Betsy and I had an amazing experience Saturday. We volunteered for UrbanShield 2012. I can't get the pictures from my phone to my computer, but here is a link.
http://www.kxan.com/dpp/news/local/austin/crews-stage-attack-at-expo-center
This is a disaster training exercise for first responders and others, including various fire departments, the Texas National Guard, bomb squad, and SWAT.
We were advised to wear clothing that could be stained or cut off, and to wear swimwear under our clothes because we would be "decontaminated". We were also advised to bring a change of clothes, since decontamination involved getting wet. The clothing could be stained because they were applying "mulage", otherwise known as fake injuries, to some volunteers. We were also warned that we could be transported to various hospitals around the city.
We checked in about 11:30 that morning, and in that process, we were asked if we wanted to be "instigators". Hell yes! We are both nice people and were a little worried about acting mean and belligerent, as were most people in our group of 17.
The "attack" was scheduled to begin at 2:00, so we were given free lunch, and basically sat and waited for about an hour. During that time, we were watching the makeup artist applying the fake injuries. There was a blanket on the floor with body parts. We watched one person trying to put his own shoe on this fake leg. Another leg was charred bone to about mid-thigh, then burned meat down to the foot. It was surreal seeing people walking around carrying an arm or leg. You can see some of the fake injuries in the link.
Our group leader was a Texas National Guard member named "Collie". He is also a police officer in the Dallas area. He was kind of a bad-ass, not a big man, but VERY strong and beefy looking. He told us the officers were not allowed to have their guns during the exercise, but they were able to use their tasers, batons, and hand-cuffs. It was our choice how far we wanted to push these guys and girls. He said, "If the officer tells you to back up, do it. If he tells you to get on the ground, do it." This is the point that the officer is beginning to get serious and agitated. The purpose of our group was to agitate and instigate. Basically be the really obnoxious people that always appear in any large crowd. And, the officers didn't know that we were going to be doing this. Of course, the commanders knew, but the regular officers didn't know.
At 2:00 a bomb was supposed to go off, and we were told our job was to "storm the command post". "Be nosy, be obnoxious, ask a bunch of questions", etc. We also exited the building from a different door than the other volunteers. So, the bomb goes off. It was sounded like a big firecracker, no smoke, fire, or anything, and it was time to start acting. We walked through the building yelling "fire", asking what happened? There were 17 of us, so we were pretty loud, and the officers in the building looked very amused. We walked outside and headed toward the command post.
Betsy and I made it about 100 feet inside the yellow police tape and a cop car drove up with siren and lights flashing and stopped us. We were "arrested". He actually hand-cufffed us together. We kept talking and asking stupid questions, and he threatened to put us in the cop car if we didn't stop talking. We were actually kind of nervous, so we kept talking and asking questions, because this was supposed to be "pretend", although this SWAT guy didn't act like he was pretending. He finally took the hand-cuffs off, and thanked us for participating in the exercise. And of course, pointed us in the direction he wanted us to walk.
We gathered back with our group, and Collie told us to walk around the side and try to get all the way through the command post to the road behind it. And we did! Two of the guys took off running straight through, so we linked arms with another woman and just walked, stopping to look at things, talking like a bunch of old women. We were almost at the back of the command post and there was a group of TX Nat Guard guys having a meeting. The commander slyly walked up to us and said "don't go over to that tent and try to look inside", with a nod and a wink. So that's what we did. The regular officers looked amused, but they reluctantly stood up and blocked our entrance to the tent. A couple of other ones corralled us and escorted us out of the command post. As we were coming out, we got "arrested" again, by the same officer that hand-cuffed us the first time. He told us we weren't going to be cuffed, but go sit down and we were out of the exercise for the rest of the day. A few minutes later, Collie came and got us.
During this time, the National Guard had extended their tape, and had their people dressed in hazmat suits lined up along the "fence". So we spent several minutes "acting a fool" in front of them. We asked "Why are you wearing suits and we aren't? Should we have the suit too?" Another commander told us to not try to pose for pictures with any of the officers, (with a wink and a nod), so that's what we did.
A volunteer from a different group walked up and asked if we were the "vomitors, or the pee-ers". We told him we were the "agitators". He walked off and a few minutes later, he was acting really sick and trying to get help from the people in haz-mat suits. So, we walked over and starting talking a lot to them, asking stupid questions, telling the girl that was attempting to help him, "oooo, isn't he cute? What's wrong? Can we help? What are you doing?"
Collie gathered us together and said we did a good job, but the officers did a better job, and we were done for the day, but, as a group we could walk around and see what else was happening. We were near the building watching the fire trucks driving in. Ladder Truck 17, was being set up as the decontamination hose. They were putting the ladder up, and attaching a fire hose to the end to make a "shower" to walk through. Our group got a request from the assistant coordinator to try to keep the water from getting turned on. We were supposed to go in groups of two or three, and try to simply touch Ladder Truck 17. Betsy and I made it. We touched the front bumper. We were going to try to sit on the bumper, but, the fireman corralled us again, and escorted us away from the truck.
We re-grouped and Collie told us all to link arms, all 17 of us, and walk toward the fire trucks to see how far we would get. We linked arms and started walking and yelling, like protesters would. We didn't get very far when a guy in a hazmat suit put his arms out and blocked four of us. The other 13 made it a little further, but not by much. That was the last thing we did as instigators.
We had a lot of fun, since it was only pretend. It is not often that you get to act like a total fool, with no repercussions. We also learned that if a major disaster does occur, you are basically on your own. The "wounded and dead" were left sitting for at least 45 minutes, without any assistance. Try to take care of yourself, and go away from the crowd.
I must say the officers did a really good job against us. Hopefully the exercise helped them learn a thing or two. And we got a free t-shirt.
Tuesday, December 4, 2012
Saturday, October 27, 2012
Public Land
I should probably write these posts on paper and try to compose a beautiful essay, but, that is not my style. I tend to write just what I'm feeling, when I'm feeling it. So, I apologize if this post isn't beautiful, or doesn't make sense, or has errors. I am reading Ernest Hemingway In Our Time, published in 1925 and not only is it beautifully written, he writes a lot of short sentences. I'm going to stop stressing over my sentences. They don't have to be three feet long to be good, right?
