Flames and Fire

What a busy camera weekend but I love being busy!! The weekend had cleared up and was forecast to be cool in the evenings and Saturday the same conditions but with just a touch of clouds.... just imagine how really great it was to be... cool nights with just a slight haze over the whole Bay Area, with just a bit of wind sufficient to push away both clouds and smoke. To make it better, the waters of the Bay was just about still and it was just a very magical night! But I'm getting ahead of myself so please allow me explain my weekend started with late Friday night.

I drove to Davis - almost a two hour drive in traffic, the first jam being caused by a single CHP vehicle with lights on following a single car which caused 300 cars to drive the speed-limit. Once past that situation, the traffic cleared up drastically so I could make up for lost time.... to get to the campus of the University of California at Davis for their Whole Earth Festival celebration. Upon arrival I thought for a long hard moment as though I was transported to hiPPieLand (once again), or did I drive too far and actually end up in Eugene? hahahahaa Part of their events included two hours of fire-dancers from the area but also coming from as far away as Santa Cruz, so with my passion for fire-spinners growing, I wanted to see and photograph the fire-dancers performing at this event. The weather was great and though I brought a jacket, I didn't even need it! There was a slight hint of humidity which disappeared as the night came, though the flying bugs bothered me now and then during the performances ~ but not enough to ruin the magic I was to witness!

After a brief sight-seeing tour of the downtown area of Davis, I spent the rest of the night at a I-80 rest area, it being so late. Though a car isn't the best place to rest/sleep, it did give me fond memories of previous road-trips... the longest being my four-day road trip(s) to and from Germany from Spain, plus a few trips while living in Oregon.

With not even enough time to download and "process" the resulting images, Saturday night was to be just as busy - preparation and driving to the Marin County headlands and to be walking up a very rocky trail to a mountaintop to the top with the most gorgeous view of the Bay Area, and of my gorgeous hometown as I've never before seen. I went here to see the annual KFOG KaBOOM fireworks display which I've never seen, though I've seen a few other fireworks in SF.... What was to make it special was a full moon rising out of the East Bay hills, through the low fog and behind the fireworks!! It was a sight to treasure forever!!

Seriously, if I died that night I would've LOVED to see San Francisco as I saw it last night - in such a glorious view - from this high and tranquil location! Behind me the sun just set in a most intense and golden sky and the hike had me gasping for air but it was all worth it. I did take note of all those loose pebbles and rocks, and that I would trot down this same trail in the darkness, though I do have a tiny keychain light which has a very powerful blue light and I also ~ just in case ~ took a hand-crank light that I keep in my car.But what an experience this weekend has been - except for Sunday (now) when I have to process all of these image files, spending more time in front of the monitor which I just hate, and looking out the window to the nice day.... it was a fanTasTic weekend!
At our mountain-top location a group of hikers did appear shortly before the fireworks started, standing behind us and noisily watched both the fading sunset glow and the fireworks. Soon afterwards though, they left without so much of a single goodbye - and considering that I and fellow Flickr friend Stargazer introduced ourselves to them, they just left... taking their noise with them. I thought how rude!!!