Dave's Musings

Like Monkeys

2012-01-09T22:24:00.001-05:00

Last Friday, Darling Wife spent a good part of the day putting away Christmas. When I finished work, I helped with the things she needed either height or muscle for (mainly carrying boxes to the basement.) And of course taking the tree down.

Taking the tree down isn't hard - someone holds it upright while I unscrew it from the stand, then we wrap it in the plastic tree bag and take it out onto the back deck. We accomplished this without incident, then did some vacuuming of pine needles (of which there were approximately 85 million on the carpet), then sat down to dinner.

As dinner was winding down, Sarah looked at me and said "Hold still, you have a pine needle in your ear." And she came over and got it off me. Then Greta, from the other side, looked at me carefully and said "I see one too." She came over and picked it off me.

Then both girls realized there were more pine needles in my hair and started running their hands through my hair and picking them off me. The thought had just come into my head that I felt very much like I was being groomed, when Greta said, "We're like monkeys."

Indeed we were. And that realization brought the monkey business to a halt, and I was sent off to get a comb and finish the job myself.

Splintering Blogs

2012-01-06T17:16:00.000-05:00

With the start of the new year, I've done something I've been thinking about for a while - created a separate blog for hiking. It's an experiment, and if I don't like it, or it feels cumbersome, I'll fold it back in here. I started moving in that direction when I started a guitar blog, as I thought that the small group of friends and family who read this might glaze over at talk of guitars, amps, and chord progressions.

Darling Wife's first question was, "I guess an aikido blog is next?" The answer is "no" - I hardly write about aikido at all any more - the things I need to work on and discover are subtle and hard to write about.

Her next question was, "So what will you write about *here*?" That's a good question, and we'll just have to see how it develops. Personal and family things, to be sure. Non-hiking trips, maybe some photographs.

So for anyone keeping track, here are my splinter blogs (and I promise I have no intention of creating any more):

Intentions for '12

2012-01-05T18:52:00.000-05:00

I like to start the new year with a statement of my intentions for the year. I'm firmly convinced in the power of intention, and it really is my experience that the universe responds when you state your intentions and act on them. Looking at my intentions from a year ago, they were good, and they won't be very different this year. But I think it helps to state them again anyway.

Keeping a Balance: This is something I try to pay very close attention to. Maintaining a safe and happy home for my family is top priority. Being a good parent and providing the love and structure for kids to mature on the way to becoming independent adults is more important than anything. I also have a number of serious interests that are not shared by my immediate family. Aikido, hiking/nature, and music are central to who I am, and these activities could take as much time as I let them. I want to and need to give them some time, but not so much that I'm not available or neglectful to my family. I think I've kept a good balance, but it requires constant vigilance.

Music: This was near the bottom of my list last year, and now it's near the top. It's become way more prominent than I could have imagined, and I intend that to continue. While I've made great strides in my guitar playing, in many ways I've barely scratched the surface, and there are so many ways to improve. I intend to do the work to keep improving, and I intend to play music with people as often as I can.

Aikido: The dojo is healthy and active, and I intend to keep that going. Just as with guitar, I'm more aware of what I don't yet understand than what I do. I will keep training, and seeing teachers and attending seminars when possible, and trust that insights and greater understanding and awareness will come.

Hiking/Nature/Geocaching: I intend to get out as often as I reasonably can. After sitting at a desk for 40+ hours a week, I'm often desperate to get outside, and hiking or geocaching fills that need perfectly. A boys' trip to the Adirondacks is planned for June, and weekend trips to visit Hailey in VA (and putting me very near Shenandoah National Park) are likely. Beyond that, I will look for opportunities to get out and explore.

Travel: We'll have to see if a family vacation over the girls' spring break is possible this year. There are no specific plans, but I think everyone would like to go somewhere, time and budget permitting. Weekend trips to see Hailey are likely, and hopefully there will be other chances for weekend getaways.

As I concluded last year's post: Undoubtedly the year will bring surprises and unforeseen changes, but these are my intentions at this time.

2011 Year in Review

2011-12-31T12:24:00.000-05:00

When I look at my year-in-review post from one year ago, this year seems downright uneventful in comparison. Last year had Dad's passing, my nidan test in aikido, Hailey's graduation and move to Virginia. This year didn't have the same caliber of watershed events - which isn't a complaint. 2011 was a quietly good year in many respects. Here are the most notable events as I look back:

Family: There's much to be happy about here. All the kids are doing very well, and are making us proud. Of special note was Sarah turning 16, getting her learner's permit, then passing her driver's test. The biggest upheaval of the year was Mom's bout of pneumonia in July. She was in the hospital for 9 days, then she and Chris lived here for 5-6 weeks. I thought she would never go back to Ridge Lane, but she did recover her strength and is doing well.

Aikido: Without the shadow of a looming test, I was able to simply train for the joy of training. The dojo is still going strong, and I'm happy to be a part of that. We have a great group of folks who are training for the right reasons - we don't have the ego battles and the testosterone-poisoned silliness that I've seen and heard about in other dojos. That right attitude comes from the top - the senior teachers at the local and regional dojos in our organization wouldn't stand for that, so it doesn't happen.

We were fortunate to be able to host a weekend seminar taught by Lee Crawford Sensei from Seattle for the fourth straight year. We were not able to go to Seattle for a long weekend in the fall, as we've done other years, but we're pleased to have Lee Sensei scheduled for another weekend upcoming in April. The other highlight was the aikido camping weekend at Cape Henlopen State Park - training on the beach, good camaraderie, and acoustic guitars around the campfire.

Music/Guitar: This became surprisingly prominent this year. After the success of the dinner parties/jam sessions, we decided to form a band and get a set together. Tuesday night rehearsals became a weekly staple, and we quickly became a halfway decent band. It's really not exaggerating to say that playing guitar in a real band is a fantasy come true - and one that I thought would never become a reality. We played a couple of parties for friends, and it was a blast. The non-happening of the scheduled and rescheduled gig at the Phoenixville bar was a disappointment, but this is still 100% in the positive column for the year.

At the beginning of the year, I couldn't take a solo during a jam session. Now I can - not spectacularly, but I can. I took lessons for the first 3 months of the year, and then couldn't continue due to lack of time. But I still practice some on most evenings, still do the scales and finger exercises that my teacher gave me, and still spend time on YouTube lessons and song tutorials.

Equipment-wise, I've upgraded my acoustic guitar to a Canadian beauty, and my guitar amp to a tube-driven big boy. I'm very happy - though not above looking through the Musician's Friend catalogs that arrive all too frequently.

Travel: We broke our string of going to the Florida Keys for a long weekend in the spring, as kids' school schedules didn't permit it. What we did instead as a family vacation was the Memorial Day weekend trip to Toronto for Kyle and Emily's wedding. It was a fun and memorable weekend, and my girls can now finally say that they've been to Canada. I didn't go to Ocean City, MD with everyone else, as I had to stay home with Mom (who was recuperating from her pneumonia.) Darling Wife and I did get away for a long anniversary weekend in February, seeing Williamsburg and Mount Vernon, Virginia. We also had a nice weekend in the fall visiting Hailey in Staunton.

Hiking/Outdoors: The big item here was the boys' hiking/camping trip to the Dakotas. The trip was well-planned and a complete success. We saw amazing sites, and completed some fantastic hikes. The hike to the summit of Harney Peak was beautiful and unforgettable. Other highlights were the two hikes I did in Shenandoah National Park on the weekend of our Staunton visit, Eric's and my Thanksgiving weekend day-hike on the Appalachian Trail to Sunset Rocks, and the Pine Barrens hike over Christmas week. Geocaching is still great fun (end of year total: 453 finds), and I'm always on the lookout for caches as I travel, either locally or more widespread.

Blogging: This is the 84th and final post of the year. That's almost unbelievably consistent of the past few years. That's not intentional, it's just the rate at which I seem to post. I had some blogging lulls this year that I can't remember having in other years, but I made up for it with bursts of posting at other times. The Dakotas trip report ground me to a halt for a while - I had trouble finishing it, and was reluctant to blog about other things with that hanging over my head. But I'm still enjoying it, and amazingly, 2012 will be my 6th year of this blog.

A Christmas Story

2011-12-26T12:13:00.000-05:00

A few random thoughts about my very favorite movie (not just my favorite Christmas movie, but my very favorite movie).

At my girls' insistence, we sat down to watch it a few nights ago. My girls both like the movie, and they also like my reactions, and how hard I laugh a certain scenes. Darling Wife listened to us laughing and asked me how I can laugh so hard at scenes I've probably seen 50 times. I don't know, but I can and I do.

One of the girls asked me if I've read the book that the movie is based on (Jean Shepherd's "In God We Trust, All Others Pay Cash". I told them I have, and it's one of the rare times when then movie is much better than the book ("The Natural" is the other that quickly comes to mind.)

Coincidentally, I came across this article in Slate: "The Man Who Told A Christmas Story: What I learned from Jean Shepherd", by Donald Fagen of Steely Dan. Very interesting background.

Of course I watched some of the 24-hour Christmas Story marathon on TBS. And don't be at all surprised if I reach for the DVD again before this week is out.

Adirondacks '12

2011-12-23T16:47:00.000-05:00

A few weeks ago, as has become the tradition, we gathered the old gang together on the Friday night after Thanksgiving. We've done this for many years now, but for the last five years this has become the meeting where we start to plan the next year's hiking trip. I clearly remember coming home from the '06 get-together, telling Darling Wife of the proposed plan, and assuring her that it had no chance of actually happening. Much to my shock and pleasant surprise, that trip did happen, as well as one every year since.

We've alternated years of big trips (i.e., flying to our destination) and smaller trips (i.e., driving), and after this past year's Dakotas trip, it's time for a driving trip. We also want to accommodate Phil, who was unable to take the time for Dakotas, and that means an extended weekend trip.

After tossing around some ideas, we've settled on a return trip to the Adirondacks in New York state. This was our '08 trip, and it's very worthy of a return. The place has more amazing hiking trails than you could do in lifetime, and there are plenty to do (or re-do) just in the High Peaks area where we camped and hiked last time.

We have a tentative plan, and tentative dates. We hope to leave in the late afternoon of Wednesday, June 20, driving as far as possible (and maybe even all the way), getting a roadside motel when we can't go any further. We'll camp at the Wilderness Campground at Heart Lake (where we camped last time). We'll have Thursday - Sunday to hike, driving home Monday.

We'll have four full days to hike, and the idea will be two strenuous hikes alternating with two less-strenuous recovery days hikes. One of the strenuous hikes will be what Ted is calling "Revenge on Marcy." The hike to the summit of Mt. Marcy (the high point of New York state) is the hardest single day of hiking I've ever done. And when we got to the top (in June), it was freezing cold, completely miserable, and zero visibility. Hopefully conditions will be better this time.

The rest of the hikes and trip details are still to be determined. But the plan we have so far is a good one, and everyone's looking forward to it.

Driver's Test

2011-12-18T21:22:00.000-05:00

Last Tuesday, I took my oldest girl to the DMV for her driver's test. This was the third time we've been there. The first time was shortly before Halloween, and we were dismissed before she could take the test, as my car was out of inspection (a bout of absentmindedness for which there's no excuse.) The second time, shortly before Thanksgiving, she bumped an orange barrel during the parallel park, which is an automatic failure. So now we were back again, hoping the third time was the charm.

The parallel park is the critical portion of the test, and we practiced it many times, and she did it successfully every time. But she also did it successfully every time before her last test - so all I could do was cross my fingers and hope that she would show what she could do.

We waited in the line for testing, both of us full of nervously anticipation. Finally we got to the head of the line, and an examiner came out to our car. After providing documents, I was dismissed, and paced outside the DMV office. I watched them go up the hill where they test the parallel parking, and waited for them to come back down the hill. If she continues into the parking lot and out onto the street, then she's passed the parallel park. If she parks and they get out, then she's failed and the test is over.

She came down the hill and continued. Thank goodness. I waited another 5 or 10 minutes, and they came back to the DMV and parked. The examiner got out with his clipboard and talked to her as he checked boxes on his form. He was talking in a stern tone about speed, and I thought "oh no, she went over the speed limit, and has failed!" But no, I walked closer, and he was lecturing her about going too slow, that she didn't come up to speed fast enough when she pulled out of the parking lot into the road.

I was thinking "he's not happy, but he's also not saying whether she's passed or not." He continued talking to her for a minute, then turned to me and said, "I'm sorry, Dad." Dramatic pause. "Your insurance is going up."

Congratulations, Sarah!

GPS Tracking on the iPhone

2011-11-29T22:00:00.002-05:00

I mentioned in my Sunset Rocks trip report that Eric and covered 9.63 miles in 4:23. These stats came from my iPhone. The Garmin GPS that Eric have me a year and a half ago stopped working last month during the Staunton, VA weekend (which was very disappointing, as I would love to have GPS tracks of my Shenandoah hikes from that weekend.)

Since I now have an iPhone, I've been looking around for GPS apps that would capture a hike's track (and would export the resulting track as a GPX file.) After some investigation, I decided to try the MotionX-GPS app. When Eric and I went hiking on Saturday, I was eager both to try out the MotionX app, and to see if the iPhone battery could last through a significant day-hike. Using the GPS drains the battery fairly quickly, and I wasn't sure if it would last for 4-6 hours.

The experiment was a success on all counts. My fully-charged phone had its GPS on for most of that time, and still had about a quarter to a third of its charge left. That's good enough for most day hikes. And the app worked fine - it was easy to start and stop the track, label it, and e-mail it to myself. The result was both a GPX file and a KML file (which I think imports into Google Earth.)

I take the GPX file and load it into GPS Visualizer, and get a plot of my hike on a terrain map. I can't begin to describe how happy it makes me to be able to create this. We parked at the far right of the map, hiked the loop in a counterclockwise direction, and my losing the trail is clearly visible, along with the spur trail to the Sunset Rocks overlook.

AT-Sunset Rocks Trail, 11/26/11

2011-11-29T20:55:00.001-05:00

Dave at Sunset Rocks

Eric and I decided to get out for a day-hike over Thanksgiving weekend. We chose Saturday, as the forecast was for a nice warm day. After some discussion of where to hike, we settled on the Appalachian Trail/Sunset Rocks loop out of Pine Grove Furnace State Park, west of Gettysburg. That meant a two-hour drive each way for me (longer for Eric), but we had all day, and it's a trail we've wanted to do, so it seemed like the day to do it. Trip report in diary format follows.

7:35am
Departing West Chester. Eric picked me up and is driving. We haven't hiked together since the Dakotas trip, and I'm happy we can get out today. It's clear and cool.

Stream crossing, Tom's Run

9:50am
Parking lot, Pine Grove Furnace State Park. It's cold - really cold. The thermometer on Eric's car says 37F, and it feels it. I have my fleece jacket on, and we're ready to go. We had a little trouble finding the right parking lot, but we're here and see the white blazes of the A.T., so we're off.

10:24am
It's warmed up considerably, and we're stopping to shed our fleece, and are fine in just short-sleeve shirts. I can't remember ever feeling it warm up so quickly. It felt like we were in a pocket of cold, and then we stepped out of it into 20 degrees warmer air. We had to walk through some of the park, briefly along a road, and then through some cabins before hitting actual trail.

10:46am
Sunset Rocks Trail junction. We'll cross the bridge over Tom's Run, follow the A.T. south, hit the junction of the Sunset Rocks Trail near the Tom's Run shelter, then follow it back to here. It's a bright sunny day and it feels great to be out hiking.

11:40am

Eric at the A.T. halfway sign

We're stopping for a quick break at the A.T. halfway sign. According to the sign, it's 1090.5 miles south to Springer Mt, GA, and the same distance to Mt. Katahdin, ME. The trail has become very sloppy - not just deep puddles, but actual running water in many places. We're having to pick our way and trying to keep our feet somewhat dry.

11:48am
Tom's Run Shelter. Very nice little area - there are two little shelters (not sure why two?), some raised campsites, picnic tables, an outhouse, and a pole for hanging packs (to keep them out of reach of hungry critters.) This would be a lovely place to spend a night backpacking.

12:33pm
We hit the junction of the Sunset Rocks Trail very shortly after leaving the shelter. We've been following the blue blazes, and I lost the trail for a little bit. I was leading, and the trail was following a fire road. We both realized we hadn't seen any blazes for a bit, so I backtracked until I found a blaze. Sure enough, the trail had left the fire road. Eric gave me some gas, as he should have, but wasn't as merciless as John has been in similar circumstances. :-) We're heading for Sunset Rocks, which is supposed to be a scenic overlook.

1:07pm
Sunset Rocks. The last mile has been hiking on and climbing over boulders, which is maybe my favorite kind of hiking. It reminded me of the Skyline Trail at Hawk Mountain, which I adore. The overlook is pretty, though not spectacular. It would probably be prettier in the fall when the leaves are changing color, but at the moment it's pretty bare. We're taking a break, though we realize that neither of us thought to bring a sandwich. We have powerbars, which are fine, but a sandwich would have hit the spot.

Soggy trail

1:29pm
We're back at the A.T. junction at the Tom's Run crossing. The descent off the ridgeline after Sunset Rocks was very steep - maybe the steepest trail section I can think of in the East.

2:16pm
Back at Eric's car. I'm tired and a little footsore, but feeling good.

Thoughts
My GPS says we covered 9.63 miles in 4:23 (more about the GPS in a separate post.) Eric and I have seen this hike in guidebooks and lists of "must do" hikes, and discussing on the drive home, we had the same opinion of it. It was a nice hike - I'm glad we did it, glad to get out for a day, and especially glad to hike with Eric. But having done this hike, I don't need to do it again. There are hikes I gladly repeat again and again, but this isn't one. I *would* do it again if John wanted to do it and we had a day, or possibly when the leaves were changing color - but outside of that, I would choose to hike something else.

Fun day, good hike.

Dad: One Year

2011-11-24T12:02:00.000-05:00

Yesterday was the one-year anniversary of Dad's passing. I've been thinking about that a lot in the past weeks - basically ever since August, which is when he fell and hit his head and went into the hospital. I've been aware of the "one year ago's" since then.

My main memory of that time is of how incredibly strong his body was. His list of serious medical conditions at the end seemed like it was a mile long, but he simply kept going. Eric and I joked that he was part Terminator. Once when a doctor said something about his weakened body, I thought to myself, "Weak? He's as strong as a bull." And while his body did finally give out, there was solid steel at his core.

The last week of hospice at the hospital was tough. They kept him as comfortable as possible, as they're supposed to do in hospice. Eric and I took shifts sitting with him, and by Monday the 22nd, it seemed like there wasn't much time left. I was there Monday night, and was prepared to stay as long as necessary. But the nurse said his vitals were still stable, and that I should go home and sleep.

I arrived Tuesday morning early, with coffee and a breakfast sandwich, and the nurse grabbed me immediately when she saw me come in. She said she was just going to get the contact phone numbers - that his vitals were failing, and that anyone who wanted to be there should come immediately. I called Mom and Eric and told them to come, then I sat next to him and started my coffee. After a little while, I looked him and thought, if he's breathing, it's so faint I can't see his chest move. The nurse came in a moment later, and I asked if he was breathing. She looked and said "no." It was around 7:25am.

Eric and Mom and Chris arrived before long, and we all had a good cry. And the people at the hospital were fantastic. When the woman who emptied the trash baskets saw me crying, she figured out what had happened, and hugged me and cried for a long time and told me what a sweetheart he was.

For some reason, Mom always told people who asked that no one was there when he passed. I never felt the need to correct her, because it's not important, but it's not true - I was there.

It's hard to believe that a year has passed. I miss him, but I'm mostly grateful to have had him in my life. I can't imagine a better father.

(Eric's thoughts are here.)

Dakotas 2011: Day 9 (Flight Home and Final Thoughts)

2011-11-19T16:57:00.005-05:00

We were all up at our usual early hour, and decided to go out to breakfast before finishing our packing and checking out. We had noticed a Perkins near the hotel, so we made the quick drive there and had big breakfasts. Then it was back to the hotel for final packing.

At this point it was time to get rid of our "buy and leave" items - the coolers, and the camp chairs. We felt bad about disposing of perfectly good gear, but there was no way to bring them home with us that made sense. So we left them sitting prominently by the hotel dumpster, in hopes that someone would see them and give them a good home.

It was a short drive to the Minneapolis airport, and things went very smoothly. We turned in the van, and the airport was as deserted as I've ever seen an airport. It felt like we were the only travelers there.

Our Southwest flight to PHL connected through Midway Airport in Chicago, and everything went smoothly. We arrived on-time in PHL, got our bags pretty quickly, and I got home shortly before 9:00pm.

Final Thoughts
This was another fun trip with the guys. It was well-planned and well-executed. There were no problems, and nothing went wrong. Our closest call turned out to be the Friday night departure, where our take-off was delayed and we were afraid the flight might be canceled.

We saw some beautiful sights and hiked some wonderful trails. The Harney Peak/Little Devil's Tower hike in the Black Hills was the signature hike of this trip for me, but the TRNP hiking, the Wind Cave hiking, and the Scotts Bluff hike were fun and memorable. Scotts Bluff was the surprise highlight - I didn't know much about it and thought we were just adding it as a convenient road-side stop, but it was well worth seeing.

Our bison encounters were memorable - especially the herd that walked through our camp. Seeing bighorn sheep, even at a far distance, was very cool, and the sight of a hawk flying with a snake in its beak was amazing. The two clear nights where we could see about a billion stars was something we hoped we'd experience, and happily we did.

This was the fifth annual boys' trip, and I've been very fortunate to have been able to make every one. We were sad that Phil couldn't make this one, but I was very happy that Eric was able to come on his first boys' trip. I hope he'll be with us next year.

Speaking of which, e-mails have already started flying about next year's trip. But that will be a separate post.

Dakotas 2011: Day 8 (Long Drive)

2011-11-17T20:22:00.000-05:00

Summary
The long drive from TRNP to Minneapolis.

Details

Eric and I were both awake before dawn. I tried to get back to sleep and was unable to, and I could tell that he wasn't sleeping either. Finally as the first hint of daylight appeared in the sky, we decided we might as well get up and start packing. When we got out of our tent, John and Ted were also rising.

It was gray and threatening rain, and since the forecast was calling for rain, we felt some urgency to get camp packed up and in the van. And our early-rising and quick packing paid off, as it started to rain just as soon as we got into the van.

We started to make our way from Juniper Campground out of the park to Rt. 85 (being careful to stay at 25mph), when we ran into a roadblock in the form of a buffalo herd. We didn't count, but there had to be 20-30 of them right in the middle of the road. There was nothing to do but wait for them to move, so that's what we did. They move very slowly when walking/grazing, but they can move very quickly when the want to, and we've heard stories of the damage they can do to a car if they charge, so we kept our distance and did nothing to spook them. After 15-20 minutes, they finally moved clear enough that we could zip past them.

We stopped at the Superpumper in Belfield, ND (the junction of I-94) for coffee and breakfast sandwiches. They were horrible, but arguably better than nothing. It also provided fodder for another round of general hilarity at the names of these North Dakota convenience stores.

From there it was I-94 eastbound at 80+ mph for many hours. We drove out of the early rain, and by the time we hit I-94, the day was sunny, clear, and cool. Ted told us on getting onto 94 that we'd be on it for 526 miles. Total mileage for the day would be just short of 600.

We crossed the Missouri River at Bismarck, ND at 10:13am and stopped for lunch at a Hardee's in Fargo, ND shortly after 1:00pm. After lunch, we crossed the Red River, which put us in Minnesota, our final state of the trip.

At 4:00pm we stopped at a McDonald's in Sauk Center, MN for a bathroom and vanilla milkshake break. Eric had driven the entire way, and I asked him if he wanted a break, but he wanted to keep driving. There were about 100 miles to go at that point, and I was very weary of sitting. I also noticed, with some displeasure, that we were back in congested civilization, which I hadn't missed in the slightest. After a week in the Dakotas, I was used to wide-open spaces with nothing as far as the eye could see. The return to traffic and shopping centers was unwelcome.

At 5:35pm, 10 and a half hours after leaving our campsite, we arrived at Le Bourget in Minneapolis. We picked this hotel because John had points, and it was nice. Almost too nice - we felt like hobos walking into the lobby with our dirt-covered packs and gear (not to mention our dirt-covered and smelly selves.)

The first order of business was a shower, which felt glorious (as it was my first in two and a half days.) We then set out in search of a restaurant for a celebratory dinner. After a bit of driving around and not finding what the person at the hotel desk told us we'd find, we settled on the Osaka Japanese Steak House, Bloomington, MN. I thought sushi sounded perfect, and it was. Then we went back to the hotel, had a drink in the bar, and I collapsed into my wonderfully cozy bed.

All that was left to do was fly home in the morning.

Dakotas 2011: Day 7 (Last Night in TRNP)

2011-10-22T23:28:00.000-04:00

Summary
Part 2 of day 7. We finished our hike in TRNP, drove into Watford City for supplies, and spent our last night at Juniper Campground.

Details

We hiked down off the ridge into the river bottom, and we thought our instructions were to go over to the river, follow it until we hit the trail back to Sperati Point, follow it, climb back to the Point, then re-trace our steps for the last mile back to the trailhead. But it didn't work out that way. We couldn't find a path to the river, and got bogged down in very thick scrub. We flailed about for a while, then finally gave up trying to get to the river, and went back toward the bluffs.

