Moving Day … Celebrated with a Glorious Sunset

Fort Pickens Campground — Gulf Islands National Seashore (GINS), Florida
Temps: Lo 39F / Hi 57F (4C / 10C)

We woke up to cold temps again this morning — really cold — but we were comfy cozy in our home thanks to being connected to the 50A pedestal for the adjacent site. So glad we spent the $$s to purchase a long 50A extension cord way back when — we might have been in for a propane night otherwise.

Mui bided his time until 9:00a before he walked over to the host’s site to find out the plan for the day. After conferring with the “brown shirts” — as Judy fondly refers to NPS staffers — the host returned with news. The work ticket had been processed, but the timeline for the repair was unknown and could be several days. Staying put in A14 was not an option, because A15 was going to be occupied by campers beginning today.

We were given the option of moving to A26, a stand-by site reserved for disabled campers, or go to a stand-by site in another loop. Although A26 seemed like a good option at first, the possibility that we might have to move out of it once the A14 pedestal was fixed did not sit well with us. So, we hopped in the car to check out the other loops.

Do you believe in kısmet? We do; and today’s forced move falls into that category. I don’t remember why we dismissed loops B-E out of hand when we stopped by the campground last September on our recon trip. But we did, and it turns out that was a mistake. Driving through the loops today, we found this section of the campground to be much more to our liking — probably because the lack of short trees made it seem brighter and more spacious.

Taking the recommendation of the campground host, we opted for C29. It is adjacent to the bathhouse on the driver side, but big bushes and trees offer us plenty of privacy and hide the foot traffic. On the passenger side, we have twice as much space separating us from our neighbor as we did in A14. We feel that we landed in a better site for sure. Even the 4G connection we’re getting with our Millenicom mi-fi (Verizon service) is better here (not that it was bad in A14).

Site C29 — we like it even better than we did Site A14.
We won’t get sunset alerts from here, but we just might see the sun rise instead.

Clockwise from top left:
looking head on towards C29; looking to the right from our site; lots of space behind
the coach (we have our own shortcut to the bathhouse); view from our windshield.

The move itself was easy — we don’t have a whole bunch of knick-knacks scattered around the motorhome. I think it took me about 10 minutes to get the inside ready for the short-distance move. Since we were driving by the dump station anyway, we took the opportunity to empty our tanks again — not that there was much in them, but every drop counts when you don’t have a sewer hook-up — heh heh he! By noon, we were having lunch at our new site. And then it was time for some fun.

The sun had warmed the temps nicely, so we decided to take the trikes for a spin and ride over to Fort Pickett. We had to bundle up against the light windchill, but it sure felt good to be doing something fun on what turned out to be a beautiful winter day. There’s no bike path, so we had to share the road with cars, but traffic was light and we encountered just a few vehicles along the way. It would be a different story in the summertime, of course.

A trike ride on a mostly-deserted road … what fun on a sunny winter day.

The trees are a testament to the devastation storms have wreaked on this barrier island.

A pretzel tree (not really) catches my eye; a body of water draws me into the landscape.

Of course no trike ride on this sunny day would have been complete without a stop at the beach. We returned to the scene of the crime, where Mui — drawn irresistibly by the waters of the Gulf of Mexico — went swimming in his shorts last September (post here; scroll down). In fact, that was the day we made the decision to return here as soon as we could. It really doesn’t matter that it’s too cold to swim now; just being here and seeing these waters again — well, we’re in heaven

Summer outfits have been replaced by winter layers, but it sure feels good to be back ...

… on this beach, which is named for the nearby Battery Langdon (1923).

The sand here is easily mistaken for snow, salt, or sugar … it’s that fine and that white.

We returned home around 3:00p, put the trikes in their garages (blue tents in the collage above), and headed over to the Lowe’s in Gulf Breeze to run an errand. We could not have timed our return to the coastal road leading to the campground better had we planned it. We got to enjoy one of the most beautiful sunsets we’ve ever seen … such a riot of yellows, oranges, and reds over the Gulf of Mexico … it looked like the sky was on fire. And it all started out with tinges of pinks and lavenders over Pensacola Bay ... a symphony in pastels. I’ll just let the photos speak for themselves; every one of them was absolutely worth the bone-chilling cold we had to endure to get the shots.

