Just a dopey windshield pic at Bullard & Chestnut. I was too lazy to pull over and take the picture like a man [lol]. I do love a good Fresno sunset though.
Sunset Over Fresno State
Category: California
Sundown At Bullard
I was wandering the Bullard track and campus last night and took a few quick and unplanned shots
I dunno, cool enough and all, but I might look into a Skill Share class on iPhone photography.
Trips to escape the Fresno heat
I am like many Fresnans in that I can take the heat. May, June, July, and August is hot and we accept that. Otherwise, we’ll go crazy.
For me though, by the time September rolls around and something upper 90s or 100s shows up, I am like “Hell no! We have all had enough out of you. Get the freaking frack out of here!”
Well, this week is going to be in the upper 90s and 100 plus. And it’s September. Scew that.
If you have the means, I say you get the frick out of here. Might I suggest someone you can go to get away from Fresno for a day or more? These are places I have stayed before or places I want to stay when I can:
- Yosemite – Yosemite Valley Lodge.
- Kings Canyon/Sequoia – Montecito Sequoia Lodge.
- Tahoe – Marriot Grand Residence Club.
- Morro Bay – Inn at Rose Landing.
- Pismo – The Cliffs Hotel & Spa.
- Carmel – Lobos Lodge.
- Pismo – Inn at the Cove.
I don’t have the money for this today. I blew it a few weeks ago in Yosemite. I will be at work hating life and sweating, hoping my swamp cooler will work at home. But maybe YOU can get out of here.
Get out for all of us. Enjoy life!
And when you come back the weather will finally be better and you can tell us how nice it was to get away.
Be safe.
-Mikey
Fresno’s Christmas Tree Lane Brings Back Walk Nights!
I am not going to question it, I will just accept it.
The rumors are true. Organizers of Fresno’s Christmas Tree Lane have brought back ‘walk nights’. For you Fresno newbs, this is when they do not let cars go down Old Van Ness and they let people do something totally strange in Fresno… walk
Last year they implied Walk Nights would never come back, but here we are.
As per the tradition, there are two walk nights:
- Saturday, December 2nd.
- Tuesday, December 12th.
Christmas Tree Lane starts Saturday (Dec 2nd) and is open every night thru December 25th.
The Lane opens every night at 6 PM. Closes (lights off) at 10 Sunday-Thursday and 11 PM Friday and Saturday.
More info can be found here.
Where To Park On Christmas Tree Lane Walk Nights
You just park in the neighborhood. I assume people who live in Old Fig hate Walk Nights. But they get to throw parties on Walk Nights, so it’s kinda worth it.
Some people park in Fig Garden Village and take some sort of tram, or get a ride and are dropped off, or walk all the way down to Shields and then walk back.
Heads up: if you do park at Fig Garden Village, it is insane with cars and people. I went to pick up food one night not remembering it was a Walk Night, and got stuck in the Village for a while and didn’t even score food.
I just find a dumb house to park in front of somewhere near Dakota but not South of the railroad tracks.
Hopefully, the return of Walk Nights will relieve some of the pressure of regular car nights when the line to drive Christmas Tree Lane goes down Blackstone all the way to Shaw.
That is right. You basically get in line for Christmas Tree Lane at Shaw.
But hey, screw that, Walk Nights are back. I might hit up both nights, just because.
A nice video that Localish put together a few years ago:
See ya out there.
Can You See Satellites In Fresno? Yes.
The ISS with solar array in full bloom (pic by NASA just in case you thought I took this)
Sorry if this is yet another thing that makes me a nerd but I like spotting satellites in Fresno’s night sky. Even with our light pollution, its not that hard to do.
If ya think you have never seen one, you probably have and just passed it off as a plane.
The trick to spot them for me is: there are no blinking lights on a satellite.
It is one solid light that looks like a star, but moving smoothly and quietly across the night sky.
- Blinking = Plane.
- Solid = Satellite.
If you like watching a small dot move across a screen, here is a video I took of the International Space Station going over the Eastern Fresno sky:
And this equally dorky one across the NW Fresno sky:
I mean, come on now, THAT is some THRILLING ? video people! [sarcasm]
As nerds in Fresno take video of them that you can hardly see, the Space Station crew occasionally takes shots of the Earth below:
The aurora australis is spectacular in these views from the station above the Indian Ocean in between Asia and Antarctica. https://t.co/gzNPCRRjUN pic.twitter.com/VFXye26yWs
— International Space Station (@Space_Station) August 5, 2021
There are websites and apps to help spot things. I sometimes use an app simply called “Satellite Tracker” to find me some info on what I might be seeing – there is a lot of abandoned space junk up there still circling.
You can find a calendar of the ISS’s activities here.
Once you get the hang of it, it becomes pretty easy to spot the random ? satellite – there are many more than there used to be. It usually only takes a minute to find one and I live in the middle of the city.
Also, over the next few weeks the Perseid Metor Shower is going on, peaking August 11-13th. You definitely can catch a few from your patio but those are best viewed outside of the city.
A Patio In Fresno
Out in my backyard on the patio I can currently hear four different neighbors either on their patio or in their backyard, enjoying themselves.
Two different music streams (outside of my own). Lots of laughing and alcohol charged loud talk. Pent-up partying getting released.
Lights are taking effect and the stars are coming out.
It’s 8:49PM, 80 degrees and a damn nice Fresno evening.
Cheers to Saturday nights and peace to Fresno. ✌️