The going at the base of the bluffs was slow and sometimes difficult, but we were able to keep making forward progress. At one point, a beautiful red-tailed hawk circled overhead, and a short time later we saw it flying with a snake in its beak, taking lunch back to its nest!

We came upon a trail heading up the bluff, and there was no trail marker, so we didn't know for sure that it was the one we wanted, but it was going the right direction, so we took it. It slowly wound around and climbed into the badlands. We finally recognized where we were climbing towards, and were very happy to get to Sperati Point. We stopped there for a snack and a drink, then hiked through the grasslands back to the trailhead.

We hiked for about 4 hours, and probably covered 8 hard miles - and we were all very ready for a sandwich, a drink , and a change of clothes.

Since it was still early afternoon when we got back to camp, we decided to make the trip into Watford City (the nearest town where could get a loaf of bread) after washing and changing. This was the trip that we aborted yesterday after our incident with the park ranger.

We got there this time without incident, and found the town...interesting. We've seen that there's oil-drilling going on in North Dakota, and Watford City is what a boom town looks like. They're throwing up pre-fab housing as quickly as they can, every car on the street is a pickup truck, and every guy in each of those pickup trucks is an oilfield worker.

We got our bread and a few supplies and headed back to our campsite in TRNP. I'm a bit sad that this is the last evening before the long drive to Minneapolis tomorrow, and the flight home on Saturday. It's gone so quickly, but we've seen so many amazing sights.

Just like last night, we had time in the late afternoon to pull our camp chairs into the middle of the open field (using the shade of the big cottonwood tree to keep out of the direct sun, which is punishing), and read, write, journal, and talk.

John cooked chicken breasts on the grill, which were excellent. We got all our food and supplies out, and it was "use it or lose it". Anything not eaten tonight, or that wouldn't be wanted for breakfast tomorrow would be thrown out. And after we had eaten all we could, we did throw out everything we wouldn't need, and did some packing and prep for the morning - as the plan was to get up, load the car, and go.

Sunset was pretty, but not so spectacular as last night, as there were some ominous-looking dark clouds in the west, and rain looked possible.

It didn't rain before we hit the sack, but the clouds blocked out the stars, which was disappointing, as we were hoping for one last spectacular star show before heading back into civilization and light pollution. But it wasn't to be, and when it was obvious that the sky wasn't going to clear, we hit the sack.

Dakotas 2011: Day 7 (Hiking in TRNP)

2011-10-22T21:23:00.001-04:00

Summary
Part 1 of day 7. A herd of buffalo came through our camp in the morning, and we started a long hike in TRNP.

Details

We were up around 6:45am (our usual rising time, as it would be 5:45am Mountain Time - if we were on the other side of the river.) I was aware of some rain in the night, but the ground was bone dry when we got out of the tents. Eric was up first and heard, then saw, one bison walk right through the campground in the pre-dawn. The dawn was sunny, cool, and breezy.

Around 7:45, a whole herd of bison came into camp! It was both an incredible sight, and an incredible sound. Their grunts are maybe the deepest sound I've ever heard - amazingly cool. They're such large animals, and can move so fast if they want - but they just moved very slowly into the camp as a herd. There's a dirt patch, and they took turns rolling around in the dirt, and they certainly act as if it's a great pleasure. We kept a respectful distance, and took a lot of pics, and tried to get some video.

When they passed through, we prepped for the day's hike, which we hope to be a good long one that will show us a lot of TRNP. Which hike we would do today has been the subject of a lot of discussion, both over the past months and the past days. The one we really wanted to hike was the Achenbach Trail - a 17-mile loop through all the different parts of the park. We wavered back and forth over whether to do this - all the literature presented it as the crown jewel of the North Unit's hiking trails, and it seemed like the one to do. On the other hand, every trip report I've found on the web has this as a two-day backpack - not a day-hike. John wanted to do it, and I wavered back and forth between "no, don't be stupid" and "we'll hit the trail at dawn and hike til dusk, we can do one grueling day."

But the ranger at the entrance station yesterday put the final nail in the coffin for us - he said the trail is so seldom used that it's hard to find - it's basically melted back into the landscape. And part of John's river crossing yesterday was to see if he could find the trail on the other side of the river, where it starts. He couldn't.

The ranger suggested a hike that he thought was also strenuous and would give us the views of the park we wanted. He said it didn't have a name, and wasn't a formal trail, but that with his directions, we couldn't miss it. We would go to the end of the road, to the Oxbow Overlook parking area, and follow the trail to Sperati Point. We would then follow the ridgeline for a while, pass through a petrified forest, then descend to the river bottom, come back along the river, and pick up the trail back to Sperati Point. Piece of cake.

We got to Oxbow Overlook, ready to hike, around 9:00am. There were many dark clouds in the sky, but also patches of blue, so we hoped for the best.

The trail started out just as the ranger said, and we got to Sperati Point and stopped to admire the view of the Little Missouri River and the bottomlands. We followed the ridgeline, though it wasn't quite as clear as the ranger said, and at one point we had a real disagreement over which way to go - but we finally resolved it, and ended up going the tight way.

We passed through the petrified forest, which was very cool (and I now have a small piece of petrified wood on my desk.) We descended off the ridge to the river bottom, and that's when the trouble started.

(Continued here)

Riprap Hollow/Wildcat Ridge Trail Loop, 10/16/11

2011-10-20T10:05:00.003-04:00

Sunday's hike in Shenandoah Nation Park, in diary format.

7:01am
Departing the Microtel, Staunton, VA. We were out late last night, but I really wanted to get an early start. I think if I get on the trail early, 1) I'll have much more solitude on the trail, and 2) I'm much more likely to see wildlife (and preferably the big, furry kind that SNP is famous for.) My original plan was to be up and out earlier than this, but I needed a little more sleep, and the sun is just coming up, so it wouldn't have done any good to be up earlier anyway.

7:19am
Entering SNP at the Rockfish Gap entrance. I was curious how close Staunton was to SNP, and now I know - less than 20 minutes away.

7:52am
I'm at the Riprap parking lot and about ready to start hiking. It's *cold*. Really cold. And very breezy, which makes it feel even colder. I'm not really dressed warmly enough, but I'll heat up when I start moving. If I had gloves with me, I'd be wearing them. My plan today is exactly the hike outlined here. I'll take the northbound A.T. for 0.4 miles, make a left on the Riprap Hollow Trail, descend off the ridge, then ascend the Wildcat Ridge Trail, finally taking the A.T. back to the trailhead. Total distance will be 9.5 miles.

8:21am

Chimney Rock. Beautiful vista. I'm slowly warming up, but it's still quite breezy and cold. It occurs to me that I may not see much direct sunlight today, as I'm on the west side of the ridge, and the sun is still low in the east. I'm stopping for a quick drink and a Powerbar, as I feel like I need a little more energy. My legs aren't sore and don't feel any ill effects from yesterday's nine miles, which is a pleasant surprise.

9:14am
Cold Springs Hollow. I've descended steadily over the last mile or so, and the trail has been very rocky, but pleasant. I'm happy to note that I have had some direct sunlight, which warmed me up considerably. But now I'm in a rocky hollow following a little stream, and there are a couple of little waterfalls.

9:37am
Junction of the Wildcat Ridge Trail. As I reached the junction, I caught up with a young couple hiking ahead of me. They're the first people I've seen on the trail today, and I'd like to lose them, so I'll take a break here and let them go ahead of me. The trail marker says I've come 4.0 miles and it's 2.6 to the A.T. junction.

10:40am

I'm now at the A.T. junction. I've been ascending steadily for the past hour, and am now completely warmed up. After taking a 5-10 minute break at the last junction, I quickly overtook the young couple - I passed them, and hiked pretty hard for the next mile or so to put some distance between us. As that mile was all uphill, I worked up a good sweat. I'm paying close attention to the sights and sounds around me. This seems like the time of day to see a bear, and I really want to. The trail marker says it's 2.7 miles to the Riprap trailhead, and it should be relatively flat on the A.T. I feel good, and just like yesterday, the hike is going too quickly.

11:34am
Riprap Trailhead. I started out slowly on the A.T., but then got a second wind and felt really good. There was a sign on the trail right as I started on the A.T. warning or problem bears in the area. But I didn't see any bears, problem or otherwise. Another fantastic hike - not quite the perfect conditions or spectacular waterfall scenery of yesterday, but the solitude made up for that. I feel good, and my legs still feel great. As with yesterday, I'm very grateful to have been able to hike this loop today.

Total time: 3:42
Total distance: 9.5 miles

Jones Run/Doyles River Trail Loop, 10/15/11

2011-10-18T22:14:00.001-04:00

Saturday's hike in Shenandoah Nation Park, in diary format.

10:45am
I'm in the Brown's Gap parking lot, getting ready to hike. It's looking like a perfect day for hiking - clear, sunny, breezy, and warm but not hot. The parking lot is just about full, which isn't surprising - it's an October weekend near the peak of fall foliage season. I know I won't have the trail to myself, but I'm hoping I won't be hiking with other people all day. I'm planning to do this hike - south on the A.T. for a mile or so, then down the Jones Run Trail, back up the Doyles River Trail, then a final mile on the A.T. back to my car. There are waterfalls on both the Jones Run and the Doyles River Trails, and I have both my point-and-shoot camera, and my iPhone camera (which I plan to do some experimenting with.)

11:07am

I've done the 1.4 miles southbound on the A.T., and am now making a left on the Jones Run Trail, which will descend off the ridgeline. Conditions are just perfect, and it's been an entirely pleasant hike so far. I've passed a few other hikers, but thankfully the trail isn't jammed with people.

11:53am
I'm stopping for a drink at a pleasant little waterfall. I'm pretty sure this isn't the Jones Run Falls, as that's supposed to be 42' high, and I don't think this is half that. But it's still very pretty.

11:59am
Jones Run Falls! Spectacular waterfall. Groups of people are just hanging around here - probably hanging out here before heading back up. I'm taking pictures, but I'm pretty sure they won't do it justice. The hike has been steadily downhill, but no hard descents.

12:20pm
Junction of the Doyles River Trail. I'm pretty sure I'm at the low point of the hike, and it will be all uphill from here. The day is still beautiful and perfect. I'm not sweating at all - the sun and the breeze feel glorious. I think I'm making good time, but I'm in no hurry and am trying to just enjoy the scenery and the feel of being out here.

12:39pm
Doyles River Falls. This may be even more spectacular than the Jones Run Falls (not that there's any point in comparing.) It's not just that it's higher (63'), but it falls in a couple stages, and is just beautiful. There are only a few people here, so I'm sitting down for a drink and a snack and just watching the water. I'm looking at the map, and the hike description I'm following has me making a left on a fire road coming up, which will take me directly back to my trailhead. But an alternate route would be to follow the Doyles River Trail all the way up to its start on Skyline Drive, then take the A.T. for about two miles back to Brown's Gap. That would turn this 6.6-mile hike into about 9 miles - but I feel great, and the day is gorgeous, so that's my new plan.

12:56pm
Junction with the fire road I won't be taking. I've passed a number of hiking parties coming down toward the falls - many more people than I passed on the Jones Run Trail.

1:09pm
Stopping for a drink and a rest at a natural spring. I've been going pretty steadily uphill, and am now sweating (though not profusely.) I think I have a about a quarter mile to the A.T. junction, but it will be all uphill. The day could really not be more perfect.

1:20pm
Skyline Drive, A.T. junction. I feel great, and am happy that the climbing is basically over. Now I have about two A.T. miles back to my car. It will be rocky, but there shouldn't be a lot of up and down. I've made no effort to go fast or put in miles, but I've made great time, and the hike is going faster than I wanted it to. But there are still two miles to enjoy.

2:03pm
Trailhead and my car. This has been one of the best day-hikes ever. Conditions were absolutely perfect, and the trails, the foliage, and the waterfalls were all gorgeous. There were more people on the trail than I would have liked, but there weren't so many that I felt like I was hiking *with* people all the time - just passing other hikers more than I would have liked. But that's a minor quibble - I feel fantastic and am very grateful to have been able to hike this loop today.

Total time: 3:18
Total distance: ~9.0 miles

Hawk Mountain, 10/8/11

2011-10-13T09:27:00.001-04:00


November 2005

Last Saturday the forecast was for a perfect warm sunny day, and I thought I 'd love it if I could do something outdoors with my girls. When they were younger, I usually took them up to Hawk Mountain Sanctuary for a day in the fall, so I floated the idea on Friday night. To my delight, they were enthusiastic about going. Their only concern was that I would want to wake them up and go early. Once I assured them that we would go whenever they were up and ready, it was agreed.

The day was as perfect as advertised. We left the house a little before 11:00. Sarah drove (two weeks until she takes her driver's test), and girls asked me to pick some acoustic music from my iPod. I chose Judy Collins (or "that hippie chick" according to Sarah), and the ride up was fun.

We got to the Sanctuary shortly after noon. The parking lots were completely full, as it's the height of the fall raptor migration. We were directed to park on the road, which I've never had to do before. We made the mile-plus hike to the North Lookout, and for all the cars, the lookout was relatively full, but not *jammed*. We easily found a place to sit on the rocks, and settled in for hawk watching.


October 2011

We saw a couple sharp-shinned hawks right away, and then the spotter said a young bald eagle was coming up the ridge toward us. We spotted him, and followed him as he glided toward us. He got close, and made a couple turns, which made the sunlight flash on the whote head and tail-feathers. The whole lookout was ooh'ing and ahh'ing.

We stayed a while longer, and saw some red-tails, kestrels, Cooper's hawks, and more vultures than you could count. One of the kestrels was the closest fly-by of the day - he flashed by so close that we could see all the distinct markings. It was really spectacular.

I couldn't have been happier than my teenage girls would still want to do a day at Hawk Mountain with me - and that we all had a great time. It was a very sweet day.

Aikido Camping Weekend

2011-10-06T09:24:00.000-04:00

One of my aikido friends lives in Lewes, DE, which is very close to the Delaware beaches. He's done some training on the beach, and has talked about having a group of people down for a weekend of fun and beach training. That happened this past weekend. We reserved campsites in Cape Henlopen State Park, which is right on the Atlantic Ocean, and brought our tents, camping gear, and aikido gear.

I took off a couple hours early from work Friday so I could get down there and set up my tent while it was still light out, and also hopefully beat any weekend/beach traffic. Everything went fine, and I arrived around 6:15pm and got set up in daylight and in good weather. After dark, as some of us were sitting around a campfire and talking, it started to rain - not torrential, but hard enough that you didn't want to be out in it. Fortunately, Joe and Nancy had a tent big enough for 6-8 of us to sit down in it - so we hung out there until the rain mostly stopped. At that point we chatted some more under a tree, then called it a night and retired to our tents.

Saturday morning, we were rousted at sunrise for morning training. It was a short drive to the beach, and the morning was beautiful. Eric taught class, and we trained with bokken, then applied the bokken principles to empty-hand technique. Training on sand was interesting - it's harder to move, and since the sand isn't uniformly flat like the dojo floor, you really have to pay very close attention to moving.

After training, it was back to the campground for washing up and breakfast. I had brought a bagel with cream cheese, but when some folks said they were making the short drive into town for coffee and breakfast sandwiches, I was happy to join them.

We had some free hours before the afternoon training, and the day was bright and sunny. Eric and I had brought our acoustic guitars, and we jammed for quite a while, with various people singing along. I also found a trail through a salt marsh, which was very pleasant - I *love* the smell of the salt marsh.

Afternoon training was with jo stick - and like the morning, Eric first taught jo exercises, and then related the weapons principles to empty-hand technique.

After class, we again returned to camp to wash and change, and then it was time for the big cook-out. Burgers and hot dogs grilled over the campfire,and they were delicious. Eric and I got out the guitars again, Joe improvised drums out of a cardboard box, and many people sang. The night got cold, and when I wasn't next to the fire, I was wearing all the layers I had brought (and wishing I had brought a nice thick hoodie with me.)

Sunday morning was up at sunrise again, and class was all empty-hand. When it came time to throw, Eric said falling/rolling was optional - but me and the guy I was working with decided to do it. The sand was soft, and rolling wasn't hard. What was hard was getting up afterwards - it just took more effort to get back up than it does on the mat in the dojo.

While we were training, someone pointed out a dolphin. And then we saw a few...and then realized there were a lot of them, right off the beach, moving from left to right. It was beautiful and fascinating to watch. We noticed that one not only lifted his back and dorsal fin out of the water, but his whole tail - and he slapped the water with his tail.

With training over, we repeated the Saturday routine of washing, changing, then running into town for coffee and breakfast. Then, sadly, it was time to pack up camp and start for home. But everyone had a great time, and we're hoping to make this an annual event.

Rescue on the Mason-Dixon

2011-10-05T21:47:00.000-04:00

I've never had such trouble finishing a trip report after one of my boy's hiking trips. The Dakotas trip was two months ago, and the trip report entries are a weight around my neck. I just can't seem to find the time to write them up and pick out the pics to accompany each post. Worse, I'm not blogging about other things that have been happening, because it seems like I should blog about things chronologically. Well, I'm going to break the logjam and write some entries when I feel like it, whether the trip report is done or not.

On Labor Day (a month ago), I had the afternoon to myself, and decided to do a little hiking/geocaching run. I've had my eye on the Mason-Dixon Trail, which runs along the west bank of the Susquehanna River. This is right across the river from the Kelly's Run Trail system that I've hiked a number of times. I've wanted to try this, both because it's a new trail to me, and there are also a number of geocaches along the trail. Also for geocaching, finding caches along this trail would give me a new Pennsylvania county (York.)

I drove out through Lancaster County, passing through beautiful farm country, including many Amish farms, and passed many horses-and-buggies on the road. I crossed the river and found the trailhead immediately on the right. The trail followed a stream away from the river, soon passing a very pretty little waterfall, climbed significantly, and then looped back toward the river. I passed two hikers going the other way, and we chatted briefly. The looked like classic good-ole-boys, dressed in blue jeans and t-shirts on a hot humid day (and sweating *profusely* as a result.)

I hiked a while longer, heading north on the trail, stopping at a few overlook points high above the river and the Holtwood Dam. I found a few geocaches on the way, and eventually decided to turn around and head back. When I got near the point where I passed the good-old-boys, much to my surprise, they were still there. And in a bit of distress. They said they were lost and out of water, and they were getting a bit panicky.

I didn't see how they could be lost, as the trail was blazed, and all you had to do was follow the blazes. But they couldn't find the next blaze, and were floundering. I told them to follow me, and I led them back to the trailhead. They were very appreciative, and told me I saved their lives, which was nice, if overly-dramatic.

Thinking later, the two guys reminded me of the two yokels in the Dodge "Is that a Hemi?" commercials that were popular a few years back.

So I had a good hike, saw some very pretty sights, and did my good deed for the day.

Dakotas 2011: Day 6 (Evening in TRNP)

2011-09-28T09:40:00.000-04:00

Summary
Part 2 of day 6. After our first hike in TRNP, we decided to go to town for a loaf of bread, but we didn't make it. Here's the rest of our Wednesday.

Details
The North Unit of TRNP has one road of approximately 15 miles - it's not a loop, it goes about 15 miles west from the Visitor's Center, through the park, ending at a turnaround with a beautiful overlook of the Little Missouri River. Juniper Campground is about at mile 5.

We realized we were out of bread, and the town of Watford (the nearest place with a gas station or grocery store) was about 20 miles away. But there was still plenty of daylight after our hike and wash-up, so we decided to pile in the van and make the run.

As we were driving through the park back toward the Visitor's Center, we saw a few wild bison, and I was keeping a careful watch for other wildlife sightings. I was watching the steep, almost cliff-like walls of the badlands, and at one point I watched some dark spots, then saw them move. Bighorn sheep, and once I pointed them out, all the guys saw them. There were 6-8 of them, near the top of a vertical rise. It really did look like they were walking on a near-vertical cliff face.

Eric wanted his good camera to try to get a pic, but it was in the back of the van. He stopped in the road (as we had the road to ourselves), and wouldn't you know it, a ranger pulled up in back of us and gave us a blast of his horn to tell us to move on and not block the (otherwise-deserted) road.

We apologized and drove on, and a few minutes later he put on his flashers and pulled us over. 37 in a 25, plus John and I (the backseat passengers) didn't have our seatbelts on. I guess I don't ride in the back seat very often, as I didn't know that I was required to have the seatbelt on (I *always* do in the front seat, but it doesn't seem necessary in the back.) After taking our licenses back to his SUV for some time and making us ponder our fates, he came back and said he would let us off with a warning if we agreed to listen to a lecture. We agreed.

He said that North Dakota is different from suburban Philadelphia. That if you run off the road, it might be a long time until you reach a hospital. We assured him we understood, and thanked him for giving us a break. But we were no longer in the mood to go get bread, so we limped back to the campground (at 25mph) with our tails between our legs.

Once back at camp, we decided to walk down to the Little Missouri. The Achenbach Trail (which I'll talk more about in Thursday's trip report) starts at the campground and immediately crosses the waist-deep river. We were curious about that crossing.

When we got down to the riverbank, there was *plenty* of evidence of bison, though no bison in sight. It was a mucky mess, and Eric, Ted, and I decided we didn't need to cross the river. John needed to. And he did. It was indeed about waist deep. We waited for him to explore the other bank a bit, but we retreated to the shade while we waited. The afternoon sun was bright and hot and punishing, and we were all feeling a bit sunburned.

We got back to camp and relaxed as we waited for the sun to get lower in the sky and the day to cool off. We sat in the shade of a big lone cottonwood tree in the middle of the field and read, journaled, and napped. We noticed buffalo pies in the field and wondered how often buffalo actually come through the campground.

Dinner was chicken breasts on the grill, and was delicious. We noted that since we crossed into the Central Time Zone that sundown will be around 9:30pm (8:30 Mountain Time, but we're just over the boundary.) Sunset was spectacular, and looked like a painting - orange/purple sunlight on enormous cumulus clouds against the blue sky.

When the sun finally set, the sky was clear and we got our second night of amazing starry skies. We sat out in the field watching the stars appear, and they came out (it seemed) by the millions. The Milky Way was a sweep of white across the sky, and I saw many shooting stars.

There was one more curious incident, which took us a little while to figure out. As we stargazed, we heard the occasional very deep rumble. My first thought was someone snoring very loudly in a nearby campsite. But it sounded deeper than even a very large man could make - the thought that kept coming into my head was that it's a sound a dragon would make in a movie.

We finally figured out that it had to be a herd of bison not too far away. The thought of bison close by gave us a little pause, as what was there to stop them from trampling us in our sleep? The answer, of course, was nothing. But we turned in around 11:15, tired after a good first day in TRNP.

Dakotas 2011: Day 6 (Arrival TRNP)

2011-09-20T22:14:00.001-04:00

Summary
Part 1 of day 6. Wednesday was the day we completed the journey to Theodore Roosevelt National Park, settled into our campsite, and hiked the Caprock Coulee Trail.

Details
Eric and I were up at 6:20am. It's funny that whether camping or in a hotel, we all seem to wake up at dawn. Despite this being the first night in a hotel after three nights camping, I didn't sleep well. Hopefully I'll get a nap at some point today. But it looks gorgeous outside - clear blue sky.

All the tents and gear are dry, so we had snacks and cereal bars for breakfast while doing a complete empty and re-load of the van. There was sub-par coffee in the lobby of the Super 8, so we figured we'd find coffee and breakfast sandwiches at a McDonald's or equivalent on the road.

Pulling out of the Super 8, the local convenience store in Bowman, ND is the...wait for it...the Kum&Go. Yes, really. There's general hilarity, and the jokes are just too easy. Did they not think about that at all? There's talk of pooling our money and opening the first PA branch of Kum&Go.

The drive to TRNP is straight north on Rt. 85, and the scenery on the drive was beautiful. At Belfield (the little town where I-94 crosses), we made another coffee stop, and the convenience store there was the Superpumper. These North Dakotans are *killing* us.

Around 9:30 the terrain changed fairly abrubtly from mostly flat, gently-rolling grasslands to broken badlands. Then we crossed the Little Missouri River, and the entrance to TRNP's North Unit was immediately after (which we expected, as the North Unit is bordered by the Little Missouri.)

We stopped in at the Visitor's Center, not failing to note the exceptionally cute young blonde at the entrance gate. We looked at maps and talked hikes with the ranger in the V.C., and came out with a good plan of what we want to do - the Caprock Coulee Trail this afternoon, and one of couple options for a longer hike tomorrow. We also discovered that when we crossed the Little Missouri that we passed from Mountain to Central time, so we lost an hour and had to set our watches ahead.

The first stop was Juniper Campground, where we hoped to spend then next two nights. We had no reservations, as it's a first-come, first-served campground, but apparently it's rarely full.

We arrived at the campground at 11:55am and had our pick of spots. We chose a big flat spot that looked like it would get afternoon shade. There was plenty of room for our two tents, and it was adjacent to a big open field in a loop formed by the road. To no one's surprise, there's no cell reception at the campground.

We made sandwiches for lunch, and realized we were out of bread. That's a pain, because it's at least an hour's drive to the nearest store. We thought we had another loaf, otherwise we would have picked it up at the Kum&Go. :-) If we have time later, we'll make a run to town.

