Mendocino mushrooms

I took a camping trip to Mendocino this past weekend (at and near Van Damme State Park). Hiking was great, including stunning coastal scenery, breaching whales, diverse and abundant mushrooms, and a pygmy forest. Pictures don't capture the beauty, but check them out below!

Dogfish Head Brewery

I recently took a tour of the Dogfish Head Brewery in Milton, DE. If you aren't familiar with this craft brewery, they make some seriously off-the-wall ales. Relatively new to the beermaking scene, their sales have really spread in the last decade. The tour was adequate, but I was a little underwhelmed as a homebrewer. I was hoping for a little more depth, but I suppose a personal tour would have been better for that. Also, I was looking forward to sampling some non-retailed or rare beers, but they served only four standard beers. Still, a fun tour at a brewery that is pushing the envelope of craft beermaking.













We also got a chance to see the famed Palo Santo wooden cask, which is used to age some unique beer. The New Yorker covered this interesting story here. I'd love to see Dogfish Head do some lagers, but that is another story.

Wonderful Davis and Midwestern nostalgia

I'm settling into Davis very well. Here, in no particular order, is a brief list of things I am enjoying:

1) Biking EVERYWHERE (and saving money on gas)
2) Farmers markets selling produce that is actually local
3) Having these at home again: a real table to eat on, big kitchen to cook in, and backyard to garden
4) Amazing housemates (and they cook!)
5) An incredibly professional, supportive, and welcoming graduate group
6) Big green trees
7) Friendly people and a slow way of life (despite the hustle of grad school)

On the other hand, I am waist-deep in grant writing season. :/ It would be nice to score some cash this year ... we will wait and see, wait and see.

In other news, I took at trip to my alma mater (Ohio State) recently. It was great to catch up with old friends - those that are still around town. I also had the chance to meet with some colleagues from my old lab. I felt nostalgic.















The campus looks great, too. Renovation of the main library is complete and the new student union is almost done. I felt nostalgic.















It rained the whole weekend, but what better representation of Columbus? I hadn't sat and listened to a thunderstorm in over a year. I felt nostalgic... but in a good way. :)

The Odyssey

I've just returned from The Odyssey. Sounds intense, right? The Odyssey is a week-long extended orientation field trip for new ecology students at UC Davis, with the goals of introducing us to field stations, research opportunities, and each other. We packed up into 6 vans and drove east. First stop: Tahoe Environmental Research Center for a tour of Lake Tahoe. Oh and I started out in the "Mario Van," which included built-in Super Mario Bros. 3 for the entertainment factor. The slogan, "Keep Tahoe Blue," has a lot of truth to it. Because the watershed is so small compared to the vast size of the lake, the water is clear and a surreal shade of blue.














We spent the night at Sage Hen Natural Reserve and were off to Mono Lake the next day. Mono Lake is like something from another planet. It is super salty, but alkaline (it feels oily like soap). Not much can live in this environment, mostly brine shrimp and alkali flies. Washed up along the shoreline are piles upon piles of fly pupae casings. Hungry yet? However, the lake does have some redeeming values. Tall carbonate deposits, called 'tufas,' can be found here. Also, Mono Lake acts as critical resting and feeding habitat for migratory shorebirds. Nearly all of the migrating shorebirds in North America stop here for lunch.



















The TAs wore costumes the whole trip, which lightened the mood and was an integral part of the experience. Vans had themes... Big Lebowski, Derek Zoolander's Derelicte Campaign, Mario & Luigi, etc. Pink day and costume dance parties were absolutely wild. Acting ridiculous is a great way to get to know someone!





















We next visited the Sierra Nevada Aquatic Research Lab, or SNARL (nice acronym, huh?). Late night activities included hot springs, which I had never experienced before. It was pretty incredible. A series of pools provided a gradation of heat to suit your taste.

We visited Rock Creek and Inyo National Forest for a bit of hiking, although a few people fly fished instead (catching lake trout mostly). During the hike to Mono Pass (10,599 ft) we went for a dip in Ruby Lake, which is snowmelt-fed. I lasted about a minute. The vistas of mountains and high-elevation forests were unbelievable. Until now, I hadn't done much exploring at this elevation, among such striking mountains.






























