Pigeon Forge TN to Broadway VA

Today we left Pigeon Forge and headed to Virginia for an overnight stop at Mom's house. She made a special dinner and a red velvet birthday cake for Aric and I. We finally learned how to play Mexican train and had a blast doing that. She even found some dominoes and made a template so we'd have our own set to play with. Thanks, Mom!



We left Austin behind and are now heading to PA.

A stroll on the Golden Gate Bridge

It is a fact that almost everyone who comes to San Francisco has in one way or another have in mind the world renowned Golden Gate Bridge to experience. Either have a foto taken with the bridge as the stunning backdrop or truly experience this San Francisco icon by walking on it. Well, taking our fotos with the bridge as the background was definitely not enough, we have to walk on it!

The opportunity came during the day of the tsunami warnings (which was downgraded to an advisory). We went down to the beach front after an hour of waiting on Telegraph Hill for the waves to arrive. Firstly, we went to the park (part of the Golden Gate Bridge National Recreation Area) just below the bridge where we saw a news crew as well patiently waiting for some tsunami action, afterwards , we went up to the lookout park and we were lucky enough to have quickly found a parking spot.

Great! Now it’s time to stretch our leg muscles and walk on this renowned bridge!

But before doing so we have to take our necessary souvenir shots. The lookout park was quite busy with many tourists in busloads arriving and leaving. Seeing the bridge up close is pretty much on every visitor’s MUST DO or SEE list. Satisfied that we have enough souvenir shots, we set off to the bridge. One thing one must be aware walking on this steel bridge are the bikes. Pedestrian and bikers share the same pathway, and 2-way traffic as well (?!), so you really have to be mindful. Check your left, your right, your front and your back at all times, especially during peak seasons when the bridge is full of sightseers. We decided not to walk all the way to the other side. I didn’t like the feeling of the bridge wobbling a little bit under my feet so when we reached halfway we decided to turn back.

Here are my collage of fotos:

It was a lovely blue skies day, great day to stroll on the bridge and take fotos.

We also saw serious warnings on the bridge:

This is not a joke, many suicides happen here.

Unfortunately, the Golden Gate Bridge is nicknamed as the ‘Suicide Bridge’ as there is no other bridge in the whole wide world that has had more suicides under its belt—over 1,200 on the counter, and sadly, counting. Thus the reason for the counselling and warning signs. I also noticed that there are no real safeguards on the bridge, it just takes a little bit of effort to climb on the rails and jump off. I hope the authorities can do something, perhaps install some kind of protection that does not disrupt the design and function of the bridge? I am sure I am not the first person to have said this.

Important facts for the visitor:

On both sides of the bridge there are beautiful lookouts with car parking, the one in the San Francisco side is paid parking while the lookout on the Marin County side is free.

There are no toll fees to get out of San Francisco by car, but to get into San Francisco by car, either through the Golden Gate Bridge or the Bay Bridge, you pay $5 at the tollgate—cash as they do not accept credit card.

New Home!

Sarah and Dustin both thought they had found houses that I would like to buy and move into. The first photo is of the house next door to Dustin and the other is the house Sarah found for me. They were both disappointed when I turned down both houses.

More Toddler Camping ..

Another last minute decision to make the most of time off and go camping. Packing for camping with Mirabelle always seems not worth it as we struggle to wrangle her and gear to pack in the morning of a trip. This usually has Jennifer second guessing our decision to go, and also has us leaving later than I'd prefer. Not to mention forgetting some things. (more on that later)



The idea was to drive up and secure a site at Tinkham campground off I90, then take a hike up to Denny Slide while Mirabelle takes her nap. Securing a site was not a problem and we soon took the short drive over to Denny Creek Trail Head for out hike.



Mirabelle is at an age where she does not want to be cooped up in the pack for a trip and enjoys doing some of the hiking on her own. (Although she is not at an age where she can keep from getting tuckered out pretty quickly.) She wanted out of the pack early and proceeded to inspect every rock leave and hole near the trail. She didn't want to sleep in the pack or the Ergo that we brought along as well. So we all soldiered on to the slide.







It was surprising to see so many people there early on a Friday afternoon. She got good and tuckered out there, and we continued up to Keekwulee Falls while she napped in the Ergo until we got back down to the slide. She did a fair amount of the hiking back to the car and then we headed back to camp where we needed to borrow a lighter to start our stove to make dinner.



