Tuesday August 9th
I wake up, Shower, go to the traditional free motel breakfast… My fellow diners are a mix of travelers from all over the world… a clean cut young kid in a suit (Mormon missionary??) is speaking Spanish to a family from Peru… Americans speaking the language of others, in America… It’s a wonderful thing to see.
Back to the room, pack up, a final email check, then off for Grand Canyon.
There are a couple of ways to get to the north rim… Most tourist probably go via Zion, and the tunnel and Kabab Utah. This time I took the more southerly road… through Pipe spring and Fredonia. I wanted to stop at Pipe Springs, an historic site, and a National Monument. I was surprised at how well the park service did at Pipe Springs… there is a nice visitors center, Shared with the local Piute tribe,
Pipe springs was a tithing ranch for the Mormon Church… It was run as a commercial ranch, making cheese and butter, as well as being a station on the desert telegraph. Members of the church would occasionally pay their tithes in cattle. Those cattle might end up at Pipe Springs… Church members would be sent there to work (for pay) or occasionally would work there as their tithe. The main building is a fortified ranch house, built over the spring. There are a couple of outbuildings, as well as gardens, some animals, and a nice short trail along the rim rock.
It took an organization like the church to establish a ranch like this in such a remote place… Yet the park service seems to want to steer away from the Mormon story… They are comfortable saying they were Mormons, but don’t discuss the churches organization and how it made this place… They are very good at preserving the site, discussing the Piute history, talking about overgrazing, but not the church.
Also, because they are the park service, the museum side of things (how objects are marked and documented, what objects they have, what paint color they chose, and interpretive signage is very good, but as the park service they also need certain security systems, more appropriate for an urban environment. You can only enter the building with a ranger, but they still have ropes across doorways.
Leaving Pipe Springs I continue east, towards the Grand Canyon… along the way I pass through Fredonia Arizona… They have a gas station, so I stop… their sign says Lotto, Ammo, Guns, Beer… I buy the t-shirt.
30 miles later I reach Jacob Lake, and the turnoff for the park… Its 40 some miles to the rim… most through recently burned forest. Soon after I pass the park entrance gate I encounter a herd of Bison… they cross the road headed east, then cross the road again headed west… (for what it is worth, Bison are not native to Arizona… they were imported as breeding stock, and are now owned by the state… I guess they make the tourists happy)
I continue, find my camp site, put up the tent, then take the trail along the rim to the lodge… I encounter the first of many deer along the way.
The lodge is a typical western National Park building… local, large spaces, logs for roof rafters… it was designed by the same architect who designed the Awannie Hotel in Yosemite. There are no accommodations in the main building, instead there are cabins surrounding it, with a few newer motel style units.
I buy a beer in the bar and sit in the grand lobby and look at the canyon while drinking it. There are three fires in or near the park, two on the south side, one on the North… All caused by lighting. You can see the south side fires from the lodge… the north side fire is visible from the road as I walk back to the camp ground. There is a road through the fire, with remains open… I will likely drive it tomorrow.
Back to camp, I deal with my feet… the Vasculitus stuff is making them peal, , subject to blisters and cracking, and I do still have some wounds. I clean them up, and apply Band-Aids as needed… I make dinner, then go back to the lodge to watch the sun go down… By now the fire has reached the ridge on the mesa across from the lodge, and is burning down the face… with flames visible. It is a spectacular spectacle… The Park Service has an Information officer, a fire fighter, and a volunteer answering questions… they have quickly made up information panels… They are doing a good job.
With darkness fast gaining hold I return to my camp site, and build a roaring fire… I sit in relative darkness and watch the stars overhead. I observe my fellow campers… They are a vaired bunch with very different camping styles…
The next morning I awake, throw a couple of logs on the fire, make coffee, bacon, and bake biscuits in a dutch oven… I burn the bottoms a bit, but all is good… While packing I hear a commotion and find that a Kabab squirrel is in the camp… He is hyperactive, quite shy, but I get a couple of photos… I break camp, load up, and am off by 7:30 to explore the neighboring mesa (the one on fire)
There is a 16 mile drive out to the end of the mesa… it passes through areas burned last week… there are hot spots visible from the road… In most areas the fire only burned the underbrush, but there were some areas where it crowned and burned everything.
While out at the point of the mesa I see a California Condor… I get one decent photo.
I leave the Grand Canyon and drive towards Monument Valley and Mexican Hat… The drive takes me along the Vermillion Cliffs, across the Navaho bridge at the head of the Grand Canyon, through Page Arizona, then across the top of the Navaho Reservation before heading north into Utah.