I stayed at a campground in Wyoming that was actually bordered by Colorado. I could see cars stopping on the freeway to take pictures of the "Welcome to Wyoming" sign. Yes, unfortunately the campground was that close to the freeway. The campground was adequate. Not much investment in landscaping or entertainment, but there was clean showers, electricity, water, etc.
This campground was on a working bison ranch. I was in the mood to get closer to nature, so I asked a gentleman worker if I could walk along the fence line, out towards the small hill not far away. He said no because it was private property and "the owner wouldn't take kindly to that." I walked to the fence and noticed that a barbed wire fence was surrounding the campground (except for the opening for cars). On the other side of our fence was where the horses were penned in at night, and the other side of the horse's fence was where the bison were penned overnight. It struck me that the human beings were penned in just like the animals. AND we were paying to stay there. I am not going to compare us to bison because they are raised to be eaten, and obviously, we are not. However, the horses are a different story. All they do is work. There is no freedom, and not much choice. They work until they are too old, or not strong enough, or not able to compete with younger stronger horses. I cannot see how this is much different than how we live. Fenced in and working until we are too old.
I didn't like Wyoming after that and drove straight through the state only stopping to eat and nap. I'm not blaming Wyoming. I'm sure every state is the same.
I eventually made it to Mt. St. Helens, which is "public land" meaning it is owned by the government, which means it is ours. It is not privately owned, which means we do not need an individuals permission to enter. Of course there are rules, and costs. There has to be rules for public safety reasons, just as there has to be a cost to cover expenses. Mt. St. Helens National Park is a fifty mile drive on a two lane highway. Most of the drive is not public land. This land was replanted after the eruption. And it is beautiful. When you reach the park though, the scenery is strikingly different. The government choose not to replant and let the earth heal naturally, without human intervention, the way earth is supposed to be. I have tried to write about how much this affected me, but have not yet been able to express it in words. The museum gives a very good description of the eruption, so I felt like I sort of understood what happened. To see the destruction and the natural renewal of the earth touched me all the way to my soul. I am able to move, albeit slowly and painfully, past John's death after seeing Mt. St. Helens. If this had been private land, my experience would have been vastly different.
While I was on the road, I didn't always stay at campgrounds. I sometimes slept in casino parking lots, Wal-Mart parking lots, truck stops, and even rest areas. I began to feel like all of this land is ours/mine. We all have the right to live here. We do not have to pay to sleep. I ate wild blackberries in Washington, so we technically don't even have to pay to eat, but we do. We pay, we work so we can pay.
I eventually made it to the Grand Canyon, another government owned, "public land". Just in case you don't know, the Grand Canyon has been carved by water from various creeks and the Colorado River since the beginning of, well, I guess, water. Up-river, there is a dam. A man-made dam. The whole time I was in the park (for three and a half days), I kept thinking what would the canyon look like if that dam was not there. Why do humans insist on controlling every single goddamn thing? (No pun intended.) The fact that this portion of the canyon is owned by the people, by the United States, means it will be protected from greed. It will continue to be there for our children's children to experience.
I bought a book of essays about Mt. St. Helens and it has obviously touched other people's soul. The same with the Grand Canyon. I have a book of essays from there too. It has obviously touched other people's soul.
As soon as I figure out how, I'm going to make a digital photo montage set to the music of Woody Guthrie's This Land is Your Land. Because this land IS our land. There is a very delicate balance between us controlling it, and us killing it.
I stayed at a campground in Wyoming that was actually bordered by Colorado. I could see cars stopping on the freeway to take pictures of the "Welcome to Wyoming" sign. Yes, unfortunately the campground was that close to the freeway. The campground was adequate. Not much investment in landscaping or entertainment, but there was clean showers, electricity, water, etc.
This campground was on a working bison ranch. I was in the mood to get closer to nature, so I asked a gentleman worker if I could walk along the fence line, out towards the small hill not far away. He said no because it was private property and "the owner wouldn't take kindly to that." I walked to the fence and noticed that a barbed wire fence was surrounding the campground (except for the opening for cars). On the other side of our fence was where the horses were penned in at night, and the other side of the horse's fence was where the bison were penned overnight. It struck me that the human beings were penned in just like the animals. AND we were paying to stay there. I am not going to compare us to bison because they are raised to be eaten, and obviously, we are not. However, the horses are a different story. All they do is work. There is no freedom, and not much choice. They work until they are too old, or not strong enough, or not able to compete with younger stronger horses. I cannot see how this is much different than how we live. Fenced in and working until we are too old.
I didn't like Wyoming after that and drove straight through the state only stopping to eat and nap. I'm not blaming Wyoming. I'm sure every state is the same.
I eventually made it to Mt. St. Helens, which is "public land" meaning it is owned by the government, which means it is ours. It is not privately owned, which means we do not need an individuals permission to enter. Of course there are rules, and costs. There has to be rules for public safety reasons, just as there has to be a cost to cover expenses. Mt. St. Helens National Park is a fifty mile drive on a two lane highway. Most of the drive is not public land. This land was replanted after the eruption. And it is beautiful. When you reach the park though, the scenery is strikingly different. The government choose not to replant and let the earth heal naturally, without human intervention, the way earth is supposed to be. I have tried to write about how much this affected me, but have not yet been able to express it in words. The museum gives a very good description of the eruption, so I felt like I sort of understood what happened. To see the destruction and the natural renewal of the earth touched me all the way to my soul. I am able to move, albeit slowly and painfully, past John's death after seeing Mt. St. Helens. If this had been private land, my experience would have been vastly different.
While I was on the road, I didn't always stay at campgrounds. I sometimes slept in casino parking lots, Wal-Mart parking lots, truck stops, and even rest areas. I began to feel like all of this land is ours/mine. We all have the right to live here. We do not have to pay to sleep. I ate wild blackberries in Washington, so we technically don't even have to pay to eat, but we do. We pay, we work so we can pay.