After dinner we headed to the river where Mirabelle just had to get in and wade in the South Fork.






As you can tell from the jackets, the air was not warm.




After a breakfast of fresh picked red huckleberry oatmeal, we headed to Twin Falls State Park to get in another hike. Unfortunately, all the hiking Mirabelle did the previous day left her a little too tired to accomplish that hike and we cut the hike short just after the switchbacks leading closer to the falls.






Speedy little hiker

Writings under a drawbridge in Amsterdam

Drawbridges are typically Dutch. Because the Netherlands is literally a swamp country, meaning there is water everywhere—canals, rivers, seas, lakes, everything that you can think of that is a body of water, we have that here in the Netherlands.



Ergo drawbridges. We cannot escape from them. They are everywhere in the country, and in the city as well. They come in different sizes, shapes, styles and material. They can cause traffic too.



This one I found in Amsterdam is quite unique. There are writings underneath the drawbridge. It’s in Dutch but the fonts are quite complex for me to understand.



At first glance, it looks like Hebrew to me, but it’s not. It’s Dutch. Can you read it?



Visit Period: July

(elk)Hide I Seek

I get lots of questions about what handlebar tape I use on my mixte, so I've taken some close-ups. It's actually not tape at all, but elkhide sew-on city grips from Velo Orange. From a user's viewpoint, these are probably my favourite things to put on upright handlebars, because they feel the most comfortable to grip: not too hard and not to soft, just right. However, from an installer's viewpoint, they are kind of a pain to sew on and it takes forever. I've put them on two of my bicycles so far (the Royal H. and the Gazelle), each time thinking "never again!" while doing it. And yet, they are so comfortable, that I've just ordered another set.



The reason my elkhide grips look like bartape in pictures, is that I do have a layer of cloth tape installed underneath the leather. Doing this provides extra padding without making the gripping surface too soft. And the texture of the cloth tape printing through the leather feels ergonomic to my hands.



My grips are "espresso," to match my brown Brooks B72. When you first get these, they are kind of a dusty brick colour and don't match the Brooks brown at all - but they do once treated with Proofide (just install them first, then the Proofide).



As for the installation process... Let's just say lots of profanity was involved both times I sewed these on. VO recommends doing a 2-needle baseball cross-stitch, which is utterly foreign to me. After a half hour of unsuccessfully trying to figure out the instructions and undoing some very ugly sewing, I gave up and used my own stitch, which has held up pretty well since last September. Elkhide is a soft, almost buttery leather that weathers nicely and adapts to the shape of your grip - especially if you install it over a layer or cloth tape. Overall I find that it's worth it, despite the not-so-fun installation.

Georgetown by David Arnson

I always loved Georgetown. I remember going for the first time with my parents when I was about 8 or 9 years old and marveling at the hippies, boys and girls strolling down the sidewalks with their bare feet and guitars, the lava lamps in the gift store windows, and the psychedelic poster shops. I still have my "White Rabbit" poster from the East Totem West Company! Georgetown was such a hip and fascinating place. In junior high and high school I would take the bus down Wisconsin Avenue on weekends. I might eat an amazing sandwich at The French Market atop the hill across from Dumbarton Oaks, and then stroll down to the bookstores at Wisconsin and P or the one down by the brick Canal Street mall between M street and the river, to search for science fiction and Conan books.

I would always check out the record stores, the one on Wisconsin above P had (to my teen eyes) the unnerving poster of John and Yoko nude, and my fave was Orpheus Records on M street. I remember (I'd read reviews in Rolling Stone or Crawdaddy or something) asking the bearded hippie hipster behind the counter whether I should buy the new LP by Bob Weir or Blue Oyster Cult. He started to mock me by loudly chanting (his coworkers chimed in) "Blue Oyster Cult! Blue Oyster Cult! Blue Oyster Cult!" which to them clearly seemed like a joke band. I went home with Blue Oyster Cult, and damned if I didn't like it! So what if it wasn't hippie music? Orpheus would host cool Halloween parties, and the most eccentric people would show up, my fave being the striking blond with the albino lil ' ferret climbing around her neck. I remember me and my buddy buying Mott the Hoople's Mott and Johnny Winter's Still Alive and Well on Halloween night 1973. ( I think I was in 10th grade?)

