The Scottish countryside

Red deer stalking. Stags, 1 July to 20 October. Hinds, 21 October to 15 February.
Oh yes, and grouse shooting: 12 August to 10 December. The hills are alive...

Bismarck Palms

No, these aren't from North Dakota.

North Side Tour

Have been a little back in my blogging. Maybe I can catch up this morning.
After the frustrations dealing with the dealership last Thursday morning, I needed a bike ride. In the afternoon, I parked downtown CB and stopped at the bike shop. Had a particular reason to stop at the bike shop - drop off some calendars.
Decided to check out the trails on the North side of town. Rode city streets up to the Sheriff's Dept. The road to Big Lake is still barricaded (as of Thursday - see photo). Water is basically under the railroad and I could see lots of clean-up activity in the park. I would not be surprised to see that Big Lake Park open now or very soon.
As I rode Iowa Riverfront Trail, I realized that some of the pumps have been shut down. The river level is continuing to drop. Standing water along the golf course is receding (tells me that they are slowly getting the ground water level under control).
Survey stake all along the level. Some makings on the pavement - looks like sections that will be replaced. Some sections have been almost destroyed by trucks and equipment driving on the levee during the flood.

Shot the lower photo here overlooking the lower level of Harrah's parking garage. From what I could see it looks like the water is nearly gone in the lower level. They have lots of cleaning up to do, clearing all the water silt, but perhaps they may soon open the section of the bicycle trail there.
On the way back, I looked at the area South the the Bob Bridge where the CB was building the new park/green space between the levee and the river. The area looks like coastal tidal flats.
Lots of devastation along the river. Much of the island between the river and chute is gone (maybe more will be visible after the river level gets down to normal). Many trees have died and are dying from toppling in the storms and high water.

An Unorthodox Wake Up Call

US MARINE CORPS RECRUIT DEPOT — PARRIS ISLAND, SOUTH CAROLINA
TEMPS: LO 50F / HI 70F (10C / 21C)

I was awakened to a chant and the sound of footsteps on the pavement. I peered at the clock. It was 5:02a. As I debated getting up to check out the source of the noise, Mui beckoned me from the living room where he had raised the visor a smidge to look out. “I told you they would march by the campground” he said, a big grin on his face. It was pitch dark outside, but we could make out the shadowy movements of a battalion of recruits as they marched pass us, the flashlights of the DIs (drill instructors) stabbing into the night like laser pointers.

Laughing about the unorthodox wake-up call, we proceeded with our day.

Fast forward to 8:30a when chants and heavy footsteps once again broke through the quiet morning. I wasn’t quite dressed to go out in public, but I was prepared with an alternate plan. I shoved the camera into Mui’s hands and sent him outside to take photos as the recruits marched by. Thirty minutes later, the recruits were back, hunched over from the weight of the gear on their backs and visibly weary — but determined, too. This time I managed to get out and take a few photos myself ;-)

The battalion of recruits march by a third time; they stretch the length of the road!

Still photos just can’t do justice to the scene, so here’s a 19 second video to share what we saw and heard.

By 10:00a the sun had broken through the overcast and the temp had risen to a comfy 60F (15.5C) — perfect weather for a trike ride. An hour later, we were heading out on a meandering ride that took us by dried-up wetlands and stands of oak trees draped with Spanish moss.

beautiful morning … beautiful oak trees … and empty roads for our trike ride.

There wasn’t a bike path per se, but the roads were all but empty, and being on base, the few vehicles we encountered were not only driving well within the speed limit — 25-35 mph (40-55 kph) — but were very courteous and gave us a wide berth.

Having fun with the reserved parking signage; guess who’s got the spot with the higher rank!

The MCRD is serious about its mission; these words can be found all over the base.

Eventually we found ourselves at the Parris Island Museum on Panama Street. Chaining the trikes to the railings on either side of the entrance, we went in for a quick look-see (free; open to the public — see visiting guidelines on the museum website).

The museum is housed in the War Memorial Building, which was built in 1951 as a “monument to Marines of the past and a source of inspiration for the future.” As might be expected, the exhibits are primarily focused on the Marine Corps, but there is a wing dedicated to the local history of the Lowcountry (as this area is known). Small in size, the museum has plenty of displays to keep military — especially Marine Corps — history buffs busy for hours. For us, it was an interesting, but short detour.

