bigblueglobe

Merry Christmas!

2011-12-25T18:51:00.000+13:00

Lockheed Martin!!!

2011-12-23T12:00:00.000+13:00

We've just received the news:

Lockheed Martin is the new support contractor for
the United States Antarctic Program!
More news to follow.

Do You Have a Flag?

2011-12-10T18:00:00.005+13:00

Many people who know me, or read this blog, know that
I am a Vexillologist. What is a Vexillologist you say? In
simplest terms, it is someone who studies flags. Over
seven years ago, I founded the Antarctic Vexillological
Association here at McMurdo. For many years, I was
pretty much the only member. Now, with the advent of
Facebook and it's own page, there are now 389 members!
Over the years, I've had various patches and stickers
made of the official flag. I designed the flag on a quiet,
cold day in the middle of winter at McMurdo. However,
I never had an actual "flag" made. Until now. I've
contracted with a company out of New York State to
have a really nice copy. One that will be strong enough
to put up with the wind down here and put up with the
elements. I plan to hoist it from several key places here
at McMurdo, but I also hope to have it before I make my
trip to the South Pole next month. I'd love for it to fly
at the bottom of the planet. I'm proud of my little group
and now it will have a flag worthy of the group itself.

Planning Redeployment

2011-12-07T18:31:00.001+13:00

It's hard to believe, but the first Redeployment Meetings are
less than a month away. It seems like we just got here, and
now I'm planning not only my escape from the frozen south,
but the departure of 1000 or so other individuals as well.
Redeployment Meetings basically are a ninety minute session
describing what to expect when departing McMurdo and how
to fill out the paperwork necessary to do so. We have to hold
some people's hands more than others. Some folks that have
been coming down for years sometimes need the most help
with their paperwork, while others that are brand new can
make it through like a champ. My first step of the process
happened this week when I meeting space in the Galley in
Building 155. The Galley is the main room where everyone
eats, but it is also the largest room on Station and as a result,
large gatherings happen here. It's my job to coordinate the
travel section of the presentation, but presentations will also
be made by Housing, Finance and Human Resources. I act as
a defacto Master of Ceremonies for the whole event. We will
be having eight of these meetings during a 3-4 day period at
McMurdo and then I will be making the three hour flight to the
South Pole to help conduct the meetings there. I'll be getting
some help both at McMurdo and Pole from Janice, who is a
member of the Travel team in Christchurch. She'll be a
valuable resource since she can answer a lot of the questions
that I might not know the answers to. So there you go. This
time next month, I should be wrapping up the McMurdo stage
of the presentations and planning my trip to South Pole Station.
It's going to be a very busy couple of months after the holidays.

Ron Santo's in the HOF

2011-12-05T20:51:00.001+13:00

Finally!

SPoT

2011-12-03T19:13:00.002+13:00

Back in the day, we used to have almost 350 missions every
season to the South Pole. One reason is because they were
building the new Station there. The other was because almost
every mission late in the season was a tanker mission. This
means that each LC-130 was literally a flying gas tank, taking
valuable fuel that the South Pole needed for its very survival.
Then, several years ago, the first South Pole Traverse (SPoT)
trudged it's way to the Pole, literally carving an ice and snow
road all the way to the Pole for about 1200 miles. Their main
mission is to haul fuel to the Pole. This trip replaces many
many flights that would take three hours to fly to Pole each
way. This year's first Traverse took exactly a month to get
there, but typically the trip isn't that long. It's pretty much the
ultimate road trip, but there aren't any convenience stores or
gas stations along the way. Just hours and hours and miles
and miles of nothing but snow and ice. The Traverse crew
have to spend a lot of time together, driving, cooking and
entertaining each other. Hopefully not driving each other
crazy! Now a second Traverse is on its way and should
arrive around New Year's. It's far from a busy "highway", but
is on it's becoming more and more so every year!

Antarctic Tourism

2011-11-28T20:16:00.000+13:00

We were surprised the other day to hear helicopter traffic outside
our window. It was a Sunday and there weren't supposed to be
any helo flights scheduled. It turns out that tourists had arrived
from the Kapitan Khlebnikov tourist ship and were visiting Hut
Point and the historic Hut. If it looks rather dangerous in the
photo, that's because it is! The helicopter and tourists are actually
walking on ice, over fairly deep water that is not as thick as it
should be this time of year. I'm happy to say that everyone had a
safe visit and the helo took off with no incidents.
We get visited in the Ross Sea Region by a couple of cruise ships
every year. When it's convenient, numbers of McMurdo residents
volunteer to lead tours of the town, including the station store,
science facilities, historic sites, etc. It's really the only way to see
McMurdo unless one is a member of the US or NZ Antarctic
programs. Most cruises also cost upwards of $10,000 to take.
It gives one a new appreciation of spending time here and being
able to take in the local attractions.

Happy Thanksgiving!

2011-11-24T19:55:00.000+13:00

All Seasons Cashel - Room 202

2011-11-22T12:51:00.000+13:00

On February 22, 2011 a 6.3 magnitude earthquake struck
Christchurch, New Zealand. Life has not been the same
for the citizens of the city. This includes many friends
we have made there over the years. Lynn was staying at
the All Seasons Cashel hotel in the Central Business
District when the quake struck. Because the entire area
was devastated, including her hotel, she was not allowed
to return and gather her belongings. Over the last
several months, almost all of the USAP people that were
staying in Christchurch at the time, have received their
belongings from hotels in which they were staying. All
but those staying at the All Seasons Cashel. Today,
(exactly 9 months after the earthquake) Lynn received
word that her belongings were being retrieved and that
they will be returned to her soon. We consider her very
lucky. In the meantime, our thoughts and prayers are
with the people of Christchurch.

The Perfect Gift for a King?

2011-11-21T19:11:00.001+13:00

The King of Malaysia arrived today and will be spending
the next few days at Scott Base. Reportedly, one cannot
have alcohol or wear yellow near him. I wonder if he
would like this shirt! Probably not.

Evening Tea at Scott Base

2011-11-18T21:52:00.001+13:00

It's always a pleasure to receive an invitation to a
meal at Scott Base. Especially when it's their evening
meal. While our food has been pretty good at McMurdo
this year, the Kiwis don't have to cook for 1100 people,
so it has a lot more of a personal touch. Our counterparts
and friends from Scott Base, David and Gid, invited the
day shift ATO office workers over for the evening. They
must have planned the meal in advance, because we had
real hamburgers and chips for dinner. Really delicious.
Like you would make at home, and not institutional.
Afterwards, I was able to practice my barista skills on
their espresso maker. After doing this for several years
now, it never has gotten easier to foam milk made from
powder! Everyone had an enjoyable time and far too soon
it was time to come home. I'm looking forward to our
next visit to our friendly Kiwi neighbors.

Baseball is Coming!

2011-11-11T19:30:00.000+13:00

After several weeks of speculation, it was confirmed
that Grand Junction will be getting a minor league
baseball team! The team formerly known as the Casper
Ghosts will leave Wyoming and make their new home in
Grand Junction. A member of the Pioneer League, which
is classified as a Rookie League, the team will be part
of the Colorado Rockies organization and will play a
short season, starting this June. Most of these players
are right out of college or high school but some of them
will make it to the big leagues eventually. The team will
start its existence as the Rockies, but then a fan vote will
take place to give it a more unique, local name. It will
be a lot of fun to watch them play games at Suplizio
Field, as Grand Junction has been waiting to get a pro
team for a long time now.

Chock Your Seal

2011-11-09T20:43:00.001+13:00

Cartoon by Matt Davidson
A few years ago, a Leopard Seal caused the death of
a British Antarctic scientist when it dragged her to the
bottom, while the scientist was studying it in the ocean.
While Leopard Seals can be seen as dangerous predators,
we only have rather docile Weddell Seals in the McMurdo
Sound region. Although apparently one Weddell acidentally
became non-docile. A scientist's leg was injured when the
Weddell innocently rolled over on them, precipitating this
really funny comic from local cartoonist Matt Davidson.
I've heard that someone is actually trying to devise a
"chock" system as a result and I shake my head rather
dubiously. An urban myth? Only time will tell.

Australians at McMurdo

2011-11-06T19:39:00.000+13:00

Last week, McMurdo was visited by two groups of
Australians from the Australian Antarctic Division
(AAD) on their way to Casey Station. The AAD and
the United States Antarctic Program (USAP) has an
agreement in place where the AAD flies USAP personnel
from Christchurch to McMurdo via their A319 Airbus.
USAP then reciprocates by flying AAD personnel to
Casey via our LC-130s. This set up has been in place
for a couple of years now and it seems it is a win/win
situation for both parties. It was fun for us to see
all of the yellow-coated Australians enjoying themselves
at McMurdo. One of the two 26 person groups was delayed
for a couple of days due to bad weather here. It was
fun to imagine if we would be stranded at Casey for a
couple of days and were able to explore the area there.
Before he left, our friend Simon gave me a couple of
the 100 year commemorative patches for the AAD (pictured
above). Lynn and I have a special place in our hearts
for the AAD since we were able to receive a really nice
tour there last year during our visit to Hobart. I hope
the folks that were here felt just as welcome as we did.

McMurdo Birthday

2011-11-02T19:23:00.001+13:00

Yesterday, I celebrated my birthday for the 6th time
in Antarctica. I feel much older than 6 years old,
but I'm pretty close to 6 years old in dog years I
guess. Anyway, the Air Services Reps were nice enough
to decorate the Flight Board in honor of my day and
also did some nice decorating in my desk area. As you
can see, my desk is a fairly bleak cubicle, so any
decorating certainly helps liven things up. When you're
on the Ice and from the United States, you technically
get two birthdays. One in Antarctica, and for me, one
in Colorado since it's nineteen hours behind us, on the
other side of the International Date Line. Our Kiwi
friend, Gid, from Scott Base brought me over a delicious
piece of chocolate mousse cake from the Kiwi baker in
honor of the day as well and everyone enjoyed it. I've
had more momentous birthdays, but this one was very
calm and enjoyable.

Happy Halloween!

2011-10-31T16:59:00.002+13:00

Dumpster Diving

2011-10-28T19:19:00.004+13:00

There are literally dozens of recycling categories here
at McMurdo and because we sort everything that is discarded,
65% of our waste we generate does not end up in a landfill.
In comparison, only 32.5% of total waste in the United
States is recycled. We pretty much live, breath, eat and
sleep recycling. We get used to seeing dumpsters outside
that have the familiar labels: Plastic, Glass, Wood, etc.
However, lately someone has gotten creative and created
several new dumpsters. One for "Glitter" and one for
"Urine Soaked Pants". I understand there are also dumpters
in town that are for "Dreams" and "Trashy Romance Novels"
but I haven't seen them yet. One thing I love about McMurdo
is there are always people mixing things up...keeping it
interesting!

The Ice Pier's Been Found!

2011-10-25T20:14:00.000+13:00

Earlier in the year, when there was still open water
in McMurdo Sound, the Ice Pier broke away from its
moorings and drifted away. Most people thought that
it had either melted in the area or drifted far enough
north that it would melt in warmer waters. Apparently
not, as a helo mission spotted it between here and
Marble Point. It's still relatively intact, including
equipment and a Jamesway that were in place when it drifted
away. I've heard there are plans to remove the equipment
so hopefully the whole thing doesn't continue to drift
away or melt in the meantime. As it is, it's pretty
well locked into the Ice, so it should be at least a
couple of months from now. Now there is a new Ice
Pier in place at McMurdo that they hope to have ready
by the time the Re-Supply Vessel arrives in January.

2011-2012 Passenger Services

2011-10-22T21:21:00.001+13:00

The last member of our Passenger Services team arrived on the
C-17 yesterday, so we are now a complete unit. Each person in
our group has a unique personality, so we have a bit of diversity.
I think that this will help keep us working well as a team.
Pictured in the front row are Jamie and Talia. In the back row
is Tricia, Christen and me. Jamie and Talia will start the first
half of the season on the day shift, working 6am to 6pm and
Tricia and Christen will start on the night shift, working 6pm
to 6am. They'll all be on 5 days a week. I will be working 6
days a week from 7:30am to 5pm. I miss those weekdays off,
but I get to have the same schedule as Lynn this year!