I go to the visitor’s center at the Monument Valley, Navajo Tribal Park… the view is good but the visitor’s center is undergoing construction, and the site was overwhelmed with tourist… The road through the park was bumper to bumper so I skipped it… I have done it before.
Mexican Hat is about 20 miles away, along the San Juan River… It’s typical marginal desert town with 4 or so motels, and the Swinging Stake… Internationally known… I have the 18 oz rib eye… It was great. The town is surrounded by red rock... there are paths down to the river... This town is growing on me.
Now back at the motel… trying to get on line reliably… So far my email web browser and the satellite connection are fighting with each other. With luck I will post this update, but photos may be beyond the connection’s abilities.
Tuesday, August 11, 2009
Sunday, August 9, 2009
National Parks, 2009
Saturday, August 8, Lee Vining/California
It’s a bit after twilight… the sky blue gray, camp is made… I have a fire going… The Coleman lamp is lit… (an old style two mantle white gas lantern…)
So far the trip has been good. I got away a bit early, just before noon, the drive seemed slower than normal, but I never encountered much traffic.
I did stop in Mantica to check out The Bass Pro Shop… This is much more than a fishing store… it’s a destination… they have a full size redwood tree, a 22,000 gallon bass tank, and a smaller stream with brown trout… native brown trout… I didn’t buy anything, but WOW….
As I headed east I passed though the almond orchards… here and there among the orchards was field corn, standing tall… I got held up following a tomato truck headed for riverbank or Oakdale… Agriculture is alive, and maybe even well in the great valley.
At Oakdale the scenery changes… you start to climb, and the land isn’t flat anymore… Just before Jim-town I turned South west thought Chinese camp, along Don Pedro reservoir and start the serious climb at Moccasin (a power plant and fish hatchery_
I took Old Priest Grade… a road which is 4 miles shorter, but nearly straight up the hill… second gear all the way…
Into Yosemite. It bothered me… too many people… We are loving it to death… I decided I would camp at the first camp site that had room… Tuolumne meadows was full, every camp ground along Lee Vining creek was full…
I checked in the visitor center in Lee Vining… they thought my only option was “dispersed camping” in the national forest, but no fires, not even stoves… I decided to check out the camps ground along the creek again, and found the “secret” camp site in lower Lee Vining creek campground… No 9, no 9, no 9, The post had rotted off or been knocked down, so the marker was high on a tree… I only found it because there was no No. 9… There was a No. 8, and a No. 10, between which was a site with picnic table and bear box, but no post… so now I sit, fire and lantern, steak ready for the grill….
A site found, I take some photos along the shore of Mono Lake… then return to my site, and make a fire, dinner, and enjoy life…
Sunday August 8
I get up, make a fire, make coffee, and break camp… off East…
I stop at the Lee Vining Mobil station for gas… I only need 5 gallons, but you don’t cross the middle of Nevada without a full tank…
East across the bottom of Mono Lake, to Benton Hot Springs, then North on Hwy 6 across Montgomery Pass, also known as Boundary Peak… I explore the ruins of the former motel/whore house at the pass, looking for a narrow gauge boxcar… I find it, but there is not much left… on to Tonopah, and a bit further on, turn on to the Extraterrestrial Highway. (I don’t see any)… then East to Arizona and finally Utah… As I leave Arizona I pass though the Virgin River Gorge. Its a boundary... on one side we are in the Las Vegas desert... on the other we are on the Utah plateau, the mesa and rim rock country. I arrive much earlier than expected, or predicted by Google… I find my hotel (its free, its points, they are nice…)
With an unexpected afternoon, things get really good… I am 23 miles from Zion National Park… after a quick shower (I probably stink… I am 24 hours on the road without a shower…) I head for the park… I have been here before, the first time about 1968, most recently in January 2006.
It’s about 3:00… you can’t drive into the center of the park, you have to park and take a shuttle… and generally the parking lots are full, but not at 3:00 pm… I drive in, show my park pass, park and take the shuttle to the far end of the park… The shuttle thing works… The crowds don’t overwhelm the park…
At the end of the park there is a trail (paved, wheel chair accessible, crowd accessible, but a good trail) along the Virgin River… at the end you meet the Narrows. There is no longer room for a trail, if you want to go further you walk in the stream. I do, carrying a digital camera, not water safe… a few yards in I meet a man with his baby on his back… a camera doesn’t equal a baby… so on I go… a couple of ladies returning give me their walking stick… now all is good in the world.