We continued to gain elevation, exploring the bristlecone pines in the alpine tundra of the White Mountains. The geology and biology of this region is, of course, breathtaking. Bristlecones grow very slowly at high elevation, resulting in incredibly dense wood. They are thought to be among the oldest organisms on the planet (some perhaps 5,000 years old). Even the dead trees are beautiful, since decomposition occurs so slowly at elevation. Small lichens growing on rocks are typically thousands of years old, as well.





















Finally we reached the ultimate goal of The Odyssey: climbing White Mountain (14,254 ft). The hike started at about 12,000 ft and is roughly 5 miles each way. But, the climb is "up-down-up-down-up" and with the thin air was intense. It is remarkable how low oxygen kills performance. We first five up the mountain made it in under 2 hours - respek! Lunch and nap on the warm roof of the summit building was a necessity before the return hike. The next day, on the drive back to Davis, we stopped by Yosemite for lunch.













In every way, this was an amazing trip. Definitely full of memories that I will cherish. More amazing than the stunning sights and exciting activities were the 50 new friends I made. In meeting all these new people, I am really looking forward to a year at Davis. :) It is going to be hard to leave.

Whirlwind

The summer has flown by yet again. In May I could see it all outstretched in front of me, but now feels like it passed in an instant. Why does summer seem particularly fleeting? I have been making some moves since my last post 3 weeks ago. I took the train to L.A. to visit an old friend. The train ride sports spectacular views...















... and is reasonably priced compared to Northeast counterparts. The first stop off the train? World-famous Roscoe's Chicken and Waffles, naturally! What's that you say? Never heard of this combination? Well... neither had I, to be honest. But man, it goes together like scrapple and eggs!















We visited the Venice Beach an Santa Monica farmer's markets, both funky scenes. I avoided Hollywood as much as possible (OK, we drove by...). The San Fernando Spanish Mission and Griffith Observatory/Planetarium were both cool and educational. The Mission had some very old maps of the west coast, some suggesting that the entirety of California was actually an island. Fascinating!

















Back to San Diego and off to D.C. for a wild weekend with Rucas! I visited the Air and Space Museum and Smithsonian Natural History Museum, places I haven't been since I was a kid. I continue to be amazed. I joined my cousins at Comet Ping Pong, where they specialize in sustainable ingredients, novel pizzas (soft-shell crab, clam, eggplant...), and, um, ping pong? Nothing like losing to someone who's age is in the single digits... dang. My trip wasn't complete without a visit to Ben's Chili Bowl for artery-clogging goodness (the chili half-smoke is out of this world!). Mmm, I can feel my right arm getting numb just thinking about it.
















I've had some very good friends from high school visit San Diego. We cruised up to Del Mar for horse racing and free live music (reggae legend Steel Pulse). They went to the zoo, SeaWorld, and San Diego's beautiful beaches. Of course before, they left, I had to take them to In-N-Out Burger for some serious West Coast eats.















In other news, I finally started some of my own field work in the late summer. I've got a small pilot study started, which is good because I'll be land-locked for 9-12 months. Lets hope for some good data. I'll be leaving for Davis early next week. Between traveling and showing friends around town, I'm starting to realize that I will miss San Diego. Davis should be very, very cool, but I think I'll be happy to come back in 2010.

Trip back East

I took a short vacation and flew to Delaware for a few days. There were lots of outdoorsy activities, such as visiting Longwood Gardens, hiking at the Laurel Preserve, and canoeing the Brandywine River. Here are a few pictures:












































































































I also went to see Wilco at Frawley Stadium. They do a really good live performance. I got my fix on a lot of my East Coast favorites which are scarce here in Southern California, including scrapple and eggs, big green forests, and rivers with moving water! I got to see a lot of family at my uncle's 70th birthday party. Plenty of good people in this bunch, both the young...





















...and the young-at-heart.





















There is whole roast pig at said party? Why, yes, I would be interested in that! Turns out that pig cheek really is delicious, but I prefer snout.