Four Wheeling in the High Sierra

Another New World

There are many worlds on this Earth and recently I discovered another one.

Now, when I say “worlds,” I could mean it in a more literal sense by referring to the newly discovered ultra-deep oceanic life thriving at the outlets of volcanic emissions, or to the various cultures of people distributed and re-distributing across the globe.

For now, though, I speak of the invisible cultures that are substrata to our everyday life that surrounds us all. For example, model and garden railway aficionados. By day, you might work alongside one of them and never know that at their homes are entire rooms dedicated to miniature railroads; some even have trains large enough to sit upon that can carry you on a completely authentic track—with rails, ties, and ballast—around a yard and house. And, with fully functional mini-steam locomotives!

Many other “sub-worlds” exist, of course, and there are often many cultures within each. For example there are amateur musicians, photographers, wind sailors, china painters, women’s improvement clubs, doll makers, motorcycle enthusiasts, pipe smokers, cigar smokers, bicycle enthusiasts, hikers and campers, mountain climbers, hobbyists in general, poem/writing societies, and sports fans, to list a scant few.

Some are highly defined by ritual and ceremony, such as the Masonic, Elk, I.O.O.F, and other fraternal groups—most of which have parallel or auxiliary women’s organizations, such as the Eastern Star to the Masons, and most have youth auxiliaries, as well.

They all are different, and they each have their own unique set of rules, conduct, language, terminology, hierarchy, and gizmos and gadgets.

The new world that I recently experienced (though I had heard of it before) is that of the “off-roaders” and “four-wheelers,” “all-terrain explorers,” the world of the ATV—All Terrain Vehicles. It, too has its own sub-culture, replete with unique vocabulary, etiquette, equipment, and special accessories such as cargo bags, dust masks, snubbers, trailer hitches, custom trailers, gun racks, mounting brackets, protective glasses, very creative helmets, saddlebags, and much more.

[In this particular Photo Journey I have, as usual, included a slideshow; this one draws from my photo collection acquired from and representing my four visits from last summer. Also, the soundtrack you’ll hear, “Rapidity,” is of my own composition. You’ll find the slideshow at the end of the full story after you click on the “Continue reading” link, just below.]

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Yolo — November 15, 2012

A Brief Look at Yolo

Engine 1233 at the Woodland Railroad Museum, northeast of Sacramento, California

Engine 1233 at the Woodland Railroad Museum, northeast of Sacramento, California. (Click on the photo for a larger view)

Yolo County, in California, is full of treasures. One might even say, “it’s full of surprises” to be found by simply exploring its countryside, small communities, and few densely populated small towns.

On my Photo Journey of November 15, 2012, I returned to one of those treasures that I stumbled upon (almost literally) a couple of years ago, one that was surely a surprise.

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Dunsmuir Railroad Days — 2011

RAILROAD DAYS!
The name speaks for itself. If you are anywhere from the northern California area, it most likely evokes memories of fantasy, fiction, and vague facts from one’s youth.

Union Pacific northbound freight at the Dunsmuir depot. (Click on the photo for a larger view)

Union Pacific northbound freight at the Dunsmuir depot. (Click on the photo for a larger view)

“This is the town everyone wishes they had grown up in,” said Barbara Cross, a past president of the local Chamber of Commerce, and perennial volunteer. In many ways, she personifies both the old and the “new” of Dunsmuir: friendly, hospitable, not afraid to speak to strangers, and eager to share information about Dunsmuir’s legacy as a railroad town, fishing center, tourist attraction, and its own special brand of being, well, being “special.”(Be sure to click on the link to “Continue Reading”)

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Stand Alone #007: Highway 45

Grimes Community Church

Grimes Community Church (Click on the photo for a larger view)

Grimes Community Church (Click on the photo for a larger view)

During my early railroad years on the Southern Pacific Railroad (1965-1983), I worked local freights throughout much of the central valley between highways 99E and 99W (now replaced by Interstate 5). Knights Landing, College City, Hamilton City, Yolo, Woodland, and Grimes were in a world isolated. For the most part, during those years, there was only one local freight train daily taking cars in, and switching cars out and bringing home produce (mostly) from this rich farming area. Today, Grimes, as then, appears to be home mostly to farmers and farm workers. It’s a quaint little place, and more than just a spot on the road. The church sits right on Highway 45 on the north exit.
[Click on the photo for a larger view]