I make it in a half mile or so until the water gets really deep… I make it out fine… I leave the stick for another hiker…
Zion was not expected… It was spectacular… The trip is shaping up well…
Leaving the park, I find a Mexican restaurant, have dinner and now am sitting in my (free!) motel room writing this post…
More Tuesday
Randy
It’s a bit after twilight… the sky blue gray, camp is made… I have a fire going… The Coleman lamp is lit… (an old style two mantle white gas lantern…)
So far the trip has been good. I got away a bit early, just before noon, the drive seemed slower than normal, but I never encountered much traffic.
I did stop in Mantica to check out The Bass Pro Shop… This is much more than a fishing store… it’s a destination… they have a full size redwood tree, a 22,000 gallon bass tank, and a smaller stream with brown trout… native brown trout… I didn’t buy anything, but WOW….
As I headed east I passed though the almond orchards… here and there among the orchards was field corn, standing tall… I got held up following a tomato truck headed for riverbank or Oakdale… Agriculture is alive, and maybe even well in the great valley.
At Oakdale the scenery changes… you start to climb, and the land isn’t flat anymore… Just before Jim-town I turned South west thought Chinese camp, along Don Pedro reservoir and start the serious climb at Moccasin (a power plant and fish hatchery_
I took Old Priest Grade… a road which is 4 miles shorter, but nearly straight up the hill… second gear all the way…
Into Yosemite. It bothered me… too many people… We are loving it to death… I decided I would camp at the first camp site that had room… Tuolumne meadows was full, every camp ground along Lee Vining creek was full…
I checked in the visitor center in Lee Vining… they thought my only option was “dispersed camping” in the national forest, but no fires, not even stoves… I decided to check out the camps ground along the creek again, and found the “secret” camp site in lower Lee Vining creek campground… No 9, no 9, no 9, The post had rotted off or been knocked down, so the marker was high on a tree… I only found it because there was no No. 9… There was a No. 8, and a No. 10, between which was a site with picnic table and bear box, but no post… so now I sit, fire and lantern, steak ready for the grill….
A site found, I take some photos along the shore of Mono Lake… then return to my site, and make a fire, dinner, and enjoy life…
Sunday August 8
I get up, make a fire, make coffee, and break camp… off East…
I stop at the Lee Vining Mobil station for gas… I only need 5 gallons, but you don’t cross the middle of Nevada without a full tank…
East across the bottom of Mono Lake, to Benton Hot Springs, then North on Hwy 6 across Montgomery Pass, also known as Boundary Peak… I explore the ruins of the former motel/whore house at the pass, looking for a narrow gauge boxcar… I find it, but there is not much left… on to Tonopah, and a bit further on, turn on to the Extraterrestrial Highway. (I don’t see any)… then East to Arizona and finally Utah… As I leave Arizona I pass though the Virgin River Gorge. Its a boundary... on one side we are in the Las Vegas desert... on the other we are on the Utah plateau, the mesa and rim rock country. I arrive much earlier than expected, or predicted by Google… I find my hotel (its free, its points, they are nice…)
With an unexpected afternoon, things get really good… I am 23 miles from Zion National Park… after a quick shower (I probably stink… I am 24 hours on the road without a shower…) I head for the park… I have been here before, the first time about 1968, most recently in January 2006.
It’s about 3:00… you can’t drive into the center of the park, you have to park and take a shuttle… and generally the parking lots are full, but not at 3:00 pm… I drive in, show my park pass, park and take the shuttle to the far end of the park… The shuttle thing works… The crowds don’t overwhelm the park…
At the end of the park there is a trail (paved, wheel chair accessible, crowd accessible, but a good trail) along the Virgin River… at the end you meet the Narrows. There is no longer room for a trail, if you want to go further you walk in the stream. I do, carrying a digital camera, not water safe… a few yards in I meet a man with his baby on his back… a camera doesn’t equal a baby… so on I go… a couple of ladies returning give me their walking stick… now all is good in the world.
I make it in a half mile or so until the water gets really deep… I make it out fine… I leave the stick for another hiker…
Zion was not expected… It was spectacular… The trip is shaping up well…
Leaving the park, I find a Mexican restaurant, have dinner and now am sitting in my (free!) motel room writing this post…
More Tuesday
Randy
Saturday, August 8, 2009
Road trip, and farewell Kodacrome...