Mannequins are dressed in the uniforms of the Marine Corps through the ages.
Left to right in the top right photo: Continental Marine (1775-1783); Tripoli (1801-1805);
War of 1812 (1812-1814); Mexican War (1846-1848); Civil War (1861-1865); Spanish American War
(1898); Banana Wars (1910s-1930s); WWI (1917-1918); WWII (1941-1945); Korean War (1950-1953);
Vietnam (1964-1975); Gulf War (1991).

Just a couple of the exhibits in the Parris Island Museum.

As we were wrapping up our visit to the museum, a rush of footsteps and a flurry of hearty “aye, sir” responses alerted us to the presence of a platoon forming up at the entrance. Standing at attention, their water canteens positioned just so, they listened as one of the DIs gave them the ground rules for the museum visit before filing inside in an orderly fashion. This was our cue to exit.

A marine corps style field trip!
(SO funny to see the recruits in formation between our trikes.)

After checking the base map on the sidewalk to get our bearings, we decided to continue east towards the Beaufort River. A bench on a fishing pier served nicely as a place to eat our snacks before we retraced our path back to the campground. A quick stop at the Peatross Parade Deck to check out the Iwo Jima Memorial completed our exploration of the MCRD.

The Iwo Jima Memorial is dedicated to all personnel of the United States Marine Corps
who have died in the defense of their country since 1775. This is a replica of
the massive sculpture by Felix de Weldon in Arlington, Virginia. The design was based
on the iconic photo, Raising the Flag on Iwo Jima, taken during the Battle of Iwo Jima by
Associated Press photographer Joe Rosenthal.

And what was Mui doing while I was photographing the memorial …

… he was watching the goings on at the Peatross Parade Deck.

We wrapped up our four-hour trike ride with a quick stop at the commissary and BX (base exchange; think military shopping mall) before heading home. Pleasantly tired, we thought about sitting outside for a while, but the dropping temps nixed that idea. A cup of hot tea and a couple of the poğaças Mui baked and froze before we left on our journey (post here) hit the spot just right.

Since we won’t have a sewer hook-up at Hunting Island, I did several loads of laundry this afternoon in preparation for tomorrow’s move. We’ll empty the tanks before we leave Parris Island to ensure we can survive nine days without having to do an interim move just to use the dump station. This will be the longest we’ve been at a campsite without full hook-ups. We’re up for the challenge, though!

We’ve been getting a strong 4G signal here with our mi-fi/Wilson antenna combo (most of the time). We’re not sure what we’ll find at Hunting Island; worst case, there’s wi-fi at the camp store. Hoping to keep posting … signal strength permitting.

Fav Photographs For Pinterest

These are some photos from other blogs that I just love. I've been saving them on my computer desktop, and now that I'm on Pinterest I wanted to Pin them. The only way I could figure to do this was to put the images in a blog post and THEN pin them. It worked. If anyone knows an easier way, please let me know! I was going to delete the photos after pinning them but then thought that ya'll might like seeing them. My favorite is the reading nook. Oh...my...goodness. If I had a place like that in my house, I might never come up for air!

Pine Canyon Poppies

Pine Canyon Poppies, originally uploaded by ParsecTraveller.

Back in March, I found this incredible field of California poppies. The field, located in Pine Canyon in Mt. Diablo State Park, was the most abundant display of poppies I've ever seen. Mt. Diablo is known for it's great wildflower displays - this is one of them.

What Is True Religion?

A paragraph from Knowing God by J.I. Packer: "Godliness means responding to God's revelation in trust and obedience, faith and worship, prayer and praise, submission and service. Life must be seen and lived in the light of God's Word. This, and nothing else, is true religion."

