Siskiyoutopia

Art in Yreka?  What a concept!  We attended the opening of the Liberty Arts Gallery in Yreka tonight.  We were very impressed!  Yreka City Manager, Brian Meek was instrumental in this project, but he is quick to recognize Kim Presley for her integral role in organizing all the volunteer efforts that went into remodeling this old building on Miner Street and turning it into a very special place for Yreka.

There was a great turn out for the opening.  All of Yreka’s officials, unofficials, artists and art admirers were there.  Everyone was really excited about the potential impact Liberty Arts Gallery will have on the community and especially downtown Yreka.

So, as I understand it, this will be a place for art classes for kids and adults alike, a place for local artists to exhibit their work, there may be dance classes or film exhibits as well.  It will be a general community gathering place - in Yreka!!  Isn’t that great?!  The answer is YES, it’s great!!

They will have a website soon, in the meantime just go there and see it for yourself.

Liberty Arts Gallery

• Read More »

Fish planting schedule for week of May 4.  Head out to the following waters for some hungry fish fresh from the hatchery.

• Lake Shastina

• Lake Siskiyou

• McCloud River

• Read More »

Sorry I’ve been remiss in getting new stuff posted as I’ve been soooo sick! There is some vicious, mutant virus going around and I caught it. I haven’t been this sick in over 10 years. I missed a lot of stuff in the county as I lay in bed trying to control the overflowing mucus factory that is my body lately (sorry, kind of gross, huh?)

This is what I know I’ve missed:

Rodeo weekend - Siskiyou County Fairgrounds and Etna Pleasure Park both had rodeos this weekend. I’m most disappointed about missing the parade in Etna. There is nothing more fun than a small town parade. When I was about 5 years old I got to ride the fire engine in a parade in Seiad Valley. It was probably one of the first Seiad Days parades. I’ll never forget that. I had a ‘Little House on the Prairie’ costume, bonnet and all.

My mom and dad owned the store in Seiad in the early 70’s. So, even though the ‘About’ page says I came from Southern Oregon, the truth is I have an early history with Siskiyou County….. but I’m a little of topic.

However, speaking of Seiad Valley, the other thing I’ve missed with this illness as well as my husband being ill for a couple weeks before me, is the road trip down river to see the red bud blooming. I am so bummed! This is one of the best shows in the county in the spring. It may not be too late! If you have the chance take a road trip down the Klamath River. Spring is beautiful there!

Be sure to stop at the Seiad Valley Store Cafe for their famous pancakes, then head to Happy Camp and take a picture of yourself standing in front of Bigfoot.

I had once written a little bit about the Bigfoot sculpture in Happy Camp. I had implied that Ralph Starritt had created this piece and I was kindly corrected:

“….a few details about Bigfoot. Mr. Starritt helped to design, and construct him, but the main person responsible for Bigfoot is C. Wainwright. She designed, and built Bigfoot, with technical advice and assitance from Mr. Starritt.

I myself helped to build this statue, along with a handful of other volunteers. I completely agree with you that Mr. Starritt is a wonderful artist, and helps people who are interested in learning the art of metal sculpting.

I would like to see more full length pictures of Bigfoot on here, so people can see the rest of him! “- Linda Wainwright

Here you go Linda - Bigfoot in perspective! He is awesome! Totally worth the drive just to stand beneath him and get your picture taken. This shot was taken in the fall of 2006.

I’m sure there were a lot of other things that I’ve missed while I’ve been mending. I hope you’ve had a chance to see and do some fun things as spring hits full force. I have had more time to continue working on my plans to rule the world, so that’s going well!

See ya soon!

• Read More »

The letter to the editor in tonight’s Siskiyou Daily News (about the motorcycle rally) made me chuckle. The last paragraph reads,

“And yes there will be some rough looking bikers, is it any worse than the county fair?”

hee hee, that’s funny! But then as I turned the pages of the newspaper I nearly choked when I read this published press release.

Could this possibly be a joke? The timing is hilarious, especially in light of the amount of letters to the editor about the cancellation of the motorcycle rally due to the denial of a liquor license by the city. Coupled with the number of comments in those letters about denying/not denying liquor at the Siskiyou County Fair, in all fairness (no pun intended). Here’s how the press release starts:

Xtremely Amped comes to the Siskiyou Golden Fair

“The thrill of motorcycle stunts, combined with the energy of live rock and roll music is the perfect combination for top entertainment at the 2008 Siskiyou Golden Fair.”