It's early Saturday... The truck is packed. I am off on the road trip... I am traveling alone... looking forward to time by a camp fire.
First over the Sierra's to a camp site near Mono Lake... then a long drive across the desolate and deserted part of Nevada.... to Hurricane Utah, staying in a Motel (showers and internet) then across the northern edge of Arizona to the North Rim of the Grand Canyon to camp for the night.
From there it's across the Vermilion Cliffs, through the Navajo Reservation and north back into Utah at Monument Valley... I have a motel in Mexican Hat (Showers and internet again)
Then off to Mesa Verde Colorado... via 4 corners... Two nights camping and hiking among the ruins...
From there I head home, via Arches National Park... I have no idea where I will spend the night there... then Ely Nevada (motel for the last night) then home via Nevada Hy 6 and Yosemite... (its the shortest route)
The whole thing is about 2,300 miles.
This is the country of the John Ford western, complete with John Wayne, stage coaches and most important, some of the most spectacular scenery anywhere. I am carrying three cameras, one digital, two film... I intend to use up my last two rolls of Kodacrome... (after 70 some years Kodak is discontinuing Kodachrome... a victim of the digital age) It seems like an approprate place to say goodbye.
With luck the Monsoon will bring thunder showers, and spectacular clouds.
Bye for now... Randy
First over the Sierra's to a camp site near Mono Lake... then a long drive across the desolate and deserted part of Nevada.... to Hurricane Utah, staying in a Motel (showers and internet) then across the northern edge of Arizona to the North Rim of the Grand Canyon to camp for the night.
From there it's across the Vermilion Cliffs, through the Navajo Reservation and north back into Utah at Monument Valley... I have a motel in Mexican Hat (Showers and internet again)
Then off to Mesa Verde Colorado... via 4 corners... Two nights camping and hiking among the ruins...
From there I head home, via Arches National Park... I have no idea where I will spend the night there... then Ely Nevada (motel for the last night) then home via Nevada Hy 6 and Yosemite... (its the shortest route)
The whole thing is about 2,300 miles.
This is the country of the John Ford western, complete with John Wayne, stage coaches and most important, some of the most spectacular scenery anywhere. I am carrying three cameras, one digital, two film... I intend to use up my last two rolls of Kodacrome... (after 70 some years Kodak is discontinuing Kodachrome... a victim of the digital age) It seems like an approprate place to say goodbye.
With luck the Monsoon will bring thunder showers, and spectacular clouds.
Bye for now... Randy
Tuesday, July 28, 2009
49 hours in Detroit City
Well, we never were really in Detroit…
Tina’s sister Tanya and her beau throw a summer party every year… this year on a wim they invited us… on a win we accepted… so off to Detroit City… There was a bonus… our daughter Steph, living in Maryland was coming as well.
We took the red-eye in … landing about 8:30 on Friday (a bit late)… The daughter had arrived a few minutes earlier…
The flight was not exactly fun… (I seem to bitch about airline travel a lot... but it’s a target rich environment) North West Airlines… (or Delta, or Delta West or whatever they are calling themselves) were trying a new boarding system… or lack of boarding system... they first call the first class, high mileage frequent flyers and anyone who will pay for the privilege, then call everyone else... Its chaos... (apparently they really think if you don’t have a system it will work better, according to one insider they call it the chaos system.) Of course like all airlines they are charging for checked luggage so everyone is lugging on enough bags to Load Byron proud… No one was checking to see if you only had one bag and a personal item… so they ran out of luggage space with half the passengers still in the jet way. So the gate crew are called to gate check luggage… people object, people are angry... the flight attendants seem a bit frustrated… one tells us this happens every night. We surrender our carry-ons to the gate attendants (of course we have to pull cameras and such out, and the bags suffer) They have the pillows in large plastic trash bags tossed on the floor of the jet way... Tina gets the last pillow... We push back a half an hour late. We arrive half an hour late.
We met Steph at baggage claim. Kelly and the kids went home with Tanya, Steph rode with us. We met up at Tanya’s house for breakfast.
After breakfast Tina, Steph and I went to the Henry Ford museum… I had high expectations... I was blown away... Its not just a museum… it’s a destination…
It is the typical large building with stuff museum, along with the obligatory IMAX theater, multiple gift shops, and a cafe with the original Oscar Meyer weinermobile, stuffed with stuff... Really good stuff… next door is the Greenfield village... It’s a historic village on steroids... in between is a research library... they also offer factory tours of Ford’s Rouge River plant... We enjoyed it.