Making Do Instead of Buying New

I'm doing the Make Do & Mend Challenge, so when I decided to get new kitchen curtains, I looked to what I already had.
The last pair I had were red gingham check; very cute.  I moved them to my studio out in the little house where they still look cute though a little faded. 
During the summer, I like to have the kitchen windows bare, but come winter I like to cozy up the house and put up curtains.  This cut up pair in the floor was what I had when we first built the house.  I absolute love this fabric.  It's so 30's-40's looking; the period I was trying to make my kitchen look like. 
I guess I got tired of the curtains, so I cut them up for chair cushions.  They aren't finished yet.  I laid one on the white chair in the photo, but I think it's too small for the chair.  I'll have to add a ruffle or something all around the edges to make it larger.  Oh boy, another project! I'll do those after I finish painting all the chairs white and red; one down and five to go.
I was this......close to looking in Penney's or Country Curtains for new curtains when I remembered that I wanted to take the Make Do & Mend Challenge.  As soon as I can figure out how, I'm going to put a badge on my blog about it.
So I went through my fabric and came across these leftovers and think I have enough to make curtains.  I still have the three original valances to use.  I also have about ten 100% cotton antique sheets I bought at a garage sale for $1 each.  I'll probably cut one up to make panels or tiers for the long window over there on the other side of the highchair and trim it in some of the rose fabric.  I'll let you know how they turn out.  And don't hyperventilate about the antique sheet.  I'll cut up one that already has holes in it.  That probably means the "new" curtains won't last too long, but that's okay.  By that time I will have turned them into pillowcases or something else!  

Curious Deer

On our way to Duluth the other day we stopped in Two Harbors to look for some owls that had reportedly been hanging around. We didn't have any luck finding the owls, but we did find several very curious deer alongside the roadways. This particular deer was very curious about us and stared at us for quite a while as I snapped picture after picture. So, we didn't see any owls but the deer encounter sure was fun!

Scotland Street

For Tash and chrome3d, and any other Alexander McCall Smith readers, here is the real Scotland Street. Needless to say, No. 44 doesn't exist. In the summer months especially, puzzled literary pilgrims can be found combing the street for the elusive No. 44.
It's a short little street. The top end is in the posh New Town. The bottom end has just a hint of the more ordinary Broughton and Canonmills. Just the mix Sandy McCall Smith envisaged.
The red box in the foreground is for kerbside recycling - cardboard in red boxes; paper, glass and aluminium in blue.

The walled-up windows are a relic of the window tax imposed in Edinburgh for several hundred years until the mid 19th century. Rather than pay tax, residents bricked up their windows. Goodness knows it's dark enough here already for 9 months of the year.

This is looking towards the top, New Town end of the street. I'm sure Bertie must have posted a few letters in this post box. Horrible exposure in this shot. I must learn about all this techie camera stuff. As usual, I was in a rush taking these photos. Family in car nearby, pretending they didn't know me. Hungry teenagers after a morning playing in a concert at the National Museum of Scotland. Long-suffering husband. Still, they indulged me.

Mountain Bike Festivals

Its time to start planning my Spring trips to the mountain bike festivals. I you have never attended one of these dirt riding parties, you should include one (or more) in your bucket list. I have attended several different festivals - each has its own merits.

The first one I ever attended was the inaugural Black Hills Fat Tire Festival. The festival is held in Rapid City, SD over Memorial Day weekend. The weekend is filled with socializing, group rides, and races. I attended this festival for 4 years, but it became too much of a race venue. Headquarters for the edition of the Black Hills Fat Tire Festival will be the Gas Light, Rockerville, SD.

Festival of the Trails is held in the Hayward/Cable, Wisconsin area and sponsored by the Chequamegon Area Mountain Bike Association. This year, the festival is back on the first weekend on June. The tentative schedule is on the CAMBA web site. This is a festival celebrating the trails - no races. (Though the same weekend is the Mt Borah racee in the area). Each year, it seams that the festival highlights different trail clusters. I may attend this festival again this year. Fuctions at the festival are scheduled to be around Wilson Lake and OO Trailheads.



The next weekend (2nd weekend in June) is the Cuyuna Lakes Mountain Bike Festival in Crosby, MN. The festival uses the trails of the Cuyuna Ride Center (Cuyuna Country State Recreational Area). I attended the first 2 of the festivals here. Planning to attend again this year. This is a growing festival. The festival will likely center around the pack and campground in Crosby, MN.