We made the short drive from the campground to the Caprock Coulee Trailhead, and started hiking at 1:05. The day was sunny and quite hot by this point. It was a 4.5-mile loop trail that took us through the varying terrains of the park. We hiked along a stream, through woods, and through plenty of badlands. There was a decent bit of up and down, and at some points were had a beautiful vista high above the Little Missouri.

Even though we had many gallons of bottled water in the van, I had filled my water bladder from the tap at the campsite, and I got an unpleasant surprise when I took my first sip and found that it tasted *disgusting*. Ah well, from now on it's bottled water. Fortunately, I also had a bottle of Gatorade, but I drank much less on this hike than I otherwise would have.

We completed the loop and got back to the trailhead at 3:26pm. We were all quite sweaty and in need of a drink and a change of clothes, which we got back at the campsite. As there was still plenty of daylight (sunset was around 9:30pm, as we're on the time zone boundary), we decided to make the run to town for bread now. And that's when things got interesting.

(To be continued)

40 States

2011-09-06T19:49:00.003-04:00

Taking a brief detour from my Dakotas trip reports, when we entered North Dakota, that meant that John has now been in all 48 of the contiguous United States. I looked at a map, and I've been in 40 of the 48. The exceptions are as follows (from east to west):

* Maine, New Hampshire, Vermont, Massachusetts, Rhode Island: I've never been to New England. It's not that far away, and there's a lot to do and see there. I could knock off these five states in a weekend (and Eric would like to make a geocaching run and do exactly that. :-)) Massachusetts is a gray area, but I'm not counting it. I had an airline connection through Boston, but the boys' rules (which I agree with) are that a state doesn't count if you're only in an airport.

* Wisconsin: I have nothing against Wisconsin, I've just never had any reason to go there - and I'm not sure I ever will.

* New Mexico: John and Ted will tell me I missed my opportunity here, and they're right. On the first boys' trip to the Southwest (2007), Phil and I chose to relax with a beer at the motel pool instead of making a breakneck 2+ hour detour just to set foot in New Mexico. I don't regret that decision, and hope very much that there will be other, better ways to see N.M.

* Idaho: I would love to hike or backpack in Idaho, but who knows if/when that will happen?

Then of course there are Alaska and Hawaii. I can't say that Hawaii is high on my list of places to see. I know it's gorgeous - but it's so far away. I'd rather go to the much-closer Caribbean, which is also paradise.

As for Alaska - Ted is lobbying hard for a future boys' trip to Denali N.P. or Gates of the Arctic N.P. on the north slope of the Brooks Range. That seems like a stretch, but who knows.

Looking north, but not as far as Alaska, I have only one Canadian province (Ontario.) I thought I might also have Quebec, but I verified that Ottawa is in Ontario. From TRNP, Ted floated the idea of driving the 100 miles to Saskatchewan, but none of us had passports with us.

The new states I added on the recent Dakotas trip were Nebraska and North Dakota.

Dakotas 2011: Day 5 (Devil's Tower)

2011-09-06T17:45:00.000-04:00

Summary
Tuesday was a transition day. We left the Black Hills, hit a Walmart for some supplies, made a sightseeing stop at Devil's Tower, WY, then started north, covering about half the distance to Theodore Roosevelt National Park in North Dakota. We stopped for the night at a roadside Super 8 motel in Bowman, ND.

Details
We were all up before 6am again. There was heavy rain in the night, but we were dry inside the tents. It was clear and cool when we got up. We packed up camp, which was not fun, as the ground was wet and the tents were wet on the outside. Tonight we'd be staying in a motel, so we figured we'd air things out to dry when we got there.

By 8am, the van was loaded, and we were ready to go. We stopped at the camp store for breakfast sandwiches and large coffees to go. We settled in for a long day in the van, as the day was basically a travel day. We were moving from the Black Hills in South Dakota to Theodore Roosevelt National Park in North Dakota, and the distances between things are very big in the west. The plan was to make a sightseeing stop (and slight detour) to Devil's Tower, WY, as that's a worthwhile sight that John and Eric hadn't seen. But the goal of the day was to cover a lot of miles and get within easy stroking distance of TRNP, so we could spend almost all of Wednesday there.

The first stop was Walmart in Spearfish, SD. We had to refresh our food and drink - including a lot of drinking water, as we're unsure from the guidebooks if TRNP has potable water. By 10:30am, we were done shopping, had re-loaded the van, and were on I-90W (with a posted speed limit of 75mph - gotta love the wide open west!) heading for Devil's Tower.

We passed through Sundance, WY, stopping just long enough to get a pic of the statue of the Sundance Kid in a jail cell, then continued on. Devil's Tower was visible for miles away, and we got some good views as we approached. There was a long line at the National Park Service entrance gate, including lots of Harleys sightseeing on the way to Sturgis.

We hiked the short (mile+) loop trail, which had great views of the tower, and was also welcome relief after the morning's ride. The day was perfect - sunny, warm, not too humid. We did see some climbers up near the top of the tower - they looked like the tiniest specks.

We were back in the van around 1pm, and at that point there was nothing to do but cover miles as fast as possible. Lunch was a quick stop at a Subway in Belle Fourche, SD (meatball parm sandwich for me, thanks.)

The scenery as we traveled north couldn't have been more "Great Plains." Flat grasslands all the way to the horizon, with the road often a straight line to the horizon. So different from what we're used to back east.

At 4:40pm we crossed into North Dakota, stopping to take a pic at the "Welcome to N.D." sign. I had forgotten that one of the main reasons for choosing this destination was explicitly to get to N.D. Ted and John have been in almost all of the continental 48 states, and N.D. is one they're both missing (it's a new state for me too, but I'm not as close to completing the 48 as they are.) For John, getting N.D. completes his lower 48.

At 5:25pm, we arrived at the Super 8 motel, Bowman, ND. It was a long day and a lot of miles, and I was beat. We got two rooms again (Eric and I, John and Ted), and we got as much gear out of the van and into the rooms as possible. We hung tents over the shower curtain (getting dirt and pine needles everywhere), spread out sleeping bags, and laid out everything we could to dry.

A shower and a short nap felt great, and then we drove around Bowman looking for dinner. There weren't many choices, but we finally settled on Windy's Family Restaurant, where we all got pizza. It was okay...nothing special. Then it was back to the hotel, and pretty quickly into bed. I was wiped out.

Dakotas 2011: Day 4 (Little Devil's Tower)

2011-09-01T21:52:00.002-04:00

Summary
Part 2 of day 4 (Monday). Coming down from Harney, some of us made a side trip to the top of Little Devil's Tower. After the hike, we took a very refreshing swim in Sylvan Lake, went to the camp store for a cheeseburger, lounged around camp for the rest of the afternoon, rode out a short violent thunderstorm in the evening, and then enjoyed the rest of the night around the campfire.

Details
Looking at our trail maps, we decided to take a different route back to Sylvan Lake trailhead. It's always more fun to do a loop than an out-and-back, and this would also give us the option to hike to the top of Little Devil's Tower. We decided that we'd make that decision when we got there, based on how we felt at the time. But so far, the trail had been less strenuous than I thought it might be.

We descended easily, going back down through pine forest, and the views were amazing in all directions. There was a rock formation called Cathedral Spires, which was spectacular, and I wish we had the time to hike there. Soon enough we came to the spur trail to Little Devil's Tower, and we stopped to consider. John decided he wanted to get back to the swimming area. Ted and I wanted to hike to Little Devil's Tower (adding 1.5 miles to the day). Eric decided to start with Ted and I, but told us he would probably turn back if it got steep.

The spur trail started flat, but then got very steep, and then turned into a rock climb. Eric stopped at the steep part, and Ted and I continued on with good legs and good energy. Some more rock scrambling, and we were at the top. While lower in elevation than Harney Peak, the view was equally spectacular, looking out over the Black Hills and the Cathedral Spires (not to mention back up at Harney.)

We stopped for a rest and a Gatorade, and when we went to the edge, we realized we could see Eric far below, and hear him yelling up at us. We finished our rest and started down, meeting up with Eric and hiking back toward the trailhead.

At one point we saw something on the trail, and stopping, realized it was John's floppy hat. We guessed that he just dropped it, but joked that he was in trouble and was discarding clothing to lighten his load - and speculating as to the next thing we might find on the trail.

We reached the trailhead at 12:13, a little over five hours from the start of the hike. We immediately made our way to the swimming area and gratefully plunged into the cold water. The day was warm and sunny by this point, and we stayed in the water for some time.

When we were done swimming, we took the short drive over to the camp store in search of a second lunch. The place was overflowing with bikers on the way to Sturgis, and the parking lot was filled with Harleys. We had to wait a bit to get our cheeseburgers, but they hit the spot. We got a few supplies at the store, then made our way back to camp.

Eric and John collected everyone's dirty clothes and went back to the camp store to do a community load of laundry. Ted and I went down to the bath house for showers (ahhhh!) and lounged around camp, reading and journaling, while we waited for Eric and John to return. When they got back, they told us the coin-op facilities were out of laundry soap, so they washed our clothes in fabric softener. That seemed okay - at least they smelled good.

We cracked open some beers to toast the day's hike while John started the fire. All we had left was hot dogs, which was fine with everyone. While waiting for the fire to be ready to cook, we took a short walk to a rock formation above our campsites and explored a little. There were beautiful views in all directions.

At this point we noticed very dark clouds coming up the valley, the same as last night. We watched it come closer, heard the thunder, felt the wind blowing up, and we knew we were going to get a nice storm. And did we ever. It hit us hard, with rain, wind, lightning, and thunder. We retreated to our tents, John and Ted to theirs, and Eric and I to ours. I just laid down and closed my eyes and enjoyed the intensity of the storm. A few of the lightning strikes had to be very close.

But it passed before too long, and we came out and got the fire back up. We ate all the remaining hot dogs, and finished a lot of our supplies. We're going to have to re-stock tomorrow.

We sat round the campfire, talking and joking and having a few more beers. We were all tired, and hit the sack around 9:30. Tomorrow we'd be packing up and leaving Sylvan Lake.

Dakotas 2011: Day 4 (Harney Peak)

2011-09-01T21:13:00.003-04:00

Summary
Part 1 of day 4 (Monday). We hiked to the summit of Harney Peak from the Sylvan Lake trailhead, rested a while at the summit, then started down.

Details
When I woke up and looked at my watch, it said 5:32am. That seemed to be the time we were naturally waking up. We went to bed thinking a big storm was coming, but it was never too bad. I was vaguely aware of it raining twice during the night - a hard rain early in the night, and a soft rain toward dawn. But the morning was cool and clear, with a nice breeze, and the tents and ground were basically dry. Good hiking weather.

There was much discussion last night over the best route to hike to Harney Peak. There's a whole network of trails, so there are multiple ways of getting there. The Falcon Guide to Hiking the Black Hills has two routes that we're considering - the Sylvan Lake to Harney Peak Trail (the most direct route at 6.8 miles round-trip) and the Lost Cabin-Harney Peak Loop (8.6 miles, more spectacular scenery, and significantly more strenuous.) We would really like to do the Lost Cabin route, but a surprise attack of common sense breaks out, and we realize that we just haven't hiked that much this year, and that we're not in our best shape, and that the shorter Sylvan Lake to Harney Peak Trail is the one for us.

Harney Peak was one of the main hiking destinations we had in mind when planning this trip. According to something one of us read somewhere, it's the highest peak east of the main chain of the Rockies and west of the Pyrenees, with the summit 7,242 feet above sea level. There's been some debate as to the possible truthfulness of that statement, but regardless, it's supposed to be a very worthwhile hiking destination. It's the high point of the state of South Dakota, and was also considered both a holy place and the center of the world by the Lakota Sioux. The Sioux holy man Black Elk had his vision after spending four days in meditation on the summit of Harney.

We had a quick breakfast, dressed, loaded our packs, and made the short drive down to Sylvan Lake, where we found the trailhead very near the swimming area from yesterday. My neck was still a little red and sore, so I was again careful about applying sunscreen We started up the trail at 7:04am.

The morning was slightly overcast, temps probably in the low 70's, with a slight breeze. The trail was packed earth, wide, and easy to follow. The climbs were gradual, and there was nothing lung-busting, even though the trail climbs 1,500 vertical feet. The trail was through pine forest. The smell of the pine air was delightful, and views of the distant peaks opened up at a number of points.

As we hiked, the morning cloud cover lifted and the sky turned blue. All the trail intersections were well-marked, and shortly before 9am we reached the intersection of the spur trail to the summit. I was surprised to be there that quickly, as it didn't seem like we had done all the climbing we would have to do. I guess I was expecting more sections of hard climbing, but there really weren't any, which was a pleasant surprise. At this point there were some steps carved into the stone, and some iron railings, and then we did the last few steps and were at the top. I had the time as 9:04, which was exactly two hours from the trailhead.

There's an old U.S. Forest Service fire tower at the summit (not in use any more), and we climbed to the top of that. The views were spectacular in all directions. There were a number of other hikers, and we asked a guy to take a group picture of us. We looked around the fire tower, with its spartan living quarters, and found comfortable rocks to sit down on to eat our lunch. Well, maybe it wasn't lunch, but we were all ready for a rest and a sandwich after the hike up.

As far as I know, this was my third state highpoint. We hiked to the summit Mt. Marcy (the highpoint of New York state) on our Adirondacks trip of 2008. Then we drove Clingman's Dome (the highpoint of Tennessee) on last year's Smokies trip.

After lounging on top of Harney for a half hour, we started back down the mountain.

(Continued here)

Dakotas 2011: Day 3 (Black Hills)

2011-08-28T17:21:00.002-04:00

Summary
Part 2 of day 3 (Sunday). After the Wind Cave hike, we returned to the campground to wash up and rest. Then we drove into the Black Hills, made a brief stop at Mount Rushmore, then got to our base for the next two days, Sylvan Lake Campground in Custer State Park.

Details
After our hike, we desperately needed a place to change our sweaty clothes, eat lunch, and get ready for the drive into the Black Hills. We realized the campground where we spent last night was the best choice, so we made the short drive back there. We pulled up to an unused and secluded spot and took hobo showers (putting our heads under the water pump and yelling like crazy when the cold water hit.)

The cold water felt good, and getting into dry cotton clothes felt even better. We had our lunch (the sandwiches we had made for the hike), and plenty more water and Gatorade, as we all were down plenty of fluids after our hike in 100-degree sun. With everyone changed, fed, and refreshed, we left Wind Cave around 2:00pm.

South Dakota highway 87 through the Black Hills was gorgeous, but slow and winding in the extreme. It was one hairpin turn after the other, and there were many points where 15-20mph was all you could safely do.

We noticed many motorcycles on the road, and it dawned on us that the Sturgis bike rally was sometime soon and not too far from here. For the rest of our next couple days in the Black Hills, Harley-Davidsons would be our constant companion on the road.

I was not able to appreciate the full beauty of Rt. 87, as I was feeling decidedly queasy and car-sick. I probably wouldn't have felt so bad if I was driving, but the constant braking and turning had me feeling not-so-wonderful.

Our first destination was Mt. Rushmore. Ted and I saw this in '87, and I wasn't impressed then. But John and Eric hadn't seen it, and wanted to - and there was no reason not to stop, as we were so close anyway.

We stopped, parked in the lot full of Harleys, went in, took some pics, and left. I wasn't any more impressed this time than last. What the man did is an amazing achievement, but it just leaves me with a feeling of "why?" Why blast Presidents' faces into a mountain? To my eye, the mountain would have been more beautiful before all the dynamite. Also, Theodore Roosevelt? Really? Washington, Jefferson, and Lincoln are obvious choices...but Theodore Roosevelt? It's like the children's game "one of these things is not like the other." No offense, Teddy.

Anyway, I got a big ice cream cone at the concessions (I think others did too), and then we were back on the road. We backtracked to Keystone, SD (a little tourist town not far away), where we re-loaded on beer and ice. Then it was more excruciatingly-winding roads into Custer State Park, where we had a reservation for two nights at the Sylvan Creek Campground.

We checked in at the park entrance, and found the spots we'd reserved (#17 and #19.) We were very happy with our choices, as they're secluded in a gorgeous spot, high on a hill in a saddle between two higher hills, with views off the mountain into the distance. It was a bit of a hike to the car (and water and bathroom), but we were pleased.

We set up camp quickly, then drove back down to Sylvan Lake. There's a swimming spot with a beach, and we decided to take a quick dip. It was *frigid*, but refreshing. John made me laugh by saying "tomorrow after climbing Harney, this is going to be the center of all Earthly pleasure." I was certain he was right.

When we got back to the campsite, John started a fire, and we grilled sausages for dinner. They were delicious, and went down especially well with a beer or two.

As the sun started to set, we noticed big black clouds rolling in across the valley. Then big lightning and thunder started. We tried to convince ourselves that we weren't going to get hit by a big thunderstorm, even in the face of the evidence that we were. Well, all of us except John, who was hoping we *would* get hit by the storm.

We got a little rain as we had our dinner and sat around the campfire afterwards, but not too much. The thunder and lightning continued, and we hit the sack early (9:45-ish), well aware that we might have a big storm in the night.

(Eric's take on the day: morning at the campsite, tour of Wind Cave, Wind Cave hike, Mt. Rushmore and Sylvan Lake)

Dakotas 2011: Day 3 (Wind Cave)

2011-08-28T14:54:00.006-04:00

Summary
This post will cover the first half of Day 3 (Sunday) - the morning at Wind Cave National Park. We took a one-hour cave tour, then hiked in the park.

Details
I woke up at 5:35am to the sound of John and Ted talking. Getting up at dawn would prove to be the norm for our camping days, which works out well and feels good. We heard a few coyote howls in the night, which was cool.

I woke up to a dream that was so realistic that I had to stop to figure out if it was real or a dream. I felt a mouse (or some kind of small rodent) wriggling between my neck and the pillow, and I woke with a start. I looked all around, and finally figured out that it had to be a dream. But I also scoured the tent when I took it down later. Nope, no mice.

The sun peeked over the horizon at 5:50am, and shortly afterwards we noticed flies everywhere, on everything. They didn't bite, so they were merely annoying. I put on sunscreen right away, as the day was supposed to be clear and hot again, and the back of my neck was still red and painful.

John got the fire going, and he and Ted scrambled a dozen eggs and cooked a while package of bacon over the fire. Best breakfast ever!

Talking over breakfast, we realized that a cave tour or a hike wasn't an either/or thing. We would have time for both. If we did the first one-hour cave tour, we can then do a hike, then hit the road for Mount Rushmore and the Black Hills. Everyone was happy with that plan.

We packed up our campsite, loaded the van, and were at the Visitor's Center when it opened. We got reservations for the 8:45am cave tour. We had some time to spare before that, so we took a short drive around the park, and saw a whole herd of bison close to the road. It was a real thrill to see these magnificent animals in the wild. I'd seen them before (on the mega-driving trip with Ted and Mike D. in '87 - or was it '88?), but it was still a thrill.

We got back for our cave tour, and it was already broiling hot. Caves don't really thrill me, but I was okay with a short tour, and also knew that it would feel good to be in a 50-degree cave for an hour. I'll defer to Eric's description of the tour itself, but it was fun and interesting. I will say that the first people to explore this cave were brave in the extreme - or f'ing crazy.

After the cave tour, it was a short drive to the trailhead for our chosen hike - the Lookout Point/Centennial Trail loop. We had prepared our daypacks after breakfast, so it was just a matter of changing clothes and going.

The day was sunny, clear, and scorching, and we noted with some amusement that this was the second day in a row that we were starting a hike in the heat of the day. I reapplied sunscreen and wrapped a bandana around my sunburned neck.

The hike was 4+ miles, and rated not too strenuous. The first part of the hike would follow the Lookout Point Trail through rolling grasslands. We would make a big counterclockwise loop, picking up the Centennial Trail that would follow a stream and bring us back to this trailhead.

Despite the heat, I opted for starting in my long hiking pants, which are convertible to shorts. They're lightweight, even as long pants, and I thought that my legs might need protection from the long grass. It turned out to be the right decision.

The Lookout Point Trail went through open rolling grasslands, and the scenery was fantastic. It felt like you could see forever over the grasslands, and the sky was as blue as could be. Even though it was scorching hot, there was a nice breeze that made it feel bearable. Except for the few times that the breeze stopped - then it felt like the inside of an oven.

We saw a number of prairie dogs, which were adorable. The stood up on two legs outside their burrows, chattering at us. I know my girls would have pronounced them the cutest things ever.

There were very few trees on this section of the hike, and no shade at all. So even though the hike wasn't that strenuous, the sun was draining the energy out of us.

We reached the Centennial Trail junction, and started back along the creek bottom. This section of the hike featured different terrain - a rocky stream valley instead of rolling grasslands, and it was also very beautiful.

The only hitch was the bushwhack around the bison that was resting just a few feet from the trail. We gave him a very wide berth, although he never moved (giving rise to the "was he resting, or was he dead?" discussion.)

We got back to the trailhead hot, tired, and beat. Eric's GPS showed that we had hiked 4.8 miles in exactly two hours. It was a beautiful and rewarding hike, and was only so tiring because it was so hot (our van thermometer showed 100 degrees, and it felt like it.) I drank all the water and Gatorade I could get my hands on.

(Day 3 continued here)

Dakotas 2011: Day 2 (Wind Cave)

2011-08-28T12:32:00.003-04:00

Summary
Part two of Saturday's trip report, from leaving Scotts Bluff, arriving at Wind Cave, and through the end of the day.

Details

Leaving Scotts Bluff and heading north toward Wind Cave, we were well off the interstates and on two-land state highways. We could still make good time, as there was very little traffic, and the roads were flat and straight. I put on a playlist from my iPod, which Ted dubbed "radio KDAV, classic rock and deep cuts from the Northern Plains."

We arrived at Wind Cave National Park a little before 6:00pm, and drove straight to Elk Mountain campground, as they don't take reservations - all spots are first-come, first-served. The guidebooks we've seen said this isn't normally a problem, and it wasn't for us - we had our pick of spots.

After driving through the campground examining the available sites, we chose B-16, as it was flat and had some shade. I'm particularly interested in shade, as I'm feeling very sunburnt from our Scotts Bluff hike - the back of my neck especially is feeling a bit painful. The sun is still high in the clear blue sky, and it's punishing to be in the direct sun.

Cell reception has been good to this point, but it's spotty to nonexistent in the campground. This isn't a problem, but I've been keeping the family updated via fairly frequent Twitter posts, and that will slow or stop now.

Our site is not too far from the bathroom (one sink with cold water, no showers), and there's a sign on the bathroom wall telling you what to do in case you encounter a mountain lion (make yourself big, don't run) or a rattlesnake (keep your distance - duh.) "Make yourself big" will be a recurring joke for the rest of the trip.

We set up the tents, which was a little harder than it needed to be, as there was a stiff breeze. John got a good fire going in the fire ring, and I read up on possible hikes for tomorrow. There was also discussion of doing a cave tour, and if it would be possible to do both a cave tour and a hike, or if people would have to choose one or the other(I would choose a hike, John would choose a cave tour.)

Dinner was burgers and hot dogs, and it was delicious. Eric noted that anything cooked over a campfire is automatically good, and I agree. The ranger stopped by to invite us on a ranger-led night hike starting at 9pm. It sounded great, and we were tempted, but in the end we were just too comfortable in our chairs around the fire, and didn't want to get dressed again. She also told us that the moon was new and the sky would be clear, so the night sky should be amazing.

As the sun went down, we watched the stars come out one-by-one, also also noted the bats wheeling about. When it was fully dark, the ranger was right, the night sky was unbelievable. When you live in a city or suburbs, you tend not to realize how much light pollution there is, and how much of the night sky you never see. You have to really get out into the middle of nowhere to see how many stars there really are.

This was one of the best nights I've ever seen. The Milky Way was a cloud of white over our heads, and I saw five shooting stars - some were brief flashes, some extended sweeps across the sky. I consider looking up at a night sky like that one of life's great pleasures.

We finally hit the sack around 10:30, and I was out like a light.

(Eric's take on the day)

Dakotas 2011: Day 2 (Scotts Bluff)

2011-08-26T23:49:00.003-04:00

Summary
Part one of Saturday's trip report. The plan for the day is to hit a Walmart for gear, food, and supplies. We'll make a sightseeing stop at Scotts Bluff, NE, then continue on to Wind Cave, SD. This post will cover up to and including Scotts Bluff.

Details
We were all up fairly early, as we had a lot do do and a lot of miles to cover today. I felt good despite the short night's sleep, and everyone was in good spirits, as we were actually here and on our vacation now. We grabbed a quick breakfast in the lobby of the AmericInn (standard hotel continental breakfast of toast, cereal, yogurt, etc. And coffee!) We knew there would likely be a second breakfast at a McDonald's later on.

We had planned our Walmart stop, and it was right off the highway. We had a lot of things to get: food and drinks for the next few days, some non-perishable food that should last the whole trip, plus some gear and supplues that we've labeled "B&L" on our great lists - "buy and leave". Things like coolers, camp chairs, and inflatable air mattresses (for Eric and me - John and Ted are fine with their backpacking sleeping pads.) It really seems wasteful, and it nags at my conscience, but it's the only thing that makes financial sense - these thing are cheap and bulky, and it makes no sense to ship them home.