Back to Tanya’s for family time… as it got dark the fireflies came out… it was magical...
T and I went back to the motel, took a swim in the pool and went to bed…
Up late… Well, late in Michigan, in California it would have been normal. Back to Tanya’s for the party… It was fun… lots of people, lots of food, lots of alcohol. Tanya and Berry are not drinkers, but they have a tiki hut and a margarita machine… a Jimmy Buffet “Margaritaville” margarita machine...
As it got dark and the guests left, the fireflies came out again…
It was late when we said our goodbyes and headed to the motel… we were up early and off to the airport... and the slog... first the car rental company could check the car in and wasn’t able to print a receipt... They actually said “trust us”. The airport was a zoo... long lines, grumpy people (one follows the other) The guy ahead of us in the security line tried to smuggle a flask of booze and maple syrup through the line... He got caught
Now being aware of North West’s chaos boarding system we stand near the checking counter and are the first of the cattle to board, and as a result stay united with our carry-ons this time. Home a little before noon... The house stinks of cat... we have too many cats...
Tina’s sister Tanya and her beau throw a summer party every year… this year on a wim they invited us… on a win we accepted… so off to Detroit City… There was a bonus… our daughter Steph, living in Maryland was coming as well.
We took the red-eye in … landing about 8:30 on Friday (a bit late)… The daughter had arrived a few minutes earlier…
The flight was not exactly fun… (I seem to bitch about airline travel a lot... but it’s a target rich environment) North West Airlines… (or Delta, or Delta West or whatever they are calling themselves) were trying a new boarding system… or lack of boarding system... they first call the first class, high mileage frequent flyers and anyone who will pay for the privilege, then call everyone else... Its chaos... (apparently they really think if you don’t have a system it will work better, according to one insider they call it the chaos system.) Of course like all airlines they are charging for checked luggage so everyone is lugging on enough bags to Load Byron proud… No one was checking to see if you only had one bag and a personal item… so they ran out of luggage space with half the passengers still in the jet way. So the gate crew are called to gate check luggage… people object, people are angry... the flight attendants seem a bit frustrated… one tells us this happens every night. We surrender our carry-ons to the gate attendants (of course we have to pull cameras and such out, and the bags suffer) They have the pillows in large plastic trash bags tossed on the floor of the jet way... Tina gets the last pillow... We push back a half an hour late. We arrive half an hour late.
We met Steph at baggage claim. Kelly and the kids went home with Tanya, Steph rode with us. We met up at Tanya’s house for breakfast.
After breakfast Tina, Steph and I went to the Henry Ford museum… I had high expectations... I was blown away... Its not just a museum… it’s a destination…
It is the typical large building with stuff museum, along with the obligatory IMAX theater, multiple gift shops, and a cafe with the original Oscar Meyer weinermobile, stuffed with stuff... Really good stuff… next door is the Greenfield village... It’s a historic village on steroids... in between is a research library... they also offer factory tours of Ford’s Rouge River plant... We enjoyed it.
Back to Tanya’s for family time… as it got dark the fireflies came out… it was magical...
T and I went back to the motel, took a swim in the pool and went to bed…
Up late… Well, late in Michigan, in California it would have been normal. Back to Tanya’s for the party… It was fun… lots of people, lots of food, lots of alcohol. Tanya and Berry are not drinkers, but they have a tiki hut and a margarita machine… a Jimmy Buffet “Margaritaville” margarita machine...
As it got dark and the guests left, the fireflies came out again…
It was late when we said our goodbyes and headed to the motel… we were up early and off to the airport... and the slog... first the car rental company could check the car in and wasn’t able to print a receipt... They actually said “trust us”. The airport was a zoo... long lines, grumpy people (one follows the other) The guy ahead of us in the security line tried to smuggle a flask of booze and maple syrup through the line... He got caught
Now being aware of North West’s chaos boarding system we stand near the checking counter and are the first of the cattle to board, and as a result stay united with our carry-ons this time. Home a little before noon... The house stinks of cat... we have too many cats...
Thursday, July 23, 2009
Off to the mid-west for the weekend….
