Casino Name Change

The Sherwood Valley Pomo Rancheria has the small Black Bart Casino on its land, which is now undergoing a name change to, simply, Sherwood Valley Casino. As with all American Indian gaming businesses, it provides important income for the local band or tribe, and can employ Pomos and non-Pomos alike.

For those unfamiliar with the name Black Bart, he was a legendary stagecoach robber in the late 1800s in northern California, accomplishing one such hold-up just on the other side of Ridgewood Summit, to the south of Little Lake Valley. That Wells Fargo stage happened to have Hiram Willits as a passenger that day. Charles Bolles, aka Black Bart, was a white man, so "black" didn't have racial significance, rather he adopted the name from a popular fictional character of the time. He eventually served time in San Quentin. I'm not really one for romanticizing criminals of any era, so I personally welcome this casino name change.

Abalone Ash Tray

Outside the front entrance to Anna's Asian House restaurant, guests may stub out their cigarettes in this carefully presented abalone shell.

Sport fishing of abalone is only allowed in California north of San Francisco, and there are strict limits on the number and size anyone can gather. The "bag limit" is only three a day, 24 a season. The edible part is the big foot muscle of this big flat snail, and it has a flavor something like scallops. The meat can be quite tough unless it's pounded thoroughly with a toothy kitchen mallet. My grandfather used to prepare them for us, but it was a rare treat. Because the resource is limited, no commercial sale of abalone is allowed.

Having said all that, there's hardly an old barn or farmhouse in this region that doesn't have a few of these "red" abalone shells around.

The Mortuary

There's one mortuary in town, Anker-Lucier, located on the corner of Commercial and School Streets. The red tile roof with white stucco is rare in this county, and reminds me of the Spanish Colonial Revival style found in more southerly parts of the state. There were a couple of Mexican land grants in Mendocino, but the Spanish era missions came no further north than Sonoma county.

I did not personally know Dave Tiller, but earlier this week he lost his long battle with pancreatic cancer. I do know that he was a police officer who touched many lives here in Willits, and his memorial will be this Saturday. Photos of a barbecue to raise funds for his treatment trips to San Francisco were posted here last June.

Dog Laws

This sign was posted all around the periphery of the cemetery. I suppose the neighboring properties have livestock, and when mourners bring their pets some conflicts ensue. Tucked away on this edge of the lot, the grave of an infant lies, long gone in 1910.

Information Age

It's a lot to take in all at once, even while traveling along Main Street/Highway 101 at the recommended 25 miles per hour. If you want to turn up Wood Street, you better know that you do, and are allowed, in advance of seeing these.

Feminine Mystique

Remarkably, the artist's signature on this mural indicates it was painted in 1977. The storefront facing the street is now a watch repair shop, so I had always assumed this beauty salon reference was just left up for the sake of the artwork. It wasn't until I walked around this side of Main Street today that I discovered Valerie's on the opposite side of the building, still an active business. I need to get out more.

Noyo Neon Detail

Thanksgiving and Christmas are big business at movie houses. With households full of gathered relatives, the food gets eaten, the games get played, then somebody gets designated to drive the younger ones to see a show. Film distributors schedule openings of selected films just for this occasion, to take advantage of ready-made packed houses. Three screens accommodate varied tastes at the Noyo cinema right here in Willits.

Christmas Shopping

This will be the weekend I try to get it all done. It really is nice to have a truly "general" store in town like J.D. Redhouse, that's locally owned (not a "chain", yet), and stocked with good quality inventory. You can drive away from here with everything from a bale of hay, a pony bridle, and birdseed, to a bath mat, boots, and a bra (or berry smoothie). But what to get Mom?

Local Drugs

I finally realized why the local Rexall affiliated pharmacy doesn't light this neon sign, even in the early hour of darkness of winter: much of the tubing is missing!

Other local drugs, of the outdoor sort, have been harvested for the season. Thanks to my favorite Humboldt county blogsister, Redheaded Blackbelt, I'm now aware that there was something of a regional harvest festival, with awards for the best produce, right here in Mendocino county very recently. Click here to learn about "sun bud" and related trends in green thinking.

