Vonzeles, a band to watch

This past weekend, The Bug had Vonzeles, unplugged. If you are a rocker, or into the alternative scene, you should really check them out. These guys are talented, hard working, professional and extremely cool. They came back on the full moon for the Full Moon Acoustic Gathering to hang out and jam because they liked the place so much. This band is a band to watch, don't be surprised if you start to hear them on the radio or see them on MTV. These guys are going places. Check out their video for the single "I Remember".

Vonzeles Music Video "I Remember"

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The Bug features many extremely talented musicians and fully support them all and appreciate their visits and music but I wouldn't be a bit surprised if these guys ended up being the most widely known of anyone who has ever played here.

"I Remember" will be featured on a forthcoming Bug Band compilation CD that will be distributed free as a promotional item. Details coming soon...

Bug Health Spa News!

The Bug has opened it's new health spa. Construction on the expansion of the front end of the lodge is ongoing but the yoga studio, the massage rooms, the herbal soaking room and bathrooms are ready to go. Our on-site massage therapist/Tai Chi instructor is here and ready to work. For more information, go to The Bug spa page or call 209-966-6666 for more information.

Bug Bus High Sierra Backpacking trip

Hey everyone this Dave the bug bus guide,

Well I just got back from the first High Sierra Tour. We had a Blast.
We started off at the Bug on Wednesday and started our way up to Tuolumne Meadows but got side tracked at Crane Flat on Highway 120 junction, where there were three Bears. After taking several pictures of the Mother and her two cubs, we once again got on the road to the High Country. Arriving in Tuolumne Meadows we stopped and did a short hike to the top of Lembert Dome. This was a great overlook of the Yosemite Back Country, with Peaks starting their glow as the sun was starting to set.
The first night at Saddlebag Lake was beautiful and the weather was perfect for a high sierra night. After setting up camp I started cooking dinner for Jonaf, Dave, Rachel and myself. After dinner we cleaned up and settled down to a nice warm campfire.
The next morning was a bit chilly but sunny. We had breakfast and after clean up went on a hike around Saddlebag Lake to the Lundy Cannon overlook. After returning to the van we proceeded down Lee Vining grade and went to see the tufa towers on the shores of Mono Lake. We checked out the Cinder Cones of the Mono craters which told us a story of days gone past when Volcanoes ruled this area. We proceeded north on highway 395 to the Green Creek turn off and traveled eight and a half miles down a dirt road to Green Creek campgrounds.
Before setting up camp we took a four mile round trip hike to Green Lake. There were some beautiful flower displays still happening so I spent a lot of time taking some close ups of them and trying to learn my new camera.
After we got back to the camp site we set up the tent and proceeded to start cooking dinner. As the Tri Tip was on the grill cooking the campground hosts came over to introduce themselves and to let us know that there was a fairly large bear in the area and to make sure that we clean up our campsite before retiring for the night. As we sat down to eat here came the bear to see what was on the menu and seeing how Rachel was to fond of him being so close to us we tried to take a couple of pictures but ended up scaring him off and the only shot that I got of him was of his big butt running off in the woods.
After cleaning up and putting all food related items back in the van we set off to the Travertine Hot Springs for a good soaking. After watching sunset sitting in the hot springs we made our way back to camp, had another nice warm fire, ate s’mores, and told stories of our most scary, life threatening event.
The next morning we had a quick breakfast and headed to the old ghost town of Bodie for pictures, then back to Yosemite for a quick tour of Yosemite Valley and back to the Bug. All in all, quite the nice time and I’m sure one that we won’t forget.

Dave the Mountain Pirate

Cancer Benefit for Reen Perkins

Please join us for an evening of good food and entertainment to support a local Mariposan and friend, undergoing treatment for cancer.

Reen, an active teacher and student of yoga, has always lived simply to keep her load light and her spiritual connections strong. Now she is being asked to settle into a stationary life while she undergoes chemotherapy and other medical procedures.

This fundraising event is being put on by friends in the area who know and love Reen. Because we have all benefited from Reen's gentle and joyful teaching, now it is time for us to help her.

