Superior Galaxy

Here is a shot I have been wanting to capture for some time, the Milky Way Galaxy over Hollow Rock on the shores of Lake Superior. This was taken at 12:02 AM on June 9, . The stillness of the night was unbelievable. Rarely have I seen Lake Superior so calm and never before have I seen the stars reflecting so nicely in the waters of the big lake. The sight you see here is a vivid memory that will live forever in our minds. I owe thanks to Jessica for this photo, for it was at her urging that we went out to photograph the Milky Way on this most exquisite of nights!

Battling Gnats at Buccaneer

Buccaneer State Park — Waveland, Mississippi
Temps: Lo 58F / Hi 73F (14C / 23C)

Can’t believe that New Orleans is almost a week in the past. Time sure does fly!

We left NOLA Monday morning (April 1) for the short 72.6-mile (116 km) drive to our next campground — Buccaneer State Park in Waveland, Mississippi. The two-hour drive was uneventful. Based on reviews we’d read that the GPS would want to route us over a rather high railroad hump, we were prepared with an alternate route that took us all the way down Lakeshore Drive to South Beach Boulevard. Though our trucker’s GPS sounded alerts along the way, knowing other big rigs had driven the same route gave us the confidence to keep going. In the end, absolutely nothing along that route was problematic for our size or weight.

A short, easy drive takes us to our next temporary home.
(Inset shows our travels since embarking on this gypsy life style on December 1.)

Arriving at the gatehouse at 11:30a, check-in was a breeze. This is a rather large park with several camping loops. After wandering around to see if there was an alternate site we might prefer, we concluded that the site we had pre-booked online was one of the nicest and there was no need to change it. By 12:30p, we were settled into Site 68.

When Hurricane Katrina hit the area in August 2005, winds clocked at over 140 mph (224 kph) and a storm surge of nearly 30 feet (9 m) pretty much destroyed Buccaneer.

Although the park had to once again close down briefly after Hurricane Isaac in , the post-Katrina comeback is quite remarkable. All but the beach front campsites have been re-built, and construction on many of the amenities are nearing completion. In the time we’ve been here, we have not been bothered by any noise from the construction work.

Our site — #68 (FHU for $24/night) — is at the end of the Long John Silver loop. Contrary to the map to the right, most of the sites here are widely spaced; especially around the outer edges of the loops. Being at the end of our loop, we have an over-sized living area. On the hook-up side, there’s quite a bit of space between us and our neighbor. Unlike the Jean Lafitte, Barataria Bay, and Pirate’s Cove loops, which filled up yesterday with weekenders, most of our loop remains empty, thus adding to the sense of privacy. I should say that there’s plenty of train noise from the tracks that run right outside the park. We’re not bothered by trains, so not an issue as far as we’re concerned.

Site 68 is at the end of the Long John Silver Loop.
(You can see how far away Our only neighbor was [left on Thursday].)

Looking from the rear of the site towards the main road and the bathhouse beyond.

Despite the weekenders coming in yesterday, our loop looks no different
than this scene, which I took on Monday when we arrived.

Looks great, right! Sounds great, too. Well, it was when we went to put up our screen shelter on Monday that we realized there was, in fact, a problem.

Hah! Screen shelter my you know what! All was well while we were putting up the shelter — because we were moving around. No sooner were we seated, however, that the gnats started eating us alive. These weren’t the kind of gnats that just hover in a cloud. No, they were biting gnats! Nothing was going to keep them at bay, so we went back inside, hoping the situation would improve on Tuesday. No such luck. Mui even went to Lowe’s for citronella candles, hoping they would help. They did — for about two minutes. Changing into long pants and long sleeves, we toughed it out for a while, but eventually we retired indoors.

By Tuesday night, this is what Mui’s legs looked like; his arms are no different!
If I didn’t know any different, I’d think he had come down with the measles.
We know he’s allergic to mosquito bites, but apparently he doesn’t tolerate gnats either.

We debated moving to the beach-front campground operated by the Silver Slipper Casino. Even triked over to get information about availability and prices. But when we spoke to the people staying at the campground, they had plenty of gnat stories of their own to tell. So we decided to stay put. (As a side note: Buccaneer has a strict no refunds policy … although at one point we were willing to leave anyway.)