Home Again

2011-10-18T20:48:00.001+13:00

Well, we're not really home. That would be our cozy
little house in Grand Junction. However, over the years we've
spent so much time in Antarctica, that our room in Dorm 208 is
our second home. After a couple of weeks for me, and a couple
of months for Lynn, we were finally able to move into our summer
home in Dorm 208 after our Winterover friend Mark left the room
and headed back to civilization. Of course, we have to do a
bit of furniture moving, box moving and general decoration to
make it "ours". It felt good to back in the neighborhood again.
Lynn was in a temporary room during the six weeks of Winfly, and
I joined her when I arrived several weeks ago. No more walking
down the hall to the bathroom since we share a bath with our two
suitemates. We also know most of our neighbors down the hall
since you have to have a fair amount of months with the program
to reside in this dorm. I'm looking forward to settling in.

Full Swing

2011-10-17T20:49:00.000+13:00

photo by Jean Varner
We're almost two weeks into the summer season and
we've already had nine C-17 flights. There have
been very few weather delays and the station's
population has soared to 869 people! It definitely
feels like things are in full swing!

Back On The Ice

2011-10-04T21:37:00.001+13:00

I landed today at McMurdo, marking my 12th season
on the Ice. It was really one of the easiest, most
uneventful trips I think I've ever had down here.
We did have a one day delay in Christchurch due to
the weather in McMurdo, but overall the whole trip
was pretty seamless. After two days of orientation
in Denver, we hopped on a relatively short flight to
Los Angeles and a six hour layover. Then a 13 hour
flight to Auckland, where I enjoyed some really good
airport sushi and then down to Christchurch. I'll
post some more photos of the damage in Christchurch
soon, but to sum it up in one word, that would be
"devastating". Having that extra day in Christchurch
meant that I was able to visit some of my favorite
places in Christchurch and then came the flight down
to the Ice. I was fortunate enough to fly again on
the Skytraders Airbus that is making trips courtesy
of USAP's agreement with the Australian Antarctic
Division. I sat in the exact same seat as my trip
down last year and got some fantastic photos of Mt.
Erebus and Ross Island on the approach to the brand
new Ice Runway. It was great to be reunited with Lynn
after six weeks and we settled into our cozy temporary
dorm room. We'll be making our permanent move in about
two weeks when our winter-over friend departs our
summer room. Until then...back to work!

Ten Years of Luggage Tags

2011-09-27T11:39:00.006+13:00

I'm leaving in a couple of hours to start my journey to Antarctica.
it will be my 12th season overall and I'm looking forward to seeing Lynn,
old friends and getting to work.

Ten years ago, October 5th, we made it to the Ice for the first time It seems
like so long ago, yet it also seems to have gone by so quickly. Every year,
The United States Antarctic Program asks that each person place a luggage
tag on their bags that is provided by the program. We've kept at least one
of them from each year we've headed south. These luggage tags have
a lot of miles on them!

Fljúga frá Denver til Reykjavíkur

2011-09-15T20:03:00.000+12:00

Beginning May 11, Icelandair will be making nonstop flights four days
a week from Denver to Reykjavik, Iceland. This is great news because
it offers a more economical way to get to Europe (Icelandair connects
to over 20 different cities in Europe) as well as an easier opportunity
to visit Iceland itself. This is one of the places (along with the rest of

Scandinavia) that we've always wanted to visit. We're looking forward

to the opportunity to use Icelandair!

The Big Peach

2011-09-14T20:14:00.000+12:00

Photo by Christopher Tomlinson
New York City is known as "The Big Apple". Maybe Grand Junction should
now be known as "The Big Peach". Grower Robert Helmer is holding a peach
that was recently harvested in the Grand Valley that weighs a whopping
1.5 pounds! The size of a softball, he can barely hold it in his hands.
The average peach bought in grocery stores weighs just .5 pounds so, this
is a pretty big one! However, it fell just short of the record, as a peach once
harvested in Michigan grew to 1.6 pounds. Maybe next year...

My Neighbors are Number 1

2011-09-12T23:21:00.001+12:00

For the last six weeks, the Grand Junction Tigers high school football
team has been practicing. Very long practices. I know this because
the high school is adjacent to our house and they are on the field all the
time. At least it seems like it. Now it appears that all their hard work
in the hot weather is paying off and they are ranked Number 1 in the
State of Colorado for 5A football teams. This is a big deal because rarely,

if ever, are teams from the Western Slope ranked Number 1. I hope they

continue to play well!

I Am An American

2011-09-11T21:12:00.000+12:00

These were my favorite commercials that came out shortly after 9/11.

Like a Virgin

2011-09-08T21:48:00.001+12:00

Grand Junction Regional Airport is served by six major

airlines. However, Virgin America is not one of them.

Well, not until today that is. Apparently a Virgin America

flight, traveling from San Francisco to New York with

117 people aboard had to make an emergency landing

very early this morning in Grand Junction after one

of its two engines failed. There weren't any injuries

and everyone was placed in hotels and fed before getting

back on a replacement plane this afternoon. I'm pretty

sure that Virgin America won't be adding GJT to it's

small list of North American airports served anytime in

the near future, so this was kind of a treat to see this

plane in our vicinity.

No Fortune in My Cookie!

2011-09-07T20:03:00.000+12:00

I went out to dinner last night with Leslie and Gina and at the
end of the meal, we were given three fortune cookies. Gina
pointed out that the decision was made for us, whose cookie
was whose since the waitress placed one in front of each of us.

But...my cookie contained NO FORTUNE!

How will I know which direction my life will take?

What are my lucky numbers?

I don't know how I will cope without these answers. This is the
second time in my life this has happened to me. What does
this mean!?!?

Look What I Won!

2011-09-06T21:18:00.000+12:00

When you're addicted to travel, but not a wealthy person, you have
to save money anywhere you can. That's one of the reasons I read
Tim Leffel's Cheapest Destinations Blog. He provides some great
insight about where to go if you don't have a lot of money, yet still
have a great experience in that destination. As a travel writer, I'm
sure Tim acquires quite a few travel gadgets in his travels and
occasionally, he gives some of them away. A few weeks ago, Tim
was giving away some items and I saw something that had my name
on it! It was a Laptop Sleeve made by Woolrich. Woolrich is kind
of the Pendleton Woolen Mills of the east and they've been famous
for making woolen goods for many years.

According to Tim:
"A PR person from Woolrich gave it to me at a trade show and it would
really make a statement to pull this wool laptop sleeve out in a coffee
shop in Burlington, Montreal, or Seattle. But for the foreseeable future
I’m living in warm and sunny places…You can’t buy this sleeve in a store.
It’s something they made special in the factory for a giveaway. It fits
13-inch laptops and netbooks."

Several days ago, I received an email from Tim that I had won the
laptop sleeve. Woo Hoo! Today I received it in the mail. Taking it
with me to Antarctica this season will definitely be putting it to good use!

Free Day at The Gardens

2011-09-04T14:33:00.001+12:00

For a small city, we are fortunate to have a very nice botanical garden.
The first Sunday of every month is "Free Day" at the Western Colorado
Botanical Gardens and I took advantage of the pleasant sunny morning
to get some last minute vegetation into my five senses before heading
down to the Ice. There, I won't see greenery of any kind, so I figured
I needed to soak in as much as possible. If the WCBG were only a
desert botanical garden, it would be more than worth the visit. My
favorite part of the entire facility is their large cactus garden. The
pathway meanders through some of my favorite plants. This is how
I wished my yard would look! As I said though, the gardens are so
much more. There is a Butterfly House, a rain forest, Japanese and
Grass gardens. Also, a Western Heritage and Children's Garden. All
of this in a cozy, seventy acre spot near the Colorado River. What's
amazing is fifteen years ago, this was all a junk yard. A salvage
yard once covered this entire area, but the land was acquired by the
city in efforts to make the riverfront a more beautiful place. I think
they were successful!

It's How Far???

2011-09-02T09:36:00.001+12:00

This morning, I received my itinerary for heading down to the Ice.
This will be my sixth summer season and in addition to my six winters,
I will be entering my twelfth season in Antarctica. I'll be leaving on
September 27th, with an on-Ice date of October 3rd. Often, I'll tell
people where I work and I'll get one of the two W's. People will say
"Wow" or more often than not, "Why?" Either way, most people can't
wrap their head around just how far McMurdo Station, Antarctica is
from the United States, let alone the logistics involved of getting there.
I found an excellent mapping program called "Great Circle Mapper"
that will actually let you connect dot-to-dot how far it is between
the world's airports (including those in Antarctica!) I used this to
illustrate just how far it is. I live in Colorado, so my trip is actually
shorter than flying from say, Maine. Several friends of mine have this
distance to fly so I feel their pain! As for me, it will be 10,426 miles of

flying. 8,041 of which I will get frequent flyer miles. Why not the

additional 2,385? Because these are flown from Christchurch, New

Zealand to McMurdo on a U.S. Air Force C-17 or an Airbus A319 CJ

operated by the Australian Antarctic Division. Unfortunately these

fine organizations don't give frequent flyer miles. This total

distance will take 23 hours of flying time. This doesn't include layovers,

delays, scheduled stops, etc. Just flying time! So there you go. It is

indeed a long, long trip, and I'll be making it in just over three weeks

from now.

Worry Worry Worry

2011-08-31T21:28:00.001+12:00

I am my parents child. I worry. Not to the extent that I get ulcers.
Although, back in the early 90's I worried so much about a job I hated
that I contemplated buying stock in Brach's Candy because I was
popping so many Starlight Mints to ensure that my stomach didn't
hurt. But I digress. My newest worry? That I wasn't going to PQ
(Physically Qualify) to work down on the Ice this year. It turns out,
I did what I needed to do, and I'm headed down for my twelfth
season. As much as I worry now, I have to admit that Lynn has been a
good influence on me. I worry less than I used to. On the other hand,
I think she worries more now than she used to. Will I continue to worry
in the future? I don't know, but I'm not going to worry about it...

Lynn's at McMurdo

2011-08-29T20:28:00.000+12:00

After a couple days of delays, Lynn is on the Ice. She had
her first day at her new job and things are going well. She's
in a temporary dorm room for a while, so she can't really
settle in. However, she's getting back into the swing of things.
Hopefully she'll be able to see some clear nights and lots of
stars and auroras. Maybe even some Nacreous Clouds.

Lynn's Still in Christchurch

2011-08-27T21:02:00.001+12:00

Sometimes you fly...sometimes you don't. Sometimes you don't
even stay in the same hotel you thought you were going to stay in.
Lynn was scheduled to fly to McMurdo yesterday, yet she's still in
Christchurch. Weather at McMurdo has hampered flights and the
earliest she'll go is tomorrow. I can definitely think of worse places
to be stranded than in Christchurch. She's surrounded by nice
friends and they've even taken her out and about since she doesn't
have a car. Although it's not the same Christchurch we've known
all these years (Lynn says the earthquake damage is heartbreaking),
it still feels like a second home to us. One of these days, she'll be
continuing her journey south.

Houston, We Have An Icebreaker!

2011-08-25T22:46:00.002+12:00

Many folks that read this blog are Ice Folks, or at least interested in
Antarctica, so they were aware that the United States Antarctic Program
was in danger this year of not having a fully running operation. Why?
Because there wasn't a world class icebreaker available to break open
the channel of McMurdo Sound. This has to be done so that the fuel
vessel and supply vessel can reach McMurdo to deliver their payloads.
Without them, the program as a whole would be handicapped. This
would also affect New Zealand's Scott Base and the Amundsen-Scott
South Pole Station, which also receive supplies and fuel because of
these vessels.

