Drum Dance at the Japanese American Buddhist Festival of Palo Alto.
Japanese American Buddhist Center, Palo Alto, CA. My son, David Gurr, was living in Palo Alto and my Summer 2002 ZMM Route Research nicely connected with a long overdue visit with him. On my last day in Palo Alto, David and I made a wonder-filled trip to Half Moon Bay. We had just arrived back at his house, when we heard the heavy beating of drums in the distance. This reminded David that this was the day of the Buddhist Festival. So even though David had not yet completeda major computer hardware installation, plus software upgrade for me, we decided we should nevertheless attend the festival and get dinner there. Another wonder-filled experience as these photos attest. David finished the computer upgrades (successfully) at 5:00 am. This was just in time for me to load-up and leave for South Carolina at the same time he went to work, that very morning!
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(Photo = 122-2272 ...... ZMM Page = None ...... WayPt = ft)

Singer and Chorus, Japanese American Buddhist Festival of Palo Alto.
Japanese American Buddhist Center, Palo Alto, CA.
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(Photo = 122-2273 ...... ZMM Page = None ...... WayPt = near 007 0030ft)

Summer Time Burnt Dry Grass Seen Along Interstate At Altamont Pass.
I-580 near Livermore CA.
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(Photo = 122-2274 ...... ZMM Page = None ...... WayPt = 072 0732ft)

Modern “Renewable Energy” Electric Power Generators Seen Along Interstate At Altamont Pass.
I-580 near Livermore, CA. This is in one of the VERY windy Mountain Passes in California. The daytime wind here is reminiscent of the fierce winds the ZMM Narrator and Chris experienced along the Interstate near Medford Oregon. More explanation at: Detour in new browser frame for http://www.zmmquality.org/gallery/album09/114_1479cb
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(Photo = 122-2280x ...... ZMM Page = None ...... WayPt = 072 0732ft)

My former student Samantha (Sam) Mackey and Her husband Sam Hillarie in Chico, CA.
This restaurant is call Tres Hombres. It is a Mexican restaurant in downtown Chico (almost a city landmark), known for their excellent selection of Margaritas and Tequilas. Chico, CA.
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(Photo = 122-2283 ...... ZMM Page = None ...... WayPt = 073i ~0250ft)

Samantha Mackey Hillarie’s Nature Center Garden Restoration Project Is Looking Very Good!
Chico Creek Nature Center, Chico, CA. I believe the Center is located East of Chico on Rt32 about 1.5 mile East of intersection of Rt99. Their web page address is: In Bidwell Park, 1968 E. 8th Street, Chico, California 95928 Phone (530) 891-4671. More at: Detour in new browser frame for http://northvalley.net/nature/

Sam’s California Native flower Pictures are at: Detour in new browser frame for http://www.butte.edu/instruction/biol/Table%20Mountain%20Flowers/main.html
Her new Wild Flower Book will soon be at: Detour in new browser frame for http://www.csuchico.edu/biol/Herb/studies/book_list.html
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(Photo = 122-2287 ...... ZMM Page = None ...... WayPt = 073 0250ft)

Irrigation Canal and Weir.
Rt99E, several miles South of Chico, CA.
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Valley and Rail Road That Joins the Fabled Donner Pass From the West .
Soda Springs, CA.
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Donner Pass Looking East: Granite Rock Field, Rail Road Tunnel Entrance, and in the distance Donner Lake.
Donner Pass, CA. This is one of the several routes of the pioneer "California Trail" over the High Sierras. The covered wagons came up a practically vertical granite cliff just beyond the rocks and then had to negotiate around and over the rocks you see everywhere here. In the distance towards center you can see the tunnel entrance of the original (first) Trans-Continental RR. The main Interstate over the Sierras from Sacramento to Nevada parallels the former Historic California Trail and Donner Pass, several miles North of here. I was able to drive over Donner Pass on the once=upon-a-time main highway which I believe was old Rt40 & Rt95. This road still serves as a marginal road for the California Trail towns of Gold Hill, Cisco, Soda Springs, Norden, and Trukee. The old highway is well maintained and is a very scenic tourist route and access to a mountain ski lift at Donner Pass. But you will have to study your map and look hard to figure out how to find it. Lake Tahoe is about 30 miles Southeast of Donnor Pass. The otherwise arrow straight California–Nevada border takes a “dog-leg” change of direction in the middle of Lake Tahoe.
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(Photo = 122-2296 ...... ZMM Page = None ...... WayPt = 075 7150ft. My Rand McNally gives 7089 ft)

