ON THE ROAD WITH PAT AND WARD

Arches National Park

2011-10-24T00:01:00.000-04:00

Those who know me well have probably been wondering why there hasn't been a rant yet. Here goes! Having volunteered at a number of public lands locations and having seen what unthinking people can do to the land and wildlife makes us a little sensitive to wanton stupidity. Though trails were clearly marked (several languages) asking people to stay on the trails and not trample the vegetation, we saw a number of people not just get off the trails but stomp through vegetation they could have walked around. French speaking Canadians were the worst and Germans were the most obnoxious. I'll never talk about rude American tourists again. We don't even finish close to the top. Please folks!!! When on public lands, follow the rules. The rules are there to protect the habitat and the animals, and not to make it hard for you. Nuff said!

Okay, I'm using the word "awesome" way to much. Arches is just absolutely mind blowing.
I'll keep the verbage to a minimum and just post a few comments here and there so ya'll will understand what is happening.

Looks like some kid piled up a bunch of rocks.

Then there was the giant balancing act.

We couldn't help making up names for features that reminded us of things from the past. Mr. Magoo.

Then there were plants growing in improbable places.

Rock canyons leading to magical places. No hyperbole here!

Pat on the path to a very special arch.

The deeper we went, the cooler it got and the more magical it felt.

Deeper and deeper into the canyon surrounded by rock walls and embraced by the colors.

Murals painted by wind and water.

Turning to the right, we found it. WOW!

Adding to the magic, we looked up and there was the moon. Totally neat!

I decided to peer into a rock opening since there had to be some little people hidden there.

Coming out we saw this knarled old tree.

Another arch which was a short distance from Sand Arch.

Worth the walk.

Chipmunks which were a bit different from the ones at home.

Actually two arches side by side. You can only see through from another angle.

View of the left arch.

The intrepid travelers.

After leaving Arches, we went along the Colorado River Riverway. Neat but repetitious of Canyonlands.

Canyonland National Park

2011-09-30T19:33:00.000-04:00

It was a short drive from Cortez to Moab Utah, but like all of our rides, here in the West, the trip was beautiful and awe inspiring.

Just inside Canyonland is a sign that would have caused the ole sphincter to pucker a bit, if we had been in the RV. Eight per cent grades with twenty mph curves at the bottom are not a great deal of fun.

Approaching Moab, Pat sighted an interesting monolith that unfortunaely was in an area where we couldn't pull over.

Busy taking photos on the run, Pat noticed an opening which looked like a cave and zoomed in for a closeup. We were going back to check on this place but somehow never got back to this interesting bit of geology. We would like to know if it was naturally occuring, perhaps a mine shaft or a dug out Indian dwelling, or just an indentation in the rock wall with good shadow detail.

At times like this, I really admire the skill of photographers like Ansel Adams who toured the West with large view cameras and took outstanding photos which capture the majesty of the Western mountains. Seeing a monolith like the one below and being able to appreciate it's size and total awesomeness is one thing, but capturing it in a photo is something else entirely. Take my word for it. This Mountain standing alone, in the distance, was huge and dominated the space we were viewing. The size, the colors, the depth, the hypnotizing magic of holding the viewers attention made one feel insignificant. It wasn't just us, but every car that rounded the curve and saw this ... this...place!

Just as you get accustomed to one showy natural feature, a pair get your attention.

This place with it's mountains and valleys just will not give up. As an alive being would do, it captures your attention and then makes you wonder about all of the forces that are shaping this land. The carving of rock over millions of years with water, wind and quake has made a truly unique environment which again reminds us how insignificant and weak man is.

As we were getting accustomed to the shapes, size and colors of these rocks our minds shifted to a much more fun game. Like kids laying on a blanket, looking up at the sky and making images out of clouds, our minds shifted into the same gear. Were these carved by some ancient Greek or Roman or by the forces of nature?

Mother Nature wasn't finished with us yet. How about some scallops carved by a curvaceous river?

Just as you have adapted to the mountains, up jumps some knarled old trees which just beg to be photographed since they to are part of this mysterious land.

The chipmunks here are different in coloration than the ones at home, but their antics are pretty much the same.

I just can't get away from sixth graders!

Around every corner awaits another awe inspiring site. Whether looking up from the bottom or looking down from the top, the scale of this place is just mind boggling.

Man's effort to make a guardrail out of stacked timbers is insignificant albeit thrifty.

The final question left unanswered at Canyonland is how can these huge rocks remain balanced? How can they be carved out by wind and water yet stay in equilibrium with the forces of gravity.

The Telluride to Durango to Cortez Ride

2011-09-23T23:07:00.000-04:00

The first day in Cortez, CO, we met a delightful lady at the dog park, and she told us about a scenic drive up to Telluride Colorado which was only about seventy five miles.

You may recall that, while in Mesa Verde, we were flirting with the Ute God who stored rain clouds in his pocket and many of those clouds were escaping. On the way out of Mesa Verde it began to rain, then hail and then snow with an ice sheet across the wind shield which the wipers easily wiped off. Once out of the park, we didn't think much of the event because though everything was wet, there was no frozen stuff on the ground. We chalked it up to a freak mixed precipitation event due to altitude.

I took a picture of the Monolith across the way because it looked so neat.

Since the precipitation had stopped and the sky looked promising, we headed into town to pick up
some quick supplies and then head for Telluride. We made a quick stop at Wal Mart and headed back the way we had come when we were slightly taken aback by snow on a distant mountain range.

Here are some of the pictures we took on this almost six hour scenic trip. Colorado is one beautiful state. Counting both Mesa Verde and our side trip to Telluride and Durango, we took almost 700 pictures this day (night). We all, boys included had burgers for dinner. One lesson we learned (should have already known) was to not drive in strange mountains on strange roads after dark.

Here are the pictures without narrative.

Mesa Verde National Park.

2011-09-22T22:33:00.001-04:00

OMG !! Mesa Verde is one of the truly most magical and thought provoking sites we have ever visited. Writing about about Mesa Verde is akin to thinking in poetic, song writing terms.

Arriving at A&A RV Park, which is near the entry road to Mesa Verde is a visual experience in itself. The campsites are comfortable, level and have dependable water and electric. The site we were in had a wonderful view of a rugged but very neat monolith.

The scenic views of the San Juan mountains are a fitting start to a day in Mesa Verde. Names like Montezuma valley and Sleeping UTE Mountain set the scene for the day that follows.

Surrounding the park on three sides is the Ute Mountain Indian Reservation and this day we would be caught up in a Ute legend. A disgruntled God gathers up all of the clouds and then puts them in his pocket and then lays down to sleep. If you look closely, you can make out the sleeping god on top of Sleeping Ute Mountain. The Utes believe that when the clouds are hanging in storm formations that they are escaping from the God's pocket.We were able to see a large number of angry clouds escaping from the God's pockets this day. Fortunately the bad part didn't come until we were finished touring Mesa Verde. I wonder if this means the God's were smiling on us?

Mesa Verde's geologic features are primarily sandstone which is a porous, relatively easy stone to break. Rain and melting snow seep through the sandstone and eventually come to the surface as a spring. The Anasazi people built their buildings and farm fields near these springs. These springs furnished water for the populace and good growing conditions for wild and cultivated plants.

Interesting plants which were used for food, medicine or ceremonial rite are abundant in the areas near the springs. This is prime Pinion Pine territory and the pine nuts were a staple in the Anasazi diet.

The other dominant tree species is the juniper. The berries from the Juniper were used as seasoning in food and for medicinal purposes. The bark of the Juniper was used to diaper babies.

Yuccas were used to make baskets, sandals, mats and clothing. The cucumber looking fruit of the Yucca is starchy sweet with a flavor similar to bananas and was used dried or eaten as a fruit or to flavor meals.

The Utah Serviceberry has berries which were eaten raw or preserved for future use as a flavoring.The Gambel Oak provided acorns which were dried or roasted before being eaten.

The Spruce Tree House Pueblo was built between 1200 and 1276 and had 114 rooms and 8 kivas. A kiva is a round ceremonial room used for religious purposes and common rooms.

This settlement was built in a natural cave, and the evidence of many fires is evident on the cave ceiling.

The typical room was 6 X 8 X5.5 feet and housed one or two people. The rooms were primarily used as bedrooms. There is evidence that fires were burned in some rooms, but they had to be very smokey since there was no ventilation to exhaust the smoke.

Much of the work, in fair weather, was done in the courtyard. However, in poor weather the work moved inside.

The Kivas had the only efficient fireplace. There was a ventilation shaft which allowed air to come down into the Kiva where it was deflected to the sides by a large slab of rock. This air then combined with the smoke and exhausted through the hole on the ceiling which served as an entrance way. My guess is that once you were in the Kiva and the fire was lit, you stayed in the Kiva or were cooked on the way out.