I eventually made it to the Grand Canyon, another government owned, "public land". Just in case you don't know, the Grand Canyon has been carved by water from various creeks and the Colorado River since the beginning of, well, I guess, water. Up-river, there is a dam. A man-made dam. The whole time I was in the park (for three and a half days), I kept thinking what would the canyon look like if that dam was not there. Why do humans insist on controlling every single goddamn thing? (No pun intended.) The fact that this portion of the canyon is owned by the people, by the United States, means it will be protected from greed. It will continue to be there for our children's children to experience.
I bought a book of essays about Mt. St. Helens and it has obviously touched other people's soul. The same with the Grand Canyon. I have a book of essays from there too. It has obviously touched other people's soul.
As soon as I figure out how, I'm going to make a digital photo montage set to the music of Woody Guthrie's This Land is Your Land. Because this land IS our land. There is a very delicate balance between us controlling it, and us killing it.
Sunday, October 14, 2012
Chinatown San Francisco
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chinatown,_San_Francisco
Jes and I took a day to explore Chinatown. The Autumn Moon Festival was going on and it was a Saturday, so the crowds were quite large. It was good to see that most of the people out and about that day were actually Chinese. I was thinking the festival was just a tourist thing, but apparently it wasn't. The booths were geared toward Chinese, for example, the movies/videos were in Chinese, no English movies. I am not very familiar with Chinese culture, so I didn't really know the importance or relevance of items in most of the booths.
It was very interesting walking through the grocery stores, and the store featuring cookware was quite amazing. We didn't even bother going into the stores whose targeted customers are American. All in all, I would say it was a good way to take a glimpse into the Chinese culture.
There is a story behind this picture taken from the balcony. Jes and I were hungry and were thinking we would eat some "festival" food, but that wasn't easy to find. So, we were walking by a doorway, and there was a lady inviting us to go upstairs to her restaurant. She had a menu for us to look at, so we decided to give it a try. Climbing the stairs with apprehension, we were pleasantly surprised to see a very clean, well lit, crowded dining room. And the food was very good! I am not adventurous with food, so beef and broccoli was my choice, and Jes chose fried rice. I may forever be spoiled by freshly cooked Chinese food.
Here is the cookware store.
And what in the hell is this? It was in the grocery store.
Jes and I took a day to explore Chinatown. The Autumn Moon Festival was going on and it was a Saturday, so the crowds were quite large. It was good to see that most of the people out and about that day were actually Chinese. I was thinking the festival was just a tourist thing, but apparently it wasn't. The booths were geared toward Chinese, for example, the movies/videos were in Chinese, no English movies. I am not very familiar with Chinese culture, so I didn't really know the importance or relevance of items in most of the booths.
It was very interesting walking through the grocery stores, and the store featuring cookware was quite amazing. We didn't even bother going into the stores whose targeted customers are American. All in all, I would say it was a good way to take a glimpse into the Chinese culture.
There is a story behind this picture taken from the balcony. Jes and I were hungry and were thinking we would eat some "festival" food, but that wasn't easy to find. So, we were walking by a doorway, and there was a lady inviting us to go upstairs to her restaurant. She had a menu for us to look at, so we decided to give it a try. Climbing the stairs with apprehension, we were pleasantly surprised to see a very clean, well lit, crowded dining room. And the food was very good! I am not adventurous with food, so beef and broccoli was my choice, and Jes chose fried rice. I may forever be spoiled by freshly cooked Chinese food.
Here is the cookware store.
And what in the hell is this? It was in the grocery store.
Tuesday, October 2, 2012
Hermes Craftsmen
Our last day in San Francisco, we chose to go to Union Square and China Town. Jes had been saying that if we see the store Forever 21, she would like to go in. We come up from the underground train station, and boom, there is a TWO story Forever 21! So, that starts the day off right.
We were on the way to see a Frank Lloyd Wright building. Here is the link to the building, but I didn't take any pictures of it out of respect of the new owners. Just to say though, it was freaking amazing!
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/V._C._Morris_Gift_Shop
Anyway, on our way to the FLW building, we passed the actual Union Square (which seem to be a city block with no buildings, more like parks), and we saw this big white tent. It looked like a tent you see outdoors where really ritzy parties are going on. We could see the title "Festival Des Metiers", as well as the security dressed in black suits outside every opening. We figured it was probably some invitation only sort of event, but, decided to go check it out anyway. And guess what! It was open to the public and FREE!!!! The craftsmen were demonstrating their craft. The first "stall" we saw was a man hand sewing a leather purse. There was a watch maker, silk screen printer, glass etcher, etc. Some of them had interpreters because they only spoke French. They were not selling anything, and we couldn't afford it if they were, but it kind of made us realize why some things really are expensive and worth it.
This picture is of the carpet, on the floor of the tent.
Silk Scarves, and they were demonstrating the technique.
I was going to post more pictures, but this internet is going WAY TO SLOW!! Patience was a virtue of John's, not mine.
Sunday, September 30, 2012
What, No Pictures?
Yes, unfortunately my camera broke. It was fairly old, just a simple point-and-shoot. I recently bought an SD card that had some letters behind it, and my camera was so old it couldn't use this new fangled kind of card. So, I'm not surprised that it finally gave out. The bad news is that now I need a new one! My plan is to go to the Grand Canyon, and I absolutely CANNOT go there without a camera!
I have also been unable to find internet service, and haven't been able to keep up with this blog, (or my political postings on Facebook). I figured out that Home Depot has public internet, so I am in there parking lot using their internet. I don't feel right about sitting here too long, so I'm not going to do a good post with pretty pictures now.
But, just to let yall know what has been going on, I am in Bullhead City, AZ. It has the most perfect weather! 100s in the day, 70s at night. It is in the desert, so no humidity, and it usually has a little breeze. As long as I am in the shade, it is just about perfect. I am staying at Camp Davis, which is a county park just below the Davis Dam on the Colorado River. Yesterday, September 29 (yes, the end of September) I was in my bathing suit sitting by the river in the sun! I went into the water and it was so f-ing cold, it took me probably 30 minutes to finally get all the way in.
