Tuesday, March 11, 2008

North Fork American : Poppies, Daffodils and Lupin

Today was sunny and 75 degrees and so was yesterday. 
Easter is coming in two weeks and my daffodils are in mid-bloom cycle. Yes, I plant daffodils... lot's of them. Is that a problem? Ok, then... 

Some bloom in early February and the latest bloom thoughout March. So... yea... I plant daffodils. I don't plant anything 
else. Why? Bulbs, like daffodils are low-maintenance. They transform a bleak winter garden and they come back year after year. I don't have time during the late spring and summer to fiddle with freakin' pansies (of all iterations). 

I also like daffodils because they are a vivid reminder that the River season is ON! There are other reminders in the surrounding flora as well: Western Redbud (in full magenta bloom), Flowering Dogwood, emerging
California Golden Poppies, and purple Lupin. 

California in the Spring is unbelievably beautiful and a unique contrast to the awesome golden hills of Summer. 

While rafting down the North Fork American in late March and throughout April, even the most jaded river guide and client is blown away when they look beyond the river. Look to the sides of the canyon (look upstream on river left just above Staircase) and you'll see an intense blanket of neon orange from a huge tightly packed field of Poppies.  Along the trails and roads on the ride out on the 
Upper Clementine or the Ponderosa take-out road, check out the intense purple Lupin that stand 3 feet high. 

Just take a look while you're ripping through the Class 5, Class 4 and Class 3 rapids on the South Fork American, Middle Fork American, North Fork American and California Salmon. In the words of PBS's Huell Howzer....It's Amazing! (He says: UH-MAY-ZING!

One last cool thing about Daffodils....you have to "Dead-Head" them by rigorously ripping off the stalks of each fading bloom... (Sorry Wolf...the Greatful Dead is still still banned from all W.E.T. River Trip vehicles as well as the Warehouse while I'm in da House!)

Posted by Big Poppa:: gee whiz... no Dead at the warehouse or shuttle vehicles??? Our friend Jackie will be disappointed, dude! Maybe we can sneak it onto the company iPods... hehehe...

Thursday, March 06, 2008

California Rafting and Music

Yo! On my way to rafting trips, I have to listen to my tunes. Especially if you are heading for the Class 4 stuff like the North Fork American... so close to home! If you live in California's great valley around state capitol Sacramento, then I'm sure you know how hard it is to purchase good music around here without having to order from online distros and such.

For me it's really annoying, 'cause I love to buy new music fairly regularly. So to get my fix, it usually requires making a trip to the Bay Area to dig around in the bins at Amoeba Records store in San Francisco and Berkeley. I recently found some great albums for super cheap. Titles such as CARIBOU's new album "Andorra" is out now on Merge Records and DAN DEACON's "Spider Man of the Rings" on Carpark Records. Both albums are totally amazing if you are into electronic music or trance.

Another outstanding release from last year is the MAGIK MARKERS album "Boss" on Ecstatic Peace. This is a band that I can't get enough of and is highly recommended especially to fans of SONIC YOUTH. Some other albums to check out are BLACK MOTH SUPER RAINBOW's "Dandeloin Gum", Japanese band OOIOO's "Taiga", and for the noisier side of life, check out anything and everything on Load Records; especially KITES.

RESOURCES FOR WHITE WATER RAFTING MUSIC from W.E.T. River Trips:
  • California Whitewater Rafting Blog
  • Myspace Music Friends
  • Dan Deacon
  • Ecstatic Peace
  • Black Moth Super Rainbow
  • Load Records
  • Caribou
  • OOIOO

  • Peace
    WhiteLite:::: more rafting music coming from my homies at W.E.T. River Trips!

    ps! WhiteLite just introduced us to Zach Nelson from albums Who's Your Favorite Son God, HexLove and Prints! He is sooo ridiculously cute! Yoko Tuttle from Fatal Insomia says of his music "This sounds like right now!" Woot!