Yeti Country: January

      The Mayor drove to the North Coast on the last weekend to attend a civic conference at Humboldt State. U.   Driving on Highway 101 used to be treacherous back in the day: rivers flooded, highways blocked, washouts, fallen redwood giants, etc.  Not now, it is a modern road all the way to Eureka.  Driving north is a geographer's treat: the landscape changes are amazing as one leaves civilization behind.  Northern California has as little population as the Southern California deserts.  Wide open forested wild country, loaded with wild life.   The ability to make a living  or lack there of has sent generations south to the big city with jobs for those looking for work.   Small towns are gone, closed down.   Big towns are hanging on, thanks to:  marijuana growers and their crop.  It's  big business, especially now as modern America moves toward full legalization(Come on, Obama!).  Nightly  news casts point to Colorado and how they are moving into commercial operations and distribution.
      Anyway, marijuana has been big in the woods for decades.  A cash economy, not really underground, but always outside federal law.
     Humboldt State has grown over the last 50 years from 1500 students to over 8000 undergrads now.  The campus has modernized and looks great.  Students are on semester break still, so the campus was generally quiet- plenty of parking available, but obviously tight when students are there.  While the rest of the USA is in the grip of a freezing Arctic air mass, Humboldt and Del Norte counties are basking in summer weather: high 60's during the day.  It hit 70 in Garberville yesterday afternoon!
      More later