April 1, 2012

Here are some selected pictures.  This is the outside of Scotty's Castle.  Named for a man who claimed to have owned it, but didn't.  A rogue and a scoundrel he befriended a wealthy tycoon and his wife who eventually built this palacial estate on top of one of very few freshwater springs in the valley.  Scotty was a cowboy, rode in Wild Bill's exposition, and sold a non-existent gold mine many times over.  The inside is quite nice and filled with Native American , mostly Piute Shoshone baskets and weavings.  Fun history.
Skating Rocks in the Bonnie Clare Playa in Nevada.  A mini-Racetrack.  But still very cool.

Like the Hat.  It flew off my head and wound up flying away all the way to the hills in the background.  A long drive and chase led to its capture.

Dust storms were the norm.  There are mountains of over 11,000 feet covered in background.

Lower left corner are two Salt Pupfish.  They live in a creek with 4x's the salinity of the ocean.  They get about 1" long and are possibly the only fish that actually drink water.

More pupfish.

Yes there are sand dunes as well.  The tallest in North America.  However, these are not them.



Natural Bridge.  The only one in the Park.  A long slow hike up hill.

Do you see the mouse?  This is above the arch.







Well it has been a long day.  Tomorrow some sunrise pic's. 

Death Valley April 2012

March 31, 2012

Well.  A long awaited and postponed trip to Death Valley is in the works.  Originally designed as a chance to see wildflowers, it is now a trip to see no flowers and avoid the 60 mph winds that are blowing through the Valley and causing all manner of chaos.  Arived yesterday around 5 p.m. and ate at the hotel...Stove Pipe Wells.  Up this morning for sunrise and heard a lone coyote wail in the distance.  After breakfast went to Scotty's Castle and took the tour, hiked up a mountain to Scotty's Grave and drove to Ubehebe Crater.  At the crater I could hardly walk 20 feet from the car to the edge of the crater due to 60+ mph winds but got off a picture.  From there I began a drive to the "Racetrack."  Unfortunately the road was not passable so I back tracked to the castle, headed east into Nevada to the Bonnie Clair Playa.  Now, this is a fascinating natural phenomenon, in that rocks slough of the surrounding hills and are blown by winds onto the flat, dry lake bed.  When weather conditions permit and there is some water and cold to freeze the playa, strong winds move the rocks across it leaving a trail like a snail.  They snake all over the playa.  Soo Cool. 
The Racetrack, in the Valley has huge boulders that do the same but couldn't do the 30 mile drive to get there.  Leaving now for sunset on the sand dunes by the hotel.  Hope to have pictures tommorrow.

Hunting and Fishing

November 8, 2011
Today was the first of two days of hunting and fishing on this trip.  The morning started with a bird hunt for Pheasant, Quail, and Chukar.  Unfortunately only one Pheasant was shot, wounded and then escaped into who knows where.  Conditions were difficult and only a small number of birds were seen but too far away to shoot at.  However, this dissapointment was short lived, as we moved on to the fishing portion of the day where I probably had my best day ever.  Easily 50 plus fish were caught and released, but I caught three different types of trout, of which two I had never caught or even seen before.  The tiger trout and the splake.  Both are cross breeds with a brook trout, the tiger with a brown trout, and the the splake with a lake trout.  I also caught some brown trout.  They were all big, healthy and very feisty.

 TIGERTROUT

 SPLAKE

Just amazing fish.

The day ended with a brief trip to Capitol Reel Park, which was closed for flooding.  However here are some shots of it before the entrance.

Bye for now.  Hopefully some bird pictures tomorrow.

November 7, 2011

November 7
Well its been a couple of days and not much exciting has occurred.  I arrived at Zion and took nice hikes on the western edge and in the main canyon.  The weather was falling apart the whole time I was there and by the time I left for Bryce it was snowing.  That was two days ago, and it finally stopped an hour ago at 4:30.  Needless to say photography was rather sketchy and yesterday at Bryce they closed the main park road and the few views were, well I have a picture.  I will say Utah does a nice job of maintaining its roads during the snow.  This is clearly not the tourist season here.  I have not made a reservation and even the lodges in the parks have rooms available.
I am now located at a hotel in Torrey, Utah, gateway to Capitol Reef and the Canyon Lands.  I drove through blinding snow this mornning to get here through some of the most beautiful mountain scenery I could not see.  However, the stark and bleak beauty of the snow was still very nice.
So here are a few observations.  The less expensive the hotel the more amenities you get.  Last night was the topper.  Free internet, free cable, two heavy terry cloth bathrobes, three sets of shampoo, etc., and free hot breakfast, from eggs, bacon, sausage, pancakes, french toast, fruit, juices, coffee, and a very large room...$70.
Speaking of free shampoo, soap and conditioner.  Here is a list of additives found in these products, presumably these are good things...sunflower and grapefruit essences, bamboo creme, chamomile and nettle, rosemary and heather, aloe, wild figs and ivy.  This must mean something.
Road out of Bryce

Zion

View of Canyon Lands

Canyon Lands on way to Capitol Reef

More pics will follow tomorrow.

