Have you ever been in the Midwest or South on a summer night? If so, you will remember fireflies or, as we called them, lightening bugs. I have included a link to tell you all about them, but the best way to experience them to walk outside after dark. It has been a long time since I have been back to the midwest in the summer and seeing them once again was a warm greeting. They remind me of watching an active campfire and having an ember occasionally drift up from the flames. They are all around you and yet you only see them when they glow. The other night we were driving in the country and lightning bugs filled the ditches on both sides of the road. I hated to do it, but I did hit some as we drove along. The glow would stay on the windshield for a few seconds after the bug became a smear. They are a summer evening.
www.backyardnature.net/lightbug.htm
Wednesday, August 5, 2009
Impressions of Minnesota
Minnesota is where I am from. I was born here and lived in the same house through college until I went off to Marine Corp OCS. Memories are all over the place. Streets, buildings, schools, rivers, hills. It’s still the same, but yet it’s very different. What was once the area that we kids in the neighborhood called the “War Path”, a vacant half block with a sand path through it, is now has modern houses sporting grassy back yards with swing sets and wading pools.
My house is still there. It is different. The current owner has remodeled, changed the roofline and made the second floor larger. What was once a fairly decent sized backyard with a tall swing is now small due to the new large double garage that sits behind the house.[ The backyard next door that once had two apple trees, one for eating and a crabapple for throwing, also has a double car garage that has replaced them. The spruce tree on the north side of my house that was six feet tall when I was a kid now towers over it. I would like to drive by and stop and see if I can go inside.
The neighborhood looks much the same; an addition here, a garage there but otherwise just a modest, but well kept place to live. In walking and driving around Mankato and also Fairmont, MN I have found the houses to be well kept with moderately landscaped but neat and well mowed yards. One thing that is noticeable about this area, and I think the Midwest in general, is the lack of fenced back yards. In the west it seems like the first thing that is built when a house goes up is the six foot backyard fence. I wonder if it is to keep “others” out or “ours” in. Perhaps people here are less worried about marking their territory.
What are the things that I have noticed now that we’ve been here for more than a week? Lots of grass, lawns are mostly grass with few flowers and bushes. Even many farms have huge lawns that all seem to be well-mown. There are more mini-vans and not as many SUVs. You will see rust on older cars, but the percentage of infected ones is less now than twenty years ago. Bike lanes do not exist. Most residential areas lack sidewalks requiring you to walk on boulevards or on the street.
So as I walk the girls or drive to and fro, I am enjoying the area. If I were to come here for the first time right now, I would think, “Not a bad place to live.” But I know that this is not normal summer weather. Where’s the 90 degree temps? Where’s the humidity? And, I know that from at least November to February, winter has its grip on this area and you are just happy if your car will start.
So am I happy to be here? You bet! Would I move back? No way. Probably not even if you gave me a house, but I have seen some colonial and Tudor style two story places in Fairmont and Mankato that would be tempting.
My house is still there. It is different. The current owner has remodeled, changed the roofline and made the second floor larger. What was once a fairly decent sized backyard with a tall swing is now small due to the new large double garage that sits behind the house.[ The backyard next door that once had two apple trees, one for eating and a crabapple for throwing, also has a double car garage that has replaced them. The spruce tree on the north side of my house that was six feet tall when I was a kid now towers over it. I would like to drive by and stop and see if I can go inside.
The neighborhood looks much the same; an addition here, a garage there but otherwise just a modest, but well kept place to live. In walking and driving around Mankato and also Fairmont, MN I have found the houses to be well kept with moderately landscaped but neat and well mowed yards. One thing that is noticeable about this area, and I think the Midwest in general, is the lack of fenced back yards. In the west it seems like the first thing that is built when a house goes up is the six foot backyard fence. I wonder if it is to keep “others” out or “ours” in. Perhaps people here are less worried about marking their territory.
What are the things that I have noticed now that we’ve been here for more than a week? Lots of grass, lawns are mostly grass with few flowers and bushes. Even many farms have huge lawns that all seem to be well-mown. There are more mini-vans and not as many SUVs. You will see rust on older cars, but the percentage of infected ones is less now than twenty years ago. Bike lanes do not exist. Most residential areas lack sidewalks requiring you to walk on boulevards or on the street.
So as I walk the girls or drive to and fro, I am enjoying the area. If I were to come here for the first time right now, I would think, “Not a bad place to live.” But I know that this is not normal summer weather. Where’s the 90 degree temps? Where’s the humidity? And, I know that from at least November to February, winter has its grip on this area and you are just happy if your car will start.
