Raffles and Rangers and Rations, Oh My!

We doggies got a super invitation!!!
Friday, July 17
5pm to 7pm
Dog Day at the Park *
Bring your dogs for an evening of fun and education. We’ll discuss park regulations and sensitive wildlife
issues that all pet owners should know. Enjoy a free BBQ and raffle prizes. Meet at McInnis Park (350 Smith
Ranch Rd, San Rafael). Bring a leash.
And so many of us came to hear about the fate of our beloved McInnis Park. We'd heard rumors that a remote part of the field would be fenced off - and that this area would be the only place left here where we would be able to run leashless. And... it turned out to be just that! A Rumour - nasty thing! But some of our owners apparently don't follow the rules and could ruin the good thing we have here!
The rangers put on a rully nice shew! Doggie cookies for us and hot doggers and a great spread for our pawrents (which we all tried to get to and snarf... Most of us were unsuccessful!
But some of us were, like my lucky pal below, licking his choppers!
The picnic table pup crew - to be able to take in the view over the big doggers.
Below is my pal, Olivia - famous for her kissing scenes with Finnegan woohoo!
Squiggly one desperate to grab a potato chippie or two!
Guarding the babe here - good job!
So there was lots of meeting and greeting, reading pee mails and plenty of butt sniffing too. I had to get my secretary to add this cute poem by someone named Anonymous. Here goes. The Dogs' Party The dogs all had a partyThey came from far and nearSome dogs came by taxiAnd others came by car Each dog signed his nameupon a special bookAnd each dog hung his backsideUpon a special hook One dog was not invitedAnd this aroused his ireHe stormed into the partyAnd loudly shouted "Fire!" And in the chaos that followedThe dogs forgot to lookAnd grabbed just any backsideFrom off of any hook So that is the real reasonWhenever they meet or roamThey sniff each others' backsideTo try and find their own! Heehee.
You can see that we were provided a big pool for the likes of me and my big pals, then also a small pool, which you can't see. Very popular! Middle right is Finnegan, famous as Olivia's kissing beau. You can also catch pix of doggies hoping for food and also listening politely to what the rangers had to tell us.
After a nice swim and treat. We're all waiting to see if we won anything in the raffle!
Pacing around before said raffle, hoping to find bits and pieces of people dogs. There were some pawsome raffle prizes!
Hangin' out after the super picnic! We all get along really well together - our pawrents love that about this place - we pups feel very content and safe here.
During the raffle, Rangerdude pointed out the winners - like this!
Well, well, well! One of the first raffle winners was Sierra Rose! Here's her mom picking up her prize of a collar and leash! NICE!
While Sierra didn't get to actually join the party revelers, she was close-by in her vanmobile, surrounded by fans (both the blowing kind and the doggie and people kind too!). She was very happy to hear that she's won such an uber nice prize. Is she not the cutest thing you've ever seen?
Sierra being congratulated by a bevy of goldens, from top: Sierra, Olivia, Aspen and me! My number was called too - I won a fabu chicken squeaky that says it's practically indestructible. We're keeping tabs on that. Aspen also got a collar and leash, and Olivia won one of the grand prizes. Those rangers are very generous indeed and a great time was had by everypup and human! We thank the Marin County Parks and Open Space District for putting on such a great pawty for us all!
Thanks also for our own personal "Bark Ranger" tags! Woof!

A Cool Photo

There was this little Catholic church close to our B & B in St. Mary's, GA where we stayed before going over to Cumberland Island.  It was surrounded by a white picket fence that had crosses attached to the top at regular intervals. 
As we were walking back from eating that night, I saw one of the crosses' shadow on the side of the church.  Since I had 3200 speed film in my camera, it came out really well even though it was very dark.  Cool, huh?

Tranquility Tire Tantrum

Saturday was (twice rescheduled) Tranquility Tire Tantrum mountain bike race. The race is a part of the Psycowpath Mountain Bike Series and was held in Tranquility Park in Omaha, Nebraska. Was a beautiful day for a bike race, though the wind could have dialed down a bit.

The photo shows some of the participants checking out the all-important race results.

Photos taken during Tranquility Tire Tantrum are posted. Think I only missed 2 riders in the first race. Did not stay for the end of the second race as it was about all my body could handle.
As usual, these are proofs for viewing and ordering purposes. If you wish to order a file, I will reprocess the file from the camera raw and e-mail the file to you.
Photos are located at: http://win-photo.photoreflect.com/

In Japantown

The Peace Pagoda in Japantown, San Francisco.

Leics Round 4: Sharnford to Barwell

With Marta. Sunny day, started chill, but warmed up. Very little wind. We took our time. Way clear, mud near gates, otherwise good underfoot. Very flat. 7 miles.