What: Dinner, Drinks, Donated Goods & Service Auction, Music & Dinner (all proceeds will go directly to Reen's cause)

Where: The Yosemite Bug Rustic Mountain Resort, 6979A Hwy 140 Midpines

The Bodie Room

When: Saturday, July 14th, from 5:30-10 p.m.

How Much: $30 for the full event, including two drink tickets for the bar (dinner served 6-7 p.m.), or $15 for two drink tickets & entertainment from 7:30-10 p.m.

Musicians donating their time and talents to the event are: Ben Carpenter, Ethan Steffensen, Matt Luczy and Denise Ludington.

Ticket Sellers & Event Correspondents:

Yosemite Bug office (www.yosemitebug.com, or 209-966-6666): Credit Cards accepted.

Sallee Lang (lang@sti.net or 209-966-6606): RSVP or General questions about the event.

Paola Jackson (snpjackson@sti.net, or 209-966-6212), & Ruth Ketvirtis (dibbyruth@yahoo.com): Volunteer coordinators.

Ruth Smiley (support@blueoakom.com, or 209-966-7141) & Regina Hill (reginah@sti.net, or 209-966-7795): Gift Donations.

Caroline McGrath (caroline@yosemitebug.com): Cash Donations. Make all checks payable to Dorothy Perkins, and mail to:
Yosemite Bug
Attn: Caroline
P.O. Box 81
Midpines, CA 95345

Can't make it, but still want to participate by making a donation? Mail your contribution to the above address, or contact any of the event coordinators to make arrangements.

Wilderness First Responder Course

Yosemite Bug will be holding a WFR course in the Bodie room from November 12th to the 20th. No certification is necessary as long as you are 16 or older. All materials and equipment needed are supplied with tuition. You can choose to pay tuition only to take the class here, or package deals are available for lodging and meals as well as tuition.

From the National Outdoor Leadership School, NOLS, website:
"This is a nationally recognized program that trains participants to respond to emergencies in remote settings.

The 80-hour curriculum includes standards for urban and extended care situations. Special topics include but are not limited to: wound management and infection, realigning fractures and dislocations, improvised splinting techniques, patient monitoring and long term management problems, up-to-date information on all environmental emergencies, plus advice on drug therapies. Emphasis is placed on prevention and decision-making, not the memorization of lists.

This course is designed specifically to provide you with the tools to make critical medical and evacuation decisions in remote locations. Half of your time will be spent completing practical skills, case studies and scenarios designed to challenge your decision making abilities. The WMI Adult CPR is included in this course."

For more information, contact robin@yosemitebug.com

Becoming an Outdoors Woman Workshop

Drawing on Nature
May 4-6, 2007
Yosemite

Picture yourself sitting below Half Dome or Bridal Veil Falls creating a memory all your own. If you ever wanted to learn to draw or better your skills, don't miss this comprehensive workshop. The famed wildlife artist, Bill Peters, will be our instructor for this drawing class in Yosemite. Using pencil, pen, or chalk, Bill’s talent and technique will have you drawing a leaf, a feather, and Half Dome before the weekend’s end!

We will be staying at the beautiful Yosemite Bug, a classic rustic resort. Rooms are dormitory style, and we will enjoy delicious meals at the Yosemite Bug café. Arrival time is 3:00 p.m. Friday and departure is Sunday after lunch.

All lodging & meals are included. Check out the accommodations at www.yosemitebug.com.