We all knew it was uncool to hang out at Blimpie's on the corner of Wisconsin and M, because "that's where the narcs hang out." Ikaros Pizza on M (where I learned what a gyro was) around the corner was way cooler. Also on M you could see cool arty movies at the Biograph and at the Cerberus 1/2/3 , with its cool art deco neon numbers in its window. Also notable was the always amazing Key, that would screen Rocky Horror Picture Show and Eraserhead- both among the best variety of midnight movies in town.

We were barely (actually maybe not really) old enough to go see Patti Smith at the Cellar Door in 1975, but she was like no other performer I'd seen before: cracking jokes, spitting, arching her back upside down on all fours doing a yoga bridge on Ain't it Strange.

Across M street from the Cellar Door was Desperados, a great club that mainly featured roots music, but later hosted lots of new wave acts like us Insect Surfers. Next door was a multi level army surplus store where I kept myself attired in Italian and Belgian army jackets. If you walked further west, you could find the famous Exorcist stairwell that the priest tumbles down in the movie. And let's not forget The Bayou, at the end of Wisconsin where it hit the Potomac, had some of the best club shows in DC.(photo by David Nuttycombe)

WGTB, broadcasting from Georgetown University, was the absolute coolest station, and I remember attending a rally (unsuccessfully) to keep it on the air. (The Jesuit administration evidently didn't like them running an ad for a clinic that sponsored abortions.) I got turned on to such a wide array of music from WGTB. G.U. had the most beautiful campus with its medieval looking buildings and courtyards. In between college semesters I worked at the university hospital while punk rock was slowly taking the city by storm. You could go to Haagen-Dasz Ice Cream and talk to a slightly goofy Henry Garfield behind the scoop counter before he joined Black Flag as "Henry Rollins" to became a professional angry guy. (photo by Alan Kresse)

I still miss the old Little Tavern Hamburgers ("Buy 'em by the bag!") on the east side of Wisconsin and P, with its white and green 40s style architecture and teeny burgers with oniony lumps o' meat. The Little Tavern chain was a late-night mainstay for me, and I sadly saw them slowly disappear from D.C., then Bethesda, Wheaton, and finally, the last store in College Park.
Also let's not forget: The Brickskellar, a great student haven for a myriad of beer varieties and the sadly mundane tasting buffalo burgers. Commander Salamander- the shop where the punk world clashed with the poser fashion world. AND Kemp Mill Records, The Crazy Horse, Poseurs, Olssen's Record and Tape Exchange, Blues Alley, Up Against the Wall-I know I'll think of more later! All of these places have stories.
I drove through Georgetown recently, and it seemed to have become a lot more upscale and definitely less interesting, but I will always have great memories of its vibrant pop-cultural past. BCC High School Yearbook 1976

Redtailed Hawk

We frequently have redtailed hawks come sailing through out sky looking for mice and other things to eat. We have open areas full of native desert sage and tumbleweeds. The hawks will circle over and around trying to make a mouse give away it's hiding place. Very seldom do we get a chance to take a photo of one. Hubby got this one the other day when the hawk took a break on the power line over our backyard.

Me

A really dorky looking photo of me taken by my friend when we made the day trip to Old Town.

Crater Explorations

Late July brought a climbing team to Mount Rainier that was looking to do something a little bit different. Their mission was to explore the summit crater and it's ice caves, with the Kautz Glacier as their route of access. By the looks of their pictures it looks like they succeeded, big is the only way to look at them.













No significant in-depth exploration or research of the crater caves has been done since Willian Lokey in 1971 and 1972.William Lokey will be presenting about "Project Crater" and his crater explorations at the Paradise Inn Saturday, August 17th starting at 9:00 PM! This event is free however Park Admission is still required.










From Xavier:

"The climb went great. We spent 24th on the summit which was probably the hardest part of the whole climb. You know... altitude."










"The caves are amazing. We didn't get much time in them as everybody was feeling a bit altitude sick + cold and tired but I got some good shots nonetheless. See below. I would love to spend more time up there and document the phenomenon more thoroughly."










"Ice caves in crater, wicked!"