So this is how I understand it; a motorcycle rally is not good for our county, but motorcycle stunts to live rock and roll is ‘”perfect” for our county…. hmmm. Does anyone else see the irony in this or am I just crazy?!

If YOU like loud music and motor cross then you should find out more about Xtremely Amped here.

• Read More »

It’s MAY 1st not April 1st and I’m not kidding.  This article about UFO sightings over McCloud is all over the web right now!  The sightings happened on April 12 by multiple people who describe the same object.

“It looked like a giant jellyfish with a fire inside it,” Cary said. “There were no canisters or anything… nothing. Just a fire inside it, and there was no noise at all.”

This is all very exciting and I would like to invite any eye witnesses to describe their experience here in further detail.

Source:  Mt Shasta Herald

• Read More »

I really wish Siskiyou County could host a cool event like this! It’s called the Maker Faire and it is for our new age of crafters and artists. No, not ‘new age crafters’ - a new age OF crafters. Bazaar Bizarre will be there - their tagline is: “not your granny’s craft fair.” This is the perfect event for crafters, artists and especially techno geeks. I’ve been a huge fan of Etsy for a long time and subscribe to MAKE magazine. If you are not familiar with either and you like new, creative ideas, I encourage you to check them out. And if you’re going to be in the bay area this weekend you should make the San Mateo Makers’ Fair a scheduled stop.

• Read More »

A lot of people move to Siskiyou County to get away from the hustle and bustle of city life and urban sprawl.  This is a really good reason to move to Siskiyou County.  Time in Siskiyou County does move slower and it gives us a chance to ’stop and smell the roses’ as it where.  I spent this early evening perusing my garden and this is what’s going on.

This little ladybug is taking a rest on my crabapple tree - which is a bustle of activity lately as its buds are just about to open and the insects are loving it!

I purchased this cement planter a couple years ago from Rowan’s Creations owned by John and Terri Rowan - If you read yesterday’s posts you’ll know that John Rowan’s parents, John and Joan Rowan, owned a shop years ago on Miner St.  Anyways, I love the color of the hen n chicks right now nestled in their cute container!

This is my Lupin’s second year.  I love the way the water pools inside the center of the leaves.  Can’t wait for the blooms!  eeee!

Ok, time for some silly puns from the shade garden ….. don’t go breaking my ‘bleeding heart’ or it’s ‘hosta’ la vista baby!  Uhhggg, pretty bad, I agree…

left - bleeding heart.     right - hostas peeking through the ground.

How is your garden growing?  We are due for another freeze.  When you’re at the nursery and dreaming about those big, red, juicy tomatoes and are tempted to pick up that little ‘mato plant - just keep on walking!  It’ll still be there in a few weeks.  Let the nursery employees bother with dragging them outside in the morning and back inside every night.  It’s a great time to dig in the dirt though!

hi mom!:)

• Read More »

I know for you seasoned fishermen and women you don’t STOP thinking about fishing; but for us ‘fair weather’ fishermen and women, we START thinking about fishing just when the weather warms up and the sun stays in the sky a bit longer…. like now!

Also, unlike you diehard, catch and release, native fish catching, special bamboo pole with precision reel,  pro fishing gurus, I am perfectly happy to follow that stocking truck from the local hatchery to the local lake.

Last year I went to Bass Lake for the first time. The first thing I learned about Bass Lake and Trout Lake is that they are named bassackwards (yes, pun intended)! Bass Lake has the trout (mostly) and Trout Lake has the bass (mostly). The other thing I didn’t know was that live bait is prohibited (yes, I missed the giant sign in the parking lot-duh!). I was catching fish like crazy! Then a curious bystander asked what I was using. “Worms”, I said. “What color worms are you using?” “Color?!” That’s about the time I realized I was accidentally cheating! Ooops! I feel sorry for those poor fish though. They’re starving for some real food! Man, they liked those earthworms!

Ok, confession time is over - BTW I did release the fish! I learned my lesson, ok?! This is a quick list of the local waters that will be stocked the week of April 27.  So buy your license, a can of worms (unless your going to Bass Lake or Trout Lake) and start memorizing your story about that giant fish you ALMOST landed so that it sounds really believable:) Then share it with us here! What’s your best fish story? True or not!