It's amazing how turning guys loose in a Walmart with "community" money somehow generates needs that never existed before. But the motto was "better safe than sorry", and we ended up with $495 of Walmart food, drink, and gear. It took a bit of work to fit it all in the van, but we managed, and hit the highway.

We hit the first roadside McDonald's we saw for breakfast sandwiches (Sausage Egg McMuffin combo for me, thanks!) and a reload on coffee. Then it was onto the interstates (I-25N to Cheyenne, WY, then I-80E into Nebraska.)

A stop at Scotts Bluff, NE was on the itinerary, and I honestly didn't know much about it. I think Ted picked it out as a good spot to break up a long day of driving, but it turned out to be a very pleasant surprise. It's a place with historical significance (a prominent point on the Oregon, Mormon, and Pony Express Trails.) It's also a very pretty spot, with interesting geological formations rising out of the rolling grassland.

We stopped at Scotts Bluff National Monument, toured the visitor's center, which has many Oregon Trail artifacts, then saw that there were two ways to get to the summit: a road or the Saddle Rock Trail (1.6 miles each way.) I needed to stretch my legs and said I was hiking to the top, and if someone else wanted to drive there, I'd meet them at the top. In the end, we all decided to hike.

As we were starting the hike, I realized the day had gotten quite hot, and the sky was clear and the sun bright and direct. I considered sunscreen, and rejected it, as we'd fussed around too long already. Not my finest moment of decision-making.

We started up the Saddle Rock Trail, and it was very pleasant, winding in and out of sandstone canyons, climbing ever higher. I enjoyed it very much, and the view from the top of the bluff was a nice reward. The temperature was in the high 90's, and the direct sun was punishing - it wasn't a problem, but we could have been better prepared (and sunscreened!)

We retraced our steps, and noticed that necks and faces were getting quite red, so we doused ourselves with water from the faucet in the visitor's center bathroom. It was a fantastic hike, all the more so as it was such a pleasant surprise to me. The total distance was about 3.5 miles, and took us exactly two hours.

We also found that we had left the side door of our van wide open for the two hours we were hiking. All our gear, cell phones, iPods, etc., were sitting there for the taking - but nothing had been touched. Obviously the patron saint of idiots was watching over us.

(Day 2 continued here)

Dakotas 2011: Day 1 (Flying Out)

2011-08-21T22:07:00.001-04:00

Introduction: I'm finally getting around to writing up my trip report. Part of the reason for my inertia is that Eric is already doing a great job, and using the diary format I normally use. Doing side-by-side diaries seems silly, so I'm just going to give each day an overview, add my thoughts and impressions, and give a link to Eric's entry (or entries) for the day.

Day 1 (Friday, 7/29)

The plan is to fly from Philadelphia to Denver, pick up our rental van, and drive an hour to Fort Collins, CO (getting us out of the Denver metro area and giving us a small head-start on a long driving day tomorrow.)

Eliminating the suspense, the end result is that everything worked out fine. But there were some nervous moments when it looked like things might not be fine.

John and I met at Eric's house, leaving our cars there for the week. I was stressed to start, as I wasn't able to take the whole day off work, and some people from the client were making urgent requests of me right up until the very last minute. So I was *very* relieved to actually shut down my laptop and get out the door.

We got to the airport with no problem, checked our bags, got through security, met Ted, and had a celebratory beer in a lounge near our gate. We boarded close to on-time, and the plane left the gate without issue.

And then we sat. On the tarmac. For two hours. I knew we weren't going anywhere for a while when they told us we could turn our portable electronics back on. I didn't mind being delayed, but the longer we sat, the more I thought "they're going to cancel this flight, and we're going to have to go home and come back tomorrow - losing a whole day of our vacation."

Thankfully it didn't come to that. They finally got us off at 8:35pm, just about two hours late.

We made up a little of that time in the air, landing in Denver around 10:15 (Mountain time, having gained two time zones.) The next question was would the rental car counter still be open at that time, or would we have to get a room at the airport and come back for our van in the morning? Again, thankfully, it was open, we got our van (a maroon Chrysler Town-and-Country), threw our bags in, and hit the road.

Or, tried to hit the road. Instead of exiting the airport, we made one more gigantic loop around the whole complex before finally finding the exit. Then it was I-25N out of Denver, with Fort Collins a little less than an hour away.

We had two rooms at the AmericInn (Eric and I in one, John and Ted in the other). My watch said 1:00am, but my body clock said 3:00am, and I think I was asleep before my head hit the pillow.

(Eric's take on the day)

Final Prep

2011-07-29T14:14:00.000-04:00

Well, the day of departure is here, and there's nothing left to do but get on with it. E-mails have been flying, and the general excitement level is high - especially for those among us who have never gone on a boys's hiking trip before (ahem).

I'm finally excited, and it's only taken so long because work has been so busy that it hasn't left me enough energy to think too much about this. Now that it's here, there's a *huge* sense of relief, and I cannot wait to not think about work for 10 days. And I promise I won't.

A few final random thoughts before departing.

* As I lamented a few blog posts ago, I wasn't able to do the detailed research and hike planning I usually do. I enjoy this, and usually make it my job to know which trails we want to hike and why. I simply didn't have the time. I'll be reading the Falcon Guide to hiking the Black Hills tonight on the plane,a nd that will have to do. We'll talk to rangers at the appropriate places too.

* I got my pre-trip crewcut this morning. Low maintenance is key.

* I had dinner last night with two lovely and charming young ladies, and while happy for me, they both agreed that my vacation is their idea of a perfect nightmare. Camping out, long hikes, and a few long drives thrown in for good measure.

* One thing I'm especially looking forward to is seeing the night sky out there. I was in South Dakota with Ted and Mike D. in the late 80's, and I still remember how amazing the night sky was. We're so used to light pollution and smog/haze here in the East, that you don't realize what a starry night can look like. It's not just a little different, it's mind-blowing - and I'm hoping very much for some clear nights so we can enjoy it.

* As I mentioned, I'll be posting trip updates on Twitter as long as we're in places with cell phone service. The link is on the right under "About Me".

Full trip report when I return.

Dakotas 2011: Pre-trip Reading

2011-07-24T21:00:00.002-04:00

It's hard to believe that it's less than a week until blast-off. I've done some preliminary gathering of gear this weekend, and checking things off from the list John and I made a couple of weeks ago. I think I have things pretty much under control.

I've also been doing some reading about the history of the area - mainly about the Plains Indians and westward expansion of the U.S. Specifically:

* Black Elk Speaks: Being the Life Story of a Holy Man of the Oglala Sioux: this is one of my favorite books, and I re-read it from time to time - which usually gets me a laugh and an eye-roll from Darling Wife, and a comment like "Again? And will you be reading 'Desert Solitaire' again when you're done that?" What can I say, some books can stand up to re-readings, and this is one of them. The book is the result of a series of conversations with a Sioux medicine man and mystic in the 1930's. He was a teenage boy at the battle of the Little Bighorn, and witnessed the aftermath of the massacre at Wounded Knee. Heartbreaking, but deeply affecting. Interestingly, the site of Black Elk's great vision was the summit of Harney Peak, where we'll be hiking to next week.

* Bury My Heart at Wounded Knee: An Indian History of the American West: another classic, but this one I was reading for the first time. The author describes his reason for writing it as follows: "I grew up hearing about the 'winning of the West', and decided to write a history from the perspective of the losers." Fascinating and heartbreaking - the story of promise after promise broken, and a way of life swept away in a flood.

* Neither Wolf nor Dog: an interesting story about a man's encounters with a Lakota elder in recent years. I picked it up out of the Native American section in the library because it looked interesting, and it was. Some deep questions and thoughts on Native American/white man relations.

* The Wolf at Twilight: a continuation of "Neither Wolf nor Dog" a few years after the original story. Also a great read.

* Hiking the Black Hills Country: the Falcon hiking guides are the best (in my opinion), and this just arrived from Amazon. We have to decide on which route we'll take to Harney Peak, and also which hike(s) we'll do in the Wind Cave area. I've given those two sections a quick read, and will read it again in more detail, with a map at my side. If I have time this week, I'll blog more about which hikes I think we should do.

Power Trio

2011-07-23T22:03:00.001-04:00

Band practice has continued most Tuesday nights, and we tentatively have a gig at a bar (I forget which one) in Phoenixville on August 27. We've been adding more songs, and now have well over two hours of material.

Our bass player, Matt, is in a few different bands, and is sometimes unable to make practice. When that happens, we practice anyway, since we enjoy getting together to play. So in that case, I play bass instead of guitar, and we don't do the songs that I have the lead guitar part. We can still play most of the songs in our set list, and we've dubbed that line-up the power trio version of Breakfall.

We had a chance to play a little gig at a house party among aikido friends this afternoon, and as Matt wasn't available, we gigged as a power trio.

The day was hotter than hell (close to 100, after being well over 100 yesterday.) But all things are relative, and the afternoon actually felt pretty good after two hours of vigorous aikido training in the morning in an airless, sweltering basement. So we set up under a tent in the yard, and after a burger and a beer, we launched into our set.

It went great - we played two sets of close to an hour each, and people seemed to enjoy the music. As much as I like playing guitar, I know I'm a better bass player, and I think Joe and I are a really good rhythm section.

It was a fun day, and we now have two successful gigs under our belt. Now we're hoping that the August 27 date really happens (and as a foursome.)

A Voice from Beyond the Grave

2011-07-16T22:41:00.004-04:00

One amusing note from John's visit to talk about gear planning for the upcoming Dakotas trip. Chris is living with me for the time being, and he and John were happy to see each other. Chris sat with us at the kitchen table while we talked and made our lists, then we all went into the family room to watch the Phillies game.

Chris knows the Phillies players very well (probably at least as well as I do), and the three of chatted as we watched the game. When Ryan Howard came up to bat, John said something to the effect of, "How do you like Ryan Howard, Chris? He's pretty good, huh?"

Without missing a beat, Chris answered, "He strikes out too much."

John and I looked at each other and both started laughing. Because we knew where he heard that (repeatedly.)

Dad may be gone, but part of him will still be alive as long as Chris still thinks Ryan Howard is a bum who strikes out too much. To the rest of the world he's one of the top power-hitting first basemen in baseball, winner of a National League MVP award, three-time All Star, etc. But to Dad, and thus to Chris, he's an overpaid bum who strikes out too much.

John and I could only shake our heads and laugh. We could practically hear Dad's voice saying it disgustedly.

Dakotas 2011: Gear Planning

2011-07-12T16:27:00.003-04:00

Unbelievably, our Dakotas trip is now a little over two weeks away. After some e-mail discussion of what gear we'll need to bring, we attempted one last meeting, and settled on the evening of July Fourth at my house. Eric and Ted weren't able to be there, but John and I were able to make a master list of what we needed, and who we thought could bring what. Eric and Ted reviewed the list afterwards and signed off on it.

Basically, we want to make sure we have what we need, and also that we don't over-do anything (e.g., not everyone needs to bring a camp stove or a water purifier.)

The good news is that between the four of us, we already have everything we need. I may go out and get another pair of wool hiking socks or a polypro (wicking) shirt if Walmart is selling them for $10, but there's nothing I need in the way of gear.

One question was how many tents we'll bring. It looks like John and Ted will bring one for the two of them, and Eric and I will bring one (my big Eureka dome tent.) Since we're car camping instead of backpacking, being comfortable is the goal, not keeping our gear small and light.

There's one other category of gear on the list, which I labeled "B&L" - buy and leave. Things like folding camp chairs, a cooler, a pot and frying pan, etc. Things that it makes no sense to take with us on the airplane, and are cheap enough that we can buy them at Walmart out there, use them, then hopefully give to someone when we're done with them (or abandon, as it makes no sense to ship them home.)

So I think we're as prepared as we can be in terms of gear.

Other preparations that need to be done:

My level of fitness. Nothing that can really be done at this point. This has been the worst spring/summer ever in terms of hiking. I haven't been out once. Work has been so busy that I haven't taken days off as I normally would, and weekends have been too busy. My legs are in good shape from aikido, and that will have to do.
Hike planning. I usually make this my job, and I'm behind on my duties this time. I just ordered the "Falcon Guide to Hiking the Black Hills" from Amazon, and need to get on Google and research. We have to plan hikes for the Wind Cave Area, Harney Peak, and Teddy Roosevelt Nat'l Park. To me, this is the funnest part of the planning - reading about the different trails, and deciding which ones we should do.
General area research. I went to the library last weekend and got a number of books on the area (mostly books on the Sioux and the Plains Indians.) More on that in a separate post.

I'm starting to get excited. It can't get here soon enough.

Toronto Trip (Part 3)

2011-07-11T22:33:00.003-04:00

(Continued from here)

Monday (Free Day)

Monday was a free day for everyone except Darling Wife, who as a T.O. native had many family and friends she wanted to see. But for everyone else, it was a day to relax after the non-stop running around with the wedding. I made very clear my desire for some alone time to do some hiking, and it worked out perfectly.

Doing some Internet research, I picked the David Culham Trail, which starts at Erindale Park in Mississauga and follows the Credit River. Marilyn dropped me off at the park shortly after 11am, and I quickly got my bearings. There were a number of geocaches in the park and along the trail, and I picked up a few before hitting the trail. It was a hot muggy day, and I was quite sweaty before I even started my hike.

My most interesting wildlife sighting happened while still in Erindale Park. I was walking on a park trail, and I heard some animated chirping sounds in the brush between the path and the river. Three dark brown weasel/ferret-like animals walked onto the trail, then went back into the brush, chirping like crazy at each other as they went. I tried to get a picture, but they were hidden by the brush by the time I got my camera out. I don't know what they were, and the Google searches I've done haven't shed any light on what they might have been, but they were definitely a mink or weasel or ferret.

I followed the trail for about two hours, stopped for a snack, then came back at a slower pace. The trail wasn't challenging, but it was very pretty. And on a Monday with school still in session, I didn't see many other people.

My pickup time was 4:30, and no one was there at the appointed hour, but god smiled upon me by sending an ice cream truck right at 4:30. I had a large soft-serve cone, and enjoyed it more than you would think possible. I was hot and sweaty and worn out.

Marilyn arrived with Sarah and Greta around 5:00. They had been to the movies, and had a fun afternoon. We hit some rush-hour traffic on the way back to Brampton, and I had a shower and a nap when we got back.

The rest of the night was spent relaxing, packing, and getting ready to leave for home in the morning. But it was a fun day, and one that I very much needed.

Tuesday (Homeward Bound)
Not much to say about the drive home. There was no bad traffic or construction, and we got home a little slower than our hoped-for standard of 9 hours. But that was okay - I could practically do this drive with my eyes closed by now, and we had CBC radio (until it was out of range) and plenty of good music on the iPod.

All in all a very good trip. We were glad to be able to be there for Kyle and Emily's wedding, and we also had a lot of fun with family and friends. Truly a trip to remember.

Suburban Beaver?

2011-07-10T23:57:00.001-04:00

I decided to go for a walk tonight on the Chester Valley Trail. It's not far from my house, and some sections have been in place for some time (though not really marked or publicized at all), and some other sections have just been completed. I went to the section behind the Church Farm School, with an eye to hiding a geocache.

At one point I noticed a little pond off to one side of the trail, and a faint side trail heading toward it. I was interested to get a better look at the pond, and to see if it might be a good place for a cache.

It turned out to be an unexpectedly beautiful spot. It was a small pond, maybe the size of a football field (maybe a little bigger), and it looked something like a Southern swamp, with some big dead trees standing in the water at the far end. There were birds everywhere, making quite a racket, and the place just felt *alive*. It was also alive with insects, dragonflies, etc. - and while I didn't see any, I'm certain there were plenty of turtles, snakes, and other assorted reptiles around.

Then I noticed a large mammal swimming with just its eyes and nose above the water. I thought it had to be something in the muskrat/beaver/otter family. My first thought was beaver, but I wondered if that was possible. It dove under, and I waited and saw it resurface and continue swimming. I couldn't tell if it had the tell-tale flat tail or not. I also noticed that it was swimming toward a big mound of sticks at the other side of the pond.

I was still unsure, but then I started following the side trail around the pond, and I saw that some trees had been gnawed down *exactly* as in the pic at right. So now I think it was a beaver. But I'm kind of shocked that there could be actual wild beavers here in suburbia. How did they get here? Have they always been here? If not, where could it have come from?

Or do muskrats also swim and gnaw down trees? I need to find out!

Toronto Trip (Part 2)

2011-07-09T17:31:00.003-04:00

(Continued from here)

Saturday (The Big Day)

This was the big day, and the house was abuzz with hair appointments, etc. Since my hair needed no special attention, I went for a long walk after breakfast. It was a gray, damp, chilly morning, but I needed to get out and stretch my legs, and I did. Then it was home to join the frenzy of preparation.

We were going to be spending the night in a hotel near the reception venue, so we had our overnight bags packed, and we caravaned from Brampton over to the east side of the city. We checked into our two adjoining rooms at the Westin Prince Hotel, got dressed (a ten-minute job for Ryan and me, somewhat longer for the members of the fairer sex), and got the shuttle (a '67 Jaguar limo) over to the Estates of Sunnybrook, which was the site of both the wedding and the reception.

The wedding itself was perfect. The weather, which was questionable earlier, turned beautiful by mid-afternoon - sunny, blue skies, and warm but not oppressive. The ceremony was lovely, and Darling Wife got through her reading with no major malfunctions.

Then it was inside for cocktails, pictures, dinner, speeches, and dancing. It all went very quickly, and a good time was had by all. I even managed to get my two beautiful young ladies out on the dance floor with me (mortifying them no end, but what can you do.)

As the time got past midnight, my girles were tired and wanted to get the shuttle back to the hotel, so said our goodbyes and called it a night. I found out later that Hailey had requested "Walk This Way" for me from the DJ, and we were gone before they got it on. Oh well...another time.

So I think the big day turned out to be everything that everyone hoped. Everything went according to plan, and it was a fun, exciting, and very memorable day.

Sunday (Tourists in T.O.)

We all slept in a little Sunday morning, only getting up in time for the breakfast buffet downstairs. We met up with Rick and Marilyn, and heard all the stories from after we had gone. The kids were apparently up most of the night, which was confirmed to us when Hailey showed up shortly afterwards bleary-eyed from just a few hours sleep.

Breakfast was big and delicious, then we checked out of our rooms and drove downtown. I've done the Toronto touristy things before, but we wanted to show my girls the sights. It was kind of surprising how little we did in one afternoon. We walked around a bit, went up to the top of the CN Tower, had lunch, went to Kyle and Emily's condo (gorgeous, on the 27th floor overlooking the lake), then we were basically done. We drove back to Brampton, went out for dinner, then went back to the house to celebrate my littlest girl's 14th birthday. We were all exhausted at this point, and pretty much collapsed into bed.

We realize in hindsight that we were just too tired after the wedding day to have been too ambitious today. It was still a fun day, but we're all kind of hung-over (not literally, just weary from the pace of the last few days.) Tomorrow will be a chance to unwind and relax before heading home again.

(Continued here)

Gardening Update

2011-07-09T15:13:00.001-04:00

...or "First Tomatoes"

Everything continues to go well with all things green. I've already written about my day with Chris at the River last weekend, but I didn't mention my gardening.

While the back planterbox is a huge improvement over the untended jungle it's been for the past few years, it's still fairly sparse. I'll try to remedy that next year, but I thought maybe I could fill in some more geraniums behind the ones that I've already planted. So we stopped at a garden center on the way down, but they're no longer selling geraniums. They did have Black-eyed Susans, which I know are one of Darling Wife's favorites, so we got three. I also wanted to put something in my grandpop's round planter at the front, so I got a few red impatiens.

I got the new plants in the ground first thing. I put the Black-eyed Susans behind the marigolds. There's still a big empty space behind the geraniums, but I'll fill that in next year.

Then I went around front to the round planter. It had obviously not been paid any attention in years, and there was a young maple tree growing from it. I cleared it out with no little difficulty, replaced most of the dirt, and planted the impatiens. I felt good to have taken care of this, as my boyhood memory is that grandpop always had this well-tended and full of red geraniums.

Exciting news at home is that I picked two perfect red round cherry tomatoes this morning. And there are plenty more to come. Both plants look healthy and are full to bursting with big round green tomatoes. My cucumber vines are also very healthy-looking, with a number of flowers, and two cucumbers that look ready to pick in a few more days. The vines want to spread out horizontally, but I'm trying to coax them to go up instead.

More gardening news periodically.

Anniversary at the River

2011-07-07T22:42:00.002-04:00

Last Sunday I went to the River for the day with Chris. He's been staying with us since Mom's been in the hospital, and even though the forecast was questionable, I really wanted to get him down there. So we went and had a very nice day - the weather turned out fine, Chris spent a lot of time at the Big Pier (where everyone knows him), and I had a lot of time to read, think, walk, and even fish a little (not even a nibble.)

I also had another bald eagle sighting at very close range. I was fishing under the big tree that overhangs the water, and I saw a big bird coming in across the water toward me. It had to be either an osprey or an eagle. It came closer and closer, and the white head and tail feathers were quite pronounced, and it was a big one. I think it intended to land in the tree I was sitting under, because it was aimed right at me until the very last minute when it swerved away. It soared away toward Ordinary Point, and I was able to follow its flight for maybe five minutes.

I realized as I was sitting on the front porch that the weekend was my 47th anniversary of being there. It's a story my parents have told many times, but why not tell some of those stories here?

I was born in June, and Mom assumed they would not be going to the River for the rest of the summer, which was a heavy blow to her, as it was her parents' vacation house, and they went there every single summer weekend without fail. Well, July Fourth weekend came around, and the weather was good, so Dad said, "Why don't you call the doctor and see what he says about taking the baby to the River?"

She did, and the answer was, "Sure, go ahead, just take your own tap water instead of using the well water there."

So they packed up their three-week-old baby and spent the holiday weekend there. Apparently they would put me on my back in a playpen, and I would look up at the trees and pretty quickly fall asleep.

Last weekend I continued my napping tradition, but inside this time. I went up to the main upstairs bedroom, opened windows on three sides so I could get some cross-breeze and hear the water and the stirring air. Paradise.

Massimo Sensei, 6/25/11

2011-06-25T20:30:00.005-04:00

I had a chance to attend the Saturday morning class of a weekend seminar at the dojo where I started training (these many years ago.) I'm always glad for the chance to see my first teacher, and the friends I have there. It was also my first time seeing a teacher I've heard good things about, Massimo di Villadorata Sensei, the chief instructor of the Montreal Aikikai.

The morning turned out to be everything I hoped it would be. It was great to see some friends, and Sensei led a fun and energetic class. He's been training for 45 years, and had the enthusiasm of a beginner. He said a lot of things I very much agree with (paraphrased as best I can remember):

"Keep moving. Be *active* - not aggressive, not passive. You have to find that place, that middle ground."
"Maintain the connection. The connection is everything."
"Aikido can be used to break bones, hurt people. That's not interesting to me, and not why I keep training after 45 years. I keep training because I learn about myself. I discover the places where I'm too aggressive, or too much ego, or where I want to *possess* things. Through training, I work on improving myself."
"In each interaction, you have to create what you want." (I would substitute "create what you intend.")
"You can only control yourself, you cannot control anyone else. All the work is on yourself."
"I'm not free because someone gives me permission to be free. I'm free because *I* give myself permission to be free."

I'm totally on board with this, and it's why I train. But as much as I like the words and the philosophy, it can only be fully understood viscerally. So we try and try again and strain and sweat and try a little harder - and maybe I understand things a tiny bit better than I did before.

He also obviously has yoga background, as he tossed some Sanskrit words ("ahimsa" that I can remember, and I think some others) casually into conversation (and without elaboration, likely leaving some people confused.) I would love the chance to chat with him, as I see yoga and aikido as two sides of the same coin - the only difference is that one is training with a partner, and one is training without.

Fun class, great training, and I will look for chances to train with Massimo Sensei again.

Toronto Trip (Part 1)

2011-06-19T22:34:00.007-04:00

Over the long Memorial Day weekend, me and the whole family loaded up a rental minivan and drove to Darling Wife's home-and-native-land for Kyle and Emily's wedding. I meant to blog about it during or shortly after the actual trip, but I wasn't able to do that, so I'll post a very abbreviated version now, just to have some record of it.

Thursday (Drive to Brampton)

We've done this drive often enough to know the drill. If all goes well (i.e., no construction or traffic delays), and with minimal stops, it's a 9-hour drive - seven to the border, and two more around the lake to Brampton. My preference is to get up early and on the road, and after some negotiations, we left around 7:30.

As this was my girls' first time making this trip (and first time out of the U.S.), we decided to break up the day with a stop at Niagara Falls. It's a sight worth seeing (though not a place worth more than a quick stop - unless you like casinos, wax museums, and schlocky tourist-trap-type outlets.)

Everything went well. We made our usual round of coffee and pee stops, a slightly longer stop at an I-90 rest stop for lunch, and an hour sightseeing at the Falls.