I have to find someplace to do my laundry today, so hopefully I can get internet and electricity to post some more pictures and entertaining stories.
Thank you all for reading my blog!
I have also been unable to find internet service, and haven't been able to keep up with this blog, (or my political postings on Facebook). I figured out that Home Depot has public internet, so I am in there parking lot using their internet. I don't feel right about sitting here too long, so I'm not going to do a good post with pretty pictures now.
But, just to let yall know what has been going on, I am in Bullhead City, AZ. It has the most perfect weather! 100s in the day, 70s at night. It is in the desert, so no humidity, and it usually has a little breeze. As long as I am in the shade, it is just about perfect. I am staying at Camp Davis, which is a county park just below the Davis Dam on the Colorado River. Yesterday, September 29 (yes, the end of September) I was in my bathing suit sitting by the river in the sun! I went into the water and it was so f-ing cold, it took me probably 30 minutes to finally get all the way in.
I have to find someplace to do my laundry today, so hopefully I can get internet and electricity to post some more pictures and entertaining stories.
Thank you all for reading my blog!
Saturday, September 22, 2012
Painted Ladies
Everyone has heard of the "Painted Ladies" in San Francisco. We actually found them to be a little disappointing. They really were not anymore impressive than the rest of the houses we have seen. They definitely look better in the postcards. Having said that, it was worth going to because we got to get out the tourist section of SF and into where the "real" people live. And the houses were very pretty.
This brown house was around the corner, and I thought it was hideous. It looks like it could be the setting for a Stephen King novel.
We walked quite a bit yesterday. We went to a little neighborhood pizza place for lunch (which was delicious, the best food so far), then walked up the the Haight/Ashbury area. A few hippie stores, a lot of head shops, and cool graffiti.
I'm not sure I would want to live here. There is just so much movement and noise, hustle and bustle, sights and sounds, everything stimulates the senses. I would bet the residents have never experienced total darkness, or silence.
Well now, I just sound like one big Negative Nellie.
This brown house was around the corner, and I thought it was hideous. It looks like it could be the setting for a Stephen King novel.
We walked quite a bit yesterday. We went to a little neighborhood pizza place for lunch (which was delicious, the best food so far), then walked up the the Haight/Ashbury area. A few hippie stores, a lot of head shops, and cool graffiti.
I'm not sure I would want to live here. There is just so much movement and noise, hustle and bustle, sights and sounds, everything stimulates the senses. I would bet the residents have never experienced total darkness, or silence.
Well now, I just sound like one big Negative Nellie.
San Franciso City Hall
You can pick your friends, you can pick your nose, but you can't pick your friend's nose.
My 22-year-old child. Anyway, here is what the statue is about.
Our plan yesterday was to start our day by going to see the "Painted Ladies", so the closest train station took us by the Symphony, the Opera House, the Library, and City Hall. Because I had to pee, we went into City Hall, through security, which had to physically search our purses, and we had to walk through a security scanner. But, I really needed to pee, so we submitted to our invasion of privacy (thank you 9/11 terrorist). Anyway, what a gem we found! There was a bride outside, and we thought that was cool, until we went inside. I think we saw 10 brides in all. We saw the judge that was officiating and even witnessed one wedding! The weddings were not in an out-of-the-way office, they were in an open area at the top of the staircase. We felt a little bad about watching a stranger's wedding, but decided, what the hell, they chose to get married in public, so we hung around and watched a little while. It was funny the difference in people. One bride was wearing a long white coat over black pants, there were a couple of the traditional gowns, big, flowing, with trains, there was one in just a cocktail dress, and one couple was wearing their street clothes. There was one old lady in black lace, but she had a really pretty bouquet. I guess since Prop 8, there were no same sex weddings.
In the picture below, see the people behind Jes, with the cameras. That is where the weddings were being performed.
To the left of the bottom of the staircase, there was a Zumba class going on. It was at least behind closed doors.
After sticking our noses into these brides business, we went outside and found a place to sit (near an ash tray) to plan our walking route. A group of people came out of City Hall and said "Light it up" and started smoking pot. Right out in the open, on government property, in broad daylight. Do I sound shocked?
Interesting place, San Francisco.
My 22-year-old child. Anyway, here is what the statue is about.
Our plan yesterday was to start our day by going to see the "Painted Ladies", so the closest train station took us by the Symphony, the Opera House, the Library, and City Hall. Because I had to pee, we went into City Hall, through security, which had to physically search our purses, and we had to walk through a security scanner. But, I really needed to pee, so we submitted to our invasion of privacy (thank you 9/11 terrorist). Anyway, what a gem we found! There was a bride outside, and we thought that was cool, until we went inside. I think we saw 10 brides in all. We saw the judge that was officiating and even witnessed one wedding! The weddings were not in an out-of-the-way office, they were in an open area at the top of the staircase. We felt a little bad about watching a stranger's wedding, but decided, what the hell, they chose to get married in public, so we hung around and watched a little while. It was funny the difference in people. One bride was wearing a long white coat over black pants, there were a couple of the traditional gowns, big, flowing, with trains, there was one in just a cocktail dress, and one couple was wearing their street clothes. There was one old lady in black lace, but she had a really pretty bouquet. I guess since Prop 8, there were no same sex weddings.
In the picture below, see the people behind Jes, with the cameras. That is where the weddings were being performed.
To the left of the bottom of the staircase, there was a Zumba class going on. It was at least behind closed doors.
After sticking our noses into these brides business, we went outside and found a place to sit (near an ash tray) to plan our walking route. A group of people came out of City Hall and said "Light it up" and started smoking pot. Right out in the open, on government property, in broad daylight. Do I sound shocked?
Interesting place, San Francisco.
