a fair story

charger

3 days at the san bernardino county fair, a fun time was had by all welcoming visitors to the fair are the gideon bible folks handing out orange-covered new testaments. maybe i stayed too long, but here a few observations from three days at the san bernardino county fair. fried twinkies are gross. simply gross. [...]

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Songs or Silence

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Grains of sand skitter across the dunes, joining a mad dust devil dancing up the steep, sandy slopes. The great Eureka Dunes were created from such swirling dervishes eons ago. The dunes are set like an island in the desert in the southern part of Eureka Valley in northern Inyo County and are the highest in [...]

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Equines Retire with Grace and Dignity

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Standing peacefully around the paddock, basking in the sun and the admiring stares of visitors, you don’t see the dynamic energy of a Thoroughbred. But when they get a little frisky you can sense their enormous power as muscles bunch, necks arch and manes fly. You can imagine them charging out of the gate — [...]

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Placerita Canyon

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It started off as a hunt for a wildflower I have long wanted to see: the California Peony. But as I did some reading about the flower’s location I was excited to see exactly what Placerita Canyon Natural Area is all about.   Well, it is about history and nature, hikes along a seasonal creek [...]

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Hoop skirts and harlots

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There are no two ways about it. I love event photography! County fairs. Tractor pulls. Rodeos and races. Wherever there are faces to photograph I am a happy girl. The annual Civil War re-enactment at Calico Ghost Town a few years ago was perfect. Lots of people in period clothes and costumes wandered the streets [...]

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Nipton — Oasis of Tranquility

Hotel Nipton

A sign touting the best cheeseburger around lets you know you are approaching the eucalyptus-shaded desert oasis of Nipton, Calif. Gently situated on the sloping bajada leading down to the Ivanpah Valley, Nipton is a tiny spot of green in the vast eastern Mojave Desert west of Searchlight, Nevada, just ten miles off Interstate 15 [...]

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The call of water

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Take a long look as you drive along that lonely stretch of highway between Barstow and Baker, Calif. Just over there, to the southeast, see those yellowish hills with dark green knobs? See the train chugging along what looks like a river of golden sand? You are driving across an ancient lake bed. If you [...]

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The call of water – page two

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Back to page one of this story Traces of the SP LA & SL Railroad telegraph station can be seen close to the tracks on the west end of the canyon, and there is a small cemetery with what appears to be five stone-covered mounds and wooden crosses south of the station. One of the [...]

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The call of water – page three

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Back to page one of this story Back to page two of this story Early western explorers passed through the area, including Jedidiah Smith, Kit Carson and John Charles Fremont. A 4-wheel drive route along this trail, known as the Mojave Road, is a rugged, scenic tour running from Fort Mojave on the Colorado River [...]

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Cars cannot swim

A view from the car as we sat stranded in the Mojave River in Afton Canyon.

I went to Afton Canyon recently to shoot the Cliffside Mine and other parts of the canyon for the main part of this story. My friend and I had made the initial Mojave River crossing dozens of times. This time the water looked deeper than usual and I wanted to get out and check it [...]

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