Big Lagoon State Park

Located 10 miles southwest of Pensacola, Big Lagoon State Park is named for the lagoon bordering a portion of the northern shore of Perdido Key. Compared to some Florida state parks, Big Lagoon is on the small side but it has several nice trails and admittance to it also gives you access to two other state parks in the area. I loved the campground. Most sites were large enough to accommodate a bus-size RV and there was some degree of privacy with shrubs and trees separating most sites.

My first day there (Wednesday, February 3rd) was beautiful, until late afternoon when the clouds rolled in. It rained that night and for most of the next two days. My neighbors lost the rain-fly of their tent one night, blown off by the wind. They and everything in the tent got soaked. They were not happy campers ;-)

The campsite. The Picnic table and fire ring are hidden behind the van.

Taken on the first day at the park.

The lagoon and marsh area. Also taken on the first day.

Towards sunset on Friday the sky started to clear and I was hopeful that there would be some sunshine the next day, but it was not to be. It remained cloudy and overcast for two more days.

It was still rather cloudy at 5 o'clock on Friday.

But by 5:25 most of the clouds had been blown away by the wind.

Amabilis Mountain ..

Ken had organized a mellow outing up Amabilis so that people could either ski or snowshoe. The road up or in has not been groomed yet, so I made the decision to bring fat skis. There were six of us on the trip and it was split with two people snowshoeing and the rest skiing. We had a casual start, and didn't leave Seattle until 8am. With a few stops on the way, we were finally on snow around 10am and headed up the road.

The road conditions down low

Despite the recent warm weather and rain, there was enough coverage down low. Shortly after getting on the road to Amabilis, there were a few dirt patches, but there was adequate coverage from previous skiers to keep going up a track that was put in by multiple parties before us. We skied up under cloudy skies and hoped that they would turn "partly sunny" like the forecast had told us. While the coverage was nice on the road, snow depth in the trees was minimal. The snow on the road had a packed section where people had previously traveled, but the snow was deep and mushy outside of that section.

Upon reaching the intersection for the loop of the upper mountain, two of our party decided to turn around. Liz turned around because she had Nordic skis which just weren't ideal for the situation. And Jack turned around due to blisters from his boots. This was his first time using his AT setup to skin. After our little break the rest of us continued upward, choosing a clockwise direction to complete the loop.

In the woods near our turn around

The conditions got worse from there as there were few people who had gone up that section of trail. The snow had a breakable crust which wasn't good for the two remaining skiers or the snowshoers. It took a long time for us to continue up while the weather worsened. When we finally made the last section of woods before our turnaround, a cool mist was wetting us and I quickly put on a rain shell. In moments we had reached our turn around point, where I donned another layer under the shell. We all had a quick snack/lunch. While us skiers transitioned into downhill skiing we discussed with the slowshoers that we would wait for them at the intersection of the top loop.

And away we went. The skiing was surprising not horrible. With a slightly steeper road than on Mount Catherine, I was able to glide without a whole lot of double poling. But Ken and I did have to remain in the track otherwise we would slow to a stop. A few portions were difficult to maintain speed as they were lower angle or the track wasn't wide enough for both of my skis. Had we not had to wait for the snowshoers, Ken and I would probably have returned to the parking lot in a little over and hour.

The ski out

After a certain distance, the track widened, and was more compact and our speed picked up. I had to occasionally snowplow in order to maintain speed. Sometimes you could just steer into the deeper snow to lose some speed, but this practice proved to be a little difficult as you didn't know what to expect outside of the track. Once closer to the intersection, the packed swath of road was wider and more firm. I really picked up speed on this section without trying. And the last stretch into the meeting point was all snow plow. Ken followed behind me and attempted to scrub speed by sticking a ski into the deeper snow off the packed section. He started to lose control and laid down instead of continuing toward the immanent crash.

Ken on a faster section of the road

We waited a long time before our snowshoe friends arrived. We greeted them and asked if they needed anything. They didn't. And we were on our way. I got to the car in about 20 minutes from that point, and that even included one stop to rest my legs and a short uphill that I had to side step. The lower section of the road had some good snow and the packed section comprised more of the road in certain areas to the width where I could actually make small turns. Before I knew it, it was over and we were back at the parking lot where Liz and Jack were waiting. Once again we waited for the snowshoers, and then it was time to head back to Seattle.