Tina and I are off for the weekend… to Detroit... Michigan… Not your most common vacation destination…
Her sister and significant other are holding their annual summer party… on a whim they invited us, on a whim we accepted… Other family members piled on… so now there will be 4 of the 5 siblings, along with a couple the cousins including our daughter…
Off on a red-eye, arriving about 8:00 am… a day visiting the Henry Ford Museum and Greenfield village, (they have a research library too…) then an evening at the sister’s, the party the next day, then fly home early Sunday…
Its been hell week at work, summer camps, fire sprinkler replacement (this included moving and tarping the furniture…) a visit by the master gardeners, an advisory board meeting, 3 new volunteers were there today, and we have to give tours too.
We are 4 days into the week and I have put in 44 hours… The time card will say 32 hours. I was doing 90 miles and hour right up until I left the farm… I am tired.
Tomorrow we have two camps, including a performance for the parents by one camp… If I was working I would put in another 10 hours tomorrow…
I need to get away.
Bye for now, Randy
Her sister and significant other are holding their annual summer party… on a whim they invited us, on a whim we accepted… Other family members piled on… so now there will be 4 of the 5 siblings, along with a couple the cousins including our daughter…
Off on a red-eye, arriving about 8:00 am… a day visiting the Henry Ford Museum and Greenfield village, (they have a research library too…) then an evening at the sister’s, the party the next day, then fly home early Sunday…
Its been hell week at work, summer camps, fire sprinkler replacement (this included moving and tarping the furniture…) a visit by the master gardeners, an advisory board meeting, 3 new volunteers were there today, and we have to give tours too.
We are 4 days into the week and I have put in 44 hours… The time card will say 32 hours. I was doing 90 miles and hour right up until I left the farm… I am tired.
Tomorrow we have two camps, including a performance for the parents by one camp… If I was working I would put in another 10 hours tomorrow…
I need to get away.
Bye for now, Randy
Sunday, July 19, 2009
Road Trip - Planning and Dreaming
I am going crazy at work. There is too much to do, no time. The more to do, the less time available to do it.
I need a respite. I have been searching my calendar, but between summer camps, fire watch, and commitments, there is only a single 8 day, 7 night respite, a chance to escape. My fellow employees seem to agree and will cover my section (They noticed not a good sign)
So, I am dreaming, planning and conspiring. Road Trip, a Walk About.. Into the desert. The planning process is significant. It is itself part of the trip, and part of the release.
The Plan
Off to Mesa Verde Colorado, via the North Rim of the Grand Canyon, off via Monument Valley and a stop at the swinging stake house in Mexican Hat Utah to Mesa Verde, finally a visit to Arches and Ely Nevada on the way home.
This is a solo trip, by design. There is something special about making camp, with fire, tent, and lantern, then sitting is solitude, enjoying the moment.
Additionally, I have purchased a new camera… I need to test it, get to know it, make it part of my hand… Maybe that’s the real reason… at least officially.
It’s too many miles, too much driving, too few days, but good nonetheless.
It’s a long reach to get to canyon lands, the Utah high plateau. I figure on starting with a long drive to St George Utah… about 12 hours. The last day, from Ely Nevada to home is likely as long. In between the drives are shorter… allowing time to stop, look, photograph and occasionally explore…
I am likely to take less traveled routes… Google and AAA say I should get to St George via Barstow and Las Vegas. I suspect I will get there via Yosemite, then around the south side of Mono Lake, over Mt Montgomery then south to Las Vegas before turning north-east towards St George.
Similarly, on the way home I plan to stop in Ely, then either Hwy 50, known as the “Loneliest Road” to Carson City then across Hwy 88, or via Hwy 6 to 395, then over Tuolumne Pass in Yosemite…
There is much to do to make it happen… Work… trying to get things in order… The car needs to be serviced… It has 175,000 miles on it, and I have concerns… there are supplies to purchase… and music… one must have music on a long drive…
Once again I have changed the slide show… Now photos from a previous trip, lost in the west, Yellowstone and Grand Tetons… As usual my older albums are available at http://picasaweb.google.com/RandyHees
I need a respite. I have been searching my calendar, but between summer camps, fire watch, and commitments, there is only a single 8 day, 7 night respite, a chance to escape. My fellow employees seem to agree and will cover my section (They noticed not a good sign)
So, I am dreaming, planning and conspiring. Road Trip, a Walk About.. Into the desert. The planning process is significant. It is itself part of the trip, and part of the release.
The Plan
Off to Mesa Verde Colorado, via the North Rim of the Grand Canyon, off via Monument Valley and a stop at the swinging stake house in Mexican Hat Utah to Mesa Verde, finally a visit to Arches and Ely Nevada on the way home.
This is a solo trip, by design. There is something special about making camp, with fire, tent, and lantern, then sitting is solitude, enjoying the moment.