Instructor: Bill Peters
Number of participants: 30
Cost: $250

Register

Presentation on the Effects of Global Warming on Polar Bears

Friday, April 27, 2007
Contact: Chad Kister (740) 707-4110; chadkister@gmail.com; www.chadkister.com
Yosemite Bug 209-966-6666 6979A Highway 140 Midpines
Polar Bear Survival tour to present Yosemite Bug Bodie Room, 8 pm

Residents of Midpines and Mariposa have a unique opportunity to hear firsthand about the massive impacts of climate change in the Arctic that threatens not only the polar bear, but humanity as well with a presentation at 8 pm in Midpines, Yosemite Bug Bodie room. The polar bear is the canary in the coal mine for climate change, and their rapid decline shows that we are in a serious crisis in desperate need of political action.
With Arctic ice continuing to decline, the US Fish and Wildlife Service predicts that the polar bear could be extinct in the wild as early as 2040, when scientists say the Arctic Ocean will likely be nearly ice-free unless massive changes are made to reduce greenhouse gas emissions.
Arctic Quest and Arctic Melting Author Chad Kister is launching another speaking tour around the United States and Canada, mostly by train, April and May to promote wilderness for the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge and action on climate change, both needed to protect the polar bear and so much more.
Kister is traveling by fuel efficient train, which gets up to 40 times better fuel efficiency per passenger mile compared to flying or driving, and a major solution to climate change.

Arctic champions in Congress have introduced legislation to protect the Arctic Refuge coastal plain as wilderness, and this tour is an effort to show them support, as well as showing the need for the USFWS to demand a mandatory reduction in greenhouse gas emissions to save the polar bear, and so much more. The coastal plain of the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge is by far the densest denning ground of polar bear in the world. The tour will help spread the word nationwide about the need to lobby for wilderness protection.

With his Arctic Melting presentation, Kister shows the very latest of climate change's impacts to the Arctic and Alaska , having just finished the second edition updates to the book. The presentation shows the critical need to immediately begin reducing fossil fuel emissions and replace them with solar, wind, efficiency and other renewable resources.
Citizens can take action online until April 7 to support the USFWS proposal to list the polar bear as threatened at www.arcticrefuge.org.
Polar bear live in 19 population groups across the circumpolar Arctic. All are expected to go into decline toward extinction with current trends of thinning ice. Ice has thinned 42 percent in the last 40 years, as measured by U.S. submarine data. Melting in Greenland has doubled in the last 5 years according to NASA senior Scientist James Hansen. He also said that sea levels could rise 80 feet, and that the melting is far more dynamic and fast than previously fast, and accelerating exonentially.
In his Arctic Melting book, Kister has a chapter detailing a 2004 Pentagon report that found climate change a more serious threat than terrorism.

See the first 5 minutes of Caribou People now online, and some of Kister's Berkeley Arctic Melting presentation (now much improved), as well as the updates and action alerts at www.arcticrefuge.org and www.chadkister.com.
Kister is the author of Arctic Quest and Arctic Melting (Common Courage Press), as well as the producer of the 50 minute film Caribou People. His next book, Against All Odds: The Struggle to Save The Ridges is coming out in a few weeks.

Ethan Steffensen, Live at the Bug

Though most of you have probalby never heard of Ethan Steffensen, don't be surprised if one day you walk into your local record store and see a display of his work. Ethan is a musician local to Mariposa, though he has also done some work in San Luis Obisbo. He is young, but a very talented writer. He first played the Bug shortly after Thanksgiving last year and we were flabbergasted at his progress. Now to clarify, he has always been remarkably talented, though he lacked the full measure of confidence needed to make his voice shine. He seems to have gotten over that hurtle. None of us knew he could sing like that.
Ethan is well known and loved at the Bug as he used to be one of the staff members here and two of his roommates still work here so he spends a lot of time here and is still close to much of the staff. He is heavily influenced by artists like Radiohead and Pearl Jam. One day he may well be an influence on others.
Some video was shot that night and you can find them at YouTube. A staff member here has an account and you can go to here to find a link to that users page and watch to your heart's content. We must share one video here though. I can't tell you the title of the song and I have to apologize for the background noise but the guitar solo was quite an event. Zach Green is also a staff member at the Bug and musician who prefers loud and fast music. He used his wireless set up to surprise the crowd with a solo that he began from the outside deck.

Ethan did a lot of original material that night as well as some covers, including "Wagonwheel" which was a big hit and was also captured on video. You can find it at the YouTube link found above.

We know the video quality could be much better, w=but what do you think? Would you buy Ethan's album or see him live? I suspect he'd impress you and I wouldn't be a bit surprised if he got even better by the time he is done writing his lasted album's worth of material.

