The Walk to Lone Mountain

Look up

On occasion, I’m obliged to walk up the one hundred and five steps of Lone Mountain, to the administrative offices at the top of the hill. It’s a beautiful walk — often punctuated by an occasional sighting of a red-tailed hawk circling restlessly above — but I’m embarrassed to admit that, because my head is often quite thickly wrapped in a tight gauze of work responsibilities, I frequently forget to open my eyes and enjoy the expansive views. This is, unfortunately, not a new development for me, nor, I sadly suspect, a unique one, but on occasion, if we are in a present state of mind, we are treated to the overt or covert beauty of a place, if we give it more than simply a passing glance. This happened once in college, when, deep in the middle of examination stresses, I looked up from my distracted gaze, and away from schedules, internship apps, and personal woes, and discovered, as if for the first time, the serene and spectacular beauty of the wooland university I attended with its towering redwoods and frequent sprays of sudden wildflowers. This happened again last night, while, walking toward home on a pleasant street, I remembered — as if a veil of forgetfulness were lifted from an amnesiac — that I enjoyed the blue dim of dusk, the cherry trees in the near burst of (a west coast) bloom, and the light, refreshing sprinkle of rain on a late winter day. I was lucky. I might have remained in the constrictive fissures of my thoughts, and gone home and festered on something, and awoke exhausted — but I didn’t. It’s one of those moments when I must say, audibly, ‘Thank you.’

So enjoy the following photos of and from Lone Mountain. These were taken over two separate occasions, one in the late summer, and one on a crisp, winter day last week.

And enjoy your own beautiful walks today, wherever and with whomever that may be.

The arch at the top of the South Stairs of Lone Mountain, University of San Francisco, looking up from Turk Street

Arch and Lion Fountain at the first landing of the South Stairs -- 105 steps

A view to the South East

A bench by Loyola House, and a peek at the San Francisco horizon between the trees

Click on the picture to open this wide panorama in full size

Palm Tree walk to South Stairway

Beautiful detailing on the main doors to the Lone Mountain campus

South West view above the South Stairs: Lion Fountain architecture, St. Ignatius Church spires, and Sutro Tower on Twin Peaks

Downtown San Francisco skyline, from Lone Mountain courtyard

The Marin Headlands under puffy clouds, looking north from Lone Mountain courtyard

Walkway toward K-Hall, morning

The French Lick Springs Hotel

Ceiling painting, detail

My buddy and I visited the French Lick Springs Resort on the same day we visited the West Baden Springs Hotel, and I was dazzled equally by the polished refinement of both historic places. The French Lick, specifically, brought back fond memories for my host, who visited the resort as a child and recounted, throughout our visit, warm summer memories of wonder and excitement. The hotel is a bit different from when he first visited, and perhaps it was our somewhat contemplative, midwinter (mid-week) visit, but I observed quite clearly in him, a constant and quiet sense of remembrances– incomplete and perhaps impressionist memories which advanced and receded as walls and hallways became momentarily animated by memory.

While walking the grounds — my companion patiently bearing awkward stops while I photographed — I wished that I too had the same early experiences of the resort as my fine friend. Nonetheless, the impressions of the resort remain within my own memory for different reasons, and also in the photographs which follow this post. As always, click on the photos to open them to full-size.

To see the virtual tour of the French Lick Hotel, at the Resort website, click here.

Enjoy.

The Grand entrance to the French Lick Springs Resort

A glamorous staircase

The veranda overlooking the grand entry

The gorgeous lobby is breathtaking, and brings the Gilded Age to life.

Details of the fireplace

The angled shot of the ceiling paintings, framed in gold.

Ceiling details at the check-in counter

My buddy was telling me he remembered this detailing from his family's frequent visits to the French Lick Resort when he was a child. It's a charming flourish one rarely sees.

Intricate floor mosaics in a stunning design.

A photo of the back facade, formerly the location of the pool -- another place of fond, childhood memories for my traveling companion.

I was dazzled by the fine detailing beside a quiet, rear staircase, leading formerly into 'Lucifer's' -- a bar whose name was likely a play on the region's curative, sulfured water, the primary draw for visitors to the French Lick Resort in its early history. You can see a carved head of 'Lucifer' on the keystone above the bottom window.

Rear staircase

Old Silver, New Candles, and the Company of Friends

I had a few moments before a dinner party, so I decided to take some still-life shots of the gorgeous table where we would be dining. Imagine the flicker of candles, good wines, an extraordinary meal, and, most importantly, good friends gathering, laughing, and sharing.

Live and love and celebrate.