From there, we made great time to Brampton, with my girls gawking at everything they noticed different about Canada - mainly the metric system ("Whoa, Dad, the speed limit is 100 miles per hour." "No, Sarah, that's 100 kilometers per hour - and I'm doing 115 at the moment."), signs in two languages, and the flags. When Darling Wife moved here, she was struck by how many American flags she saw, everywhere. I don't notice them. But when we cross the border, I'm struck by the number of Canadian flags everywhere, on everything - which she doesn't notice.

We settled in quickly at the Trains, who had drinks and sandwiches ready for us. We chatted for a while and told them about our trip, and listened to stories of the frantic preparations for the upcoming wedding.

After some more unpacking, I decided to walk over to the local park. It was a nice cool night and I felt like I needed to stretch my legs. Then a little more chatting with the in-laws, and to bed.

Friday (Visit with Duffy, Wedding Rehearsal)
Despite the tiring day yesterday, we were all up fairly early, and Rick made us a big delicious breakfast of French toast and bacon. The plan for the day was to go into Weston and visit Grandpa Duffy, then the rehearsal and rehearsal dinner at night (which we just found out included us - Darling Wife, since she's doing a reading in the wedding, and me as her ~~boy toy~~ date.)

And that's what happened. We picked Duffy up at the apartment, took him for a late lunch (Tim Horton's), then drove around Weston (mostly noting how much things have changed since they left). By the time we got Duffy back home and ourselves back to Brampton, it was time to get dressed and ready for the rehearsal.

We had to drive to the east end of the city in rush hour, but it worked out okay. The rehearsal went fine - and I discovered that the wedding is outdoors. The forecast is calling for a chance of rain tomorrow, and I wonder if there's a Plan B if it rains?

Then it was back to the hotel for the rehearsal dinner. The meal and company were great, but we were beat when it was over. Darling Wife and I had talked about the possibility of going out for a drink, but there was no energy left for anything but home and to bed. Exciting day tomorrow.

(Continued here)

Gardening Update and Father's Day

2011-06-18T21:21:00.007-04:00

A quick gardening update: we've had a good combination of rainy and sunny days, and everything is growing nicely. My two cherry tomato plants are looking healthy and strong, and there are little green tomatoes on the vines. My cucumber vines are also looking healthy and strong, and I'm going to have to put up, 1) trellises or tomato cages so they'll have something to climb, and 2) some chicken wire around the whole garden so that rabbits and other little critters won't eat everything up.

My under-the-bird-feeders flower garden is also thriving. I planted marigolds of various colors, and an annual little red flower whose name I can't remember. I made this little garden so I could avoid having to mow around the bird feeders, and also to give a little splash of color when I look out at the bird feeders. It's serving both purposes perfectly.

This weekend is also Father's Day, which is especially emotional this year. It's more than six months since Dad left his body, and I think of him every day - not really with sadness, because it was certainly his time. More with a sense of gratitude for his presence in my life, and the bittersweet feeling of missing him. I still half expect the phone to ring and hear his voice, asking me how I am, and wanting to talk about the Phillies, or wanting to tell me about his day working in his garden.

What's most surprising is what I don't feel. When he was failing, and I imagined life without him, I thought the world would feel like a colder place without him - that there would be a hollow spot - as no one on this earth will ever love me the way he did. Happily, this hasn't been the case. I miss him in many ways, but I still do feel his presence - not in some supernatural way, but just that he's still with me. The world does not feel like a colder place.

But I know that time passes and wheels turn, and now it's my turn to do the things he did. And I'm happy to be able to do that this weekend. I'm getting my girls to the places they need to be, and supporting them doing fun things and being with their friends.

Specifically, I'm currently in a Starbucks in Baltimore's Inner Harbor. Sarah is at an Owl City concert, and I'm enjoying some time to read, write, and people watch. She's 16 and perfectly capable of seeing a show by herself. But I took her to her first Owl City concert a year or two ago, repaying a debt to my Dad (and with far less trauma than my first concert that he took us to.)

I'm happy to do these things in general, and especially this weekend as a tip of the cap to Dad.

Aikido and New Eyes

2011-06-16T22:05:00.000-04:00

There's a quote I heard somewhere a while back that I really like (and have as a quote on my Facebook page.) It's from author Marcel Proust, and goes as follows:

"The real voyage of discovery consists not in seeking new landscapes but in having new eyes."

I think this is true in general, and it was true for me last night at aikido. As usual on Wednesdays, my friend Eric came down to teach. We started training slowly and mindfully, working on studying movement (which can only be done when moving slowly.) He worked on some aspects of the irimi tenkan exercise - the most basic aikido movement which every beginner learns in their first class, and which we do every single class.

But just because we do it every single class doesn't mean it's a mindless warm-up exercise. As with so many things, it's what Saotome Sensei calls "simple, not easy." As your partner grabs your wrist, the point is to connect with your partner, subtly break their balance while keeping yours, and use that balance break to move them off their center and around you. Oh, and without muscling them or clashing. Not at all easy.

As Eric showed it last night (making it look effortless in a way I can only dream of), I saw something I hadn't picked up on before. With the wrist as the point of connection, he was affecting his partner's elbow, which affected their shoulder, then into their center. Somehow that hadn't registered before. I'm not sure what I was doing - trying to go directly into their center? I'm not sure, I just know that sometimes it worked well enough...other times, not so much. But I now have something to specifically pay attention to that will give me feedback on how I'm doing with this most basic of movements. First, affect the elbow.

So, as the quote says, new eyes.

Great class, and the post-training beer at Victory wasn't too bad either.

Twitter Trip Report?

2011-06-15T15:47:00.001-04:00

I've always found the concept of Twitter somewhat appalling and self-indulgent (says the guy with how many blogs?) I'm sure there are valid and reasonable uses for it, but I've never been remotely tempted to use it. I do have an account, which I've never used - I decided a while ago to sign up and get an account name, in case I ever found a use for it.

Now I can actually think of a use. I'm thinking about the possibility of micro-blogging during the upcoming Dakotas trip. It seems like a good way to keep in touch, and anyone interested will be able to follow where we are and what we're doing. As long as I have cell phone service, I can text updates. I realize that we're going to be in some really remote areas, and we may not have cell service in places (I'm thinking specifically of the three days in Theodore Roosevelt National Park), but it seems like it's worth a try.

I will of course be taking pen-and-paper notes, which I'll make into my usual trip reports upon returning, but this seems like something I'm going to try.

Red-tailed Hawks at the Franklin Institute

2011-06-12T14:54:00.001-04:00

For the third straight year, a pair of red-tailed hawks has a nest of babies on a ledge of the Franklin Institute in downtown Philadelphia. There's a live webcam, and a blog of highlights of the activities of the parents and the young ones.

The first of this year's eggs hatched on Easter Sunday, but I've been distracted with general busyness, and they'd basically fallen off my radar. I just dug up the link to the blog, and I can hardly believe how fast they've grown. The young ones look like actual hawks, not little puff-balls, and one flew for the first time this morning.

I need to read the last month's worth of blog posts and see what I've missed. The blog is now on my Blog List (on the right), and I will make a point to look in on them every day.

Two Bald Eagles

2011-06-07T17:16:00.000-04:00

...or "One Bald Eagle Twice"

I went to the River for the day on Sunday. I arrived late morning, and after visiting with Mom, I decided I needed to stretch my legs. I asked Chris if he wanted to walk with me, and he did, so off we went.

We made our way through the park and down to the Big Pier, then came back and walked up toward the end of the road. As we rounded the last bend in the road, we flushed a big bald eagle out the top of one of the roadside pine trees. He soared across the corn field away from the river, then turned back past us, climbing above the trees until he was out of sight. My camera was in my pocket, and I scrambled to turn it on, but all I got was a shot a a brown speck in the sky. That was disappointing, but it was a thrill to see such a big pretty bird at such close range.

When we got back to the house, I walked out front toward the river, and was very surprised when I spooked another bald eagle out of one of our trees by the water. He took off and soared over the water to the far side of the river. I was faster with my camera this time, and got a shot where you can at least see the white tail feathers.

As I've written before, bald eagles are now actually fairly common on the Sassafras. Now that I know where to look, I see one almost every time I'm out in the kayak, and often when I'm on the beach at the Big Pier.

I've been asked if perhaps I'm not mistaking ospreys for bald eagles. I'm certain I'm not. I know what an osprey looks like and flies like. There are plenty of ospreys around - more ospreys than bald eagles - but the bald eagles are unmistakable. They're bigger, and they have the pure white head and pure white tail-feathers.

As the day turned out, I wasn't able to stay at the River much longer on Sunday. But in my short time there, I saw either two bald eagles, one one bald eagle twice.

The Planter Box

2011-05-22T20:48:00.007-04:00

I've been wanting badly to get down to the River. I haven't been down since a brief stop-in on my last Sunday wandering. Today seemed like a good day, and with no plans for the day, I thought I might get an early start and spend the day - giving me time to both do some work and spend some time relaxing (and maybe even a little fishing.)

Nice plans, but they didn't work out. After two late nights, I needed to sleep in. And then we lounged in bed some more. With the morning getting on, it didn't seem like there was enough time to get down there and enjoy the place before having to get home again. But then I thought of the back planter box and decided what to do.

The back planter box was Grandpop's pride and joy. He always worked hard and kept it well-tended. In the many years since his passing, we've paid attention to it occasionally, but it's been more often neglected than taken care of. And the "taking care of" has been either Dad's or Eric's work, never mine.

Darling Wife would have been happy to come with me, but she has a million and one details to work out before we leave for her home and native land in a few days.

So I thought I could go down, stop at a nursery on the way to pick up both plants and tools (spade, trowel, etc.), as I wasn't sure there were any still down there. I realized as I was thinking about this that I wouldn't be able to get in the house - Ryan had my keys, and he was out. But no matter, I wouldn't really have time enough for anything except the planter box anyway (though I was disappointed to not have access to my fishing pole.)

I made it down in good time, stopping at a Home Depot for flowers and supplies. It was warm and gray when I arrived, and I immediately realized that I had *way* underestimated the work it was going to take just to clear the planter box, before I could plant anything. It was completely overgrown, not just with weeds, but with small trees and vines and ivy. Ugh. But there was nothing to do but get to work.

After working a little while, I realized I had my camera and could document my progress. The first shot is 1:42pm, and I've cleared maybe a quarter of the box. The next shot is at 2:30pm, and the box is clear except for a couple bigger trees that I had a lot of trouble getting. The third pic is at 3:04pm, and the box is completely cleared, and all the earth thoroughly turned over. The last pic is at 4:26pm, and I'm done (not to mention worn out.)

From left to right I planted marigolds, then the blue ones are lobelias (possibly a mistake, as I saw after getting them to the house that they like shade), then red begonias, then geraniums (which I know Mom likes.)

At the back left, I planted two things that probably won't grow, but when I saw them in Home Depot, I just had to try. A blackberry plant and a blueberry plant. If they survive and start to grow, I'll put up a trellis, or whatever they need. But I'm not getting my hopes up.

While I couldn't get into the house, the outside water was on, so I had the hose. I watered everything, and washed myself as well as I could. I had a change of socks and t-shirt with me, so I changed, walked out front by the river, then headed home. It was a fun day of honest labor, and I hope everything survives, and that Mom enjoys it. I think we all will.

"Stop All This Nonsense and Get a Haircut"

2011-05-20T08:21:00.001-04:00

I'm not sure where this quote is from, and Google didn't help me shed any light on it. It's one we used to use a bit (and always said in a big Southern drawl.) I think it's a Southern sherriff talking to hippie protesters in the 60's.

Anyway, the quote popped into my head this week because I need to stop all this nonsense and get a haircut. After a number of years (7? 8? 9?) of having a short crewcut, maintained by Darling Wife, who buzzed me every 7-10 days - I decided in January to start growing hair. It was just a whim, to change things up.

Five months later, it's grown to the point where I need to do something about it. The ladies in my house now seem to regard me as an experiment gone horribly wrong, and conversations often end with their eyes moving from my face upwards, a look of dismay, and a muttered, "you've got to do something about that."

And now it's finally true. With the upcoming Royal Wedding, I need to do something. But I'm not sure what. A friend said in (mock?) exasperation, "You just go to a stylist." To which I replied, "Is that something like a barber?"

I have to figure something out this weekend. I'm not even sure where to go or what to ask for. I will not do anything that requires maintenance or "product" (or basically, anything that requires me to think about it.) That's why I loved the crewcut, and why it's only a matter of time until I get out the shears and go back to it. But not yet.

A Glancing Blow

2011-05-19T20:48:00.002-04:00

...or "Almost a Repeat of a Bad Night"

Last night in aikido class, we were practicing knife take-aways. The attacker has a wooden replica knife (called a tanto), and tries to slice or stab the partner. We were practicing take-aways from a number of standard attacks, which is both fun and intense.

At one point I was paired with my teacher, and the attack was a straight-ahead downward stab. On his turn, he attacked, I entered...and apparently didn't get off the line enough. There was the distinct sound of a "clunk" - the wooden weapon glancing off the side of my forehead. It didn't hurt a bit, and I completed the technique. We took a look to make sure I wasn't bleeding (thankfully I wasn't), and had a laugh.

This was *way* too close of a repeat of last June's Eight Stitches and a Tetanus Shot. And I was working with the same partner (my teacher!) Darling Wife was seriously freaked out by that incident, and a repeat would make life at home unpleasant. And my partner knows this, and doesn't want any Canadians angry at him.

So luckily it was a glancing blow and a very near miss. The audible "clunk" was disturbing, but *thankfully* it didn't split the skin. Perhaps the lesson will finally sink in - get off the line!

As a postscript to last June's incident, the kata in question has now been named for me (among our little group.) We don't do the higher level katas (#6 through #12) that often, so we give them short names to help remember them. #7 is "teapot", and #8 is "flying bokken" (after someone else's mortifying moment.) Well, since last June, #10 is now "Bloody Dave." My very own claim to fame.

Dakotas 2011: Planning

2011-05-18T08:45:00.003-04:00

I've been lax on blogging about the upcoming boys' hiking trip. We've been planning it since January in our usual pattern (flurries of e-mails mixed with occasional get-togethers.) Darling Wife rolls her eyes (I think in an amused way) over our love of maps and trip planning, but we really do love it (as well as it being a good excuse for John and Eric to pop open a bottle of something good.)

This will be the fifth consecutive year of a boys trip. The first year (Utah/Arizona 2007), I couldn't have been more shocked that it actually happened, but it's become such a successful tradition that it now seems a given that there will be a next year's trip.

As usual, we're alternating big trips (i.e., flying) with smaller trips (i.e., driving.) Since last year was a driving trip (Great Smokies), this year is a bigger trip. We're going to spend eight days camping and hiking in the Dakotas in early August.

Personnel notes: John, Ted, and I are the constants. Phil, who has made every trip except Grand Canyon '09, is out this year. He has too many family things going on, which we understand, but are sad that he can't come. Joining us for the first time is Brother Eric. I'm thrilled that he's coming with us - though possibly not as thrilled as he is.

Here is the trip itinerary:

Fri: take an evening flight to Denver, pick up a rental van, drive to Fort Collins, CO, where we have a motel room. (The drive to Fort Collins is just to get out of the Denver metro area, which should make the next day's drive a little easier.)
Sat: buy supplies in Fort Collins then get to Wind Cave National Park in South Dakota via Scotts Bluff, NE.
Sun: Wind Cave N.P. hiking, then see Mount Rushmore, ending the day by setting up camp in the Harney Peak area. All in SD. I've seen Mt. Rushmore and have no desire to see it again, but not everyone has, and it's not far out of our way.
Mon: hiking around Harney Peak.
Tue: Devils Tower, WY and then cutting through the corner of MT on the way to Bowman, ND (on the way to Theodore Roosevelt National Park).
Wed: Teddy Roosevelt National Park ND. Arrive, set up camp, and do an afternoon hike.
Thu: TRNP ND. We really want to hike the Achenbach Trail, but it's a rugged 16-mile loop, and all the trip reports I've seen say it's a two-day backpack, not a one-day hike. And there's no way to shorten the loop. So we may do a portion of it as an out-and-back hike.
Fri: TRNP ND and the loooong haul (9+ hours of interstate highway driving) to Minneapolis, MN.
Sat: fly home from Minneapolis.

It's a good plan, and it's pretty much set. Flights are booked, plus a couple night's motel rooms, plus campsites wherever we could (some are first-come-first-served.) We'll see some great sights and do some great hiking. Eric and I will also grab geocaches in a number of new states (possibly seven new ones for me: Colorado, Nebraska, Wyoming, South Dakota, Montana, North Dakota, and Minnesota.)

Cherry Blossoms

2011-05-17T21:20:00.001-04:00

A couple weeks after Dad's passing, I got a note from my aikido friends, saying they had reserved a large flowering cherry tree for me at a local nursery in memory of Dad. It was December by that point, and by the time I contacted the nursery, they were closed for the winter, and I was told to come back in the spring.

In late March I went to see them, and arranged for the delivery. And I found out they weren't exaggerating about the size of the tree - it really was big (maybe 9 feet tall, with a substantial trunk and a good-sized root ball - definitely not a stick.)

It arrived on April 4, on the back of a big landscaping truck, and was deposited at the end of my driveway. I had a place in mind for it - an open spot 10-15 feet beyond the end of the driveway, where I would see it every time I got in the car.

I had another realization at this point. Big means heavy. *Really* heavy. They have special equipment for moving trees that size. My friends, when giving me the tree, said they would come over and help plant it, but I wanted to do it myself. So I got digging.

The instructions were to dig a hole as deep as the root ball, and twice as wide. That meant about a two-feet-deep and five-feet-wide diameter hole, which was quite a bit of effort, but I got it done over two days (and also made me reconsider my occasionally-stated desire to dig ditches for a living.) Then I rocked and rolled the tree from the driveway to the hole, and somehow got it in without giving myself a hernia. Then it was just a matter of filling in the dirt, and watering it like crazy.

So it was officially in the ground on April 6. I didn't have to water it from that point, as we got days of rain alternating with days of sun in the weeks after planting.

My next question was would it bloom this year, or would I have to wait until next year?

I didn't have to wait long for the answer. By the last week of April there were dark red blossoms forming, and by May Day there were pink flowers.

I couldn't be more grateful for this beautiful and thoughtful gift.

Rocking the House

2011-05-09T11:03:00.003-04:00

At last weekend's aikido seminar, by tradition there was a party Saturday night after training. This is always a good time of grilled meats and cold beverages.

Last year we brought our acoustic guitars to the party, as we'd been having our aikido dinner party/jam sessions at that point. This year, we also talked about bringing the acoustics, but Mike (the host) told us there would be space and electrical hookups if we wanted to plug in and play.

We didn't have to be asked twice. It's no problem to bring an acoustic, and electric, and an amp. The only pain, as it always is, is the drums. But we got everything set up with no trouble, and after dinner and a beer or two, we got ready to play.

We were excited, after our weeks of rehearsing, to actually play for a group of friends. But I was also a little apprehensive - not about our playing itself, but about whether or not people really wanted to hear us. My fear was that people might want to talk, and might be annoyed at having trouble hearing themselves over our playing.

It was a groundless fear. The minute we started playing, people jumped up, dancing and singing. We don't have anything too obscure in our set list, and everyone seemed really into it from the very start. We rolled through our first set without interruption, then took a break. At that point, I was still wondering if we might be annoying some people, but all I heard was "You guys sound great", and "Get back up there and play some more."

We launched into our second set, and many of the ladies at this point had wooden spoons that they were using as microphones. There was also a turkey baster being used as a mic.

Early in the second set, the host came over and asked us to turn it down two notches. Apparently the local police came by with noise complaints. We did, although it didn't seem like we actually got any more quieter.

We rolled through the second set, skipping only one song (The Grateful Dead's "Bertha", because Matt and I switch off guitar for bass, and we decided not to stop and switch.)

It was a fantastic time. We loved playing, and our friends were really into it. It was basically a dress rehearsal for our gig - or you could consider it an actual gig. We weren't perfect, but we rocked the house, got people up and dancing, and even got the police called. Very gratifying, and I'll take it.

Farmer Dave

2011-05-08T19:27:00.003-04:00

I was reminded, on this beautiful sunny Mother's Day, that digging in the dirt is a pleasure all its own. Gardening was Dad's greatest pleasure. When I was a boy, our flower-beds were always well-tended, and come August, we usually had so many big juicy tomatoes that he would send us around the neighborhood to give them away. I never understood the enjoyment he got from it, and would grumble under my breath when asked to help work in his gardens.

Now that a number of years have passed, things have come full circle. I won't say that it's my greatest pleasure, but I now understand the rewards that come from planting and tending growing things.

I spent most of today digging and planting, and it was a pleasure. Mom now has colorful flower-beds out front to enjoy, and there are now flowers under my bird feeders. There are also, yes, two cherry tomato plants in a little vegetable garden I have out back, plus cucumbers. The vegetable garden doesn't get enough sun to really thrive, but I've been doing it for a few years now, and it always does well enough.

And it really is a pleasure. Pushing a spade into the earth just has a feel to it, and turning over the earth just has a smell to it. Preparing the beds just so, and tamping in the plants has a tactile component that I enjoy. Also, it just feels good to get out in the sun and work and sweat. It's good honest work, and gives me a feeling of connection with the Earth that I don't get any other way.

Completing the circle, there are a fresh batch of offspring who can't understand why I want to go out in the hot sun and get dirty and sweaty. I hope one day they'll understand.

Pre-seminar with Betsy

2011-05-07T21:29:00.000-04:00

Last weekend was our big annual aikido seminar with Lee Sensei. And for the second straight year, we had a pre-seminar treat. Betsy, one of Lee Sensei's long-time senior students, was coming in from Cleveland for the seminar, and came in a couple days early and taught our Wednesday and Thursday classes.

She was recently promoted to yondan (fourth degree black belt), and her aikido is both very martial and very soft at the same time. We worked on softness and connection for most of the two classes - but if she noticed that you were leaving yourself open to a strike or kick, she would deliver it (not landing the strike hard, but showing the opening.)

We did a number of soft ukemi (or falling) exercises - basically the first few exercises from this clip. Being able to take this kind of ukemi allows you to stay connected to your partner longer (which lets you feel the technique longer), and also (obviously) allows you to fall softly and avoid injury.

I have the form of the exercises down, but I'm not graceful yet. Hopefully with continued practice that will come.

Dad and Baseball (Part 2)

2011-05-06T22:25:00.001-04:00

At home or in the car, Phillies games on the radio were a way of life. And that's the reason that the deaths of both Richie Ashburn and Harry Kalas were so emotional to me, and so many people. They were a constant presence in our lives for six months of the year. I have so many memories of driving in the car late at night, or outside at the river after dinner, or in the yard while Dad gardened - and Harry and Richie were calling the game.

Dad loved the Phillies, but he could be intensely critical of them. In his mind, there was a right way to play, and it was something of a moral virtue to playing that way. He liked smart, aggressive play - good fielding, good baserunning, and smart hitting. He defined smart hitting as knowing the strike zone and putting the ball in play. Swinging at bad pitches and striking out a lot were unforgivable sins.

This meant that he didn't especially like home run hitters, as they tend to strike out a lot. I think he viewed the home run hitters as somehow selfish - going for the glory of the big stroke, while letting his teammates down all the other times he struck out. Whatever his reasons, he never warmed up to Mike Schmidt, and never warmed up to Ryan Howard. Two of the best baseball players of their respective eras? No, two highly overpaid selfish bums who struck out too often.

(To be continued.)

Dad and Baseball (Part 1)

2011-04-21T20:30:00.000-04:00

With baseball season here, I've been thinking about Dad and baseball. I've had a blog post in mind for a while, and finally realized that it's too big a subject for one post, so I'll divide it up (somehow.)

Suffice it to say that baseball was Dad's game. Which is only natural - for anyone growing up in the 30's, baseball was *the* game. He was raised on it. His dad was apparently a more-than-competent baseball player, and even played some semi-pro ball. In those days (the early 1900's), companies often had baseball teams, and would hire good players to jobs so they could play on the company team.

In the 30's and 40's, Philadelphia had two teams, the Phillies and the A's, and the A's were the first-class team. I grew up hearing the stories of the glory days of the A's. The '29-'31 World Series teams, and the Hall-of-Famers that Connie Mack assembled. Jimmie Foxx, from Sudlersville, MD, a Ruthian slugger. Lefty Grove, who when he posted a record of 29-5 after his year of 31-4, was asked to take a pay cut.

By the time Dad was following the team himself, the glory days were long gone, and the A's were a cellar-dweller. But they were still his team. He said he went to a game or two a year with the Boy Scouts, and he saw some great players, even if they weren't playing for the A's. He said for a few years in a row, they saw Bob Feller and Cleveland Indians, and Feller was as close to unhittable as anyone he ever saw. He saw Ted Williams and the Boston Red Sox, and said he never saw a sweeter swing, or anyone hit the ball as hard.

Dad took me to my first Phillies game in (I think) 1971, which was the first year of Veterans Stadium. One of my lasting regrets is that I never saw a game at Connie Mack Stadium, but what can you do? Anyway, Dad was given two tickets to the IVB Superbox (the private box of a bank he did business with.) It was a different era, and gifts like that are now generally frowned upon as a conflict of interest.

It was an unforgettable spectacle to a seven-year-old boy - being inside the huge stadium, the expanse of green outfield. I'm almost certain that the Phillies were playing the Dodgers. I'm pretty sure Tommy John was pitching for the Dodgers, and I remember Dad pointing him out warming up.

