Great Signs at the Chiropractor

I don't know what I enjoy more on this sign: the Michaelangelo-inspired heavenly touch icon, or the line art drawing of the human body.

Now serving all body parts/With the touch of God, Sunset, 2011.

Inside of this store -- and I can't believe myself, but I didn't get a picture of it -- is a model of a person with labeled body parts. Kindly, he is adorned in a loin cloth. Thank goodness, because San Francisco does NOT tolerate public nudity (ha!). Maybe he's just practicing his nudist etiquette.

See All of America, the Beautiful

See All of America, the Beautiful. This is good advice -- there is indeed lots to see. That's why they underlined "All." As owner of this van, you are even given the option of drawing on the map, perhaps "x"ing off the states you've visited. Maybe drawing your routes on it. Maybe putting the state-shaped refrigerator magnets on it as you visit each.

Astro Van decal, Mission, 2011.

This post has nothing to do with nature, but certainly a love of nature, or at least natural places, inspired this decal. It's on the side of a converted Chevy Astro that is often parked across the street from my apartment in the Mission. I wonder if the owner's manual came with a set of magnets or stickers to put on the side when you'd visited a state. 

It is also kind of funny that the designers of this van envisioned the driver to become inspired to drive to Hawai'i.I mean, isn't Alaska ambitious enough for a road trip?

Finally, halcyon is a great word, isn't it?

 

America the Beautiful

O beautiful for spacious skies,
For amber waves of grain,
For purple mountain majesties
Above the fruited plain!
America! America!
God shed his grace on thee
And crown thy good with brotherhood
From sea to shining sea!

O beautiful for pilgrim feet
Whose stern impassioned stress
A thoroughfare of freedom beat
Across the wilderness!
America! America!
God mend thine every flaw,
Confirm thy soul in self-control,
Thy liberty in law!

O beautiful for heroes proved
In liberating strife.
Who more than self their country loved
And mercy more than life!
America! America!
May God thy gold refine
Till all success be nobleness
And every gain divine!

O beautiful for patriot dream
That sees beyond the years
Thine alabaster cities gleam
Undimmed by human tears!
America! America!
God shed his grace on thee
And crown thy good with brotherhood
From sea to shining sea!

O beautiful for halcyon skies,
For amber waves of grain,
For purple mountain majesties
Above the enameled plain!
America! America!
God shed his grace on thee
Till souls wax fair as earth and air
And music-hearted sea!

O beautiful for pilgrims feet,
Whose stem impassioned stress
A thoroughfare for freedom beat
Across the wilderness!
America! America!
God shed his grace on thee
Till paths be wrought through
wilds of thought
By pilgrim foot and knee!

O beautiful for glory-tale
Of liberating strife
When once and twice,
for man's avail
Men lavished precious life!
America! America!
God shed his grace on thee
Till selfish gain no longer stain
The banner of the free!

O beautiful for patriot dream
That sees beyond the years
Thine alabaster cities gleam
Undimmed by human tears!
America! America!
God shed his grace on thee
Till nobler men keep once again
Thy whiter jubilee! 

 

Words by Katharine Lee Bates,
Melody by Samuel Ward

 

 

Special Edition: Baja #4 - Dinosaur Eggs

Aside from boasting some of the most diverse, accessible, and undeveloped reefs for snorkeling and diving in the hemisphere*, Cabo Pulmo hosts a very strange conglomeration of smooth granite boulders the size of, well, dinosaur eggs. 

Dinosaur eggs, Cabo Pulmo, 2012.

I have done some online research on the geology of the area and found nothing. So I'm forced to speculate on the matter. Looking at the surrounding geology, one can observe layers of sandstone and granite. Also in some of the sandstone is a formation found in other parts of the Pacific coast known as tafoni (see below), which I recognized from Salt Point in northern CA and even in the Presidio.

"The exact process of formation of tafoni is not entirely understood. The waves and salt spray leaves salt crystals on the sandstones. Salt and water interacting with the cement between the sand grains, and in minute fractures in the rock alternately hardens portions and loosens others, creating the lacy, box-like pattern." Dr. Sue Ellen Hirschfeld.

Tafoni/Dino Eggs, Cabo Pulmo, 2012.

I suspect the same process, expressed in a different way on this far-harder material, is occurring to give these boulders their shape. 

Shown below is a series of cairns that inspired visitors have created.

Dino egg cairns, Cabo Pulmo, 2012.

* By the way, this in itself is a great story, since the reef was closed to commercial fishing in 1995 and has since seen tremendous rebounds in marine life. Read more here... or translated here.

Special Edition: Baja #3 - Rainbow Cacti

I've been keeping you waiting. My apologies for that; as an offering, today I offer two photos for your viewing pleasure. 

This organ pipe cactus (I think) seems to have been growing in soil laced with LSD, but that's actually not the case. Well, it could be, I suppose, but what really is going on here is, I think, just a sign of stress to the plant. In an environment that reaches scalding heats with salty soil, is that any wonder?

Rainbow Cactus #1, Baja, 2012.

The cardon cactus, below (nope, it's not a saguaro), is an awesome plant: pollinated by bats; largest cactus in the world; some probably are 3,000 years old; named by botanist Cyrus Pringle... what more could one ask for? Oh -- maybe if it were also multicolored? Sure, can do. I wonder who, what, when, where, why someone went through the effort to paint this thing. I guess I know the where. Any insight to the other four Ws is more than welcome. 

Rainbow Cactus #2, Baja, 2012.

Special Edition: Baja #2 - Magnificent Frigatebird

It has a fun name to say and a ghastly appearance. It glides effortlessly upwind, scarcely flapping, but only readjusting its streamlined form to somehow propel itself forward in a headwind. The frigatebird is silent, except on the breeding grounds.

The magnificent frigatebird is abundant in La Ventana. They seem to capitalize on the fishing industry. This one flew over my head, coursing northward against the strong afternoon wind. I was excited over these birds when first arriving, but realized they are the equivalent of pigeons there. Not in terms of what they eat, but in terms of how common they are to see. 

Magnificent Frigatebird, La Ventana, 2012.

Special Edition: Baja

This is the first post in a series describing my recent trip to Baja California Sur, Mexico. I went to visit Jon, college friend, who has dedicated time in each recent year to the kiteboarding lifestyle.

It's pretty awesome down there. He and his friends are in good company with a community of kiters who make the pilgramage each year.

I didn't participate (except as a driver) in the kiting, since my shoulder is still recovering, six months post-op on rotator cuff repair. I was, however, able to snorkel and throw a frisbee. I spent some time wandering arroyos and desert scrub in search of birds, butterflies, and interesting looking plants. 

I tended to rise early each day, and below is a photo of a fishing boat at sunrise. Magnificent frigatebirds were as common as pigeons in the city. They and brown pelicans are the black dots in the sky behind this rig. 

Sea of Cortez sunrise at La Ventana, 2012.