The Anasazi people's creation myth was that man came from the underworld to the surface of the Earth. For that reason the Kivas had a small hole, called a Sipapu, in the floor. There was also small holes in the walls for ceremonial items or offerings.

Somewhere in the mid 700s the nomadic Anasazi People started to settle in one area. No-one understands why the nomad would settle down. Perhaps it was because they had been introduced to farming and food storage by other Indians. How's that for a guess? The early settlement were in pit houses which were roofed with wood and thatch.

The reason I put the building of the pit houses out of historical sequence is because it was interesting they used the same ventilation system that would only be used in the Kivas during latter construction.

The pit house changes, over many years,went from simple dug outs covered with a roof of natural
materials, to a more complex dug out lined with stone and covered with the same materials.

Early pit house

Chaco National Historic Park

2011-09-19T00:07:00.001-04:00

About 130 miles North of Bernalillo is Chaco National Historic Site, which is reachable by traveling on good four lane highway and about twenty miles of dirt road. Just getting there is a minor adventure. I am well aware there are three hundred sixty five days in a year and that this area only gets eight inches of average rainfall a year, so why does the area get over one inch of rainfall the one day we decide to visit. Fortunately, we were in and out before the worst hit, but we left as it was moving in.

Having driven the twenty dirt road miles and having crossed the water crossing with a sign warning to not cross if there was flowing water and knowing that is your way out puts some urgency into beating the rain.

Chaco is an awesome site with some truly remarkable geology and history of Native American culture. Everywhere you turn there is something fascinating to capture your imagination.

Of course there are flowers for some travelers.

The Native Americans living at Chaco from the 800s to the 1300s were outstanding craftsmen and stone masons. Where the buildings at Coronado State Monument had been built with clay and stram balled together, the substantial buildings at Chaco were built of flat stone and in some cases with and inner and outer veneer filled with rubble. It is amazing that some of these walls are still standing 100 years latter.

One of the most fascinating things is to see petroglyphs that were created centuries ago by an Indian scratching on rocks. The soft science of archaeology has no idea about the meaning of these things, but believe they are religious symbols. They can put a rough date on the drawings by the form of the symbols.

The Chaco craftspeople used ponderosa pine quite creatively over doors, along walls and as roof beams. In the Kuau culture at Coronado SHP the women built the houses and the men moved in with them. Sounds like a good system, but at Chaco the men participated. Note the pine lentel over the door. After a thousand years, the pine has a beautiful patina.

The hollow area along this wall is where a pine support rotted out.

Pine roof support which is still in place after a thousand years.

These pictures will give you an idea of how the rocks were stacked.

Living here had some interesting hazards like this cactus pin cushion.

Of course the scenery would make up for a few cactus pricks.

This is an artist rendering of the Bonito ruins which were active from the 850s-1250s.

An architectural Drawing of Bonito Pueblo.

Exterior view of the ruins after a thousand years.

Huge square shaped boulders collapsed on Bonito on 1941 and destroyed 30 rooms.

Window in the wall. Notice the wall right behind this window. There were few openings that went straight through to other rooms. Security?

Wonder if flowers like these grew along the walls a thousand years ago?

The round rooms called Kivas were used by the men for religious ceremonies and living quarters.

The rooms were small and many were did not have ventilation or places to build fires.

Pat gives you a feeling for the size of Bonito.

Friendly little fellow whose ancestors probably lived here.

The Chaco buildings were 3-5 stories high and are mind boggling in size. I wonder why we never learned about these people in school. Visiting here brings to mind all sorts of questions and many of them are not sympathetic to Spanish or European visitors.

It takes a guide to figure out the significance of what you are looking at in these ruins.

The ancients who built this place used only rudimentary tools and had no machinery. They built this awe inspiring place the hard way. These young people are building walkway using modern tools and the omnipresent "Bobcat". My how time has changed! Seeing modern construction in a place like this forces you to realize the effort the original builders had to put forth.

Bernalillo New Mexico

2011-09-16T21:53:00.001-04:00

We checked into the Coronado Campground in Bernalillo New Mexico and experienced an RV park unlike any we have visited. Each RV site had a small stuccoed building decorated in typical Southwestern colors with a Native American theme. The campground is on the banks of the Rio Grande River and has views of a spectacular mountain in the distance.

Our campsite showing the neat shelter.

The Bounder and shelter.

Emblem on the side of the shelter with a Native American theme.

Adjacent to the campground is the Coronado State Monument which is the location of the preserved and partially rebuilt Kuaua Pueblo. These ruins were settled in the 1300s and remained settled until the 1600s. Coronado visited this area 1540-1541 and much that is known about the pueblos, in this area, comes from the journals of Coronado and his men. Of real interest here is the original paintings on the walls of the sacred Kivas which were excavated in the 1930s. The paintings were painstakingly preserved by the archeologists and are on display at Coronado State Monument. They asked that we not photograph these images since they are of religious significance to Native Americans.

This sign made sure you stay on the trails and not go places you shouldn't. It got our attention.

In typical Patty vacationing, she found all kinds of neat plants and flowers to learn about. Some of these desert plants look as tough as they are but others are delicately beautiful. We have a lot of fun learning the names and a bit about these plants and it makes interesting initial conversation when we meet new people at the places we visit. Hope you enjoy!

This is a type of four o'clock, Pat hasn't narrowed it down to the specific four o'clock since there are several that look similar.

The cane cholla is very deserty looking plant with spines that burn when they stick you. (Don't ask!) The flowers are simply luscious. Woody interiors underneath all of the thorns are used to make canes therefore the name's origin.

This is one of a number of unidentified plants Pat has found. Me thinks there is a book on Southwestern plants in our future. This one is really colorful.I think this would be a great place for a good old fashioned camera with some Kodachrome in it since the color saturation on our digital stinks.

Another unidentified flower.

This is the flower on the four wing salt bush which makes for a very impressive plant.

The Geologic formations are simply awesome and we could fill many pages with pictures of mountains, upheavals, and erosion.

We set off for the Jeminez Pueblo at which on a previous trip we had purchased some bread made in the traditional ovens. Alas in twenty years, some things will surely change and this was one of them.

No women selling bread along side the road. Big disappointment!!! However we did get take a fantastic ride through the Santa Fe National Forest. One huge heart breaker was the devastation for miles and miles of the Los Alamos fire. This was totally unbelievable in scope.

We stumbled onto one of the most interesting geological/chemical happenings we have ever seen. In the forest there is a 300 feet long, 50 feet high, and 50 feet wide soda dam. The rock is calcium carbonate and a river has cut it's way through the carbonate. This changes the carbonate to travertine. Yep, the stuff used to tile bathrooms.

While taking the pictures of the soda dam we discovered some interesting art that was probably done by a modern day Indian artist since we were on the Jeminez Pueblo and driving this many nails into a guardrail post would take some time.

Pat also discovered two new flowers. Notice the white flower turns into a feathery pink seed pod. This is also unidentified.

This salmon colored flower is unidentified for now.

Some of the fun of traveling is stumbling on to unexpected treasures, and this trip was no different. While checking out the damage done by the huge forest fire, I noticed some movement and on the double take saw that it was an elk. Pulling the typical stunt that leaf lookers do at home which will always get my dander up, I gabbed the camera and took one quick picture. Fortunately we only inconvenienced one other driver.

Days 3 & 4 (Arkansas and Oklahoma)

2011-09-16T19:05:00.000-04:00

We enjoyed the hills on I-40 from Little Rock west. We stayed at Onapa RV Park close to Checotah, OK (Passport America). It was small but did the job. There was a nice breeze when we pulled in so we didn't need to turn on the air conditioner. The majority of the sites were taken by pipe line workers. There was one tiny trailer that housed a family with at least two kids, one of which had to be at least twelve. Everything was quite dry and from what one young woman told us, work was hard to find.We went into Checotah and the only building which had been beautified was a train depot (which looked like a freight station0 with a caboose next to it.

The trip across Oklahoma was dry, quite windy, and hot. We stopped at Texola on the border of Oklahoma and Texas for the night at Double D RV Park (Passport America). Nothing to write home about, but the sites were level, a nice size and 50 amps elec. It was so hot and windy that it was hard on the dogs to walk much so we waited till dusk to walk very far with them.

Pat found two neat flowers in the dried grass. One was purple with five petals, each with a line radiating from the center which made it look like a star. The center was bright yellow and the leaves were a grey green with ruffled edges. She found it on the internet - Western Horse Nettle (Solanum dimidiatum Raf).

The other had a flower about six inches tall which looked looked like a rag mop on top. The leaves were very close to the ground and also grey green. We haven't been able to identify it yet, partly because the flower is spent and it is the seedhead, not the actual flower. If anyone knows what this is, please let us know.

Driving down the road, we saw the weirdest sight, a leaning water tower. That is what it looks like, but I think it is a portable tower used for who knows what?