Monday, September 17, 2012
Sequoias and Peacocks
Not much has been going on the last few days. Just north of San Francisco was still not warm enough for me so I went into the San Joaquin Valley in California. It is always sunny here and the temperatures have been in the high 80s/lower 90s during the day, and I only have to sleep with one blanket. So, I am warming up nicely.
John and I spent a LOT of time in the valley when we were trucking. I always loved it, partly because of the weather, but also because of the yummy mexican food, as well as the vast fields of almost every kind of produce you can think of. John used to joke that California was the "land of fruit and nuts." And it literally is, everything from cherries, to bell peppers, to almonds, to olives. Is an olive considered to be a fruit? It grows on trees, and has pits/seeds, so I'm thinking it should be considered a fruit. When we were not taking back a load of wine (lots of grapevines here!), we were taking fresh produce back to the midwest.
Mexican and Midwest are showing a red line underneath, like I have them misspelled, because I don't have them capitalized. See how much you learn when you try to write? I have learned a lot from this blog, including how to spell Sequioa and Joaquin. I have to look things up so I get my facts right and my spelling correct. I will have to blog about the war defense structure built around the San Franciso Bay area that I stumbled upon while crossing the Golden Gate Bridge (see all the capital letters in that sentence), but I will blog about that later.
Back to the title, Sequoias and Peacocks.
I thought I was fairly close to Yosemite National Park, so I went yesterday. It was a lot farther than I thought. I kept taking these little side roads looking for a place to camp, so I probably added at least 20 miles to my trip. Anyway, late in the afternoon, I finally made it into the park and went to the area called the Mariposa Grove of Giant Sequoias.
http://www.nps.gov/yose/planyourvisit/mg.htm
It is impossible to describe how big these trees are. It was getting closer and closer to darkness, so I didn't go walk on the trail, and couldn't get close enough to hug one. Plus I would have had to find someone to take a picture of me hugging a tree, so there is nothing in my photos for perspective, but believe me, I have never seen trees that big. Since these are the "biggest living things on the planet", it is no wonder most of us haven't seen a tree that big in person.
There was a choice of three campsites (that I could find) in or near the park. The only one I was willing to stay in was full, and the other two were way to "primitive" for me. Although I LOVE living outdoors, I highly value running water, electricity, and people that aren't "into" primitive camping. So, I'm driving out of the park (87 miles to the nearest city), in pitch darkness, 35 miles per hour on mountainous two lane roads. I kept seeing people parked at the side of the road, and I was wondering what in the hell they were doing. It finally occurred to me they were star gazing. There are no streetlights in the park, and buildings and people are few and far between, so it was perfect. I had to stop because I have been trying to find a place dark enough (while still having running water, electricity, and not "tree hugging" people) to see the stars. It was one of the prettiest sights I have seen. No pictures of it unfortunately.
On to peacocks. I was at a fruit stand a couple of days ago, and saw a field with seven peacocks walking around munching. Well, today, I stopped at that same stand to check GPS on the phone, and I look out the window and there was a peacock, walking over to see if I had anything yummy for him to eat. I didn't have anything, and I am kind of scared of birds anyway. So, from the safety of my truck, I got a picture.
Ok, enough rambling. Ya'll have a good day and night.
John and I spent a LOT of time in the valley when we were trucking. I always loved it, partly because of the weather, but also because of the yummy mexican food, as well as the vast fields of almost every kind of produce you can think of. John used to joke that California was the "land of fruit and nuts." And it literally is, everything from cherries, to bell peppers, to almonds, to olives. Is an olive considered to be a fruit? It grows on trees, and has pits/seeds, so I'm thinking it should be considered a fruit. When we were not taking back a load of wine (lots of grapevines here!), we were taking fresh produce back to the midwest.
Mexican and Midwest are showing a red line underneath, like I have them misspelled, because I don't have them capitalized. See how much you learn when you try to write? I have learned a lot from this blog, including how to spell Sequioa and Joaquin. I have to look things up so I get my facts right and my spelling correct. I will have to blog about the war defense structure built around the San Franciso Bay area that I stumbled upon while crossing the Golden Gate Bridge (see all the capital letters in that sentence), but I will blog about that later.
Back to the title, Sequoias and Peacocks.
I thought I was fairly close to Yosemite National Park, so I went yesterday. It was a lot farther than I thought. I kept taking these little side roads looking for a place to camp, so I probably added at least 20 miles to my trip. Anyway, late in the afternoon, I finally made it into the park and went to the area called the Mariposa Grove of Giant Sequoias.
http://www.nps.gov/yose/planyourvisit/mg.htm
It is impossible to describe how big these trees are. It was getting closer and closer to darkness, so I didn't go walk on the trail, and couldn't get close enough to hug one. Plus I would have had to find someone to take a picture of me hugging a tree, so there is nothing in my photos for perspective, but believe me, I have never seen trees that big. Since these are the "biggest living things on the planet", it is no wonder most of us haven't seen a tree that big in person.
There was a choice of three campsites (that I could find) in or near the park. The only one I was willing to stay in was full, and the other two were way to "primitive" for me. Although I LOVE living outdoors, I highly value running water, electricity, and people that aren't "into" primitive camping. So, I'm driving out of the park (87 miles to the nearest city), in pitch darkness, 35 miles per hour on mountainous two lane roads. I kept seeing people parked at the side of the road, and I was wondering what in the hell they were doing. It finally occurred to me they were star gazing. There are no streetlights in the park, and buildings and people are few and far between, so it was perfect. I had to stop because I have been trying to find a place dark enough (while still having running water, electricity, and not "tree hugging" people) to see the stars. It was one of the prettiest sights I have seen. No pictures of it unfortunately.
On to peacocks. I was at a fruit stand a couple of days ago, and saw a field with seven peacocks walking around munching. Well, today, I stopped at that same stand to check GPS on the phone, and I look out the window and there was a peacock, walking over to see if I had anything yummy for him to eat. I didn't have anything, and I am kind of scared of birds anyway. So, from the safety of my truck, I got a picture.
Ok, enough rambling. Ya'll have a good day and night.
