Scott Valley music

We went out to Callahan in the Scott Valley on Wednesday to see SV resident David Waymire who builds custom guitars. David grew up in the Valley and has been playing music since his school days (not that long ago in his case). He’s been building guitars for about a year and a half under the label Old Etna Guitars, creating his own designs, like the Bolivar Baby Jumbo. He prides himself on shaping the neck specifically to the hand of his client, and he’s heard back that his guitars are very comfortable to play. He’s using some exotic woods, like rosewood and ebony on the sides and backs, with Cali woods: western red cedar and redwood, for the top panel. It takes him 2-3 weeks to build a guitar. He’s currently experimenting with organic finishes, so the process will get quicker as he gets those products dialed in.

David’s in a band called The Sundown Poachers with another local boy – Johnny Callahan, who plays one of his guitars. The band plays regularly at the Etna Brewery (530.467.5277) – home of the Old Grind porter and Etna Rootbeer – on Thursday nights during the summer and at the Callahan Emporium. The band is also playing gigs in the Mt. Shasta area, with some unplanned appearances lately at the Billy Goat Tavern.

The Scott Valley is big on music, with plenty of its citizens playing together and some reaching beyond their local setting into the greater music world. In the summer they come together to celebrate with the Scott Valley Bluegrass Festival in July. This year’s event, from July 19-20, will include Carrie Hassler and Hard Rain, The Anderson Family Band, Alhambra Valley Band and the Piney Creek Weasels. It all kicks off in downtown Etna on Friday night with the “Jammin’ on Main” event from 6-9pm where anyone who brings an instrument can play. Some of the bands join in, so you can play with musicians you’ll be watching on stage the next day. It’s a low-key, family-friendly festival set under the old oak trees of the City Park, and well worth the visit. Plus, it’s a great excuse to visit the Scott Valley, a real through back to rural living.

To learn more about visiting the Scott Valley, use our website at www.visitsiskiyou.org.

Friday for beginners

Friday evening marks the beginner road ride with the Shasta Pedali, our local cycling club. Our buddy Paul Engstrom started the Friday evening ride as a way to welcome beginners who might be a little intimidated by the speed or distance of the regular Tuesday evening group ride. So if you’re new to cycling and looking to ride with a mellow group, this is for you. I checked it out a couple of weeks ago and the group was heading up South Fork to first bridge, with each of the riders setting a comfortable pace for themselves. It got me super excited to go road riding – the big, soft tire on my full suspension mountain bike just won’t do for this kind of ride, so now I’m lusting after a road bike.

To join the ride, bring your bike, some water and proper clothing, to the Fish Hatchery parking lot in Mt. Shasta on Friday evenings at 5:30pm. I’m not sure if they ride in any weather (like today’s somewhat misting rain), so you might want to call ahead to Paul at 925.1001.

The Pedali holds its regular Tuesday evening ride, which includes shorter distances, then they really turn loose on the Saturday ride. Generally the Saturday ride has varying distances, so you can start with a shorter ride before you decide to pound it out on the long rides that sometime include very challenging climbs.  Check out their schedule for the 2008 rides at www.shastapedali.com.

Ride on!

stoked to go running

I am stoked to go running. Spring time does that to me – it’s not so cold when I go out in the morning, some of the mid-elevation trails are starting to melt out and I keep thinking about the days of summer when the ridge line trails will be clear and beautiful. I’m also thinking about all of the running events coming up in Siskiyou County.

Events on tap for Siskiyou County running –

May 31st – Etna Dash & Slash
at Etna City pool: 10k, 5k, and 1 mile. 8 am start
$25 for 10k, $20 for 5k, $15 for 1 mile.
Contact Sarah at 467-5256 for more info & reg.
Ask her about other running events out in Etna,
this is something new this summer.

June 14th: The Great Wild Goose Chase in Yreka
following the route of the Yreka Steam Train, with
a free train ride back into town for competitors.
10k run, 2m run/walk, 10k bike race
for gossling, goose & gander divisions.
$20 per person or $15 per family
member before May 30th.
7:30am start.

July 4th – Annual Mt. Shasta 4th of July Run –
5m run, 2m youth run & 2m run/walk
through the city and out onto country roads.
Great views and celebratory atmosphere.
Parade in reverse for walkers
includes treats and performers.
$20 before June 27th. Join
in a North State running tradition!
www.mtshastarunners.com
to register online. 8 am start.

July 12th – Top of the State
in Weed – 5m & 2m run.
call Tami at 938.1293 for info.

• If you’re from out of the area (even if that’s just Redding or Medford), you can get helpful running info and trail ideas from our new running beta pdf.

is that a sand dune or a horseback?

We had a great time this Saturday at the opening of the Mimi Plumb photography show at the Rostel Gallery in Dunsmuir. Plumb’s large photos play tricks on the eye – is that a sand dune, or a horseback? I won’t tell you, but many folks at the show were asking that same question.

The Rostel is set in a wonderful, intimate little space in one of Dunsmuir’s historic red brick buildings. The show is nestle into a quiet room separated from the rest of the gallery by a wall of windows. With the crowd at the opening flowing out onto the sidewalk there were times when the gallery space was crowded, and other times when it was pleasantly muted, with sounds drifting in from the crowd outside.

Plumb’s work will be on display through May and June, with Bill Owen’s show going up on July 5th. The Rostel also hosts photography workshops, with the next featuring the alternative process work of Brian Taylor. Check out the gallery and the Noda Rickard Center for Photographic Arts for more info and event calendar. The gallery is generally open Fri, Sat & Sun afternoons.

Art lovers, and in this case, horse lovers, should stop in to see this intriguing show. Forgot what I’ve told you about horsebacks, and just go in to let your mind and your eye take in the shapes, textures, colors and the sweeping sense of landscape. The Rostel is just down the street from Cafe Maddalena, the Brown Trout Gallery and Cafe and Cornerstone Cafe, so you’ve got lots of great options for dining when you visit.  For more info about lodging, dining and things to do in Dunsmuir, go to our home page at VisitSiskiyou.org to learn more about this beautiful North State community.