The summit craters and steam vents have provided mystery and refuge to climbers since the early days of climbing Rainier. For more information check out Dee Molenaar's classic The Challenge of Rainier.



-682

Hardee County Animal Rescue

Before we ever visited the TT's here, Barb and Dennis told us we had to visit this place when we did stay for the winter. Barb described how the boardwalk elevates you so you can see the animals clearly. I'm so glad she did tell us about it, because we might have missed it otherwise.



I love visiting this very small rescue and I love that we are usually in for a treat with the animals that are here. I also love that we can get pretty close to some of the animals.

Ok, so that animal doesn't count in an official rescue way, because they are not part of the rescued animals. They are part of the experience though, because they are everywhere. There are some animals that I am a bit more fond of here too.This guy was not very big last year. If it is the same guy. He's huge now.

These were not so close, but that's ok...I'd rather not be too close to the green gunk.This guy was annoyed that I woke him up from his nap. He was not amused. I was talking baby talk to him because I thought he was so handsome. Apparently panthers are not fond of baby talk. Who knew? I apologized and moved on quickly. I'm not sure what would posses me to talk baby talk to a wild animal anyways. Besides, I can relate because this is how I feel each and every morning. This was my favorite close encounter. This sweet guy was hanging in his rope hammock and peeked out to see me. I guess baby talk works on raccoons.Aric asked why someone would rescue raccoons. Good question. After seeing this sweet face though, I'd be tempted to. Well, if I didn't live in an RV with three cats, one dog and two teenage boys I would be tempted to. Glad I can visit them this way so I don't have to. Living the life in warmer Florida.

Charlie Borgh

If everyone will please pardon my digression from the immediate issues of Mount Rainier, so that I can talk about my friend Charlie Borgh.

I met Charlie on a trip to Mount Rainier’s summit. During the ascent, and subsequent overnight on the summit, it became clear to me that Charlie had a vision of his life. As a young man about to finish college, Charlie was amassing the skills and experiences to lead the life of an accomplished climber. I recognized the love and passion, and from that time on the summit, knew that mountains were going to be a big part of Charlie.

For the next four years, I witnessed Charlie develop as both a mountain climber and a park ranger. When it came to climbing, I can confidently say that few pursued the sport with as much diligence. He simply loved rock climbing and mountaineering, AND he was quite good at it. Physical and strong, Charlie moved through the mountains, over the rock, or up the ice with grace and confidence. He chose climbing routes that were beautiful, technical and challenging. He recently commented that in the last year he had done more climbing than most people in do in a lifetime… And if you spent much time with Charlie, you knew this was true.

Charlie served as a National Park Service Climbing Ranger. He started as a volunteer at Camp Schurman, but quickly climbed the ranks to become a lead climbing ranger on Mount Rainier. Charlie’s assignments as a climbing ranger required him to delicately mix intense physical ability with sound judgment and excellent decision making. The job was adventurous and dynamic and that seemed to suit Charlie well. So well in fact, that he took assignments at Yosemite on the prestigous search and rescue team in Camp 4.

On Mount Rainier, he led climbing patrols and rescues. On more than one occasion, Charlie risked his life to save another. He didn’t do this carelessly, but purposefully and with confidence. He was an important part of our team, and I trusted him implicitly. Which was something he seemed to enjoy, trust. In fact, I say that Charlie blossomed when trusted, and the responsibility that came with it.

Maybe most impressively, was the simplicity at which Charlie enabled himself. He pursued a challenging path for his life and it was inspiring to watch. Charlie succeeded at most anything he set his mind to, and in succeeding, he led and motivated others to do the same. He made choices that reflected his soul and passion; he was living his life with purpose and direction, things that we all can look up to.

Here are few links to stories about Charlie. Charlie Borgh loved climbing, despite danger. These two require free registration but tell the story of a dramatic rescue in 2004 that Charlie took part in. In the Seattle PI, Injured climber dies after rescue and in the Seattle Times, Injured mountain climber dies after daring rescue.

Information about the accident was posted here. In the next few days, I'll put more up about Gabe Coler, Mount Deltaform and a Pacific NW memorial for Charlie.

