SEED - Science is Culture

I've been reading the monthly periodical SEED since it came out and look forward to its articles that blend the multi- disciplines of Science with our lives and society. The articles are extremely readable and the 'look and feel' of SEED is beautifully designed.

In the recent September 2006 issue there is a fascinating article on the impact of AIDS over the last twenty five years ago. The magazine also has interviews, current science research, elegant photographs and amazing illustrations of the natural world.

I particluarly liked the article How We Know by the Editor at Large, Jonah Lehrer on the relevance of how one learns by doing things. He sights how an Algebra class in Cambridge, MA, the success of Toyota and a classical musician are inextricably linked.

Enjoy Seed online, but try to get in the newsstand, the print piece is a pleasure to leaf through.

The Sierra’s Best Kept Secret

Sierra Club Clair Tappaan Lodge Offers Three Hots & A Cot


7000 feet above sea level, hidden in the mountains where the Donner Party perished, is one of the Sierra's best-kept secrets. Built in the 1930s by volunteers, the Sierra Club’s Clair Tappaan Lodge is a throwback to simpler times.

In the winter you won’t find lift lines here. In fact you won’t find any lifts. But you can strap on your cross country skis and go skiing right out the back door, up into the high country overlooking the Emigrant Pass. The lodge rents cross country skis and snowshoes. A shuttle bus stops out front and will take downhill skiers to a number of ski runs in the area including Boreal and Sugar Bowl.

In the summer, the Clair Tappaan Lodge offers easy access to world-class mountain biking. Hard core bikers can test themselves on the Hole In The Ground Trail, or drive into Tahoe and spend the day riding around the lake on the death defying Flume Trail. For bikers just getting their legs under them, the nearby Emigrant Basin Trail that leads to Prosser Lake and Stampede Reservoir is a great choice. Gentle rollers and fairly level terrain make this a great 20-mile out and back ride. Road bikers who head out on a weekday will have these roads almost all to themselves.

Other summertime activities include hiking and backpacking the Pacific Crest Trail, which runs nearby, rafting and kayaking down the nearby Truckee River, and exploring the abandoned rail tunnels. Generations of bay area parents have introduced their kids and their grandkids to skiing, frostbite, and a love of the outdoors here. Programs include outings for bikers, hikers, yoginis, and bluegrass aficionados.

Sound good? It gets better. For approximately $50 bucks (if you are a member of the Sierra Club) you get three meals a day, along with a place to sleep. Meals are served camp style at long tables. A recent dinner featured grilled Talapia, pasta primavera, salad and ice cream. Breakfast is hearty: oatmeal, French toast, cereal and fruit. Lunch is sandwiches which you fix yourself, stuff in a sack, and take with you for your day’s outing. A library contains old journals and daybooks (Ansel Adams slept here!) and a common room is equipped with kids games, a piano, and an enormous fireplace.

Be warned: The Clair Tappaan Lodge is Spartan. If prisoners lived like this, 60 Minutes would do an expose. The rooms are so small you have to open a window just to change your mind. And unheated. Bring a sleeping bag and your sense of humor. Check your attitude at the door. It’s all in a good cause.

Directions:
From the bay area, drive East on Interstate 80 approximately 3 hours. Exit at Norden/Soda Springs. Drive 2.4 miles east on Donner Pass road. The lodge is at 19940 Donner Pass Rd. Look for the sign slightly up the hill on your left and the wide footpath leading up to the Lodge. Parking is available on either side of the road.

--
Sam McMillan

A trail with beer at the end of it

The Nature Friends Chalet, Mill Valley, CA

A hot, sunny day. You walk a mile through a redwood forest extending up the flanks of Mt Tamalpais. The trail is quiet, carpeted with fallen leaves that muffle your steps. In less than an hour of walking the level trail you come around a bend, and out of the redwoods appears a European style mountain chalet that looks like Hansel and Gretel won the lottery. Welcome to the Nature Friends Alpine Club, where you can sit on the deck, admire the sweeping panorama of the Pacific and Muir Woods, and, even better, order a pint of cold, handmade lager. Yes, these redwoods come with their own brewery!

If you are smart you packed a lunch, which you can enjoy while taking in the stunning view. If you are lucky, you timed your hike for a weekend when the Friends of Nature are getting down with their gemutlicht selves.

The third Sunday of May, July, and September the Nature Friends hire a traditional Bavarian polka band, and literally roll out the barrel. The air is thick with polkas, redolent with grilling knockwurst, and the dance floor is crowded with lederhosen-wearing waltzers. Like the beer, the food is homemade and fresh. Admission for the alpine festivals is $15, otherwise access to the Nature Friends chalet is free.