The last 2 years, the MidWest Mountain Bike Festival was held the 4th weekend in June in the Quad Cities (IA/IL). I really enjoyed this festival. The Midwest Mountain Bike Festival moves every 2 years. Word is that this year it moved to Brown County Park, Indiana.

Great Smoky Mountains National Park - II

After a relaxing day Thursday, I was ready for a day of being "Tourist". Early out from the motel. Stopped in Cherokee, NC for breakfast. then on into the Great Smoky Mountains NP.
Two days ealier I drove up to Newfound Gap. Today, my destination was Cades Cove.
On the way to Cades Cove there are some waterfalls in the Little River Gorge. I bypassed Laurel Falls - not wanting to do the 2.5 mile hike. Stopped by The Sinks and Meigs Falls, both that can be viewed from the road.
While the falls are beautiful, I saw a little falls/rapids in the river. No name, just one that looking nice, with the moss-covered rocks. There is a HDR Photo of this above.
Cades Cove loop road is one-way. Lots of bicycles on the road. BTW, on Wednesdays and Saturdays the road is closed for all BUT bicycles until 10am. I was thinking of staying last night in the area to ride the loop. But, it is a bit hilly - with some very steep climbs.
At the entrances to the one-way, stop by to pick up one of the booklets that describes the cove, the buildings, and the road. Very much worth the $1.
I stopped at the first historic house. Met a park employee that gave me some tips for other places to shoot in the cove. In addition to the building, he suggested a hill on one of the cross-roads. A great spot for a full 360 degree panoramic.

The photo to the right is of the John Oliver House, where I met the park employee (5 exposure HDR photo).
There is one thing that really frosted me during the drive in Cades Cove. There are several signs that suggest that you pull over to let other traffic pass instead blocking the road. While some drivers where not really "stopping" they were driving soooo slow - about 5-7 mph. And, they would NOT pull into a turn-off to let other vehicles pass. At one point I was the 5th or 6th car in a line and I could not see the back end of the line. The lead driver just kept on moseying on. (For reference, the speed limit in Cades Cove is 20 mph.)
There were a couple of the stops along the loop that I missed. At least 1 was an house that meant a bit of a hike. At that point I needed to stop for a restroom break. I found it at the Information Center. There is a collection of building in that area, including a grist mill.
On around the loop, stopping at a couple more houses. By the time i completed the loop, I was getting hungry. Picked up a snack thee to tide me over until dinner.
Back on the loop, for a second tour of the first section. Had to drive that section to get to the Rich Mountain Road which was my way out.
Rich Mountain Road is a one-way road (while in the park). Gravel road the climbs up across the mountain. Stopped one place to take a photo (recommended by the park employee) where I had a wide view of the cove with the Methodist Church.
Other than the un-courtious drivers, and the confusing ordering system at the snack bar - I had a good drive. Thanks to the fellow of Cades Cove Heritage Tours, i was able to log on the make motel reservations for the night. Ended up staying in Knoxville.
With that, I am ready to head home. See you all later this weekend.

Warm day, cold paddle

Yesterday was warm--very warm. The air temperature topped out at 76 degrees. Yesterday was also windy--very windy. The peak gust measured at the Harrison Street crib was 50 knots.



Yesterday, in other words, was an interesting day to paddle on Lake Michigan.

Alec looks back before paddling past the "dolphins."Yes, that's what those pilings are called!

The water off North Avenue Beach was calm because of a jetty and the shape of the land, and the stretch south to Navy Pier was similarly protected (meaning the wave height didn't correlate with the wind speed). The water was bumpy, and we could see gusts on the water before they hit us. It was one of those days when you put into practice what you've read about paddling into the wind. If your casual sightseeing speed is about 3 knots but the wind is reducing that to 1.5 knots, then cranking up your effort to a 4.5-knot pace will effectively cut in half the time it takes to get to your destination. Talk about a good trade-off.After we passed Navy Pier, such thoughts blew off with Alec's hat and all we could think about was, "Is this such a good idea?" That's when the wind reached its peak speeds. The water was cold (38 to 40 degrees), there was lots of clapotis, and a quick check over our shoulders confirmed that we weren't making much progress. Fortunately, we had options, and the one we chose was turning around and returning to the lee of Navy Pier. We checked out the Chicago Fire Department boat, which was built in the 1940s and still boasts on its side in bright yellow letters, "We're there when you need us." Barry, who was on duty that day, was out enjoying the weather and appreciating a job that apparently consists of long periods of calm punctuated by moments of absolute urgency.