Jennifer and I had done this trip with Gabriel and Lindsay a few years ago. At the time I was new to skiing and debated about trying it on my skinny skis. I opted not to and stuck with snow shoes. After seeing Gabriel's ease of skiing it, and the relative easy conditions, I had wished at the time I had attempted it on skis. While it would be interesting to try it with a Nordic ski, they weren't the right option for today's conditions and I was happy to have my backcountry skis which did not inhibit my performance at all.

Old Bridge Across Rio Grande River

This bridge used to be the bridge that vehicle traffic used to get from one side of the Rio Grande River to the other side. It is known as the Alameda Bridge. There are several bridges across the river in the Albuquerque area. The Rio Grande Bridge, and the Bernallio Bridge are the oldest. I know they were there in the 1940's but not sure of exact age. The Rio Bravo Bridge was built during the 1960's and the Alameda Bridge I think. I could be wrong on all of these. Probably could have looked up exact dates but I didn't. And the newest one is the Paseo del Norte Bridge which was build in the early 1990's. Of course all except the Paseo Bridge had been rebuild at some point. That is why we were able to walk out on this bridge. The Alameda Bridge was rebuilt in the early 1990's and someone had the good idea of leaving the old bridge for people to walk across on. People on bicycles, horses, and skates can use it, also. Anotherwords non-motorized traffic.
The first photo is looking west, the second is looking east. The great views of the Rio Grande River is looking north. You can see the new bridge for traffic which is on the south side of the original bridge.
Most of the summer there had been lots of sandbars in the river but on this day there weren't as many. I don't know if the river was up due to more rain north of here or if they had stopped letting so much water into the irrigation ditches since it is now fall. Sometimes when I drive across the bridge I had briefly seen Canadian Geese, and ducks sitting on the sandbars or near the edges of the river, but not this day.

Life in Longmire

It certainly is snowy here at Longmire. Check out the image of my government issue house. It's almost a snowcave, and those are some serious icicles too. Don't mess with them.

Life is pretty mellow up at Mt. Rainier during the winter. It's great getting out out of Seattle a few days a week to come here. The routine so far has been: hang out in the office (i.e. scheme ways to improve the blog and seek grants for an artist in residence program), go out skiing with climbing ranger Chris Olson (i.e. risk my life following a great skier through steep treed terrain), then hang out at Mike's house (who could be a smashing restaurateur: grilled chops and salmon, mojitos, and lemon drops). Rough life, I know.

Since Chris is pretty much a professional skier and will turn his boards down anything in any conditions, hanging out with him has been an adventure so far. During our first day out a few weeks ago (when the sun last revealed itself), we skied bulletproof ice from Panorama Point to Paradise. The saving grace was crystal clear skies, letting us see almost every big peak in Washington and Oregon. (Right: Chris at Panorama Point).

Once, we skied partway up the Eagle Peak trail then came down in the dark through the trees. It was like being on a roller coaster where you couldn't see the next twist or turn until you came right up on it. Or, as Chris put it in his ski report, it "felt like a bobsled run in the dark." Of course, he wrote that after skiing the trail by himself and blazing down it at about 50 mph. Anyway, we skied it the next day together and came down at a more leisurely pace but it still felt fast to me!

The ski up through the old growth forest was beautiful, with fluffy snow everywhere. Piled in soft pillows all around us, hanging from the trees, falling from the sky. I felt like I was living in a Christmas carol. (Left: Chris leads the way up the "bobsled run")

I was also thinking what a great trail this was for snowshoers, when Chris pointed out how easy it would be to get lost if you didn't know exactly where the trail was. (He was amazed that the trail was still visible through all the recent snow). I realized that he was right and suddenly got a little less complacent about it - especially when he reminded me that a hiker died on this trail last June.

Then again, if anyone knows his way around here, it's probably Chris. The problem is, if you follow him up something, you also have to follow him down.

