The Photos Speak for Themselves

These are all from our last full day on vacation and were taken in the subalpine region near Hurricane Ridge in Olympic National Park. Lets just say it was a terrific vacation. We probably crammed way too much into one week. Drove 1300 miles. Hiked 36 miles. Had some wildlife encounters (including multiple bears).

Dealing with that first week back to work is always the worst, although a light schedule and my fellow physicists made it easier this time. We had a lot of adventures. Great times!

It's Always Something...

Now that I can breathe a sigh of relief about the national parks being open during my vacation, I found an even bigger problem with my travel plans: SNOW!!! Since the trip is days away, I started checking trail reports. I did not anticipate that nearly every trail I want to hike would still be covered by a thick layer of snow in August. Apparently the Pacific Northwest got record amounts of snowfall last winter, which has failed to melt in the usual timeframe. The higher elevation trails are either impassible, impossible to reach because the roads are also snowed under, or both. Lower elevation trails can be challenging due to fallen trees and high flow creeks and streams due to melting runoff. The net result will be that we have to modify where we visit and will probably not get to do nearly as much hiking as I had hoped for. PDM might prefer this arrangement, but I am disappointed that I won't get to walk through an alpine meadow filled with wildflowers and surrounded by beautiful mountains (unless I can find one that isn't under several feet of snow).

I am also a bit concerned that with far fewer places to spread out, the crowds might be much larger than what we'd prefer (we would rather not have ANY company on a trail other than plants and wildlife of the type that doesn't eat people). Still looking through my books and guides for creative alternatives, and hoping that our innkeepers will be able to point us toward paths less traveled, or maybe the park rangers will have some suggestions. But I am still astounded that my August vacation plans are all shot to hell because of snowpack. That just amazes me - and never crossed my mind when planning this trip.

Alive and Kicking

'Been a while. Figured I should let people know I am still alive (PDM and the cats are all OK as well - I know LL must have been worried sick). I haven't been posting since my work assignment changed a month ago*. When I feel like posting, I don't have time. When I have time, I don't feel like posting. Thus my month of silence.

I don't really feel much like posting right now, so I will leave you with the little blurb below and this photo of the morning sky over the north Georgia mountains, where PDM and I had a short getaway last weekend. We stayed in a cottage at a state park, and this was the view from our back porch. Not bad, eh?

*Still covering the gritty downtown location, but now I spend the other three days at the upscale midtown location. I was feeling burned out at the main location, so I am generally happy that they switched me to new horizons. Traffic is more of a hassle since I am going into the heart of Atlanta every day, but on the plus side my lunch choices have improved dramatically. You gotta look at the positive. This is a good thing long term, but in the short term there is a situation that makes this change very challenging and sometimes irritating. It should smooth out in a few months (fingers crossed). Maybe I won't be quite so damn busy after that. One can always hope.

Big Ol' Jet Airliner

No, I'm not going to a Steve Miller concert. But I am going to California tonight for a visit with my sister in Encinitas. Mom's coming too. As usual, it is taking me hours to get my sh*t together and pack a bag.

I'm not taking PDM, which means only one thing for him: Booze and Hookers!!! He talks a big game, but in reality it will be more like "Beers and Burrito de Puerco!"

A Fun October? Signs Point to YES.

Two home games, both starting at the respectable hour of 3:30pm. One away game (time unknown) coupled with a weekend visit with PDM's brother. A week off work in between games. A trip to visit my sister in the San Diego area during that week (paid for with frequent flyer miles rather than actual money). New stuff (good stuff!) to watch on the tube. Comfortable temps, but without the yard making heavy demands for maintenance yet. I'm thinking October could be a lot of fun.

Silent Roar

One of my photos from the Philly trip. You can see more here.

Solo

The last night of a business trip is my alone time. By this time, I've seen everyone I wanted to see, and socialized with my co-workers who are here on several occasions. Brain is full. Body is tired. And I've got one more night alone before I go home to PDM and the cats. The last night of a trip is my time for indulgence.

After my last session, I came back the room and took a long nap. Got up and went for a long walk around Philly, solo. After sundown, I enjoyed a room service supper and a bottle of local wine that I bought at the Reading Terminal Market (which is a wonderful place). Pretty good wine for east coast winery.

