Diary Entries on Will Brady's website

after the NARPA conference

Regarding travel information on this site | First off, I want to be quite clear that I intend to be evasive about exactly where I was after leaving Sacramento. I went to a private, protected place where folks who get on the land have a respect for that land, who work hard at keeping it pristine, and recognize it as a sacred place. No Micky D wrappers nor shot up road signs there. As such, I am loathe to break that trust for privacy. I just thank my hosts for graciously sharing the beauty they live with daily.

That noted, now is probably a perfect time to respond to the reader who asked I send her "any and all directions for tourists" of places I may go to or have been. to places where I've been. Sorry Ma'm. This is not that kind of travelogue. Either find your own way to a place, use some service like MAPQUEST to provide you a grid for where you want go, or find some MSN hosted travel site that offers readers anything in exchange for enuf cookies to clog your hard drive's arteries. Otherwise, "ya cain't get theah from here!"
the stately madrone

But don't look for that kind of travel info here. I won't provided. All that said, the map above is somewhere within 250 km of where I stayed. Furthermore, the photo of the tree below, an arbetus menziesii is one of the many species of trees found in the area, some of record size. And those two clues are all ya get.

15 nov | Mendocino County Reverie | After NARPA was over, I took an altogether much too brief trip to Mendocino County. There I was provided the rare privilege of a guided tour of some fairly well protected ranch lands and the chance to unwind and learn new rituals to calm the soul. I did a couple of small water sketches, as well as a larger work -all landscapes. Some of these shall go up later on as well.

16 nov | "If it were clearer, you could see the ocean from the west side of the ridgeline." mendo images

if you see two separate pictures try using NETSCAPE for your browser

Now, what you see here is not in that direction. Not a place to waste photo film, for no matter where I turned the images to capture were there. Yet the batteries on the camera went dead, so the only camera available was memory and ingenuity.

"Butch" | I watched Butch as I ate spaghetti and meatballs at the local "bucket of blood," Butch

a little roadhouse apparently living on its reputation as a wild biker bar from the past, and still home to pool hall habitues, road crew workers and great lookin' Woebegon men. So naturally, I had to draw his picture.

Now, the picture is no great work of art, it took all of a few minutes while sitting at the bar drinking Jagermeister and beer. What is significant is that it has been years since I have been able to do a spate of days of drawing without thinking about it. The visual creative process has started flowing already, and I attribute it in large measure to having had some respite in nature, (more on that though above and below) some time away from phones and faxes, and a chance to truly unwind ...haven't done that in ages. Here's hoping the sketch bug remains.

17 nov | Traveling westward last week along Route 20 brought me before one dramatic vista after another. Perhaps most noticable for me was the sheer vastness of space that norCal provided me. There, truly, is nothing that I can compare this to back east. The trip north was actually conducted in two legs. The first was a reconnoiter up the canyon where CA route 16 snaked along the edge of a mostly dry river bed. I followd this as far as Rte 20, then doubled back to Williams and from there to Sacramento. my erstwhile host

The second leg of the trip north took place on Saturday. Me buzzing along roads and not even stopping for photographs (lots of moving vehicle stuff). My intent being to be able to get to the hills well before sunset and then ~hopefully~ to have a chance to do some touring. our valiant steed

As it turned out, I was able to do this with grand style thanks to thoughtful direction from my host. The choice of tour by jeep or atv was a simple one; which would offer greater versatility? From there is was up the ridge line and through the woods until travel by vehicle became impractical and we continued on foot. Eventually coming to a precipice ~and some spectacular views~ we stopped and paid proper homage to Nature.

The next day was followed with a second, more extensive tour through a carefully protected ranch with many side trips and hikes for closer inspections of local fauna, landforms and artifacts. Sometimes, things were unexpectedly funny like the fox, who while initally wary of us, eventually decided we were no threat to him and showed us so by unhurriedly shitting in the middle of a clearing.

Yet never once did we travel the same path.

We broke bread and talked about everything from solar power to the power of collage. And I was able to paint. Everything else from the visit maked this last feat possible.

Altogether, the visit was one that well cleared the mind of so much excess. My thanks to my host(s) and the surroundings for their restorative effects.

19 nov | More Mendocino memories | Here's a couple more images from the trip to norCal. The first was actually taken in Yolo or Calosa County (if my memory serves me right) and it was one of those taken in an area where, actually, the absence of plant life had me captivated and entranced.

The second image, an old abandonded truck, was the first of several. This one is quite possibly one of the better ones in that the colors were a bit more vivid. That ...and the fact that it was too dark to capture the others using available light, are why this one ended up on the page and the others didn't. || This leg of the trip, where I saw the truck, was just before driving up through the steeply pitched canyon walls of Cache creek north of Rumsey another rust bucket

(population 52) || Wish the light had been better, since the color palette was pretty astounding || Of course, this also teaches me to make sure to bring plenty of 800 ISO film when traveling; having the proper film exposure would have also helped.

22 nov | There was a whole lot more to the trip than can be covered in this brief travelogue | Galavanting all about a couple of "ranches" on the ATV; the pure air and humbling vistas from the Nevada mountains to the Pacific Ocean (both visible if you knew where to look | There was a race to Williams, CA while watching the gas gauge flirt with empty | And the next morning, back in Sacto Airport getting security checked to the n-th degree 'cuz I wore camo gear | All of it was well worth it and I'd happily do it again in a heartbeat | To cap it all off, some of the trip can be summed up in the oblique references provided below, but I'm not gonna get into that | You figure it out |

PIGS! | For Cody. Found these little dittys while cleaning up around the house today. Placed 'em up here to amuse and confabulate other viewers. sizzlin' country pig

Care and maintainance of foot gear | Nick's Custom Boots ("America's Boot Specialist since 1964") offers an assortment of tips on proper maintenance, the 2-1-3 method of lacing, and other curious boot care advice for "your lifestyle." Their prices are NOT cheap but they assert that they are good for "years of wear."

Advice for breaking a new pair:
Break-in takes roughly 80 to 100 hours of wear. It can take another week for your feet to adjust to the transition.

1. Fill a spray bottle with a 50/50 mixture of rubbing alcohol & water.

2. Spray the mixture on the boots every time you feel them getting tight or stiff.

3. While wet, friction-rub them with your hand as if your were polishing them. This allows the alcohol to penetrate.

4. Lacing-It is important to lace the boot tightly over the instep and around the ankle , which allows the leather to seat properly. (Snug is good; snugger is better)

Then again, there's always the spit polish method.

I like Nick's site. They say they have "...ariety of boots to meet almost any lifestyle..." Uh Huh!

Thanks in particular to the Billys, to Bubba and Kimba.

Extra special thanks for Cody and Mean Uncle Jake for providing a most appreciated respite. Gave a whole new meaning to pulling one's self up by one's bootstraps.

An aside to David | So, have you figured out the answer to that question yet?