Memories to be treasured to be sure.

Understanding the Lenten Season

I don't remember where I found this quote, but I like it. I'm trying to understand Lent better and this helped.

“As we begin it,” he writes, “as we make the first step into the ‘bright sadness’ of Lent, we see — far, far away — the destination. It is the joy of Easter, it is the entrance into the glory of the Kingdom. And it is this vision, the foretaste of Easter, that makes Lent’s sadness bright and our lenten effort a ‘spiritual spring. [...] Paradoxically, Easter necessitates Lent. “For we may then understand,” says Fr. Schmemann, “that the liturgical traditions of the Church, all its cycles and services, exist, first of all, in order to help us recover the vision and the taste of that new life which we so easily lose and betray, so that we may repent and return to it.”

Goodbye Irene and Good Riddance

The speed with which news gets on the internet never fails to amaze.  Hurricane Irene — now Tropical Storm Irene — has not finished wreaking damage.  Yet there is already a Wikipedia article on it!

As anticipated, we were lashed with rains and tropical storm strength winds here in northern Virginia.  The outer bands arrived mid-morning on Saturday.  By noon it was raining non-stop.  The storm did not really hit the area until around 6:00p, however, and was evidenced by strong winds, with gusts that caused trees to quiver, shake, and sway.  The rain kept falling.  It was an otherwise normal-like day for us at home.

It wasn’t until 2:00a or so that we lost power.  We were fast asleep by then and wouldn’t have known that we no longer had electricity if not for the irritating beeps issued by the UPS (uninterrupted power source) that keeps our computers running for a few additional minutes when the power goes out to allow us to shut down normally.  The beeps were easily silenced; not so the drunken fools somewhere outside at the height of the storm, laughing like banshees.  What can I say — no cure for stupid is there?

Anyway, we were up around 6:00a this morning.  Still no power.  Nor internet.  Nor phones (we have VOIP).  No problem.  Using our Millenicom aircard and the TruPhone app on Mui’s laptop, we were able to touch base with family to allay any concerns they might have about our safety.  Then, Mui fixed us a pancake breakfast (oops, no photos) and we settled down to read for a while.  Just before 9:00a, I made an off-hand comment that the power could come on now.  Like magic, a few minutes later there was light.  It’s nice to have divine powers :-)))).

We’re in the clear!
[image courtesy of the National Weather Service website]

Another hour saw the rain end and the winds diminish.  With the sun peeking through the thinning overcast and patches of blue appearing in the sky, we walked over to a nearby store to pick up a newspaper and see what damage there might be in the area.  None!  Just some leaves and thin branches littered the streets.  We got off easy, I know.  We are grateful.

And so, life returns to normal for us.  No offense to my friend Irene, but we’re glad to see her namesake gone!  For those who experienced the heavier impact of Irene, we wish them good luck as they begin the process of cleaning up after the storm.  For those still in the path of the storm … hang in there. 

An action filled day off!

Since we only have one day off this week we decided to do some of the things we haven't gotten around to yet. It was another Hot day - 90's so we headed underground.

1st stop - Big Thunder Gold Mine

Watch your head!



Big Thunder is one of the safest mines in the area. The rock stability allowed the miners to use very little timbering. Because of its safety, during times of war, the Big Thunder Mine was designated as Keystone's bomb shelter. Not much gold was taken from this mine. Lore has it that they discovered some gold in an adjacent area but did not file a claim. They got drunk and talked about the gold they found and someone else filed a claim out of spitebut did not have the money to excavate it. They sold the rights to someone else for a few thousand dollars. The mine ended up producing over 3 million in Gold

After the tour we panned for gold and even founda few flakes!Getting warm again - so back underground to Rushmore Cave. This is the original natural entrance.

It is filled with natural limestone formationsLots of narrow winding tunnels and ups and downs. Could've used the hard hat in here too.The "Big Room"

Lots of Stalactites

We got free admission with our VIP Pass and they told us the zip line ride was free as well. Since we were well chilled from the hour tour we didn't mind waiting in line in the hot sun.