Thursday, September 13, 2012
Elk on the Beach
Let me just say, as beautiful as the west coast is, anywhere there is elk, it is too cold for me.
My plan was to stop in Seattle and see the sights, especially the fish market, (which I did), and explore the islands on the Puget Sound. Then mosey on up to Vancouver, Canada. But, when I have to sleep wearing two hoodies, using four blankets, plus two beach towels as cover, it is just far to cold for my liking. So, I got up in the morning, and drove for 10 hours south, 10 hours, south, looking for the sun. I left Seattle about 8:00 in the morning, and didn't see the sun until 4:30 that afternoon. Even then, the temperature was only in the 50's. I did however, follow my plan to go south on Hwy 101, better known as the Pacific Coast Highway, or the PCH.
Stunningly beautiful! (When it wasn't foggy, which it was the majority of the time, but anyway, enough bitching about the weather.)
I took this picture from the back of the truck. Lovely place to spend the evening, and the next morning at the marina watching everything I could possible see.
My plan was to stop in Seattle and see the sights, especially the fish market, (which I did), and explore the islands on the Puget Sound. Then mosey on up to Vancouver, Canada. But, when I have to sleep wearing two hoodies, using four blankets, plus two beach towels as cover, it is just far to cold for my liking. So, I got up in the morning, and drove for 10 hours south, 10 hours, south, looking for the sun. I left Seattle about 8:00 in the morning, and didn't see the sun until 4:30 that afternoon. Even then, the temperature was only in the 50's. I did however, follow my plan to go south on Hwy 101, better known as the Pacific Coast Highway, or the PCH.
Stunningly beautiful! (When it wasn't foggy, which it was the majority of the time, but anyway, enough bitching about the weather.)
Gum Wall
Lately, I have not been very successful in finding the combination of internet and electricity, in order to blog, but, I am lucky today and have both.
I found this to be interesting, and smelly. You could actually smell the gum.
This is in Seattle, WA. And I did not have the foresight to bring any gum with me. I would definitely have added my DNA to the "art".
I found this to be interesting, and smelly. You could actually smell the gum.
This is in Seattle, WA. And I did not have the foresight to bring any gum with me. I would definitely have added my DNA to the "art".
Monday, September 3, 2012
Mount St. Helens
http://www.fs.usda.gov/mountsthelens
This is by far the most astonishing thing I have seen yet. The top of the mountain blew off on May 18, 1980. It went from 9,677 feet to 8,365 feet tall in 9 hours.
Here is the mountain before the volcano.
and here it is after...
I can't get the spacing right on the typing.
That is just astounding to me.
The volcano started "activity" in March of 1980. There were earthquakes almost every minute. And steam coming from the top of the mountain. There was a "bulge" building on the north side, growing as much as FIVE FEET every day! Then, the steam and the earthquakes stopped. This was 1980, and there was not all the science and/or equipment that there is today. They evacuated the area anyway, but for only five miles.
Apparently, the frozen snow and ice, mixing with the hot lava sealed the volcano closed. But, the pressure was still building, unbeknownst to the scientist. The mountain did not go back to sleep.
The morning of May 18, 1980, the bulge collapsed, shooting volcanic fire, gases, ash, etc, LATERALLY. The first blast went sideways! This, of course, opened the top, relieving the pressure, and for the next nine hours, the volcano was shooting out of the top.
I can't remember all of the facts, i.e. how far the blast went, how many miles of devastation it caused, etc. I do remember they said the ashes took two weeks, but they did circle the globe. Also I remember, they said sound waves bounce, so no one in Portland, OR heard the blast, but it was heard in Eugene, OR which is farther south. And the Toutle River, now runs gray.
The government declared the area a national monument, and has not "replanted". They want the area to recover naturally, and it is doing so, slowly but surely. They are only doing that with the surrounding area (the observation point was five mile from the mountain) but they did replant trees in the outer area. It took 6 years to clear the debris and re-plant.
The mountain is re-growing itself, from the inside out. Thirty years later and this is what it looks like.
There is a lava dome building in the middle. The mountain is RE-GROWING itself! There is a glacier building behind the lava dome. Sounds like another volcano just waiting to happen. They think one has, and will happen every 100 years. (I should be out of the area by then.)
I stopped at the Visitor's Center that is about five miles after the mountain turnoff. One of rangers gave a talk (once again, free). I have to give props to these rangers. They are mostly young, obviously love science and nature, and some of the most enthusiastic people I have come across. I listened to another "ranger talk" at the closest observation point, Johnson Ridge Observatory.
http://vulcan.wr.usgs.gov/Volcanoes/MSH/NatMonument/PointsInterest/johnston_ridge.html
I know it sounds "cheesy" to listen to a "ranger talk", but they really are worth taking the time.
The mountain blew it's top off, and now it is re-growing! Mother Nature is something else, indeed.
This is by far the most astonishing thing I have seen yet. The top of the mountain blew off on May 18, 1980. It went from 9,677 feet to 8,365 feet tall in 9 hours.
Here is the mountain before the volcano.
and here it is after...I can't get the spacing right on the typing.That is just astounding to me.
The volcano started "activity" in March of 1980. There were earthquakes almost every minute. And steam coming from the top of the mountain. There was a "bulge" building on the north side, growing as much as FIVE FEET every day! Then, the steam and the earthquakes stopped. This was 1980, and there was not all the science and/or equipment that there is today. They evacuated the area anyway, but for only five miles.
Apparently, the frozen snow and ice, mixing with the hot lava sealed the volcano closed. But, the pressure was still building, unbeknownst to the scientist. The mountain did not go back to sleep.
The morning of May 18, 1980, the bulge collapsed, shooting volcanic fire, gases, ash, etc, LATERALLY. The first blast went sideways! This, of course, opened the top, relieving the pressure, and for the next nine hours, the volcano was shooting out of the top.