Barry, with beverage and books, gently informed us that we were paddling in a restricted area.

Then we flew back to North Avenue with the wind at our backs.

City Spring

Spring in the city can be a little messy. This is the aftermath of the 'Winter Wonderland' in Princes Street gardens.

Fort Larned

Time for another trip to Albuquerque. With Spring weather, I wanted to play "tourist" a little on the way. Also, I have unfinished business at Palo Duro Canyon. With the help of the National Park Service I found Fort Larned National Historic Site about half-way between home and Amarillo.

Fort Larned was one of the forts guarding the Santa Fe Trail. The fort was established around 1860. The original buildings were constructed of adobe. Starting about 1866, the fort underwent a extensive construction effort. Buildings were replaced with those of sandstone and timber. Those buildings are the ones still standing at Fort Larned.

Stark contrast between the adobe ruins of Fort Union and what I saw today at Fort Larned. It was not just the construction. Fort Union had been abandoned and vandalized. Many buildings at Fort Larned were maintained and used as a ranch.

Fort Larned is a very interesting window into the life the soldiers along the Santa Fe. Most of the building are furnished with period furnishings. Many looked like the troops were just out on maneuvers, and might be returning any Day.

While in the area, stopped in at the Santa Fe Trail Center. Fort Larned tells the military story of the Santa Fe. The Santa Fe Trail Center concentrates on the transportation route, migration, and cultures.

If you find yourself in the area of Fort Larned, I recommend the Roadway Inn, Larned, KS. Room rates are reasonable. Large rooms, with mini fridge and microwave.

Today's photo was taken from the porch of the Officer's Quarters.

Cascade River Waterfalls

Here are a couple of waterfall shots during our outing to Cascade River State Park earlier this week. We had a perfect day for exploring the river and looking for flowers. The sky was overcast which makes for ideal photography of waterfalls and flowers.

OASIS!

Alright, so some of the sound equipment made it difficult for me to get a shot of the whole band. It was still an awesome night. Anyone who doubts the status of Oasis as one of the greatest rock bands of all time clearly hasn't seen one of their live shows. Many claim that the mark of a good live band is whether they can sound as good live as they do in their recordings. I think Oasis actually sounded better playing live -- and there were other observers who concurred.
Then there are the songs, and over the years Oasis have written some great ones. I had actually forgotten what a great song Live Forever was, not to mention Wonderwall, champagne Supernova, Morning Glory or more recent offerings like Guess God Thinks I'm Abel, Songbird and Turn up the Sun. Of course, nobody would forget the crowd's reaction when Noel led the band through Don't Look Back in Anger (which Noel dedicated to "your shit cricket team"), arguably their finest moment.

About the only possible complaint anyone could have might be the songs they didn't play (I would have liked to have heard them do Stand by Me). That said, I can't think of any songs I would have omitted from the set list as it was, and I suppose a concert can only last for so long. The other notable quality about the concert was the fact that the band didn't waste any time. Once they started, Oasis went full tilt for the next 100 minutes or so. There were no long pauses punctuated by pointless "banter" with the crowd (apart from the occasional wisecrack), there were no frilly bits, just great music -- much like the band itself.
I'm not sure when Oasis will be touring next, but I think I'll make an effort to be there.

Checking Out Manawa

For several reason, yesterday I decided to ride a Lake Manawa. I had not ridden the trail bike (Trek Fuel EX7) since the end of September; Full Moon Ride is coming up Friday; Needed to ride some dirt; Had not ridden in Manawa in over a month; A little gun shy with all the flats on the hybrid.
Most of trail is in good shape. A couple of soft spots. Fast Track again has standing water and muddy spots.
Tree down across the trail in Riverside Real Estate. A couple branches were across the trail. Some tree debris clean-up could be done at the wet spot in Fast Track.
So, if the showers (forecast for today) miss Manawa or a light, we could do the Full Moon Ride to Manawa Singletrack?!