New Years Eve Party at the Gallery...............

Yes, that's right, a party with a band, again, being held at the Cort Gallery tonite. Who knows what will happen or who will show. I'm sure you'll all agree that its a great place to spend the last few hours of the Old Year. Under a diamond studded sky holding billions of stars and by a river that's coming to life, we'll all be waving 2008 away. What a year huh??!! See you all at the party my friends.
And while I've got your attention, Thanks again for checking this blog out and keeping me posted with all your lives. It gives me stuff to write about. I plan to give you more of the things you like, let me know if you want photos of anything in particular and I'll get it up. Thanks my friends and Happy New Year to You All............

A stroll along the river on Wed before....

Just went down to the river with Gary, checking things out and it was fresh and clean and the river is coming up. Not so high though, but for this time of year its good. Lots of snow is up in them hills. We're looking good for 09, unless of course we get the dreaded "Pineapple Express", where a tropical storm comes through and melts the snow way up high and it all comes down as water. Right by the gallery here and on down to the lake. I remember that one flood where there was wood and lawn furniture and peoples belongings all along the shore. We walked all into it for a whole day looking. Not so bad like that here luckily. Just the edge of the river and the nice cool day. Caught up on all the latest gossip....wow! Christmas Eve was a happy getting together singing Christmas Carols at the coffee shop. Everyone was there and for me it was unexpected and next thing you know here's everyone and we're together again and its way down here in the valley on the old main street hanging out with my favorites and then eating chinese food. I'm Thankful for all that we have and Thankful for all my good friends. I get by real good with alittle help from my friends.....................

Monday before............

well, its sunny right now, but its going to be raining again soon. Real nice though, clean and fresh. We're watching the river now, its been a warm storm and so it could come up to floodish heights and that's always one to catch. Stay tuned to this station and I'll update as I see it. Thanks for checking in.....

Let's Go..............

It was an interesting group that gathered at drumming Sunday night last. The hardcore drummers, weather not a problem. These were the people who live there, the rafting brothers, Gary and Jimson and myself. Although I don't live there anymore, I'm still part of that invisible list of souls who have lived there and "made it".We drummed, even though it rained the whole time we were there. We just stood in it and enjoyed the heck out of it. It wasn't any kinda survival situation, we could go inside, but we didn't. Sometimes we all just feel like standing out in the rain.
While we were doing all our hiking the last few weeks we saw many lady bugs, I mean lots!! They were everywhere in some areas, the ground, the trees and bushes and all the rocks. So, hope your enjoying yourself...........

Into Hurricane Crawl Cave SNP

Hey! Hows it going?? Well, as promised, here's the Caving pics. I hope you like these slide show things. It makes it easier to post more pics in a row for you and its kinda show and tellish too. This was a "serious" cave trip. In that I mean it was pretty hard, physically and we went into the mountain more than a quarter of a mile, deep into middle earth. Deep into Sequoia. The Sequoia, Kings parks have over 200 caves, most gated and hidden. Almost all of the openings to get in are just barely passable and like the cave in the slide show, most of that distance was crawling through narrow passages, climbing up into another passage, doing a body crawl into a creek, getting wet was the way it had to be and then once in awhile, coming to big rooms where the real nice formations are. This cave "Hurricane Crawl" especially, has had very few people pentetrate to the deepest room known as the pumpkin palace. We made it to the pumpkin palace after about 2 hours of moving through all this in total darkness, If our headlamps failed we would be doomed till help arrived......if they could find us! The temp was a welcome 50 degrees, feeling nice after being out in the cold,crisp sunny day. The last pic shows the little opening that spells the end and back to life as we know it.

The Autumn Moon Lights My Way.......

A friend gave Gary a truck load of wood last week and he made a birds nest out of it down in the circle that was about 4'tall.There was a hole left in the middle for the kindling and after a few lighter swipes it took off. The flames were 20 feet and it was one of those classic drum circle times when you really wanted to stay and watch but you knew you should really run.
Alls well else wise, Done with the Bear project, now it off to do some Caving..........I put some pics up tom morrow...............

A Tuesday..........

We checked out the view over the valley yesterday after coming back from yet another hike looking for Bear Collars. We found another one!!!! Only 2 left. The fog over the valley makes it look like a vast ocean.................

After hearing a couple of reports of a abandoned campsite in the Twin Lakes area of Sequoia Park, a SAR was started. No backcountry permit for the camp and no vehicle at the trailhead?? I heard on the park radio a list of the stuff in the camp, which included alot of Marmot brand clothes, a high tech tent,and about 5 days of food, some already eaten. It sounds like the person was a climber?? No one has been reported missing yet either and its been around a week or so that this has been emerging.They've got the dogs out and a helicopter. The weather has been pretty warmish, but there's alittle snow on the ground at that 8000' level. Anyone know about this??

Drumming was foggy and kinda lonely.............