Years ago, the USAP depended on the Polar Star and Polar Sea U.S. Coast
Guard icebreakers to do the job. However, the Polar Sea is being
decommissioned and the Polar Star is being retrofitted and is not
available for a few more years. The past few years, the Swedish vessel,
The Oden, did the job nicely. However, it's been called back to the
Baltic Sea by the Government of Sweden and isn't available either. This
left the USAP without an icebreaker.

Today, it was announced that the Russian icebreaker, "Vladimir Ignatyuk"
has been contracted and will be performing the task. Most folks with the
program are very relieved. Everyone that was supposed to have a job,
will have a job. All the science projects that were supposed to be held,
will continue and overall a big sigh of relief was had by all.

Here is information about the icebreaker from the Murmansk Shipping
Company, which owns and operates it:

Diesel Icebreaker "Vladimir Ignatyuk"

SHIP DETAILS:
Ship Name VLADIMIR IGNATYUK
Built JUL 1983
VICTORIA YARD, BURRARD YARRROWS CORPORATION, CANADA
IMO No. 8127804
Ship Type MULTIFUNCTIONAL ICEBREAKER-TOW
Flag RUSSIAN
Port of Registry MURMANSK
Class KMICEBREAKER7 [1]
Classification Society RUSSIAN MARITIME REGISTER OF SHIPPING
Ice class ICEBREAKER7 (at d < 7.7) Features ANCHOR HANDLING STANDBY-VESSEL FIRELIGHTING CAPACITY HELIDECK - BELL 214 DESIGN HELICOPTER BERTH TOTAL 34 TONNAGE / DIMENSIONS DWT 2 076 Length (OA) 88 GT (Gross Tonnage) 4 391 Length (BP) 75 NT (Net Tonnage) 1 317 Breadth extreme 17.82 DISPLACEMENT 7 077 Depth moulded 10 Draft 8.3

MACHINERY
MAIN ENGINE (4) Stork Werkspoor Diesel. 5600 hp each
RPM 600
PROPULSION POWER 23,200 hp
AUXILLARY DIESELS 2 x 750 KWT each
THRUSTERS BOW/AFT Abt 1100 KWT/CPP 500 HP
FRESH WATER MAKERS 15 tones/day
PROPELLERS 2 C.P.P 4 blades
BOLLARD PULL Over 200 tones
AUX POWER 2 shaft generators. 1000kw each
2-750 kw diesel generators

CAPACITIES
AT DECK DIMENSIONS 37m x 13m
DECK CARGO CAPACITY 800 tones
BULK BARITE/CEMENT CAPACITY 34 m3 x 3 = 102 m3
MARINE GAS OIL, DMA (90%) 1760 m3
BALLAST WATER 1432 m3
DRILL WATER 194 m3
PORTABLE FRESH WATER 41 m3
LUBOILS TANKS 48 m3

DECK EQUIPMENT
TUGGER/WINCH 2 x 10 tones pull
CAPSTAN 2 x 12.5 tones pull
TOWING AND WORK WINCHES Complete Van der Gessen Electric winch package. Tow winch has a nominal brake holding capacity of 450 tonnes and is equipped with friction rollerset. Tow wire is 77mm diameter and is 1500m long. Double anchor handling winch can generate 200 tonnes line pull (all stall). Unit has a water cooled high speed brake.
DECK CRANES 2 x 5 tones SWL Hagglund (can be rigges for limited 10 tones lifts)

LIFE-SAVING
LIFE BOAT Enclosed Watercraft Model 7.8 m
RESCUE BOAT Rigid Bottom Inflatable Lucas Model 700 D

CONTACTS
If you need more information, please, Contact Chartering / Operations Department.
Tel.: +7 (815 2) 48-10-78
Fax: +7 (815 2) 48-10-65

SCHEME

Peace and Quiet

2011-08-24T20:33:00.000+12:00

I went to the library this morning and had to go shopping at
a couple of stores in the area. Something was different. Things
were surprisingly quiet. It wasn't an extreme case of the flu
keeping everyone at home, although it definitely was an event
that caused the quiet. Today was the first day of school for
District 51 in the Grand Valley. I was almost giddy! No
screaming, no running, no tantrums. Can you tell that I don't
have any children? LOL.

Leaving On A Jet Plane

2011-08-23T23:02:00.001+12:00

At 6:30 this evening, I dropped Lynn off at the airport in Denver.
She'll be traveling for the next 29 hours, on her way to Christchurch,
New Zealand where she'll spend at least two nights before heading
down to Antarctica.

Morning Coffee

2011-08-23T10:41:00.000+12:00

I enjoy visiting new and different coffee houses when I'm on the road.
It's almost as much fun as visiting book stores! (My name is Tom, and
I'm a geek....(crowd yells, Hi Tom!). Anyway, I digress. Let's turn back
the clock and pretend it's 1997 again. Lynn and I were opening a small
Internet coffee house in Estes Park, Colorado. We had chosen our roaster,
but were approached by a small company from Denver, named Dazbog.
Yes, it's a unique name, because the family that owns the company fled
from Leningrad in the former Soviet Union and settled in Colorado. We
were very close to choosing Dazbog, but eventually did not. They still
hold a special place in our hearts, especially since I might be working and
living in Russia sometime in the next few years. They make wonderful
coffee and their employees are always very friendly. I've never had a
bad cup of coffee at Dazbog.

After I dropped Lynn off at the office for her orientation, I needed a
place to hang out for the morning until lunchtime when it would be
time to take her to the airport. I did some research on Yelp! and
found that the highest rated coffee house in the area is Kunjani Coffee
in Parker. The staff was really friendly when I arrived, the Americano was
well-made and the breakfast burrito from Aspen Delikatessen was tasty.
Even the wifi was fast, and easy to use. All of this in a cozy, living room
type atmosphere with an option to sit outside on a nice patio.
However....this was all ruined by a group of about a dozen 40-something
women who descended on the place and spent the next two hours
talking over each other. They meant no harm, obviously, and I'm not
trying to play the role of "cranky guy", but it was really disturbing. I
searched my bag for headphones or earplugs to no avail. As a former
coffee house owner, I know there's not much that the staff could do to
quiet them, without alienating them and risking the loss of future
business, but it was just plain silly how LOUD they were. It's not a

library, but I wish people would be more conscientious of their actions.
I will come back here again. I just hope the loud ladies stay home.

Tattered Cover Book Store

2011-08-22T18:14:00.000+12:00

When visiting a different city, many people go to museums, famous
sites, tourist attractions, etc. I have a tendency to visit bookstores!
I've lived in Colorado since 1996, so I've "been there, done that" in
regards to most of the attractions in Denver. One place that most
tourists don't visit is a city's independent bookstore. Today, I'm at
the Highlands Ranch location of Denver's own Tattered Cover.
Tattered Cover has three locations in the Denver area. The store
in Lodo, another location on East Colfax and this location in
the south suburbs. I haven't been to the location on Colfax and I
really didn't want to deal with the traffic downtown, so I headed here,
to Highlands Ranch. Highlands Ranch is definitely "soccer mom"
central, but they've tried to emulate the dark woods and feeling of
their Lodo store. In my mind though, it is not a replacement for
their former store in Cherry Creek. It was the first bookstore Lynn
took me to in Denver and when they decided to close it a few years
ago, it was a sad day. However, I'll continue to enjoy the other
locations...even the Highlands Ranch location...soccer moms and all...

Fail Better

2011-08-21T21:38:00.001+12:00

Lynn began her journey, headed south today. Since she has to use all
of her flight legs or her whole ticket will be voided, she left via Grand
Junction Regional Airport on a 55 minute flight to Denver. I, on the
other hand, drove to DIA to meet her at the other end. I get to spend
more time with her and she has a car while at orientation. This plan
usually works well, especially if I leave a couple hours before her flight
and am able to meet her when she comes out of the airport.

Ah. Not so fast. The key word here is "usually".

The folks at the Colorado Department of Transportation have never been
on top of my "A" List. Over ten years ago, while driving the twisting and
turning Route 36 between Estes Park and Lyons every day on a 100 mile
a day commute, I wondered why there weren't reflectors in the middle
of the road. Every other state seems to use these. This is a major U.S.
Highway after all. However, in Colorado, even the interstates don't use
them. I wrote to the Colorado Department of Transportation (yes,
I'm one of those people...a trait I inherited from my father, who liked to
effectively bitch at people who are slackers) and asked them...why? To
my surprise, I received a response. They told me the snow plows would
remove/scrape them off in the winter. WHAT? They don't have snow
in Indiana? Illinois? Minnesota? I could go on and on listing the states
that A) Have reflectors on their highways and B) Have snow! To this day,
I find this response, and CDOT, to be LAME!

This brings me back to today. I was warned by a friend that there have
been backups on eastbound Interstate 70 between the Eisenhower Tunnel
(actually the Eisenhower–Johnson Memorial Tunnel and the eastbound
tunnel is the Johnson Tunnel...most people don't know that) and Denver.
Gotcha...Thanks Susie! So I left home at 1:30. Now, I've been known, at
least by myself, to have made this trip in 3:45. Yes, I sped, but this was a
while ago, and I figure the statute of limitations has passed on my speeding
crime. Anyway, I figure that 4:30 should be plenty of time. Again, thinking
logically gets me in trouble every time.

Smooth sailing...I even stop in Edwards for ten minutes. I cross Vail Pass.
A little rain, but no traffic. Copper, Frisco, Silverthorne....oops....a sign
over the highway...20 minute metering at the tunnel...Whaaaattt!!!!
A LOOOONNNGGGG traffic jam miles from the tunnel. I figure, ok...if
this will help traffic on the east side, then I'm all for it. A seemingly long
long wait later, I'm going through the tunnel. Smooth sailing. And then,
brake lights. Lots and lots of them. This is nothing new. I expected a
delay, but nothing like this. Remember, this is not the city. Any city.
There are probably no more than 100 people within a mile of the highway
anywhere near Interstate 70 in this part of the state. I'm now averaging
5-10 miles per hour! And that's when I'm moving.

Eventually, I make it to Denver and the airport. 6:30 later! Almost twice as
long as it should have taken!

I can understand why CDOT meters people going into the tunnel. They don't
want people to get trapped in the tunnel if there is an accident, fire, etc. and
making sure it's clear is their way to ensure this. Bravo for them...However...
Get off the stick and figure something out about the eastbound situation.
The biggest problem (ok, the BIGGEST problem is that people in general are
not as bright as we'd like to think they are...including drivers on the highways),
is that there are only two lanes on most of the route. Honestly, there are a few
places (the Georgetown area comes to mind) where the mountains are just too
close to the road and they can't make it three lanes. Most miles of the highway
however, have enough room for three lanes each way. Do it. Spend some of
the money from the gas taxes and DO IT. I don't know where the money is
going and haven't been able to figure that out for years. Obviously not on
the repair of our roads. When traveling, Colorado's roads are always the worst.
Oh, by the way, during the entire stretch, there wasn't any construction or
any accidents. Can't use that excuse for the backup, CDOT.

So Colorado Department of Transportation...in the words of Samuel Becket...
"FAIL BETTER"

The Wieinermobile!

2011-08-18T19:43:00.002+12:00

I am a very lucky person. At least three times in my life,
I have seen the Oscar Meyer Wienermobile! Today, it was
stopped at the local Safeway and Lynn and I went with Leslie
and Gina to go Hail the Conquering Wiener! We managed to
get some cool stickers, and of course a Wiener Whistle and
some other fun stuff. However, when I mentioned that back
in 1995 I got to sit behind the wheel of the Wienermobile, the
Hotdogger (one of two people that ride with each Wienermobile)
told me that that was "against the rules!". Uh, ok.
Anyway, we enjoyed our view, listened to children scream,
had our photos taken and then were on our way. Grand Junction
seems to be a pretty popular spot for the Wienermobile to stop,
so I'm sure we'll see it again soon!

Lynn's Packing to Go South

2011-08-16T20:20:00.001+12:00

Lynn wasn't planning on going South to The Ice this year.