I fly home tomorrow. PDM tells me that Stray Cat Romeo isn't eating very much this week. Maybe he misses me. We'll find out tomorrow! On Friday, it is back to business as usual.

Traveling Again

Q. What's dark, ridiculously loud, and kind of stinky?

A. The last row of a MD-88 aircraft.

I'm in Philly until Thursday, for a frenzied week of continuing education activities (oh, joy). The 7:30am start time doesn't thrill me, nor do the long days, but it will be fun to see some old friends.

Lodge Cats

Some comfy cats at the lodge in Utah where we stayed on vacation. Ah, I miss vacation...

They also had buffalo.

A Weekend Unplugged

Spent a three-day weekend up in the mountains. No internet, no TV. Never missed the tube at all, and the only time I missed the internet is when we decided to go hiking on a different mountain and I didn't have a Georgia map with me. We ended up finding a rudimentary map of the area on the back of the park brochure that was good enough and didn't have any trouble getting to the trailhead (other than dealing with some dickwad yokel tailgating me the last several miles).

We had some (mostly) quiet R&R, along with a few nice hikes. The cooler weather worked out just fine. Much more pleasant for hiking, and was just chilly enough to make it worth building a fire at night. Saw a few critters, including a rat snake in the middle of the trail, and a couple of lizards. The night sky was amazing. I'm thinking I should unplug more often.

Photo: Gold Mine Creek cascades down the mountainside along the Big Rock Nature Trail at Fort Mountain State Park.

Island Dreams

The island trip was nice, but too short. Seeing family was nicer, and now I am back home and PDM's family is here for the holiday.

It was overcast and gray the whole time on Saint Simons Island. I only took a few photographs. I liked this one of the trees. Spanish moss is a parasite, but it is pretty. This was taken at Fort Frederica.

Happy Thanksgiving, y'all.

Going Away

I'm off to St. Simons Island on Sunday to have some vacation time with my family. Heading back to the ATL on Wednesday, just in time for the another big family invasion (PDM's brothers + mom) of our home for Turkey Day. About a dozen people here overnight at the peak of all this. Stressing about it just a little bit. Which explains the five-day migraine I had this week. We'll deep clean the house and try to get everything ready on Saturday and hope that it doesn't get too dirty again by Wednesday, when I get here and most everyone else does, too. At the tail end of Thanksgiving weekend we have our big rivalry game after a full day of tailgating. Lots of stuff going on.

I'll probably be off the grid while on the island, and very busy when I get back. If I don't get another chance to say so - have a happy Thanksgiving! And To Hell With Georgia! (It's never too early to get your hate on.)

Nickeled and Dimed

I'm in Chicago on a business trip. Had to pay $15 to check my suitcase on the flight. The very expensive hotel I'm in charges for wireless internet access. Cheaper hotels usually give you wireless for free, along with breakfast. (Right now, I am using the free wi-fi at the convention hall.) I skipped the expensive breakfast at the expensive hotel and grabbed some tea and banana bread from Starbucks. My 16 ounce hot tea costs more than a 12 ounce tea, but they both only use only one tea bag. The vending machines for Chicago's rail system do not accept credit cards, and they don't give back change. I will have to hunt around for correct change next time. You also don't get a receipt, which will complicate my expense reporting. My employer wants proof of every little thing to a ridiculous degree, so I guess I will try taping the used transit card to my paperwork and see if that satisfies the corporate overlords. If nothing else, now I can say I've ridden the 'L'.

Lake Louise

Click here for the embiggened version (which is much prettier!).

Reliving vacation, one area at a time. Like I said earlier, it will take some time for me to sort through all the photos and clean the best ones up for posting on Flickr. I adjusted only exposure -- NOT color. The lake really is that bright and blue. We got there early in the morning and successfully avoided the crowd at this very popular destination.

Oh, Canada!

Photograph: Victoria Glacier and reflection from Lake Louise early in the morning, August 2, 2009.

We're back.

The Canadian Rockies are incredibly beautiful in August. Photographs do not do it justice - you have to take in the entire vista with your own eyes. Even the money is pretty. We had a very good time and might even have lost a bit of weight with all of the hiking we did. I took over 850 photographs, which will take a little time to sort out. I will no doubt share them one area at a time.