Louisville

So much to say about my recent trip, but the vast majority of my impressions involved more than beautiful landmarks and historic places, and was really about things I could barely describe in words — hence my inability to really talk about it. In any event, I found Louisville — even with gentle caveats from my handsome host about the weather and landscape this time of year — an elegant, remarkable city, lined with countless, impossibly beautiful trees bare and dormant in winter, and precisely appointed architecture in distinctive, charming neighborhoods.

I was not able to take a large number of photos on this trip, and tended to default to photos with a more iconic essence, but I fully intend to return for a longer stay, with my better camera, and perhaps slightly more clement weather, to catch more than merely a glimpse of a pretty place. Only a few photos from my recent trip to Louisville, Kentucky, follow, and as always, you can click on the photos to view them in large format.

Churchill Downs

Colonel Harland Sanders, 1890 - 1980

Serene and contemplative -- Waterfront Park in the midwinter

Louisville's Historic Water Tower -- Some beautiful details on this historic architecture.

The Ohio on a winter day

The Ohio, beneath thick mist

One of many gated, historic estates. I would very much like to return to see them again.

Quietly elegant in the winter chill

The West Baden Springs Hotel

The West Baden Springs Hotel, and the French Lick Springs Hotel, happen to be among the most photogenic buildings I have ever visited. Even in the stark, mid-winter cold of southern Indiana, the architecture seemed to glimmer and glow with a classic, almost timeless vitality. While dining under the hotel’s legendary dome, I remarked to my charming companion that I could clearly imagine visitors (and residents), in period dress from the early 20th century onward, much like us: dining, lounging, walking the halls, or enjoying the natural daylight from the extraordinary glass dome of the atrium.

For fans of architectural and social history, the story of the West Baden Springs Hotel will easily hold your attention. Any natural curiosity about the architecture is augmented by the proud display of historic photos of the building in esteemed use by countless guests. Artifacts and memorabilia from the hotel’s earliest days through the recent efforts for its historic preservation, adorn the walls and cabinets of the parlors and shops. But even this ample evidence of the hotel’s colorful longevity can only hint at the elegant intrigue the hotel must have hosted.  At one time the “getaway” of choice for Al Capone (because of its proximity to Chicago), if the walls could speak, a remarkable story I’m sure they would tell.  Read the history of the West Baden Springs Hotel here.

Having visited in January, I can only wonder what the resorts must look like in the spring, when the trees have filled out, and the fountains once again flow. I do intend to find out one day, but until then here are some photos I took of the beautiful West Baden — the stunning French Lick Hotel will follow in a few days.

Click on the photos to see them full-size.

West Baden Springs Hotel -- Historic Stairway Entrance

A Latin saying on the tile mosaic at the entrance translates in multiple ways, but generally means, 'Virtue through Adversity' or 'Strength through Struggle'

The magnificent dome -- 100 feet high and 200 feet across, rising six stories.

Hotel rooms ring the interior of the atrium.

Lavish mosaics cover the floors.

This photo of the interior elevation gives a better sense of how high the dome rises.

Some of the more ornate architectural details of the original hotel were carefully covered up by the Jesuits while the building was in use as a seminary. Their desire to tone down the opulent, Beaux arts style of the hotel -- by covering up its more lavish flourishes -- may have, in fact, saved those architectural details from irreparable deterioration in the latter part of the century.

The hotel lobby, where the check-in desk and concierge are located, is equally stunning, with a radiating light fixture echoing the main atrium.

The famous ceramic fireplace

The elegant dining room often hosts Sunday brunch.. I'd love to dine there someday...

Detail of a transom window, topping french doors which lead to the veranda.

Artifacts from the hotel's early days

Bottled water from the area's mineral springs was branded 'Plutowater,' and was sold as a curative. The natural springs were the primary reason early guests stayed at the West Baden and French Lick.

Looking out from a parlor onto the front veranda.

The January cold keeps the veranda silent and serene.

Staircase, leading to the gardens.

Formal elegance in the quiet gardens

Looking toward the old bowling and billiards building. Some parts of the brick walkway were covered in ice.

Classical engraving for the bowling and billiards pavilion.

Classical gazebo, covering the mineral springs well.

Looking back toward the majestic hotel from the far end of the garden

Mammoth Cave National Park

I returned, last week, from a remarkable trip to Kentucky, where I stayed with a brilliant, loving, and handsome man, who I love with certainty and beyond all words. While there, we visited, Mammoth Cave National Park, on a clear, crisp sunny morning.

Click on pictures, to view them in large format.

The mid-January sun was clear and bright, and the air was cold and clean.

Our Ranger explaining the path, and warning everyone about the strenuous nature of the trek.

Our group of about 30 walked to the 'Historic Entrance' of Mammoth Cave.

Mammoth Cave National Park, and Kentucky in general, was truly beautiful, even in midwinter.

Stark, winter beauty.

