Welcome to Tom's Pages - Here you might find photos and thoughts from weekend explorations
of California and Central Coast backroads - with a few furry felines added in just for the fluff.


You may see more photos at Tom Lott Photography www.catalott.com


Monday, May 31, 2010

Summer Vacation Planning

Memorial Day has passed, and officially now, it's summer season, and time to start looking for vacation camping spots. My all time favorite Sierra National Forest campground is at Courtright Reservoir in the central Sierras, way up via the back roads along the Kings River; probably still snowed in this time this year. Twisty roads, granite domes, calm clear lakes and lots of back country exploration possibilities keep me coming back to this area every few years.



Not yet sure where vacation will send me this year. I've been listening to Laurie Lewis songs (she recently played a great show at Painted Sky Studios in Cambria), and her musical image of a quiet cabin along the river in the Sierra foothills sticks in my minds - maybe I can find that winding back road to a similar magical spot!

When I was a kid and the summers were free
We'd pile in a car with no A.C.
And point it east into the heat
Across the Central Valley

We'd drive our mama near insane
'Til she'd pull off of that big four lane
And we started up the winding road
To Val's cabin

About half-way to the mountain top
We'd pull off the road and come to a stop
By a rustic cabin with the shutters locked
Sure, it was cooler, but still damn hot

But the pine and scotch-broom were in the air
The river was just a few miles from there
Just a ways down the winding road
From Val's cabin

Chorus ----
And the river runs through all my memories
Twisting and plunging between the trees
Sliding past great granite boulders
smooth and warm as giants' shoulders

Now they've chained her and they've changed her
So the fish can't even claim her
And I can't find the winding road
To Val's cabin
----

On a long and dusty old dirt track
We'd walk to the river and then trudge back
Stopping to talk to every horse,
Every friendly dog, and every cat

In the water ditch along the road
We'd hide from the sun and dangle our toes
Then we'd start up the winding road
To Val's cabin

Chorus

Now twenty years later I'm climbing that hill
Roaring up the highway past Soulsbyville
It's an oven outside, but it's cool in here
In this air-conditioned automobile

It's four-lane concrete all the way
They've straightened the curves and smoothed the grades
They've covered up the winding road
To Val's cabin

Val's Cabin, Laurie Lewis, True Stories, Rounder Records, 1993

Saturday, May 29, 2010

Lazy Saturday (with Cats)


North County Humane Society - Dome Cats


Please take me home !!!

Tuesday, May 25, 2010

Sunday at Paso Robles Wineries

I spent a pleasant Sunday afternoon enjoying the Paso Robles Wine Festival events at several local wineries. It was a comfortable afternoon, not blazing hot, and a lot of other folks were out sampling local wine, food and music.

I stopped by Vina Robles and Robert Hall on the east side of Paso, and Wild Coyote on the west side of the valley, and brought home a few bottles of zinfandel to add to the collection. And I added a few nice photos of the cloud-dotted blue sky.




Vina Robles Winery





Vina Robles wine tasting with music by Human Nation


Robert Hall Winery


Vineyard, Wild Coyote Winery

Sunday, May 16, 2010

Back Roads Winery Updates

This next weekend is the big Paso Robles Wine Festival. Details can be found at http://www.pasowine.com/. In an effort to beat the crowds, I visited some of the back road wineries this weekend to pick up some wine and take in some tunes.



Ranchita Canyon Vineyards now has their latest zinfandel available for sale; last time I was there it had no name and no label. Now it is called "Thiz-iz-it" Zinfandel (2008), and it is mighty tasty. I am not a wine guy who knows all the tasting terms, but I do like big, bold Zinfandel, and this IS it.

Summer music season has started at the wineries. Check out summer show schedules for Castoro Cellars, Vina Robles, and my favorite Stacked Stone Cellars. I caught the cowboy jazz group Cowbop at Stacked Stone on Sunday afternoon for a great show (though pretty sparsely attended). Those of us who showed up enjoyed the fine red wine, tri-tip lunch, cowboy tunes, Patsy Cline songs, straight ahead jazz and terrible jokes from band leader Bruce Foreman. I hope Pinto Pam and the band can visit the area again, maybe in a warmer venue.


Lonesome Radio at Stacked Stone - last summer

Ranchita Canyon Vineyard is located off of Cross Canyons Rd. east of San Miguel. Stacked Stone is a few miles west of Paso Robles on Peachy Canyon Rd.

Saturday, May 15, 2010

Rumper Stickers

The weeds are taking over the far back yard, growing a foot a day, and providing a feast for gophers. The big black cat, TC, loves this fine spring weather, as his favorite outdoor activities are sunbathing on the deck chairs, rolling in the tall grasses and catching gophers. When he returns inside, he has stickers throughout his thick, black fur - burr belly and rumper stickers I tell him as I try to keep him calm enough to brush the debris out of his coat. He is quite vocal in his annoyance with the unwanted attention, and I can only get the job half done before he gets too rambunctious to stay still. And I shouldn't wonder that I find thorny spikes in bed when I roll over - TC slept there first.

Saturday, May 8, 2010

Little Kittens

Yawn! Tired of blogging? Or routine web surfing? Or just tired of reading this blog? Need to add some excitement into your life? Do you want to be around someone with boundless, contagious, youthful energy? Someone younger, colorful and unpredictable?

It's kitten time at the San Luis Obispo North County Humane Society, and these energetic rascally cuties will be available for adoption in a few weeks. Take one home and experience the joy (and chaos) that kittens bring to the household. Take two - they're small - and you will have best buddies for life.


And if kittens are not for you, consider adopting an older cat from NCHS. Scarlett, Calvin, Jasmine, Hope and Mars, and many more friendly furry felines are just waiting for you to take them into your home. See the NCHS website for more details http://www.slonchs.org/



Friday, May 7, 2010

Parkfield Bluegrass Festival

Take the back roads to Parkfield,
Near the US GS Station,
You can be there by the fountain,
'Cause it's a bluegrass destination.
So don't be slow,
Tune that banjo,
Or I won't go,
Oh, no, no, no!
And I'm not sure if the banjo tuning helps.
(sung to the Monkees 1966 hit "Last Train to Clarksville")


It was a perfect Friday in Parkfield, and the bluegrass music was much hotter than the outside temperature - a mild temp close to 80 F. Overnight freeze, midday sunstroke, those are just normal conditions for this local festival.

My favorites included The Rarely Herd (don't confuse their feet with the Seldom Seen, or the Infrequently Smelled), The Brombies and Snap Jackson. Others also played great sets. The full program from the Bluegrass Festival is at http://www.parkfieldbluegrassfestival.com
Best message - support local live music!


Bell Monroe and the Brewglass Boys


Bean Creek

I did not camp overnight; rather just drove up for the day - it's not that far from my home. And I could revisit a few backroads on my list - Vineyard Canyon Rd, and the Chalome Parkfield Rd. I drove the little Saturn - it gets better gas milage than the Jeep - but the minimal road maintenance on the "sort of paved" SLO county back roads made me wish I lived in Monterey County - where the back roads were much better!

Saturday, May 1, 2010

Morro Bay Car Show


Lots of folks showed up in Morro Bay
for the weekend Car Show.The town
was crowded and colorful, the weather
near perfect on the first weekend in May.
I walked around the show Saturday
afternoon, not fully appreciating the
meticulous motor details, but with
an eye on colors and contrast.