My first entry was a year and a bit ago, and I find myself back at Burney falls.  Last tuesday I decided to go on vacation.  I normally take a trip in the fall somewhere.  Last year was the midwest, and for several years before I went to the eastern sierras.  This year I decided to do a grand loop of western national parks. No, Burney isn’t a national park, its a state park.

I got a lateish start on Saturday leaving the Bay Area.  Remembering things that I needed at the last minute and then adding them to the car.  I was originally thinking large format too, but I couldn’t find my film holder and the extra bag would be another extra bag in a very packed car.

First I couldn’t find my 72mm and 77mm lee rings.  So I went to the camera store and got them.  After I left I realized that the last time I had my cameras was in Japan – I didn’t take my tripod there, so I didn’t have my Bogen hex plates (the RC0 type).

Then I was about to get into San Francisco and I realized I only had one memory card – oops!  So I quickly parked, and then went to the apple store – only SD memory.  Down the block to Radio Shack, no memory in stock.  Up the block and over to Office Depot and got 2x 4gb cards.  Phew.

Traffic on 80 wasn’t that fun either.  Once I got onto 505 though, it was clear driving all the rest of the way.  The Geo Metro I have is getting 42 mpg with a heavy load.

I got into Burney about 30 minutes before sun set, so quickly found a spot and set up my tent, then went back to pay the fee.  It will be three nights here – two more now.  Next time, if I get in and sites are not at a premium (like they are in July) I’ll try to remember to request a spot with power.  Makes working with a laptop easier.

First night’s dinner I didn’t want to do too much for – it was a peppered steak dish in a bag.  Forgot to stir it, but wasn’t too critical.  The issue with it again is the high sodium level.  It was 52%  Bit high.

And there’s thunder rolling.  Either that or a big RV, but since it just showered, I’ll call it thunder.  I’ll get back to that once I catch up.  There it is again, yep, thunder.

The tent I have is an REI quarter dome 3 man tent.  It is a good sized mesh tent – very light… lighter than any other tent I’ve had. 

The low last night was 37 F (3 C for the metric types).  A bit snug.  I’ve got a thermarest inflatable mattress, then an army blanket and then my sleeping bag.  Tonight I’m pulling out another army blanket.  For comparison, the high today was probably in the mid 70s;

Burney is more photogenic in the fall than in the summer.  In the summer I have to wait until late afternoon to get the falls evenly light.  Today they were always in the shade.  I don’t have to wait.

Late afternoon, it started clouding up, so I started heading back.  Mother nature decided I needed a shower.  Or someone here did.

So, now I sit in my car.  The shower stopped and the sun is out again (at least for a bit – it is 6:03 now and sunset is at 7:09 – civil twilight ends at about 7:36).  Fewer rumblings of thunder in the distance.  Some planes and just now a helicopter went by.  I suspect they are just following the storm and making sure no forest fires have started.

(some time later)

Looking at the photos I’ve imported I need to clean the dust off the sensor and reshoot some of them for digital.  At least I know my film frames don’t have dust problems.

•  N 41.01637
• W 121.64933
• Elevation 2955 feet
• Max Elevation 4290 feet
• Trip Odometer: 322 miles
• Odometer: 322 miles