 Strawberry Rock is a local secret spot in Trinidad at the top of a colossal rock formation. The only way to get there is through sketchy back-roads and narrow paths that lead to a rock quarry. This afternoon I went for a hike to Strawberry Rock with two of my friends, Carolyna and Bridget. We experienced the feeling of being on top of the world looking down with nothing but ocean ahead of us and trees in all directions. We climbed to the very top and then hiked around the rock at lower levels where Bridget found a mysterious box that she opened curiously. Turns out it was part of Geocaching which is a real-world treasure hunting game. Players usually try to locate hidden containers called geocaches using a GPS but we just happened upon it instead. Inside were little treasures like action figures, pistachios, bubbles, bud, a lighter, a pen, notes, a journal full of entries from people who have found the box before us, and so many more entertaining trinkets. We each left something for the box (a punch-card from a local bakery, a couple keys that no longer fit into anything) which we had on our person and we left individual notes in the journal with the provided pen. How often do you open a random, discarded box to actually discover treasure?! In the end we put away all the little Humboldt moments back into the box and left everything where we'd found it while leaving a little of ourselves behind.        These are some of the treasures we found in the box.
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 The kinetic sculpture race is an annual tradition and it involves racing man-made vehicles that are human-powered and can not only traverse cement but sand and water and dead man's drop as well. Here a couple gypsies clink swords victoriously after cycling up a particularly difficult slope (while each puffed a joint) for the beach portion of the race.  Seals and sea lions are such playful creatures! Spotting one in the bay brings such joy.  This lonely red caboose stirs the imagination. It is usually surrounded by Roosevelt Elk that graze by highway 101 going North.  This foot trail in Petrolia, surrounded by the most extraordinary wildflowers, leads to a secluded beach.  The people here are very passionate and protests are a daily affair. I've seen this sign at multiple events, whether or not it's related to what is being protested.
  It was windy and a layer of fog hovered above the ground but the skies were mostly blue. I saw a variety of birds including duck, heron, and hawk. I spotted six doe scattered about but I'm sure there were more hidden behind the veil of cattails.     When I came too near for comfort it became an even more stunning scene of wings and waves as they trailed their feet in the water creating the most magnificent ripples in their wake.  Another classic bench that I am grateful for. It's amazing what can be witnessed while sitting on a piece of wood that somebody so lovingly put there.    I almost always see deer if I squint through the brush as I pass by. Once I saw a buck leap in front of me on the path and splash into the marsh.  Cattails here grow 6 to 8 feet high and it makes the marsh into a maze in some places if you wander off the main path a bit which I admit is a bit irresistible in a place like this.
 This is one of my favorite benches that I forgot to mention from an earlier blog entry. It overlooks the Humboldt Bay Wildlife Refuge. Once I walked by to find a lady napping on the bench and a doe grazing right in front of her. 
Just this week I found a buck resting under my plum tree in my backyard on Redwood Street. A doe with a dark coat grazed alongside him. Of course this was right after an entry I wrote about deer and this was the first time I'd ever seen a buck in my backyard. 
Commonly known as "fly agaric" (agaric is a gilled mushroom)
A few blocks from our house is Redwood Acres which hosts an annual mushroom fair. There were people selling mushrooms they grew, people teaching how to grow your own at home, and experts were discussing their favorite fungi with the curious observers. I saw people bringing in their home-grown mushrooms and arranging them in the display cases. Some mushrooms had folksy labels like "The Queen" and "Pigs Ears" but if anyone craved the scientific term, there was an expert at the front waiting to meet them with identification guides galore. There was even a sniffing booth and I discovered the queer smells of certain mushrooms like cinnamon butter and toothpaste and old shoes. This fair is full of surprises. Even though I've been two years in a row, I'm still shocked to see a mushroom head that's bigger then my own. 
These are various types of hallucinogenic mushrooms, by the far the most popular section
The mascot for the learn-to-grow-your-own mushrooms kit.
