The Last Battle Ship, a tale about flat tires, and art museums…

I spent some hours in the wind, at the Golden Gate… at Ft Point, walking the water front along Chrissy Field.  The Daughter and I were waiting to watch the Iowa… the last battle ship… to leave San Francisco Bay.

It was not planned (our attendance, not the event)… We started our day at the Legion of Honor, a SF Art Museum, to see the The Cult of Beauty: The Victorian Avant-Garde 1860–1900 exhibit…  but first I had to take the truck to the shop to get a couple of tires… in the last 14 years or so (excepting the last week) I have not had a flat tire… I have had tires that leak, but not a flat tire by the side of the road, jack and spare tire flat tire…  Last week I had two…

I am driving a new vehicle… not new as in showroom fresh, but new to me… It is a Toyota truck, previously owned by my father.  Dad died last July… In the post death reckoning, my brother took the house, I took the truck… there was money too to make things even.

Initially, I left the truck in Dad’s name, at Dad’s, now Dan’s house in Florida…  Last September, the insurance came due, and I added it to our policy, with the truck “garaged” in Florida… My son was attending school in Jacksonville, and used it while in school.   

He graduated at the end of March, and drove the truck west, towing a U-haul trailer with our stuff… His diving equipment, and the stuff we (T & I) got took from Dad’s now Dan’s house…  

Once in California, initially, we parked it… but about 10 days ago I needed a truck to move some stuff about at work and started to drive it… I am trying to figure out if it is something I want to keep… It is not what I would have purchased… It has an automatic transmission… I don’t like automatic transmissions, preferring a manual stick shift.  It has a bigger engine than I like (My Escape has a 2 liter, I own 2 Fiat 850s… as in 850 cc engines.. less than a litter ) Big engines use more fuel… It isn’t a 4 wheel drive… It has a 6’ bed… good for pigeon crates, but too small for a sheet of plywood.

But, I am giving the truck a try…

Monday, a block from work, I picked up a lead tire weight in the center of the left rear tire… I heard it when it impaled itself into the tire… It stuck out a full inch and went whack, whack, whack… as I drove slowly… I parked at my office, with the tire still holding pressure, but two hours later it was dead flat…

I pulled out the jack and the vinyl bag of tools that all new cars come with, and found that the cheap lug wrench wasn’t up to the task of breaking the lug nuts, likely installed with an air wrench off… I called AAA… the auto club, and the yellow truck came and the nice man equipped with professional tools removed the flat tire and installed the spare…

The truck has a “low tire pressure “ warning light… that light immediately lit, suggesting that something associated with the spare tire would not read pressure…  But Friday, while driving to work, the other rear tire went down… flat… dead…  If I was driving the Escape, I would have my tools… a better jack, a cross wrench, a jump box, and an air compressor… but I was driving the truck, with a dead tire with a tire weight impaled in the tread in the bed, and no spare…  I was screwed… (I never found the wound in the second tire but a dry wall screw would be likely, so I was likely screwed on several levels.)  Luckily the Daughter was on summer break, and I was able to have her bring me my portable compressor from the Escape… But when you are thoroughly screwed, (as I was) nothing is easy… The Escape of course was locked… I had one key (with me) and the wife, at work (as in not at home) had the other…  Steph (aka the daughter) went to Google to get the key, then home to get the compressor, then to Ardenwood to deliver said compressor…(before heading o the zoo to play with penguins)

The compressor was able to re-inflate the tire… and I was able to drive home… but now, I needed tires…

We delivered the truck to my tire store of choice early Saturday, then went off on our planned adventure… To the Legion of Honor to the exhibit on Victorian beauty…  It was a good exhibit, but I may have said that before… It closes June 17^th, so if this interests you, you should make plans soon.  If you do, make sure to visit the rooms upstairs…  they have graphic of Whistler’s Peacock Room (now at the Freer Gallery in the Smithsonian)

While there, a friend, a Marine, the manager of our horse drawn train program at Ardenwood texted that the Iowa, a battleship would be leaving the bay today…  A plan was hatched… we would go to Ft Point to watch it pass… 

Ft Point is a Civil War era brick coastal defense port.  Ft Point is a part of Golden Gate National Recreation Area… a variety of a National Park… filled with people wearing Smoky the Bear hats…  These are the good guys… we discovered that the fort was housing an art exhibit… InternationalOrange, celebrating the Golden Gate Bridge’s 75 birthday.  There were 17 installations throughout the fort… A magazine “Average” bunting from the railings… films… a musical performance set to film of men building the bridge… a weaving, of orange in fog… tent camera photographs, Paper dresses, and our favorite the “International Orange Commemorative Store (A Proposition)”… a gift shop, where everything was orange… Including free orange post cards… all orange, some with boarders, some without… orange, all orange.  We explored and enjoyed… It was an innovative use of a historic site…  It will continue through late October… It is worth visiting.

