Yearly Archives: 2008

Dora, Dinosaurs, and a Dog Bed

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After having an incredible Christmas Eve dinner at the Gandola residence, Buckwheat and I woke up the following morning to join the family for a morning of paper shredding and merry making.  At around 8:00, Ethan and Elyse (the stars of the morning) commenced the festivities by shredding whatever package we put in front of them; increasing their bounty of toys by the minute.  But somehow it was the noisy toys that made it to the forefront though (thanks to my sister, Denise).  Our Santa Claus from Colorado sent Elyse a super amplified keyboard and Ethan an electronic game, neither of which seemed to have a volume control.  After all the presents had been opened,  the party almost got out of control when one of the patrons began yanking the ornaments from the tree and smashing them on the ground.  I’m happy to report that no one was injured.  :-)

Some family photos from my 24-hour stint can be found at:  www.jonclaxton.com/Christmas2008

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by Jon

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denise - Oh my gosh. Jon you did a fantastic job. Wish I was there it looked like everyone had a great time. Love you your big sis.

denise - When you get kids you know what I’ll be buying them. NOISY NOISY NOISY toys. Love you

mom - You know it is kinda neat to have a ‘photog’ in the family…smile. I kinda roped him into this, and he did a wonderful job. It is hard to get so many folks lookin’ good. I think Jon had the ‘pretty lens’ on the camera. Even us old folks don’t look to bad, for our age…smile. Thank you son. Here is to wishing everyone a wonderful New Year.

Deanne - Jon…incredible photos!!! Thanks for taking photos that will help me to remember the moment for years to come. I loved seeing all our family (missing a few important ones though). Photos do capture the moment. Merry Christmas!!!

Momentary Relapse

img_3684First off, I have to admit that this is not a fresh photo (I took it in 2007); however, this does not preclude this photo from being getting posted on the blog.  I want this blog to also include my most recent stream of consciousness.  Therefore, I posted this photo because I had a momentary relapse tonight.  It was the kind of relapse you have after having 4 pints of beer with a friend and you talk about a wild location that you would like to visit (Chile is next on the list for me, I hope).  So I posted this photo because it reminds me of a wonderful adventure I shared with my buddy Pat Patten, where the cold water really didn’t matter much.  My guess is that the water in Chile couldn’t be any colder.  Anyways, I hope you all are inspired to take a new trip in 2009 that makes you happy or changes your perspective on life.  Cheers.

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by Jon

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Patrick Patten - So dreamy!! :)

Sclerocactus claucus

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Last week has been a blur of travel. Almost to the point of rock star status, minus the girls, drugs, roadies, late nights, etc. After spending a few days in Phoenix on a work trip, I returned to SLO, only to pack up the bags, pet the dog, and kiss my woman, then I flew out to Vernal, Utah. My mission: to find Sclerocactus claucus. This tiny cactus is considered to be federally threatened and protected under the Federal Endanagered Species Act. The crazy thing about this cactus is that is about the size of a quarter. So for days, I walked through a desert, nearly hand-in-hand with a group of fellow biologists, as we literally “Combed the desert.” (God, I love Spaceballs). And, hey, guess what? We didn’t find shit. The photo I’ve included above was taken at a reference location, where the cactus is known to occur. As for the transects we walked, not one of these species was found. And, unfortunately, our survey period ended up getting cut short due to a dusting of snow that easily covered our spiney little friends for the winter.

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by Jon

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Keith - You’re going about the whole “locate endangered species” thing all wrong. After reading a recent article in the Trib over our morning coffee about some threatened mouse in the Carrizo Plain and the millions of dollars being spent to conduct a population count, Linda turned to me and said, “Why not just put out a big bowl of food”? Hmmm – makes you think!

Jon - So cynical Keith. :-) How am I supposed to keep my job if people are pouring out Captain Crunch for all the kangaroo rats.

Lulu - I like the new blog, rock star! You’ll be the envy of of the blogosphere for sure!!

Mission de C-Street

Well it’s been several days since I’ve been at work and this last Sunday was a great way to cap it all off. Scott Kam (www.rootamental.com) and I headed down to Santa Barbara and Ventura in search of some decent waves. Hell, truth of the matter is that with buoys tipping the scales at 14 feet and 20+ second periods, there is not many places to hide around our usual SLO County surf spots. Thankfully we were able to find a spot amongst the fellas who all had the same idea. After it was all said and done, it’s funny how much excitement we got out of catching probably less than 10 waves between us, and paddling for hours with the masses of water that swirled around the point.

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by Jon

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lorily - I was very surprised to see that you were able to catch Scott in a real life shot. Thank you for that, he looks great!

scott - Ya, Jon
That was a good trip. Some easy rollin walls of water. I got some perfect ones the following weekend at Rincon.

Very interesting how you captured just me and everything else is a blurr. It would be more RAD if it was a sexy women.

Eylene and Pete | 11.8.08

img_78812Last weekend, I set the alarm for 4:30 a.m., grabbed my gear, and made the drive up to Paso Robles, where I linked up with Katie DiSimone (www.katiedisimone.com) for what was to be a very, very long day. Katie and I jumped into her Honda at around 5:30 am, bound for Santa Clara. Thankfully, Katie doesn’t completely obey the speed limit and is a bottomless pit of knowledge and funny stories. So, the 2.5 hour drive in the morning was pretty much painless.

Tweaked out on egg McMuffins and Starbucks coffee Katie and I arrived in Santa Clara, which greeted travelers like us with their corporate sentinel Yahoo buildings and other large office structures. Wondering what the venue for the wedding was going to look like, I guess I really wasn’t surprised to find out that it was actually within one of these buidlings – the Freedom Hall.

Right when I thought the Starbucks was going to wear off, I met the bride and groom, Eylene and Pete. Both of which were full of energy and fun quirky comments that would keep me laughing for the rest of the afternoon. After spending just a few hours with these two and their “Game Night” friends, it was undoubted that these two were made for one another and the photos showed it. Cheers Katie for letting me join you on this adventure to Santa Clara (Next time, we are hitting up the Banana Republic Outlet on the way home).

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