21st Annual Rockhound Roundup - Opening Day

Today marked the first day (of two) of business for the 21st Annual Rockhound Roundup in Pioneer Park and Pioneer Museum in Paso Robles, CA. What follows are some random images I captured.

Note: you are invited to check out these other articles on the other days of this show.
21st Annual Rockhound Roundup - Chalking Day
21st Annual Rockhound Roundup - Set-Up Day

The silent auction crew of Kincy Scott (left) and Galen Moyer (right) and a third club member (sorry I don't know your name).

California Wreck Divers Hall of Fame member (and legendary jade hunter) Ernie Porter visited the show for a time today.

Our very own "Knap Master G" Ralph Lawless.

Ralph had just finished this piece minutes before I picked it up for this image.

The birds just getting started on the grill courtesy of the Native Sons of the Golden West - San Miguel Parlor #150.

A newer face in the jade crowd is SLO Co.'s very own Drew Arnold, a bona fide up-and-comer. See him at the upcoming  Big Sur Jade Festival next month!

The scene at club member David Nelson's demonstration table inside the museum.

Santa Lucia Rockhounds President Barbara Bilyeu working her attention-getting ploy of wearing a leg brace, holding a cane, and sitting in a wheel chair. It even worked on Don Huntington (left). Actually, Barbara injured herself yesterday at the show but she will be okay.

Lingering around the front of this fan was quite possibly the most popular place at the show today.

I absolutely adore our club's new silent auction rock jars. Great idear Galen and Kincy!

Did I mention I absolutely adore our club's new silent auction rock jars?

All photos by Kim Patrick Noyes (all rights reserved).

Bowling For Second Place

One of the things I did to unwind after working at the show today was bowl with friends from 9 p.m. to midnight while music videos played on a large projector set and the music throbbed from an audio system. There was also an ample accompanying light effects show. My friend Blake's girlfriend invited he and my friend Kameron and myself and two other friends to bowl at the "Rock N Bowl" event at Paso Bowl which happens each Friday and Saturday night.

Once we began to play it soon became abundantly clear that Blake sacrificed the rest of us to his girlfriend (who it turns out is a "Call of the Cthulhu" monster bowling goddess) who rapaciously devoured us. Apparently, we were sacrificial virgins! Actually, she graciously offered to give me a few pointers and I gratefully accepted. I came in second place in two out of three games played!

Note: given the optical effects on my camera that the bowling alley's light show generated I ended up liking the blurriness of the human figures contained in both and elected to use them here in spite of their technical flaws. 

My buddy Kameron... his name in the bowling lane is "Lurch".

My buddy Blake fed the rest of us to his girlfriend on the bowling lane.

All photos by Kim Patrick Noyes (all rights reserved).

21st Annual Rockhound Roundup - Set-Up Day

Today was the set-up day for this year's 21st Annual Rockhound Roundup gem, mineral, fossil, and jewelry show at Pioneer Park and Pioneer Museum. Being the show's chairman this year it is my responsibility to oversee the general operation of this show and this gives me an entirely different perspective and show experience than I had before as solely a seller. I have come to realize that my experience acquired as a dealer has given me added insight and effectiveness as a chairman of a show.

This week we experienced an unprecedented number of cancellations for a variety of reasons, some of them our fault, some of them the dealer's fault and some of them both or neither's fault. any case we are 5-6 empty space short of full out of a total 33 (depending upon how one is counting) so that is potentially several hundred dollars we as a club are going to not collect from the show despite the fact our expenses for the show are going to be what they are regardless if we fill the show or not. Hopefully we will get some last-minute dealers showing up unannounced hoping to get into the show.

Below are some images I captured of today's sights and sounds over the course of the show's set-up day.

Our silent auction booth out in front of the Pioneer Museum in Paso Robles, CA.

These portable toilets went all day without being serviced and they desperately needed being serviced, too! All day they went unserviced and the thought that they might remain thus over the period of the show scared the shit out of me.

Some of our club signs awaiting being installed.

Our club's country store.

This material from the Blue Rabbit booth is unknown to me.

The southwest corner of the show venue looking back northeastward.

All photos by Kim Patrick Noyes (all rights reserved)

17th Street Gang Get-Together

My church home is North County Christian Fellowship in Paso Robles, CA, and my home group (bible study) home is the 17th Street Gang hosted by Kevin and Heather, founders of the Paso Bread Oven. Although we have a West Side sensibility, we being all things to all people, will on occasion imbibe East Side wines <insert grin>. Indeed, we even partake in East Side home brews courtesy of our fearless leader Ted "The Architect" Weber. Fermentations aside, we are about infinitely more than that: we are a group of Believers who love God and by extension love and support each other and seek spiritual reality through sound doctrine and faithful application thereof. We are not a cliquish set who only minister to ourselves and thus other Believers are welcome.