Where History Happened! You are looking Southwest. Here the "49'ers" Faced 300 miles of This Wasteland, and Then They Faced the Notorious "Forty Mile Desert"!
California Trail, 2.5mi NW of Wells, NV. No water or forage for the oxen for 40 miles! Only after another second 40 mi of desert trials would rest and sustenance be available at Donner Lake. But then they had to face Donner Pass in the High Sierra Mountains. Donner Pass required hand-lifting the covered wagons, piece-by-piece, up a near vertical rock-strewn granite cliff as shown in my photo.
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Main Street In a Nevada California Trail Town. Later, the Town Turned Into a Trans-Continental Railroad Town. Looking East Toward Salt Lake City. RR Is ON the Left. Buildings Were For the RR Business Coming Into Town and This “Whistle Stop”.
Wells, NV. A Wells Nevada info sheet says: “But elsewhere bulldozers, growth, have plowed under or built over one transcontinental town after another. High rise traffic choked developments have swallowed their old towns whole. Yet in Wells the gook is still open to that transcontinental chapter of America’s past.” Yes, having been there, this is exactly true. Just for the record, both the Pony Express and the first Trans-Continental Telegraph line came through here before the railroad got here! Once the California Trail and the Oregon Trail were open and well established, communities and infrastructure followed in an otherwise dangerous wilderness. Thus, it was natural for a succession of commerce to follow, each in turn helping provide support and resources to build the next more complicated step. Trail becomes Pony Express becomes telegraph line becomes (mostly) transcontinental railway. Even modern highways often follow “Trail”, especially in towns. This is because in towns, the buildings force preservation of the street location. However, in the open country side, other priorities move the paved main highways, so they often don’t follow the exact “trail”, or even near it. The reason for this was the wagons had only to go West, irrespective of where was best for towns. But primarily, the reason modern paved roads do not follow the “trail”, is because the trail, after the rail road came in, was unused and abandoned. This was because it did not “connect up” anything. Needed main roads were placed to connect the towns that later cropped up. County and township roads often followed surveyed county, township and agriculture property lines. The trail, already forgotten, was plowed under, especially in areas where crops could be grown or the land fenced in for cattle.
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A REAL WESTERN BAR!
About 10 mi South of Twin Falls I pull into the first business I see as I come into town from the South (OnWest side of road). Hollister, ID. At the time, this place reminds me of ZMM Narrator’s statement: ““We pull in for lunch at a roadhouse which belongs to this era too. Wooden frame badly in need of paint, neon beer signs in the window, gravel and engine drippings for a front lawn. .. Inside, the toilet seat is cracked and the washbowl is covered with grease streaks, …. “
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(Photo = 123-2398 ...... ZMM Page = 313 ...... WayPt = 091 4551ft)

A REAL WESTERN BAR! And REAL "Western Folk"!! For Me a Friendly "Join in the Crowd" and a GREAT HAMBURGER!
Hollister, ID. At the time, this place reminds me of ZMM Narrator’s statement (continued): “ …. but on my way back to our booth I take a second look at the owner behind the bar. A nineteen-twenties face. Uncomplicated, uncool and unbowed. This is his castle. We’re his guests. And if we don’t like his hamburgers we’d better shut up. .. When they arrive, the hamburgers, with giant raw onions, are tasty and the bottle beer is fine. A whole meal for a lot less than you’d pay at one of those old-ladies places with plastic flowers in the window. “
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Behind the Scenes in a A REAL WESTERN BAR! And For Yours Truly, the Cooking Place for a GREAT HAMBURGER!!
Hollister, ID.
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Although It Takes a While For REAL "Western Folk" to Make Acquaintances, They Will Eventually Suggest a Photograph With the Owner/Manager and Her Staff.
Hollister, ID.
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(Photo = 123-2401 ...... ZMM Page = None ...... WayPt = 091 4551ft)

The Snake River Canyon Here Cuts Deep Into An Otherwise Very Flat Wide Valley.
Twin Falls, ID. A huge bridge, partly seen in the photo, joins parts of the city on both sides of the Snake River. The river, which provided a reliable source of water, flows the entire length of a very long, 50 mile wide, flat, and fertile valley called the Snake River Plain. This huge fertile plain, receiving water from the river and providing thin riverside forage, is why the Oregon Trail traveled 350 miles in this valley this way, and would continue West. Some 80 miles East of here, the wagons on the California Trail had turned away from the Oregon Trail and went South, to the deserts of Nevada. However, on both trails the pioneers had to cross the Snake River Canyon several times! Look long and hard at this photo and wonder how they did it! New topic: You will again note the dark color of volcanic rock. Geologist believe that the Snake River Plain occurred because a “Hot Spot” moved under the North American Plate causing enough volcanic “explosive gouging”, plus dust blow off , to dig a huge ditch. The rocks and dust were scattered all over Idaho, making thick layers still visible in the geologic record! And then, subsequent subsidence made the ditch deeper and wider. The whole thing filled level with later magma flows. This sounds fantastic, but the dust evidence is here to see in the surrounding mountains and the flat topped volcanic rock remains all over this level valley floor. This same hot spot is, they believe, what is creating all the “Hot Geo-Activity” at Yellowstone Park. They surmise that the whole of Yellowstone National Park will undergo the same above described cycles, and that its area will (long time in the future) add another 150 miles to the Snake River Plain! For more info see book “Roadside Geology of Idaho”.
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(Photo = 124-2408 ...... ZMM Page = None ...... WayPt = 091i ~3600ft)

Oregon Trail Interpretive Center.
Montpelier ID.
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Oregon Trail Drama. Campfire Story Telling.
Oregon Trail Interpretive Center, Montpelier ID. All along the California Trail and the Oregon Trail, the Pilgrim will find plenty of Museums and Interpretive Centers that will proudly tell the Oregon Trail History and Story. An internet search, for [Oregon Trail] will find where many of these Museums and Interpretive Center are located and what they have to offer. You may need to also add the town or state name to your list of search terms to find what is in your particular locality.
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(Photo = 124-2494 ...... ZMM Page = None ...... WayPt = 110 6069ft