We actually set an all time record at last nites drumcircle, nobody came! Well, I mean nobody came down to drum. I guess it was the Thanksgiving weekend and all that. We did have a good visit with Wil and friends, but they all left at 8. Wil is leaving for Africa in alittle over a week. He's going with Keio and Wadaba to Wadaba's village. It'll be an unforgetable trip. It was just myself and Gary and Gabriel, and caught up with his adventures of which there were many. So, yea, we need you all to come and drum with us next week. Come and drum under the milky way next to the river by the road......

Good Drumming my Friends..............

Finally, more rain and its a good falling! Kinda warm this rain, I guess its the tropical fetch that the weather service talked about. We do need it and everything is getting fresh again, just in time for Thanksgiving.
Work called me back and I was in Mineral King for a few days in a row. Real nice up there, and since the roads now closed its just us Fire people and our fire. Its was a nice fire and did the job that it needed by clearing years worth of undergrowth.
We had a nice little Thanksgiving meal up there on the last night of the fire, all of about twenty black faced sotty Firefighters squeezed into this garage eating and laughing and knowing that we're all headed for new worlds till next season. Now I'm with the Bear people, working to find the rest of those elusive bear collars. We found 2 more the other day, but its really hard crosssountry hiking to find them, bushwackers are us..........
Great drumming Sunday night!! Started out with a potluck, birthday get together for Marcella that went into big grooves around a fire. Grooves that just rocked the river folk and got us all dancing. Thanks for checking in...........

Hot and Fall Like....

We had a really good time drumming last night...Sunday night. It was just the core...all of us have been playing together for years. We took many drum journeys, which started at dark and didn't end till 10.We had a sparkee fire going on and lots of smiles down in the Meteor Crater in the exact middle of Three Rivers California.
I've been off a week into my new life and today I got called back to work. There's still fire stuff going on. So, you better stay in touch and watch for adventure updates....





Now that I'm off to a new life, I can work on my anti-gravity transporter....




Scott brought River to the Drumcircle last nite. She's getting into the early music



The two faces of Gary in this photo was taken by Mearle Darsey who has some really nice photos on display at the Gallery.

And, eating good too. We still have our weekend potlucks at the Gallery when someone decides to call one. We are actually due getting together and breaking bread aren't we??

My New Life............

Well it was last Friday that I said goodbye's to all my Fire friends at work. The Fire season is officially declared over. We are like a family for those 6 months we all work together on fire in the Sierra Nevada Mountains. Adventure is everywhere if that's what you think of when you hear adventure that is what it is. Even when its slow, you always know it could get real crazy, real fast. One lightning strike can make a month of fire, as we learned this season.
So, everyone just scatters into the far reaches of the world it seems.........all the Fire folks I'm talking about, they go on big trips or move somewhere far away like Death Valley. Nobody from Fire in the park is around at all for the next 6 months. It just seems kinda weird to me??
Anyways, so its a new life for me too. New jobs to seek, trails to hike, new rock to climb, More drumming and music and just getting back in touch......so you might wanna check in more often and find out the latest adventure cued up.............

A Day to Celebrate a Great Life...........

Well, hello! those past pics were from the real Halloween which we celebrated at the Riverview Bar in Three Rivers Friday night, where everyone was dressed up in ghoulish ware and we laughed like we haven't in quiet awhile too!! I love it! We won scariest couple and got 25 bucks each Yea! Now its on to more adventures in life. Today I worked with the Bear people in the Park. They put tracking collars on 10 wild bears 2 years ago and those collars were scheduled to fall off at midnight October 31st. Now they are laying somewhere in the woods and I'm helping to find 6 of them. They have already found 4 of those 3000 dollar neckties and today we found one,after hiking lots of miles up and down hills. The data that these collars now contain is very valuable to the research of where these bears have been for the last two years. We had to use telemetry, which uses radio waves and gives us beeps when we come close. We carried along an antenna in our hands and a radio box that hones in on the signals from the collars. Its like finding a needle in a haystack though. We did lots of hiking around in the snow and it was really nice, clear and pretty darn cold. Here's some pics.....................

Halloweening with the Buds............

We did a great job playing last night at the Halloween Carnival! With the help of Kevin our fire dancer of course. He twirled the fire while we hurled the grooves in front of a big crowd. Thanks for all who helped. I'm headed to drumming and I'll let you know what happens tonight, or hey, come on up!

Early Halloween for You...................

