The Church of the Open Road Press

Narratives about motorcycling on Northern California's back roads; Reflections on the history and geography of the North State; Memoirs and early recollections of youthful visits to towns and forests and mountaintops. Also middle-of-the-road takes on current issues in politics and education. Middle of the road? Isn't that dangerous?

Wednesday, June 30, 2010

THOUGHTS FROM THE BORDER CAFÉ: NEVADA-UTAH STATE LINE - US 50

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I SUSPECT THE UTES still inhabit the deep reaches of the arroyos sweeping down from the peaks of heaven. I suspect they’re still up there –...

EUREKA, NEVADA - EAST TO ELY: US 50

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"So this is where God decided to put the west.”  - John Wayne to director John Ford upon seeing Monument Valley, 1938. WELL, MR. WAY...

MY KINGDOM FOR A CINNAMON ROLL: I-80 - TRUCKEE, CA

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FIRST, THEY MAKE YOU PAY TO PARK, which is really okay because the parking fees support really fine restroom facilities in the Chamber of Co...
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Saturday, June 12, 2010

SEARCHING FOR SIMPSON CAMP - A VISIT WITH ELLIE SIMPSON

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“There’s history all over these hills – some of it people know, some of it they don’t.” He didn’t move. “I wonder about that.” “About wh...
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Monday, June 7, 2010

HAZARDS FOUND IN THE MIDDLE OF THE ROAD - LOWELL HILL, NEVADA COUNTY

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IT IS THE RARE CASE that I take a fellow rider with me while attending the Church of the Open Road. In solitude, I can hear the message, se...
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Saturday, June 5, 2010

On Backtracking - The Trip Home from Green Island Lake

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MORE THAN A HALF MY LIFETIME AGO, I hiked in to one of the hidden gems of the northern Sierra for a little camping and fishing. I’d never c...
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Thursday, May 27, 2010

FOUR DAYS UNTIL JUNE – CLIMATE CHANGE IN THE NEIGHBORHOOD

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IT IS FOUR DAYS UNTIL JUNE and a winter storm advisory has been posted for the foothills twelve miles east of here. Snow level down to 3,00...
Wednesday, May 26, 2010

TUCKED IN AND COZY – TOURATECH WINDSCREEN SPOILER PRODUCT REVIEW

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I HAVE A HANDICAP. I’m tall. Six foot four, to be exact. Not tall and good looking. Just tall. I bump my head on the rafter inside the...
3 comments:
Thursday, May 20, 2010

ELIZABETH GILBERT on GENIUS

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ELIZABETH GILBERT speaks about genius. Genius, she says, is not embodied in a person who does something nonpareil. It is not a gift that s...
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Wednesday, May 12, 2010

SEARCHING FOR SIMPSON CAMP - OFF MENDOCINO “FH 7”

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IN THE LATE SIXTIES, back when I was in high school, every Memorial Day Weekend, we’d journey to a place in the Coast Ranges called Simpson ...
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About Me

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Bumpa
Maps. Some of the best stories one encounters one encounters by reading a map. A map is the framework - the outline - upon which both history and fantasy are crafted. Just as two people can witness an event and come up with entirely different recollections - each completely true, verifiable and accurate - two people can travel the same mapped route and come up with entirely different stories. But without the map, perhaps they'd have no story to tell. Some of the best anthologies in my library are stuffed in my map case.
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