Next Stop Mt. Rushmore to do the Audio Tour





Time to head home, we take the Iron Mountain Road with the Pigtail Bridges- you drive under the bridge and then the road circles around so you cross the bridgeAs we were driving home we passed the Black Hills Playhouse. They do a practice run of a play on the Wednesday before opening and VIP pass holders get in free. We hadn't had a chance to do one yet, we were either working or had forgotten about it or last week when we remembered it was an off week. I had it in my mind that it was next week but I noticed cars in the lot as we drove by and decided to check my "cheat sheet" and sure enough it was this evening so we did a U-Turn and headed back



We ended up seeing "All Shook Up" a musical comedy with a lot of Elvis music and comical situations of mistaken identity. The Set wasn't complete and it was the first time the cast had performed in front of a live audience. They only had 5 days of rehearsals. They did quite well and we enjoyed the performance.

Till Later, Meanwhile we keep on Trek'n

Melissa and Gary

Jumping Off Bridges, revisited

In June .. I posted about two movies with Austin connections. One of the two was Jumping Off Bridges, a fine, independent, small-budget movie by Kat Candler and Stacy Schoolfield of Storie Productions. The cast included some professional actors, some young actors in their first screen roles - and one recognizable star, Michael Emerson , the multi-nominated "Ben Linus" from Lost.

A movie dealing with the effects of suicide on those left behind wasn't easy to package and getting it distributed became a long and difficult process. Along the way, Kat and Stacy's movie has found advocates and an audience, and has been presented by former First Lady Roslyn Carter. The filmmakers recently announced that J.O.B is being released on DVD. Congratulations to everyone connected to Jumping Off Bridges!

Lecture at TCA Glasgow soon

In a couple of weeks time (Sat 15th) I’m heading to TCA in Glasgow to speak. I’ve just been putting together some stories and ideas for my talk. I guess because the talk is in Glasgow, my home city and in a climbing wall it got me going over thoughts of the path my climbing has taken since I discovered climbing. I viewed my participation in climbing really quite differently in every stage of my life as a climber. In the talk I want to share some of the important moments both of climbing and in thought that opened the next chapter of climbing adventures and challenges, which are of course still unfolding to this day.
Come along, it starts at 6.30pm. It’s a bit cheaper if you get a ticket in advance - details in the poster above.

Switchback

Yesterday (Thursday) was travel day. Was hoping it would clear off a bit, instead the day started spitting mist while packing the car. Eventually got on the road. Encountered "pea soup) fog just leaving Duluth. I had to slow down to 40mph on I-35!

The fog was clear as I headed out on highway 210. Was getting hungry when I reached Cromwell. Had lunch at the Country Inn Restaurant. What a lunch! Ordered 1/3 pound burger, fries, cole slaw, 2 onion rings, and coffee for under $10!

Checking at the Country Inn Deerwood. Settled into the room and got stuff ready for a ride Friday.

Today, the morning was spent waiting for sun and higher temperature. By noon, it was time to head over to the trails. Talked with Dan (Owner @ Country Inn) about riding "Switchback". This was a trail I had not ridden. Parked the car at the Pennington Lake boat ramp.

Pretty good singletrack. Just some climbing that was over my ability. Did not how much I have gotten out of shape - be that from not active or health problems. Was out of breath at times walking the bike up the trail. From the upper photo, you can see where the trail gets its name.

Anyway, I had the GoPro camera on the bike and recorded the whole ride. When I hit the end of Switchback, I rode the road to the Cuyuna Lake State Trail back to the car.



Back at the room, I downloaded the video. Looks like I got the whole ride - even did not get the camera turned off while visiting at the parking lot. Converted the video from MP4 to AVI.

The camera wanted to update the firmware. That is done from the GoPro CineForm Studio. The firnware update did not take. Sent an e-mail from GoPro. While i was out for registration and pasta feed, I had instructions from GoPro. Awesome customer support! Downloaded the firmware and formatted the SD car.

Back at the Festival (Cuyuna Lakes Mountain Bike Festival). Bought raffle tickets (for a New Belgium Brewing cruiser) - drawing in September. Food and beverages by Maucieri’s and New Belgium Brewing. The band was playing. Later there would be a night ride under lights (beyond me on unfamiliar trails).

No luck updating the firmware. The camera seems to be stuck in a loop. Sent another e-mail to GoPro support. About time to call it a night.

Safer, safe and ‘less dangerous’

Claire after her skydive yesterday. Not looking too scared

I was just listening to Amartya Sen explaining on radio about his ideas about justice in the world, and his way of looking at this aspect of humanity struck me as just as relevant in another.