We’re moving through the middle of October. Halloween is on our minds and I’m hoping that you will join us all THIS Saturday . We’re playing at the Halloween Carnival in Three Rivers. Its across the street from the Gallery at the school. Its attended very well by all the town folks, kids, adults and all. There’s booths and several of the local bands are playing. We’re on from 6 till 7. We are hoping for a good show of dancers, and drummers. You can dress up and wear a mask and then be who you really want to be and nobody will know. This is a pretty cool chance to perform for a crowd and be in-cognitoo. The more of you all the merrier.
Getting out some lately. Went to a great Belly Dance show at the Cellar Door last Friday night. There’s a lot of groups from Visalia! And their good! So many groups came that the show was packed with people. I love seeing culture grow in this town. As they say there’s more culture than agriculture. Myshelly and I and Gary and the Gallery Valerie. walked down main street from Brewbakers, the local pub and eatery to the show and saw several drum circle dudes and dudettes hanging out and its nice to see the seeds of the drum spread out over the town!!
So, Join us this Saturday for an early Halloween…………………..

Important News to keep you in the Loop...........

Its chilly! That would be one description of the weather here right now. The mountains have a nice white coating too....snow in the Sierra already. I guess that makes sense since it was only 9 degrees above 8000' yesterday. So, all that said, we had a nice warm fire at the Drum Circle last night. It felt good to have the warmth and ambience that the fire brings. We'll be asking for donations of wood now too....No paint please. We do burn about everything though and even furniture is not to crazy.
Nadine is doing us all a great service by starting a calender of events.I was hoping to do more of that on this blog but Thanks for your help Nadine! This will put you all in the know and let me tell you, there is alot going on!
Here's the link....

http://www.my.calendars.net/vis_event/

We're going to the David Lindley concert at the Orange Blossom tonite.....Hope to see you there!

Into the Week.................

Good Morning, Well it sure didn't rain that much but it did rain. The air is fresh and the skies are clear again! You were wondering if we were still riding and doing all that stuff that keeps us ready for drumming?? Yes is the answer, but I've been feeling pretty soft. Haven't been doing the big 50 milers lately but we've been getting out some. Climbing, Skating, and yes Biking. I felt good at drumming sunday because of all that. We drum hard and my drumskin is floppy so I have to beat that goat skin hard to get it to sing. I enjoy jamming with George and Jon and Paul and Maharupa and Gary and well just know that it fills my heart with beats to be with you at the drumcircle you all...........................

The Rainy Day Feeling...........

Hey, Thought you'd like some pics from the field for your weekend enjoyment.I took these yesterday up in the park where its just changing scenes from the end of summer to the begining of fall. Its raining and it hasn't rained since February! The air smells fresh and its a fall kinda feeling that I'm getting this morning. Got the hot cup of coffee going with a dash of chocolate to make it seem weekendish. Its cloudy and I'm still in a wake up mode. Fall is good and I'm glad the hot weather is over. I don't mind it so much but its just always there. I love going up to the high country where is always cool and fresh. I went yesterday for work to check on things at the fire line and its pretty quiet. We had to fly out our observers so they wouldn't get snowed in as its snow coming this weekend to that part of the wilderness. The Park.....Seqouia and Kings Canyon is 80% wilderness. Thats almost like being next to the ocean, the vastness of space with creatures and living forms of life beyond what we know........I'm here on the edge of that wilderness and feel it calling, I just have to remember to come back........................

Hello my Friends of the Drum............

Hey, How’s it going? Yea, its been awhile, but I’m back. Lots of stuff to keep you up on and I’ll start by telling you about what’s been going on just real recently. Been working lots like I was saying. Coming home late, after dark, smelling like smoke and dirty and sweaty too. Ton’s of overtime and no regrets. Its been mainly working the big fire you’ve been seeing and smelling the smoke from up in the Sierra there. But, have also stayed busy with other things we do. Went to a motor home wreck where the vehicle lost his brakes and they went off the cliff full speed ahead. Yea, it was gruesome!! Looked at a dead guy who was really blue. Luckily his wife survived, but I sure don’t know how. Then, did some radio hook ups for the fire. Traveled to the big tower lookouts and installed solar radio repeaters. Doing different things is what I love my friends, and yes, seeing the views makes it nice too…..except for dead people of course!
Well, that was work, we decided to take a few days for some much needed R and R and went to a family reunion in Las Vegas, and we flew out too. Haven’t flown in a Dogs life so that was fun, and Vegas was a blast too. I was missing my drum buds here as we watched all the people spending all their money in hopes of striking it rich…..good luck with that we said and headed to the buffet! We ate good and I got a belly going for awhile! Went out on the town late Saturday and well, you know the rest………
Drumming has been great too. Grooves and more grooves. Myshelly , myself , Gary and the Gallery Valarie went out to eat this last Saturday nite and that was sure sweet. It was good to spend some time away from it all with known friends and catch up. I totally heard everything and since I missed just one drumming being in Vegas, I needed to find out. You know, the gossip thing and all. Wow, you should have heard what we heard…………….well, you’ll just have to come up to drumming and find out now…….Have been missing you my friends and know that I’ll be drumming hard and sweating bullets in your honor this coming Sunday night, so join us if you will……………….Love and energy to you all…….