A magical misty drive over to Barwell - if a little longer than I expected. The day turned into the most glorious warm spring-like day so far this year.

Our starting point in Sharnford

We set off from our parking spot on the
back lane behind the garage, turn left along the main road, then cross over
and walk past the 'no entry' sign. When we reach Aston Lane, we turn left after Ivy House, and follow the Leics Round markers across fields to a
track and a gate on the corner of Lychgate Lane. We divert into Aston
Flamville , which is a small picturesque village with manor house, a 1715
dovecote and St Peter’s Church.

We took the footpath on the left just after these gates, on Aston Lane

This is where we left the Leicestershire Round for a visit to Aston Flamville.

Aston Flamville's restored dovecot, originally built in 1715

The sunny sheltered side of the church at Aston F. We had a short break on the sunny bench.

This world's a City full of crooked Streets,

Death is the Market-place where all men meet

If Life was Merchandise that men could buy

the rich would only live, the poor might die

A sign of spring

We go back along Lychgate Lane, and cross the M69 via a bridge. Today it's quiet - there's been an accident just up the road. Later I find out that two people have been injured, but their injuries are not life-threatening. I think the helicopter we saw a little earlier must have been the air ambulance.

Some of the Aston Alpacas we saw just before the bridge over the M69

Once over the bridge our path is alongside the motorway for a couple of hundred yards, before heading off across country once more. We meet a lone walker heading in the opposite direction.

The signs are clear, and the yellow marker posts have recently been repainted. Our only slight wander off track is at one point, just over three miles in, on my garmin map, where we can see a yellow post a couple of fields away and head straight for it, only to discover we can't get through the hedge. It's easy , if slightly irritating, to find the correct path.

From here it's straightforward to the edge of Burbage. We decide not to visit today, but walk left along Sherborne Road, turn right along Salisbury Road, then right along Winchester Drive, and cross the Sapcote Road to pick up thepublic footpath.

The sign tells us the path goes to Burbage Woods and Common and this is easy to follow. With the Woods on our right we make our way to the railway bridge.

It's a little tricky here - which yellow marker do we follow? To make things more complicated the golf course appears to be using yellow topped posts to mark out fairways - I think. We keep to the side of Sheepy Wood, then head across the Common, or a bit of the golf course. We're trying to make for the visitor centre, and with the help of the map and a bit of luck we are not challenged until we are within a couple of yards of a LR sign. The path takes us to the main road, and we turn right to walk along the pavement for a couple of hundred yards, as far as the visitor centre. Today it's closed, and there's a truck cleaning out what smells like a septic tank. We don't hang around for too long.

Back to cross the busyish road, and we have no problems following the markers to Barwell Lane, round the right hand side of a house, then left along the lane. We could miss the turn to the right, but today we have most of our wits about us, and arrive at Barwell with no problems, other than the muddy gateway that's saved itself for our last treat of the day, just before we emerge into Barwell itself.

Finally we make our way through the village, pausing to grab a sandwich at the Red Lion, and then it's back to the car and we have a bit more of the Round under our - in my case, slightly over-dressed today - belts.

California Saxifrage

California Saxifrage, originally uploaded by ParsecTraveller.

One of the first wildflowers to bloom! This one was growing near a creek high in a canyon in Las Trampas.

Echo in Branson -

Settled into the room at the Lawrence Welk Resort in Branson, MO. Spent the evening in the hospitality room catching up on everyone.
From what I have seen in the internet, Table Rock State Park (just a couple miles from here) has about 6 or so miles of singletrack. Don't think I will be riding the road bike much here - way too hilly.
Photography duties started already. Took a few photos and on set of "mug" shots. When I arrived, the reunion host related a story. The resort or someone had asked if we (the reunion) wanted/needed a photographer. Hank said he was sure the we would have our own with us -- me. :)

Speckled Cloud Sunset at the Spirit Tree

A recent sunset image taken down at the tree. Normally this is not a very good place for sunset photos, but I got lucky on this evening as the clouds lit up in a rather interesting fashion with all these little splotches of color. The color only lasted for a couple of minutes, so it's a good thing I was there at the right time otherwise I would have missed it!

Weekend "away"

I actually spent last weekend in Brisbane helping my mother with things in her apartment. I did, however, sneak away for a couple of short rides, which is about as exciting as Brisbane gets. Saturday morning I took a quick 54km to Wynnum and back. It was pleasant without ever being overly exciting. Even the traffic in the city centre was relatively boring compared to the drama queens on the Gold Coast. At Wynnum I took a ride along Moreton Bay for a few kilometres, and rode out onto a pier.

