May 1

Up the incline, following Clear Creek, on the way I’ll pass the turn off to the New Idria mines, once the largest Mercury mine in the west – see previous post. Mercury is processed by mining cinnabar, then calcination in large ovens (heating it up to release the gas) It is then bottled and when it cools, turns into liquid mercury. 38 million pounds were mined from New Idria before it closed – now a Superfund site – EPA. I’m not going to the mines, I’m headed for Joaquin’s Ridge, and according to the BLM map, I need to stay on Route 11. But what I’m really after is the austere beauty that zaps me in between the eyes. Everything seems to vibrate out here, and the road is like riding a frequency that suddenly and without notice changes. There is a magical element here – Hermes, the Shapeshifter, the eclectic messenger, and all of its association with alchemy. This is an alchemical land, full of contrast and modality and everywhere it’s coming up just over the next rise.