Second Day -Little Rock Arkansas

2011-09-11T20:40:00.001-04:00

Day two found us continuing on US64 to Memphis and then the dastardly I-40. God how I hate interstates and their mundane scenery. Jumping off I-40 for a short haul on I-30 to the North Little Rock Campground. On the other side of the Arkansas River is the City of Little Rock.
The old statehouse is the only buiding left standing from the 1830s when the Eastern Tribes of Native Americans, The Muscokees, The Cherokee, The Creek and The Choctaw passed through the area while being pushed to Oklahoma on the Trail of Tears.

The Old Statehouse circa 1830>

Starting our walk along the neat river walk adjacent to the campground, we had an old fashioned trolley pass over on the bridge above us. Kind of fun since the people on the trolley were waving and having a good time.

We also found what every river town need, it's own submarine. Apparently this WWII sub was named the Razorback, so I guess that fits with the Arkansas River.

Not one but two riverboats. The Arkansas Queen was getting ready to depart on an evening dinner cruise. Somehow we missed this in our prior planning. Oh well, maybe next time. It got us thinking about something to do in San Francisco.

This neat little camper was obviously owned by someone with a great fun loving personality. Notice the Snoopy on top in the second picture.

The river walk was very well done and apparently well lighted at night and there was an abundance of benches and a fair number of water faucets. Also present was a number of homeless
men, but they presented no problem and, in fact, there wasn't any panhandling. The only ones who spoke were the ones we spoke to first.

Little Rock as seen from across the river is a fairly appealing small town.

This bridge has stairways at each end of the draw span which turns it into a neat pedestrian bridge. Crossing this bridge gives access to the river walks on both sides of the river and would be a great exercise enhancement if you lived here.

First Day Headed for California

2011-09-09T21:31:00.000-04:00

As advertised we left home at nine this morning and got about fifteen miles before encountering a problem. The twelve volt connector to the Brake Buddy had self destructed, and the little pin thingy had popped out of the end. I discovered the reason the Brake Buddy wouldn't work after checking the fuses in the car and plugging the Brake Buddy into the auxiliary connector on the motor home. Boy genius never thought to check the end of the plug for the little pin thingy. It was closer to go to Wally World and buy the repair parts. Finally got on the road at ten thirty. By the way, if you have never tried to check a fuse on a Honda, give it a try sometime when you vocabulary needs a refreshing with obscure profanity. The thing is recessed and the opening is a bit small for my pudgy paw, but we managed with a combination of fuse puller and needle nose pliers.

We made it to Lawrenceburg Tennessee at about four o'clock local time. No picture today since it was a pure travel day. We did make a note to return to Cowan Tennessee in the future. Cowan is a neat as a pin small town and of note is the train station with it's freshly painted locomotive and rail cars. The locomotive appeared to be a steam driven narrow gauge workhorse type of engine.

Us64 is a nice quiet drive with a great road surface and a large number of views of spectacular
mountain valleys. This is the easy and fast way to transit Tennessee and appears to be a well kept secret.

Pat and I finished the day by sharing a piece of excellent carrot cake which was a gift from the special friend Darby. You can't beat good carrot cake and a cold glass of milk. Thanks again Darby.

2008-08-02T10:02:00.002-04:00

Okay, so we're a little late making another post and here is some of the reasons why. We have been spending three days a week doing our normal work things like working at the visitor center, mowing grass, and working at the office in Manteo. By the way, we love the work here and the people we work with.

After work, two or three nights a week we go on the beach and watch a turtle nest. Actually, we rig barriers for ghost crabs and aid any hatchlings to get in the water. This lasts until midnight, and those who know me well know that I like my sleep, so the next morning is a late one.

The outstanding cultural activities in Manteo have ended for the season so we've had to find something else to entertain us. That's where the pictures of the bears come in.

We go to Alligator River NWR and watch the bears and spend some time with our friend Bill. One night we spotted fifteen bruins doing their thing. Actually it is a real treat for us nature lovers to see these guys in action.

Rainbows

2008-07-29T10:06:00.000-04:00

Some of the beauty here at Pea Island makes all of the wind, non-potable water and rust minor inconveniences. here are a couple of shots of a rainbow that our fellow work camper Diane took the other day. Tough life, but someone has to live it.

When you are looking at this kind of thing, it is hard to keep a blog current. Stick around because there is some really interesting stuff coming up.

Entertainment

2008-07-24T21:11:00.005-04:00

There is something for couples and families to do around here everyday. The refuges alone have enough free programs for adults and kids whereby most families with kids would be hard pressed to turn up any boredom. Here at Pea Island there are bird walks lead by experienced birders, animal adaptations program, turtle program and a program called Sound Side Discovery. Kids love the Sound Side Discovery program because they get to use a seine net in the sound and come up with crabs, fish and shrimp. Then there are the fee canoe trips lead by the interns.

Alligator River Refuge has programs on red wolves and bears as well as offering canoe trips through a different ecosystem. Then comes the really good stuff. The North Carolina School of the Arts offers free plays, musicals, and showcases of various talents six nights a week.

Want a little more for the kiddies to do? The school also has a number of daytime programs for the kiddies at various venues which includes music and child centered plays. The educational opportunities for kids are fantastic. Bored yet? How about a little college summer league baseball?

I'm sorry that I didn't explain more about the plays and the Festival Park venue in Manteo. People bring their own chairs, sit on blankets with drinks,food, goodies of all kinds and just generally enjoy the evening with some first rate talent. So far this week we have attended "A Comedy of Errors" and tomorrow night we will attend a Red, White and Blue music program.

Okay, so the performing arts aren't your cup of tea. How about a sail board competition or a kite flying competition at the Wright Brothers Memorial? Don't forget, you can spend a day visiting the four outer banks lighthouses. Here at Pea Island we have a shipwreck from 1862 which is still visible in the ocean not far off the beach.

Tomorrow night we will be taking egg salad sandwiches, crackers, spinach dip and liquid refreshment to the Red White and Blue music show. We'll sit back, be entertained for a couple of hours and forget about the ills of the world. Wish you could be here with us.

Reasons for late posts

2008-07-24T20:43:00.003-04:00

Somewhere between five and five-thirty each morning, Junior gets up and wants to go out to do the dirty deed. As a result, I've gotten into the habit of walking the boys for three to four miles each morning, on the beach.

We see some outstanding sunrises with lots of color and varieties of texture.

I thought I'd throw these in so that everyone can see how deprived we feel on a daily basis.This area is truly gorgeous.

Early in the morning, everything takes on a freshness or softening and, as a result, one feels renewed. I guess the relationship between mother sea and humans can't be overlooked.

Rough Seas

2008-07-24T20:11:00.004-04:00

Last week we had some rough surf conditions with waves up to twelve feet. There was an awesome amount of beach erosion, which can be expected on such a dynamic barrier island.

Will, being the confirmed surfer guy, insisted on surfing in the rough water. We were concerned for his safety since the seas were really mixed up and just getting out past the breakwater was tough. Of course there were also rip tide warnings.

Patty asked Will to not go out unless someone else was with him, in case he got in trouble and help needed to be summoned. Being the level headed guy that he is, Will agreed and preceded to have a ball surfing. I got tired just watching him going through the breakwater.

He caught a couple of good waves and appeared to have a ball in the rough water. Since surfing means a great deal to him, we were pleased to see him have such a good time. Will is obviously in great shape to be able to handle these surf conditions for an extended period of time.

Our intrepid surfer came out of the water tired with a grin on his face, and Patty and I breathed a sigh of relief.

Sea Turtle Nests

2008-07-15T22:31:00.000-04:00

Turtle patrols go out early each morning looking for crawls. The crawls are evidence of turtles coming onto the beach and then exiting. These are the first signature a sea turtle leaves when they come onto the beach to lay eggs in what is obviously a very laborious task. For some reason, not all crawls result in the turtle laying eggs because for some unknown reason a turtle will turn around and head back to sea. These non-egg laying crawls are called false crawls.

When a crawl is discovered, the intern on duty is notified and they contact a biologist. The intern and the biologist will usually excavate the nest and move it to a safer place on the beach. Data as to nest location, size, number of eggs, size of eggs and most importantly the type of turtle are recorded.Anyone who has dug at the beach knows this is hot and sandy work. Will and Kris are excavating a nest in this photo.

This is the way a turtle nest looks when the camouflaging sand is removed and the eggs are exposed. The eggs look very much like ping pong balls.

Pelican Banding

2008-06-30T21:27:00.010-04:00

Yesterday, we went to Pelican Island which is a Corps of Engineers dredge spoil island in Pamlico Sound. We all met at the boat launch at Oegon Inlet and were given a lift to the island by the Coast Guard on two boats a large MLB and a small twenty footer whaler type. When we left the dock there were small craft warnings and the weather forecast was anything but good, however as it turned out the weather was perfect. After the Coast Guard landed us on the island, the adult birds became excited and took flight. Fortunately they aren't aggressive, so we didn't have any birds dive bombing us.