She was an Alternate. Then, out of the blue, she received

a phone call, telling her that she was now the Primary.

Plus, she would be going down at Winfly, not Mainbody.

This means that she'll be leaving for orientation in

Denver on August 21st and headed for New Zealand on

August 23rd, with a on-Ice date of August 27th. Each

person is allowed 140 pounds of luggage. Usually it's not

hard to come under the weight limit, but sometimes it's

hard to fit everything in the bags. We've solved that

problem by getting space bags that remove all the air

and gives you a compact bag to place inside your bags.

Here's Lynn demonstrating the procedure.

Going Out FOR Business

2011-08-14T18:13:00.000+12:00

We drove to Glenwood Springs the other day to see

"Rise of The Planet of The Apes" because it wasn't showing

at our favorite theatre in Grand Junction. While walking

toward the cinema, I saw this business and their sign. It

bothers me. Why, you ask? Because the human mind

doesn't typically read every word of a sentence. Remember

those studies that list a paragraph of words and every few

words is missing? You can still figure out what the paragraph

is saying anyway. This is kind of like that. I'd bet you a fair

amount of money that most people will not see the "4" on

their sign, go into the store, and think they are getting a

good deal. In reality, the shopper is being tricked into thinking

that the store is going out "of" business. All that is read is

GOING OUT BUSINESS. There was a store in Estes Park

that did the same thing when we lived there. You could stand

outside the store and listen to all the tourists tell each other

that the store was going out "of" business.

Illegal...No. Unethical...Yes!

The Cosgrove Fire

2011-08-12T20:47:00.001+12:00

The Cosgrove Fire started last Sunday from a lightning strike and
has now grown to 1400 acres. Located in the Little Book Cliffs, it's
not far from the Grand Valley as the crow flies. However, since it's
in such a remote area and hard to get to, it's a three hour drive in
off-road vehicles to get to the fire to fight it. This area is also near
the Little Book Cliffs Wild Horse Area, where a large herd of wild horses
resides. We've been told they're not in danger, but since the fire is
burning vegetation that is not native to the area, it's being allowed to
burn. The huge clouds of smoke and smell of smoke are certainly
disturbing though.

It's Official

2011-08-10T17:36:00.000+12:00

There are just as many people who don't like the new name
that like it, but as of today, Mesa State College is now called
Colorado Mesa University. Wouldn't have been my first choice,
but there it is.

Home Again

2011-08-07T14:54:00.002+12:00

It was a great trip, but now we're home! We saw some fantastic
sites, had a great visit with family and friends, met some fun

and interesting new people, and Lynn got to commune with
6000 other knitters!

The Great Basin

2011-08-06T18:32:00.000+12:00

What exactly is the Great Basin? It's not a sink. But in a way, it kind of is.
Although a number of rivers flow into the Great Basin, none flow out to
the ocean. Hence, the name Basin.

It's also a very very large desert. In fact, it's the largest desert in the
United States, covering approximately 190,000 square miles. To give
you a comparison, England is only just over 50,000 square miles.
It's big.

It's also a land of wide wide wide open spaces. If you're looking to
get away from it all, this is the place. My history teacher in high school
told us that the Native Americans in the Great Basin basically ate dirt.
I scoffed at the time, but now I almost believe it. Although we drove
through the Great Basin during the day, I can imagine what it looks
like at night, with a moonless sky. Imagine the sky that your
grandparents or great-grandparents saw. No light pollution. The
clearest sky you will ever see. That's what the night sky in the Great
Basin looks like.

Finally, this pretty much sums up the Great Basin. There are no services
available for a long long distance. We are lucky that we can cover this
distance in about an hour. The early pioneers would have taken almost
a week to cover 80+ miles. There is just nothing out there.

If I had to choose one word for the Great Basin? EMPTY

Ely Nevada

2011-08-06T10:34:00.004+12:00

Not just any town can have Wayne Newton AND Pat Nixon represented
on its Walk of Fame...

The Loneliest Road in America

2011-08-05T21:16:00.001+12:00

Back in 1986, Life magazine deemed the section of US-50 that runs
through Nevada as the Loneliest Road in America. It wasn't necessarily
meant as a good thing, but Nevadans being good Americans took the
billing and turned it into a positive. They marketed the highway as a
scenic thoroughfare to hopefully attract more visitors to this very empty
part of the country. There are some pretty empty stretches of US-50
through this neck of the woods, but because it's summer, there are
more tourists on the road and it didn't seem to be as forlorn as it
could be. I'm guessing in the winter, this road is very lonely indeed

Much of the route parallels the historic Pony Express Trail, although
now it's just pretty standard asphalt. Because most mountain ranges
in Nevada follow a north-south line, much of US-50 is spent driving
through a long stretch of flat, open desert, followed by a climb and a
descent of mountain ranges. If this wasn't the case and the mountains
went the opposite direction, I could visualize setting the cruise control
at 100 mph and having it seem like you were doing 50 mph.

I have to say that the road is very well maintained. Not a pothole
to be found and everything is very well marked. Colorado could take
a lesson from the Nevada Highway Department.

I agree that this is a scenic highway. It's not a road I need or would
want to drive frequently. There are enough desert vistas near our house.
However, I think that everyone (especially folks from the urban east coast
should make this drive at least once in their life. They would get a true
appreciation of what it's like to live in the West. The West isn't just
the beaches of California or the ski resorts of Aspen. It's the wide open
spaces such as this that make the West such a beautiful place. Wait...
maybe they shouldn't come. We'll keep the wide-open West our own
little secret!

Is This The Last Borders?

2011-08-05T20:15:00.001+12:00

For those of you that regularly read my blog, I have this quasi-relationship
with the closing of Borders Books. Maybe it's just a case of denial, but I will
miss them and it's still not easy to accept that they are going out of business.
Just past Lake Tahoe, we drove through Carson City. I'd never been here and
was looking forward to seeing the State Capitol of Nevada (yes, geeky, but
something I like to do). However, about the only thing interesting about
Carson City is the fact that they have a Borders...and now it's closing.

This store obviously survived the first round of cuts several months ago.
I'm not sure why this survived and our store in Grand Junction didn't,
but that decision wasn't up to me. Entering the store, there is little
doubt that they want you to know that the store is indeed, closing.

We used to enjoy going to cafes at different Borders, but true to form, this
is one of the first areas of the store that closed down.

At least they were nice enough to put up a sign telling people that the cafe
was closed. Not that it was really needed.

This store is still in the fairly early stages of closing. Everything was pretty
much only 25% off and there were still lots of things left to buy. If I lived near
here, I would stalk this map section when it got to be at least 50% off!
Regardless, Lynn bought a couple of things and I purchased Moscow and
Colorado Lonely Planet books as well as a Russian map I've been looking for,
so the visit wasn't a complete loss. Back on the road again afterwards, but
still a little sad that this may be the last Borders that I visit before they're
all gone.

Lake Tahoe

2011-08-05T18:21:00.002+12:00

Lake Tahoe is big...really big. Ok, it's not a Great Lake-sized lake,
but for the west, it's fairly huge. And blue. And pretty. Headed home
from the Bay Area, we took a different route east from Sacramento and
headed into the Sierra Nevada mountains. A really scenic drive, although
if you get car sick easily, the twists and turns could make you a bit queasy.
Once you come upon the southeast side of the lake, it's overly commercialized
though, with year-round tourism spots vying for your dollar. When you come
to the Nevada state line, it is casinos that tug at your wallet. It was nice to
get to the northeast section of the lake, where it was less commercialized and
more natural, with very tranquil and beautiful views. I'd like to go back to
this area again. The area near the state line...not so much.

Napa & Sonoma

2011-08-04T18:57:00.000+12:00

We live in an area with twenty or so small wineries. They make some
pretty decent wine. However, the Napa and Sonoma areas are the big
guns of viticulture on this side of the country. If you were seriously
into wine, you could easily spend a week here, touring the wineries,
tasting the wine and overall soaking up the rural atmosphere. Most
of the wine was way beyond our price range, but we did enjoy driving
the area and looking at the vines, fields and really pretty scenery.

The Golden Gate Bridge

2011-08-03T20:16:00.001+12:00

The Golden Gate Bridge isn't my favorite bridge in the world.
That would be the Mackinac Bridge in Michigan, because my
Grandpa built the steel for it when he worked at the American
Bridge works steel company in Gary, Indiana. However, the Golden
Gate is definitely the most beautiful. I must have been a civil engineer
in a past life, because I find bridges like the Golden Gate fascinating.
Next year, the Golden Gate Bridge turns 75 years old and celebrations
and improvements are being made for the occasion.

The Golden Gate is currently going through seismic retrofitting,
and as a result, there is lots of construction going on to make it
happen. I really wanted to get some good photos of the bridge,
but due to the construction, foggy weather and the fact that the
road going up into the Marin Highlands was closed for some reason,
meant it wasn't meant to be. I guess I will have to find my photos
I took on our last visit in the pre-digital camera days and make some
scans to get the pictures I want.

The National Park Service via the Golden Gate National Recreation
Area has done a good job of posting signs, and letting people know
what is going on with the bridge. I'm very impressed with the

GGNRA. They're a collection of 38 different locations, tied together

by a single organization to promote and protect the valuable natural

and historical resources. We've visited quite a few of the locations

and I'm sure over the years, we'll see the rest.

Things started to clear a bit as we were ready to depart,

leaving a great view of the city. I think that all Americans

should see this bridge sometime in their lifetime. It's a

monument of American know how, ingenuity and hard

work. All wrapped up in a beautiful setting.

Sausalito

2011-08-03T18:25:00.002+12:00

We really hadn't planned on visiting Sausalito. It's a small,

touristy kind of place near the Golden Gate Bridge, across the

bay from San Francisco. However, I wanted to get some good

photos of the bridge and since the fog was socking in the

bridge (as usual this time of year), we had time to kill while we

waited for the fog to lift. We visited Sausalito over ten years

ago and it really hasn't changed a lot. Lots of little shops, some

interesting and some not. However, there's lots of pretty

scenery and photo opportunities. Lynn even found a really nice

yarn shop. Go figure! We found some good coffee, a fun book

shop and generally has a good afternoon of hanging out.

Marin

2011-08-02T17:58:00.003+12:00

Even though it's right across the Golden Gate Bridge from a

major city, much of Marin County has a almost rural feeling to

it. If I lived in San Francisco, I would want to come here

frequently just to decompress from all the busy-ness of the city.

I really enjoy coming to Muir Beach when we're here. It reminds

me a bit of Taylor's Mistake, near Christchurch New Zealand. It's

compact, peaceful and there aren't huge crowds. Lynn enjoys

watching the waves and I think it reminds her a bit of the beaches

in New England, where she grew up. While we were walking on

the beach, we were lucky enough to see a small pod of porpoises!

The National Park Service and the Golden Gate National

Parks Conservancy are restoring the wetlands near

the beach, returning the area to a more natural state.

Once you drive north from the beach, the drive is pretty

steep and you'll come to the Muir Beach Overlook. Walking

down a small trail will allow you to see for miles up and

down the coast.

During World War II, this entire area was lined with small

bunker-type facilities called Base-End Stations. From these

stations, soldiers would view ships and triangulate the speed,

distance and direction to coordinate with nearby Artillery Units.

All of the hardware has now been removed, but it would have

been a cold and blustery assignment to work at one of these

stations.

While we were driving north to Stinson Beach, we saw these

interesting looking sail boats headed south along the shore.

In all, there were seven of them and they reminded me a bit of

Chinese Junks or Polynesian Catamarans. I would find out

later, they were indeed Catamarans, and of New Zealand

Māori origin! They had left New Zealand in April on a

trans-Pacific voyage to tell of the plight of the world's oceans

and of Pacific peoples. It's really amazing that one part of

"our" world is connecting with another part, so far from each

other, and totally by chance!

You can read more about the voyage and the voyagers by

clicking THIS link...

