east bank of the main fork of the Eel River. 12 miles from the start point you cross the Eel at an elevation of 1400′ and then commence a three mile climb up loose dusty gravel to the summit at an elevation of 2850′. there are two stretches with slopes exceeding 40%. There are also a number of gates between the bridge and the eventual outlet at Hearst-Willits Rd. After talking at length with the folks at Hopper’s Corners in Potter Valley, as well as with all the people I met along the way, the consensus was to leave the gate the way you found it, pass through without leaving the road, and announce your presence as you move. So I did. More »

Popularity: 22% [?]