So am I happy to be here? You bet! Would I move back? No way. Probably not even if you gave me a house, but I have seen some colonial and Tudor style two story places in Fairmont and Mankato that would be tempting.
Thursday, July 23, 2009
Wyoming
What is Wyoming? It’s a rectangular area of 96,988 sq mi. just north of Colorado.
What is Wyoming? It’s dusty pickup trucks, mostly 4x4s.
What is Wyoming? Three out of four radio stations are country western.
What is Wyoming? Radio stations give the riders scores from the Cheyenne rodeo.
What is Wyoming? Guys wear jeans even when it’s hot.
What is Wyoming? Ball caps are always in fashion.
What is Wyoming? Time is passed on the highways by counting pronghorns.
Waht is Wyoming? Where you can see a herd of Buffalo grazing along the road.
What is Wyoming? Tall mountains, geysers, historic towns and forts.
What is Wyoming? A modern city with the same name as a ghost.
What is Wyoming? A place where oil and gas is King right now.
What is Wyoming? It’s dusty pickup trucks, mostly 4x4s.
What is Wyoming? Three out of four radio stations are country western.
What is Wyoming? Radio stations give the riders scores from the Cheyenne rodeo.
What is Wyoming? Guys wear jeans even when it’s hot.
What is Wyoming? Ball caps are always in fashion.
What is Wyoming? Time is passed on the highways by counting pronghorns.
Waht is Wyoming? Where you can see a herd of Buffalo grazing along the road.
What is Wyoming? Tall mountains, geysers, historic towns and forts.
What is Wyoming? A modern city with the same name as a ghost.
What is Wyoming? A place where oil and gas is King right now.
Heading out in July 09
Well we are finally back on the road. Our departure was later than I anticipated due to doctor’s appointments and prescriptions but we headed east about 2PM. It was an uneventful trip over Santiam Pass and thru Bend. We stopped at the rest area in Brothers to take a break and feed the “girls”. While we were parked I walked around the truck checking things out and noticed some fresh oil spots first on the steps and then, upon further searching, elsewhere. I looked under the truck and noticed some drips there too. Not a good sign. I had just had the transmission flushed and synthetic ATF added. It was not necessarily a good idea. Synthetics are slicker true, but they are also thinner so they will leak out where conventional products won’t. Anyway, I didn’t know what exactly the problem was but I knew that I needed to get it looked at. Since we were heading for a visit to Malheur on our way east, and I am familiar with Burns I decided that we would stay an extra day and get it checked at Burns Ford Garage. The bottom line is it was a $7.95 front transmission seal and $400 later it was fixed. I’m not excited about having to fix it but glad it failed in a place we know.
Speaking of being in a familiar place, that is what the Malheur area is. We were saying to each other as we drove down Hwy 205 south from Burns, “this is like coming home”. We pulled in to one of the spots at the headquarters that is reserved for volunteers and as we stepped out of the truck, we remembered one of our LEAST favorite parts of the refuge, MOSQUITOES! They are awful this time of year and don’t diminish until after the first cold nights which is late August. So there were hundreds of the pesky devils to greet us as we got the trailer set up. When we got into the trailer for the night, we spent over an hour killing over 50 mosquitoes that had sneaked into the trailer. They are even bad in town this year. While I was sitting in the Ford dealer, I was talking with a local who said that he had chickens and they took care of the mosquitoes in his yard. Chickens can be a pain the in neck but after another night at Malheur, I was wondering where I could buy some.
While the truck was being worked on, I rented a car and went back to the refuge to pick R and we drove around visiting several people we had met during last year. It was a lot of fun.
Leaving Burns we headed east on 20 to the Idaho border where we drove north on Hwy 95. Just north of Council, Id we turned west and met our friend Bob who led us up into the mountains several miles. We pulled our trailer into a Forest Service Campground called Cold Springs. Its currently being upgraded with a new gravel road and parking spots and new tables. No hook-ups but very nice and quiet. Bob and his wife are spending the summer parked along a lake not far from there. They also have not hook-ups, but you wouldn’t know it. They have solar panels and a generator so they pretty much have everything they need. They have coffee in the morning cooked by their electric coffee maker. They watch a little TV at night if they want. And they have this magnificent view from their lawn chairs every day. Not a bad way to spend the summer.
