On Hiatus

Well, you might have noticed (or not) that I haven't posted anything in a about a month. I've been too busy working on my thesis to find time to do any more writing so my creative outlet has been moved down the priority list. I announce today that Rear Window is officially on hiatus until January 2012 when I will have time to share with you many more exciting stories witnessed from my window including the ghost ship, the woman who steals playground equipment and the "naked ladies" who died across the street. Don't worry it's all G rated. See you soon! Thanks for reading!

Aboard Balclutha

As promised, I finally paid the Balclutha a visit last week. You may remember the Balclutha from such blog posts as  My ship has come in! and A pox on this house!? It was a brilliant sunny day when I arrived just in time for the 2:15 pm ranger tour. It was led by a volunteer who was very charming and knowledgeable. We heard all about the hardships of life aboard during the age of sail. Although I admit that while rocking gently at the pier on a warm sunny day made it a little more difficult to imagine. A group of 5th graders were participating in an overnight program that puts them to work so they can experience the life of a sailor firsthand. It seemed really neat! Here's a short photographic tour of my experience.

Land Ho!

At the beginning of a voyage sometimes they'd keep a pig in here...for awhile

Captain's quarters

Captain's bathroom

Sacks of grain...Balclutha's career included the second "gold rush"...grain.

As well as hauling Salmon from Alaska and canned fruit from the Cannery on Fisherman's Wharf

Two SF icons. There was no mention of stocking up on Ghirardelli chocolate before long voyages.

Two more SF icons

Commercial shipping: then and now

Ranger Al even made an appearance

If you get the chance definitely pay a visit to San Francisco Maritime National Historical Park because the other ships were also really interesting and the exhibits and tours are very well done!

A pox on this house!?

Last week I reported that I would pay a visit to San Francisco Maritime National Historical Park to explore the historic ship Balclutha. Tours of the Balclutha are offered by your friendly National Park Service Rangers at 2:15 pm each day. Unfortunately, this was not a convenient time for me this week so the Balclutha will have to wait yet another week. So, I share with you a different story.

I got home from work a few weeks ago and I was delighted to see the stairwell light had been replaced. I could actually see the front door and get my key in without the usual routine of balancing my bike on my shoulder while feeling around for the door knob, cursing all the while. Unfortunately, in the morning I saw that there was some “collateral damage” to the light bulb replacement.

A nice new light fixture, but what's missing here? 

The barn swallows, the longest tenured residents of Stilwell Road were unceremoniously evicted with the one fell swoop of a heavy-handed government worker. But they didn’t merely discard the nest. They put it in the box the new light fixture had come in and left it on the landing…as a warning to other barn swallows? To give the kids downstairs an item for show & tell? To offer a sort of coffin for the unborn baby birds?

Nest with eggs inside the cardboard box

Most likely they set it down and forgot about it but that mistake could cost the rest of us. According to Webster’s, (Encyclopedia of Superstitions, that is) it is very bad mojo indeed to mess with a swallow nest. It is said to be good luck to see a swallow flying in the air and bad luck to hurt a swallow or damage its nest. Doing so can cause your cows to give bloody milk or cause your hens to lay no eggs. It is good luck if a swallow nests at your house because it protects everyone inside. However, it is bad luck if a swallow builds a nest at your house and then leaves it unexpectedly. This means the house will be destroyed by fire!

Now I don’t consider myself an especially superstitious person but in the last two weeks a swallow nest was damaged, I read a book called The Big Burn, about the largest wildfire in US history and noticed that this was the state of the smoke detectors in our house.

Sitting on the kitchen table with no batteries

So I took two very important steps to avert the curse. One, I put the swallow nest back in its place. Two, I put the smoke detectors back in theirs. Now, if I can just see one more swallow fly by my window this season it just might bring me some of that good luck back. Anybody know any other things you can put in your house for good luck?

That's better

My ship has come in!

On August 5^th, during our adventures in Alaska, I saw the Celebrity Millenium cruise ship from the window of our hotel room in Seward, AK.

What I actually was photographing was the container ship beside it being loaded with coal. We learned later it carries 700 train cars worth! Nevertheless, I made a note in my journal of the cruise ship’s name and a mental note to be on the lookout for it coming to port in San Francisco.

As always, I’ve kept one eye out the window and casually noted the name of any cruise ships that entered the bay. None was the Millenium, in fact, none was even a Celebrity ship. Like the wife of a 19^th century whaler, I started to wonder if my ship would ever come in. On Wednesday, the wait finally ended! I was lucky enough to be at the window when the Millenium finally cruised back into town.

A slow reaction time prevented a better photo so you'll have to take my word for it that it is the same ship. In any case, it appears the Millenium has finished the Alaska season as it is next heading to San Diego and then south through the Panama Canal to Miami for Caribbean tours all winter. This summer, it’s been a pretty a common occurrence to see tourists sail out the Golden Gate, up to Alaska and back. However, long before anyone made the journey for vacation, hundreds of men crammed onto Alaska-bound ships to make a living. One such ship was the flag ship of the San Francisco Maritime National Historical Park at Hyde Street Pier, the Balclutha.

