Kathleen Goodwin's photograph Home Birth was selected for a Gold Award in the Photojournalism / Documentary category.The image is included in Black and White Magazine's Special Issue, November, 2007. Altogether, 830 entries and 5493 images were received—She feels truly honored to have reached the top of such a tall pyramid!

Loretta Farley

Riots of fall colors with the autumnal equinox this week - check out brilliant red poison oak along Limantour Road.  The new moon rises Monday, September 29 with higher than usual daylight tides 5.4 - 5.9 feet in the afternoons. Other fall delights - the continuing presence of humpback whales off the Great Beach, splashing and breaching;  the fall bird migration is underway - blackpoll warbler at the Lighthouse and some redstarts.

A young bat has been stopping in at the Lighthouse over the past few weeks, lingering in the fog signal building, an unusual siting for this spot..  The overall bat population in the park remains healthy, 325 Townsend's Big eared bats were counted in the annual survey last week at their roost in Olema Valley.  Traditionally, roosts were inside cavities of old growth redwoods and hillside caves; as these roosts disappeared they have moved into old barns and attics.

Large fish observed under the green bridge in Point Reyes are not early salmonids - they are carp; look for the noticeable scales and the fact they are 'out in the open' not seeking deep cool waters to hide.  They are native to Eurasia and like slow moving shallow streams with lots of organic matter to root around in.

Marin County Open Space rangers will be exploring the "Pond Life of the Palomarin Area" on Sunday, September 28th between 10:00 am and 2:00 pm; meet at the Palomarin Trailhead off Mesa Road near Bolinas.

A planned closure of the Olema Marsh Trail is now posted for October 6th (originally slated for September 22) as part of the Giacomini Restoration.  Trail staff are working with Marin Conservation Corps groups on reconstructing the Abbotts Lagoon Trail; the reroute of Greenpicker, Rift Zone and Estero Trails.  These are not closed but you may see the crews at work.

Prescribed burns may occur this week on Wednesday (24) and Friday (26), off Limantour Road west of the Hostel and off Highway 1 near the Randall Trail to manage fuel loads and reduce exotic plants.

The authors of the best-selling Point Reyes Visions have expanded their horizons to encompass the entirety of California. Richard Blair and Kathleen Goodwin bring a unique view of the state with the images and text in their new book, California Trip.

Travelling thousands of miles throughout the state, they have captured its spirit with photographs that range from surfers, farm workers and movie stars to exquisite pictures of California’s deserts and mountains. This is an unusual book for the depth of perspective it gives the viewer of its cultural and natural landscapes.

From the hippies and the protests of the sixties to California today-the authors were there with cameras and a reporter’s notebook, recording vital details of California’s unique place in the world. Goodwin and Blair weren’t just reporting; they were deeply involved, freezing and frying in the mountains and deserts, demonstrating against the wars, dancing at concerts, always observing.

California has been brought to life–its people, craziness and peak moments of beauty and truth. The content is honest and revealing, breaking new ground for a California picture book by including ignored but important subjects, like earthquakes, immigration, gay and lesbian rights, the rise of organic farming to name a few.

California is a place where freedom still thrives. If you are interested in a nontraditional yet reality-based view of California, this book will turn your head.

Blair and Goodwin created this large format artist’s book in their live/work studio. It is 11x11 inches, clothbound, with 300 pages and 600 photographs. This heralds a new kind of book: where artists can take their project all the way to press and intensify their work through each stage. They photographed, wrote, designed, scanned the book. It was a long-term effort of almost 40 years. The printer used a special printing technique to print the book with no halftone dots, but rather microscopic speckles and ultra bright inks.

Web order books are signed by the authors and are discounted to $39.95 for the next few weeks to introduce it to our web visitors. Or call us at 415 663-1616 for the same deal. In stores it is $49.95

Reviews of California Trip