The Toadstools

We had planned on camping last night but thanks to the rain and high wind from the thunderstorms we instead decided to stay at a motel in Kanab, Utah.Since we werein Kanab, we figured we would head over to the BLM visitor center in the morning and sign up for the daily lottery to try and win a spot for a hike to "The Wave" (google "The Wave" and you'll see how cool this area is). Basically, because The Wave is in a designated wilderness area, access is strictly controlled by the BLM. Each day they allow only20 people to hike to The Wave. 10 of these spaces are reservable online 4 months ahead of time and 10 spaces are given away each day in a "lottery". So, basically, you go to the visitor center in the morning and sign up, then wait as they literally conduct a lottery using bingo balls. You are assigned a number that corresponds to one of the bingo balls, and they spin the balls in a cage. If your number pops up, you get to do the hike the following day. There were 108 people signed up for the lottery the day we were there, so needless to say, our chances weren't very good and we didn't get a spot. Thankfully, though, there are plenty of other cool things to see and do in the area and we already had a backup plan in place.







































After the lottery let-down, we hopped back in the truck and headed east towards Page, Arizona. Along the way was the first hike in our back-up plan, an easy walk to an area known as "The Toadstools". This certainly was an easy walk, much less strenuous than most of the hikes we've done on the trip so far. It was not quite a mile from the parking area to the Toadstools area, and it was pretty much a flat hike. In case you're wondering, a "toadstool", according to the park literature,is "a spire-like feature with a boulder perched atop a pedestal rock, like a mushroom. It forms when softer rock erodes away, leaving a column sheltered from the wind and water." We had a great time exploring the Toadstool area and as the norm has been the past few days, we had beautiful clouds which made for great pictures!

Red Gems

Red Gems, originally uploaded by ParsecTraveller.

I saw these 'Red Gem' marigolds growing in the Kitchen Garden of the Minnesota Landscape Arboretum. They were really vibrant, and each plant was covered with hundreds of flowers.

The Minnesota Landscape Arboretum really is a great place. There are thousands of different species of plants spread across multiple acres. Bog and hosta gardens are some of the noteworthy sights.

It's just sad to think that the whole place will be covered in snow within a few months...

Tangled Roots :: Time for a Change

Saturday, September 29th - - The sign at Beverly Beach State Park in Oregon states that this is an Ancient Stump that goes...

“Back to the dawn of the bronze age! This root mass was one of many buried beneath the beaches along the Oregon Coast between Newport and Neskowin. It once supported a spruce tree, which was buried when the land suddenly dropped into the sea. It remained preserved beneath the sand for 4,100 years before surfacing and breaking free in 1998. Violent winter storms washed it into the mouth of Spencer Creek in 1999.”

The root mass was quite large, perhaps 25-30 feet in diameter and appeared to be of one piece. An amazing thing, regardless of its age, with roots going off in all directions and twisting and curving around each other.



Monday, October 3rd - - The few days I had here on the coast of Oregon were incredibly nice. The weather forecast was as nice as was predicted, and as predicted the clouds and rain returned. It's time for a change...



After a great deal of thought, and realizing (among other things) that I'm just plain tired after being "on the road" for most of the last two years, I've decided to take a break from the travels for a while. I'm not saying the journey is at an end, in some regards it may just be beginning! Yes, that's rather cryptic. Sort of follows the mood I'm in at the moment.



I've been heading east for the last two days, but not back to Indiana, at least not just yet. I'll be making a stop in Salt Lake City to do some research (for an undetermined, indefinite period of time). The ancestors have been calling me and I think the time has come that more of them will reveal themselves to me! That's what I'm hoping for... The answers are out there, somewhere, the very least I can do is go and look for them. Perhaps I can make my way through the maze of tangled roots in my family tree and expose them for their descendants to see...

Zion National Park

The first full day at Zion, I played tourist. I walked along the 1.7 mile fairly level, paved Pa'rus Trail that follows the Virgin River through the Zion Canyon. I hopped on the shuttle bus and got off and on at every stop along the way to the end of the line. Then I walked along the River Trail for another mile or two and a few hours later, caught the shuttle bus ride back to the campground. It was a gorgeous, relaxing day and I enjoyed every moment of it.

The view from the valley floor, midway along the Pa'rus Trail.

The peak known as "The Watchman" towers over the Lower Canyon. The Virgin River flows through the canyon and over thousands of years has helped create this marvelous place.

The wind-whipped water from one of the waterfalls in the Upper Canyon.

A grove of trees in the Upper Canyon area, caught in the fleeting rays of sunshine.