I can't remember all of the facts, i.e. how far the blast went, how many miles of devastation it caused, etc. I do remember they said the ashes took two weeks, but they did circle the globe. Also I remember, they said sound waves bounce, so no one in Portland, OR heard the blast, but it was heard in Eugene, OR which is farther south. And the Toutle River, now runs gray.
The government declared the area a national monument, and has not "replanted". They want the area to recover naturally, and it is doing so, slowly but surely. They are only doing that with the surrounding area (the observation point was five mile from the mountain) but they did replant trees in the outer area. It took 6 years to clear the debris and re-plant.
The mountain is re-growing itself, from the inside out. Thirty years later and this is what it looks like.
I stopped at the Visitor's Center that is about five miles after the mountain turnoff. One of rangers gave a talk (once again, free). I have to give props to these rangers. They are mostly young, obviously love science and nature, and some of the most enthusiastic people I have come across. I listened to another "ranger talk" at the closest observation point, Johnson Ridge Observatory.
http://vulcan.wr.usgs.gov/Volcanoes/MSH/NatMonument/PointsInterest/johnston_ridge.html
I know it sounds "cheesy" to listen to a "ranger talk", but they really are worth taking the time.
The mountain blew it's top off, and now it is re-growing! Mother Nature is something else, indeed.
Dahlias
http://www.dahlias.com/
My timing was very lucky in the Portland, Oregon area. It is blooming time for dahlias. I took 53 pictures of the flowers. Don't worry, I'm not posting them all.
Stunning beautiful, and no words needed.
Okay, a few words - SAVE THE HONEY BEES!
My timing was very lucky in the Portland, Oregon area. It is blooming time for dahlias. I took 53 pictures of the flowers. Don't worry, I'm not posting them all.
Stunning beautiful, and no words needed.
Shasta Dam
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shasta_Dam
I couldn't be bothered to read all about the dam on Wikipedia, but some of you may find it interesting. What I do find interesting is that the tour guide kept saying this dam is the second largest in the U.S. and the Hoover Dam is only the fourth largest. That is contrary to what Wikipedia says. Hmmmm. But, this tour was also free, which Hoover Dam is not. (you know, I love me some free.)
I wanted to show you this picture because see how the air is not clear, not cloudy or foggy, but not clear either? That is smoke from 17 wildfires in the area. Yikes!
You can read all of the interesting facts on Wikipedia, but I wanted to tell you an amusing story about my frame of mind.
The tour takes an hour, and you walked about 1 1/2 miles, so I had 20 minutes to go back to the car, smoke a cigarette, and put on comfortable shoes. The lady at the desk did not bother to tell me, that the beginning of the tour is 1/2 mile away, and "It takes 15 minutes to get there, so you better hurry." This was after I had smoked, changed shoes, used up 10 minutes. I still had to pee. So, thank you very much, kind lady, for not telling me that when you gave me the ticket! So, I begin this tour already somewhat annoyed. So, I rushed myself 1/2 a mile to the beginning of the tour, just so I can wait in line, meantime, there is a golf cart ferrying people over to the starting line. Hey, kind lady, what about me? Do I look like I need the exercise, or what?
So, I'm waiting in line, and there is the obligatory man, that knows everything, talks too much, and laughs too loud. And, because of 9/11, there are all kinds of security measures. NO PURSES! NO LARGE WALLETS! NO BACKPACKS! You get the idea. So, we have to go through a medal detector, and the security guy running the thing must have thought he had THE MOST important job in the world. It was ridiculous how militaristic he was. (My annoyance is almost visible, at this point.) And loud mouth guy over here is still regaling us with his vast knowledge of the area.
Then, comes the tour guide. He started his speech about California, and how we should "just block out this brown part of the state", while pointing to the LA area. Loud mouth says "ya, the part that is going back to Mexico?" I almost left the tour right then and there. Annoyance had turned to anger. But, I had walked a half mile and gone through General Patton's medal detector, and kind of wanted to see the inner workings of the dam, so I stayed.
And, I'm glad that I did. The tour guide was very knowledgeable and proud of the dam. The loud mouth guy was pretty quiet, and easy to stay away from. So, it ended up being a good experience. Maybe the 1 1/2 mile walk was just what I needed.
I couldn't be bothered to read all about the dam on Wikipedia, but some of you may find it interesting. What I do find interesting is that the tour guide kept saying this dam is the second largest in the U.S. and the Hoover Dam is only the fourth largest. That is contrary to what Wikipedia says. Hmmmm. But, this tour was also free, which Hoover Dam is not. (you know, I love me some free.)
I wanted to show you this picture because see how the air is not clear, not cloudy or foggy, but not clear either? That is smoke from 17 wildfires in the area. Yikes!
You can read all of the interesting facts on Wikipedia, but I wanted to tell you an amusing story about my frame of mind.
The tour takes an hour, and you walked about 1 1/2 miles, so I had 20 minutes to go back to the car, smoke a cigarette, and put on comfortable shoes. The lady at the desk did not bother to tell me, that the beginning of the tour is 1/2 mile away, and "It takes 15 minutes to get there, so you better hurry." This was after I had smoked, changed shoes, used up 10 minutes. I still had to pee. So, thank you very much, kind lady, for not telling me that when you gave me the ticket! So, I begin this tour already somewhat annoyed. So, I rushed myself 1/2 a mile to the beginning of the tour, just so I can wait in line, meantime, there is a golf cart ferrying people over to the starting line. Hey, kind lady, what about me? Do I look like I need the exercise, or what?
So, I'm waiting in line, and there is the obligatory man, that knows everything, talks too much, and laughs too loud. And, because of 9/11, there are all kinds of security measures. NO PURSES! NO LARGE WALLETS! NO BACKPACKS! You get the idea. So, we have to go through a medal detector, and the security guy running the thing must have thought he had THE MOST important job in the world. It was ridiculous how militaristic he was. (My annoyance is almost visible, at this point.) And loud mouth guy over here is still regaling us with his vast knowledge of the area.