• Bass Lake

• Butte Creek

• Cold Creek

• Greenhorn Reservoir

• Lake Shastina

• Lake Siskiyou

• Orr Lake

• Sacramento River

• Read More »

As the weather warms up more cool events are scheduled in Siskiyou County. Below is an abbreviated list of Stuff to Do in May. These are some of the larger events. Don’t forget to check the Stuff to Do page at the top for a complete list of ALL the events - big and small. Have fun! YeeeHawww!!!

Fri - Sat May 2 & 3

CHSRA District 1 Rodeo

Siskiyou County Fairgrounds

Call for info 905-1599

Sun May 4

2008 Scott Valley Pleasure Park Rodeo

Pleasure Park

Etna

Parade - 10:15am starts at Bob’s Ranch House

Grand Entry to Rodeo - 1:30pm

Sun May 11

Siskiyou Daily News Home & Garden Expo AND

Siskiyou County Mother’s Day Wildflower Show

Siskiyou County Fairgrounds

Sat May 17

2nd Annual May Artisan Street Festival

Fine arts, crafts, live music, food and children’s activities

Sponsored by Marble Rim Gallery

11835 Main St., Fort Jones

call for more information 468-5442 marblerimgallery@yahoo.com

Sat & Sun May 17 & 18

Yreka Rotary and Yreka Chamber Civil War Reenactment

Will include ‘battles’ out on the south end of town and dances in the evening in town.

Sat - Mon May 24 - 26

British Car Show

Dunsmuir

Call for info 235-2177

Sat & Sun May 24 - 25

Mushroom Music & Wine Faire

McCloud

Mushrooms everywhere! Mushroom vendors, wines, mushroom train, excursion trains, cooking demostrations, quality crafted items, musical entertainment & live band.

Call for info 964-2341

• Read More »

I just ran across this great new website called Siskiyou Youth. Looks like it’s been up for a couple months and is all about, well, Siskiyou Youth, just as you’d expect based on the name :) This is definitely a must visit site to get the latest on local sports and events that our kids are involved in. Get the latest scores and check out how the kids are doing. www.siskiyouyouth.com Thanks Ray Wolf! I know how much work it can be keeping up with what’s going on - especially with those busy busy kids:)

__________________________________________________________

On another note - this post from the Unrepentant Individual is pretty funny. The ‘individual’ has written a great article on Mt. Shasta Brewery’s ‘brew ha ha’ (pun intended) with the Feds over their very clever bottle caps - Try LEGAL Weed. This is a great excerpt from the article that I think could be applied to soooo many other issues that our government puts their mucky little hands in.

“This is government, folks. Petty, with no sense of humor and a complete inability to understand why we find them ridiculous. You either conform or you get pounded down, in a high-stakes game of bureaucratic whack-a-mole. As Washington called them “a fearful servant and a terrible master”, they’ve been spending a lot more time being the latter.”

Priceless! :)

Oh my! Even my favorite food blog has caught wind of the ‘Weed’ controversy. Check out Chow’s post about our local brewery’s troubles. Oh and while you’re there browse the site for a while - GREAT recipes and foodie tips - so fun! www.chow.com

I’m telling you, you can’t BUY this kind of advertising! Here’s another foodie blog with something to say about ‘Legal WEED’. www.slashfood.com

There are many many more….. too many to list! Wow! I’m going to submit my advertising ideas to the ATTTB. They’ve got a really long acronym AND a great marketing team!

____________________________________________________

Here’s a post by John Rowan about John Rowan…. nonetheless it retells some interesting history about the Rowans and their store on Miner Street called Patchworks Yarn and Gift Shop. Sounds like it was a successful business (way before my time though). John must have obtained some great experience and credentials as he was awarded a Platinum certificate of appreciation from SCORE for his many years of volunteer work. SCORE is a counseling organization for small businesses. Although it doesn’t appear as though we have a local SCORE counselor in our area (John Rowan moved out of the area), the website alone appears to be a great resource for budding and growing entrepreneurs.

___________________________________________________

Wow! Here’s a good one. Someone actually thinks more towns should do something that Yreka has done!? What?! Yup! Jack Schultz of Boomtown USA really likes our historic signs in downtown Yreka. This is soooo cool! I’m ashamed to admit that I’ve never even taken the time to read these signs or even seek them out. Guess what I’ll be doing next week on the way to the office?