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Stand Alone #006: Highway 45

55 on Highway 45

55 on Highway 45 (Click on the photo for a larger view)

55 on Highway 45 (Click on the photo for a larger view)

For the southern half, betwixt Knights Landing and Colusa, Highway 45 does very little wending and winding; rather it moves mostly in straight lines and right angle turns. For the better part of a President’s Day afternoon, I saw almost no other vehicle except on the close outskirts of the small towns. On clear days, the Sutter Buttes, which hold the title of being the world’s smallest mountain range, can be seen from nearly every vantage point in the Sacramento Valley. The mountains are about 10 miles (16 km) from north to south and east to west.
[Click on the photo for a larger view]

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Stand Alone #005: Highway 45

Bend in the road at Wilkins Slough off of Highway 45

Bend in the road at Wilkins Slough off of Highway 45 (Click on the photo for a larger view)

Bend in the road at Wilkins Slough off of Highway 45 (Click on the photo for a larger view)

I took a little side trip off of Highway 45 and followed Wilson Bend Road for its brief length. Along the way, I passed through were Wilkins Slough finds the Sacramento River. There’s not much at Wilkins Slough, but it does sport the “Reclamation District No. 108, Sacramento River West Side Levee District and Knights Landing Ridge Drainage District.” There’s an updated irrigation intake “plant” dating from 1918 that is centered in an attractive little park with two horseshoe pits.

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Stand Alone #004: Highway 45

Truck 909 along Highway 45

Truck 909 along Hwy 45. (Click on the photo for a larger view)

Truck 909 along Hwy 45. (Click on the photo for a larger view)

Farmland has a plethora of relics. Some farmers let them rust and rot on back lots or seemingly abandoned them in the fields; others preserve them to some degree or even restore them. This remnant sits alongside relics that have been given new life and meaning in the hands of artists. Farmers? Perhaps a little of both.
[Click on the photo for a larger view]

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Stand Alone #003: Highway 45

Water control on irrigation canal along Highway 45

Water control on irrigation canal along Highway 45. (Click on the photo for a larger view)

Water control on irrigation canal along Highway 45. (Click on the photo for a larger view)

Someone has to walk the plank! Irrigation canals are in abundance throughout the farmland, and control valves like this one are key to delivering the life blood of water to the crops. As in any large arterial system, valves control the flow and direction of water. This “valve” raises and lowers a wooden gate, connecting this canal to another. Fully manual, no batteries required.
[Click on the photo for a larger view]

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Stand Alone #002: Highway 45

Water Intake on Sacramento River at Knights Landing, CA.

Abandoned water Intake on Sacramento River at Knights Landing, CA.

Abandoned water Intake on Sacramento River at Knights Landing, CA. (Click on photo for larger view)

The Sacramento River is rather narrow at Knights Landing, and the draw bridge (just downstream in this photo) that once made way for large cargo vessels is still an attraction with its antiquated control room filled with venerable equipment and seasoned electronics that looks like it might still be functional. To me, this antique structure gives the impression of an abandoned lighthouse standing sentry over time.
[Click on the photo for a larger view]

This is the first of six standalone photos I will be posting from a journey in February, 2011.

From a satellite view, the Sacramento (on the north)/San Joaquin (on the south) Valley looks like an elongated soup tureen, with its pouring lip centered at the San Francisco Bay, dressed by the Golden Gate Bridge. Sacramento, the state capitol, is almost dead center.
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Stand Alone #001: San Francisco

This is the first in a series of “stand alone” photographs. I will be adding these periodically while preparing my next “Photo Journey.”

Morning Paper: Bakery in North Beach, San Francisco, CA. Photography by Robert McClintock, Copyright © 2000-2011 by Robert McClintock.

Morning Paper: Bakery in North Beach, San Francisco, CA. Photography by Robert McClintock, Copyright © 2000-2011 by Robert McClintock.

Each year my friend Fred and I make the annual pilgrimage to San Francisco, California for the Macworld Expo. Fred spends the entire day there, literally viewing and questioning (nearly) every booth and vendor. After I take a perusal to see what might be new and “necessary” in the world of photography, I exit to the streets and the people and the incredible sites of that amazing city.

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