Taking photographs inside the cave system was virtually impossible without flash, though long exposures seemed to work in some cases. Taking flash photos would have rendered most shots flatly, and frankly would not have been the way one naturally sees the cave. Here, we were inside the large 'rotunda,' at least fifty feet tall from floor to ceiling. This part of the cave system was dubbed 'the mammoth cave' by an early journalist. You can see the Ranger Guide on the lower left of the snapshot.

The caves were initially used for saltpeter excavation during the War of 1812. Some artifacts remain from that use.

Examples of candle-writing on the low parts of the cave ceilings, where early adventurers would burn their names with candles into the rock. The earliest graffiti we could see was from 1822.

In the part of the cave traditionally called, 'Fat Man's Misery,' just prior to the section called 'Tall Man's Agony.' Yes, I was feeling pretty happy in this photo.. My sweetheart was taking it.

An example of the only water-soluble, mineral deposit in this part of the cave system. The interiors of the caves were a comfortable 50 degrees or so, and the air was often quite heavy with humidity from the ground-water drips.

Emerging from the cave system, the air was shockingly colder at the entrance and outside, than inside the cave itself. I thought quite often of Orpheus following Eurydice, for some reason, while in the caves.

Cold, beautiful, blue skies greeted us as we exited the caves.

The drive into and out of the park was just as spectacular as the caves themselves.

Heading home, we spotted another traveler -- No, they were not going into the Pilot Station.

Christmas Past

Just a few photos from this past Christmas season… and a poem at the end.

After Midnight, with light and incense, Grace Cathedral, San Francisco, CA

Snowman Ornament on a White Tree

My Mom's Christmas Village

Vintage Angel Ornament

Christmas Village, the Town Square

Saint Ignatius Church - Winter Night

Vintage Elf Ornament

Christmas Village - Snow Fight

Sutro Tower in the Winter Clouds

“The Action of Snowfall”

Act on your life like
a billion-billion snowflakes.
You will see
in time,
garlands of crystalline acts –
All unique –
adorning those same branches where
green leaves shivered
yellow and dropped by the weight
of mortality.

One by one, let
each act
loose,
To wander in the crisp breeze
of your yearning soul –
A meandering harmony of many acts,
a carol aloft
on life’s unpredictable
breath.

Make all life yuletide:
Quiet evenings
with tea,
by fires, beside love.
Let Blitzen, herself, deliver
your needs
with a bell.

Finally, Traveler,
Let every soft-diamond act
twinkle brilliance
as it descends –
Until your own head is
wreathed in acts
you’ve let loose in love,
only to return to you:

This Crown –
Priceless, transient jewels,
is your life’s reward.

Luminosity

I love stained glass. In and of itself, not much but colored glass, fixed together in some thoughtful way. But, when you add light — bright, clear, brilliant white light, it becomes much more than the sum of all its parts. It is its own unique light, its own glow, its own story.

I am always dazzled by stained glass, and so, I thought I’d share a few photos of some glass I’ve had the privilege of photographing. Enjoy.

Angel, with trumpet - Old Cathedral of Saint Mary's, San Francisco

Assumption of Mary (detail) - Old Cathedral of Saint Mary's, San Francisco

Mary Magdalene - Saint Ignatius Church, San Francisco

Esther Regina - Saint Ignatius Church, San Francisco

Angel, with violin - Old Cathedral of Saint Mary's, San Francisco

Jesus and Saint Joseph - Old Cathedral of Saint Mary's, San Francisco

Baptism of Jesus - Old Cathedral of Saint Mary's, San Francisco

Baptism of Jesus, detail of John - Old Cathedral of Saint Mary's, San Francisco

Gabriel - Saint Ignatius Church, San Francisco

Rose Window - Grace Cathedral, San Francisco

Paths

South Beach, San Francisco, October 2009

The Path

If you don’t like where
you are,
Walk.

Step around brambles
Leap over pits
Caution the shortcuts that –
while flat and pleasant –
sticks you
Back
to not liking where
you are.

I learned to walk
in the dark,
avoided the fissures in the pavement,
but couldn’t see the world.
Always ended up somewhere different.
But sunlight is much nicer.

Love the amble.
Trust the direction of the sun.
Your blood always
finds the path
Pointing to your
Cherished Beloved.

National AIDS Memorial Grove, Golden Gate Park, San Francisco, June 2009

The Labyrinth: Grace Cathedral, San Francisco, October 2009

Dawn: Post Street, San Francisco, October 2009

Yosemite National Park, February 2009

San Francisco Museum of Modern Art, San Francisco, July 2009

San Francisco traffic, Fall, 2009

Autumn Dew

Grassy Area, The Presidio, San Francisco -- Morning

If we were tiny, we could drink.

Grasshopper or ant?