____________________________________________________

Have fun surfing! Hang ten, dude….

• Read More »

Fri Apr 25

Dance to the Beatles Fundraiser for Ringe Pool

Yreka Community Center

5:30pm / $30

Call 841-0600 for more info

________________________________________

The Spitfire Grill musical

COS Kenneth Ford Theater

Weed COS campus

8pm

Call 938-5257 for more information

_______________________________________

John Wayne Celebration

John Wayne’s grandaughter, Anita Swift will show film about John Wayne

Michael Thamer will speak about candidacy for Judge

Siskiyou County Fairgrounds - Winema Hall

5:30pm / free refreshements

Sat Apr 26

Spring Crafters Faire

Seiad Valley Firehouse

10am - 3pm

________________________________________

Spring Challenge Walk

4 mile walk

Jackson Street School

405 Jackson Street, Yreka

$10 donation goes to Samaritan’s Purse Send a Child to Camp Project

9am

__________________________________________

Hornbrook Grange Open House and Talent Contest

1pm - 4pm

__________________________________________

Dunsmuir Gallery Receptions

Townwide galleries will be holding receptions

Dunsmuir

___________________________________________

4th Annual Mt. Shasta City Fire Fighters Association Fisherman’s Dinner

St. Anthony’s Parish Hall

Mt. Shasta

5pm / $15

___________________________________________

Italian Night

Enjoy Italian appetizers and watch funny Italian film

“Bread and Tulips”

Mike & Tony’s Restaurant

501 S. Mt. Shasta Blvd

Mt. Shasta

7pm / $25

____________________________________________

The Spitfire Grill musical

COS Kenneth Ford Theater

Weed COS campus

8pm

Call 938-5257 for more information

_____________________________________________

Kolvane/Rose City Kings

Sengthong’s Blue Sky Room

Dunsmuir

____________________________________________

3rd Annual That Spring Thing acoustic show

Avery Theatre

430 Main Street

Etna

7pm

proceeds benefit Scott Valley Theatre Company and Etna High School performing arts

• Read More »

Good job girls! This local girl scout troop picked up litter in Miner Street Park.

Aren’t they so cute?!!! And so politically, eco-friendly, green, correct?! Yea for Earth!  Yea for Girl Scouts!

• Read More »

Siskiyou Bowmen had a great event this past weekend - The Ryan D. Campbell Memorial Shoot was held Sunday.  We had the opportunity to go out and get a taste of a great gathering of archers of all ages.  Boy, camo was the style d’jour.  There were a couple hundred folks getting together to practice shooting replicated wildlife targets.  Archery is a sport I know little about, but the thing that struck me the most was how many kids are involved with the Siskiyou Bowmen.  Definitely a family event!  The Siskiyou Bowmen have been around since the 30’s and has seen its memberships ebb and flow throughout the years.  The group is currently booming!

This weekend the event was held in memory of Ryan Campbell.  He was a remarkable young man, who was taken to heaven a little sooner than any of us expected due to an accident on a ship.  Ryan left a wonderful wife and three darling children.  The family is carrying on Ryan’s legacy by continuing to practice the sport that he was so talented at and loved so much.  The current president of the Siskiyou Bowmen is Denny Campbell, Ryan’s younger brother.

This is what Siskiyou County is all about.  Spending time with family and friends outdoors.  Despite the bitter cold and spitting snow a great time was had by all.  If you are interested in learning more about this sport click here for contact information for the Siskiyou Bowmen.

Step aside Robin Hood!  These little ankle biters are hot on your trail!

• Read More »

Here’s the big surprise, finally unveiled - It’s this dashing young man painted on the wall in the window to the right as you enter the shop. I’d call him a ‘tall drink of water.’ He’s the ’spring maiden’s’ new admirer. She’s been painted on the left for some time. The artist for both the man and woman is Winterburns’ own darling saleswoman, Mimi! Nice job Mimi!

• Read More »

Winterburn’s Lighthouse has had one of their front windows covered in white paper for the past few days. What the heck?! Upon inquiry I found out that they are preparing to unveil something new in their window. Eeeee…. fun! So I encourage you to stop by to see what the fuss is about. It will probably be unveiled today!