Stinson Beach is a more traditional bathing beach located

just up the coast from Muir Beach. It was a weekday, so

it wasn't very crowded. However, not a lot of people were

getting into the water since it was a chilly 56 degrees

Fahrenheit. The water never gets that warm in these parts.

It takes a pretty brave soul to swim in these waters on a

regular basis.

Just up from Stinson Beach is a really pretty drive up

Mount Tamalpais, or Mount Tam for short. It's the

highest point in Marin County at 2,574 feet and most

of it is protected parkland. There are lots of pretty

views and beautiful woods on the drive to the top.

Once you get to the top, the view is pretty remarkable. It was

a fairly hazy day, but you could still see San Francisco and the

East Bay pretty clearly, as well as most of the Marin Headlands.

Well worth the drive up the twisting road.

In other visits we've seen Muir Woods National Monument where

there are huge Redwoods and Point Reyes National Seashore.

Both of which are also located in Marin County. However, we

just didn't have time to go there on this visit. Maybe next time.

Mount Shasta

2011-08-01T18:10:00.001+12:00

When I was young, we would load up the car and go on vacations.
Usually no place very glamorous. Michigan, Wisconsin, Kentucky,
Tennessee. Places that were all fairly nearby to our home in Northwest
Indiana. To save money, we would take snacks with us. This included
canned pop to have in the motel room at night. Rarely was it one of
the big brands, but usually one of the "store" brands such as Canfield's
or Shasta. I used to look at the Shasta can and imagine that it was in
some far-away glamorous place. It must be pretty important since
they would put it on a pop can! Well, until today, I had never seen
Mount Shasta. It existed only in my young mind. Now that I have seen
it, it didn't disappoint. It's large, snow capped, formidable and truly
worthy of my childhood imagination....

The State of Jefferson

2011-08-01T12:40:00.000+12:00

After spending the night in Southern Oregon, we started the long
trek to the Bay Area to see Lynn's sister, Lenlee. On the way, there
is an interesting little quirk of both history and geography. The
State of Jefferson. What? You've never heard of the State of
Jefferson? Most people haven't. It does exist however in the
states of mind of many citizens of Northern California and Southern
Oregon.

It almost became reality in December, 1941. Many citizens of the
area were fed up with a lack of roads and support from the state
capitals in Salem and Sacramento. The people of the area needed
help getting their wealth of timber and minerals out of the area and
felt they weren't being supported. After several weeks of planning
and proceeding, Independence ceremonies for the 49th State (before
Alaska and Hawaii joined the union) were to commence the week of
December 8th, 1941. A governor was elected and the town of Yreka
was to be the capital. As we now know, the world, and this part of
the country as well, changed on December 7th, 1941 with the
bombing of Pearl Harbor. Folks tended to focus on the war effort,
roads into the area improved and the State of Jefferson never
became reality.

We found out about the State of Jefferson and Yreka only several
weeks before by watching the great television show, "How the States
Got Their Shapes". I saw that we would be going through Yreka on
this trip, so it became a must-stop spot for our trip.

Wini owns and runs the Tasty Q Ice Cream and Lunch Counter,
located in the Yreka Chamber of Commerce building. She's a
really nice lady, but she'll definitely let you know how she feels
about the local, state and national governments if you give her
an ear. She's a good representative of the rebellious spirit that
still exists in the area that would have been the State of Jefferson.

Even though it's in beautiful country, Yreka is a slightly depressed
area. Folks are a bit down on their luck. However, everyone we
met were very friendly and somewhat optimistic about the future.
They want what most Americans want. To be happy and healthy
and have a nice life.

Although this has nothing to do with the rest of this post, I really
enjoyed this sign. it's really old-timey and quaint. It just made
me feel good.

Portland's Chinatown

2011-07-31T16:00:00.001+12:00

Today, after Lynn's last class at the Sock Summit, we were headed out of
town, on our way south. First though, we wanted to check out Portland's
Chinatown. At one time it was the second largest Chinatown in the country
(after San Francisco's). It's not very big though now, and there isn't a lot
to see except some interesting architecture, but we were able to get our
Dim Sum fix for lunch! The highlight of the whole area though, is the
Lan Su Chinese Garden. It's an entire city block, wall enclosed, that holds
beautiful gardens, lily ponds and delicate Chinese architecture. It was
very soothing and relaxing and it gave us a calm feeling after a busy weekend
in the city. I'd recommend anyone visiting Portland to take an afternoon or
morning and check out the Garden.

TriMet MAX

2011-07-30T12:09:00.000+12:00

Any city worth its salt has a good transportation system, and Portland's
TriMet provides that to the city. TriMet provides Bus, Commuter Rail, Light Rail
and Streetcar service. I tried out the MAX Light Rail service and was pretty
impressed. I'm a transit geek (yes, among other geeky hobbies) so I like to
try out the different rail systems in cities we visit. I only rode MAX from
the Convention Center to Downtown, but it did a great job of doing what it's
supposed to do. Moving someone from Point A to Point B.

The several times I rode, the cars were never over-full. I don't know if that's
a good thing or not, since it might be a reflection of popularity. However, I
never rode during the rush hours so it probably wasn't a fair evaluation.
Regardless, the trains were always clean and people pretty much minded
their own business and weren't annoying. That can't be said of some rail
systems I've ridden on.

Inside the downtown zone, there's no cost to ride. Great for tourists like
me who don't want to make a long term investment in the city's transportation
system. However, there is a reasonably fair charge if you want to go outside
this zone, such as to the airport.

My route took me over the Willamette River on the Steel Bridge. Portland is
known for its bridges and they did a good job of utilizing the Steel Bridge
for multipurpose functions. While I was crossing, I also saw people walking,
driving and riding their bikes across the bridge. Why build a bridge for just
one purpose when you can utilize an existing bridge for all purposes!

I was impressed by MAX, but Portland is not a perfect city for transportation.
Several times while driving we either saw or were involved in huge backups
on the Freeway. Usually it turned out to be something that could have easily
been avoided, if we discovered the reason at all. However, the side artery
streets seemed to move really well and people seem to like the Light Rail.
A good solution to keep a pretty city looking nice and moving people
quickly and efficiently.

Powell's City of Books

2011-07-30T09:53:00.001+12:00

I don't have enough superlatives to describe Powell's City of Books
in Portland. It takes up a whole city block in the Pearl District, and is
is the largest independent bookstore in the world. It covers 1.6 acres
and they have over four million new, used and rare books in their
inventory. It's also my favorite bookstore...ANYWHERE!

You can literally (ha) get lost in this place. Each section of the

store is color coded (like a subway system) and stairways go

everywhere (visualize Escher architecture)

I could spend days in the travel section alone. While most stores
have the typical titles, Powell's has some pretty obscure stuff as

well.

World Cup Roasters is their coffee supplier and their cafe is a fun
place to be amongst other readers, enjoying a good cup of caffeine.

Yes...I am a geek. I bought a Powell's T-Shirt. Who else would
wear a T-Shirt advertising their favorite bookstore besides me?

Yum...Tillamook Cheese!

2011-07-29T21:16:00.001+12:00

We couldn't spend all of our time today at the Sock Summit.
Even knitting gurus like Lynn need a break. Ok, maybe I needed
the break. Regardless, we headed toward the Pacific coast for the
short drive to the small town of Tillamook. I LOVE Tillamook.
Not the town...the cheese! I'm not even sure if you can get it
in the Eastern U.S. or even in the Midwest. I never remember
seeing it growing up, but now I think it's the best commercial-type
cheese you can get in a grocery store. (of course that's just my
opinion, but this is my blog).

The best part (besides tasting) of the tour is watching the production
of the cheese itself. This is the room where they cut the cheese (no
not that!) and wrap it. Today, they were processing my favorites,
Medium Cheddar and Pepper Jack. I don't think that I would like this
job. Having tourists gawk at you all day would be unnerving. I guess
one would get used to it after a while. For some reason, I'm drawn to
factory tours. I think it's because we used to go on them when I was
young. Usually breweries and distilleries for some reason! Funny,
because neither of my parents were drinkers. I think we went to those
because the tours were plentiful, and usually free. Plus, we visited
places like Wisconsin and Kentucky.

Of course, the main reason these factory tours are in existence is to
promote the product and Tillimook Cheese is no exception. A large
room of cheese and cheese related products was easily made available.
Kind of like selling Bibles at the Vatican I suppose. Of course we bit
(pun intended) and bought some to take home. It was on average a
couple bucks cheaper than home and there was a much bigger selection
than at our local Safeway.

Last, but certainly not least of the tour highlights was the fact that
Cheese Curds were available for purchase! I found out later that they

are only for purchase at the factory and not available in stores. I've
never seen curds available outside the Midwest...and now I have! Of
course, they made their way into our cooler as well. After a great
afternoon of cheese, we drove back to Portland, visions of Cheese
Curds dancing in our heads!

Sock Summit

2011-07-29T13:43:00.001+12:00

The main purpose of this trip is so that Lynn can attend the Sock Summit.
This is a large convention of knitters with a sock emphasis. If you'd like to
know more about it, Lynn will have more details on her knitting blog.
I've never seen more knitters in one place. It's estimated that there will be
6000 knitters attending. I'm sure there will be others here like me though.
Interested parties that are here to support the knitters, and as in my case,
act as sherpa for all the yarn and goodies that Lynn will be picking up. I've
been to a lot of yarn stores with Lynn, but this is the largest amount of
yarn, knitting supplies, etc. that I've ever seen in one place. These folks
take it very seriously. It was fun to watch Lynn have such a good time
amongst her peers. We have three days here and besides visiting the
marketplace (in the photos below), Lynn will be taking several classes.
I'm sure she'll have a great time!

The Columbia River

2011-07-28T22:26:00.001+12:00

The Columbia River is the fourth largest river in the United States by
volume and is the largest river in North America that flows into the
Pacific Ocean. It also forms much of the border between Oregon and
Washington, and we followed most of this border today on Interstate 84
on our way to Portland. It's a really pretty drive. Many people think
Oregon is very wooded and damp, but the western and northern parts
of the state are very dry. This makes the Columbia a very wet spot in
a pretty dry area. Along it are several large dams that provide the
region with a great deal of hydroelectric power.

It's definitely a working river, as we saw lots of barges moving up
and downstream carrying all varieties of cargo. This particular tug
was towing a barge of logs, presumably to a lumber mill.

Several areas of the river were quite wide and gave the perception
of the entire river being a very large lake.

The whole area is a bastion of energy development. Besides the
multiple dams, wind farms populated the entire stretch of the river.

Although the river valley is sparsely populated, we did go through
several small towns such as The Dalles and Hood River. The closer
we got to Portland, the busier the river and the highway became.
We were also treated with a great view of nearby Mount Hood. It
was a bit hazy, but there weren't any clouds and it was nice to see
this Cascade mountain up close!

Feeling Blue

2011-07-28T21:20:00.005+12:00

I'm not a huge fan of college football. I occasionally check the scores to
see how Purdue did, but that's about it. However, out west there's a
school that breaks from tradition by using Blue grass on it's field. No,
not Kentucky bluegrass (and not really grass, but artificial turf), but
Blue...Grass. Boise State has artificial Blue turf on it's field. Most
fields are green. Either real grass, or artificial green grass. No, Boise
State's field is BLUE! Unfortunately, I wasn't able to get inside the
stadium, but I was able to get a few shots from the corners. Wow!
That's pretty much all I can say. It's BLUE! While we were in Boise, I
read an article in the newspaper that said that the Mountain West
Conference (their athletic conference of which schools like Wyoming
and Colorado State are also members) ruled that Boise State can no
longer wear their all Blue uniforms at home. The must wear Blue
jerseys with white pants. Apparently, they've won 95% of their home
games over the last few years because the Blue/Blue on a Blue field
was giving them an unfair advantage(?)

Did I mention the field is BLUE?