This morning we left the campsite, drove back down the 4 miles of gravel to Hwy 95 and turned north. At New Meadows we took Hwy 55 up to McCall, Id. It is a very hip town on the banks of Payette Lake. We continued down 55 to Boise and I-84. Two hundred plus miles later we turned south on Hwy 30 at Pocatello and we are still on it ( or right next to it tonight) . We are parked in a less than ordinary RV park in Monticello, Id which is in the extreme southeast corner. This is hay country. Tall green grass-like fields stretch for miles and miles in all directions in this broad valley.
Tomorrow our destination is SW Wyoming, namely Kemmerer, WY (home of the first JC Penney), Fossil Butte NM, maybe Flaming Gorge, and a wildlife refuge that I saw on the map. We are checking out future spots to volunteer, so we will be looking for interesting places that we can use our interpretive skills.
I’ll let you know how it goes.
Speaking of being in a familiar place, that is what the Malheur area is. We were saying to each other as we drove down Hwy 205 south from Burns, “this is like coming home”. We pulled in to one of the spots at the headquarters that is reserved for volunteers and as we stepped out of the truck, we remembered one of our LEAST favorite parts of the refuge, MOSQUITOES! They are awful this time of year and don’t diminish until after the first cold nights which is late August. So there were hundreds of the pesky devils to greet us as we got the trailer set up. When we got into the trailer for the night, we spent over an hour killing over 50 mosquitoes that had sneaked into the trailer. They are even bad in town this year. While I was sitting in the Ford dealer, I was talking with a local who said that he had chickens and they took care of the mosquitoes in his yard. Chickens can be a pain the in neck but after another night at Malheur, I was wondering where I could buy some.
While the truck was being worked on, I rented a car and went back to the refuge to pick R and we drove around visiting several people we had met during last year. It was a lot of fun.
Leaving Burns we headed east on 20 to the Idaho border where we drove north on Hwy 95. Just north of Council, Id we turned west and met our friend Bob who led us up into the mountains several miles. We pulled our trailer into a Forest Service Campground called Cold Springs. Its currently being upgraded with a new gravel road and parking spots and new tables. No hook-ups but very nice and quiet. Bob and his wife are spending the summer parked along a lake not far from there. They also have not hook-ups, but you wouldn’t know it. They have solar panels and a generator so they pretty much have everything they need. They have coffee in the morning cooked by their electric coffee maker. They watch a little TV at night if they want. And they have this magnificent view from their lawn chairs every day. Not a bad way to spend the summer.
This morning we left the campsite, drove back down the 4 miles of gravel to Hwy 95 and turned north. At New Meadows we took Hwy 55 up to McCall, Id. It is a very hip town on the banks of Payette Lake. We continued down 55 to Boise and I-84. Two hundred plus miles later we turned south on Hwy 30 at Pocatello and we are still on it ( or right next to it tonight) . We are parked in a less than ordinary RV park in Monticello, Id which is in the extreme southeast corner. This is hay country. Tall green grass-like fields stretch for miles and miles in all directions in this broad valley.
Tomorrow our destination is SW Wyoming, namely Kemmerer, WY (home of the first JC Penney), Fossil Butte NM, maybe Flaming Gorge, and a wildlife refuge that I saw on the map. We are checking out future spots to volunteer, so we will be looking for interesting places that we can use our interpretive skills.
I’ll let you know how it goes.
Monday, July 6, 2009
Leaving the Oregon Coast
Monday 7/6/09.
Today is our last day at the Oregon Coast. We have been within a few miles of the ocean since the last couple of days of May and it time to head home. Time to rub the moss off our backs. Time to wash the salt spray off the trailer and truck. Time to return to our home base to take care of some mundane details (doctor and dentist appointments, vehicle servicing, clothes washing, etc.) to get us ready to head out on our next adventure that will keep us out of town until the middle of October.
As I reflect on the days past, I can only smile as I remember the good times and great views we have enjoyed. We have met some great people from all over. We even had a couple from SC that we met in Canyon de Chelly stop by to see us. Overall, the stay at Cape Blanco was excellent. The area is spectacular, the job was fun and easy, and the time went by too quickly. The campground at Cape Blanco State Park is one of the finest in the Oregon State Park system with maybe two demerits. The sewer dump is closed indefinitely due to ground water failure which is something that should be addressed. The other slight item is the wind. Being the near western-most point on the continental United States, makes it frequently subject to windy conditions. Bandon is windy, Blanco is WINDY. Our first two weeks there, however, were greeted with calm conditions. The ocean was like a huge lake, with hardly a wave. But the last weeks made up for it. We even closed the lighthouse to tours one day because the winds were 40 with gust to 55mph. Those conditions made it unsafe for folks to walk and open car doors, etc.