Directions:
From 101:
Take HWY 1 toward Muir Woods/Stinson Beach
Go approximately 2 miles.
Turn right at fork, on Panoramic Hwy, toward Mt Tam.
In approx 1 mile you will intersect with the Dipsea Trail on the right and the Sun Trail on the left. Park and take the Sun Trail to the Alpine Club. This is a mostly exposed hike through the rolling headlands overlooking the Pacific. You can continue driving another half-mile to Mtn Home. Park in the lot on the left. Walk south on the Panoramic Trail (back the way you came) and turn right on the Redwood Trail. Follow the Redwood Trail to the Alpine Club. You can download a crappy photocopied PDF of trails around the Alpine Club, and click on the Muir Woods National Monument Trail Map link.

From customs to paradise in 20 minutes

Costa Rica is a small country filled to the brim with huge natural wonders. You can climb a rain forest canopy, bathe in hot lava waterfall overlooking a volcano, white water raft a wild river or sit back on a glistening beach by a mighty ocean or a calm blue sea. The people of Costa Rica (Tica's) are truly appreciative of their country and ecosystem. It is this balance between the man-made and the natural that makes this country so memorable and a constant return visit. There are so many wonderful excursions in Costa Rica for all types of experiences, but one special one is Xandari as it is the perfect entry into this tropical paradise.

So lets face it, it's a hassle to fly. From the constant herding, and the schlepping and the waiting in long custom lines -- it's refreshing to step through customs at San Jose,Costa Rica's airport and be whisked away to an exotic oasis in less then 20 minutes. Nice.

Xandari is made up of 21 private villas, secluded on a organic coffee plantation overlooking the Central Valley of Costa Rica, only minutes from the Airport. Sherrill and Charlene Broudy, Xandari's innovative owners, hail from California. They have used their creativity and skills as an architect and fine artist team to create a unique resort that is a stunning balance of luxury and the natural.

There are wonderful views, a spa for fitness, yoga and massage, a delicious restaurant and lounge, botanical gardens, a lap pool and nature trails to hidden waterfalls.

Beyond the public spaces are the well detailed rooms that combine design with comfort. Xandari can be appreciated as a family destination or a quiet place for intimacy. We generally stay at Xandari for a day or so to adjust and then we return the night before we leave San Jose. It bookends the trip. For a truly wonderful memory the rates are worth it. So, if you want to jump into your vacation I recommend this delicious kickstart for your next visit to Costa Rica.

Enjoy.


Steven '

All the necessary details are on the website Xandari -- which if you were curious is a made up name from the imagination of the owners.

Timeless Noble View

There are certain places in my life that transcend the physical. Those places that bore deep within to unlock hidden chambers in my heart and mind. Noble View is one of those places that has made my life better. My father took our family to Noble View in Russell, MA for an unassuming, reasonable vacation spot when I was an 14 yr. old kid. Since that visit over 35 years ago, I have taken my family and close friends to this unassuming jewel in the Western Massachusetts woods for fun, contemplation, celebration and spiritual re-charging.

What makes Noble View so special is its timelessness. It harkens back to an earlier time when it was a 19th century gentleman's farm owned by the Noble family. Years later, the farm, the trails and the lodgings were taken over by the Appalachian Mountain Club (AMC). In many ways it has retained a charm from times gone by.

The accommodations are sparse, clean and rustic. There is sense of Thoreau and New England charm deeply rooted in the feeling of Noble View. One can camp or stay in the farm house, the double cottage or the north cottage.

Over the years we have gathered to celebrate large family Thanksgivings, spent memorable weekends with friends toasting marshmallows at blazing campfires and taken awesome side trips to TangleWood to catch an outdoor concert of Beethoven.


Beyond group activities, Noble View is a natural and rural setting. There are gentle and vigorous trails, distant views, waterfalls, delicious swimming dips and ample places for romantic moments. Enjoy Russell Pond just down the way or take a 45 minute ride to Northampton, MA to get some great food and take an outdoor hot tub at East Heaven Hot Tubs, or visit the many Berkshire cultural excursions in Lenox, Stockbridge or Great Barrington.

Noble View has recently gone through some changes due to legal issues with the AMC. They have updated the road, rebuilt the double cottage, met fired code safety regulations and I think changed their policy for cooking. Noble View is lit by gaslight and the water is gathered from the well. Also the bathroom facilities are eco-friendly outhouses. So consider that this place is not the Four Seasons.

Change is inevitable and I remember visits when your stay was based on an honor system where you left $2.10 a night in an envelope in a rusty metal mailbox on your way out. Although times have changed there is still a great of joy to experience at Noble View.

Please make sure that you contact the Noble View Chair, Gary Forish via email before you go unless you are a key holder and a member of the AMC. Gary Forish is a good guy who talks a lot about the mission of keeping Noble View sustainable and a place not spoiled by the masses. In my last visit a year ago, I still feel Noble View is a jewel ( a bit tarnished by time and modern regulations) for those who enjoy the rustic, unspoiled and fragile things in life.

Check out the Noble View journal in the roll top desk and you will see many of my entries written down over the years.

Enjoy.

Steven

DIRECTIONS: (A bit tricky so keep your eyes open.)