I know a picture of someone putting on boots is boring, but it is the first good picture we have of James. The other guy is one of the banders and the rings hanging around his neck are the bands which are put on the right leg of the pelican.

Many shore birds make a small indentation in the sand and lay their egg in the indentation. They don't bother building a nest or camouflaging the egg. This egg is an endangered oyster catcher's egg that was just laying in the sand. When you see this, you can understand why it is necessary to close beaches when endangered shore birds are nesting. Only idiots would oppose such a needed safeguard.

The young pelicans are grouped up for the most part similar to teenagers on a Friday night. They for the most part are very excitable and will try to bite anyone in reach. Pelicans have a tooth type protrusion at the end of their upper beak which allows them to hold on to their catch of fish.

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Okay! So we have a group of young excitable pelicans which may strike out at this unknown threat they have never laid eyes on, and each pelican has a sharp tooth at the end of it's beak. Now stick your hand in there, hold the beak closed and gab both wings just behind the body. By the way, be careful to not close off his nostrils on the top of the beak.

These guys are to small for banding, but they still act out screaming, grunting and striking at anything that gets in their way. Actually, one sort of looks like Jimmy Durante. You do remember Jimmy Durante. Don't you?

Well, Patty has it mostly right. She should have the wings clasped just behind the body. That serves two purposes. One, the bird is pretty well immobilized and won't beat you with it's wings. Two, and most importantly when the wings are grabbed in the back near the body, the poop machine is pointed away from you. Any of you science types out there distressed over my non-anatomical writings have never grabbed an excited pelican. Actually, Patty was more concerned about injuring the pelican than in getting pooped.

Now this guy has it right. Notice where the business end of the poop machine is pointed. There is no way the guy holding the bird is going to get messy. I wonder if the guy doing the banding is aware of the danger he is facing. No matter what you do, you will smell worse than any barnyard or chicken house, of which I have heard. After being washed with Clorox, our shoes are still outside.

Lee holding the pelican he caught and James banding the bird. Lee is an intern at Alligator River NWR, and James is an intern here at Pea Island NWR. Both of them are great guys and we enjoy being around them.

The lady in the white blouse is Abbey Reibel the Pea Island volunteer coordinator. She is a real pleasure to work with and has made our stay very enjoyable.

Will, another on of the Pea Island interns and all around good guy has captured a big one which he is obviously proud.

Jess, an Alligator River intern getting ready to jump into the pile. Jess is one of those people who seem to smile most of the time.

Pelicans build little mounds of sticks and grass on which to lay their eggs. We saw a number of these with either one or two eggs. The mound is about six to eight inches high and just keeps the eggs off the sand. There were some nests in low scrub trees, which were easy to see and reach into.

We actually saw this little guy hatch out and wondered if we were doing more harm than good by keeping mom away from her nest. There were a large number of hatchlings on the island, which made us curious about the possible increased mortality rate because of our presence

Pat was called "Mother Earth" by the teachers a her school in Mobile and this picture sort of confirms it. In reality, one of the weird things that happened after the birds were banded was they would gather around one of the humans. It wasn't unusual for birds to make movement difficult because of their grouping up around people. I guess that since we ran the parents off, the young sought us as surrogates. Maybe, maybe not, who knows?

When the banding was done, we went over to a Royal Tern rookery. They are truly beautiful birds and made quite a spectacle as they flew on our approach.

The chicks are similar to chickens in that they are plain and devoid of interesting color as compared to the adults. There are three eggs just sitting in small depressions in the sand, but unlike the pelicans, I don't think the terns abandoned their chicks or eggs. We were within about ten to fifteen feet from the colony.

Another satisfying and interesting day drew to a close with the boat ride back to the docks at Oregon Inlet. We both experienced some things we had never done before,
and had mixed emotions about our effect on the birds and whether the discomfort caused them was necessary.

Top of the Heep Interns

2008-06-29T11:42:00.004-04:00

Here at Pea Island, we have three interns, two male, Will, James and one female Emily. In this photo are two of the Pea Island interns, Emily and Will spoiling two perfectly good dogs. James,the other Pea Island intern was probably catching bugs or surfing when this picture was taken. Our dogs love these three young folks and will ignore our commands when they are around. At Alligator River we have Lee, Jess and ladies man Cal.Fortunately for us, we get to see all six of these young adults frequently.
This is truly an outstanding group of young people which are hard working, intelligent, motivated and fun to be around. They lend a summer camp atmosphere to the place, and like summer camp, it is going to be tough to say good bye when they have to leave.

No Cat but Two Raccoons

2008-06-29T10:53:00.003-04:00

James, one of the interns, spotted a domestic cat near the South pond and set Have-a- Heart type traps baited with cat food. Patty went along the next morning to check the traps and found no domestic cat but two small raccoons.

This guy was blonde and had the markings of a standard coon except in tones of blonde.

This little cutie with standard markings and color was in one of the traps. Patty wishes she could have brought this little guy home for a pet. As you can see, working on a wildlife refuge is a neat way to help out during this time of budget crunches.

Busy Days and Nights

2008-06-28T21:26:00.009-04:00

It seems there is something to do every day and night on the Outerbanks, and we are trying to do as much of it as we can. There is a play entitled "The Lost Colony" which tells the story of the first English settlement in the new world.The photo on the left is of the set for the opening act. This set is transformed from an Indian village, to a queens chambers,to a settlers "Fort Roanoke", and back again. Costuming, set design, directing, acting, dancing and ambiance in the outdoors all combine to make this a very enjoyable experience. When on the Outerbanks, take in this very entertaining depiction of early history.

Yesterday we went to a kite boarding competition which was fun to watch. So much so that we spent an entire afternoon observing the fun. The entire kite, harness and lines all fit into a package about the size of a backpack. In fact it has straps which would facilitate hauling it to the beach.

After the kite or more accurately parasail is unpacked and inflated it is taken to the waters edge.

The kite is then allowed to fill out with the wind and the fun begins.

Two kites that have caught the wind and are ready to go.

The kite boarder controls the kite by the means of a trapeze type affair and by manipulating the control is able to change direction quite rapidly though usually getting wet in the process. It is really interesting watching these folks manipulating the controls and tacking with the wind in order to gain the most speed.

They use the wind to lift them into the air and to facilitate the performance of tricks. UP! UP!

UP! and AWAY! Some of these guys go thirty to forty feet in the air. Some turn flips and others do tricks that we have seen snow boarders do coming off a ramp. LOOKS LIKE A BLAST!

At times, the wind, waves, reaction time and body don't quite come together to impress the crowd and fellow enthusiasts.

OOPS.

Don't worry. There is always someone flying around waiting to clean up the mess. In this case, a friendly neighborhood osprey.

Beauty and the Beast

2008-06-28T20:51:00.003-04:00

This post is for our friends that think Junior is such a sweet little thing, and in reality he is, however, at times he looks quite ferocious when he is smiling. When Patty or I are eating something Junior deems to be desirable, he begins to grin. I'm sure he thinks he is being cute since his grin often elicits grins from his human slaves and possible dropped morsels. I will leave it to the gentle reader to decide whether his grin is friendly or off putting.

I included the sunrise photo for everyone to witness the hardships we must face in this place. Every morning, Newton and Junior are ready to go outside for their morning constitutional at about 5:30, and when I open the door the first peeks of the Sun are on the horizon. By the time we are coming off the beach a glorious painting has unfolded before us. It is truly difficult to get homesick when each day begins with such splendor. Even stormy weather brings greetings of beauty, sounds and smells of the sea and artists pallets of color.

Osprey Nests

2008-06-28T19:43:00.003-04:00

One of the things we find so very interesting here at Pea Island is the number of osprey nests and the ability to get very close without disturbing the birds. Poles with platforms have been set around the refuge and osprey build nests and apparently return to the same nest year after year. These very large, colorful birds are often mistaken for bald eagles since their heads are white.

A local restaurant, Basnight's Lone Cedar, has an osprey nesting platform at the back of the restaurant, and it is possible to sit in the restaurant and watch the osprey parents tend to the three chicks in the nest. You are sitting on the same level as the nest which gives you a "birds eye view" (I feel so clever)of the proceedings. By the way the food is quite yummy and we give it a four out of a possible five for scrumptousness. Patty was almost as giggly as a teenager eating the she crab soup (recommended) and watching the ospreys.
By the way, when viewing an osprey nest and the rear end of a baby pokes over the side, beware, because they projectile poop.

Friends Leaving Camp

2008-06-16T09:05:00.003-04:00

This work camping thing is a great deal like going to summer camp. The Moores, a full timing couple, which were here when we arrived left for some R&R before their next work camping assignment. Patty likens the experience of couples, who have known each other for a short while and have become friends, going their separate ways, to leaving summer camp. The situation that put everyone, volunteers, interns and refuge personnel together,with all the many varied personalities and how everyone fits into the group, can never be the same again. You are richer from having known them and immediately dislike the thought of being without the discussions, sitting on the beach, fishing, laughter, and shared meals. We look forward to seeing Glenn and Ann down the road.