The view from my campsite, near sunset.

Skiing Mount Rainier

There is nothing totally new about skiing Mt. Rainier. Sure, it's not done that often, but people do ski and ride it... However, skiing the Wilson Headwall is something special. The recent snowfall is settling nicely in some areas. Climbers-turned-skiers (or are they skiers-turned-climbers?) are making their moves on Rainier's slopes. Ski, board, and snowpack reports are welcome!

As for the internet... this blogger site has its down days... But that's ok, because it's easier to express frustration at an internet site, than say, well... we'll just move on...

A few "climbing instigators" have been sending GREAT route conditions information. I've been trying to dump most of it directly into the blog. But as the amount of information grows, I wonder if it would be easier to have a bullentin board?

Please send me your thoughts? I'm very pleased that you are willing to share their experiences! Everyone REALLY appreciates it!

Image by Sky Sjue, just before he drops down the Wilson Headwall...

Frameset or Complete Bike?

In the comments of the previous post, a reader pointed out that the comparatively low MSRP of the frameset I described was not such a bargain, considering the likely cost of the complete build. Depending on the context, I both agree and disagree. So I'll take this opportunity to discuss the benefits, as I see them, of buying a frameset and building it up yourself vs buying a complete bicycle.



Purchasing a complete bike



When a manufacturer releases a bicycle model as a complete build, the price of the bike bundles together a number of things: the frame and fork, the components and accessories, and the labor involved in assembly. The price of the bike will be significantly lower than if you were to pay for all of these things individually. Assuming that you are happy with the components included in the stock build, this makes the bike a great deal compared to buying a frameset only and starting from scratch. You save money on components, you save money on labor, and on top of that you get the immediate gratification of having a ready to ride bicycle straight away.



But keep in mind that the more changes you make, the less of a great deal it will be - especially if you cannot do the work yourself and will need to pay extra for labor. Give particular consideration to whether you are happy with the stock drivetrain and shifting system. Changing this on a stock build can be costly. If the stock bike comes with 700C wheels and you want 650B, a conversion could be pricey. If you want dynamo lighting and the bike does not already have it, you will need to rebuild the front wheel with a dynamo hub, or replace it. If the stem length and handlebar width are wrong for you, you will need new ones. At some point, it might be more cost-effective to start from scratch.



Purchasing a frameset



When a bicycle model is available as a frameset only, it is an opportunity to assemble the bike according to your needs from the start. You can choose the exact gearing you want, your preferred model of levers and brakes, the correct stem length and handlebar width, and a comfortable saddle. You can integrate dynamo lighting into the build from the get-go. In the event the frame is compatible with more than one wheel size, you can choose the wheel size that suits you, instead of executing an aftermarket conversion. Going the frameset-only route is an especially great deal for those who are DIY tinkerers (or live with one) and can do the work without the help of a bike shop, and for those who already have a bunch of components lying around waiting for a frame.



But before buying a frameset, it is a good idea to make sure the bike you want really is different from an available stock build. Oftentimes novice buyers cannot distinguish between what's a big deal to change and what isn't. For example, if a bike is missing fenders and racks, you can add them without making changes to the existing build, thereby still enjoying the savings of starting with a complete bike. Also, if it's a matter of stem length and seat post setback, some bike shops are willing to swap those at no extra cost. Finally, the stock models are usually set up generically - with plain handlebar tape, plastic pedals and unsightly reflectors. While this does not look as nice as a custom build, you can easily and inexpensively personalise the bike without needing to start from scratch.



One thing to add, is that a direct cost comparison between framesets and complete builds is not always possible. While some manufacturers offer both options, others offer only one or the other. The make and model you choose in the first place might depend on which you prefer. For heavy-duty city bikes, there are now plenty of complete stock models available that require few if any aftermarket alterations. Ditto for standard roadbikes. As for 650B mixtes, and other non-mainstream specimens, not so much.

Wordless Wednesday :: Spiraling Downward

Madison, Indiana ~ September 1994Copyright © 1994/.. by Rebeckah R. Wiseman

Apple Tree

We have two small apple trees. So far we have never had any apples of of them. But we have lots of blossoms this year. Here is a close up of a blossom that just opened. Notice some sort of insect on the leaf under the blossom.