Having explored the fort… the exhibit… 

We were killing time until the battleship arrived… Steph was trying to figure out how long it would be (it was originally scheduled to leave a week ago, so nothing is certain).  Eventually we walked to Chrissy Field, in search of food… but tomorrow is the bridges 75^th birthday (I bought the Tee shirt) and so, the local café is on event menu… a limited menu… so we tried the hot dog cart outside…The Let’s Be Frank Dogs Cart.  Organic, free range meat… Acme Bakery buns… we ate… we were satisfied.  We will eat here again…  did I say they were good?  They have their own hot sauce.

Out on the Torpedo pier…  a photographer was shooting shots of a race, the Master Mariner… an old time San Francisco tradition, working boats racing, now wooden boats or replicas of old boats… I crewed on one some years ago… It was a wonderful diversion while waiting for the battleship…

Eventually the battleship appeared from behind Angle Island…   We watched from the pier… then, as she cleared Angel Island, we walked back to the fort and climbed to the top level… and watched,  and took photos as the last battleship, the Iowa left San Francisco Bay for Los Angeles, and her new role as a museum... There was a fire boat, there was a fly-by by a couple of F-18’s… there as a black helicopters circling presumably taking pictures.  We are back to black helicopters…

As she, the Iowa, cleared the bridge, my camera battery died… we headed down, to the car, to head south to Redwood City to reclaim the truck, which no longer had flat tires…

 

Photo problems and black helocopters, a Fantasy

Blogger's slide show is having problems, which are preventing me from updating it... No matter which Picasa Web album I would link to, only photos of Sidney would appear...

I deleted and reinstalled the slide show, and according to Blogger you should be seeing photos of Nevada to the right, but nothing of the sort appears... so if you are interested in pretty or weird photos of Nevada, look at my Picasa Web album directly at Nevada Desert Views.

The wander about was good... Nevada is beautiful... but Nevada can be weird too.... there are many people and organizations which go to the desert to hide...  many of which are shall we say, not normal... the reality of secret Airforce bases (Area 51 for example) adds to the feeling of a conspiracy...   Some have fun with it... My favorite being "Alien Fresh Jerky" of Baker California, but tied in their mythology to Rachel Nevada, the closest town to Area 51)  Lots of people go into the desert to shoot... guns. Guns not welcome in California...  We may have had guns with us... You should when in Nevada... along with sharp knives and a case of grapefruit, and beer, lots of beer.

While the desert is big, and has fewer people (to see things?), in the desert, there is less to distract, and so, hiding activities is more difficult... with less to detract, details may trip them up...  (them being the people hiding things from us, the conspiracy theorists...)  I am not really a conspiracy theorist... I don't believe that area 51 was a alien landing place, instead, it is a place to test secret war planes in secret. On the other hand, I grew up in the 1960's and 70's.... a time when people talked of black helicopters (presumably operated by the CIA) and the like...

So....  On this trip, surrounded by people younger than me, I started to talk of black helicopters.... and hidden defense facilities... I may have made things up...

But the desert offers a rich palette and a clean canvas for those who want to create stories... This may explain why I like it so much.  I like to make up stuff...

It started when a US Navy rescue helicopter flew over our camp site... several times...  I studied geography at UC Berkeley... in the 1970's and as a result, I was pretty sure we were not near the ocean...  Could it be that the Navy helicopter was really a black helicopter in disguise?

Off across desert hills to Wabuska... Here we found a modern industrial facility... AES Industries, for sale, no cars in the parking lot, none, not even one...  but an American flag was flying... A web search (we have smart phones, we are smart, we are connected) suggest that AES makes things from metal, but the plant had equipment (visible from outside) to handle bulk shipments of dry material... likely plastic... (I am not an expert, but I believe plastic is not metal...) and the plant had a very over sized air conditioning system... much too large for the buildings visible... filling a fenced area in back, but disable, if you knew what to look at...   I did...  This raised questions... What did they make here (Likely molded plastic products, which are difficult to make in CA due to air rules, but why ruin a good story with facts)  I suspect (or at least told others that I suspect) that this is t a hidden underground facility, either Defense Department, or worse, a base for black helicopters...   I am going for black helicopters...