One of the things we really enjoyed about the state park campground were the abundance and variety of the flora and fauna. Lots of greenery and flowers everywhere. Rabbits and chickarees running to and fro. Birds flitting here and there filling the air with their songs. And the hummingbirds! (Allens, I think) We put up a feeder the day we arrived and we had a visitor within the first hour. From then on they put on an aerial show for us every day. As we travel around this summer, the hummingbird feeder will be one of the first things I put out when we arrive at out campsite each night.
Today is our last day at the Oregon Coast. We have been within a few miles of the ocean since the last couple of days of May and it time to head home. Time to rub the moss off our backs. Time to wash the salt spray off the trailer and truck. Time to return to our home base to take care of some mundane details (doctor and dentist appointments, vehicle servicing, clothes washing, etc.) to get us ready to head out on our next adventure that will keep us out of town until the middle of October.
As I reflect on the days past, I can only smile as I remember the good times and great views we have enjoyed. We have met some great people from all over. We even had a couple from SC that we met in Canyon de Chelly stop by to see us. Overall, the stay at Cape Blanco was excellent. The area is spectacular, the job was fun and easy, and the time went by too quickly. The campground at Cape Blanco State Park is one of the finest in the Oregon State Park system with maybe two demerits. The sewer dump is closed indefinitely due to ground water failure which is something that should be addressed. The other slight item is the wind. Being the near western-most point on the continental United States, makes it frequently subject to windy conditions. Bandon is windy, Blanco is WINDY. Our first two weeks there, however, were greeted with calm conditions. The ocean was like a huge lake, with hardly a wave. But the last weeks made up for it. We even closed the lighthouse to tours one day because the winds were 40 with gust to 55mph. Those conditions made it unsafe for folks to walk and open car doors, etc.
One of the things we really enjoyed about the state park campground were the abundance and variety of the flora and fauna. Lots of greenery and flowers everywhere. Rabbits and chickarees running to and fro. Birds flitting here and there filling the air with their songs. And the hummingbirds! (Allens, I think) We put up a feeder the day we arrived and we had a visitor within the first hour. From then on they put on an aerial show for us every day. As we travel around this summer, the hummingbird feeder will be one of the first things I put out when we arrive at out campsite each night.
Thursday, June 11, 2009
Photos of the e
The pictures you see here were taken on 4/20/09 obviously from the air. As you can see the land sticks out into the ocean rather far. There is a controversy between Cape Blanco and Cape Alava in Washington as to which one is the westernmost point of the continental United States. It depends on the high and low tides and where they measure, etc. So to be safe, let's say it is the western-most point of Oregon.
The country here is beautiful, lots of flora and fauna to watch and enjoy. The lighthouse was built in 1870 and looks really good for 139 years on such an exposed place.
Tuesday, June 2, 2009
Cape Blanco Day One
Yesterday was another new beginning. We arrived at Cape Blanco State Park about 11:00. There was one spot left in the Volunteer RV camp area so we took it. It is a very nice long site with lots of trees, bushes, and flowers. We only got partially set up before we had to leave to go to our orientation/training for our volunteer stint at Cape Blanco. After the extensive training we received at Petrified Forest, this was a breeze. After filling out the necessary forms and viewing the Power Point presentation we were ready to go to the actual lighthouse itself. It is not open to the public on Mondays so we were the only ones around. Greg, the ranger showed us all the areas and told us stories and then he did the presentation as we are supposed to do it for our visitors. The program is a lot more structured and brief than anything we did at either Malheur or Petrified Forest. It is what they want us to present and with the increased numbers of visitors and tight area in the lighthouse, it makes sense.
Tomorrow, Wed is our first day (or should I say, half day) on the job. It should be interesting because we aren’t quite “up to speed” yet on all the facts. Our work schedule is ½ days on Wed, Thurs, & Fri. Sat off 9:45-4:00 on Sunday and Mon & Tuesday off. Very doable, I would say. We got a library card from the Port Orford Library so we can rent videos, get books, check emails, etc when we come into town, because there’s no WiFi at the park and cell coverage is spotty.
Tomorrow, Wed is our first day (or should I say, half day) on the job. It should be interesting because we aren’t quite “up to speed” yet on all the facts. Our work schedule is ½ days on Wed, Thurs, & Fri. Sat off 9:45-4:00 on Sunday and Mon & Tuesday off. Very doable, I would say. We got a library card from the Port Orford Library so we can rent videos, get books, check emails, etc when we come into town, because there’s no WiFi at the park and cell coverage is spotty.
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