As we grew older, we went as a family to Phillies games a few times a year. We always got tickets in advance, for Sunday afternoon give-away days. All kids 14 and under would get a Phillies cap, or a batting glove, or even a bat. It seems like we got more than our share of rainy days, and I clearly remember the disappointment of going down to the stadium, waiting out a rain delay, and coming home again when the game was postponed.

(To be continued.)

Sweet Sixteen

2011-04-16T22:36:00.000-04:00

Today marks the sixteenth anniversary of the happiest, most relief-filled day of my life. After nine months of mentally preparing every day for the worst, the very best happened. A beautiful healthy baby girl was born at 2:48am. Her healthy wails were the most beautiful sounds I have ever heard, or will ever hear.

It seemed to me at the time, and still seems now, a miracle. I know it happens thousands of times every single day, and I know the science of what happens with the cells involved. But I stood in a hospital room holding brand new life that didn't exist before, and it absolutely felt miraculous. That memory will never die.

Book Review: "Adventures of Huckleberry Finn"

2011-04-07T14:26:00.002-04:00

After reading Tom Sawyer, Huck Finn seemed like the next logical stop. I probably hadn't read it since a college literature course, and was eager to read it again.

I'm glad I did. I could hardly have enjoyed it more (with one reservation, below.) This book is very rightly considered one of the greatest American novels. It's fantastic on so many levels. His descriptions of rural life in the antebellum South are obviously written by someone who actually witnessed it. His views on human nature are hilarious, cynical, and depressing. His description of the mighty Mississippi River is detailed and loving and beautiful. Again, it was written by someone who knew the river intimately and loved it.

For all its humor, the book is dark, tragic, and pessimistic. Huck is alternately abandoned and abused before running for his life. Jim's attempt at escape from slavery goes horribly wrong, and they end up riding the Misssissippi further and further South, further away from any chance at escaping and freedom.

My reservation with the book is in the ending. I agree completely with the following Ernest Hemingway quote from Wikipedia:

Many subsequent critics, Ernest Hemingway among them, have deprecated the final chapters, claiming the book "devolves into little more than minstrel-show satire and broad comedy" after Jim is detained. Hemingway declared, "All modern American literature comes from" Huck Finn, and hailed it as "the best book we've had". He cautioned, however, "If you must read it you must stop where the Nigger Jim is stolen from the boys. That is the real end. The rest is just cheating."

The last few chapters do feel clumsily bolted on. It's trying to be funny, but it's emphatically not, and the convenient happy ending where everything falls into place feels forced and artificial.

There's been a lot of controversy over whether or not the book should be read in schools, due to the racism and the language. I'm not sure what to think. On one hand, Twain is not *trying* to be racially offensive. His characters think and talk like Southerners thought and talked in the pre-Civil War South. It's dis-honest to pretend they didn't. But I can also understand that a Black person today might find that uncomfortable in a way I can't.

Notwithstanding the end, the book is still a treat. I may have to put Life on the Mississippi back at the top of books to read, as I really can't get enough of his descriptions of the big river.

A Month without Coffee

2011-04-02T12:33:00.001-04:00

Since the calendar now says April, that means I've been one month basically without coffee. I say "basically" because I've had a cup or two when I feel like it. I'll continue to do that. But it's no longer part of my morning routine.

I'd been considering this off-and-on for a while, and then when I saw that the next day was March 1, I decided I'd start it with the new month. I didn't think I would have a problem with caffeine withdrawal, as I've had days without coffee on hiking trips without feeling bad. And it wasn't a problem.

Why give it up? Because I don't like the way it makes me feel. I don't like the mildly jittery feeling, and I don't like how it runs through me. It's a diuretic, and when I drink coffee, I feel like I need to drink a lot of water. So I just thought I'd feel better without it.

That being the case, why drink it in the first place? Because I love the taste of a good cup of coffee. And, thinking about it, I like the ritual of the cup of coffee. I like the breaks it provides in the work morning, and I enjoy it when there's time to sit in a Starbucks or coffee shop with a cup and a newspaper or iPod.

So after a month, do I feel better? Yes, definitely. Not dramatically night-and-day different, but subtly better.

There are few things more pleasurable than a large Dunkin Donuts coffee with extra cream and no sugar. And I'll still have one once in a while. But the morning routine now involves cups of berry-flavored green tea. I intend for that to continue, and I think it will.

Concert Ticket Stubs (Part 2)

2011-03-30T13:18:00.000-04:00

(Continued from here)

July 8, 1980, Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers, The Spectrum, $9.50
Petty was just breaking big, and I think this was his first tour of headlining arenas. John and Sean saw them at the Tower the year before, but I wasn't at that one. I'm pretty sure they were touring behind Damn the Torpedoes, which is a classic album. I think this was John, Donald, and me - maybe there were others.

July 14, 1980, Ted Nugent, The Spectrum, $8.50
I'm pretty sure this was just me and John for a triple bill. Leading off was Def Leppard, who were brand new - probably teenage kids, but John and I knew of them. Next was The Scorpions, who we were also into, as we were listening to their Animal Magnetism album at the time. And then Ted was the headliner. My strongest memory is how he started the show - swinging from the lighting fixtures on a rope like Tarzan. Oh, and dressed in just a loincloth and buckskin boots.

Sept. 26, 1980, Robert Palmer, Tower Theater, $5.50
Bethanne and I went to this. This was before he became huge on MTV with Addicted to Love. His big songs were Bad Case of Long You and Sneaking Sally through the Alley. We weren't overwhelmed, and I think this is the only concert I ever left before it was over. We were also up high, and it was hot. We just looked at each other like, "Wanna get out of here?" And we did.

Oct. 4, 1980, Blue Oyster Cult, The Spectrum, $7.50
My strongest memory of this night is someone coming out between the opening act and BOC and announcing that Mike Schmidt had hit a tenth inning home run in Montreal to clinch the National League East title. There was a group of us - John and others I can't remember. It was a good show, and I remember the big fire-breathing Godzilla coming out during that song.

Oct. 13, 1980, Jethro Tull, The Spectrum, $7.50
I think this was John, Bethanne, and me. As I recall we were sitting at the side of the stage on the second level, because I could see into the backstage area, which was interesting.

May 22, 1981, Rush, The Spectrum, $9.50
A group of us went to this - Mike and Claire, John, me, and probably others. This was the Moving Pictures tour, and we were big into Rush. I remember they opened with the entire 20-minute 2112.

Oct. 21, 1983, The Moody Blues, The Spectrum, $12.50
I had discovered the Moodies in the past year or so, and was excited about my first chance to see them. I went with Eric, and I think two of his friends from high school. I remember the first song as being confused and out of time, and wondering with dismay what I was in for. But from that point on it was a great show. This was also notable for the opening act - Stevie Ray Vaughn and Double Trouble. I only knew them from Pride and Joy, which was their single on the radio at the time. They blew the place away,and I really couldn't believe anyone could play the guitar like that.

I'm pretty sure there were other concerts in this timeframe, but these are the ticket stubs that were in my envelope. Good times and good memories.

Concert Ticket Stubs (Part 1)

2011-03-29T14:44:00.001-04:00

As mentioned in the previous post on finding my arrowhead, I also found an envelope of old concert ticket stubs. Here they are, in chronological order, with commentary:

May 19, 1979, Van Halen, The Spectrum, $7.50
Possibly the best concert I've ever been to - definitely in the top few. John, Sean, and I went to this, back in the days when the floor was open and you could crush as close to the stage as possible (a practice which ended in December 1979 when 11 people were crushed to death at a Who concert in Cincinnati.) Van Halen was just breaking big, and they were young and full of energy, and it just felt like a supernova. We were close to the stage, packed in like sardines, and the energy was just amazing.

??? 21, 1979, ???, The Spectrum, $7.50
This stub was ripped in half with nothing identifying remaining, but it looks like it was purchased on July 3, which puts it in the summer. I think it has to be The Cars. They were huge, and touring behind Candy-O. I remember that there was virtually no patter between songs - they just played song after song. At least me, John, and Sean went to this - maybe others?

Oct. 19, 1979, Triumph, Tower Theater, $6.50
I went to this one with my cousin Bethanne. We had discovered a mutual love of concerts and this was the first of many we attended over the next couple years. Great high-energy show. John went to a different Triumph show at the Tower (and I wasn't with him) - I'm not sure if that was before or after this.

Oct. 27, 1979, The Song Remains the Same, Tower Theater, $3.00
Yes, the appetite for Led Zeppelin was so intense back then that they ran the Zeppelin concert film as a concert. I believe this was with John and Bethanne.

June 4, 1979, Rod Stewart, The Spectrum, $11.50
This was me, John, and a school friend, Paul. I remember he led off with Hot Legs, and played Do Ya' Think I'm Sexy (his current single) twice. I also remember the ladies in the painted-on leopard print pants up front.

??? ??, 1979, ???, The Spectrum, $7.50
Another one ripped in half with nothing identifying remaining except the year, and the purchase date of Dec. 3. I'm going to take a guess at The Outlaws and Molly Hatchet. There may have been a third band opening. The Outlaws' signature song was Green Grass and High Tides, which turned into a half hour jam a la Free Bird. I went to this with Bethanne and another cousin.

May 9, 1980, Van Halen, The Spectrum, $8.75
After our first Van Halen show, there was no way we were missing them the next year. They were touring behind Women and Children First, and my main memory is of David Lee Roth wearing his skin-tight spandex pants and big fuzzy boots. A group of us went, and I don't remember who besides John was there.

(Continued here)

Arrowhead (Part 2)

2011-03-28T15:44:00.000-04:00

The thought of my lost arrowhead has been bouncing around in my head ever since last Sunday. If it still existed, it had to be here in the house. But where would I have something from so long ago? Then it occurred to me that I have a trunk in the basement with old things - papers, trinkets, photos, etc.

I went down to the basement last night and opened the trunk. Old cards, newspaper clippings, high school and college transcripts, a big plastic bag of photos, etc., etc. Then all the way down at the very bottom were two small white envelopes.

The first had a pile of concert tickets (more about those in the next post.) And the other was labeled in my Mom's writing, "Dave's Arrowhead."

Opening the envelope, there it was, exactly as I remembered, if maybe a little smaller. A perfect pointy triangle, shiny and white. I could hardly be more pleased to hold this in my hand again.

But I also would love to search for more. John points out that he's found some on the north shore of Grove Point (across the river from Betterton and around the corner.) Maybe we'll be able to get over there at some point and look around.

Birdsboro Watershed, 3/26/11

2011-03-26T20:59:00.006-04:00

After an errand to the Honey Brook area, I had the afternoon free. I wanted to get out in the woods and do some hiking, and also possibly find a few geocaches. Looking at the map, I found what looked like a good spot. I was looking at French Creek State Park, which is not too far from Honey Brook and has a network of great trails, and a whole lot of geocaches - but most of the caches there that I haven't found are not in the remote part of the park where I like to hike.

Then I saw an area northwest of the park that wasn't shaded like a park, but that had a lot of geocaches. Looking closer, it was the Birdsboro Reservoir/Watershed. There are some rough trails, but I couldn't find a trail map. That didn't bother me. Some of the logs mentioned a 6-7 miles loop that would take you past a number of the caches, and that sounded perfect. I figured I would find the right trails when I got there.

I got to the parking area around 11:30 and started hiking. The day was sunny and clear, but cool - probably in the low 40's. I realized almost immediately that trails might be a problem - there was a three-way fork, and I ended up trying all three before finding the one that went to the first cache.

I found a few pretty quickly, and was trying to make my westward to Stately Tree - a difficulty 3/4 that I really wanted. The only way I could figure out to get where I wanted to go was to abandon the rudimentary trails and bushwhack, so that's what I did. The going was sometimes a little rough, but more often fairly easy. I passed Birdsboro Reservoir at one point, which was beautiful and surrounded by tall pine trees.

After finding Holey Cache, I had a 0.4 mile uphill bushwhack to "Stately Tree" that was tough going. But I made it and quickly found the cache there. Then it was decision time. There was one more cache to the west, rated 2.5/4, and with no trails visible, it would be a hard downhill bushwhack. As I felt great and the day was still young, I decided to do it.

I got there without too much trouble, and found why it was named Cliff Notes - Purple. Ground zero was at a vertical rocky cliff. I looked around at the top, then made my way around to the bottom. No luck at either place. Then I climbed partway up where I safely could. Nothing. Back at the bottom, I poked around some, then finally moved a small rock in the cliff face, and there was the little purple container. Victory.

At that point, it was time to start back toward the car. It hit the remaining caches on my hike back, and ended up finding all 13 that I had marked. I'm not sure I've ever come back with 100% success with such an ambitious agenda.

I hiked about 7 miles and 3.5 hours, and probably 6 miles of it was bushwhacking. That wasn't too much of a problem today, as the briars and undergrowth are still dormant. In another month when they're alive and thick, I think my route today would be impossible. There's probably a trail route that would let you hit the caches I did today, but I couldn't find it. Googling it now returns nothing.

Fun day - great hiking, good caching. I saw no one in my 3.5 hours in the woods. My map of finds from geocaching.com is at the right. My finds are the yellow smilies, and the red dot at the upper right is where I parked.

Geocaching Update

2011-03-22T15:31:00.002-04:00

I hit a couple geocaching milestones in the past week. The first is 300 finds, which is a nice round number. I used that occasion to ask Eric to run my stats - he has a program that reads your data and summarizes it in various ways. Some random notes from reviewing my stats:

Most finds in a day is 25 (from my January outing with Eric and my nieces.)
Most states in a day is 4 (Pennsylvania, Delaware, Maryland, Virginia) from our trip down to Williamsburg.
I've found caches in 9 different states (Washington, North Carolina, and Tennessee being the farthest from home), and the boys' hiking trip to the Dakotas this summer should let me add five or six western states.
60 percent of my finds were made on Sunday. This is no surprise, as Sunday is the day I'm most likely to have a block of free time.
I have almost as many regular-sized finds (i.e., ammo containers or Tupperware boxes) as micros - 96 to 101. This reflects the kind of caching I like - the "get out in the woods and hike to the cache" rather than "drive up to a guard rail or a parking lot light skirt." Not that I don't have my share of parking lot micros, but I'm glad to have a proportionally large number of "woodsy" caches.

The other milestone was my first hides. I now have two caches in Ridley Creek State Park, and both involve hiking. One is a Rubbermaid container, and the other is a 35mm film canister, both hidden in the woods not far off a hiking trail.

Brother Eric pointed out that I would need official approval to hide cache in a state park, and that was easily done. The caches were published on geocaching.com on Friday afternoon, and both had been found by Friday evening. This would have been shocking to me if Eric hadn't told me that there are serious geocachers who try very hard to be the FTF (first to find) on new caches.

Arrowheads

2011-03-21T16:22:00.001-04:00

I spent some time walking on the beach of the Sassafras River yesterday, in a few different locations. Seeing the stones, shells, and gravel in the sand always makes me think about arrowheads.

I was told growing up that where our house is now was the site of a Tockwogh Indian village, and it makes sense - the house is on a point with water on three sides. Also, in Captain John Smith's 1608 exploration of the Upper Bay, his description of the main Tockwogh village sounds very much like it could be where we are. But more than just speculation, we have physical evidence - in the form of arrowheads.

When I was very young, the houses had no bulkheads or sea walls - you just walked out to the beach and into the water. Apparently most of the families had collections of arrowheads that they found on the beach. And I had one myself. I had it the entire time I was living in my parents' house - I can see it clearly in my mind's eye. It was shiny, white (what Dad called marble, but which I'm pretty sure wasn't) and shaped like the graphic on the right. I had it in a white envelope, and it was in my drawer of treasures.

I have no idea where it is now. I might have it, or it might still be at Mom's house. More likely that I have it, but who knows where. I'd really like to have it again.

I'd also love to find more arrowheads. That might be difficult to impossible now, as the beach has been thoroughly dug up with the two versions of bulkheading we've had. But when I walk the beach, I'm looking, and maye one day I'll find an arrowhead of my own.

Sassafras Sunday, 3/20

2011-03-20T21:45:00.002-04:00

With a free Sunday and a bad case of cabin fever, I decided to hit the road and wander down towards the Sassafras River. I thought I could see some sights, pick up a few geocaches, and do some good walking/hiking. Details follow.

Mount Harmon Plantation dates from the 18th century, and was originally a tobacco plantation. The house been been restored, and the grounds are beautiful. The house is not open for the season yet, but you can drive up to it (using the two-mile, one-lane driveway) and walk the grounds. The day was sunny and cool and perfect for walking.

I looked at the formal gardens at the back of the house, then walked down to the water behind the house. I saw a sign for the Cliffside Trail, and followed it. The trail followed the waterfront, and "cliffside" seemed a bit dramatic, as the bluff probably ranged from 2 to 15 feet above the river. There were plenty of fantastic views of the river behind Knight's Island, and as we moved toward the main river, Kentmore Park was clearly visible in the distance.

Darling Wife and I have been talking about coming here and taking the tour for a couple years now, and hopefully this will be the year.

Sassafras Natural Resources Management Area. My next stop was the NRMA, just above Turner's Creek (PDF map here.) I visited here briefly last summer and vowed to return. The NRMA encompasses most of the land between Turner's Creek and Cox Creek, and has hiking trails with great water views. There were also two geocaches I wanted to get.

I hiked all the way to the Sassafras cliffside (which in this case really is a cliff of probably 40 or 50 feet), then followed the trail down to the beach. I walked along the beach toward the mouth of Cox Creek until I couldn't go any further, then went back.

I also got my two geocaches, and I think this is the single best thing about geocaching - by looking at the geocaching.com map, I found this area that I might never have found otherwise.

An amusing anecdote. Walking back toward my car, I passed a fishing pond that I hadn't seen on my hike out. A few people were there fishing, and two young guys were just setting up. One of the guys put his pole down to set up his chair, when the pole was dragged into the water. He splashed in after it and retrieved it, complete with largemouth bass on the hook.

Book Review: "The Adventures of Tom Sawyer"

2011-03-18T09:13:00.003-04:00

I just finished Mark Twain's classic The Adventures of Tom Sawyer, probably for the first time since I was in fourth or fifth grade, and I found it surprisingly delightful. I say "surprisingly" because I somehow got the idea in the intervening years that "Tom Sawyer" is a children's book, while "Huck Finn" is the novel for grown-ups. My rediscovery is that "Tom Sawyer" may be more accessible to children, but it's by no means a "children's book." Twain says so himself in the preface - that the book is meant for boys, and those who remember that they were once boys.

The classic characters are there just as we remember them: Tom, his half-brother Sid, his Aunt Polly, Huck Finn, Becky Thatcher, Injun Joe, etc. And the tales have become classic: Tom convincing his playmates to pay him for the privilege of whitewashing the fence, skipping school to go swimming, swearing blood oaths, running off to play pirate, attending his own funeral, getting lost in the cave with Becky, scary run-ins with Injun Joe, and of course actually finding the robbers' gold at the end. The tales are vintage Mark Twain, and deliciously told.

I imagine this book is no longer required reading in the schools, and that's a crying shame. In these politically correct days, no book that drops the "n" word, looks at black slavery as the normal way of life, and whose villain is the "half-breed" Injun Joe could possibly be read in schools. No matter that it's basically an embellished memoir of Twain's boyhood in 1840's Missouri, and that's how things actually were. It seems to me that's everyone's loss.

I also read an article recently speculating that Tom Sawyer today would be an unhappy boy - that ducking out of the system can't really be done any more. The child psychologists would slap labels on him, and medications would follow.

I'm very happy I decided to pick this up again. It was a quick and wonderful read. I loved it for the same reason that "A Christmas Story" is my favorite movie. There's the same humor in seeing the boy's adventures through the boy's eyes - and also the implied commentary on human nature and the adult world that would be lost on the child reader. This book very definitely deserves its place on the list of all-time classics. I'm certain I'll be re-reading this from time to time.

Next up: "The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn."

Book Review: "Autobiography of Mark Twain"

2011-03-11T09:49:00.005-05:00

Knowing my love for the writing of Mark Twain, Darling Wife got me his newly-released autobiography for Christmas. I had heard it was coming out and wanted it very badly.

Basically, he worked sporadically on an autobiography for much of his adult life, and was undecided on how to write it, arrange it, and release it. He finally decided, that to be as honest as possible, he didn't want it released until 100 years after his death. Sections of it have come out at different times, but the whole thing can finally be released. This is volume 1 of 3, and it's a 736-page whopper (including all footnotes, references, indexes, etc.)

The first thing you notice is that the book is an academic work. There's a lengthy preface and commentary from the people who assembled it from the Twain papers, and rafts of end-notes. I was a bit disappointed to realize that only 406 pages were the actual text of the autobiography.

Once you get into the actual text, you see the method he finally settled on - the telling of stories and anecdotes as they occur to him, with intentional disregard of chronological order. It jumps from here to there as he thinks of one thing, and then remembers something else. Reading the comments on Amazon, some people find this annoying, but I can't say I minded it.

It's pure Mark Twain, and I found it delicious. It's often laugh-out-loud funny, but it's also melancholy in places, as his wife died after a long illness, and he lost children in infancy and in young adult-hood. In one section, he prints excerpts from a biography that his daughter Susy wrote of him as a young teen. Susy died at age 24, and the loss was obviously devastating. It's bittersweet as he expands on her statements about him, and intersperses it with recollections of his daughter.

Other highlights are his dealings with U.S. Grant, whom he admired greatly. Twain also published Grant's autobiography, which is a story unto itself. Hearing the background of some of the people and stories in Tom Sawyer, Huck Finn, and some of his other books is fascinating. And his descriptions of life on the farm during his summertime visits to see extended family make it sound like the most idyllic existence imagineable, and he obviously realizes how fortunate he was to have experienced it.

He excoriates various publishers, landlords, etc. (which is the reason he didn't want the autobiography published until well after his death.) His opinions of organized religion, politics, and U.S. imperialism are withering. He's very cynical and pessimistic about human nature.

Overall a fantastic book by possibly my favorite writer. No one else turns a phrase so delightfully. I'm not sure when Volume 2 is expected, but I'm waiting impatiently for it. In the meantime, I'm starting to read "The Adventures of Tom Sawyer" for the first time since I was in grade school. And I have the urge to re-read both "Life on the Mississippi" and "Roughing It" again as soon as possible.

Guitar Lesson Update

2011-03-10T20:14:00.003-05:00

I've settled into a pattern of every-other-week guitar lessons, and it's going wonderfully. As I've written before, there's nothing miraculous going on, I'm just doing a lot of repetition of the scales and exercises. This is somewhat noteworthy, as I've taken music lessons before, and always regarded scales and exercises as the musical equivalent of eating your broccoli - something you do when you have to, but not something you enjoy or do any more often than is absolutely necessary.

It's different now - I want to do the work and the repetitions. I guess because I can see that it's taking me where I want to go. I can see that the finger and picking exercises are building speed and coordination. I have the five positions of the minor pentatonic scale and the blues scale down fairly cold - not only in A, but moving around in others keys. This means I can do a bit of improvisation and can take a basic solo in any blues-based song. I won't be impressing anyone who knows anything about guitar, but it's progress, and it feels great.

The next step is the minor scale. I know the five positions up and down the neck fairly well, and now I'm supposed to incorporate minor scale notes and phrases into improvisation. This is still a challenge, and feels somewhat forced, but I'm working on it.

I'm also supposed to be working on string bending. My teacher says he wants to see me doing a *lot* more bending. This isn't a matter of repetition so much as figuring out where it fits. I know a couple places where it does, but I don't want to overdo it. I'll have to play with it.

One blogging note: I'm considering moving the guitar-playing posts to a separate blog. This would remain my main blog, and the new one would be all things music and guitar. I'm undecided, but if I do, I'll link to it from here.

Introducing "Breakfall"

2011-03-06T13:25:00.005-05:00

The aiki-band now has a momentum that seems unstoppable. We also have a name - Breakfall. We wanted an aikido term as the band name, and this fit the bill.

The original assumptions have changed a bit - it started with playing a 45-minute set at a place in Phoenixville. But when we tried to book that, we got the news that they no longer book cover bands - but they knew another local bar that did. Contacting them, they were willing to book us, but they had slots of 90 minutes. This gave us the choice of finding another band and each playing a 45-minute set, or expanding our set to 90 minutes. We were unanimous in choosing the 90-minute set. Perhaps this is overly ambitious, but we feel like there are enough fairly simple songs that we can learn without too much trouble.

I don't think this is definitely confirmed yet, but I think we're booked to play our set on Saturday, April 2. We'll be one of a number of bands, and I don't know the time yet.

We're now rehearsing on Tuesday evenings, and things are going pretty well. We have a song list that's at least 90 minutes long. There are still some rough patches on some songs, but we know what we need to work on. Matt says we're already better than some bands he's seen playing there, but we want to be as tight as possible (basically, we don't want to embarrass ourselves.)

We have some professional-caliber players in the band - unfortunately I'm not one of them. I think I'm a competent rhythm player at this point, but I'm going to be sharing some of the leads, and that's pushing the current limits of my ability. I'm working as hard as I can, and I know that in the big picture there's no pressure - we'll be playing in front of a small sympathetic audience of friends.