Sunday was a little more interesting. I headed for Mt Glorious, with the intention of visiting Greene's falls, which I'd heard was flowing for the first time in about three years. It wasn't -- the rain actually started coming down just after I'd started the ride home. Still, it was an enjoyable ride nevertheless. The thing about Mt Glorious is that it's anything but a consistent climb. There are a number of "false" descents on the climb, meaning that a 100km ride ended up with almost 1,900 metres of climbing (so much for taking it easier this weekend).

The walk to Greene's Falls was a chance to pause and really appreciate the pristine air of the rainforest. It's a feeling of purity that is basically unmatched by anything else in existence. Even the prospect of being savaged by leeches (it didn't happen) didn't concern me. I really took my time here, wishing I was able to spend more time. A light rain shower only added to the experience.



The rain really started on the ride home (even if it didn't stay long). For a few glorious minutes it really poured. It created a surreal atmosphere with the mist closing in all around, a complete change from what it was on the way up the mountain. I also had a chat with some other cyclists at Mt Nebo who mentioned another way up the mountain, on the "goat track" -- a switchback dirt road from Samford. This is something I will need to check out for myself at some point in the future.

Meme-me, Meme-me, Meme

Memes float around the internet ocean, sometimes traveling in on the same wave, and three have recently washed ashore here. I've participated in several memes already, so that when MaryC tagged me for Eight Random Things a few days ago, my reply was that I didn't have eight interesting things to tell. Dawn then tagged me for Seven Random Things. I decided to give it a try, but if this post bores you - blame Mary and Dawn! A different kind of meme surfed in when Beth tagged me as a Rockin' Girl Blogger - not strictly true, but just having my name in the same sentence with 'girl' was a kick.
Random Thing One
The post title reveals that I cannot resist a pun, no matter how bad.
Random Thing Two
When other teenage girls were reading fashion magazines, I was curled up with westerns by Zane Grey or Ernest Haycox and loved historical fiction set in places like Ye Olde London. This could explain why much of my wardrobe is denim and suitable for working outside and the rest of it once provoked my youngest sister to declare, "you have a closet full of costumes, not clothes!"
Random Thing Three
I own a couple of Feng Shui books and like them - some of it seems goofy but a lot of it makes sense to me.
Random Thing Four As mentioned in a previous meme, I think genealogy is fun. My sisters and cousins and I scan any family photos we can get, then pass the photo files around. I printed small versions of them and Philo helped me make this family history photo wall. To keep it from becoming static, some of the frames have blank spaces for future additions. One frame contains more than a century's worth of weddings-in-miniature. This grouping may not have the impact of a large piece of art, but is meaningful to us.
Random Thing Five
Recent stuff rewatched on DVD included The 40-Year Old Virgin [..], Moonstruck [1987], and The Quiet Man [1952]. How wonderful it is to be able to see movies from every era! And I love the commentary tracks.
Random Thing Six
What's essential in my kitchen: Red Peppers, olive oil, heads of garlic, onions, tomatoes, broccoli, Marjoram, basil, Romano cheese, pasta, Ajvar spread on Wasa Rye, Philo's homemade salsa, pimiento cheese, green pepper tabasco sauce, thin corn tortillas, Kashi cereal, blueberries, dark chocolate and lots of French Roast coffee.
Random Thing Seven
I can keep a home-improvement or garden project in the planning stage for ages... refusing to start implementing it until I've worried the concept to pieces. At this pace our house will never appear in Cottage Living.
Random Thing Eight for Mary C, a new friend who is a birder.
I dearly love blogs that feature both plants and birds, and envy those of you who can photograph the feathered ones in mid-air. Many of us get lucky once in awhile, but Dawn catches them repeatedly . While Mary in NC is taking a break, wander through her archives and be amazed - she's put herself in jeopardy to get the perfect shot. James at Coyote Mercury records the birds well here in Austin. On behalf of near-sighted bird lovers everywhere, thank you all very much!
The rules state that I should now tag 7 [or 8] other people with this meme - if you're interested, please consider yourself tagged... memes can be a pleasant way to get to know each other.
As to tagging Rockin' Girl Bloggers - many of you fit the description, but I'm nominating just one. She has no regular internet access at the moment and may not know about this tag for weeks.
Did any of you see the start of the Blue Planet run around the world? You can read about it here at the Blue Planet Website. I don't know whether the run will change the lives of those who need safe drinking water, but I admire people who try to make a difference - and this team is extraordinary.
One of the team members is Mary Chervenak, a wonderful young woman who is giving up her summer for this cause. I held Mary in my arms when she was a baby - and am now thrilled to see what a strong, beautiful, articulate woman she has become. Mary occasionally has the chance to post to her blog page on the Blue Planet Website, and she gets my rockin' girl blogger nomination. Go Mary!