This ship first entered San Francisco Bay in 1887 after a 140 day maiden voyage from Cardiff, Wales. They brought coal, unloaded it, loaded a cargo of wheat and went back ‘round the horn to Wales. One round trip per year. Later, she was purchased by the Alaska Packers Association and renamed the Star of Alaska. Up to 200 men would make the journey north to work the summer in a salmon cannery in Chignik Bay, Alaska.

By September the ship would be loaded with a cargo of canned salmon and the men would return to the San Francisco Bay with tall tales of the adventures they had. Someone should’ve made a TV show about it! The Star of Alaska made the trip every year until 1930 when they realized there were salmon right here in California. Actually, I don’t know why the ship went out of service then but it was eventually restored and the name was changed back to the Balclutha. I’ve gone past it several times a week for the majority of the 8 years I’ve lived in San Francisco but I’ve never been taken the tour. This week, I’ll finally do it and let you know what I find out!

Rear Window premieres!...again

Alfred Hitchcock’s Rear Window premiered at the Rivoli Theatre in New York City on August 4, 1954. So, before August was out I held my own Rear Window screening party at the living room theater of Stilwell Road. The 1954 premiere was a benefit for the American-Korean Foundation, an aide organization formed at the end of the Korean War and was attended by more than 2,000 United Nations officials, entertainers and social leaders.

Grace Kelly at the premiere

The 2011 viewing was attended by more than 7 tree-hugging hippies, film buffs and park rangers and benefited no one in particular. The world premiere at the Rivoli Theatre was shown on an enormous slightly rounded screen that gave the audience the illusion of peripheral vision. The effect must have been especially effective for a movie filmed largely through the eyes of one character. We watched on a 24 inch Sanyo but had the benefit of something more rare and enjoyable than a large screen, Elana's Blackberry Cake, but I digress. The New York Times published mostly favorable reviews of Rear Window following the premiere.

They described Hitchcock as “the old thrill-billy” whose film is “morbidly entertaining” and exposes us to the “boorish but fascinating pastime of peeking into other people’s homes – a thing that New York apartment dwellers have a slight disposition to do.” Can anyone in NYC tell me if New Yorkers still have a disposition to do such a thing? 

Despite being listed #22 on IMDB’s top 250 movies of all time, today’s audience gave more of a mixed review. Some thought it was a little slow, especially by today’s standards, some enjoyed the building of the suspense and the girls all enjoyed discussing Grace Kelly’s dresses. One moviegoer expressed surprise…not by the ending of the movie but that he liked it at all. “I thought it was going to be another one of Eric’s weird movies but I was surprised. I actually liked it” said park ranger Matt Eng. So I’d say the first ever Rear Window viewing party was a smashing success. 

Imitation is the Highest Form of Flattery

Our living room looks out towards Lobos Creek and the houses of the Richmond/Seacliff neighborhoods beyond. Most everyone knows Robin Williams is the most famous of Seacliff residents. Escape from Alcatraz Triathlon organizers even use his house as a reference point to explain the bike route. But there used to be an equally famous resident of the same neighborhood, Ansel Adams. I remember watching a documentary about him once that talked about how he lived out on the edge of town overlooking sand dunes and the ocean. So I decided to figure out exactly where his house was. It took only a quick google search to discover the house and a quick look out the living room window to discover I could see his house from my own! 

OK, so you have to know where to train your eagle eye but there it is.

Closer look

What's more is that young Ansel loved exploring some of the same areas I do. As a boy he spent hours collecting bugs along Lobos Creek and exploring the rocky coastline from Baker Beach to Land’s End. It was here that Adams first developed his love of nature. While he may lament the fact that today people are confined to the boardwalk trail along Lobos Creek (it is our drinking water after all), I’m sure he would be happy to know that his childhood playgrounds are protected as National Park lands included in the Golden Gate National Recreation Area. As such I too love exploring these lands with minimal change since Adams’ day. Exploring Land’s End was an almost daily post-work ritual when I first moved here. I even made my family climb along the rocky trail when they first came to visit.

Land's End

I don’t know if Ansel Adams ever made his family do the same but it’s possible since he lived in the house from the time he was an infant in 1903 until he was 60 years old in 1962. My apartment building was built in 1953 so I wonder if those early occupants knew they were looking out at Ansel Adams’ house.

This summer I have also enjoyed exploring and photographing some of the same national parks Adams famously photographed. And so to pay homage to my neighbor I’d like to try and play a little game called Adams or Knackmuhs? All you need to do is look at the photos below and decide which was taken by Ansel Adams and which was taken by Eric Knackmuhs...Keep in mind, I didn't say it'd be difficult.

1. Saguaro National Park

Photo A

Photo B

2. Nevada Highways

Photo A

Photo B

3. Mt. McKinley - Denali National Park

Photo A

Photo B

And of course,
4. Yosemite National Park.