Surf Fishing

2008-06-15T12:33:00.002-04:00

Surf fishing seems to be the recreational choice for many people around the outer banks so I thought that I would try my hand. The other night, while feeding bait to various fish, I was joined by two of the interns and we all proceeded to feed the fish. All that I have caught so far has been a number of small black tipped sharks which is fun, but not the purpose of the exercise.
Sooner or latter, I will catch something edible and we will enjoy a fine meal of fresh fish. As inexpensive as seafood is here and the high cost of fishing tackle, I would probably save money by continuing to buy seafood. So far we have had oysters, mahi mahi, shrimp, grouper and Abbie our volunteer coordinator brought some tuna steaks caught on her husband's boat the PHIDEAUX.

Yep, This is a tough life.

Sad End to a Gentle Creature

2008-06-15T12:15:00.002-04:00

I really hesitated to post pictures of this dead turtle but felt the whole story needed to be told. In the two weeks that we have been here, this is the third dead turtle to wash ashore one of which was an endangered Kemps Ridley. It appeared they were all killed by boat props.
These poor guys have only a one in a thousand chance of making it to adulthood and when they do someone runs over them with a boat. The more insidious threat to the sea turtles is man trowing away things that resemble their favorite food, jelly fish. In an earlier post I discussed the number of plastic bags and balloons that we had picked up from the beach. It is thought these things , when in the water, appear to be jelly fish to a turtle, and they gobble them up. Plastics lodge in a turtles digestive system and slowly kill the turtle. I don't know about anyone else, but this doesn't sound like a comfortable way to die to me.

Dare Days

2008-06-13T21:54:00.009-04:00

Last Saturday Patty, an intern named Emily and I went into Manteo for the Virginia Dare Festival. Virginia Dare was the first European baby born in the new world and she was born very near Manteo on Roanoke Island. The festival is laid out around the harbor and neat little downtown area. Like most small town festivals, there were numerous food booths and people selling everything from photographs to crafts.
No festival is complete without local talent being showcased and Dare Days is no different. There were little kids dancing proudly and of course older singers and dancers.
We walked around checking out all of the displays and talking to a number of vendors. One young woman had a display of photographs depicting the beach and many other nautical themes as well as flora and fauna that are indicative of the outer banks. While I was checking out her work, a friend of hers came in and asked her about her photos. She told her friend "I was bored this winter and just went out and took some pictures and decided to display them here. She had a really good eye and her work looked extremely professional so much so that I'm convinced she could become another Stiglitz or Adams. I hope she learned something about herself and will continue with her photography.
One guy had a 1926 model John Deere engine running a homemade ice cream contraption using belts and pulleys. It was worth going to the festival just to see antique machinery in operation. The pretty young lady in the hat is Emily one of the interns here at Pea Island.

After walking around the festival, we decided to take the ferry to Ocracoke and have lunch so being the gamey bunch that we are, we headed for Ocracoke.

The waterways around the Outer Banks are crowded with boat traffic. One guy even raced the ferry we were on to a channel marker and made the turn around it with about a minute to spare.

If you click on the picture, you will get a better idea of the boat traffic.

If the Coast Guard had boats like these when I was younger, I would probably have joined the Coast Guard instead of the Navy. These are some really neat looking fast boats.

I wouldn't mind having one of these to run around in. Note the three huge engines on the stern. I bet this baby will almost fly.

Emily at the rail of the ferry. She is one super young woman willing to tackle any task assigned to her and very intelligent. Pat and I often discuss how great the three interns Emily, Will and James are. They are all hard working, intelligent, personable and a delight to be near. We are sure that each has a bright future and much happiness ahead of them.

The ferry passed a guy playing with two dogs and a young boy along the shoreline.

The "Wild" Horses of Ocracoke don't appear so "wild" when they are in a corral, but they are pretty and interesting to watch.
This pelican was interesting since we initially thought it was a statue placed on a pileing by the owners of the restaurant where we were eating. We noticed feathers blowing in a light breeze which gave the dozing bird away. He sat motionless for about fifteen minutes before Pat snapped his picture.
A fitting end to a good day playing tourist around an area that we love. Having Emily along was a real plus since we enjoy her company and love her inquisitive mind. It is going to be difficult to see the three interns depart in August. My guess is that there will probably be a few tears shed.
A last photo of the Ocracoke Lighthouse seems like a good way to close this post.

Beautiful Seashores

2008-06-06T21:58:00.006-04:00

I just can't get over the beauty of the seashore.You start out in the morning to walk in what appears to be a foggy, yucky day and all of a sudden the light of a partially fog obliterated sunrise is bringing gorgeous color to the beach. Even though I was raised in Mobile and the beaches along the Gulf of Mexico were like a home, I've never gotten accustomed to sunrises at the beach. Perhaps that is why so many fisherman leave before daybreak. Due to wind and wave action the shoreline is constantly changing and these subtle changes (at times not so subtle) vary the light and textures so that every day brings new visions

Currently, there is a very large wildfire burning on the mainline side of Pamlico Sound and we are getting heavy smoke because of the West winds. Though the air is terrible to breathe the effect on the diffusion of light is quite startling and almost eiry. The view out our window with eighty two degrees temperature, eighty degrees humidity and one quarter mile visibility, due to smoke has all the makings of a good mystery novel.

Today, we are going into Manteo for the Dare Days Festival of music, food and art. Virginia Dare was the first baby born to the English settlers on this continent and many public and private entities are named Dare in her honor.

Stupid People

2008-06-03T20:23:00.007-04:00

Every night we go for a walk on the beach which should be a relaxing peaceable time and it is mostly, but at times one can get fed up with fellow members of the human race. After the first night's walk we started carrying two bags with us, one for shells and the other for the detritus of human habitation. Shells like this one make the walks comfortable communes with nature and add a bit of beauty to the day, but inches away reality awaits.

Then there are the bags upon bags of things thrown away by humans. I know that many people live sheltered lives and haven't seen the numerous TV adds and written articles about the danger of plastics to marine animals and sea turtles in particular. It seems that sea creatures who make jelly fish part of their diet confuse plastic for jelly fish and ingest them as we would a seafood buffett. The problem is that plastics violate the rule of "What goes in must come out", and thus obstruct the digestive systems of the animals. This party balloon and water bottle floated ashore together. I wonder if they went to the same party.

If you are real fortunate, you will find someone's discarded refrigerator on the beach. Since we have found numerous plastic bags which once contained ice and now a refrigerator perhaps we will stumble on an empty keg and can have a keg party sans college students.
The thing that is so disheartening at times is finding junk in the middle of beauty as in this display of various shells with a chunk of plastic smack dab in the middle. I guess this is the modern meaning of ambiance. Perhaps the planet is beyond saving or at least humans are. After observing the abject crass behavior of our kind at the very edge of life's beginning, I think we deserve everything we get plus some.

Walking on the Beach at Pea Island

2008-05-31T21:10:00.005-04:00

On our morning and evening walks we exercise the gogs and pick up many interesting shells. The beaches are covered with shells. Many are broken and many millions have been ground down by tidal action making a very course sand. The entire process is really interesting to observe.

A lone shell sits in the detritus of many 100s of shells that have been ground down to a rough sand.

There are literally miles of sea shells stacked one upon another in a thin band on the refuge beach.

This ghost crab was caught out of his nest in broad daylight and caught the attention of Junior, who immediately had to go and check him out. I am pleased to announce that the encounter ended in a draw. Junior and the crab both went on their own way.

Pea Island NWR

2008-05-31T20:36:00.004-04:00

Upon arrival at Pea Island, our first reaction was "Wow". It has been five years since we have been to the ocean so we had forgotten just how gorgeous it can be. We are parked next to another volunteer couple in a fifth wheel. They are full-timers and travel from National Wildlife Refuge to National Wildlife refuge. They seem to be really neat people.
Our spot is about 50 yards from the ocean with low dunes between us and the ocean. The picture on the left was taken at day break on the first day we were here.

About 50 yards behind our rig is a building which houses three interns, two guys and one young woman. All three are sharp and entertaining. I think it will be an interesting summer.

Best Bar B Que in North Carolina?

2008-05-31T19:52:00.005-04:00

One Saturday while listening to "The Splendid Table" on NPR there was a recommendation for North Carolina's best Bar B Que in Ayden, North Carolina. Since we were going in that direction, Patty dutifully noted the information, pulled out her atlas, and assured herself we could in fact visit this place enroute to Pea Island. The pitch was that the whole hog with skin at the Skylight Inn Bar B Que was slow cooked for eighteen hours and served without sauce. The commentator went on to say that the BBQ was served "on" unleavened cornbread. The pork was pulled and the crispy skin was chopped small giving a different texture sensation as you chewed.