Spot the whisky

They pop up everywhere on Speyside, these distilleries. You go to catch a train in Elgin and look, there's another one. (Hint - look for the roof) No train right at that moment - it was half an hour late because of snow and ice.

No, I didn't miss the train. Our son was going back to Edinburgh ahead of the rest of us at New Year.

Coming soon

Virginia Bluebells (Mertensia virginica)

Bloodroot (Sanguinaria canadensis)

Trillium cuneatum
Up, but not yet open... coming soon!
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Visit the Friday Ark for lovely critter pictures!

Maiden Voyage: Last Day on the Road

Tuesday, July 6

Greetings from Maryland, the one but last state of the trip. (West Virginia doesn’t count since we went in and out of the state earlier this morning; no double counting.)

70-79-68-81-66 — you might think these are the winning numbers for the lotto, but they’re not. Rather, they are all the interstates we’re traveling today on our multi-state drive home. We’re on I-68E at the moment, so two down and two more to go.

It’s hot as blazes today. We’ve drafted the fans mounted on the windshield to help circulate the air coming out of the A/C. At least we’re no longer driving into the sun as we were for most of the morning.

After a quiet evening and a restful night’s sleep, we headed off on our last day on the road at 7:30a. With no time zone change ahead of us, the early departure should put us at the storage facility in Virginia around 2:00p.

Our route from Ohio to Virginia takes us on five interstates and one US route.

It was a very humid 77F [25C] when we left the campground. The morning fog was thick, with the sun trying to burn its way through. Because the fog bank was relatively high off the ground, visibility on the road was not impaired as we joined the fast moving traffic towards West Virginia.

Driving into a fog bank as we leave the campground.

An hour later, conditions are only slightly improved.

The Vietnam Veterans Memorial Bridge crosses the Ohio River at the
Ohio and West Virginia state line.

We’ll be in and out of West Virginia twice today.

Two signs for the price of one.

Making just a few brief stops along the way to stretch our legs, we arrived at Sideling Hill, a rest area in Maryland, right around noon. It was well into the mid 90F [35C] range; the high humidex made it seem even hotter. We found a patch of shade and parked the Phaeton.

Mui stayed in the coach (smart guy) to prepare lunch; I went sightseeing. Trekking up a .2-mile paved path. I crossed over the highway to check out the interpretive displays that tell the geologic story of a 350-million year old syncline that was exposed when the I-68 cut was made through the mountain. It turns out that the visitor center was closed in August , so I did not get to see the exhibits that explain how “a formidable obstacle to travel since the earliest days when settlers were moving west” was overcome with the construction of the interstate.

It was too darn hot to climb the stairs behind the visitor center to the overlook where binoculars would have given me a closer look at the two aquifers that were intercepted during the excavation. Instead, I made do with a view of the cut from the bridge crossing over the interstate.

When the constant flow from the water-bearing strata evaporates, it leaves behind
a residue of iron oxide. Hence the reddish orange tint on the walls of the cut.

We’re entering heavier traffic areas, so it’s time to stow the laptop and put my navigator’s hat on. More later …

Later … at home

It’s 5:00p. The Phaeton has been put to bed at the storage facility and we’re home, a successful maiden voyage under our belt.

The last stretch of our drive was uneventful. With 115 miles [184 km] remaining to our destination, we took our time over our sandwich and salad lunch, leaving the rest area around 1:00p. Thankfully, we had the generator to run the A/C or we wouldn’t have been able to dally as long as we did. It was hot, hot, hot!

We’d expected that our GPS (we’re using the Garmin nüvi® 465T; designed for truckers) would likely keep us on I-68 until we reached the I-81 interchange. But no; it put us on US Route 522, a scenic shortcut to I-81. And so it was that we arrived at the storage lot shortly before 3:00p.

Don’t you just love that instead of a car, this GPS unit shows a truck on the magenta path!

It was 108F [42C] when we arrived at the storage facility; much too hot to dally outside. Shelving our plans to hose down the exterior of the Phaeton, we quickly went through the post-trip checklist, emptied the fridge, and threw ourselves into the air conditioned comfort of the car we’d left at the lot so that we’d have transportation home. We’ll go back in a few days when the temps are a bit more reasonable to at least clean the windshield and the bug spatter on the front of the coach. In the meantime, we wouldn’t mind getting a few strong showers to wash off some of the mess.

The coach and the toad-to-be — a matching pair at the storage lot.

We’d like to take the coach out this weekend, but the forecast is calling for thunderstorms. We do have plenty of chores to do around our “house without wheels,” so I think we’ll give the Phaeton a well-earned rest and see what we can line up for a bit later in the month.

Start Odometer	End Odometer	Day’s Mileage
11148	11490	342 [547 km]

Statistics for Today

Until our next adventure … thanks for tagging along.

Next Up … Maiden Voyage: Summary