Where I hang out when visiting Louie…

These bikes are in the shop of Steve Main in Pt. Arena, Calif. The (black) Norton is a ’68-’69 850 Commando that was found in a barn and restored. Steve says the owner has put on 20,000 miles in the last 4 years.

The two Harleys are for sale (the Norton isn’t). The Pearl grey one (at left) is an 883 HD Sportster. $4500 or will trade for an ATV. The silver one (below) is a ’99 Dyna Super Glide and is $7000.

I like these compared to the overloaded steroided-up chromed–out Harleys you see these days. (In college I had a Harley ’45, it was like a farmer’s motorcycle, cheap, simple, dependable.)

If interested call Steve at 707-882-2818.

Visitors from France on Tuesday, before I left on trip. There will be 8 pages on their rustic commune in France in the small homes book. Check out the homemade bike. On their way from LA to Oregon. Kindred spirits seem to abound these days.

Whew! Where to start? I left home early Wednesday and drove up to the Sierras with my son Evan to meet with the star of our tiny homes book, a world champion snowboarder who has built a most incredible house in the wilderness. We had been struggling with the layout — a huge number of great photos — and lo and behold, our builder had done stunning layouts, 10 pages in all, of his creation and its spectacular mountain surroundings. Yes!

This book has its own life. It’s like a living organism right now, changing and assembling itself. We’re just there to help. No kidding. It started slowly, and now it’s roaring along like a locomotive. Stuff is pouring in. We’re already beyond our (224) page count, and it’s obvious this is going to be a series (we’ve got tons of material for another book). It won’t be out until February — such is the reality of our slow production process and the logistics of printing and shipping from overseas.

Then back from the Sierras through the heat of the Sacramento Valley. In Auburn we stopped to shoot photos at a place that sold a variety of Teardrop trailers (popular in the 40s-50s, being rediscovered now). In Fairfield I dropped Evan off at his car, and proceeded westward to the coast. By the time I got to the Russian River, there was a cool freshness in the air, and I drove along the river out to its mouth at Jenner, then headed north in the night along the foggy coast.

Yesterday I went into Gualala with Louie for breakfast at Trinks, a triple threat cafe — excellent lattes, breakfast, and speedy wi-fi. I downloaded a ton of email. Hoo-whee,things are popping right now, on all fronts. Sunday I spent 5 hours getting filmed and interviewed about skateboarding for AOL. It’s for a series of 1-1/2 minute videos they run on their website, called: “You’ve got…” There seems to be a lot of interest suddenly in someone of my, um, age, skating.

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The Vardo is designed to nest inside most any truck bed. It can also be pulled on its own trailer. The material costs to build this structure are approximately $2,500 (not including the optional heater).It has enough room for a full-sized bed flanked by a couple of work surfaces. Underneath is 35 cubic feet of storage space. The Vardo is not designed as a “house.” It doesn’t have a kitchen or bathroom.

What type of truck can I build this in?

These plans are designed with the most popular Ford 150 truck in mind. However, you can easily build it longer or shorter as needed to meet the requirements of your truck.

https://www.tumbleweedhouses.com/houses/vardo/

Bruno, one of the 3 major builders in Builders of the Pacific Coast, is getting ready to launch his Ola Suerte, a junk-rigged steel sailboat he has been working on for 22 years. (He built it from scratch.) Our mutual friend Godfrey Stephens will be there at the launching, and we’ll have photos of the occasion.