Glacier National Park :: A Visit With Jack Frost

Tuesday, September 20th - - We drove as far as we could from the east side on the Going to the Sun Highway – to Logan Pass. The highway had closed for the season at midnight on Sunday the 18th; not because of the weather but so that construction crews could work on the road.





On the way up to Logan Pass. Can you see several waterfalls toward the center of the picture? They can be seen if you double-click on the image for a larger version...





Clements Mountain and the beginning of the trail to Hidden Lake.

We walked a (very) short distance on the Hidden Lake Trail... The snow that I encountered in July of last year was no where to be seen, but I think there will be plenty of snow very soon!





In one section of trail, wildflowers blanketed the meadow.

We decided to walk a ways along the Highline Trail. Even though it was late in the morning there were traces of frost on the trails in the shaded areas, especially along the first portion of the Highline Trail. (As always, double-click on the image to see a larger version.)













Perhaps it was a good thing that the Going to the Sun Road was closed since the valley below was covered with fog.





You can see a little of the Going to the Sun Road on the right side of the above photo, just to the right and above the top of the fog.





Since the “season” was over, work crews had removed the chains along this section of the trail, parts of which are very narrow with a rather long fall if one should happen to slip! Crews were working on the trail around that far bend and we were reluctant to attempt to pass by them so we returned the way we came. After a short break for lunch, sitting in the glorious sunshine and taking in the awesome views, we went to the 'Many Glaciers' area further north in the park.

Garden Beans With Shallots and Basil

Garden Beans With Shallots and Basil, originally uploaded by ParsecTraveller.

This is an easy side dish that can be made in a few minutes. I used 'Tenderpick' beans from my not-so-healthy plants. Sweet basil (also from the garden) was added, as were shallots from Trader Joe's.

Green Beans with Shallots and Basil

Serves 1.

1 cup fresh green beans
2 shallots
5-10 fresh sweet basil leaves
1-2 tbsp. butter
salt

Peel and mince the shallots. Tear the basil into small pieces. In a pan, stir-fry the green beans, basil, and shallots in the butter (medium-high heat). When the beans are tender, serve immediately and garnish with leftover shallots from the pan. Salt as desired.

Sometimes It Doesn't Seem Like it's Worth the Effort

But you'll never know unless you try!



Monday, August 8th - - After leaving the Keweenaw Peninsula, I headed south (really, the only direction I could go from there!) and, after a few hours, entered Wisconsin. My sojourn in Pure Michigan had come to an end. A beautiful place, but honestly, I was tired of the humidity - I was hot and sticky during the day and cold and clammy at night! Some place with a little less humidity was in my forecast.



My stay in Wisconsin would be brief – one night and parts of two days traveling across the uppermost tip and along the shoreline of Lake Superior. A quick check of the map and I saw that Copper Falls State Park was just a few miles across the Wisconsin state line, southwest of the town of Ironwood. I arrived at Copper Falls early in the afternoon and secured a very nice campsite.



I had gotten some information about trails when I checked in and the lady at the desk told me about two popular hikes. One of the hikes was to an observation tower. Now, she didn't explicitly state that there was a nice view but it was somewhat implied. You know, it's an observation tower so there “has” to be a good view. She did state that there was a flight of stairs with a few steps involved along the trail as well as at the tower itself. My knees do much better on the way up stairs than they do on the way down, but, I thought I could handle what she described. After a short walk along a relatively smooth trail, uphill, I came to this:





It didn't look so bad. Wide steps and each one wasn't very high. Onward I went. This is the view looking down from the top.





And this is what awaited around the bend...





At the top of that stairway was more of the uphill path. And then, this:





I figured, what the heck, I'm there. Might as well go for it. And this is what I saw from the top of the observation tower.





And this is the view in another direction... I think you get the idea!





I'm sure that in the fall this would be absolutely gorgeous. Maybe even in the winter or the spring when there are no leaves on the trees. Maybe then you could actually see the surrounding countryside. But in the summer? Not so much.



Not all walks or hikes are going to give you spectacular views. But each one does give you an appreciation for nature and this amazing world in which we live. It's not the destination that matters, but the journey itself, and what happens along the way. So I tell myself when these things happen, which thankfully, hasn't been too often.



I took it slow and easy on the way down. Yeah, the knees were hurting some by the time I got back to the bottom. But once back on level ground the pain eased up and I continued on to another little hike.