2014...This is the End!!!

It's New Year's Eve...

...the end of a grand year....and the end of our "Grand Adventure" in 

Mammoth Lakes, CA.

Yesterday was TheChief's last day as Chief of Mammoth Lakes...

 in a week we celebrate his time as Chief with members of his department,

the town, friends, and family...

...and then, we will make our final move south.

It truly has been a "Grand Adventure"!

 The Town of Mammoth Lakes is indeed, a very special place....

and will always have a very special place in our hearts.

We love you Mammoth Lakes and will miss you greatly!!!

(Oh...and by the way...TheChief will still be TheChief,

and I will still be TheChieftess...

some things don't have to change!!!)

Hope you all have a beautiful and Happy New Year!!!

PS...

TheChief was especially good to me this year on my birthday...

he heard my complaints about how heavy my big Nikon was while traveling...

  and couldn't miss my hints of what I wanted...

so today's photo is the first posting of a pic taken with my new

Fuji XT1, with 18-135mm interchangeable lens!!!

It's mirrorless, and feels feather weight compared to my giant Nikon!!!

I haven't quite figured it out yet...but I'm working on it!!!

  

Here are a couple more pics...

So what do you think???

It's Not Long Now...

Mammoth Lakes Mayor Jo Bacon presented 'TheChief'

...aka...Mammoth Lakes Police Chief, Dan Watson...

with a commemorative plaque for his 4 1/2 years of service to Mammoth Lakes...

On December 30th, TheChief will turn over the reins to Chief Al Davis,

formerly a Commander in the Ventura Police Department.

...and on to a new chapter in life!!!

(That's Councilman Shields Richardson in the background 

giving TheChief the thumbs up!!!)

Guess What We Did Last Month???

"Toto...I have a feeling we're not in Kansas anymore..."
Dorothy, The Wizard of Oz, Frank Baum

Stay tuned...

for another episode of 

"Our Little Corner of the World expanded!!!"

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Our Little Corner of the World...

Just one of the "little" reasons we're moving back down south!!!

Grandpa coming to the rescue...

One happy little cyclist!!!

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Starlight, Starbright...

Just dropping in to say "Hello"!!!

Hope you're having a great weekend!!!

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Sometimes You Just Do What You've Got To Do...

Sometimes...

all you've got is your cell phone!

Sunset over Pismo Beach, Labor Day Weekend...

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Getting Connected Again!!!

Just a little post to show y'all 

that I'm finally getting my computer and Lightroom

back on track!!!

Still on hiatus while getting settled...

still visiting Mammoth upon occasion...

although TheChief's been coming down to Glendale more often...

I'll check back in every now and then until I'm ready to rock 'n roll again...

Have a good weekend!!!

Reflections in Beauty...

I admit it...

...these reflections aren't exactly what James is looking for in Weekend Reflections...

But a little light reflecting off the mountains...

...and light reflecting off the water count don't they???

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Gotta go back to Glendale and get that gnarly painting started on the house...

See you later!!!

Another Eastern Sierra Sunset...

The other day...when I was leaving KMart in Bishop...

I was entranced by the cloud formations...

(actually...I had to take a pic of the face...can you see it???)

There's been a fire burning on the other side of our mountain range

since I've been back up in Mammoth...

so the haze is from the smoke...
(it's also been cloudy which kept the smoke at bay...and today...clear as a Sierra bell!!!)

Just another sunset in the Eastern Sierras...

 

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Dare I say it???

...I've been driving for _2 years...

(Now...did you really think I'd fess up to how long I've been driving???)

And I have NEVER seen...

 

...a US Mail transport truck!!!

(Until just the other day!!!)

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Move over Kenny Wayne Shepherd...

....Quinn Sullivan is here!!!

You might remember our yearly event...

Buesapalooza!!!

A fabulous blues and brews festival that Mammoth Brewing Company 

hosts on the first weekend of August.

Now, TheChief had to work the festival on Saturday, and while I probably would have

enjoyed the day, I opted to stay home...I'm not much for brew tasting...

(wine tasting is a totally different matter entirely...)

But we did get tickets for the best day of the festival...Hangover Sunday!

The biggest name of the festival is usually the last to perform on the Sunday of the event...

this year it was Buddy Guy...

BEST CONCERT EVAH!!!!

Now you might think that a gentleman of 78 is not going to be on top of his game for a concert...

Well let me tell you...he had us movin' and groovin' throughout his entire set...

he was funny...he was hip...(he was profanely funny ;) )  

He was AWE-SOME!!!

Now...back to my opening...

When Quinn Sullivan was about 7 years old, he met Buddy Guy and told him he played the guitar...

Buddy Guy humored him and encouraged him, but wasn't expecting to be bowled over...

Well...Quinn started playing for him and Buddy was hooked!!!