Coffee in Boise

2011-07-28T19:58:00.001+12:00

We had every intention of doing our usual grab everything and drive
out of town quickly, heading to our next destination. However, Lynn's
sister Kristi, called ahead to Thomas Hammer Coffee in downtown Boise
and bought us a credit for coffee. Good coffee, friendly baristas...I give
it a good review.

Since we went downtown, and away from the highway, we also decided to grab
some breakfast. Tripadvisor (which I trust emphatically) suggested Goldy's as
a great place to eat. I have been eating bad, institutional quiche for so long on
the Ice, I had almost forgotten what good quiche tasted like. Really tasty and
good coffee too. I thought the folks at Thomas Hammer were a bit friendlier,
but overall, a good experience at Goldy's as well.

I'm sure there are dozens more good (and not so good) coffee places we didn't
visit in Boise, but these two represented the city well. Maybe we'll hit the others
next time.

Boise

2011-07-28T19:53:00.002+12:00

I have to say that I really like Boise. People might think, isn't that
where they grow the potatoes? But Boise is a fairly cosmopolitan
place. Reminds me a bit of Madison, Wisconsin without the lakes.
Lots of cool little shopping areas, a vibrant downtown, the state
capitol. We only got to spend the night, but it's definitely a place
that would be fun to re-visit and spend some time.

Crossing Southern Idaho

2011-07-27T20:33:00.000+12:00

Although we've been to all of the states we're traveling through on this
trip, we're visiting different parts that we haven't seen before. This
includes southern Idaho. Yes, not a lot to see in southern Idaho, but
the terrain was rolling, dry and generally a lot like home.

One thing that is interesting about this part of the state is that it
was once under water. What? Under water? There's not enough water
in most areas here to make a sponge wet. However, 20,000 years ago,
during the last Ice Age, this entire area, as well as large parts of Utah
and Nevada (now the Great Basin area) was covered by Lake Bonneville.
This was a huge lake. Unfortunately, there weren't enough rivers
entering the lake and it eventually dried up. It's impressive though to
think that even as big as the Great Salt Lake is today, it's just a tiny
remnant of it's former self. It was once almost as large as Lake Michigan
and significantly deeper. To this day, one can see the signs of ancient
shorelines high up on the sides of nearby mountains.

Road Trip!

2011-07-27T07:30:00.001+12:00

View Sock Summit Road Trip in a larger map

We're headed out today on a road trip! We're going to Portland, Oregon
to attend the Sock Summit. The Sock Summit is a knitting "convention"
in which thousands of knitters will get together to, well, knit socks.
They'll also talk about knitting socks, look at others knitting socks,
buy wool and tools to knit socks. You get the idea. Lynn is almost
giddy at the idea of being around so many knitters! We're also going
to go through some country that I haven't seen before and visit some
places that we've seen before and have especially liked. It should be
a great trip!

Good Music For A Good Cause

2011-07-24T22:57:00.001+12:00

This evening, we attended a benefit concert at the Western Colorado
Botanical Gardens' Elizabeth B. Harris Amphitheatre. The concert was
being held to support the Dream Catcher Therapy Center and End of
the Trail Horse Rescue and Sanctuary.

The mission of Dream Catcher Therapy Center is to foster an environment
to effectively rescue and rehabilitate horses and empower people with
physical and mental health challenges through interaction with horses
in a unique, clinical setting.

Three separate bands played, but I especially enjoyed the Native American
Flute playing between each set.

Lynn donated two knitted caps for the silent auction.

Adjacent to the amphitheatre is the Colorado Riverfront Trail. During a lull
in the music, I took a short walk down the trail to do some exploring. It really
is very pretty and it's the perfect place to take a walk, ride a bike or just watch
the Colorado River flow by.

The Colorado River is still running pretty high. The large amount of snow melt
from the mountains and the recent rainfall we've had have definitely filled its
banks.

We had a fun time at the concert, visiting with friends and enjoying the music...
all for a good cause!

The Mesa County Fair

2011-07-23T17:54:00.004+12:00

We visited the Mesa County Fair this morning. On a positive
note, it wasn't very crowded since it was the last day of the
fair. On the other hand, there weren't very many animals left
since all of the judging had already been completed. We did get
to see a few goats (including one that "attacked" me!) He was just
very excited and I must have had a friendly face. I felt bad though
because he was limping a bit after he jumped out of the pen.
One of the highlights for us each year is checking out the crafts
that have been entered. Besides 4-H participants, Mesa County
has an open division, including one for knitting. Lynn always
thinks about entering, but never gets around to it. I may be
biased, but I think she would have easily won this year. There
are a lot of talented folks though and it's always interesting to
see all of their hard work. We managed to see everything before
it got too hot and another Fair season has come and gone.

A Sad Farewell to Borders

2011-07-21T21:27:00.002+12:00

As a Borders Rewards Member, I received this email today from
the CEO of Borders. Borders is going out of business. Earlier
this year, our store in Grand Junction closed it's doors, and now
all locations across the country will be doing the same. Back in
1988, I made my first purchase at Borders...at their flagship,
and original store in Ann Arbor, Michigan. It was a hardcover copy
of James Michener's "Hawaii" that I had to special order. I loved the
store, and everything it offered. This was years before ordering books
on Amazon was even a twinkle in the internet's eye. In fact, the
internet wouldn't even start to become popular for years to come.
Today, 23 years later, the entire business is going away. Mostly
because it couldn't keep up with internet sales and the emergence
of e-readers. Borders is going away...and it will be missed.

Dear Borders Rewards Member

As I’m sure you’ve heard by now, Borders will be closing its
doors after more than 40 years of igniting the love of reading in
generations of customers. I am sorry to have to share this news
with you as I feel you have been here right along with us as we
fought valiantly to save the company. I want to personally thank
you for your loyalty and support, whether you were one of the
nearly 1.8 million customers who signed up for the Borders Rewards
Plus program, shopped in our stores or on Borders.com, or simply
took the time to e-mail or call the company to express your support.

You might be asking yourself, what happened? How could it be that
there won’t be a Borders moving forward? In a nutshell, following
continued negotiations and the best efforts from all parties, no
bidders presented a formal proposal to keep our company operating
as a going concern. Therefore, under the terms of our
debtor-in-possession financing agreement, we presented to the
court for approval the proposal for firms to purchase our stores’
assets and administer the liquidation process.

We had worked very hard toward a different outcome. The fact is
that Borders has been facing headwinds for quite some time,
including a rapidly changing book industry, the eReader revolution,
and a turbulent economy. We put up a great fight, but regrettably,
in the end, we weren’t able to overcome these external forces.

Going out of business sales begin in stores Friday, July 22. I encourage
you to take advantage of this one-time opportunity to find exceptional
discounts on your favorite books and other great merchandise. Gift
cards will be honored during the liquidation sales, and Borders Rewards
Plus members will continue to enjoy their Borders Rewards Plus discounts
through August 5. Further, all Borders Bucks will be honored until they
expire on July 31.

For decades, Borders stores have been destinations within communities—
places where people have sought knowledge, entertainment and enlightenment
and connected with others who share their passions. I feel privileged to have
had the opportunity to lead Borders and play a role in the true and noble cause
of expanding access to books and promoting the joy of reading. As a company,
we cannot thank you enough for giving us the opportunity to serve you and the
millions of other customers who have shopped our stores over the years. My
sincerest hope is that we remain in the hearts of readers for years to come.

Many thanks,

Mike Edwards
CEO of Borders

Gregor Mendel

2011-07-19T21:18:00.002+12:00

Today, Google is commemorating the 189th Birthday of one of
my favorite scientists, Gregor Mendel. I actually have no idea why
Mendel is one of my favorite scientists, except he and his study of
genetics through Peas is one of the few things I remember from

high school biology. So, Happy Birthday Gregor! May everyone
remember you and your peas for at least another 189 Years!

Colorful Colorado

2011-07-18T21:38:00.000+12:00

The State of Colorado is running a very fun promotion. If you're
planning on visiting our beautiful state this summer, drop by the
Colorado Tourism website. If you register ahead of time, you can
pick up a free Welcome to Colorful Colorado cap that mimics the
signs when entering the state. The only catch is you have to actually
visit Colorado this summer to get the cap. We picked ours up today
at the Fruita Welcome Center.

We Love Our Library

2011-07-14T20:18:00.000+12:00

Apparently so do a lot of people. It was announced today that
patrons checked out 135,960 items from all locations within the
system. This is the most ever in one month and shattered the old
record of 124,645 set just last year. Almost 700,000 items have
been checked out already this year. Some say it's because the
economy is bad. This is a "free" service that allows people to
obtain entertainment at very little or no cost. I think this might
be partially true, but I think that the Library is just doing a good
job of getting out there and letting people know what a valuable
resource is available to them. And the future is only looking
brighter. According to the newest Annual Report, the MCPLD
has initiated a Central Library Catalyst Site Project that is
exploring "a mixed-use development project that will combine
public and private entities with a new Central Library at 5th Street
and Grand Avenue". This is our branch! I hope it happens sooner
rather than later.

You Can't Buy an Accurate Map

2011-07-11T18:05:00.000+12:00

A few months ago, we purchased a really nice laminated copy of
National Geographic's Map of The World to place on our wall. Little
did we know then that it would be obsolete so quickly. At this
moment, you can't buy an accurate World Map...anywhere! Even
Google doesn't show South Sudan on either Google Maps or
the very popular Google Earth. Not yet at least. That's because
South Sudan gained their independence this weekend and map
makers haven't caught up yet. There are now (by most sources)
196 countries in the world. Too bad most maps still show only 195.

Here Comes The Monsoon!

2011-07-10T13:57:00.000+12:00

Monsoon: traditionally defined as a seasonal reversing wind accompanied
by corresponding changes in precipitation, but is now used to describe
seasonal changes in atmospheric circulation and precipitation associated
with the asymmetric heating of land and sea. Usually, the term monsoon
is used to refer to the rainy phase of a seasonally-changing pattern, although
technically there is also a dry phase.

Our annual "Monsoon Season" is starting a bit early this year, and as a result,
our swamp cooler is less efficient, water glasses (and humans) perspire more,
drawers stick and it seems to rain every afternoon for a brief time. This weather,
sweeping up from Mexico affects millions of people here in the Southwest. It's
not one of my favorite times of the year. There's a reason I don't live in the Pacific
Northwest. I don't like rain, and typically Western Colorado is pretty devoid
of it. Luckily, the showers don't last long. Unfortunately, the humidity does, and
we just have to deal with it.

Happy Birthday South Sudan!

2011-07-09T13:07:00.001+12:00

Today, the world's newest country has been born. South Sudan.
According to the Guardian in London, these are eight things we
need to know about the African nation of South Sudan:

• After considering various names including Azania, Nile Republic and
Kush Republic, the government settled on the safest choice: the Republic
of South Sudan, or Ross.

• The national flag is the same as that used by the rebel army, the SPLA,
and consists of horizontal black, red and green stripes, separated by two
thinner white bands. The thick stripes represent the black people, their
blood and fertile land. White is for peace. The blue triangle at the flag's
hoist symbolises the Nile, and the yellow star inside it the unity of the
10 states.

• With several hundred language groups, South Sudan is one of the most
linguistically diverse countries in Africa. English and Arabic were the official
languages, but after independence only English will be retained as an official
working language, according to the transitional constitution.

• A fish eagle appears on the coat of arms, while the symbol of the
government is a secretary bird.

• Chosen through a competition, the national anthem comprises four
short stanzas and lasts a little more than a minute.

• Football and basketball are increasingly popular sports, but the most
popular traditional pastime is wrestling.

• The South Sudan pound will enter circulation in the coming months.

• There is no official national dish, as food varies widely throughout the states.
In the east, Ethiopian-style dishes are common; in the north, fuul – cooked
and mashed fava beans – is popular. Elsewhere, meals based around sorghum,
beans and sometimes goat meat are common.