Patty called ahead to make sure there was a parking lot big enough to hold our rig or if there was parking within walking distance. The response was "We have a big parking lot, you can park in". Well,. they do have a parking lot that we could park in, but to get out, we had to disconnect the towed and back out and then re- hook everything back together. Notice the unique dome type structure on the roof. I guess it isn't really unique since there is a similar structure in Washington DC.

According to "The Splendid Table" the BBQ was served "on" the unleavened cornbread with the coleslaw served as a side on the plate. As you can see the BBQ was put into a cardboard container and the cornbread was slapped on top of that. Obviously the coleslaw (pretty good) was put into another cardboard container. Note the piece of pie was made somewhere world and came replete with plastic wrapping dutifully listing all of the ingredients.

Recommendations for future diners: Have the BBQ since it was in fact interesting but hopefully not the best in North Carolina, and have the cornbread with the coleslaw. Whatever you do, leave the pie alone. By the way, refills on the drinks will set you back fifty cents.

Our rating on the 1-5 scale with 5 being fantastic and 1 being edible was a solid 3 on the rotund scale.

Chattanooga Ohio

2008-05-22T21:27:00.005-04:00

In Chattanooga Ohio there is an 100 year old restaurant that everyone calls the Chatt Bar. Its a must stop on our trips North for several reasons. First we get to visit some of our favorite people the Gilliland clan. Secondly, we get to eat some good bar food from fried pizza to fried chicken gizzards, and beer fries.

Coney Island Restaurant Fort Wayne Indiana

2008-05-22T20:52:00.007-04:00

In Fort Wayne there is a 94 year old restaurant which has a specialty of hot dogs, and no visit is complete until we have made the sojourn for dogs. Cooney Island has a different brand of hot dogs from what I grew up with in Mobile but I have been known to make a pig of myself on these things. They have a thin chili sauce and some of the best tasting wieners that I have ever had plus fresh rolls. We order them with extra onions.

Until the last year, or so, Coney Island has only had male waiters, but now they also have women. It is one of those place that the waiters don't write down your order but remember it. The menu isn't long with just hot dogs and hamburgers with sodas and bagged chips.

Here' the three muskateers after eating our fill of hot dogs and here is a picture of everyone's favorite Aunt Jean.

The National Model Aviation Museum

2008-05-22T19:33:00.011-04:00

Keeping with our aviation theme for the day, we went to the National Model Aviation Museum. Here is a chance for adults to revert back to their childhood. I don't know why I said that since a very large number of adults fly model aircraft with battery operated "parkflyer" being a really hot movement.

The tour guide that we had flies the very small rubber band powered aircraft. If you think this is for kids think again because some of these guys get phenomenal flightsout of small ultralight aircraft. There is even an international flight competition for these very light rubber powered planes.

One area that is getting a lot of attention is the ultra small battery powered aircraft that can be flown in your living room.

If small models don't interest you, check out the scale model jet that Pat is standing next to below.There are model aircraft for every one from very large to very small and rubber band powered, electric powered and of course gas powered.

This is an actual model aircraft that flies. I'd be scared to death to fly something this big and expensive. It is pretty bad when you crash an electric powered park flyer but something like this jet could be really dangerous to someone on the ground.

One of the interesting displays was a 50s era model shop both an exterior and interior

The interior was replete with models that most boys that grew up in the 50s would recognize. All in all this was a fun way to spend a morning.

Even the model of the shuttle and 747 was an actual flying model. Note the props on the 747.

Wilbur Wright Birthplace

2008-05-22T18:59:00.004-04:00

When we turned off to go to the campground, we saw a sign for Wilbur Wright's birthplace so the next morning we went to check it out. This place is better visited in the towed since it is back in the farm area with narrow roads, and there really isn't a good parking area for RVs. The place is manned by local volunteers so the chance to garner some local color is great.

Patty found a friendly pup while sitting on the front porch of Wilbur Wright's birthplace. Behind the house is a model of a WWII control tower and some guys were flying gas model aircraft the day we were there. Looked like a lot of fun and my fingers got itchy. This dog had a ball chasing a rabbit before we left and fortunately the rabbit escaped under the back porch. Rabbit 1- Dog 0 but I have a feeling the rabbit shouldn't push his luck.

Greenburg Indiana Tree

2008-04-18T21:38:00.006-04:00

Today was highway from Hell day.The initial plan was to take US27 to US127 to US 421 And cross the Ohio River at Madison. However, after closely examining the Kentucky Map, I noticed
a rather large number of closely spaced squiggles on the map just North of Frankfort KY on US421. Being the Astute RV traveler that I am, I broke out the ole laptop, cranked up Delorme and routed a new course around the squiggles. Good ole Delorme routed us down Kentucky State Highway 395, and since it was a state highway and the map didn't have all of those little squiggles, I thought we were in tall cotton. Well folks Kentucky State Highway 395 and all of it's permutations was about 20 feet wide the entire distance traveled and the nice straight looking road had more curves than I could count. Passing a car on that road was shear doughnut in the skivvy time and then came the school bus. S_______ ________ T!!!!! I think everyone gets the idea, but in case you don't picture both the bus and the Bounder with right front tires and one rear dually dropped off the 6 inch tall pavement at 15 mph.

With ecstasy my trusty navigator announced we were at the end of the road and would be turning onto 421. I think that the boys were even smiling at this pronouncement. The road forked and I (like a dummy) headed down the right fork which intercepted 421 at an extreme angle in such a manner to prevent a left turn. Of course, I needed to turn left. Snap decision time. I went ahead and made a right turn thinking that a place to turn around couldn't be far. WRONG. Remember all of the squiggly lines I wanted to elude? We traveled over, around, up and down them for about twenty miles before we found a place where I could turn around. Yep! We got to travel the squiggly lines and 8 - 9% grades twice.

Just to make the days driving a marvelous occasion There was a multi-vehicle wreck just before the Ohio River so we were able to sit in a very long line of traffic for a very long time. Patty fixed a snack. I went to the bathroom. We ate the snack and listened to a lot of NPR. Thank god for motorhomes and Satellite radio.

Not long after crossing the Ohio River we came to the town of Greenburg and looking out you could see a spectacular looking courthouse building. As we got closer, we noticed something sticking out of the clock tower and at first we thought it was a left over Christmas decoration. Upon closer examination, we discovered that it was a tree of some sort. At first I thought it was a joke probably from a building climbing nut. This thing was obviously growing out of the roof and had been doing so for some time.

Here's a closer look so you can verify that we aren't completely nuts.

After the roads, curves, hills and near misses of the day, a little levity was welcome

So after avoiding interstate highways for two days, we are in a Passport America campground within hearing distance of interstate 70.

Trial Put Dayton on the Map

2008-04-17T22:31:00.004-04:00

We left this morning headed for Decatur Indiana for a visit with Patty's (my adopted) Aunt Jean and then to we will go to Elkhart Indiana to join Terry and Dale for the RV Capital Rally. From there we will head to Dayton Ohio to have fun with the grandkids while daughter inlaw Sara recovers from surgery. We started this trip with the idea that we wouldn't drive an inch on an interstate so we are following US and state highways all the way.
Since Patty had her run in with creationists over the teaching of evolution, we have had a keen interest in any legal matters between creationists and science so it was sort of dejavu when we discovered that we would be going through Dayton Tennessee. Dayton was the location of the famous Scopes monkey trial in July 1925. Two famous politicians William Jennings Bryan and Clarence Darrow had at it during those hot, muggy and tense days of summer. Both of these guys had oratory styles that is lacking in modern politics and style. William Jennings Bryan wore a pith helmet during those hot days of summer and the wrinkles in his suit were testimony to the humidity.

Rhea County Courthouse Dayton Tennessee

2008-04-17T22:24:00.006-04:00

The exterior of the Rhea County Courthouse is still impressive after all of these years, and it is easy to visualize the effect of such a large trial on a small Southern town in the heat of summer. The summer heat, hot blooded creationists, evidence spouting scientists and of course the world media turned little Dayton into the hot box of debate for eleven days. To this day the debate continues between those supporting the mythology of creationism and those supporting the scientific method of accepting reproducible truths.

Climbing the stairs, it is easy to imagine yourself walking in the footsteps of Scopes, Darrow and Bryan all those years ago. What is difficult is, on this cool spring day, is imagining the heat of July so many years ago prior to the air conditioning of this building. The stairs are well preserved and still possess the effect that you are climbing above the ordinary and into the face of destiny. I couldn't help but think that the architects of this building had such theatrics in mind as they designed this courthouse. At the top of the stairs you can see the entrance to the courtroom where Darrow for science and Bryan for the theists did battle.

The judges bench is still being used today but has more modern seating.