Apparently Buddy Guy has a history of mentoring young blues musician aspirants...

Well...let me tell you...

Quinn Sullivan has taken his mentoring to heart!!!

Check out his playing ability at 8, click here!

(It's a long clip, but if you like great Blues guitar...it's well worth it!!!)

So...on Sunday, he was Buddy Guy's opening act...played for about an hour...

and absolutely wowed the crowd!!!

Standing ovations for this kid!!!

Oh...and did I mention he's only 15???

A more recent clip here...

Again...if you love blues guitar....amazing!!!!

At the end of Buddy's set, he brought out Quinn and Ana Popovic (another of his proteges)

and they all played Jimi Hendrix...

Yeah, baby!!!

The place was rockin'!!!

Ana Popovic has already made a name for herself...

But...I'm telling you now...Quinn Sullivan is a Blues Great in the making!!!

And now for an update on the lives of TheChief and Chieftess..

Our house sold...one week to the day after we listed it, we were signing escrow papers!!!

I'm in the process of refinishing floors, painting, etc down in the southland...

and TheChief has set up house in Crowley Lake, just south of Mammoth until 

he retires at the end of the year...

Lot's of back and forth for the next six months...

Kelly is a bit confused but adjusting...

the kitties love being able to go outside again...

Life is good, albeit a bit hectic these days!!!

 

(Sorry for the poor quality pics...I didn't take my camera this year...

and I borrowed TheChief's iPhone which apparently

doesn't take the best pics!!!)

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Another Eastern Sierra Sunset!!!

"There's never one sunrise the same or one sunset the same."

Carlos Santana

Click on Carlos Santana for a trip down memory lane to Woodstock...

I don't know about you...but I think the 60's and 70's music is still the best...EVAH!!!

 

This is the same sunset as the one I posted Wednesday...just about 5-10 minutes later!!!

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Our Little Corner of the World...

...is changing...

 

"If nothing ever changed, there'd be no butterflies."

Author Unknown

Life is changing for TheChief and Chieftess!!!

TheChief is in the process of retiring...and my poor ol' bod

hasn't been fairing very well with the altitude.

Well...to make a long story short...

I brought the kitties and Kelly down to Glendale in mid June

and have been shuttling back and forth from Mammoth to Glendale

packing this and that, and getting the Glendale house back in shape...

TheChief is retiring at the end of the year.

We put the house up for sale in June and a week to the day later,

we were signing papers accepting an offer...

Who knew it would only take a week to sell???

And, that we'd have just six weeks to get re-situated???

Soooo...

Mammoth Lakes Daily Photo will be going through some changes too...

I'm taking time off to get the house back in shape...

and figure out what my next step will be in the blogosphere!!!

I'll pop in to visit now and then over the next few months...

and possibly post every now and then as I'll be up and back regularly until TheChief is done...

so stay tuned...

and I'll keep you posted!!!

(I'll be back tomorrow with another great Eastern Sierra sunset)

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As the Blue Bird Sings...

"Be as a bird perched on a frail branch that she feels bending beneath her,

still she sings away all the same, 

knowing she has wings."

Victor Hugo

I'm pretty sure this isn't a Bluebird...even though it's a blue bird...

Any birders out there know what kind this one is?  

She's perched on a tufa tower at Mono Lake...

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Our Little Corner of the World...

"Give me the splendid sun

at sunset."

Walt whitman

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Puff, the Magic Dragon...

"...lived by the sea

and frolicked in the autumn mist in a land called

Honnah Lee..."

Peter Yarrow and Leonard Lipton

Soooo...any ideas what he was used for???

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Castles in the Air???

"You make kingdoms and castles on your own."

Stephan Jenkins

Somehow...I don't think Stephan was being quite literal when he said this...

however...

no one told Daryl Sattui that...

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Open! Open! OPEN!!!

"Every normal man must be tempted, at times,

to spit on his hands, hoist the black flag,

and begin slitting throats."

H.L. Mencken

Or...you could take the convertible out for a ride to Napa and stop

at the Cutthroat Bar (formerly known as the Cutthroat Saloon)

in a charming little town (and I do mean little!)

called Markleeville!!!

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Two Degrees of Separation...

"It's a profound thought...

How everyone is a new door opening into other worlds

Six degrees of separation between us and everyone else on this planet.

But, to find the right six people..."

Unknown

It's funny though...

here in Mammoth there's only 2 degrees of separation...

everybody up here knows someone you know...

the guy that built our railing on our deck is from our home town and married to 

a woman related to and working for the owners of the pet store...

our favorite wine bar owner was a fraternity brother of TheChief...

our realtor is best friends with the realtor TheChief used to buy and sell six houses...

and on, and on, and on!!!

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It Was a Lovely Setting....

:) :) :) :) :) 

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