While you are there be sure to go in and check out their sale. Winterburn’s carries a lighting brand called Hubbardtin Forge. These are probably not on sale, but they are the coolest lights ever! A company out of Vermont puts these beautiful fixtures together by hand. The quality is unmatched and highly sought. I’ve spent hours drooling over their catalog! Anyhoo, go see Bill, Rhonda and Electra.

• Read More »

Few places would be more appropriate to celebrate Earth week than Mt. Shasta - City of Water, home of the Sacramento headwaters, nestled at the base of one of the world’s most spectacular mountains.

So if you are going to celebrate Earth Week the festivities begin Saturday 11am at the Main Lodge at the City Park with opening ceremonies, food, art and stuff for the kiddos.  The parade begins at 1pm-dress up like your favorite plant or animal.  An ‘owl shoot and snipe hunt’ begins at 7pm (I don’t know what that means?!)

Save the Rain benefit concert begins at 6:30pm at the Mt. Shasta High School.  Proceeds go towards savetherain.org.

Special events are scheduled for the whole week.  The Mt. Shasta Herald has a great summary here.

Earthday is Tuesday and the celebration moves to Weed at the COS campus Student Center.  Native American Drummers, information and vending booths from 11am - 4pm.

Wednesday is Litter Pick Up Day!  Yea!  I hope Yreka gets into the spirit of things and gets out to pick up litter too.  This is an all county event.  Simply grab a bag and pick it up!  Not too tough, huh?

The Earth Week festivities are going to be fun, colorful, environmentally sound and especially politically correct.

• Read More »

I passed by this area along the Yreka Creek on Oberlin road the other day and noticed an area had been cleared and lined with big boulders and a sign has been erected. I don’t know anything more than that, but it seems as though some actual progress is being made on the Greenway Project. How exciting! Someone is doing something! Did you hear me? Someone is doing something! Yah Hoo!!!! It’s a sign of hope! Hope for a better Yreka. I love progress! If anyone has the 411 on these goings ons, please let us know!

• Read More »

This was the little treasure that I picked up at Monte Bella Boutique in Mt. Shasta.  A very clever invention!  You use a little plastic ‘pen’ that has a magnet on the end of it to move the metal shavings to create all sorts of ‘hairy’ faces!  Oh my! This little toy is soooo much fun!  Surprisingly it takes a little practice to get the technique down.  What would you do to your face?  Here’s a small sampling of the faces I’ve made so far.

• Read More »

Last weekend I got to attend the Rock it for Darfur fundraiser. This was the senior project for Taylor Barrett of Yreka. Taylor showed a 15 minute video that outlined the issues in Darfur from the perspective of actual residents of Darfur. It was very touching.  After seeing the video, it is hard to not want to help these people who are suffering an outright genocide in Africa.

After the important matter of raising awareness for this issue, we moved on to the Guitar Hero competition and raffle drawing. I’ve never played Guitar Hero, so was a little shy about entering the contest; but I must say, it looks like a ton of fun!  All of the money raised at this event will be used to support the Save Darfur Coalition.

I’m so glad that we have such creative, intelligent, brave and globally minded youngsters in Siskiyou County. I’d like to wish all the best to the Yreka High School seniors that are working hard on their senior projects.

You were born an original. Don’t die a copy. - John Mason

• Read More »

Went to the Mile for a Child walk/run on Saturday. This event was created as a means of bringing awareness to child abuse. There were lots of participants and many information booths were set up along the track. Freebies and brochures were handed out to kids and grown ups.

I have to get this little tid bit in. A good majority of the booths were about nutrition and ironically the snack shack was selling coffee and donuts before the race and hamburgers and hot dogs after the race. Funny, huh? This is race preparation - maple bar!

These are a couple of the generous helpers at the event handing out free t-shirts to all the registered racers.

This is Taylor (center in pink) and her whole family. She designed the image that went on all the tote bags that were handed out at the end of the race. Nice work Taylor!

Kirk Andrus gave a great speech before the race.

He commented about the great weather and how it was a picture of how God feels about children. He spoke about how important it is to bring awareness of child abuse to our community. Siskiyou County’s child abuse statistics are much higher than national averages. That’s not good! He finished by expressing how the hard work that it will take to finish this race represents the hard work it takes to be a good parent. And with that the race was on!

And so is the race of parenting. SERENITY NOW! SERENITY NOW!

• Read More »