Then, while exploring the area on foot we found it... an eye wash station... in the desert... why, what would one need such a device for in the desert... yes, it is possible or even probable that you might get sand in your eye... but an eye wash station was not expected... There was a coffee pot, and a gas mask as well... Coffee for the control room crew?  A gas mask for emergencies?  (alternately, someone threw away a coffee pot and the gas mask is a dust mask used by those unloading railroad cars at the siding a few hundred feet away, but again, don't confuse the story with facts, and I still don't know why one would install a eye wash station in the desert)

So, having found the fabled base where black helicopters are based, we moved on, in search of the town of Schurz, and Indian fire works...  It is said that the Indians, unconcerned with local laws sell things that go boom, not available in more conventional fireworks stands...   Don't tell anyone, but the stories are true... we may (or may not) have acquired things that go bang, even under water, and a supply of bottle rockets... not the cheap Mexican stuff... the good Chinese stuff.   

Back to camp... then off into the desert... BLM land, where guns are welcome... We had several, and thanks to us, the world is safe from plywood sheets, beer bottles, and wheel barrel tires... Back to camp (again) around the fire, cooking meat on the coals, drinking beer... dogs everywhere....

The next day were were off again... exploring old railroad right of way... until.... we found a new fence... across what had once been the tracks.... strong, locked gates... Fences and gates in the desert... signs... signs for Hodges Transportation Company... No Trespassing signs... We tried to find a way around them, back to the railroad right of way.... we followed dirt roads, we followed tracks which had never seen a dozier blade... marked only by the tires of off road vehicles...  We eventually ran out of road... of course, we did a web search... for Hodges Transportation... and found that they are a testing lab... a testing lab in the desert.... customers include the Marines... They have an office in Northern Virginia, near Washington DC....We are back to black helicopters...  It is all about the Government, about the Military Industrious complex... THEM...

Reports suggest that Hodges Transportation has a railroad... a short railroad with two hopper cars and a loco-mobile...  Why???   How does this relate to black helicopters....?

I took photos, (now back to the Google/Blogger issues above) but I can't post them to the blog... I tried to change the slide show... only Sidney would appear,  deleted the slide show... then re-posted the slide show app...  It says it is here, but nothing shows, not even Sidney....  It may be part of the conspiracy... They know... They probably know I know...  Google is part of it... they own Blogger... They have their own air force based on a NASA Base.  I don't think they have black helicopters, but maybe...

It is late... I am wrapping my head in aluminum foil and going to bed....

Goodnight....

PS... It is all a fantasy... a delusion... get over it.... (or not)

PPS.... If you find the link to the photos doesn't work, try this.... (black helos... Google is involved...)  http://tinyurl.com/Nevada-photos

Ft Churchill Nevada - A desert sojourn

Camped, near the Carson River... Somewhat east of Carson City, a bit south of Dayton...


This was an Army fort from 1860 to 1861 or so... During the Pyramid Lake Indian wars... But the Civil War intervened, the post was abandoned, sold to a rancher...


This is the desert, arid, mostly little vegetation... Low hills... We are camped along the Carson River... Among sage brush and cottonwoods...


Now it is a Nevada State Park... We, the son and I and A friend's circle of friends are camped here, in the desert. The friend an another work for a software and tech company... Another breeds and trains working dogs, for herding, for cadaver search... Another does tech for a school district, one other is a member of the underground economy...


We sit by the fire, we cook dinner, drink, talk...


Yesterday, we drove south to Wabuska, to Yearington, and Shyerts... Wabuska, the one time Junction of the Nevada Copper Belt Railroad, and the railroad variously known as the Carson & Colorado, or the Nevada and California, or the Southern Pacific NarrowGauge... I found a coupler pin... The pin of link and pin coupler... Not used here after 1903 or so... An old piece of iron... What made it weird was where I found it on the edge of the still used tracks within 100' of the (paved) highway...


Today, we explored North... Along a line abandoned in the 1930's... Track gone and now a road... A dirt road. And found our path blocked by a fence... We followed a track trying to work about. Before losing our road, we find a UP track crew at work... We found spikes... We find a tie plate for a redwood tie. We eventually find locked fences and new barbed wire.