I learned in my natural history class that you can stamp the gills of the mushroom and identify it later that way
Aminatas... Everybody's favorite for its bold colors (and probably its hallucinogenic properties)
 Resting along Drury Scenic Drive I've always loved benches because they offer reprieve and a chance to sit back and soak in the views, but my obsession with benches began when I moved to Humboldt County. The picturesque scenery was so unbelievable that the bench became crucial in order to seep in the beauty that surrounds us here. I have my favorite benches that I frequent but I'm always thrilled to find a new spot where I can kick back and relax.  Here, father reclines on the infamous Ferndale bench  Palmer's Point - One of my all-time favs (a great place to go whale-watching)  Arcata Park - This bench has the traditional view of the majestic redwood giants surrounded by a carpet of ferns.  This watering hole is my favorite place to rest after a long hike in Russ Park because it reminds me of the Florida swamps back home. I can't help but look for gators poking their heads up.  Patrick's Point - I'm a huge fan of letting wildflowers go crazy  The traditional bench  Arcata Park - Salamanders can almost always be found if you peer into the fallen tree behind this special bench, even the elusive Pacific Giant   College Cove in Trinidad is one of the best kept secrets in this area. It's so secret in fact that it is considered a nude beach on the South end. Today I explored College Cove with my friend Carolyna and we discovered a precarious path that led us to the top of a colossal boulder at the end of the beach (too chilly for the nudes thank goodness!). The views were spectacular from above. It reminds me of a pirate's cove.         This was my first experience going on an escapade led by my journalism professor, Dave Silverbrand. We walked along the perimeter of Arcata Plaza, dipping in stores in search of art and free food. There were musicians playing inside and out, both amateur and professional, from the fiddle to the ukelele. As our journey was coming to a close we had the pleasure of running into a mysterious woman with a type-writer who whips out poems for donations. She wrote a lovely poem for my friend Carolyna, who is a native of Ecuador. We decided the subject should be Carolyna's experience of coming to America, since she's only been here less then a month. Once she had a topic, the poem lady wrote in a flush of consciousness. The poem, which I included below, was astonishingly deep and moving.  From there to here is all polish and ocean, all land and difference, and yet as we always do similarities are found and the ground might feel homelike to some small extent, be it in the warmth of embrace, the wholeness of place turning from space, or simply the snift in one kind of wet forest to the rest. It all comes together as we do so well & full.  Here a woman performed her original songs on a ukelele while Dave Silverbrand filmed. Here is the finished product, put together by Dave Silverbrand.
 The Lost Coast  Arcata Park  Strawberry Rock  Cheatum Grove  Fern Canyon  Sequoia Park  The backyard of our original apartment on Excelsior I don't care that I am still a total dork when I spot a deer. Most locals don't bat an eye, much less slow down to take pictures. Living this close to nature, it's easy to overlook its incredible beauty and serenity. Last year, I was pulling into my driveway to discover 3 black bear (a mama and her babies) lounging about. With these kinds of sightings, it's hard to see the common deer as extraordinary but my heart still skips a beat when I see one. Once I was hiking in the woods behind my house and I saw a deer standing majestically in a thick beam of sunshine, staring directly at me. It nearly brought tears to my eyes because it looked like a picture out of a storybook that is too perfect to be real. Another time, I was driving through my residential neighborhood and walking on the sidewalk was a doe! This made me laugh out loud for the remainder of my drive home. Deer are such peaceful spirits of the wood and although they may not be as exciting as spotting a mountain lion or a fox, they are a sign that it is wild out there and the surrounding forest is healthy.  In our driveway, Cutten  Palmer's Point look-out  Humboldt Bay Wildlife Refuge | AuthorMy name is Bailey Fletcher and this is a record of my Humboldt Moments, which I began recording for a Journalism class in 2011. ArchivesMay 2012 |
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