The jury box does not look like a place that I would like to sit for eleven days in the eat of July in Southern Tennessee.

Scopes Trial Diorama

2008-04-17T22:23:00.000-04:00

Notice the fan in Bryan's hand and the actual
fan below the photo. That thing would have
moved some air.

Bryan wore a pithe helmet and Darrow wore a straw bowler.

Clarence Darrow in his courtroom finery.

Doing the slow burn

2008-04-14T22:19:00.002-04:00

The strip of plastic running along the bottom of the big living room slide was coming off and making a mess on the carpet. Patty, like most women, doesn't like ungodly black marks on her carpet so we took the coach to Camping World RV in Oakwood, Georgia for repairs. They ordered the part, it came in and then the first bomb bursts, "The tech worked on it for two hours and couldn't get the part on". The interesting question at this point is whether the part was wrong or is the tech incompetent? The part was reordered to ship FEDEX. I called today and the service manager said that his parts guy left early and he (service manager) couldn't find the part. Boys and girls you need to give me some credit here because I didn't crawl through the phone and grab him from the inside and turn him inside out. Without finding the part, he promises me that my coach will be finished tomorrow. Anyone want to place a small wager on the obvious?

Patty is gearing up to get out of here and we are both anxious to get to Terry's rally in Elkhart Indiana. We spent a couple hours figuring out what we would take to the potluck Saturday night and came up with a traditional Southern theme. I'm going to make a shrimp and sausage jambalaya and Patty is going to make a banana pudding from scratch. I think Terry will be suitably impressed. So, hopefully we load the motorhome tomorrow night and head out Wednesday morning.

We will be taking US27 through Tennessee and much of Kentucky then jumping on US 421 to Indiana 3 and back to US27 into Decatur Indiana. This will turn a one day trip into a two or three day one because there are a number of stops we want to make along the way. One biggee is the Dayton Tennessee courthouse where the Scopes trial was held in the 30s.

Hopefully we will have some good photos to post so that everyone can keep up to date.

Trip to Amicalola Falls

2008-03-29T22:30:00.001-04:00

We met Terry and Dale at Wally World and headed to one of the prettiest spots around, Amicalola State Park and it's fantastic 700' waterfall. After walking to the lower end of the falls, we rode up to an area near the middle of the falls and could really get a feel for how huge this waterfall is. Then we drove all the way to the top where you can stand on top of the spot where the falls start down hill fast. The stream feeding this thundering falls is only about four feet wide and two feet deep but when it heads down the mountain you would think it was fed by the Atlantic Ocean.

This is a special place for Patty and I since it was here that I decided we should get married and fortunately for me, she agreed. Gosh, that really doesn't seem like eighteen years ago.

THE PICTURES BELOW WERE MINED FROM DALE'S SKOOLZOUTFOREVER BLOG SINCE I LEFT OUR CAMERA AT HOME. THANKS DALE

Dale and Terry at the Approach Trail to the AT

2008-03-29T22:29:00.000-04:00

Terry, Dale Pat and Ward at Lower Level of Amicalola Falls

2008-03-29T22:28:00.000-04:00

VISITORS IN THE FALL

2008-03-29T21:58:00.002-04:00

One of the things we like about living in Suches is the number of wild animals we get to observe. We've had everything from black bear to a plethora of humming birds and the largest herd of deer was seven. The following pictures were taken last fall in the front yard under the apple tree. As the apples fall, the deer come out of the woods and gobble them up. It is unusual to see them in broad daylight, but this last years draught had their browse down considerably. Such a pretty animal.

Monday we be heading out to Gainesville to have a little work done on the Bounder at Camping World in Oakwood. Terry and Dale are going to pick us up and we will make a little junket out of the trip. I have no idea where we will go, but knowing Terry, he will find something interesting.

One Reason We Like it in Suches

2008-03-29T21:48:00.002-04:00

2008-03-29T21:46:00.001-04:00

2008-03-29T21:45:00.000-04:00

2008-03-29T21:44:00.000-04:00

Can't leave Hercules out

2008-03-29T00:04:00.001-04:00

Aunt Jean leaves her dog Hercules the rascally pug behind with her friend Pete when she travels. No posting would be complete with Jean unless Hercules was mentioned so here he is.

Hercules

2008-03-29T00:01:00.001-04:00

Visitors From Afar

2008-03-28T23:33:00.002-04:00

After we finished the kitchen training, Patty and I returned the short distance to the AgriRama so that we could meetup with Aunt Jean, Julianna, Steve and Carla who were on their way to Florida for Spring break. They go somewhere every year and this year it was Disney World and Daytona Beach. Steve is Patty's cousin and all around good guy. Carla is his wife and Julianna is their granddaughter. When they got to Tifton we all went out to eat at Sonny's Bar B Q where Patty and I were becoming regular customers since we had eaten there with Terry and Dale. After eating, the Indiana bunch went to check in at the motel and Ward went to take a short three hour nap, so we didn't meet up again until the next day.
Thursday morning Carla, Steve, Aunt Jean and Juliana came back to AgriRama and we all went on a history tour. Tony (Carla's sister and all around great gal), Scott (Tony's husband and good guy), Cody (Tony and Scott's son) and Wanda (Tony's super mom) had arrived that morning and had taken over the motel rooms for awhile. Around noon Scott called and said he was near our motorhome and wanted me to come out and meet him. Scott is a Fleetwood tech and I had called him and asked if he would stop by on their way to Florida to help me with a slide problem. Scott being the kind of guy that he is agreed to stop and here he was. It was a bonus to see Tony, Wanda and one of my all time favorite kids, Cody.
We talked about places to eat and they wanted Sonny's so away we went and once again I had the "all you can eat ribs." After eating, we were sad to see family and friends go down the road and leave us behind. We really do love that bunch of fun loving folks and missed seeing Cheryl, Theresa, John and Michael the rest of the "Chatt" family since they didn't make the trip this year. I know we all missed the smiling patriarch and Wanda's husband, Doyle, who passed away last year. Abetter group of folks you'll never meet.

Patty and Jean

2008-03-28T23:31:00.001-04:00

Julianna opens chain for Jean

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Carla, Cody (Tony and Scotts son) and Julianna (Carla and Steve's granddaughter)

2008-03-28T23:26:00.001-04:00

Wanda and Tony

2008-03-28T23:24:00.001-04:00

Scott, Ward, Steve and Jean

2008-03-28T23:22:00.001-04:00

Disaster Kitchen Training: Spirit of America Kitchen

2008-03-28T22:54:00.002-04:00

Patty and I are Red Cross Disaster volunteers and attended a two day disaster kitchen training session in Americus Georgia. The instructors were truly outstanding and the program they put on was exceptional. The training took place at South West Georgia Technical school in Americus which is the infamous place that the 9/11 high jackers trained. This very modern, well appointed facility was superb for adult training and sort of helped to set the positive tone of this training session. The trainees were a mixed bag of young, older, male, female, white, Afro-American, theists, non-theists, Red Cross volunteers and community volunteers. We were a laughing and amiable group of trainees. The local community volunteers were motivated by the fact they had a tornado move through the area last year which destroyed a number of buildings including the local hospital.
The training kitchen was the Spirit of America Disaster Kitchen which was donated to the Red Cross through the efforts of the Greenwich Connecticut Red Cross Chapter in honor of two men killed on 9/11. This kitchen itself was built by the Carlin Company and is capable of feeding thirty thousand meals a day. Spirit of America is built inside a fifty three feet long semi- trailer. It has everything that a commercial kitchen has and is self contained with fresh and grey water tanks. On the second day of training, we prepared breakfast for the trainers and trainees and then prepared lunch for two hundred sixteen people from the community and school. Joy of joys, we were given the opportunity to clean up our mess and get Spirit of America ready to hit the road.
We learned, laughed, met old friends made new friends and ate pretty well.

Spirit of America Kitchen

2008-03-28T22:53:00.001-04:00

The Rally 2008 Perry Georgia

2008-03-28T22:50:00.000-04:00

We left Tifton and went to Perry Georgia for the rally at the Georgia National Fairgrounds which we had all been to before for an FMCA rally. We signed up for two days early arrival and were surprised to find out that many of the seminars would be presented during those two days and then repeated over on another day or days. We only attend these things for two reasons first and foremost is to attend the seminars and learn what we can about the RV lifestyle, and secondly to visit with new and old friends. Somewhere down the list is going into the new RVs and checking out new styling or ideas.

The Rally disappointed us on the seminar front with only a few of them being worthy of our time or effort since many were nothing more than infomercials.

We did meet a funny couple from Alabama. Ron, the guy, is retired Army and his wife , Honey, is from Germany. We had many laughs with these two and hope to run into them down the road.