See you at the next show.

Ben Carpenter playing live at the Bug

Saturday night, March 31st, local talent was playing at Cafe at the Bug, and I do mean talent. Our friend Ben Carpenter played with assistance from our friend and one time employee, Ethan Steffensen. There is an incredible amount of music talent in the area from Yosemite National Park to Mariposa and the Cafe is a great place to showcase that. Ben played a good deal of original material as well as some covers and fortunately, an employee was equipped with a digital camera capable of taking video as well as stills. One of Ben's own songs was captured for your viewing pleasure. The quality isn't great, though the sound is pretty good.



The weekend progressed into Sunday which happened to be another Full Moon Acoustic Gathering. Some guests were introduced to hand drumming. The circle this time was graced for the first time by the presence of a friend of an employee from Sacramento, and his son, a man who happens to be quite a skilled drummer. He taught his son to drum for what I believe was the first time and that young man picked it up as though it were part of his genetic make-up. There was a young lady there with her parents who were staying at the Bug for the weekend and when our gentlemen offered to teach her she said she thought she had it (apparently just from listening), and once she had a djembe in her hands, she proceeded to prove it! Those kids were jamming and blew the rest of us away. Some employees who have been participating in the circle for the better part of a year aren't yet that skilled!

We would like to thank our friend from Sacramento for helping make the Gathering a richer experience for those who were there. And we would like to invite you to our next Full Moon Acoustic Gathering so that you may experience it for yourself. Furthermore, we would like to invite you to share your thoughts. Are you a drummer? What was your best drum circle experience? What do you think if Ben Carpenter's song Changed?

By Douglas: Stuck in the 6th of May

This was emailed to the Bug by one of its owners, Douglas, who is in Honduras. We hope you enjoy.

"After arriving in Honduras, we rented a car and decided to drive to the Bay Islands through Copan and a lake district. On our way to the ferry departure city with another traveller picked up in Copan, we noticed there may have been a festival since there was a lot of trash on the road and roaming populace. When we got to the point where there were men on the highway with machetes and clubs we tried to turn around. They detained us with the threat of pounding the car with clubs and slashing the tires. They made us park behind a mile long double lane backed up with semis, trucks and cars. We didn't feel threatened personally. They appeared to let anyone one leave so we were not kidnapped, but they were definitely detaining property for political ransom. After talking with some other motorists we found that they were trying to get the government of Honduras to grant some educational and labor benefits for the region. We decided to see if it would dissipate by day end.

These two great guys from El Salvador had us follow them with our car to a side street in this tiny village of Seis de Mayo that we were detained in. I had been attracting local children with pictures from my books and magazines and trading English and Spanish words and laughter. 20 children followed me around the village where wolf packs of men with weapons chanted. The locals in the village did not seem wholly part of the movement but did not fear them either.

Some children's parents called us inside to sleep on their cellar floor since Anna was with me and their children loved us. They said there might be police clashes with the protesters and it wasn't safe.

The next morning at daybreak I took Anna and Brain and our packs out of the village and skirted a field as an angry mob confronted police on the highway. The police turned and left in army trucks without great incident since I think that they did not want bloodshed. However as we walked on the road out Toyota trucks full of weapon toting mobs sped past us and hijacked more semis parked along the road trying not to get caught up in it all but with nowhere to turn around. It was pretty damn dramatic and not a good situtation for us. Some locals picked us up and drove us out.

We are in the Bay Islands now and way behind schedule but having a great time. I will see you all soon.

Douglas the Intrepid"

Matt Luczy live at the Bug.

Another Saturday of live music at the Bug. This time it is local artist Matt Luczy. For only 16, he has a surprising amount of talent. Moreover, he's only been pickin' for about 2 years, he was a drummer first. He can do Hendrix justice, and that takes some skill. He does a lot of covers but he is working on his own material as well now. He has played the Cafe at the Bug a few times now and he keeps getting better.