Running Skunk?

After a long season of feeling neglected by the company that runs the Skunk Train, several Christmas trips were planned this weekend from the Willits Depot, and next weekend, and the week leading up to Christmas. The refurbished, but scantily used depot, now houses the offices of the local Chamber of Commerce.

Food Bank

I'm thankful I still have enough to be able to give, and to be graced by those who will receive it.

I'm so thankful that my mother is vibrant and thriving in her own home over closer to the ocean, happy to be self-sufficient and able to meet her daily needs among the splendors of nature, near the village of her upbringing. That's where I'll be visiting for the next couple of days, so I'll be out of reach of any computers. I wish health and contentment to all my blog visitors around the world. I'm thankful for you as well.

Locally Based Economics

The shop with two names, Cat's Meow/Trillium, keeps its banner, encouraging locally focused economics, up all year. A large portion of us own one of their "Willits" T-shirts, as displayed in the picture above. Mine's a nice, milk chocolate brown.

Colors have meaning and history all their own in different cultures. For a long time, red was the symbol of communism and labor and extreme leftist politics. But when Reagan became president, it was known that his wife's favorite color was red, and she used it in decorating and clothing. All through the 80s, it was fashionable for men to wear red ties with their business suits. Then the news agencies started using red to designate Republican victories on maps of the states of the US, during political campaigns. And because the US flag colors are red, white, and blue, the states favoring Democrats were colored blue, where not too many decades ago the liberals would have been pejoratively called "reds" or "pinkos" in keeping with the Communist use of the color.

Anyway, the red star on these shirts seems to impart more of an Old West feeling than any sympathy with Old Communism. It's more likely that, when I wear mine, I should have to explain that, 'No, really, I'm a Liberal!' The world keeps spinning.

Hometown Celebration #2: Lawyer, Miller, Veterinarian?

Across the street from the belly dancers, a band of known characters made music of a different sort in front of Ardella's. One of these days, I'm going to invest in a digital audio recorder to capture such things. There was a nice crowd listening to these folks, and rightly so.



Many thanks to Dido of Edinburgh for naming me Blogging Friend Forever. It is an embarrassment of riches to be noticed by such a fine photographer and witty writer, and she offers another sweet treat in the blogosphere.

May Peace Prevail

The United Methodist Church architecture is profoundly bland, but the welcome sign is out while the doors are open. A post near the entrance expresses hope for peace in six languages. I'm fairly sure that five of them are English, Spanish, Chinese, Hebrew, and Arabic. The sixth, to the left of the Arabic pictured below, has me stumped. Could it be Portuguese?

All Clear for Another Six Months

I went to the dentist last week for my twice yearly cleaning and yearly check-up. As often happens with me, I was in a hurry to not be late. And I could kick myself, because I forgot my camera. I almost never forget to take my camera when I leave the house, because I never know when I might encounter something interesting out there in wild, wild Willits. Naturally, there were all sorts of opportunities for good images, not the least being my digital x-rays on the dentist's computer screen. I'm happy to report that my oral health is ship-shape. And this picture of his office (a beautifully converted old residence) was taken on another day. Soon, the glorious shade of the walnut tree will be shed.

Lovely Surprises

Some readers of this blog may recall a post I did in August, where I finally scrambled after a horse and rider who I very often saw on weekends downtown, and was able to photograph a few times on its steady trek through our fair summer streets. Yet, the photo I really had in mind still eluded me.

It would be through the window of Ardella's Downtown Diner, as I had seen it so many times before, but passing too quickly to turn on the camera, frame the shot, hold still, and press the button, all in time for it to be directly opposite from me at the dining counter. I had told the diner owners, who had told the staff, what my vision entailed. So for months, they would share a chuckle every time the horse went by and I wasn't there, or even better, after I had just left. But I blogged what I got, and had pretty much forgotten about it.

