By 2011, restoration efforts have changed the appearance of the same dune. The Pilot/ Andrea pickart

CRESCENT CITY – Looking out over the seemingly endless expanses of European beach grass in Tolowa Dunes State Park, the idea of clearing out all of the invasive plant often triggers a  response like, “Yeah, right.”   

But efforts in Lanphere dunes to the south in Humboldt County have accomplished just that, restoring 90 percent of the area to a flowering, bio-diverse collection of native plants.

Proof of the possibility of restoration locally will be demonstrated during a tour  at 1 p.m. Sunday, June 24, comparing the monotony of beach grass to the vibrant, multi-colored variety of more than 70 native plants at a recently restored 17-acre site in Tolowa Dunes.

Country and rock musicians ages 14 to 20 who play an instrument and/or sing are encouraged to audition for a band at 6 p.m. on July 7 at the Brookings-Harbor Community Theater. 

The public is invited to attend with a donation at the door. All proceeds will go toward future Brookings-Harbor Community Theater productions. 

Country-rock singer Camryn Ridgley, 16, of Crescent City, will be the lead singer of the band. 

Sanger Lake is in a bowl at 5,000 feet above sea level in Eastern Del Norte County. The Pilot/Bill Schlichting

Sanger Lake sits in a bowl, 5,000 feet above sea level, surrounded by mountain peaks on three sides and a portion of a fourth. A stream flows out of the lake, the water almost immediately plummets down the side of the mountain where it feeds into the upper reaches of the Middle Fork Smith River.

Nearby is a jagged mountain of ancient serpentine that has the same name as the lake. Sanger Peak rises 5,862 feet above sea level and is among the highest peaks in the immediate vicinity. The east side of the mountain is steep with vertical walls rising 500 feet.

Sanger Peak and nearby Haystack Mountain are prominently visible from Highway 199 looking south from Cave Junction. Likewise, from Sanger Peak is an unobstructed view of the Illinois Valley.

A calcite column, flanked on the left by a stalagmite and on the right by a stalactite, was created by 2.5 million years of seeping carbonic acid. Photos courtesy of Barb Gonzalez

CAVE JUNCTION — It made one heck of a great hunting story.

It was the fall of 1874. Accompanied by his hound dog, Bruno, 24-year-old Elijah Davidson had just tracked and shot a deer in a mountainous region of the Siskiyou Range south of Grants Pass. Davidson was preparing to carry the animal out when Bruno took off up the hill, distracted by some other scent.

Davidson left the deer and went in pursuit of his canine friend, whose baying was becoming muffled and distant. Just as he had traced the sound to a small opening in the rocky mountainside, near the point where an underground stream was emerging, he heard yelps mixed with barks and loud snarls. He followed to see what all the commotion was about.

Graduates dance to the song "I've had the time of my life" before they graduate on Saturday. The Pilot/Scott Graves

During the windy ceremony on Elmer Bankus Field, graduates, their friends and family, staff and community members listened to Sea Breeze members perform a few numbers including the national anthem, a presentation of the Academic Excellence and Honors Diplomas recipients, and to speeches by the salutatorians and valedictorians, teacher of the year, faculty speaker and keynote speaker before the roll call for diplomas.

As expected, the ceremony was serious, full of reflection and inspiration. Yet at times it was also light-hearted and funny.