Then, comes the tour guide. He started his speech about California, and how we should "just block out this brown part of the state", while pointing to the LA area. Loud mouth says "ya, the part that is going back to Mexico?" I almost left the tour right then and there. Annoyance had turned to anger. But, I had walked a half mile and gone through General Patton's medal detector, and kind of wanted to see the inner workings of the dam, so I stayed.
And, I'm glad that I did. The tour guide was very knowledgeable and proud of the dam. The loud mouth guy was pretty quiet, and easy to stay away from. So, it ended up being a good experience. Maybe the 1 1/2 mile walk was just what I needed.
Sacramento River and the Sundail Bridge
I spent a couple of days in Redding, CA in a campground on the Sacramento River. A beautiful and very fast flowing river, with a lot of people fishing. The boats would quietly go flying by when going down river, no need to use the engine, then a little while later, they would come back upstream using a lot of engine power. I only saw people fly fishing, for trout and salmon, I think. Not sure about that because I didn't talk to any of them, but they were definitely fly fishing, which looks like it takes some practice and skill.
They are trying very hard to promote tourism, and the beautiful river, so they built a pedestrian bridge, called the Sundial Bridge. It goes from the park on one side of the river to the botanical gardens on the other side, with miles and miles of walking/biking trails. I could not tell what time it is from the shadow of the bridge, but maybe it only works during summer solstice, or one day a year?
Anyway, it was a very pretty part of the country, and the bridge and botanical gardens were free. I love me some free.
They are trying very hard to promote tourism, and the beautiful river, so they built a pedestrian bridge, called the Sundial Bridge. It goes from the park on one side of the river to the botanical gardens on the other side, with miles and miles of walking/biking trails. I could not tell what time it is from the shadow of the bridge, but maybe it only works during summer solstice, or one day a year?
Anyway, it was a very pretty part of the country, and the bridge and botanical gardens were free. I love me some free.
Wednesday, August 29, 2012
Olive Trees
I had never seen an olive tree, in person. They really do grow on trees. I don't know how you get the edible part out, because theses little things are hard as rocks. I tried to bust one open and couldn't do it.
These are at a rest area in Northern California. It is next to an olive orchard (picture of the orchard below), so it was nice of them to leave some in the rest area for us to enjoy.
I am now all caught up on blogging, I'm in Redding, CA and on to my next adventure.
I am now all caught up on blogging, I'm in Redding, CA and on to my next adventure.
On to Reno and Lake Tahoe
John and I spent a lot of time in Reno, but we only got to see the truck stops. (I got one of the best haircuts ever at Petro in Reno.) Reno was definitely a destination that was on my list. Reno cannot compare to Vegas. There are only six big casinos on the "strip". Friday night, I was out late, of course, and walking from one casino to another, trying to get back to my truck, it actually kind of made me nervous. There were loads and loads of young, very drunk, people. It was hard to tell hookers from party girls. I thought I should get my ass back inside of a casino, cause it was very rowdy on the street. I had a good time though, I got fairly lucky (money-wise, not hooker-wise) on Saturday night.
I left on Sunday, and headed to Lake Tahoe. I told myself not to take pictures of Lake Tahoe. There must be a go-zillion pictures of that lake. But honestly, it was so beautiful, I gasped when it popped into my view. The water is so clear, you can see a white dinner plate at the depth of 70 feet. (I read that, I didn't make it up, or test it.) The beach below (and I only took a picture of a small part of the beach) was voted the best beach in the country. The water temperature that day was 67 degrees, and the temperature of the air was 76 degrees. (The people swimming were CRAZY. They would die from the heat in Texas.) The 70ish mile loop around the lake is, in some people's opinion, the prettiest drive in the world. I haven't seen the whole world, but I would agree that it is the prettiest drive I have been on yet.
So, even though I wasn't going to take pictures of the lake, I couldn't help myself.
I was going to stay the night in South Lake Tahoe, but it was too f-ing cold! So, I drove about 30 minutes down the mountain and slept there. Checking the temperature the next morning, it had gotten down to 32 degrees in South Lake Tahoe, and in Carson City, NV where I slept, it was 45 degrees. Still cold, but I at least gained 13 degrees. Now, if I was there in October, or even September, I could have tolerated those temperatures, but with it being August, and supposedly summer, that is WAY to cold for me.
For those of you that get to travel, I would highly recommend putting Lake Tahoe on your bucket list. Not in the winter though, unless you like to put snow chains on your tires.
Salt Lake
I pull up to the lake, and think, beautiful! It smells like I'm at the beach! So, I find myself a nice parking spot, backed in, thinking I can sit and enjoy the sun, and people and bird watching, listen to the sound of the waves, etc. You know, a really nice relaxing afternoon.
After about one minute, I notice these little gnatty bugs all around me. They are starting to get on my clothes, and one flew in my ear. They starting swarming the truck. Everywhere you looked, there were more than one bug, everywhere you looked! Ok, enough of that shit!
So, I walk over closer to the water cause I have to at least feel of it (and it was cold). Of course, the bugs are still all around. The salt content if between 10 and 19%, therefore, there is only one kind of fish that can live in there, and it is called brine shrimp. The biggest they get is 1/2 inch long. They have approx 300 eggs every 4 days. The eggs are so small, you can't see them, but they look like a red cloud floating in the water. Even though these shrimp are very small, there are so many of them, you can see them, and they are THICK! I have never seen such a concentration of fish. It was disgusting! There is no way you could swim in that water without coming out with every little hiding place filled with these translucent, rubbery shrimp. Can I say the word disgusting often enough?
There are two things this lake is good for, for humans anyway. Sailing (but you better hope you do not have to get in the water), and bird-watching. As far as commercial operations, Morton Salt seems to do really good here (picture below, and yes, that is salt.) and fish farms harvest the shrimp eggs to feed their fish.
I keep thinking about the Mormons. When they came over the mountains from the east, and saw this beautiful enormous lake down below, they must have really thought God had guided them there. Then, to get down to the water level, and find that it is not drinkable must have seemed like Satan was involved. They stayed anyway. It must have either been because they were to tired to keep moving, or to stubborn to admit the location wasn't as good as it seemed at first.
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