The End of an Era

2011-07-08T18:01:00.001+12:00

This morning, Lynn and I watched the Space Shuttle Atlantis make it's,
and the Shuttle program's last launch. It was bittersweet to me because
it seems to be the end of an era. The Shuttle has been the backbone
of America's space program for just over thirty years. This is the
equivalent of 2/3 of my life. I can't remember what class I was in
at the time, but back in April of 1981, I had a teacher at Hebron High
School that had the foresight to know that the first shuttle launch
was something important. We were all crowded into the balcony
above the Gym to watch this momentous occasion. Besides being
home to all the weights the school had, I think it was the only place
in the entire school where there was a television set where we could
watch it. How times have definitely changed since then.
Little did I know then, that thirty years would go by before
the last shuttle would launch. In between, there were highs and
lows. I was a Junior in college when the Challenger exploded and
my professor spent the entire class period talking about the
ramifications of the incident. Flash forward and I was in Antarctica
when the Columbia was destroyed on re-entry. What's next for the
U.S. Space Program? I hope great things. When I was young, we
all thought we'd be visiting Mars and having the chance to live on
the Moon by now. It's taking a little longer obviously, but I still think
we can reach new horizons. I'm old enough to remember the last
Moon landing. I hope that I'll still be around the next time we go
there. I think I will be.

Band Practice

2011-07-07T22:20:00.001+12:00

In the summer, it gets hot in Grand Junction. Today was no exception as
the thermometer reached over 90 again. What was surprising though was
the sound of marching band music coming through our windows...in July!
We live behind Grand Junction High School and during today's hot weather
100 or so kids were out practicing for almost eight hours. I was pretty
surprised because practices usually don't start until closer to the beginning
of school at the end of August. Brass, Drums, Woodwinds, Flags, etc, etc.
They were all out there. And they sounded pretty good! I'm not sure why
they were practicing so early in the summer, but I overheard the instructor
tell members over a bullhorn that gaps in their line would be visible from
high up at Invesco Field (Where the Broncos play in Denver). So maybe they're
going to play a halftime show or something there. We recognized only one
song (The Theme From Romeo and Juliet) and one song sounded vaguely
to me like Elmer Fudd's and Bugs Bunny's Wagnerian "Kill the Rabbit", but
I'm sure that wasn't what it was! Anyway, not only was I impressed by their
ability, but by their stamina. Good job!

Fireworks of Childhood Past

2011-07-05T21:46:00.001+12:00

Tennessee Alabama Fireworks

During my walk this evening, I witnessed the aftermath of last night's
missile barrage that took place near our house. At least it sounded like
that. Of course it was Independence Day and I'm pretty sure fireworks
are much easier to come by than when I was a kid. In the late 70's,
growing up in Indiana, one could pretty much buy sparklers or snakes.
You know...those pieces of ash that curled up on the ground when you
lit them with a match. Oh...and caps, but those weren't restricted to
the 4th. We'd bang on them with a rock on the sidewalk all summer
long. But I digress...

I, on the other hand had a loophole. My brother and sister both lived
in Georgia and we would visit them at least once a year. Fireworks were
apparently big (and legal!) in the south and the small town of South
Pittsburg, Tennessee was on the way home. South Pittsburg was home
to Tennessee Alabama Fireworks. To a kid who loved fireworks, it was
the Valhalla of Fireworks! For some reason, they wouldn't let you smoke
in the store. I don't know why... I would always buy the same. A dozen
packages of Bottle Rockets, A brick of Black Cat Firecrackers and a bag of
M-80s. I would then shoot them off all summer, scaring the crap out of the
dog in the process and scaring my Aunt Sharon as well when I would hold a
small demonstration at the end of the driveway!

Now, it seems you can buy fireworks just about anywhere. Without
much problem in the west and certainly in Indiana. These days, I
don't buy them, but they definitely keep me awake every July. And
yes, I still have all of my fingers!

Bottle Rockets

Black Cats

M-80s

Happy Independence Day!

2011-07-04T20:05:00.002+12:00

Fruita Farmers Market

2011-07-03T22:46:00.001+12:00

Yesterday, we made the short drive to Fruita, Colorado to visit their
weekly Farmers Market. Although there wasn't a lot of produce because
it's still early in the growing season, it was a lot less crowded than our
more local Market in Grand Junction and is held on the weekend instead
of Thursday evening. The people were really friendly, some good music
was being played by Huey Plumleigh and everything had a good, laid back
feel. We didn't end up buying anything, but Lynn had a good time looking
at the products that two different alpaca farms were offering, and it was
fun to see two of the alpacas here at the market. After we left the market,
we strolled on the main street of Fruita and ended up at Aspen Street Coffee.
My goal at the beginning of the summer was to try more local coffee houses
and I really liked this place. Good coffee, roasted by Colorado Legacy
Coffee, friendly helpful baristas and really clean. Lots of neat historic photos
of Fruita on the wall as well. I'm pretty sure we'll go back some day. We
capped off the morning by stopping at the new Fruita Library for some
DVDs. One doesn't always have to go a long way to check out new things.
Sometimes, they can be in your own neighborhood!

We Have Tasty Water

2011-07-01T21:02:00.000+12:00

We are very lucky here in Grand Junction. Not only is our water good
to drink, it is very good to drink. You would think that with the
Colorado and Gunnison Rivers flowing nearby, we would get our
water from there. We do, but those sources are strictly for irrigation.
Our drinking water comes from pristine streams and reservoirs on
Grand Mesa, just east of town. Grand Mesa gets tons of snow during
the winter and much of that trickles down via Kannah Creek and the
Purdy Reservoir flowline, straight to our taps. This summer, there is
still snow up on the Mesa. That means that there will be no shortage
of our favorite tasty beverage this year.

Las Conchas Fire

2011-06-29T23:32:00.003+12:00

Photo courtesy Wikipedia

We've been keeping an eye on the Las Conchas Fire, in Northern
New Mexico. Just over ten years ago we worked at Rocky Flats
Environmental Technology Site near Golden, Colorado. The
company we worked for had jobs at the Los Alamos National
Laboratory doing similar work to what we were doing at Rocky
Flats. We love the area and had been nearby many times. We
hadn't been to Los Alamos before though so we checked it out.
Earlier that year, Los Alamos had suffered from the devastating
Cerro Grande fire which burned 48,000 acres, including 400
homes. We witnessed the horrible aftermath as we drove around
the area. We decided not to pursue the jobs at LANL, which
would have deemed a move to the small town of Los Alamos
a necessity. We eventually left Rocky Flats and began to work
in Antarctica. However, if we had pursued those jobs, we might
be living in Los Alamos today. As of this evening, the fire is
90,000 acres and the entire town has been evacuated. It's a
very sad time for the local residents as the fire is still only 3%
contained. Please keep the residents of the area in your thoughts
and prayers.

The First of How Many?

2011-06-28T21:25:00.001+12:00

Today, we hit our first 100 degree day of the season.
Yes, we live in the high desert, and yes, it is summer. But we
average only five 100 degree days per summer, and it's only the
end of June. Our hottest months of July and August are still
ahead of us. Luckily it really is a dry heat. That will all change
when the monsoon starts in July. For now, we'll enjoy our
warm days and cool, easy to sleep nights.

"Vandalia" Onions

2011-06-27T19:29:00.001+12:00

Almost twenty years ago, I was living near Chicago and I saw a banner
posted alongside the road. Whatever charitable group it was, they were
selling onions to make money. Makes sense. It was onion season after
all. What didn't make sense is what they were calling them.

"Vandalia Onions"

There is a small town in central Illinois named Vandalia. It was once
the state capital of Illinois and is certainly known for many things, but
I'm pretty certain growing onions isn't one of those things. I am pretty
certain that whoever made the banner knew there was a Vandalia and
had never heard of Vidalia...Georgia, where the onions are indeed
famous. Even though it's been many years ago, I still chuckle to myself
whenever I see Vidalia Onions being sold and wonder if those folks in
Vandalia ever decided to capitalize on the similar names.

For those of you that have never tried a Vidalia Onion, you really
should buy a couple. I've heard of people saying they are so sweet,
you can eat one like an apple. I wouldn't go that far, but they are
definitely worth buying a few and using them in your cooking. We
bought a case (since onions don't tend to go bad quickly if kept in
a cool, dry place) and I've been enjoying them in just about everything!
They're only around for a short time, but make sure they're the ones
from Georgia...not Illinois!

I'm Impressed

2011-06-25T20:29:00.001+12:00

School District 51 in Grand Junction recently announced that several
dozen teachers would be laid off due to budget cuts. Budget cuts
necessary because, basically our economy here is really awful. 11%
unemployment, a recession (Depression?) that doesn't seem to want
to end and just a general malaise in the economy. What amazes me
though, is that people still seem to have the money for things like
going to the movies, eating out...and watering the lawn? So, when
I drove by the High School today, I noticed that they had xeriscaped
the entire area surrounding the athletic track. The grass area in
the infield of the track is still grass, that can be used for soccer,
football, or any other event that requires grass. However, all of the
area on the outside of the track is now gravel. This makes a lot of
sense, because this area no longer needs water to keep it green and
attractive looking. This area was never used. Why did it need to be
grass-covered? It didn't, and somebody with District 51 was using
their noggin! Granted, it won't be a huge savings for the school
district short term, but it will save money long term, hopefully
enough to get some of those teaching jobs back. Also, think of
the impression it might make on some of those kids using the
area (as well as the adults). This is a desert. We average eight
inches of rain per year. We shouldn't be growing so much grass
in areas that don't need grass. Sure, athletic fields, parks, etc.
are good places to have grass, but if we smartly xeriscape in areas
that don't need grass, we can continue to grow it where it's
pleasant to have it...and in a way, maybe save some jobs and
provide a better education for the kids. This is really smart!
Whoever thought of this with District 51 should be commended!
Or at least given a good pat on the back!

It's Pretty Full

2011-06-23T23:17:00.002+12:00

We only live about a mile north of the Colorado River, which is the
seventh longest river in the United States. Usually, even though
it carries quite a bit of water at this point in its route, it's fairly
docile. Not so, these days, as spring runoff from this winter's
record snows in the Rocky Mountains is causing it to fill to its
banks and even sometimes over it. Last week, part of Interstate 70
had to be closed west of Fruita as the river was placing the highway
in danger. We took this photo in Glenwood Canyon on our way to
Denver last week. A few miles earlier, we saw some rafters making
their way down the river in an area that looked much like this.
There's a bicycle/walking path that runs through the canyon.
If you look closely on the left hand side of the photo, you can see
that it is very much under water. Not a good day to be ambling
down the river's edge. Even though we're having all of this water
now, the experts say that it won't have much effect of a nearly
20 year drought the Colorado River Basin is having. And believe
it or not, most of this water won't ever make it to the Pacific
Ocean (Gulf of California) in Mexico. It will go to the thirsty cities
of Los Angeles, Phoenix and Las Vegas. It's fun to watch while it
lasts though.

Parlez-vous Français?

2011-06-22T16:35:00.001+12:00

Gina and I were having a conversation today about languages.
I discovered a couple of days ago that the city with the 2nd largest
number of French speakers in the world is nowhere near France.
In fact, after Paris, the city with most French speakers is Kinshasa.
Where?!? Kinshasa. The capital of the Democratic Republic of
The Congo...in central Africa. And it turns out, that The Congo
never "belonged" to France, but to Belgium (which also speaks
French..well at least half of it).

What this pretty much means is that the world is becoming a
smaller place. It's been said that if you could speak five
certain languages, you could speak with 80% of the world's
population:

Mandarin Chinese (1.12 billion)
English (480 million)
Spanish (320 million)
Russian (285 million)
French (265 million)
Hindi/Urdu (250 million)
Arabic (221 million)
Portuguese (188 million)
Bengali (185 million)
Japanese (133 million)
German (109 million)

So, if you spoke Mandarin, English, Spanish, Russian and French,
think about how many people you could speak with! I feel I
speak English fairly well since it's my native tongue. And I
speak Spanish marginally. That's two out of five. However,
I fail miserably on Mandarin, Russian and French. We're lucky
in America because the world is quickly becoming Lingua Anglica.
It may be linguistically jingoistic of me, but I feel if we all learn
one language, it will help us get along better. (it also wouldn't
hurt if we try to learn another language as well!) Will knowing
English and Spanish help me in Paris...or Kinshasa for that matter,
but being able to say "Je ne parle pas le français, parlez-vous anglais"
might help everyone get along better!