If any of you are contemplating a trip to the Canadian Rockies - do it! And get this book, which was an indispensable guide: Parkways of the Canadian Rockies. I have the third edition, copyright 1988 that I purchased during my 1994 visit, but there is a spiffy new 5th edition that I saw in a bookstore at Lake Louise Village that looked great.

We were sorry to have to leave it all behind to go back home (and to a heat wave, no less). We both have a lot of bullshit to "look forward to" at work. But it was a great week off - no TV, no news, no internet (except trail reports, weather, and checking in with Mom once a day), no phones, no nothing except boots on the trail and some good chow when we got back to our temporary home base of Lake Louise Village.

Big Plans

We are heading for the Rockies tomorrow. The Canadian Rockies, eh.

Yes, we're finally going on that much-needed vacation, and the only downside (other than the cost) is having to get up at 3:30am in order to make the early morning flight. We're looking forward to a week of scenic hikes, paddles, and drives within the four national parks that line the continental divide up in that neck of the woods: Banff, Yoho, Kootenay, and Jasper. Plus... hot springs!

Mom will be coming over to cat sit for the week, and she is bringing all of her little dogs. She reads this blog and the comments, so wish them all luck! Not sure who will have the hardest week -- the dogs, the cats, or Mom. Hopefully the house will survive and no one gets hurt.

The Road Less Traveled

Went on a road trip last weekend with Mom. We visited Warm Springs and Pine Mountain/Callaway Gardens. There wasn't a convenient interstate route from A to B, and that was just fine with us. Our country road trip was very pleasant. Hardly another vehicle on the road. Slowed down a few times going through a small town, and there were some traffic lights here and there, but all in all it was an enjoyable journey.

The interstate might have saved us twenty or thirty minutes, but the trip would have been far less memorable. I'd rather enjoy the journey.

Try it sometime. You might be surprised.

A Quick Update

Silvio came home this afternoon. He's not 100% back to normal with the peeing though. We'll see how it plays out from here. I worry because PDM has to work a long day tomorrow and I am not going to be home to check on him. It wouldn't do any good to have a friend stop in because Silvio would just hide.

That's all I have the energy to write for now. I've been out all day and still need to eat supper (yes, I know it is 10:30pm). I'll blog about it later, but today I saw some old friends - one here in Boston, and the other out in the boonies where I used to live. It was quite the project getting to Southbridge. Walked to the station, took the subway to the airport, then shuttle bus to rental car place, then long drive on the Mass Pike. It was gorgeous and sunny all day long, but somehow I had to drive through torrential rain to return the car to the airport. Weird. At least it stopped by the time I had to walk back to the hotel.

I'm in Boston, and Silvio is still not home.

Silvio started to get blocked again this afternoon, so he is spending the night at the "after hours" vet under observation. Will know more tomorrow. That "turn him into a girl" surgical option is starting to look more likely. We'll see what happens.

Meanwhile, I am in Boston for a conference until Wednesday. Finally got settled in. Nice hotel -- glad I'm not paying for it! (Especially with the cat week we've just had...) Now I am waiting on room service to deliver my very long delayed supper. 5:30pm is a bad time to fly. Too early to eat before you leave, and no decent food available until you land. I'm starving!!

Stimulating the Economy

We are doin' it all over the place this week, in spite of not going much of anywhere on vacation. Dropped some cash at the Tennessee Aquarium on Monday, and even bought the souvenir photo, mostly because it was a good picture of both of us and we don't have many of those (and the fake background made us laugh). Spent some dough today on a new sofa and chair for our living room. We'll donate the old sleeper sofa and loveseat (they were a hand-me-down to PDM years ago). Still looking for coffee and end tables. And we'll need some smaller speakers to replace the big muthas that we are currently using. Went shopping for porch furniture and narrowed it down enough to plunk down some moolah tomorrow - two shops will be competing for our business. Picked up Big Daddy and Grandmother's 60-year old glider and took it to a mom-n-pop shop to be sandblasted and powder coated. I can't wait to see it looking just about as good as new. We'll order some custom cushions for it, probably at yet another locally owned business. Or, I might get industrious and order the material to make them myself.



On deck for tomorrow: some unusual altruism involving... the big chop. I'm a bit nervous about it. Gulp.