Minor anxieties aside, this experience is a BLAST (yes, in all caps.) It's been a dream to play guitar in a band since I was...14? I never thought it would actually happen, and for it to happen at this point (even on this very small scale) is a dream come true.

For the teenagers in my house, this dream is more like a nightmare. They couldn't be more appalled. Sometimes they give me a hard time about things in a teasing way, but they're very seriously appalled about this. I don't really understand it, but I guess they think of music as only for young people - so I guess they see this as something akin to me getting a skateboard and hanging out at the skate park. I will try not to embarrass them if I can help it, but it's not going to keep me from playing. Sorry girls.

Epiphone Les Paul

2011-03-03T16:10:00.007-05:00

...or "Oops, I Did it Again"

A year and a half ago, I shocked myself some, and Darling Wife even more, by winning an eBay bid for a Fender Telecaster. I truly didn't expect to win, and was faced with the prospect of what I later described as "the thrill of victory, and the agony of informing your spouse about the victory." (Before going any further, my Darling Wife is fully supportive of music as a hobby and doesn't begrudge me my gear - she was just surprised, and rightly so, since I hadn't told her I was bidding on anything.)

You'd certainly think that after that incident, that I would be careful to inform her of any eBay impulse bids. And you'd be right...mostly. This time I told her right before winning the auction.

Yes, I won another eBay bid - again much to my surprise. I'd been following some Epiphone Les Pauls, and when I saw one at what seemed like a great price with a couple hours left, I put in a bid and went to bed. Waking up the next morning, it was mine. The actual picture is on the right.

Examining it after it arrived, I think it was a good deal, but not a steal. It's definitely a used guitar, and needs a cleaning/setup and a new set of strings before I can play it. I've taken it to the shop, and it should be back in about two weeks. But it looks to be in good shape and structurally sound, and I'm hoping to have a nice guitar when I get it back. Obviously it's not a Gibson, but Epiphone is the same company, and the Epiphone Les Pauls are well rated and thought of.

Darling Wife asked, "I thought you liked your Telecaster?" I do, I still adore it. But I'm also curious to have another, very different, guitar. More details will follow when I get it back from the shop.

VA Weekend, Day 4 and Wrap-up

2011-02-27T16:48:00.001-05:00

Nothing much to report from Day 4. We had our third day of the Hampton Inn breakfast, which was quite good. We packed pretty quickly, hit the road, and got home in about five hours (which was about the expected time.)

Overall, it was a fun weekend and a nice getaway. For anyone interested in history, you really can't go wrong at either Mount Vernon or Colonial Williamsburg. We spent three hours at Mount Vernon and two days in Williamsburg - which in both cases was plenty of time to see things on a superficial level. In both places you could stay longer and delve deeper.

I have no complaints with how anything worked out. With perfect hindsight, we might have got an earlier start Friday, so we could leave Mount Vernon earlier and try to avoid the D.C. traffic on 95-S. But I'm not sure how much earlier we would have had to be to avoid the nightmare we got mixed up in. Also, we purchased two-day passes for Colonial Williamsburg, and we realized afterward that a one-day pass would have been sufficient. The pass is only required to get into the buildings (Governor's Palace, Capitol, etc.) - you don't need it to walk in the historic area. But no matter, the foundation does great work, and I don't begrudge giving them a few extra dollars.

Fun weekend, and we may well return at some point.

VA Weekend, Day 3: Williamsburg

2011-02-27T16:25:00.004-05:00

11:24am
I had a good night's sleep and was up around 8:30. Darling Wife was still dead to the world, so I showered and went down to breakfast. She joined me later, then we went back to the Visitor's Center, where we got the shuttle back into the historic area. She is shopping in the Merchant's Square shopping area, and I'm walking around.

There are parts of the historic area we didn't see yesterday, so I did some more walking on Duke of Gloucester Street, then went further west into the campus of the College of William and Mary. The college basically starts where Colonial Williamsburg ends, and it's a beautiful old campus. The Wren Building is apparently the oldest college building in America - Harvard is older as a school, but I guess they have no buildings older than the Wren Building.

1:07pm
I'm in the Starbucks in the William and Mary college bookstore. I brought my laptop with me and am relaxing with a coffee while Darling Wife continues to shop. We'll meet for lunch shortly.

2:35pm
Just finished a great lunch at The Cheese Chop. The day is sunny, lightly breezy, and warmish, so we ate at one of the outside tables. It's the kind of day where you're warm in the sun, but cold in the shade. It was Darling Wife's kind of place - cheeses and breads and wines, etc. I had a sandwich on fresh bread that was to die for. I'm going to go back to the hotel to just relax, while she does a bit more shopping.

9:05pm
We're back in the hotel room after a fantastic dinner. Darling Wife found a little coffee shop in her travels earlier today ,and they also had food and snacks, and she wanted to try it. And it was great - the food and the atmosphere were very pleasant. As we were winding up, we realized that we were the only two people left in the place. Looking at the posted hours, we realized that they had closed, and were waiting for us to finish up. So we did, and came back to the room. We're starting to pack and get ready to leave in the morning.

VA Weekend, Day 2: Williamsburg

2011-02-24T15:51:00.006-05:00

7:30am
We're up and about. Thankfully the hotel is quiet, and we both had a good night's sleep. We'll go downstairs to the breakfast buffet, which looks similar to the Hampton Inn breakfast in Islamorada (which we really liked.) Then we'll go into the historic area for the day. The forecast is sunny, breezy, and still warm but a little cooler than yesterday (maybe high 50's.)

9:15am
We're at the Colonial Williamsburg Visitor's Center. We were wondering what the crowds would be like, as it's a holiday weekend (President's Day on Monday) with good weather predicted. But there don't seem to be very many people here now. Have I mentioned how much I hate big crowds?

We now have a two-day pass into all the historic buildings, and can also ride the shuttle bus that makes continuous loops around the historic area and the Visitor's Center. We're skipping the introductory movie and heading for the shuttle bus. A guide has recommended that we do the two most popular things first, while the crowds are small - the tour of the Governor's Palace, then the tour of the Capitol. That seems like a good plan.

12:40pm
We're waiting for a table at the King's Arms Tavern. It's a beautiful sunny day, though extremely windy. The morning has gone according to plan. We took the tour of the Governor's Palace, which was very interesting. The tour guide was a young lady dressed in colonial fashion, and in the persona of a maid in the palace in the year 1775. She asked us all to imagine ourselves as Virginians (and thus English subjects) in 1775. Darling Wife and I both found that the play-acting grew tedious pretty quickly. I would have much preferred her to say "Here's what happened..." instead of "The Governor is quite annoyed with Mr. Patrick Henry's recent speech to the House of Burgesses", etc.

We then got back on the shuttle bus and rode to the Capitol. The tour stopped in a number of rooms, three of which had actors portraying famous Virginians who would have been here in this timeframe - George Washington, James Madison, and Thomas Jefferson. They each gave short talks and took questions, and they were all pretty impressive, both in their look and their knowledge.

After the tour of the Capitol, we walked slowly down Duke of Gloucester Street. This is the main street of the historic area, and many of the houses, shops, and restaurants are open for business or inspection. We toured Charlton's Coffeehouse (which included a cup of cinnamon hot chocolate), and a number of the other shops (or rather, "shoppes.") We got some snacks for the afternoon at a sweet shop behind the Raleigh Tavern.

Only a couple of the taverns are open year-round. I thought we would try to eat at the Raleigh Tavern, but it's closed for the season, so we're at the King's Arms, across the street.

4:18pm
We're back in the vicinity of the Governor's Palace. It's been a good afternoon, and we've seen and done much of the historic area. Lunch at the King's Arms was good, and we didn't have to wait long for a table, despite a good-sized line outside.

After lunch, we walked along more of Duke of Gloucester Street, and also took the tour of the Peyton Randolph House, on the main green next to the Governor's Palace. This tour showcases the house, but also focuses on slavery, as the Randolphs had no children and 28 household slaves.

We also saw the Magazine (which has a lot of cool weapons - not only muskets and pistols, but some medieval-looking polearms) and the Courthouse. At 4:00 there was a militia exhibition on the main green - a fife and drum parade to the green where there were soldiers manning some cannon. The officers issued orders, and they primed, loaded, and fired the guns.

We're about done and ready to head back to the Visitor's Center, and then our hotel (maybe for a nap.) It's sunny and fairly warm, but the breeze has been whipping all day.

6:45pm
Up from an hour nap. That felt great. We're deciding where to have dinner - probably nothing too fancy.

10:21pm
We finally decided on the Cracker Barrel, which in our experience is simple and good (and I like breakfast at any time of day.) Sadly, this was our worst-ever Cracker Barrel experience. Our poor waiter, in the words of our kids, was "made of fail." The poor guy was earnest, but he got just about everything wrong that one could get wrong. I got a breakfast platter, which you really can't go wrong with, but Darling Wife got a dinner, and it was just so-so. It will keep body and soul together until morning, and we'll leave it at that.

It's depressing how the exact same things sprout up around every tourist/vacation destination. The same ugly strips of hotels, fast food, souvenir/t-shirt shops, go-cart tracks, etc., etc. With the Ripley's Believe-it-or-not Museum as the crown jewel in the sleazy mess. Blech.

The plan for tomorrow is more of the historic area. Darling Wife wants to do some shopping in the Merchant's Square section, and I can either walk (through the historic area or William and Mary College) or take my laptop and hang out at the Starbucks in the W&M bookstore. We've discussed a trip to Jamestown (another historic area about 10 miles away), but there's probably not time for that.

VA Weekend, Day 1: Mt. Vernon

2011-02-23T16:37:00.007-05:00

9:17am
Departing West Chester. The plan is to visit George Washington's estate at Mount Vernon, then drive to Williamsburg, VA. Our real destination is Williamsburg, but Darling Wife enjoyed Thomas Jefferson's Monticello last year, so I thought she might also enjoy Mt. Vernon. It's basically on the way to Williamsburg. I've never been there, and expect to find it interesting. The morning is gray and cool, but the forecast (both for here and Virginia) is sunny and warm - into the 60's or even the low 70's. This seems hard to believe, as there's been snow on the ground since the first week of January. But I've packed shorts, and our fingers are crossed.

12:51pm
We're at Mt. Vernon. The drive down was uneventful, and there was no problem with traffic. We're having lunch at the Visitor's Center food court before seeing any of the sights. The clouds cleared as we drove south, and it's delightfully warm - I'm outside without a coat for the first time in a long time. Looking at a "You are here" map at the entrance, Darling Wife was very surprised at how big the estate is.

3:58pm
Departing Mt. Vernon. It's an interesting and worthwhile stop. We saw the 20-minute introductory movie at the Visitor's Center, then walked through some of the grounds, then took the guided tour of the main house. We then walked the grounds some more. The view from the house overlooking the Potomac River is quite beautiful, and the whole setup is very impressive. You could spend at least a full day here, seeing all the sights and buildings - not to mention all the extensive museum exhibits at the Visitor's Center. And like Monticello, the grounds and gardens should probably be seen at each different season.

The thought occurs to me now (and last year at Monticello) that Darling Wife probably thinks, "Oh those crazy Americans, puffing up their founding fathers." That may have some truth in some cases, but it's also true that there really were some giants among the men responsible for founding this country - men who weren't perfect, but whose accomplishments don't require exaggeration, and who really can provide inspiration.

Now it's on to Williamsburg. We won't see any of the sights there today, but we'll be there to start sightseeing tomorrow morning. Google Maps says our trip will take two hours, and the GPS agrees, setting our estimated arrival at 6:02pm. I'm hopeful that D.C. traffic won't be too bad, as we're already South of the city.

7:58pm
Arriving at the Hampton Inn, Williamsburg. Traffic was a *nightmare*. Our two-hour trip took four. I want to say that we went two miles per hour for at least 40 miles, but I guess the math doesn't exactly support that. That's what it felt like though. I consider traffic jams like that *agonizing*. Even after we got out of what I would consider the D.C. area (i.e., south of Fredericksburg) we still got into some extended stretches of stop-and-go. But we're here now and extremely grateful to be off the road. We're hungry and will go for dinner before unloading the car.

9:42pm
We went to Red Hot & Blue for dinner (a chain barbeque place that was recommended to us,) and it was a treat. I'm ready to call it the best meal I've ever had - but that may have something to do with how hungry I was, and how happy to be off the road and out of traffic. The barbeque was great, and the blues music and memorabilia was fun. I'd go back there in a heartbeat. Now we've unpacked and settled in. Time to crash.

Cabin Fever

2011-02-16T09:01:00.002-05:00

I'm fairly desperate to get outside. Here we are in mid-February, and there's been significant snow on the ground since just after New Year's. Six weeks! We had one snowstorm each week in January, with very little melting between the storms.

I'm perfectly content to hike in cold weather - my body runs so warm that I don't really feel it after I start moving. But snow-covered trails are another thing entirely.

Thankfully, the snow has started to melt over the past few days, with actual patches of grass visible. And the forecast for the next few days is for Spring-like temperatures - so I'm hoping the ground will be basically snow-free by next week.

I'll be happy to get out and do any kind of hiking - local woods, Ridley Creek...whatever. I do still have in mind the Jersey Pine Barrens hike out of Batsto (the 10+ mile loop out of the Batona and Mullica River trails shown here.) I'm also hoping to get some A.T. hiking in this Spring.

Also, planning has begun in earnest for the 2011 boys' hiking trip. Details will be in an upcoming post.

Postscript: I noted after starting this post that I also blogged about cabin fever around this time last year.

Dad and Fishing

2011-02-11T17:37:00.007-05:00

One of Dad's greatest loves was fishing. Nothing fancy or exotic, just fresh-water fishing for perch, sunfish, catfish, and maybe the occasional bass, using earthworms or simple lures as bait. It was the classic father/son activity. He learned to fish from his father, and he taught us to fish at an early age.

Dad's father was a conductor on the Pennsylvania Railroad, working six days a week, with Sunday off. Dad's memories of his father's day off were of fishing expeditions to the Brandywine and other little creeks of Chester County. Those memories were obviously very dear to him.

My maternal grandmother's diaries have entries about Dad from the days when he and my mom were courting. Some entries have Grandmom waking up to find that Dad had arrived at 5:00 or 6:00am to fish (which means he would have had to leave West Chester in the middle of the night.)

I think it was my sixth birthday (at the River) when I was given a fishing pole as my birthday present. I remember being disappointed that it wasn't some toy I had seen advertised on TV, but I soon became thrilled at the realization that this was a kind of initiation into Dad's world.

Fishing at the River was simple. Put a piece of worm on the hook, throw out the line, and wait for a bite. You never had to wait for too long - the river was full of perch, sunnies, catfish, and eels. There were also bass and carp, but they weren't typically caught (at least by us, the way we were fishing.) We threw everything back except the eels.

Dad knew that dawn and dusk were the times when the fish were biting. And dawn didn't mean when the sun came up, it meant *way* before that, when the first hint of light was in the sky. I felt like a very big man when he began including me in his early morning fishing. I would sleep in his bed the night before (Mom presumably taking my bed where she could sleep in,) and he would wake me in the darkness. We would grab a small quick breakfast, then gather our tackle and go outside in the gray pre-dawn.

I'll never forget the feeling of being part of a secret society with my Dad. We were up and on a sacred mission, while the rest of the world was still in bed. The water was perfectly still, the trees not moving, the sky just the tiniest bit light over Knight's Island. We went out on the pier and fished, and to be honest, my memories of those mornings don't include whether we caught anything or not. The memories are of sharing the experience with my father - and they're deeply emotional and beyond precious.

The river itself seemed to practically hum with life. We would hear the occasional slap on the still water of a big fish jumping. The occasional honking of ducks or geese flying overhead. The sky would brighten little by little, until finally the sun would make its appearance over Knight's Island.

We would fish more, and finally he would suggest we pack it in, go back in the house, and get breakfast. We would go in, and the rest of the house would just be getting up, and I felt vaguely superior - after all, I had been up before dawn fishing, the way a *man* did it.

After dinner at the River, when the dishes were done and the kitchen clean, he would take a chair and his gear and sit out by the bulkhead and fish. If no one was down for the weekend at the McLaughlin's house next door, all the better, because he preferred to fish off their wall. The river bottom was muddy there, and that's where the big catfish were.

He would set up his chair and sit there fishing, watching the sunset, and more often than not, catching one big catfish after the other. He would stay out there until it was too dark to see, then come in, happy whether or not he had caught anything.

Eric, in his eulogy for Dad, correctly pointed out that for Dad, the joy of fishing had little to do with catching fish. It was something like a meditation - a time to be surrounded by beauty, connected to nature, and in the present moment, alert for the bite that might come at the next split second.

Eric concluded his eulogy with a lasting memory of Dad - gardening in the back yard, ripped cut-off jeans, filthy t-shirt, Springfield AA baseball cap on, the Phillies game on the transistor radio, working happily with the sound of a neighborhood full of kids playing happily in the background. That's a perfect memory of Dad, and one that I can easily bring into my mind's eye.

I have one other classic memory, that I will also never have trouble bringing into clear focus. Dad, sitting on a chair at McLaughlin's bulkhead, ripped cut-off jeans, filthy t-shirt, Springfield AA baseball cap on - sitting with his old baitcasting rod, watching the sunset, patiently waiting for a bite. Happy and at peace with the world.

Aikido: No Victims

2011-02-10T19:21:00.000-05:00

I realize I haven't written about aikido recently. There's no reason for this, my training continues, and the dojo is doing great. I suppose the intensity level is a bit lower now that my test is over (how could it not be?), but I still have plenty to work on.

My main focus has been addressing a comment made by a senior teacher after the dan testing in September. He said his take on the tests he had just seen is that nage (the person who gets attacked and performs the technique) has to take more initiative. The Japanese translation of the term uke (the one who attacks) apparently means something to the effect of "the one who receives the technique."

He said that he saw too much of nage waiting to see what uke was going to do - in other words, receiving the technique, which is backwards of how it should be. Uke was too often on the offensive, when after his initial attack, he should be on the defensive. His exhortation was, "Don't be a victim. No victims in aikido."

There are a lot of subtleties in putting this into practice. The first, obvious risk is being too aggressive as nage. While uke may be the one who is supposed to receive the technique, he does have to attack first (or if nage is highly sensitive, to show the intent to attack.) While nage should take the initiative, he is not the one to initiate the interaction. This is a fine line.

So we've been training on how to not give uke the initiative - how to take the initiative and not be a victim. They're good lessons, and really at the heart of what aikido is. It's much less about ways to fend off an attacker who's already on top of you, than about entering into the interaction and taking control of it *before* the attacker is on top of you - ideally at the instant the attacker decides to deliver the attack.

This will be a focal point for the foreseeable future. No victims in aikido.

Dad and Sportsmanship

2011-02-01T13:02:00.003-05:00

When I think of the traits that defined Dad, good sportsmanship and fair play are high on the list. He was brought up with the quaint notion that how you played the game was at least as important as whether you won or lost. He regarded the Vince Lombardi attitude on competition ("Winning isn't everything, it's the only thing.") with disgust.

In the years when we were playing little league sports, he was usually coaching in some capacity, and he was determined to pass on these lessons. According to Dad, you were supposed to enjoy the competition, and you were supposed to try your best. If you won, you won graciously, and if you lost, you lost graciously. There was no place for gloating or showing off as a winner, and no place for pouting or sulking as a loser.

I especially remember these lessons from the Bob Markel baseball league - a league for 11- and 12-year-olds who didn't make the cut for the traveling team. We were the Maroon team, and Dad was the coach. We had a pretty good team, and made some kind of playoff at the end of the season.

I don't remember the exact details, but I do remember that we were clinging to a lead near the end of the game. Dad, as he should have, subbed in the guys at the end of the bench - who weren't able to field the balls in the outfield that would have won us the game. It killed me to lose that game, and I remember my frustration at Dad - "Why couldn't we leave the starters in for just one game?!?" I know Dad would have liked to win the game too, but you were supposed to play all your guys, and that's what he did. He couldn't have done otherwise.

All these years later, Dad's lessons are still with me, and have deep roots. The idea that winning a game makes you a "winner", or that losing a game makes you a "loser" seems somewhere between childish and pathological. It's fun to compete, but at the end of the day, it's just a game.

A New Amp

2011-01-25T09:21:00.002-05:00

As part of the gear discussion, both Eric and I realized that our guitar amps might not be sufficient for playing even the smallest of bars. And truth be told, I've been thinking some about getting another amp, regardless of whether we're going to be gigging or not. I *love* my little Vox amp - it puts out a great sound, and has been more than loud enough for living room jam sessions. But I want to be able to make other sounds.

Eric and I have been talking about modeling amps - amps that can mimic many different amps through digital signal processing. I know modeling amps are looked down on by tube amp purists, but I'm not good enough yet (or rich enough) to be a purist of any kind.

I visited a couple of music stores Sunday afternoon and came home with a Line 6 Spider IV 30 (a 30 watt modeling amp from the company that basically invented the modeling amp.) It models 12 different amps, and also has reverb, plus six different effects (flanger, phaser, delay, etc.)

I'm completely thrilled with all the sounds I can now make. The clean channels sound great, the overdrive options are great, and the distortion options are probably more than I'm likely to ever use. The effects are fun to noodle with, but I'm not sure I'll ever actually use them. But who knows, maybe I will.

I still have plenty of experimentation left to do. Not only are there close to infinite combinations of setting on the amp, but each amp setting can be combined with different pickup settings on the guitar. This will be fun, and I can't wait to play it with the group.

Forming a Band

2011-01-24T09:15:00.006-05:00

One Saturday night in December, Darling Wife and I went to see a friend's band play at a small place locally. It was a fun night - a few bands played 30-45 minute sets of mostly original material, with my friend's band wrapping up the evening.

Talking about it the following Wednesday after aikido with the guys from the aikido jam sessions, he said, "If we put together 45 minutes of material, we could do something like that."

My first thought was a fairly stunned, "Is he serious?"

He was serious. And the guys were enthusiastic in their agreement. And I have to say that I am too. As I told Darling Wife, it's my biggest desire - and my biggest fear.

E-mails have been flying, and the idea has taken on a life of its own. We have a preliminary set list (for the most part, songs that we've played together in the jam sessions that sounded good). All covers, of course - we're not writing original material.

I think it will be a lot of fun. Our rhythm section is professional caliber, and the rest of us are competent musicians. We already know the basics are far more than 45 minutes of music - we just have to polish the songs, get the beginnings and endings down, etc. And there's no pressure - no one's making plans to quit their day jobs.

Between all of us, we have most of the gear we'd need to play a small bar. The things we don't have can be easily borrowed or purchased. And - in what seems like a "cart before the horse" scenario - it looks like we have a gig lined up on a Wednesday night in April.

Now we just need to schedule the first rehearsal.

Book Review: "98.6 Degrees (The Art of Keeping Your Ass Alive!)"

2011-01-14T14:52:00.004-05:00

I first heard of this book a few years ago (I forget where...maybe a magazine like Backpacker or Outdoors.) I was turned off by the "attitude" of the title, and never gave it another thought.

But it came back on my radar recently. First, through watching Dual Survivor on the Discovery Channel, I became familiar with Cody Lundin. He's a survival teacher with a bit of a hippie persona who lives off-the-grid in Arizona, and has been barefoot for something like 20 years. Then, when talking to an aikido friend recently about the show, he said, "Yeah, the guy is great, and his books are great." So that was enough for me to give it a read.

I'll say upfront that my first instincts were correct, in that I wasn't crazy about the "tell it like it is, bro" writing style. But putting that aside, I thought it was a great book. It's not a book about primitive living skills or long-term wilderness suvival. It's about how to survive an outdoors misadventure.

The survival scenario he writes about is very applicable to me - the hiking/backpacking trip that goes wrong, through weather, getting lost, injury, or whatever. In this scenario, he says you need to be able to stay alive for 72 hours, which is the time that you can expect rescue to find you. So he says the emphasis needs to be on keeping the core body temperature at 98.6 - that most fatalities in this scenario are due to exposure (hypothermia or hpyerthermia.)

This means that the primary needs are *not* exotic food-gathering techniques, as 72 hours with little or no food is eminently survivable. The primary needs are shelter, water, fire, and ways of signaling rescuers.

A couple of points that he hammers home repeatedly:

1. You shouldn't go out without leaving a trip plan - where you're going (trailhead and route,) what you're doing there, when you're expected back, etc. I'm notoriously bad about this, despite having agreed to be better about this to Darling Wife. I hereby resolve to do this.

2. The necessity of the survival kit. He thinks you should have a kit of survival gear that you always have with you when going outdoors. Looking through his list of gear, I have most of the items he recommends - but I don't have it in a kit, and I don't always have the items with me. It should be pretty easy to get the few remaining items and create a kit that I can make sure is always in my daypack or backpack. The one item he's adamant about that I don't have is a good knife. He recommends something like this, which I'll probably get.

Overall, there wasn't really anything that was "Wow, I never thought of that!" new. But it was very good at focusing on what the immediate goals are in a survival situation, and very clear on how to address those goals. I felt like it was a worthwhile read, and would recommend it to anyone who spends time outdoors.