Why go to Utah?

November 4, 2011


Welcome to the latest blog.  I headed out to see the wonders of Utahs three great national parks: Zion, Bryce and Capitol Reel on Thursday November 3, 2011.  As of yet, although nothing extraordinarily bad has happened, little has gone right.  For instance, tonight I had to stop driving  early, 1 1/2 hours earlier than I had hoped, due to extreme weather storms of the snow variety.  I am in a motel, room 13.
 I got out of town late, hit massive traffic, rain storms and my brilliant idea of traveling over the Sierra's to Lee Vining, my first stop, through Yosemite and over Tioga Pass was off by 20 minutes.  A massive winter storm hit the pass and 20 minutes before I got there they closed the pass, and left me with over 100 miles of winding mountain road late at night in a blizzard.  I arrived in Placerville and after stopping at several motels finally got a room at 1:30 a.m.
So my first day was a wash.  But oh what a second day.
Some pictures to share.  The first will have some meaning to my kids only.  They all toboganed this little hill as some time in their young lives. 

Junction Hwys 89 and 88 past East Carson River Bridge

Next stop after dropping down to the eastern side of the Sierra's was outside the small town of Lee Vining to Mono Lake.  Those of you who are Californians will remember the battle cry of SAVE MONO LAKE.  Well it has been saved and it is thriving in its pristine Saline solution, breeding brine shrimp and covering the Tufa's.  Tufa's are strange saline crystalline structures that are now all but buried under water, although a few still poke up out of the water.  They look afar and up close like regular rock but are really salt pillars.

 Me standing on a Tufa out cropping

Tufas rising from the lake.
David  B.  It was like walking in the footsteps of Huell Howser.
Onward from Mono easterly into Nevada.  This too was an homage to the kids.  For all x-file officianado's...for the Art Bell, Linda Moulton-Howe, Dreamland and Area 51 devotees

So this is Rachel Nevada.  In the Groom Lake (Dry) basin of Southern Nevada.  Not far from the infamous Area 51, top secret military base, rumored to house UFO's and other alien items.  It is also rumored to be a testing ground for military aircraft and an area used by the air force from Nellis Air Base near Vegas.  Let's just say that all that is out there is this dump of a restaurant with a booming gift shop. 
It is amazing how much of Nevada is owned by the govt.  Most all desert land is BLM land leased at ridiculously low rates for cattle grazing.
Well I wound up tonight in Caliente, Nevada and will make the push into Zion Park tomorrow.  Finally, something amazing to see, if the snow stops!

From Pullman to Wichita

Dear Friends, This blog is a brief note on my current journey with Aleksander, my son, on a trip from Pullman, WA to Wichita, KS.  For those of you who do not know, Aleksander was hired to a tenure track professorship at Wichita State, GO Shockers.  He was also offered a job at Florida State College in Jacksonville.  But for a variety of reasons, he chose Wichita.  One reason is that Emily was told she could be an adjunct voice professor when she wants a job, other than chasing the girls around.  So, they bought a house, sold the one in Pullman, and I am driving one car and Aleksander the other, as we enter the heat wave of several weeks of 100 deg. plus heat in KS.  It is a dream job for him, especially in todays job market.  He will be teaching composition and theory, as well as developing an "online" course, like he did in Wa. State.  Wichita also has a wonderful Opera, thanks to oil money and a benefactor who shall remain nameless.  Wichita is old oil money, and I am told by a friend who grew up there that they have a world class western wear clothes store, and cowboy boots are for everything from work to play to opera.
     Today we hit a major hail storm in Cheyenne, WY and tonight we are bedded down in Sidney, NE.  For those of you who do not know, Cabella's (see first blog of las trip) has a 62,000 foot store here.  We will check it out tomorrow.
  We left Pullman on Friday afternoon, and stopped just west of Missoula, in St. Regis Montana.  We then fished Rock Creek, Sat., where Aleksander had some luck.  As you all know from the news, the west and midwest are being flooded by big snow melts, and Montana and Wyoming are not excluded.  The water was high and fast, and has been everywhere we have been.  We had hoped to do some more fishing but the water is too high and fast.  We next drove to Cody, WY and spent the night.  There must have been 5,000 Harley Davidson's in town.  Everyone is going to Yellowstone and then on to Sturgis, South Dakota for the big Bike get together.  I felt very much at home as all the men were bald, middle aged to old, and looked like befuddled, accountants, lawyers, dentists and insurance salesmen.
     Today we drove through the Wind River Valley alongside the Bighorn River.  The picture that follows does not do justice to the immensity and beauty of it.  It is a miniature Grand Canyon in sweep.  We stopped at the Buffalo  Bill Museum for a few hours in Cody.  It is so impressive that I joined the museum and hope that I can go to the benefactors dinner and break bread with Dick Cheney, and family.  He has gifted many guns to the musuem.  I wonder if he will give them the one he shot his friend with?
   Tomorrow we head to Wichita, I think, unless we can find a place to fish.  It has been great to spend some time with Aleksander on the road, despite the fact we are in two separate cars.  We have walkie talkies, and I point out lots of fascinating things to him, AND don't have to see him rolling his eyeballs.  So many important things to know, such as why the Sinclair gas company has a dinosaur as its logo.  Or why the snow  barricades are built and installed alongside the freeway the way they are, and why the Bear Tooth mountains looking from the east are called the SawTooth mountains and why the French Trappers and explorers of the region named them the Grand Titons, and what are Titons in French?
So here are a few pics.

