Moonburger Delight, Moon Dance Ranch

We gave an interview to a nice reporter from the Wall Street Journal. Click on the text and it'll take you to the Journal. The horrifying video playing behind t...he headlines was taken by my son's friend Andy. I waved at him as I drove past. Not knowing that he had just dropped his keys and was delayed leaving. I drove out to Tomki and went right a ways until a few of us stopped wondering if we could continue toward a bright red sky. Another ranch neighbor came back the other way saying "Go to Willits", the other way on an "iffy" dirt road. Andy and Neta were late enough to miss the change in directions and drove on through the flames, that others were less fortunate in negotiating... See more

We had an interview with the Wall Street Journal. The reporter was doing a story on the Redwood Fire because because it seemed to be overlooked by the media. My son Eli told the story of how a phone call alert from my younger son Wes, who was asleep in neighboring Potter Valley, got him up and then he got all the families living at Rancho Mariposa and Moon Dance Ranch up. My old kindergarten chum, Tim Easterbrook's son, Joseph Easterbrook, went over and got many of the Freys ...going...all within 30 minutes. Of course there's a woman behind every good man...Wes' girlfriend, Anna McCall, got him to call us, his parents. Her sister, Amber, who lived next door to her in downtown Potter Valley had awakened and had seen a huge fire being whipped by hurricane force winds up the ridge that separates Potter and Redwood Valley. Robocalls didn't work...it was people...While telling the story the reporter was interested in the names of our different dwellings, i.e. The Sky house (our place); The Sun Cabin ( occupied by various local characters: my sons Eli and Wes Monroe, Sally Carpenter, Ed Reinhart (Mr. Boogiewoogie of Mendocino Co), Laura Buckner (The Happy Lady Jewelry), amongst others); The Madrone House ( Long time home for Kevin, Emmett Reilly and Nicole Pogrund; Clint Hudson (who saved it from collapse), Ed Reinhart, Clint and Jane Kelly, Phoenix Van Hartenbroek, as well as others hard to recall right now) and our yurt, built by Bonnie Raitt's brother, David Raitt ( a great musician as well): Moonburger Delight. Those became Moon Dance Ranch dwellings when Ranch Mariposa got split up. Names that remained with Mariposa were The Big House (it was, built in 1907 (or was it 1917?) which burnt down in 2007), The South Cabin, Dragonfly, The Homestead (Tom Boek and Thomas (Tombo) Brower), The Studio (Tim Easterbrook Family), The Shops, The Blacksmith Shop, The Barn, and The Hog Pen (the only structure left standing!...hmm might be a good name for the new house...) Anyhow the reporter was interested in the names. We told her about the metal hamburger sign we'd found under the Madrone house when Clint was saving it. I thought it suited the round yurt that we borrowed money to renovate and improve and mounted it in the front porch. We christened the place, Moonburger Delight, a perversion of my misunderstanding the lyrics of Paul McCartney's Monkberry Moon Delight on the album Ram On: https://www.facebook.com/Monrodeo/posts/10214163857995640 See more

The inspiration for Moonburger Delight

KMon aka Monrodeo Rides Again. Draw Till You Drop April 2 1am till 4, or 5 am. Willits Art Center, Commercial Street, Willits, CA