Then, on a recent Sunday, I had finished my late breakfast and lingered over coffee even as the "Closed" sign was turned, and the table settings put away. The boss always keeps everything sparkling clean, and I suddenly noticed the interesting effect of the lights reflected on the black granite she had just wiped down. She has gotten used to me taking pictures of my food, or other people's food (yes, I ask first... mostly), so it was unremarkable that I was once again taking more pictures inside her establishment. The waitresses were tallying up their tickets and counting their tips and catching their final meals before heading home.

And then, like a miracle, the horse appeared, and I was ready. Completely unplanned, but there it was. We probably gasped, and said a few disbelieving "Nooooh"s. And as if to give me even more time, the horse balked as it started to pass, so the rider had to turn it back out of view before insisting that it proceed back to the south past our window. I snapped her riding away, thinking that would be as good a view as would be coming. But as she came back around, I tracked her progress with my viewfinder, saw her appear in the targeted window, and pressed the shutter button.

"I got it," I said. "I think I got it."

I never know for sure with any of my pictures if they turned out well on the spot, because I can't really make out the quality of the focus on the tiny screen on the camera. So the true test would be how it would look on my computer screen. I paid my tab, and hurried home.

The problem with pictures that are imagined is they usually can't be created by an amateur like me. The contrasting light between the outdoors and the indoors leaves you sacrificing one for the other, or compromising both. I could see that I got the shot, but realized the horse and rider didn't loom quite as large as I thought they would, and the signs and back window reflections interfered more than I anticipated, and the background was all overexposed. But when I looked at the photo before me, I adored it. Not for what was outside, but for what I wasn't even paying attention to on the inside. Not only had they cheered me on, but some of the staff were right there in my picture frame! Completely absorbed in the culmination of my quest, I was oblivious as they looked on in wonder, knowing how much I had wanted that moment! Their faces tell the story. That's why I love this shot.



Hi, my name's Elaine, and I'm a City Daily Photo Blogger. This is my town.

Miracle Mile #6: High Speed DSL

Another one of the typical motels on the southern strip of Main, the Holiday Lodge offers two amenities often demanded by travelers: a swimming pool, and free DSL connections for computer users.

I'm having computer problems, including browser function that comes and goes. If I don't get back to you, it means I've slipped out of cyberspace for the time being.

Heading Out

For everyone who is eager to know exactly where Willits is located, well, here are some clues. Mapquest tells me that Ghirardelli Square, in San Francisco, is 2 hours and 25 minutes from Ardella's in Willits. And because you will have to travel through Santa Rosa to get there, you may want to add ten or twenty minutes to that estimate. Ukiah is the Mendocino County Seat - headquarters for the government of our county. Distances in the US are still measured in miles, so that's what the numbers stand for. Heading north, in the upper picture, my photo isn't so clear. (I know, I could have gotten in closer on these, but then you lose context. Click the images to enlarge them.) Laytonville is 22 miles away, Eureka (a fabulous town, in my opinion) is 132 miles north, going through some lovely redwood parks, with Crescent City way up there at 216 miles away. Now you know. Willits awaits you.

Miracle Mile #5: Gribaldo's

I'm not sure how long Gribaldo's has been in Willits, but I would guess decades. They have an old fashioned steam table, all-you-can-eat buffet including scrambled eggs, sausage, fried potatoes, french toast, biscuits and gravy, if you're really starving. If you're looking for cowboys, a lot of them eat here. This also used to be the Greyhound bus stop, but it looks like the stop was moved across the street to McDonalds. I seem to recall that too many bus passengers were making the dangerous crossing to the fast food places on the other side, and getting hurt. At least the public telephone here has a dial tone.

Miracle Mile #4: Les Schwab Tire Center

This is a automobile tire chain store, found in most western US states. I confess, I used to watch some of those TV shows involving complete and outrageous renovations of junker cars, and would fantasize about choosing decorative modifications for myself. But no more such ideas for me, unless they make Green Freedom™ a reality really soon. Apparently the physics all checks out, but they haven't figured out how to make sure a few private entities get filthy rich on the research funded by public dollars yet. I'm sure they'll get that licked just as soon as all vast profits from every possible drop of oil have been concentrated in a few pockets first.

Okay, sorry. It's just a retread tire store. And it looks neat as a pin.