The storm that came through on Wednesday gave us a legitimate reason to stay indoors — and hope the gnats would be drowned out. The latter didn’t happen, I’m afraid. The heavy rains started around 1:00a and continued through noon. All that was fine and dandy … and expected. What followed — strong winds gusting up to 35-40 mph (55-65 kph) — wasn’t expected. Even the national weather service was caught by surprise by the winds that came out of nowhere — some kind of a wake effect that no one was expecting. Nothing to do but hunker down and watch our screen shelter get decimated.

No photo of the decimated shelter, but here’s the new one Mui bought Friday.
We put it up today to run through the instructions, and I even managed a
couple of hours out there before the gnats started to gnaw on me.

We’ve been using our forced-indoors time the past several days to continue planning our self-drive trip around Iceland this fall. With an itinerary in place, we’re now looking at where we will be staying as we make our way around the island. All this planning work is part of the reason we wanted a sort-of-out-of-the-way campground following our hectic days in NOLA, so at least that part of our stay has been on track.

devastation wreaked on the piers in the area are in evidence along beach boulevard.

Despite the gnats, we’ve not been totally incarcerated here. We’ve snuck out for a couple of long walks in the cool morning hours to get some exercise before the gnats come out. I’ve not been able to check out the “Pirate’s Alley Nature Trail” yet, but that’s because the ground is soft and muddy after Wednesday’s storm. Perhaps it will dry up before we leave.

More storm devastation.

We’ve also taken our trikes out for 6-10 mile (10-16 km) rides on Beach Boulevard, heading in the direction of the Silver Slipper Casino one day; and the opposite direction on another day. Much of the ride is on the paved road, but traffic is light, and for a portion of the road, there is a newly-built bike/walk path. Evidence of the damage done to the beach by storms past is visible everywhere along our route. Sad, really.

Today, after putting up the new screen shelter, there was a light breeze that kept the gnats away long enough for us to sit outside for a bit and even have lunch. Our respite was brief, but it was a welcome change of pace. I’m going to keep my fingers crossed that the light breezes continue. In the meantime, a breeze-generating trike ride is in order.

… Later

Had to come back and add the beach photos and this shot of a laughing gull before posting to the blog …

the end!

Alabama Soap Meeting

Darlene was selling Shea butter fresh from the calabash, so her hands were greasy.

Darlene: Just put it in my pocket.

Jen: What do you mean I have to get change?!

Sadly, I did not win the grand prize on either day. Friday's was a $250 gift certificate from Snowdrift Farm, and Saturday's was a "Tank" cutter donated by the soap meeting itself. DebbieT is demonstrating hers in the picture above.

Debbie also organized a business card swap, and made the cutest little card holders I've ever seen. Isn't she brilliant?

I think I changed a setting on the camera by mistake (I took Hubby's since it's small), so a lot of the photos didn't turn out well. All the ones I accidentally took of my feet were perfect, of course.

Mar crowned (and knighted!) our new President, Sandi, while our outgoing boss, Jen, was giddy with joy. She's been our President, our benevolent dictator, and fearless leader for the past 11 years, and has never steered us wrong.

We were so lucky to have Anne-Marie from Brambleberry as our main speaker. She taught us how to make massage candles, and also spoke on the topics of Goal Setting and Rules to Succeed in Business. She should know, because she had a company grossing over $1 million when she was only 25 years old! I believe that was about six years ago, and her success continues to build. She is smart, smart, smart, but also very personable, kind, and sharing.

Northern Hawk Owl

For the past couple of weeks a Northern Hawk Owl has been hanging around near the Grand Portage Trading Post. I have seen him several times, but until today he was always perched on the power lines (not the best for photos!). Today I spotted him in the trees and promptly reached for my 100-400mm lens. I watched him (or her? I'm not sure how to tell the difference in owls) for close to half an hour. During that time the owl flew to 4 or 5 different trees, and from each tree was listening for sounds of mice down under the snow. Every now and then he would swoop down towards the ground, but he never did catch anything while I was there. He sure gave me some nice opportunities for photos today though!

Volcano weather monitoring

The weather on Mount Rainier, together with some overly vigorous maintenance efforts in the past have made keeping the weather station at Camp Muir up and running a challenge. However, the problems seem to have all been identified and hopefully we will have the systems up and running soon.

The gear in the photo to the left is used by many agencies, such as the NOAA, NWAC, and the NPS for gathering weather information. It is the highest weather telemetry site it the Northwest and takes a beating all year. You can find the raw data from this site and more mountain telemetry stations at the NWAC website.

