Only one kid beat me to the top...

...of the Cinder Cone trail, found in the remote eastern edge of Lassen National Park. In the photo above, you can see the ant-sized hikers on their way to the summit from our vantage point on the rim

TSG was rather surprised to encounter a huge contingent of grade schoolers from Merced, CA out on a early-session field trip (only a small group shown here).  They were a motley bunch, and only one of them was able to surpass TSG's scorching pace up the cone's face.   (Truth be told, we weren't in the race for the glory, but only for a chance to have the rim to ourselves for just a minute or two...)

Anywho, TSG was quite happy to share the top o' the cone with the kids

as they ended up being quite well behaved.

Don't Tread On Me

A long time ago on this blog, TSG featured a photo of a "creepy crawly" that we encountered on the Monument Peak Trail in Ed Levin County Park. This week's offering could be considered a sequel of sorts, as these images were taken less than 500 feet from where we photographed the eight-legged freak several years ago.  Had you, dear reader, been there this last Sunday morning, you might have overheard a conversation something like this...

Crotalus viridis: "BZZZZZZZTTT!!!!!  Hey! You! Stay the fuck away from me!"

Shouting Grasshopper: "Yes, yes, but can I please take your picture?"


Reptile paparazzi--yep, that's what we do for kicks. Thank god for telephoto lenses, even if they are only 3X! Oh, and please excuse the slightly (?) out-of-focus nature of these shots; there might have been a bit of camera shake involved.

Dude, where is everybody?

The view from the terraza at Saratoga's Mountain Winery. An empty patio scene, the twinkling lights of Santa Clara in the background. Pretty damn grainy, but it goes with the high ASA territory.  Not a soul in sight. Crickets chirping away, providing a bucolic soundrack to a warm summer evening...

Meanwhile, just a few feet away, we have the answer to this week's question:

Everybody was at the Jeff Bridges show!

Along with an appreciative (and mostly non-talking!) audience, TSG enjoyed a laid-back evening hosted by Lloyd and Dorothy's son.  Backed by a crackerjack band, Jeff played a too-short set of songs from the new album, "Crazy Heart", and his 2000 effort "Be Here Soon" (She Lay Her Whip Down from that CD being a highlight). He closed the show with The Man in Me, a nice treat for TBL fans in the audience.  (Strangely enough, we talked to several folks who were totally unaware of his work in the Coen Brother's 1998 film.)

Jeff's joy in being up there was obvious--which seems to be the point of his latest "career move". He won't be the next country super star, but he sings and plays well enough...and having charisma coming out of his ears doesn't hurt.  His funniest observation of the evening came when someone shouted out "FLYNN!!!".  Jeff paused for a moment and said, "Whenever I think of Tron, the first thing that comes to mind is sitting around in that damn dancing belt.  You know what that is?  It's like a g-string for men, a harness for special effects work. I had to stand around for hours wearing one of those things--so thanks for reminding me!"