Guitar: Progress, Regrets, Coolness

2011-01-09T15:39:00.010-05:00

With two guitar lessons under my belt, it's way too soon to make any pronouncements on success/failure. But I can say I'm enjoying it a lot and can already feel improvement. There's no magic involved, and my teacher isn't a miracle worker. It's very simple - I've been given basic exercises to do. Pentatonic scales and finger exercises. And I'm doing them. A lot.

I'm also holding the pick in the new way, which still feels awkward, but less and less awkward the more I do it.

He's given me a CD of backing tracks - simple rhythm parts in the key of A to improvise over. This is both my biggest desire and biggest fear. At last week's lesson, after I had played the five positions of the A-minor pentatonic scale, he said, "Okay, let's jam." He started playing a rhythm in A, and I responded with my best deer-in-headlights look, as I hadn't prepared for that.

I gave a fumbling shot at improvising, and I'm sure we'll do it again this week. I'll be much more prepared.

Coincidentally, my mandolin friend sent me this link to a thread on mandolin playing, and it applies equally well to learning guitar. A quote that a few people liked (and that I completely agree with) is as follows:

"I'm convinced that playing well is not so much a technique as it is a decision. It's a commitment to do the work, strive for concentration, get strategic about advancing by steps, and push patiently forward toward the goal."
-- Dan Crary

At the moment, I very definitely have the desire and the commitment to do the work. Time will tell if that continues, but I intend it to.

While all the above is good, it does make me think with regret to my teenage years. I desperately wanted to play the guitar, but it never occurred to me to take a lesson. I just thought I would figure it out on my own - but I never did, and eventually got frustrated that I wasn't getting it. How I wish I had thought to take some lessons. No use dwelling on that thought, but I can't help thinking it sometimes.

Finally, I came across a reference this week to the Whole Lotta Led website. It's a self-described borderline obsessive attempt to document Jimmy Page's gear throughout Led Zeppelin. Manically obsessive is probably more accurate, but it's very interesting. The photo on the home page of the guitars set up backstage in 1977 gives me goosebumps.

Delaware Geocaching

2011-01-07T17:07:00.005-05:00

Eric and I talked over Christmas about the possibility of getting together for a half-day of hiking/geocaching. With snow still on the ground and rain in the forecast, we decided to scale things back to more caching and less hiking. Both my nieces wanted to come along, which was very sweet, and finalized our plan of caches involving short walks. Eric planned a route through northwestern Delaware that would allow us to grab a number of parking lot and roadside caches, plus some in local parks as long as the walk was pretty short.

Full details, plus pics and maps, are on Eric's blog. Suffice it to say that it was a lot of fun to spend the day with Eric and his girls. They certainly know the drill with parking lot micros.

I realized as we made our way around Hockessin that we were putting up numbers that would shatter my previous one-day total of 13 finds. Sure enough, by the time the day was over, I had notched 25.

Fun day, and I look forward to doing it again.

Thinking about future geocaching days, I have a route in mind for a day of hiking/geocaching once the snow is off the ground. I've been wanting to hike the Jersey Pine Barrens for a while, and this route looks great. It starts at Batsto, and makes what looks to be a 10+ mile loop out of the Batona and Mullica River trails. There are also many caches in the woods around the trails. I badly want to do this. Stay tuned.

Book Review: "The Journey Home"

2011-01-07T11:15:00.007-05:00

After numerous reads of Desert Solitaire and Down the River, I searched Amazon for more Edward Abbey. There are a couple works of fiction, which I may or may not get to, but the most interesting seemed to be a collection of essays - The Journey Home (Some Words in Defense of the American West).

The book is a collection of 23 independent essays, and the good news is that they're pure Abbey. If you like his viewpoint and his writing, you'll like the book. It's mainly about the American West - and specifically about the desert Southwest. The main themes are familiar from "Desert Solitaire" - the love of the land, the railing against the greedy exploitation of the land, the exhortations to actually get outside and experience the land.

There are also some autobiographical stories - the one of hitchhiking and hobo'ing around the country as a teenager in the 1940's is especially interesting.

Overall, it was a quick fun read, and I liked it a lot. He's an unapologetic curmudgeon in the best "tell it like you see it" tradition of Mark Twain or George Carlin. But I can't say I loved it without reservation. A couple of the essays come across as unedited tree-hugging/conservationist/preservationist screed. I share many (or even most) of his opinions, but I still found some of it too much.

I will definitely come back to this book, and will re-read many of the essays. There's a lot of classic Abbey here, and unfortunately there's no more to be had. So we have to enjoy what there is.

Intentions for '11

2011-01-01T18:48:00.004-05:00

I don't go in for New Year's resolutions, but I am a firm believer in the power of intention. The start of a new year is as good a time as any to review my intentions. A quick glance at my stated intentions for 2010 shows that not too much has changed in a year (from a high-level perspective.)

Keeping a Balance. Repeating verbatim my thoughts from a year ago, this is always near the top of my thoughts, and will continue to be. Maintaining a safe and happy home for my family is top priority. Being a good parent and providing the love and structure for kids to mature on the way to becoming independent adults is more important than anything. With Dad's passing, Mom will need more support this year, and I will be there for her. Also repeating verbatim from last year (because I really can't say it any better now): I also have a number of very serious interests that are not shared by my immediate family. Aikido, hiking/nature, and music are central to who I am. Music doesn't take me away from family much, as I can strum at odd hours, but aikido and hiking could take as much time as I let them. I want to and need to give them some time, but not so much that I'm not available or neglectful to my family. I think I've kept a good balance, but it requires constant vigilance.

Aikido: Now that my test is over, I can just train without worrying about preparation for testing. I still intend to keep our dojo healthy and active, and hope to get to Baltimore and D.C. when possible. I intend to get to some local seminars, and to attend at least a couple days of D.C. summer camp in July (which is both great training and a great time with friends.) We plan to continue nurturing the Seattle connection, with Lee Sensei penciled in for a weekend here in May, and a possible Philly Boys trip to WA in the fall.

Hiking/Nature/Geocaching: Quoting from last year's post: "I intend to get out as often as I reasonably can. After sitting at a desk for 40+ hours a week, I'm often desperate to get outside, and hiking fills that need perfectly. There are many wonderful possibilities within a few hours radius, and I hope to hike some new trails (A.T. sections, Shenandoah, etc.)" New this year is the presence of Hailey in Staunton, VA. I've promised her that we'll visit, and that will hopefully mean more chances to explore the southern part of Shenandoah Nat'l Park and the extensive state and national forests in that area. I will also continue geocaching, hopefully adding a number of PA counties and U.S. states to my list.

Travel. A family trip to the Toronto area for nephew Kyle's wedding is planned for late May. Beyond that, we'll have to see what the calendar and the budget permit. I'm hopeful that we can do some weekend getaways, and maybe more.

Music. I've just started guitar lessons, so it's too early to tell if they will continue. But whether they do or not, I intend to keep practicing and playing. I've made more progress than I ever thought possible, and I intend to continue on that path. The aiki-jams will continue, and I look forward to playing with the guys with great anticipation. I will also continue with the mandolin - it's a seductively fun little instrument.

As I concluded last year's post: Undoubtedly the year will bring surprises and unforeseen changes, but these are my intentions at this time.

2010 Year in Review

2010-12-31T14:06:00.003-05:00

As the year winds down and I look back at 2010, it was a hectic eventful year. Here are the most notable events:

Dad: Years from now, if someone mentions 2010, my first thought will be that was the year Dad passed. His illness and passing was basically all-encompassing from August through November. Looking back on those months, it's hard to believe that life went on at the same time (i.e., job, family, aikido, etc.) But somehow it did. And as sad and wrenching as it was, there were many blessings too - the fact that he passed peacefully and relatively pain-free, and outpouring of love and support that came from all quarters were primary among these.

Family: There's much to be happy about here. All kids are doing extremely well, and are all maturing in a very gratifying manner. Special kudos go to Hailey, who completed her Master's degree with a perfect 4.0 average, landed a job in her field, moved to a new state, and started life as an independent adult.

Aikido: I tested for nidan in September and passed. A very stressful but gratifying experience. I have video of the event, and haven't gotten around to watching it yet. All is still well with the dojo, and we've now been going for two and a half years. Our relationship with our local and regional dojos is still great, and I'm more grateful than ever to have such high-level teachers. We've continued to develop a very special relationship with Lee Crawford Sensei and the students at Aikido Northshore. Sensei came here in May to give a seminar for the third consecutive year, and we traveled to Seattle for a long weekend in October.

Travel: We managed to do some fun things, despite the general busyness. Lori and I had a good anniversary weekend in Charlottesville, VA, seeing the town and touring Monticello and UVA despite a big snowstorm. We returned to Islamorada, FL for the second straight year, taking Chris with us this time, and day-tripping to Key West for the first time. We did a half week at Ocean City, MD, sadly without Mom and Dad, but taking Chris with us. My one-day marathon driving tour of Washington state's Olympic Peninsula was amazing, if exhausting.

Hiking/Outdoors: There were some memorable highlights this year. Eric, John and I did a a two-night backpack in rural northeastern PA, and had a great time. It was Eric's first backpacking trip, and hopefully we'll do some more this coming year. The September boys' trip to Great Smoky Mountains N.P. was well-planned and successful. Our campsite along the Little River at Elkmont campground, and our hike to the summit of Mt. LeConte are memories that will last. My short hike to Sol Duc Falls in Olympic Nat'l Park was spectacular, and left me hungering for more of the Pacific Northwest.

Geocaching: Here was something completely new in 2010, and something I never would have predicted. Eric introduced me to geocaching, which turned out to be a lot of fun. In hindsight, it's a natural for me - I love maps, love the outdoors, and like puzzles. It now seems completely natural, when venturing to a new area, to look at the map at geocaching.com to see what I might be able to grab in the area. And it's introduced me to parks and trails that I might never have known about otherwise.

Music/Guitar: This has been gratifying beyond any expectation. The aikido jams have been a blast, and have worked out amazingly well, with everyone involved agreeing that we need to do it as often as we can. My guitar playing has continued to make strides, thanks to the amazing people who post tutorials on YouTube.

Blogging: This will be my 84th and final post of the year. The past two years have been 86 and 90, which is a surprisingly consistent rate. I'm enjoying it as much as ever, so it will continue into '11.

Guitar Lessons

2010-12-29T22:45:00.001-05:00

When Mrs. Claus asked me what I wanted for Christmas, I thought for a bit, and decided that what I'd really like would be a few guitar lessons. I've written about how pleased I am with the progress I've made from watching YouTube video tutorials, but I think that with some guidance, I might be able to make some significant improvements.

I found a local guitar teacher who seemed like he offered what I'm looking for, and we made arrangements for a lesson last night. We talked about my goals, which are pretty simple: I want to be a better all-around player, and I want to be able to take a solo in a jam setting. I've never had a lesson, so I was curious about what a guitar teacher would say I'm doing right or wrong.

I found his place last night, unpacked my guitar, and he asked me to play. I played the scales I practice, and some song snippets.

He started with some basics. He wants me to hold the pick in a different way, which feels *very* odd. I think I'm going to have to do a lot of playing this new way before it will stop feeling odd.

Then we worked on the minor pentatonic scale (the basis of most blues and rock soloing.) I know a couple positions of this scale, but he wants me to know all five positions cold. So that's going to be a matter of a lot of mindful practice and repetition.

He also gave me some fingering exercises to work on - again, a matter of mindful practice and repetition. The goal is fretting one string and one finger at a time, fretting with the fingertip, and fretting up against the fret wire, not in the middle of the fret.

I have another lesson set for next Tuesday, and I'm excited. I know what I have to do, and I want to do it. We'll see how it goes - if I feel like I'm making more/faster progress than I would just doing YouTube tutorials on my own, then I'll try to continue. If I don't, then I won't.

Stay tuned.

What I'm Working On: Mandolin

2010-12-24T12:34:00.002-05:00

I can now confirm what my friend who sold me the mandolin said when we first discussed it - it's a really fun little instrument. It's fun to grab and just play a little tune at any odd moment.

It's small size gives it a very different feel from the guitar (two frets per finger instead of one), and the strings are a fifth apart, where they're a fourth apart on the guitar. So it's a different ball-game, but an enjoyable one.

Here's what I've been working on:

Red-Haired Boy: a bluegrass standard that I really like, and that's a lot of fun to play.

Cripple Creek: another bluegrass standard. It's fun to play, and I've basically been using this and Red-Haired Boy as picking practice. That means a lot of repetitions, and I hope Darling Wife doesn't get sick of hearing them.

Little Rabbit: another bluegrass standard. The YouTube footnote refers to Butch Baldassari's 30 Fiddle Tunes for Mandolin. I saw this book referenced in so many of the YouTube vids I watched that I've asked Santa for it. So we'll see if I'm on the naughty or nice list this year.

Ashokan Farewell: from the Ken Burns "Civil War" series. Very pretty tune that sounds great on the mandolin.

I also need to get better on the standard set of chords, but there's no rush for that - it's not like I'm joining a bluegrass jam. For now I'm having more fun working on tunes.

What I'm Working On: Guitar

2010-12-21T22:26:00.003-05:00

Just a quick post to document the songs I'm currently working on (on guitar.) Some are from the most recent jam session, but others are things I'm playing with, and may or may not ever be ready for public consumption.

Brown Sugar: I know the riffs, but realized when we started playing at at the jam that I didn't really know the whole song (i.e., how many times the intro riff repeats, when the verse starts, etc.) So I need to play the song through a number of times just to get it down.

Can't You Hear Me Knocking: Possibly my favorite Stones song. I'm pretty good on the intro and the song, which is really simple and really cool. I haven't even looked at the extended solo, and don't really plan to.

Midnight Rambler: surprisingly easy, just E/A/D with a capo on the 7th fret, and sounds great. I have the basic pieces of the song pretty much down. I'm not sure if this is a song we could do, or if it wouldn't sound good without harmonica.

Sultans of Swing: I'm fairly stunned to be playing this one. I always assumed that it was miles out of my league, but the basics of it aren't that bad, and even some of the fills. I'm not going to be tackling the solos any time soon, but this is a very fun song that I'm going to try to bring to the next jam.

Bring it on Home: We botched this so badly at the last jam that I want to make sure I know it cold for next time. Not that hard a song, but also not that easy to get sounding good.

Tangerine: pretty pretty acoustic song. I've known the basics for a while, and am now filling in some of the other parts.

Ten Years Gone: possibly my favorite Zeppelin song. There's no way I'll ever bring this to a jam - too many hard parts, and the recording has layers of guitars. But I've learned a few of the parts, and they're a lot of fun to play. So this is just one to noodle with.

Aiki-Jam, 12/11/10

2010-12-14T18:38:00.008-05:00

We had our latest Aiki-jam last Saturday night - a combined Christmas party/potluck dinner/jam session. Our aikido group is a very special group of people - good training partners, good people, and good musicians too. What more could one ask?

Amazingly, with our small group, we have all the components of a band - drums and bass (and it's absolutely a professional-caliber rhythm section,) multiple guitars, keyboard, and people who can sing.

I added a couple songs I've been working on to the set list, and was happy that Matt was on bass, as that gave me a chance to play guitar (which is my main interest at the moment.)

Here's what we played, as best I can remember, with comments:

Brown Sugar: We led off with one of my requests, and I took the lead on guitar. A pretty easy song in my standard-tuning approximation of open-G tuning. It was fun and sounded pretty good. The lyrics of course are political incorrectness in the extreme....
Crossroads: Blues standard, nice warm-up.
Gimme All Your Loving: One of my all-time favorite ZZ Top songs.
Lemon Song: Fun Zeppelin blues.
Bring it on Home: Another great Zeppelin tune. We botched this one pretty badly, which is a shame because it's a really fun song. Hopefully we'll do better next time.
Whole Lotta Love: To complete the Zeppelin trifecta. We launched into this with no warning, and I think we did a creditable job. Magic Joe nailed the drum part on the middle section.
Born on the Bayou: Great CCR song, and proof of just how much mileage you can get out of an E7 chord. This was my other request, and I took the lead guitar part. I was very happy and thought it sounded pretty good.
Sympathy for the Devil: I took the rhythm part from a video I saw here. Always fun for audience participation with the "woo woo".
Get It On (Bang a Gong): Fun (and very simple) song we tried for the first time.
Folsom Prison Blues: I love Johnny Cash, and was thrilled when someone suggested this. It was also a first time song for us, and also fun and simple. The chugga-chugga rhythm got everyone up and dancing, and I raised some eyebrows by nailing the lead (which has to be one of the simplest leads ever - but it sounds great.) Some cowboy hats appeared out of nowhere, adding to the general amusement.
Ring of Fire: With time for one last song, we attempted one more Johnny Cash song, and pulled it off reasonably well.

All in all, a fun and exciting evening. Fun because it's always a blast to play with a group when you all have similar tastes in music. Exciting because I really feel like I can play guitar in a jam session like this and add something to the mix. I can even take the occasional solo, although I still don't feel like I can take a 12- or 24-bar improv (which is what I need to work on more than anything.) But I feel like I can be a creditable rhythm guitar player - on songs like "Gimme All Your Loving" or "Sympathy for the Devil", I felt like my rhythm playing was driving the song. Fantastic feeling.

I couldn't be happier with my gear (as I've probably mentioned here a number of times.) I love my Telecaster, and the other guitarists have expressed their admiration for it. And I love the sound that comes out of my Vox amp - 20 watts is more than enough for any living room or garage.

One last funny story. We were adjusting the volume levels before one of the songs I was taking the lead on, and Eric told me I needed to be louder. I turned it up and started playing. He gave me a look, walked over to my amp, and turned it up to 11. We laughed. Okay then....

Book Review: "The Paperboy"

2010-12-12T13:35:00.005-05:00

A couple weeks ago, while gaming with Eric, John, and Ryan in Eric's basement, I noticed two Pete Dexter books I hadn't read. I read Dexter's first two books (Paris Trout, Deadwood) many years ago, and liked them a lot - it was good storytelling, but very dark, and with episodes of horrifying violence. But I hadn't kept up with him, and was seeing the Dexter books on Eric's shelf got me curious to read them. Eric was happy to lend them to me, and I started in chronological order with The Paperboy.

The book sucked me in right away. I had forgotten how much I like Dexter's prose - there were a number of phrases so delicious that I went back and read them again just to savor them. As with my recollection of his other books, the story is very dark - he writes about the ugly underside of things - and there's some bone-crunching violence that I found difficult to read.

Much of the plot revolves around newspapers - the father is the owner/publisher of a small-town Southern paper, and both of his sons work for The Miami Times. His descriptions of the newspaper business are meant to bite, and do - he was a reporter and columnist for the Philadelphia Daily News when I was growing up, and clearly enjoys skewering the business and the characters in it.

I liked his handling of the plot and the characters, with one major exception. His depiction of the star reporter, Ward James, never struck me as a believable human being. This is one the main characters, but it just didn't ring true for me - the character always seemed to me to be an allegory, or a literary construct. I couldn't relate to him as a person at all, which is very surprising, as one of Dexter's real talents is drawing characters that practically leap off the page.

Overall a good book and a fun read. I'm sorry that Dexter fell off my radar, but I will go back and read the books of his that I've missed.

Dad: Scavenging

2010-12-07T13:58:00.004-05:00

As a child of the Depression, Dad loved finding opportunities to scavenge things - to get use out of something that no one else was using, and optimally, to get it for free. He considered it a virtue on a number of levels. A couple major scavenging trips are especially memorable.

Dad rode the train into the city every day (what's currently the R3 Elwyn line,) and he noticed that somewhere in the Lansdowne vicinity there was a pile of railroad ties laying in the woods near the track. He must have seen them laying there day after day, the days turning into months, and it occurred to him that the ties weren't being used, and that he'd like to have a few of them to border his back-yard garden. And why on Earth would you go to a lumber yard and *buy* railroad ties when perfectly good ones were just sitting there, unused and forgotten?

So one Saturday morning he told Eric and I to put on old clothes, because he wanted our help. Away we went in the station wagon. Dad found a place to park and we bushwhacked in to find his pile of railroad ties. I remember that we had some difficulty getting a few to the car - they were big heavy wooden things, soaked in creosote. I don't recall how we actually accomplished it, I just know that we did - and it may have even taken us a few separate trips to get all the ties he wanted.

To Eric's and my inquiries as to whether taking the ties was allowed, he assured us that it was perfectly okay. But we weren't entirely convinced - mostly because of his own subtle concern with getting in and getting out unseen. I felt like I was part of the Dalton Gang knocking over a bank.

But we got the ties home, and they bordered his gardens admirably - and they're still there bordering the garden 35 years later. Whether or not the Pennsylvania Railroad ever missed their ties is a question I can't answer.

We made a similar trip every Spring to Kennett Square for mushroom dirt. Kennett has a number of big mushroom farms, and I don't know if they still do this, but in those days there were big empty lots with enormous mounds of used mushroom dirt. Dad knew (I guess from his Dad) that mushroom dirt was especially rich, and that a garden of such dirt just burst forth big tomatoes.

As with the railroad ties, his thinking was, "Why on Earth would you *pay* for dirt when it was sitting there in mountains just waiting for someone to come along and load up their buckets?" Maybe the Rockefellers actually paid money for dirt, but to Dad the thought was so wasteful as to be unthinkable.

So one weekend afternoon every year in the early spring, Dad would load the station wagon with as many buckets as it would hold, grab me or Eric (I recall it being just one of us, as the wagon was too full for his buckets and *two* boys) and off to Kennett we'd go.

As with the ties, he assured us that it was all perfectly okay, while at the same time very subtly giving off the air of a bank robber. He would assure us that the dirt was a waste product of mushroom farming - and I don't know enough about mushroom farming to say one way or the other.

I do know that a station wagon full of 15 or 20 buckets of the stuff stank to high heaven - just overpoweringly awful. I remember driving back to Springfield on a frigid early spring afternoon with the windows open to dissipate the awful smell - choosing freezing over the odor.

Dad swore by mushroom dirt for the garden, and the results seemed to bear him out. Huge tomatoes practically did leap out of the ground, and he would smile and say, "Mushroom dirt."

Geocaching: SGL #52

2010-12-06T22:20:00.003-05:00

John and I hoped to get out for a hike this past weekend, but we couldn't arrange our schedules to make it work. I ended up with a block of free time yesterday and decided to go for a combination hike/geocache outing.

Looking at the map and my caching stats, I was 11 finds from 200 total. I also thought I would see if I could add a state (NJ being the most likely candidate,) or at minimum a new county in PA. Eric says there are loads of caches in the NJ Pine Barrens, but that will be a trip for another day. In the end, Lancaster County seemed like a good county to add. State Gamelands #52, west of Morgantown, had a big block of caches, and seemed to be a good place to both stretch the legs and get some finds.

One issue with state gamelands is that they're gamelands - in other words, there are people with guns shooting things. I thought I remembered Eric saying that hunting is not permitted on Sunday in PA, but I wasn't certain (and I also thought it would be better to be safe than sorry,) so I stopped at Walmart and found a blaze orange vest and baseball cap for $7.97. Sold. (And no, there are no pictures of me wearing my blaze orange - and my intention is that there never will be.)

A second problem with state gamelands is that there aren't trail maps. Or maybe there are, but if so, I don't know where to find them. So I went to what seemed to be the nearest parking area to the caches I had in mind, and I hoped there would be a trail in the direction I hoped to head.

There wasn't. I ended up doing significant bushwhacking to the caches, and while I found all but one of the caches on my list, I did not get there by the trails that did exist. I went cross-country, and hit a lot of thorns in the process. But it was still fun, and a different way to hike and experience the woods. It was a cold clear day, but I like the cold and was dressed warmly enough.

I made 13 finds for the day, bringing me to 202 finds since I start geocaching in April. It was also my biggest single day ever. Satisfying day.

Dad: Columbia Game

2010-12-03T15:10:00.004-05:00

When I think of how Dad liked to talk to anyone and meet people and just banter, the following night always comes to mind as a signature story of who he was.

It was a Saturday night in January 1993, and there was a Penn-Columbia basketball game at the Palestra. I take Chris to a few games every year, and there was special excitement at this one for a couple reasons. It was the first year of the Matt Maloney/Jerome Allen backcourt, and buzz was starting to spread about what a great combination they were. It was early in the Ivy League schedule, and Penn was undefeated, but so was Columbia - so this was their first big test as a team. I asked Dad if he would like to come along, and he was happy to.

We got three seats high up on the Penn side of the court, and settled in to watch the warm-ups. As tip-off approached, wouldn't you know it, three young loud guys in light blue come up the aisle, look at their tickets, and sit right next to Dad - Columbia students, or recent grads. I was *highly* annoyed - who wants to sit next to obnoxious fans of the opponent during the big game?

Was Dad annoyed? No, he was *delighted*, and struck up a conversation immediately. At which point my annoyance mixed with unease. And frustration with Dad - not only do we have to sit next to these a******s, but Dad *has* to talk to them, and what will I do if they're rude to him, etc., etc.

My fears were groundless. They were happy to talk to Dad, and there was friendly conversation off and on all throughout the game (which Penn won in a blow-out, giving us a taste of what to expect over the next few years.)

As the game ended and we were all gathering our coats and getting ready to leave, Dad and the Columbia guys gave each other affectionate farewells. With genuine concern, Dad told them to please drive safely. They smiled and said they would.

I felt like I had been taken to school and taught a lesson.