Buck's Babble

I have never been to Shelter Cove.  I know it is isolated, the beginning or the end to different sections of the Lost Coast Trail.  Kings Range borders here and you drive through much of it gettting there.  So when I found a race there, I grabbed the opportunity to explore.  I woke up early and took off to the Whitethorn School 3rd Annual 5k/10k/fun run in Shelter Cove. Rain was steadily wetting the car but it wasn't downpour size.  A short 45 minute drive down the 101 found my exit and the beginning of a windy but absolutely gorgeous additional 45 minutes to Shelter Cove.  Having never been here, I left extra early and was rewarded with an empty road the whole way; not that there was going to be a huge crowd for the race, but it was a holiday weekend.  Several curves at the top of ridges revealed clouds above and a fog below sitting atop the trees like a blanket.  Beautiful country, mostly BLM run so it does have a good amount of farmland/grazing...

The time is flying by.  May is here!  The fire season is set to kick off in this neck of the woods, and I can't wait for some business!  Winter has been boring, but the end of winter many thing changed the Humboldt lifestyle.  Running, hiking, a new car.  The car is probably by far the biggest of the bunch, as now I can explore around me the fullest, find new places and events to run, and discover hikes that take me deep into new territory.  My first race was May 1st.  The Avenue of the Giants.  I was signed up for the 10k.  My son, Sam came over with his buddy, Dalton and family, to run the half-marathon as part of their senior project.  This turned out awesome.  I got to pick up Sam in Eureka and spend the day with him.  We watched a parade in Eureka, went to the Baymont for sushi, mmmmmmm, checked out College of the Redwoods, drove down to the race to pick up our race packets, then returned for Sam's first look at Dad's new ...

I titled this post running because that seems to be the latest activity to spring forth in my life.  I've always been a runner, and loved it.  Most of my running has been shorter runs associated with some sport I was in.  Never thought about running for distance until a friend turned me on to its wonderful powers of clearing the mind and soul.  So gathering some long-lost self-motivation, I set out to run. My first few runs weren't what I was looking for.  They felt good but my (hand-me-down) shoes needed replacement, my form was for short runs, I was more tired than I expected, and a little worried.  So the first thing my 'coach' recommended was start at the beginning, with the most important item: shoes.  I went to a Fleet-Feet in Sacramento and got custom fitted with some shoes, complete with fancy inserts. I ran my ass off after getting those shoes, logging almost 20 running miles in that first week.  The runs felt great, but was still worried...

Well this is long overdue post.  Helps my busy-mind to write this stuff, bear with me.  Winter in Humboldt has been very wet.  I love the rain but you need a break once in awhile, sheesh!  Made a batch of beer, an Oktoberfest, which was so awesome to be brewing again, gonna keep it going strong.  Ber turned out good, little over-carbonated, little weak on the alcohol (~4%) but 2 cases of good beer for around $25, can't beat it. For the whole month of January I went to Ione, CA for the ECC dispatch academy.  Ione is a Calif State CalFire place, with a smidgen of Feds thrown in for good measure. Hmm how to describe a month at Ione....not possible.  It sucked but passed with flying colors.  Went to the sisters every weekend and being with family made the trip worth it.  Very nice.  Awesome at the Bolle's, great family!  Congratulations to John for his promotion, Christy will be close behind whether she wants it or not! Now this month I...

A lot going on even though things are slowing down, work at least, and things are shifting to winter mode. I needed to throw out an update because it is overdue. So our fire season is over and seasonal employees have been laid off. The forest has shifted into its winter mode and this means a few changes for us in dispatch. One change is our schedule. We can now come in at 0700 and work our 10 hours. Getting off at 1730 (5:30 pm) is nicer than 1830 when most has closed in town. A lot of our daily routine has been eliminated and now we are working on projects geared towards next year's season. Prescribed burning is in high gear as we burn fuels and clean up the forest to keep it healthy and lessen the possibility of severe fires in specified areas. The weather has been the defining element to the end of our fire season and the rain has arrived to Humboldt County. I've already had a few early morning dark and wet bike rides to work. My schedule also changed in the days I work. Ins...

My 1st assignments have happened finally and so off I've been! My 1st assignment sent me over to the Klamath National Forest for some lightning fires. This was going back home for me and I got to see the family and even stay at home. YAY!! When I go I work in whats called expanded dispatch. We have computers and when the incident commander requests resources (like engines, handcrews, overhead) we use the computer to find people either in the forest or anywhere in the country and they travel to the fire to do their specific job. These jobs range from dispatch stuff, engine crews, handcrews, time recorders, safety people, etc. Yreka Dispatch and everything that handles fires are some squared-away group. When I showed up everything was in order and transitioning into work-mode was easy and seamless. The group working was made of retired folks as well as regular employees, and totalled about 5-6 people in expanded. Usually one handles orders for overhead, one for crews, one fo...

Thighs are starting to complain about not getting enough recoup time before I torture them some more. Lotta beer keepin me company over here. Not sure of their attraction to me. Kiln-basted tea container and a coastal breeze. Fresh picked raspberries crawling all over my food. Swaying shadows know their ways, laugh at mine. So insignificant on this huge planet we are. Amazing how much significance people try to make when nature makes it/us insignificant by comparison. Learn to flex amidst her, move among her, welcome and be inspired by her. Stand in awe of her and respect her. Simple concepts that people have mostly forgotten and abandoned. My eyes boggle at beauty; Heart throbs with love; Mind bends with memories. I love the memories of my beautiful family. They keep me going. Changing times leads to changing minds. As one family, our minds are eternally combined, our lives everlasting entwined. A single voice, a single text, sends me instantly to your side. Long nights...