His thesis in the world of justice is that we should think in a more pragmatic, and less idealist way in order to achieve the best possible outcome for people. Specifically he has the idea that we pour a huge amount of energy trying to solve completely particular injustices, with the intended outcome being to make them 100% ‘just’. But, he says, the ideal of a perfectly just scenario often remains out of reach. Instead, if we first seek out the biggest and deepest injustices, and measure success against their starting points, rather than against the ideal finishing point of perfect justice, we will end up increasing overall justice by a larger amount. So the focus on scrubbing out the last remains of stubborn injustice becomes not just a black hole for our resources, but a distraction from deeper injustice elsewhere.

It struck me that this parallels closely recent arguments about risk in life and society. Economics right now is teaching popular society a lot about the importance of risk. Namely that pursuing the ideal of eliminating risk is actually harmful to economies, just as very risky and unstable situations are. Similarly, a statistical perspective minus the blinkers of a ratings driven media such as this book on the risks we face highlights some of the ridiculous situations we find ourselves in when we attempt to eliminate tiny risks (such as terrorism) and allow these to completely distract us from huge risks elsewhere.

Amartya’s idea projected onto risk makes a lot of sense to me and to me reflects closely the decision making process I’ve aspired to in the risky climbing I do. Other climbing bloggers thoughts recently (such as Dougald and Will’s) have reminded us well that believing in complete safety in climbing will always prove a fallacy. So it’s important to try not to be distracted by making tiny risks tinier, if larger ones lie ignored in the background (and they often do in my opinion).

A common example that often worries me when listening to other climbers discourse on safety is a fascination with the fine details of climbing equipment systems. Nothing wrong with that whatsoever, so long as it’s seen in context of the whole picture of climbing safety, which is often isn’t. The trouble is that our safety systems relating to climbing equipment are only one link in a chain of factors that determine how much risk we face when climbing.

The ‘soft’ skills (I hate the term but can’t immediately think of a replacement) of our tactics, decision making and movement skill on rock, ice or mountains are the other, larger part, and they often suffer relative ignorance.

A more specific example; Out of the climbers I know who onsight E6 or harder, I can't think of any who aren’t expert at downclimbing (out of trouble). Why? Quite simply, having this skill allows you to go with far less danger where it would be hideously dangerous to rely solely on ‘up’ climbing ability and safety equipment. In contrast, the trad climber’s I know who’ve suffered a series of confidence destroying serious falls are more often than not poor at climbing down out of scary situations. I’ve had a million climbers ask me all sorts of weird and wonderful questions about the fine points of equipment, and strategies for it’s use, and it often shocks them when I don’t always know an answer. But I can’t recall ever being asked about downclimbing.

Important things are often at the mercy of things less important. Looking for dangerous things to make less dangerous will often be more successful than looking for anything to make perfectly safe.

Winter on Hungry Jack Lake

Here is another view of Hungry Jack Lake, this time a wide-angle view. The other day I posted a close-up, abstract shot of the snow drifts on the lake that was taken with my telephoto lens. The clouds were really neat above the lake when I made this photo. Because of the winds, the clouds were moving fast and it was fun watching the shadows move across the frozen surface of the lake.

Trail to the Sun

Trail to the Sun, originally uploaded by ParsecTraveller.

Waiting for sunset on Poly Mountain in San Luis Obispo, California. The other shots I took were marred by pesky dust particles...time to clean the sensor.
The hills appear to be brown in the photo, but close examination of the earth along the trail revealed thousands of tiny seedlings coming up due to the 7.5 inches of rain we received the other day.

Show Opening

Today was the opening of my photography show in Greenfield. Weather was cool, overcast, and some rain. Not a pretty day. Sun peeked out for a couple minutes. Rain again in the evening.
The show is being held in an old opera house. The structure is being refurbished/renovated. I got a tour the the building this evening. The original proprietor (E. E. Warren) lived in an apartment of the building. This evenings photo is of the building with the light drizzle in the air.
Some visitors came in to tour the exhibits. Many commented that they liked the photographs (but then who would say they didn't like them with the photographer right there!)
No visitors in the evening open hours. If the weather improves overnight, I want to ride the T-Bone trail (Atlantic to Audubon, IA).