Last weekend we were privileged to host the GTP family and the Smileycreek family after the Kossack party in Windsor. One of the questions asked during the weekend was "How did you end up in Sonoma County?" I had a very clear answer; it was because of Christo's Running Fence art project. Smileycreek was quick with the Google as you would expect, but I was able to put my personal take on the project and what it meant to me and my family.
We were living in Mill Valley and read about the project in the S F Chronicle. I remember that many people thought it was silly and stupid, especially since it would be installed in Sonoma County which was thought of as hopelessly hicksville at the time. A fence 24 miles long which would last two weeks and then be torn down? Ridiculous.
So we decided to drive up and check out the project. Although we had lived in California for nine years we were somewhat unfamiliar with the county. We followed directions off of Highway 101 into the rural hills…..and were transfixed. On a beautiful day we saw a transcendental vision of unexpected loveliness.
We drove for hours through the countryside to observe the fence but also discovering the beauty of the area, and we realized that it looked by and large the way it must have looked 150 years ago.
Running Fence took years of planning, getting permits, and talking recalcitrant ranchers into allowing the fence to be erected across their property. Christo said this was all part of the project itself. One funny thing, one rancher refused and during the two week run he and his employees patrolled the edges of the fence on horseback, wearing grim republican expressions. What a jerk. This was the only gap in the 24 miles. The Coastal Commission, as the fence was about to be erected, refused permission to have the fence enter the ocean. So they said fine, and did it anyway. In my opinion that was the best and most thrilling part.
We subsequently moved to Sonoma County and bought a home on the coastal ridge. It was only after sitting on that ridge looking toward the ocean that I realized….we could have seen Running Fence from our property. How cool is that?
We have followed Christo's career since then, and were particularly entranced by The Umbrellas, done on The Grapevine (Highway 5) in California and Japan simultaneously.
I will save that project for another future Kitchen Table Kibitzing.
The table is open, and the Coastal Commission has nothing to say about it.
Kitchen Table Kibitzing is a community series for those who wish to share part of the evening around a virtual kitchen table with kossacks who are caring and supportive of one another. So bring your stories, jokes, photos, funny pics, music, and interesting videos, as well as links—including quotations—to diaries, news stories, and books that you think this community would appreciate.
Finally, readers may notice that most who post diaries and comments in this series already know one another to some degree, but newcomers should not feel excluded. We welcome guests at our kitchen table, and hope to make some new friends as well.