Additionally, I have purchased a new camera… I need to test it, get to know it, make it part of my hand… Maybe that’s the real reason… at least officially.
It’s too many miles, too much driving, too few days, but good nonetheless.
It’s a long reach to get to canyon lands, the Utah high plateau. I figure on starting with a long drive to St George Utah… about 12 hours. The last day, from Ely Nevada to home is likely as long. In between the drives are shorter… allowing time to stop, look, photograph and occasionally explore…
I am likely to take less traveled routes… Google and AAA say I should get to St George via Barstow and Las Vegas. I suspect I will get there via Yosemite, then around the south side of Mono Lake, over Mt Montgomery then south to Las Vegas before turning north-east towards St George.
Similarly, on the way home I plan to stop in Ely, then either Hwy 50, known as the “Loneliest Road” to Carson City then across Hwy 88, or via Hwy 6 to 395, then over Tuolumne Pass in Yosemite…
There is much to do to make it happen… Work… trying to get things in order… The car needs to be serviced… It has 175,000 miles on it, and I have concerns… there are supplies to purchase… and music… one must have music on a long drive…
Once again I have changed the slide show… Now photos from a previous trip, lost in the west, Yellowstone and Grand Tetons… As usual my older albums are available at http://picasaweb.google.com/RandyHees
Wednesday, July 15, 2009
Fire, or the month from H@&#
It’s been the month from H@&# (its the “h” “e” “double hockey” sticks thing)
The House (the museum, work, not home) has problems… the most immediate with its fire sprinkler system… It’s been a months (years?) old ongoing problem which as now become a crisis…
As I wrote previously, three weeks ago, on a Friday, I was leaving the farm (aka work, home of the “house”) I saw smoke coming out of our garbage dumpster… It was after 6:00… the park employees had left… A park interpreter from a nearby park drove up… We house the park’s fueling station, next to the dumpster… She needed gas… One of the employees from the “Picnic People” our on site caterer was there with his electric cart…Collectively we were the response team…
The interpreter tried to radio in (she had a park district radio) without success… she abandoned that and called in on her cell phone… She played 20 questions… She finally explained our problem… 8’ x 24’ container, fully involved in flames… fuel tank 50’ away, Eucalyptus trees overhead… (Eucalyptus trees have two tricks… they burn like roman candles, and they fall down and crush things… we were more concerned with the first trick)
As a local I knew there was a hose nearby… as interpreter talked to the fire dispatcher, I ran a hose over to the dumpster… the “Picnic People” guy went out to guide the fire truck in… we started to fight the fire… Interpreter took the hose… I ran a second hose in… We could knock the fire down but couldn’t kill it… The fire truck arrives… they have better hoses with higher pressure… They take over… They are professionals… They have shovels, rakes and implements of destruction… I leave a business card and leave…
Five days later, Janie, the fire inspector arrives… If you have a fire, you can expect the fire inspector…
Janie doesn’t like what she finds at the farm… It’s mostly minor stuff, signs, storage, organization, the park is sloppy… When she gets to the house (she spots the fire connection for the sprinkler connection) she is without humor… “Where is the fire sprinkler riser?”… We have one, door marked by blue reflective tape, local fire house with key to door, so far so good… But we don’t have a “5 year sticker” and have a leak in the riser (complete with bucket to catch the water) Janie is not amused… We don’t have a working alarm… She is less amused… About a two thirds of our sprinkler heads have been recalled by the manufacturer… We have tried to get them replaced for a year… We have not been successful… This is now an issue.
Two hours later I hear from Building Maintenance… and again a couple of hours later… Then again 5 times between 6:00 and 7:00… the poo has hit the rotary oscillator. Conferences and meeting are being held at City Hall… people are not happy… their unhappiness is working its way down the food chain… I an at the bottom of the food chain… Calls will continue tomorrow, but for now, the powers have decided that whenever the house is open we have to stand fire watch… Every 15 minutes someone has to walk about and confirm the house is not in fact on fire… and then sign a log attesting to that fact…
People are running about, they are trying to explain to others why this can happen… people are coming in while on vacation… poo is flying.
On the up side… my backside is not at risk… I have reported the problems to the authorities. I have submitted Quarterly Building Inspections stating we have concerns about our sprinkler system… Others have not responded to my reports…
On the down side I am standing fire watch… every 15 minutes… Eventually I bring in PT staff to stand fire watch… I have camps in session… I come in early and leave late… We have a Girls Camp, we have the neighborhood camp coming over at 3:00 each afternoon. I am thinking of a cot in the office.