We had a good turn out of locals in support of Matt, but we are also booked full this weekend. There is a group of 24 here from the Bay Area so the lodge is a bit crowded and the bathrooms are being remodeled so that is an inconvenience that everyone is being very patient with us over. Our construction crew did everything they could on Friday afternoon to get at least one of them online for us but the plumber wasn't able to stay long enough to get his end taken care of.
The good new is that we have new oak hardwood floors in the lodge now and it looks wonderful. Nights like this make us really anxious to get the new addition on the front of the Lodge done so we will have a dedicated band stand and more space. We are a work in progress, please bear with us!!
The other change is that we are now operating the Star Lite Inn, across the canyon from us. That is an amazing piece of property, a truly gorgeous house. The man who built it was ready to retire and wanted, above all others, for us to run it after he moved on. He has been operating a bed and breakfast there for several years. You should check it out, go to www.starliteinn.com
So, what are your thoughts? Have you ever seen Matt Luczy play? What did you think of those tunes his brother, Steve, sat in on? Have you seen the floor yet? Do you miss our bathrooms and find going to the next building over a pain? We are truly sorry and thank you all for bearing with us!

St. Patrick's Day

The Bug had live music for St. Paddy's day, as it does every Saturday. The biggest difference was the green beer, but we had a good time. Seth of 16 Tons from Angels Camp played a combination of guitar, banjo, mandolin and harmonica. He did a bunch of original material and covers and the guests had a lot of fun. There was a couple here that weekend who are planning to have their wedding at the Bug in August. The groom's birthday was that day and as it turned out, they were from Angels Camp too, so they were really excited to meet a musician from there. A few of Seth's friends came up to see him play and they all had a really good time too.





Sunday evening, a group of 60 from the Academy of Art University in San Francisco came in. We get two groups a year from there. We are part of their Spring break and Summer vacation. They have been coming here for 10 years now, the director came here for the first time just months after we opened. His assistant has been coming here for over three years now and they are both really amazing people. For more information about the Academy, go to www.academyart.edu

Another interesting thing happened over the weekend. This gentleman who used to work on the property that the Bug occupies came to see what had become of the place. Before the Bug was here, the place was in dis-use for several years. Prior to that, it was a rescue mission for troubled young adults. Before that, it had been a summer camp. This person was here when it went from being a summer camp to a year-round facility. They were quite successful but the mission that funded them pulled out in 1991. After 5 years in operation, the program was abandoned and the administration was heartbroken over the close. This person ended up leaving the state and though he had heard the property had sold, he didn't have any idea what had become of it. He stayed for lunch and got a bit of a tour of the place. He promised to send some pictures that he had from his time here, long before most of the buildings here were built. He came back the following night for dinner and mentioned he was really pleased with what we had done here. He said it gave him closure, that it was healing for him to see what a wonderful place this had become. He also said that he had always known that good things would happen here.

Were you here too? We hope you had a good time. Tell us about it. If you weren't here, tell us where you were and what you did do. What impression did you get of The Bug when you came here?

Vagina Monologues and Aspen Hollow at the Bug.

We would like to invite you to share your journey with us. We would like to hear your thoughts, your experiences. We want to see your pictures and videos. Hear your stories.

We had a group of Buddhists here a few days ago, wonderful people, very friendly, were you here when they were? Did you talk to any of them?

What about the Vagina Monologues? Those were held here on March 2 and 3rd and those women were fabulous! Not a play for everyone, I suppose. Some of the monologues talk about things that some of us were brought up to believe we just don't talk about in mixed company. Funny stories, heart wrenching ones, that play has it all. I was surprised and heartened by how many man were actually there. It was sold out both nights. The whole thing was for a very good cause, the proceeds were to benefit the Mountain Crisis Services who help women and children in need.

The second night of the play there was also a band in the Cafe at the Bug, Aspen Hollow from Fresno. Even Kevin, the front man, got into the spirit of V Day by donning a shirt.




We had a group of Asian exchange students here and they were a lot of fun, they got some video of the band, and each other and posted it to YouTube. Check it out: Were you here for any of that? Tell us what you thought.