From the north and south:

Route 91 to Exit 14 (Mass Turnpike West to Exit 3).
Then follow directions for "from the east and west" below.
From the east and west:
Mass Pike West to Exit 3 (Westfield).
Thru the tollbooth and take a right - South on Route 10 & 202 into Westfield to Athenaeum (1.7 miles).
At the Athenaeum (a library), Westfield Common (a park) will be on your left; turn right onto Court Street (Route 10 & 202).
Route 10 & 202 takes a left in front of Woronoco Bank, but you continue straight ahead (not on 10 & 202).
Court Street becomes Western Avenue and passes Stanley Park on the left and Westfield State College on the right.
Continue straight ahead at the fork on Western Ave (3.0 miles from the Athenaeum). Do not turn right at the fork onto what appears to be the main road (Bates Road).
Cross Northwest Road and start up the mountain on General Knox Road.
Follow General Knox Road and turn left onto South Quarter Road at the historic General Knox marker. (2nd road on the left once you start up the mountain, 3.2 miles from the fork.)
Follow South Quarter Road to the AMC and Noble View sign on the left (1.2 miles from General Knox road).
Go through the gate and up the two-lane dirt road until you reach the facility.
Please drive slowly on the driveway to the buildings. Hikers and visitors may be walking on the road. Please be courteous to our neighbors while driving on South Quarter Road - proceed slowly.
Note: Some of the street signs may not be visible. The sign on the corner of Western Ave. and Bates Rd., however, can be seen.

Shepherdstown, WVA

It’s West Virginia for Yuppies.


And if you know West Virginia, where the state flower is a satellite dish and the state vitamin is oxycontin, you’ll take that as a high compliment.

The emotional center of the town is Sheperd University, formerly a women’s college. Downtown is actually a real downtown with narrow brick sidewalks, houses that date back to the 1780s, and Odd Fellows, Mason Halls, and old bank buildings that are quickly finding new uses as theaters, galleries and white-table-clothed restaurants. It’s possible to get handmade bakery goods, local wines (caveat empty), and decent coffee served to you by baroquely tattooed art majors. You can walk through downtown in less than an hour.


Shepherdstown is built high on a hill overlooking the Potomac River, about an hour and a half drive north of DC. Culturally, the town boasts the American Theater Festival, the Goose Route Dance Festival, and first run art-house movies. The college brings in events that West Virginian’s wouldn’t otherwise encounter. You are short car rides away from Harper’s Ferry, and civil war battlefields Antietam and Gettysburg. Walk across the Potomac on highway 230 and drop down to the C&O canal towpath. A flat, level dirt trail leads through lush forests along a canal that once hauled goods by barge to Cumberland, MD. Today it serves for hiking and easy biking. If you are up for it, you could even ride your bike from Washington to Shepherdstown – it’s a doable 75 miles.

The river offers great small mouth bass fishing. Use spinners or bass bugs on a fly rod in the summer and wade in the shallows near the old train trestles. Tubing, kayaking, canoeing are easy here where the river runs clean and lazy. A perfect place to spend a hot summer day.

Directions:
Take I-70 West from DC. In Frederick, pick up 340 West, cross the Potomac, pass Harpers Ferry and turn right on HWY 230. Follow 230 into Shepherdstown.

--sm

A Moment in Wine Country

The Italian poet, Ceasar Pavese said we do not remembers days, we remember moments. Quivira Vineyards, Healdsburg, CA marks the moment when Sam, Ed and I toasted our commitment to onthelist. Quivira is a familiar place as it marks the denouement of our annual pilgrimages of wine tasting, hot tubing and soulful re-collections.

The setting at Quivira Vineyards seduces inspiration. One feels the passion of folks who truly care about nature, the art of wine and the joys of being human. We particularly like the 2002 Zinfandel. Bring along fresh sandwiches from the nearby Oakville Grocery, and your picnic on the patio overlooking fields of organic grapes is a moment worthy of a toast.

We toasted onthelist as a way of sharing our collection of personal experiences. Those special places that beckon smiles, of hearing a child laugh, the feelings of being overwhelmed by nature, as well as the intimacy of remembering a deep kiss, a simple meal, the irreverant, the just plain neat, and our shared joy of finding the unusual.

Onthelist is not high style a la Conde Nast. But just three guys who have collected a lifetime of savory moments.

Enjoy. For more moments and stories.

Steven


Directions:

From SF:

Follow US-101 North approximately 67 miles until you reach Healdsburg.
Take the third Healdsburg exit: "Dry Creek." Turn left at the exit onto Dry Creek Road. Follow Dry Creek Road for about 3 miles, then turn left (at the first stop sign) onto Lambert Bridge Road (the General Store will be at the crossroads on your right). You will cross Lambert Bridge. After a little less than 1 mile, make a right onto West Dry Creek Road. Quivira is about 1/3 of a mile down the road on the right hand side.