Kevin and Heather recently completed their patio project which turned out beautifully.

The centerpiece of this social space is the Pizza-Oven-That-Kevin-Built. (Pardon the "uncenterednes"s of this image.)

As this evening progressed a second round of coal creation was required. (Pardon the "unlevelness" of this image.)

Home group (bible study) co-host and 17th Street Gang fournier Kevin. (Pardon the focus issues in this image and others here - my little non-professional camera can only do so much.)

Home group leader Ted at left with NCCF assistant pastor Gary "The Original Sandwich" Del Giorgio at right.

The pizza mosh pit cutting board.

The gang hanging out during pizza mopping up operations. By this point I was full as a tick I could only watch helplessly as others indulged in a final pizza run of the evening.

All photos by Kim Patrick Noyes (all rights reserved).

21st Annual Rockhound Roundup - Chalking Day

This morning was chalking day for the Santa Lucia Rockhounds in preparation for this weekend's 21st Annual Rockhound Roundup Rock, Gem, Mineral & Jewelry Show at Pioneer Park and the adjacent Pioneer Museum in Paso Robles, CA, this coming weekend. Esteemed members Frank Imhoof and Cliff Brewen chalked out the layout of our show. It was done on this morning as tomorrow morning early bird dealer will already be showing up and would thus in the way of any efforts to carry out this essential task.

As chairman of this year's show I was there to oversee the tasks of the day which included getting our new walkie-talkie system synced and remind the city (again) to turn the water off which did not happen up through today (despite our diligent navigation of city bureaucracy to see this done) and thus the sprinklers had wetted the park grounds which need to be dry during the show period starting tomorrow which is set-up. We can now only hope the ground dries out enough to avoid a muddy morass. I also had some branch-clipping duties as some limbs were growing way too low for the good of the dealers and our show visitors.

Frank and Cliff measuring various boundary points for marking.

Next step is making the aforementioned boundary marks. That's Frank spray-painting city property.

With the chalking completed that's Frank pushing the chalker back to the adjacent Pioneer Museum with Cliff Brewen and past-president Richard Smithen ambling behind. Note the orange paint highlighting the location of tripping-capable roots at the base of the tree at center. We were chalking (and on occasion spray-painting) city property right and left!

All photos by Kim Patrick Noyes (all rights reserved).

Scenes From a September Harvest

Early this morning my friend and former high school-mate Eva Kay Dow and I arrived at Kiler Canyon Farm in rural Paso Robles to participate in the weekly harvest in our roles as investor/subscribers in this wonderful CSA (Community Supported Agriculture). Upon our arrival we noted that the regular crew was already busy at work meaning we had missed a little bit of the work. However, I doubt our presence was much missed during that span as it gave our gracious hosts a chance to work unimpeded sans having to shepherd Kay and I through and from task to task given we are both still nubes. I also noted this morning that since last I was here for the weekly harvest (a month ago) the sunrise is now notably later and there is now also a chill in the air at sunrise that was not present then. Kay and I had a hoot of a time as we did the time previous. What follows is a series of images I captured of the morning's activities and sights at the farm which are shown in the order I took them.  

The rising sun burning through what remained of the morning fog.

Kay tending her assigned section of a crop row.

I believe those are tomatoes.

Thatch is so much more charming than shade netting.

Nice example of crop rotation.

Kay and Chaponica harvesting.

A root cellar I assume.

Obviously I love oaks.

Something being dried I assume.

Outhouse or smokehouse?

Ahhhh

Red and yellow

These are even more flavorful than the ones above!

The male component of today's gang at work in the packing house.

Mixed plantings are a great idea!

The farm is 100% off the grid!

The entire crew sans me (of course).

Quill risking his life checking that the tomatoes are safe to eat!

The two host families (both Trimmell) treat the weekly work crew to breakfast each harvest morning of the growing season. The food and company and general ambiance are warm and wonderful. 

The bread that issues forth from This-Oven-That-Quill-Built is manna from heaven... in particular, the rosemary and polenta for which I would gladly sell my birthright.

Kaleen, Chaponica, Rory, and Michael.

Kay and Chaponica.

Kaleen and Michael

Rory, Quill, Michael, and Kay.

Drying veggie bins stacked in a pyramid-configuration by moi: my very own Tower of Babble!

All photos by Kim Patrick Noyes (all rights reserved).