Photo A

Photo B

Photo C

Photo D

Photo E

Photo F

Thanks for playing!

Almost Heaven

On clear days, which are rare in August, you can see Mt. Tamalpais from my bedroom winter. You may recall a previous blog post about the rare snowfall we had on Mt. Tam this winter. You may have also noticed the drop in posting frequency in recent weeks. The reason for that is simple. I haven’t been sitting at the window very much. During the last two months I’ve spent my time doing only one of two things. One, going on vacation. Two, surveying park visitors for my thesis research. 

Since returning from Alaska I’ve spent the last two weeks begging, bribing and bullying people into doing surveys at Muir Woods, Angel Island and Mt. Tamalpais. On Saturday I drove up to Mt. Tam through a thick, pea soup fog. At one point I was driving 15 mph and still almost missed my turn. But as the road kept winding up I eventually broke through the fog and emerged above in sunshine and blue skies.

Is this heaven?

I met more than a few sunworshippers who frequently make the pilgrimage up Mt. Tam to transcend the gray gloom of a foggy weekend. After convincing enough of them to take my survey I was free to complete the last leg of the pilgrimage myself. After three days of sitting in the parking lot I finally bounded up the short 0.3 mile trail to the lookout.

Looking down on the parking lot

I found a good rock to sit down on and finally relaxed and enjoyed the view. I sat eating a sandwich, quietly contemplating the 360 degree views. Dragonflies buzzed around, turkey vultures soared overhead and other hikers sat quietly revering this holy place. To the east, San Quentin State Prison was visible. I wondered if any prisoners in the yard were looking up at me and what they were thinking. I thought for a moment of Ernest Morgan, a convicted murderer we met there earlier this year who was paroled in May. How many times did he look up at Mt. Tam during his 24 years behind bars? Was he now experiencing the same feeling of freedom that I was?

San Quentin and the Richmond-San Rafael Bridge

To the north, a small wildfire burned as the fog creeped in above. 

To the west, on the middle of the ridge, was what I believe is an observatory and the subject of a future blog post no doubt. 

And to the south, was the view of my house, somewhere down below the clouds.

And that was where I was off to next to start entering all that survey data into an excel spreadsheet. But my spirit was soaring as my car descended into clouds so I couldn’t help but snap a few more photos of this magical place. 

A plant with sticky leaves and the lookout in the background

Mt. Tam is a place I see every day but I guess I really didn’t fully appreciate all it had to offer before this week. I encourage everyone to go explore some place near your house that you haven't been to in a long time and let me know what you find!

A Window Seat through the Last Frontier

Well, I made it back from Alaska last week and now that I've got myself settled back in I can share a couple stories and photos. We covered hundreds of miles exploring some of the national parks of southern Alaska. We took 7 different planes, stayed in 6 hotels, rode in/paddled 3 boats, took 2 bus tours and spent hours taking in the scenery and roadside attractions from our rental car. I arrived at our B&B in Anchorage at about 2am so I didn't see much on the way in. I was excited when I woke up a few hours later, pulled back the blinds and gazed out at the majesty of the last frontier.

View from our room at the B&B

After a breakfast of reindeer sausage we were back at the airport for a short flight to King Salmon and then on to Katmai National Park. Scott and I were looking forward to see the snow-capped mountains from the air and of course, argued over who would get the window seat. Scott won it, sort of.

Scott enjoys his "window" seat

 Apparently, not every row has an actual window. Luckily, there was an empty seat in front of us where we could see out the window.

From then on out Alaska proved to be a place that rewards you again and again for simply gazing out the window.

View from seaplane, Katmai National Park

On the road north out of Anchorage we were reminded that Alaska is the biggest state in 'Merica.

And one that loves fireworks, hippie buses, the Batmobile and other pieces of Americana.

Once we arrived in Denali we took an all day bus trip through the park, spotting and (mostly) unsuccessfully photographing lots of wildlife. We stayed at the Skyline Lodge in Kantishna and enjoyed a beautiful view from our cabin.

11 pm sunset from our room

But the view out the back window of the lodge we stayed at in Kenai Fjords National Park was even better. I spent an evening sitting out on the rocker, reading and listening to the birds while my parents slept in a dramamine enduced coma inside (the boat ride there was a little rough). 

The best view from any window I've ever been able to look out though had to be from our Cessna 206 flying past Mt. McKinley.

Hello Beautiful

Mom contemplates the view

Leaving Denali in our rear window

Gazing at the scenery from the window of cars, buses, planes, boats and hotels provides only a glimpse of the immense beauty of this place. To really experience and appreciate it you have to get out there on the trails, the tundra, the rivers and lakes. You have to be out in the cold rain, swat away the mosquitoes and see the wildlife face to face. You may have seen the hundreds of photos of those experiences on my Facebook page. Luckily, we were able to do it all on this trip and I recommend everyone put Alaska on their bucket list. It's really a once in a lifetime kind of place!