I still get a kick out of RV salesmen. Many of them don't know a grey tank from a black tank but will shoot a line of bull a mile long. The sad part is that many RV buyers don't spend enough time researching RVs so they can recognize the BS. My running heehaw at this rally was that we wanted drawers with dovetail construction and I told a number of RV sales people that my Bounder had dovetailed drawers which of course is only in my dreams. Most RVs have stapled drawer construction where the joints are just butted together. Now you know how easily I am to amuse or was it how hard up I was?

Will not return anytime soon to another THE RALLY because it was definitely just two stars out of five. The only reason it is two stars is because we have been to one star escapades. Oh well.

Ron and Hanni at The Rally

2008-03-28T22:46:00.001-04:00

TRAVELING BACK IN TIME; Tour of AgriRama in Tifton Georgia

2008-03-28T22:45:00.001-04:00

The Agrirama in Tifton Georgia faces Interstate 75 and is a fascinating look at farming methods of the 19th and 20th centuries in Southern Georgia. Here we explored peanut farming at the peanut museum, turpentine production in the main museum, Linotype printing press, steam driven saw mill and a steam driven woodworking shop. There were various types of retail stores from the past including a drugstore, a commissary and a hardware store. A steam engine that was originally engaged in lumber operations in North Georgia travels around the perimeter of the Agrirama complex pulling a single passenger car with it's passengers traveling back in time. All of these features are manned by interpretors, in period clothing, who operate the various pieces of equipment and turn out useful items for the operation of the museums. As an example, items made in the blacksmith shop are sold in the hardware store, logs are sawn in the steam operated sawmill and turned into useful items in the steam powered wood working shop. The sawmill and woodworking shops with their large moving belts, steam boilers and moving blades can be called widow makers or at least amputation parlors.
The dolcent in the main museum building was very knowledgeable about her area, but more importantly was enthusiastic about her task. I of course found the antique tools and equipment to be of real interest, but of real interest was the turpentine harvesting operation which I had observed as a kid but had not seen or thought of for many years. This display was extremely informative and even had a cabin that four of the turpentine harvesters lived in during the harvesting season.
The RV camping area is all asphalt with full hookups and is next to the interstate, but that close proximity wasn't a problem. This has to be the easiest RV campground to access from any interstate highway. It literally takes about two minutes to get off the interstate and pull into a campsite. There are approximately forty full hookup sites (30A, 50A)and can be accessed twenty four hours a day. The fee of twenty dollars a night includes admission to the museum. I recommend the AgriRama for anyone going to or from Florida.

Old Tractor at AgriRama

2008-03-28T22:13:00.002-04:00

Soda Fountain in Old Fashioned Drug Store

2008-03-28T22:03:00.001-04:00

Farm Area as Seen From the Train

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AgriRama Tift House

2008-03-28T21:58:00.003-04:00

Carroll's Sausage and Meats

2008-03-28T21:33:00.003-04:00

Terry and Dale had scouted out the town of Sylvester for places of interest and had located Carroll's Sausage and Meats, which makes outstanding sausage. They have pork smoked sausage in hot, medium and mild as well as raw pork sausage and beef smoked sausage. We of course had to get about a pound of each medium pork, medium beef and raw pork. Having spent a number of years in Southwest Louisiana (Lake Charles), I consider myself as an devotee of fine sausage and my belly can attest to prior experience. Carroll's pork sausage is some of the best that has made it's way through my relatively discerning (though not picky) lips. However, their beef sausage leaves a lot to be desired since it was rather dry and thus did not meet the test for artery clogging potential. Now for the really wonderful stuff. Carroll's puts together a killer stuffed pork chop. The basic recipe is to take two pork chops, stuff them with sausage (yummy), and then wrap with bacon to complete the scrumptious offering to the gods. Wrap this rascal in foil put in the oven at 350 for about 45 minutes and you have pure dining heaven. Carroll's is worth getting off the interstate and driving for a few miles for some truly good things to eat.

Visit to Nether's Pork Skin Factory

2008-03-28T21:22:00.002-04:00

Our first food stop Monday was Nether's Old Fashioned fried pork skins where we met Johnny and Dianne Nether. Talk about good old southern hospitality, they made us very welcome. Johnny Nether started his business in his backyard and has built his company into a multi employee operation. For two guys with heart problems Terry and I picked out four bags of different flavor pork skins for each of the couples. Pat and I had two bags of the plain pork skins, Bar B Q pork skins and salt and vinegar pork skins. They were truly good and I think we all pigged out when we got back to the motorhomes. Nether's is in Sylvester, GA on Georgia Highway 256 and their product gets a five star rating for snack foods. You can buy their pork skins in area stores or stop by Nether's and get them fresh off the line.

Dale and Terry in front of Nether's

2008-03-28T21:17:00.003-04:00

Johnny Nether

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Ward, Diane, Johnny, Pat

2008-03-28T21:07:00.002-04:00

Georgia Agrirama

2008-03-11T19:14:00.003-04:00

Sunday, we joined up with our friends Terry and Dale Pace at the Georgia Agrirama in Tifton Georgia and as Sherman burned his way through Georgia, I think the four of us are eating our way through Georgia. Terry and Dale had located a meatmarket, with stuffed porkchops and smoked sausage, and a plant that makes pork skins. We started out eating at Sonny's Bar B Que on Sunday night and progressed to the meat market and pork Skins place Monday.

Dale and Terry with Neil and Bailey the Scottish gents.

2008-03-11T19:00:00.000-04:00

Getting ready for The Rally

2008-03-08T23:15:00.000-05:00

Tomorrow we will get the Bounder ready to head out for Agrirama in Tifton Georgia to meet up with Dale and Terry Pace. We'll spend a few days there and then head out to The Rally in Perry GA and from there we will spend two days in Americus GA getting some Red Cross training. From there we plan on meeting up with some of Pat's cousins and her Aunt Jean. She is also my Aunt Jean since I adopted her.
Hopefully, this blog thing will be as much fun as I think it will be, because we are spending the summer at Pea Island National Wildlife Refuge as volunteers.

Friends that are no longer with us.

2008-03-08T20:00:00.000-05:00

This thing called RVing gives everyone an opportunity to come out of their shell and meet new people. It really is kind of ironic that with some people the feeling is that you have known them all of your life. The first rally we attended was a small Georgie Boy Rally in Michigan and we went not knowing a soul. While there we met a couple from New York. An instant bond was formed between jim and Irene and us. It was the kind of bond where you will drive many miles out of your way to spend time with each other. The first big rally we went to we met Mickey and his wife Patti. Mickey was one of those people who make you feel special and welcome. He would have been a great peace making Indian chief since he made everyone welcome around the campfire.
Both Jim and Mickey passed away and won't be joining us in person at any more rallies, but I don't think I will ever attend a rally without thinking about both of them. Mickey with his smiling handshake and Jim with his little Leprechaun smile.

Photos of our missing friends.

2008-03-08T09:38:00.000-05:00

FIRST WORK CAMPING EXPERIENCE

2008-03-06T08:47:00.000-05:00

We thought that work camping would be a great way to see the country, and in this time of shrinking budgets, a way to give something back to federal agencies we had worked with in the past. In exchange for doing various kinds of labor, the agencies furnish RVers a place to park, water and electricity. Work camping gives RVers a base camp from which to explore the area in which they are staying and an opportunity to become a part of the community. Sampling local food is one of our favorite things to do and work camping in an area gives us the opportunity to find and visit the restaurants in an area.
Our first work camping experience was at Black Bayou Lake National Wildlife Refuge near Monroe Louisiana. As is the case with most Fish and Wildlife Service people, we have met, the staff at Black Bayou Lake was super to work with. They also had a very active "Friends" group which opened their arms to us and made us feel part of the community. Anyone contemplating work camping would do well to add Black Bayou Lake NWR to their list of must go places. In fact if you are just passing through Northern Louisiana swing by Black Bayou Lake for a visit. The displays in the welcome center are top notch and make sure you visit the science building for a look at live animals that inhabit the refuge. The Friends of Black Bayou Lake have done an outstanding job of tee shirt design and selection so if you like really neat tee shirts give them a look.

OUR TWO TRAVELING COMPANIONS

2008-03-05T20:23:00.000-05:00

BLACK BAYOU LAKE NWR SIGN

2008-03-05T09:05:00.000-05:00

NEAT OLD FARMHOUSE TURNED INTO VISITORS CENTER

2008-03-04T21:19:00.000-05:00

FOG MAKES THE VISITOR CENTER LOOK EERIE

2008-03-03T21:10:00.000-05:00

SUNRISE OVER BLACK BAYOU LAKE NWR

2008-03-02T21:13:00.000-05:00

SNAPPING TURTLE CASTING

2008-03-01T21:15:00.000-05:00

BIRDS MOVED TO SHELTERED AREA BEFORE THE STORM

2008-02-28T21:18:00.000-05:00

ONE OF THE MANY OUTSTANDING SUNSETS

2008-02-27T21:22:00.000-05:00