Delays and Boredom

It's doing this today. And it rained all yesterday too. With wind - some. We were supposed to leave to start our grand adventure this morning but... and it's not only da rain. Stayed tuned...
So. We've been very bored. Mom didn't catch our pawesome work last night on candid cam, but we're posting some recycled octopus destruffing activity from a ways back. We did a good job then, and we did a great job on a duck last night.
Don't look at me - check out the great Sammers.
So whattya think? Great job, eh?
We are a great team when faced with boredom! (And it looks like several more days of rain too, not that we don't like waters - we do!)
The other problem that's causing our delay is that the transmission on our towing truck is being replaced - owwwwooooooooooh. We are all hoping to depart by Sunday, but we'll keep you posted!

Hugs xoxoxo

Coquille River Light

I like photographing lighthouses, but most of the time I only enjoy it if there is a dramatic sky as a backdrop. I think this one definitely fits that criteria. This is the Coquille River Light, originally known as the Bandon Light in Bandon, Oregon. The light was first lit on February 29, 1896 and contained a fourth-order Fresnel lens. In September 1936 a large wildfire swept through the surrounding area and destroyed most of Bandon. The town soon became bankrupt as a result of the decline in shipping. The light was shut down in 1939 and replaced by an automated light on the south jetty.

Construction Along Mosquito Creek

Awesome weather for a bike ride today. Was about 70 deg a little before noon when I headed out from the Wabash Trace Trailhead. Destination was the Western Historic Trails Center.

Had a little problem getting the computer running right. Took some adjustment of the pick-up on the fork.

The last time I rode the Lake Manawa Trail, there was some construction along Mosquito Creek. They have been building a couple of bypassed. Not sure if they are for work on the levee or storm sewer.

Last year, when they had to work on the levee, They detoured the bike trail down to normal ground level and covered it with very coarse rock. This time, the trail level is being maintained at levee height. And, its being PAVED!

Nothing else noted along the ride to the Trails Center. Visited with the folks there. I had not been there for a while. July I was riding at sunrise. The Center is closed Monday and Tuesday.

Good visit, great ride, awesome weather.

Short, but steep - High Tor in Matlock.

Matlock Bath, from station car park into Matlock, via the main road. They really should change the place of river and road, and it would be very pleasant to sit outside the cafés!

We called in to the local Co-op to pick up some bread and cheese, and returned via High Tor, 390 feet high, with spectacular views over the Derwent Valley to the tower on the Heights of Abraham, and in the other direction to Riber castle. Many notices warning of sheer drop, and the need to keep children under control. Too right. So much so, that I'm surprised there is no pile of skeletons at the bottom.






Then a shorter walk from the Visitor Centre at Carsington Water, after sharing a huge cream scone - and another coffee each. We wandered to Stones Island and back, including the modern standing stones, and Hognaston Bronze Age Barrow.

GUILT

As the day has progressed, the wind has increased. It is beautifully sunny, but the wind is wild - not that I have felt any of it.





I have been happily occupied reading and sewing, but every time I look up one or other of the dogs gives a sigh ...



I am still confined to indoors because of my wretched toe; George has not found the time to get down (from the top shelf of the dressing room) the one pair of shoes which I think may fit me, despite my taped toes.





This could be a deliberate ploy, he knows how impatient I am to get moving again.





So I have been confined to quarters. All day long I have been made to feel guilty by two pairs of brown eyes - Pip and Toby. Pip is disappointed that I have not taken her to the wood so that she can take the opportunity to steal some food from the hens, Toby wants his normal walks.





George has walked them, but as far as they are concerned that is an optional extra. Only the walks that I take with them are counted.





Sorry dogs, I just can't do it - especially without shoes!





Your Dad has been busy working on the headers for the patio wall - photos will follow when I am able. It is looking really neat though, Jonny.





George very kindly took a photograph of some beautiful mushrooms which have grown

can you guess which part of the garden this is Jonny? Goodness knows what type they are, but we won't be making mushroom omelettes from them. Aren't they beautiful though?





This is what we are actually having for tea

I plan to roast them, along with some garlic, black pepper and olive oil,when they are almost done I will sprinkle them with grated cheese and put them back into the oven, along with some home-made garlic bread and we will have a feast.





It was wonderful having such a long chat with you this afternoon Jonny. You were looking really well.





Lots of love





Mum

xxx