Its been several weeks… next Monday the fire guys are replacing the defective sprinkler heads… last week we fixed the leak… Maybe we can get off fire watch next week…
I hope so.
By the way, on a separate issue… on Monday, after the fire… (before Janie’s visit) I am off to visit City Hall… I get on the freeway… I get on the second freeway.. something is going on off on the side of the freeway… it’s a fire. A guy is trying to put it out… I pull over, I have a couple of gallons of water… I have a shovel… a second driver pulls over… He has a large water bottle… Collectively we knock it down and put it out… Fire is haunting me. I smell like smoke. I like smoked food, I don’t like smoke.
The House (the museum, work, not home) has problems… the most immediate with its fire sprinkler system… It’s been a months (years?) old ongoing problem which as now become a crisis…
As I wrote previously, three weeks ago, on a Friday, I was leaving the farm (aka work, home of the “house”) I saw smoke coming out of our garbage dumpster… It was after 6:00… the park employees had left… A park interpreter from a nearby park drove up… We house the park’s fueling station, next to the dumpster… She needed gas… One of the employees from the “Picnic People” our on site caterer was there with his electric cart…Collectively we were the response team…
The interpreter tried to radio in (she had a park district radio) without success… she abandoned that and called in on her cell phone… She played 20 questions… She finally explained our problem… 8’ x 24’ container, fully involved in flames… fuel tank 50’ away, Eucalyptus trees overhead… (Eucalyptus trees have two tricks… they burn like roman candles, and they fall down and crush things… we were more concerned with the first trick)
As a local I knew there was a hose nearby… as interpreter talked to the fire dispatcher, I ran a hose over to the dumpster… the “Picnic People” guy went out to guide the fire truck in… we started to fight the fire… Interpreter took the hose… I ran a second hose in… We could knock the fire down but couldn’t kill it… The fire truck arrives… they have better hoses with higher pressure… They take over… They are professionals… They have shovels, rakes and implements of destruction… I leave a business card and leave…
Five days later, Janie, the fire inspector arrives… If you have a fire, you can expect the fire inspector…
Janie doesn’t like what she finds at the farm… It’s mostly minor stuff, signs, storage, organization, the park is sloppy… When she gets to the house (she spots the fire connection for the sprinkler connection) she is without humor… “Where is the fire sprinkler riser?”… We have one, door marked by blue reflective tape, local fire house with key to door, so far so good… But we don’t have a “5 year sticker” and have a leak in the riser (complete with bucket to catch the water) Janie is not amused… We don’t have a working alarm… She is less amused… About a two thirds of our sprinkler heads have been recalled by the manufacturer… We have tried to get them replaced for a year… We have not been successful… This is now an issue.
Two hours later I hear from Building Maintenance… and again a couple of hours later… Then again 5 times between 6:00 and 7:00… the poo has hit the rotary oscillator. Conferences and meeting are being held at City Hall… people are not happy… their unhappiness is working its way down the food chain… I an at the bottom of the food chain… Calls will continue tomorrow, but for now, the powers have decided that whenever the house is open we have to stand fire watch… Every 15 minutes someone has to walk about and confirm the house is not in fact on fire… and then sign a log attesting to that fact…
People are running about, they are trying to explain to others why this can happen… people are coming in while on vacation… poo is flying.
On the up side… my backside is not at risk… I have reported the problems to the authorities. I have submitted Quarterly Building Inspections stating we have concerns about our sprinkler system… Others have not responded to my reports…
On the down side I am standing fire watch… every 15 minutes… Eventually I bring in PT staff to stand fire watch… I have camps in session… I come in early and leave late… We have a Girls Camp, we have the neighborhood camp coming over at 3:00 each afternoon. I am thinking of a cot in the office.
Its been several weeks… next Monday the fire guys are replacing the defective sprinkler heads… last week we fixed the leak… Maybe we can get off fire watch next week…
I hope so.
By the way, on a separate issue… on Monday, after the fire… (before Janie’s visit) I am off to visit City Hall… I get on the freeway… I get on the second freeway.. something is going on off on the side of the freeway… it’s a fire. A guy is trying to put it out… I pull over, I have a couple of gallons of water… I have a shovel… a second driver pulls over… He has a large water bottle… Collectively we knock it down and put it out… Fire is haunting me. I smell like smoke. I like smoked food, I don’t like smoke.
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