Small clouds of dirt and dust were getting closer and the whirring sound of a small motorcycle could be heard approaching. Eric Stevens, former tech employee and the current owner of Good Wood, where he does custom millwork and furniture, had given me the heads up that we might have some company investigating what we were up to.
Good Wood is located just behind Eric's home in the hills of Castro Valley, south of Oakland. I was getting a tour of the shop when he offered to take me up the hill to do some off-roading in his 4Runner and have a beer with the setting sun. As we made our way up, dodging deer and discussing foraging and the indigenous Ohlone people who once occupied this land, he told me we had two peaks to choose from. One would be occupied by his neighbor, a local firefighter, who was camping with his young son.
We made our way up one side of the first hill and saw a car parked at the top with a tent set up. We turned back to head up the other incline, passing a solar-powered contraption Eric had built to help get internet to him and his neighbors. We parked, and before the hood could cool down or we could finish our first beer, we had company. The father and son arrived as predicted, the young boy perched on the front of the seat, hands on the inside of the handlebars and feet resting on his father's. The older of the two wouldn't be joining us for a drink and we laughed that he had caught us with our pinkies out while swirling and sniffing barrel aged Wild Ale out of stemware I had brought.
We chatted for a while, the son hiding behind a bush while waiting for his dad to take him back to camp. As soon as the bike started up again he emerged, hopped on the seat in front of his dad, and they took off into the chill evening. They had hotdogs waiting for dinner.
Words + Photoby Tim Decker