How The States Got Their Shapes

2011-06-21T21:06:00.000+12:00

There's a new show on the History Channel that's quickly become
one of my favorites. It's called "How The States Got Their Shapes"
and it's based on the book by Mark Stein that I read a few years ago.
It lets me get my geek out on some of my favorite subjects of
Cartography, History and Geography...all wrapped up into one!
It's pretty amazing how so little is known about our nation's history
and how things came to be. If X wasn't added to Y, Z would have
never happend. What makes this show really interesting is that, at
least in my opinion, things in political geography aren't static. They
are ever changing. For example, there has been renewed talk of
Puerto Rico becoming the 51st State. I'm not even sure if this topic
will be brought up on the show or not, but it could certainly make at
least an interesting segment. It isn't just our country where geography
changes. Soon, all our world maps will be wrong. The new nation of
South Sudan will be formed. Geography is fascinating because it
changes. Always new and always interesting. Just like this show.

Our 31 Hours in Denver

2011-06-18T22:24:00.002+12:00

A few weeks ago, Lynn's sister Lenlee told us that she would be at
Red Rocks for the Ray LaMontagne concert and invited us to join her.
Her friend Paul is the Guitar Technician for the band and there would
be complementary tickets available. Of course we jumped at the
chance. It would be good to see Lenlee AND a concert at Red Rocks!
Earlier in the evening, we stopped by Lenlee's hotel in Golden and
stepped across the street for a bite to eat. While we were dining,
who would walk past but our friend from the Ice, Brody! It was
a pleasant surprise to see him and even though we hadn't seen him
in a couple of years, we chatted for almost an hour and had a really
good time.

I had my first visit to Red Rocks last summer, but Lynn has been here
countless times. Neither of us had ever been on the stage and this was
a lot of fun! It was odd to be BEHIND the security guys. We pretty much
had our run of the stage and I snapped lots of photos. Although I don't
mind being in front of people making presentations, I don't know if I
could perform in front of a crowd of this size.

Lenlee and Paul are a lot of fun to be around. Before the concert, Paul
showed us around the backstage area, one of the tour busses and the
areas that were generally off limits to the average ticket holder.

We had great seats. 12 rows up from the stage and right next to the
sound mixing booth. Red Rocks has great acoustics to begin with and
these seats had to have some of the best sounds in the house.

Secret Sisters led off the show with a small set of country-themed tunes.

Brandi Carlile was next up and she brought with her lots of fans who
were hooting and hollering. She's really talented and it was fun listening
to her. About 2/3 through her set, a surprise guest joined her on the stage.
It was Shawn Colvin! I've been listening to Shawn since the mid nineties and
it was fun to see her on stage. Later, both came into the audience to sit and
watch Ray perform and they sat in the row right in front of us!

I really hadn't heard much of Ray LaMontagne's music until this evening,
but he's very talented and the crowd really enjoyed his show.

We had special passes that let us go all over the place.

An interesting display backstage is a listing of all of the events that have
been held at Red Rocks, since it opened in 1941. Lynn, Lenlee and I
had fun looking at the concerts the three of us had attended over the
years.

Just a few minutes after the concert ended, the place was empty! It was
amazing how quickly the crowd leaves after a show.

This morning, we met up with our friend Martin, from the Ice.
We hadn't seen Martin since our first season in Antarctica in 2001-02.
Like our meeting with Brody, it was like we had just seen each other
yesterday and we chatted for a good hour. Great to see old friends again!

On the way home, we stopped at the Strawberry Festival in Glenwood
Springs. There were lots of folks selling crafts. I didn't see a lot of
Strawberries (except for a pie eating contest), but it looked like most
folks were having a good time.

Tiny Golden Library

2011-06-16T09:04:00.003+12:00

While we were in Altus, visiting Nancy, we stopped by an antique store and
inside one of the cases, I saw a Tiny Golden Book. I hadn't thought about
these in years, and there one was.

When we got back to her house, Nancy pulled out her entire set.
The Tiny Golden Library, still in it's original box. I LOVED reading
these when I was little and they're all in pristine condition. There are
24 of them written and wonderfully illustrated by Dorothy Kunhardt.
The other 12 books are by Walt Disney, way before Disney became
such a commercial behemoth. The books brought back a lot of
great memories for me and I'm glad Nancy still has them.

New To Our Yard

2011-06-14T16:19:00.000+12:00

Almost ten years ago, we were getting ready to spend our first season
in Antarctica and had to have someone watch our plants. We didn't know
then that it would be quite a bit of time before we were able to retrieve
them. When we recently visited my sister Nancy's house, we picked up
our Rain Lilly (or at least a descendant of it) that we had left with her
many years ago. The coffee can that held it disintigrated long ago, but
Nancy had transplanted it into a new container and there are lots of
healthy, blooming bulbs in the container. It now holds a nice place in
front of our house, where it gets morning sun, but none of the really
hot sun of the afternoon. Because we live in a very dry climate with an
average of 8 inches of rain per year, we'll probably need to water it every
few days to keep it blooming. It's much drier here that it's native Germany.

We have a spot in our front yard that has needed a plant for a few years.
When we xeriscaped our front yard, one of the desert plants that we
selected didn't make it through the first year and the spot has been
empty ever since. Nancy sent some Monkey Grass with us. It can be
a pain to some people because it spreads, but it's very hardy and needs
little attention. Perfect for this area. Also, it shouldn't spread since
there really is no where for it to go since it's surrounded by gravel. I'm
looking forward to enjoying both additions to our yard this summer.

Tierra Wools

2011-06-09T15:53:00.004+12:00

In north central New Mexico, lies the small hamlet of Los Ojos.
It's sheep-raising country and home to Tierra Wools. It's been
about five years since we've been by here, but it's a favorite place
of Lynn's. Lots of natural yarns, weaving, spinning, etc. All done
by local artisans and students. They offer a number of Fiber Arts
classes here and Lynn would like to take someday. It's a pleasant
little area and so far out of the way, it's very quiet.

Some of Our Favorites

2011-06-08T20:47:00.000+12:00

We're trying to budget a bit and Santa Fe is not the most inexpensive
place in the world. However, you can eat reasonably and luckily, three
of our favorite restaurants in town are just that. Good food at inexpensive
prices. Baja Taco is not much more than a fast food place. But I'm guessing
that most fast food places wish they were this good. We've been here before
for their awesome breakfast burritos, but we stopped by in the evening this
time and Lynn had beef taquitos, which were very good and I had a carne
adovado burrito. This is roasted pork in a very hot red chile sauce. Pretty
darn delicious. it's located on Cerrillos Road so it's not exactly in a quiet
and picturesque location, but it's easy to get in and out of, and you definitely
want to do this at least once during your visit to Santa Fe.

The next day, we visited Tia Sophias. It's located near the plaza and can
get its fair share of tourists, but locals flock here as well and have for
years made it one of their favorite spots. It's more famous for its
breakfasts, but we enjoy lunch there and each meal is accompanied by
their tasty Sopapillas, which with honey, make a good appetizer or
dessert. We had combo-type meals since we wanted to sample a
little of everything. We weren't disappointed. I just love the feeling of
this place. It's not overly kitschy and not only are the waitstaff friendly,
they treat you like a local.

Before heading out of town this morning, we stopped at one of my
favorite breakfast places in the world...Tecolote Cafe. Tecolote means
"Owl" in Spanish. It also isn't a super fancy place, but it has just plain
good New Mexican food. New Mexican cuisine is different than Tex-Mex
or even Californian Mexican food. It's really chile-based. In fact, the
official state question of New Mexico is "Red or Green?", meaning, do you
want red chile or green chile with your meal. Much of the time, I prefer
Green Chile, but today, I chose Red as I was having my favorite Carne
Adovado Burrito. Much different than Baja Taco's, this version is
smothered in Red Chile. It was painful. Painful Good! Very hot, but
really tasty. One of my favorite meals and I ordered almost every time
we visit Tecolote. Lynn had a really good looking Spanish Omlette and
with each meal you are given a choice of a tortilla or a bakery basket,
with yummy biscuits and muffins. Lynn chose this, but I opted for the
tortilla since I wanted to soak up more of the delicious red chile.
There's a good local vibe here too as there is a local table set up
where older guys sit and drink their coffee. Tecolote was also
featured in the Food Network show "Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives"
and there is a poster of host Guy Fieri on the wall. We started coming
here long before Guy visited, and we've tried several of the featured
restaurants around the country, and we haven't been disappointed
yet.

We lived in Santa Fe for three months in 2005 and got to feel like locals
for awhile. After our three month "test period", we decided not to live
here permanently. However, the great selection of restaurants and food
choices here almost tipped the scale in favor of moving here permanently.
If you plan on visiting Santa Fe, let me know and I can give you lots of
suggestions, both food and non-food related about the area. It's one
of our favorite places in the world.

Fire in Arizona

2011-06-07T22:35:00.001+12:00

There is a huge fire happening right now in eastern Arizona. Thousands
of acres of forest are going up in flames. Strong southwesterly winds are
blowing a lot of the smoke toward places many miles away. This evening,
the wind came up and the sunset and sky took on a surreal look. Even
though Santa Fe is several hundred miles away from the fires, the sun
became very dark and the sky filled with smoke, sometimes burning the
eyes and making it hard to breathe. After sunset, the moon became very
red. It was just a really weird weather and climate scenario.

It's A Miracle!

2011-06-06T19:40:00.001+12:00

After a nice visit at Nancy and Greg's, we set off on the rather monotonous
drive across southwest Oklahoma, north Texas and eastern New Mexico.
We're very happy with our Toyota Corrolla. It gets excellent gas mileage
too. Since we left on this trip, we've averaged about 35 miles per gallon.
There is a pretty neat little feature that tells you the "Range" of your fuel.
In other words, it lets you know how many miles you have left in your
tank before you're on empty...or in this case, On Walk! Driving west of
Tucumcari, New Mexico, we started to run low on gas and I nervously
watched the gauge as the mileage available got lower and lower. A few
minutes earlier, I had passed up one station, because it was too expensive.
I regretted that decision as I turned off the air conditioner and tried to
coast down hills on Interstate 40. The only signs I saw for gas noted that
it was 15 miles away. My "range" meter said I had 10 miles left. Uh oh.
But then...on the horizon, we came up to this station, named MILAGRO,
which is Spanish for Miracle. How appropriate! I looked at the "range"
meter and it said 6 miles. In other words, I would have run out of gas
in 6 miles. After we got into the car, I measured the distance to the
previously advertised station, and it would have taken us 9 miles to get
there. In other words, I would have been walking for 3 miles one way to
get a can of gas, and another 3 miles back to fill it up. I promised Lynn
that I wouldn't let it get that low again. Someone was definitely watching
out for us!

Miley and Otis

2011-06-05T21:25:00.001+12:00

Nancy and Greg have two pets that they are taking care of. They are my
nephew Josh's pets, but since he lives in a location that doesn't allow pets,
they've taken up residence in Altus. Miley is a cute little ferret and Otis is
a lovable, but very slobbery bulldog. I've never been around a ferret before.
They are great! Miley loves to be played with and is really intelligent.

Otis. Otis is also smart, a good dog and loves to be around people. Maybe
he likes to be around people a bit too much since he absolutely loves
Lynn, following her everywhere. He means well though and is a irreplaceable
member of the family!

Boomer Sooner!

2011-06-04T21:43:00.001+12:00

My sister likes to buy Halloween costumes for her little pug, Sadie.
Here is Sadie's newest outfit. Apparently Sadie has aspirations to
become a University of Oklahoma cheerleader!