Now, it is blowing a gale... Tents are collapsing... My awning is history... Torn to pieces... The tent is guyed to the car and to a cottonwood.... Now dark... Still blowing a gale.... The wind Supposed to die down when it gets dark... It isn't...
Jokes... Te rules are different in Nevada... It doesn't matter, we don' t remember what happens in Nevada... TV commercials say so.


Now 9:15... Still blowing a gale... There is lighting... So far no thunder... People are remarking on the lighting... We are worried about thunder and the dogs... We have dogs with us... Lots of dogs...


I suspect the dogs believe that they are camped in a dog park... They would not be far off...


A corner of the rain fly was broken loose... I tied it down... The tent may be toast (inspection after the fact says it isn't)... But should survive the night if the river don't rise to the rain fly doesn't rip off just before a down pour.... I expect to survive. (in retrospect, neither came to pass)


Tuesday, the next morning.... Brian and I rise with the dog... We break camp, pack the vehicle and head west towards California and home.


We stop at the Nevada State Railroad Museum... To visit friends... Then a fast drive home for a day before his Birthday dinner for Brian... and a bit of work to clean out the Escape and the camping stuff...

Randy

Off into the desert - Doomscape 20XX + 1 (Desert Camp 2012)

Brian (the son) and I are off to the desert for three nights…

We will be camping with friends at Ft Churchill Nevada… Beyond the California State line, beyond Carson City, out Highway 50, the self proclaimed loneliest road, beyond Dayton, then just before Fallon, head south…

Ft Churchill is a former army post, dating to the Indian wars of the 1860’s…  Today it is a pleasant site along the Carson River, away from civilizations as we know it, a place to sit, read, watch stars, and relax…  

God knows, I need to relax…

A friend has reserved the group camp ground, and invited a bunch of his friends (nearly 100) via Facebook, myself included…  Most won’t make it, but it looks like there will be maybe 20-25 of us while I am in residence.  This is not the first time for the event, but it is my first time attending.

I don’t entirely know what to expect… It will be a somewhat communal experience, with shared food, shared music, group activates, but you are in the end responsible for yourself.  I only know one other person, and it is clear that most will be much younger than myself… but I am expecting a good time. 

The Escape (a vehicle, a 4 wheel drive vehicle, I have blogged about it before) is mostly packed.  There is the dry box… with pots and pans, a small white gas stove, a blue enamel coffee pot, and a dutch oven.  There is a tent, a rug for the floor of the tent… an awning, two chairs, two cots (we wouldn’t want to sleep on the ground would we?!) a old fashioned white gas Coleman lantern, along with tools, rope and an Ipad loaded with music… Tomorrow we will add fire wood… I know how to camp… am comfortable in the desert… 

We will have a tent, with cots, with an old oriental rug... an awning, and chairs...  Like an Victorian Englishman on an adventure, we will be civilized.

I have two cameras… and a note book… If I am going to commune with nature I will endeavor to write about it.

I have food… and beverage… beer, wine, and some moonshine, even a bit of water maybe a lot of water, gallons of water, as we are beyond the traditional water supply.

Camping food is a bit of an art… It needs to be easily prepared in a rustic environment, easy to clean up after if possible, and easy to keep… we will start with ice, but by Tuesday morning will likely have more cold water than ice. It should be fire friendly… I carry a dutch oven… a cast iron pot with a lipped lid… I will cook biscuits in it.  I will cook bacon in a fry pan… this with coffee will be breakfast.  For dinner we have cowboy steaks, cooked directly on the coals one night, Rib eyes on a grill another, and a big cast iron pot of green chili for the third.  There is corn pre-wrapped in foil with butter and pepper on it to go with the cowboy steaks… there is a black bean and corn salad, and cherry tomatoes to go with the rib eye…  There is cheese and cracker for lunch… chips and salsa for the evening…  Brian is supplying the “road snacks” and if reports are accurate, he has done well.

I will take the ipad, and the laptop… I have a battery “jump box” with a 120 outlet that should give me some hours of computer time… If I can find a signal I can use the phone as a wifi hot spot to check email and blog.

Mostly I expect to sit, eat, and converse… walk a bit… watch the sunrise and sunset… eat (food is important… we already established that) We will have a couple of guns, and wide open spaces to shoot at cans, likely beer cans (then pick them up and dispose of them in a responsible way).  I am taking a couple of books.  I am not sure which, but Abbey’s Desert Solitaire is high on the list…

I am looking forward to the adventure.