WIND RIVER VALLEY, WY

cloud in Cheyene

WIND RIVER VALLEY

Aleksander catches a fish.  Can you find it?

David just fishes!

So hope you are all well and hope to see you all at weddings or vacations in the near future.

Love David and Aleksander

End of the road

October 17, 2010       Alameda, CA

Well its over.  4,095 miles.  What a great trip.  Some highlights.....
Gas in most areas of the West....$2.65 to 2.75.  85.5 octane and no vapor recovery nozzles on the pumps.  Won $500 on three card poker at the Peppermill Casino in Reno on the way home.  Lunch at the Silver Dollar Cafe in Cody, Wy, Buffalo Bill Museum, Custer Battlefield and Crazy Horse Monument.
Some disappointments... No Bighorn Sheep, no Eagles, no Bears seen.  Minor disappointments considering the pluses. 
The endless prairie lands, soft rolling hills and warm breezes constantly wafting over the grasslands.  The long stretches of road at 75 mile hour speedlimits.  Covering distances in a metal canister that took days, weeks, months and years to do less than 150 years ago.
Driving over Lolo Pass from Missoula to Pullman you cannot help but wonder how Lewis and Clark did it with almost no maps, or idea where they were going or what was around the corner.  Jefferson expected that they would encounter Woolly Mammoths.  Most every town, River, animal or plant in the west has some connection to them for us white Europeans.  They cataloged so much, named so much, and had so much named after them.
The biggest surprise was the battlefield at the Little Bighorn.  It is amazing how much modern science has been able to recreate, along with the fact that we are now listening to the surviving Indian stories.  What is most amazing is that in the two days of the actual fighting the three detachments of cavalry were within shouting distance of each other, but had no idea what was happening to each of them.
Of course all of the places I visited catered to the tourist trade.  Of them all, Crazy Horse outdid them all with actually decent stuff, educational items, and as a private, essentially charitable location they were priced reasonably.  I wish that I could be here in 40 years to see its completion.  I hope to go back in around 5 years to see the horses head carved out.
Deadwood was kind of a dud, the main problem being that it only comes alive in the summer, with gunfights, colorfully dressed people on the streets, etc.  However, I doubt I would go there then.
I am obviously most sorry I missed Heather, Lizzie and Emma, however they will rate a separate trip.
I await my handmade leather Riata from Kings Rope in Sheridan.  I got to see the manufacturing area which was cool and if you were into horses, this is the place, with saddles, tack, etc gallore.
Ah the fishing and the weather.  The weather was unseasonably warm, and the winds unusually calm.  The highest temp was just over 80 and the worst day was fishing at Yellowstone at 40 degrees.  But, the hiking and fishing kept me warm enough, especially with fleece longjohns.  TMI!  Having Jake along would have been cool, but dogs are not allowed out of cars in the Parks, except to go to the bathroom in small designated areas.  It makes sense, but what a denial of fun.  I would give anything to see Jake square off with a Bison.  I fished within 20 feet of one Bison, who could have cared less about my presence.  Trout are gorgeous in their fall colors, but I caught way to few of them.  I did catch a few within 5 feet of me in a little Yellowstone lake that was crystal clear.  One of the previously attached pictures shows the rocks in the water.  You could see rocks at the bottom for as far as you could see in that lake.
It wasn't disappointing seeing Old Faithful.  It cannot be over-hyped, nor can the Old Faithful Inn.  What a magnificent structure.  The all you can eat Prime Rib dinner was pretty nice as well.
I enjoyed the people I met along the way.  At each place I stopped, whether gas station, restaurant, hotel, motel, gift shop, etc. I inquired of the people how things were.  The fact is, despite what you read in the paper, or hear on the news, things are pretty good all over.  Obviously, the economic woes are everywhere, but everyone seems to be moving through it all, with good spirits, humor, and most importantly with the spirit of individuality and perserverance that gives the West its mystic. 
One of my new John Wayne coasters says "A man's got to have a code, a creed to live by."  The West's answer is contained on another..."Courage is being scared to death-but saddling up anyway."  We are all saddling up in our own way.  And not to over do it, as the Duke says..."Talk low, talk slow, and don't talk too much'" So I won't.
Thank you to Debra and Joey for such good care taking of Jake, Bryden and Free for covering my cases and keeping the streets safe for my clients, for all who answered my errant phone calls during the long drives, and for those who read this blog and commented on it.

Ruby Ann

Engaged!  About time!