Through the Woods

Our hike today with San Antonio Hill Country Hikers started on the Government Canyon State Natural Area trail at precisely 7:45 a.m. One of the attributes I like about this group is they start on time...no dilly-dallying.

We headed out into the frontcountry on easy trails to warm up before heading uphill into backcountry. The first part of the hike was on wide, flat trails. When we ventured into the backcountry, the trails became narrower and a lot rockier. Thankfully, most of the hike was in the woods. Woods = shade!

Hill Country Hikers at one of the park overlooks.

Trail distances. (Click photo to enlarge.)

Trail map. (Click photo to enlarge.)

Shade!

Nice logo on the spur trail signs.

Well, not quite. Paul took us down to an overlook.

View from the overlook toward park headquarters.

Brief break.

Paul describing the lay of the land.

Our group with Paul, our leader.

Gone to seed.

Nice tree trunk arch frame.

Straw flower.

Horse crippler cacti.

Mountain lions inhabit area.

Saying our good-byes.

We hiked six miles this morning and learned a lot about Government Canyon: There are at least 40 miles of hiking trails, more acreage has been added to the park, and new hiking trails will be constructed; wild pigs live in the park as do rabbits and mountain lions.

There was talk of going out for pancakes after the hike and I was game, but a solid plan didn't materialize by the time we left. Instead, we stopped at Taco Cabana and each had egg and potato breakfast burritos with salsa from the Salsa Bar and a bottle of orange juice. What a great protein replenisher after the hike.

This afternoon our 5th wheel refrigerator stopped working. It's a Norcold and the display window is giving us a symbol like an "n" or upside down "u." We have tried turning it off, waiting a minute, then turning it back on. No go. We bought a bag of ice and put the most critical items in our Coleman cooler with the ice. Tomorrow I will call about our warranty and see when we can have the refrigerator fixed or replaced. Looks like we'll be eating out quite a bit until then ** or ** buying lots of ice!!



Movie review: Last night, we watched our Netflix selection, Side Effects, starring Jude Law, Rooney Mara, and Catherine Zeta-Jones. The plot was very convoluted and involved prescription anti-depressants, a murder, medical ethics, and mental instability. Our rating was so-so, maybe 2-1/2 stars.

Now we're kicking back and relaxing. Thought about going to the San Antonio Missions baseball game, but the wind kicked up, clouds moved in and there's a chance of showers or thunderstorms. Don't want to sit exposed in a stadium with lightning bolts flashing around us.

Have a good week. Travel Bug out.

Moonlight Sentinel

Last Friday night my friend Roger and I went out in search of the northern lights. The space weather forecast looked promising for a good showing of the Aurora, however nature had other plans. We watched and waited until almost 3:00 AM but never saw any lights. We did, however, experience some incredible moonlight. Almost the entire night there were these low-altitude, fast-moving clouds drifting by overhead. When we came upon this pine tree with the moon directly behind it, we knew we had to photograph the scene. This photo was made at 1:25 AM and was a 30 second exposure taken with a Canon EF 17-40mm lens.

Exploring Ocean Springs … the City of Discovery

Saturday, 20 April (Part I)
Shields RV Park — NCBC Gulfport, Mississippi
Temps: Lo 42F / Hi 71F (5.5C / 22C)

After a soggy Friday, having the forecast hold true for sunshine and comfy temperatures on the first day of the weekend was a boon.

We initially considered taking the once-daily (this time of year) boat trip out to Ship Island, which is part of Gulf Islands National Seashore. With the temp at only 50F (10C) when we set out, it was just a bit too cold to be on the water, however, so we jiggled our “jello plans” and settled on exploring nearby Ocean Springs instead. Located on the east side of Biloxi Bay, the City of Discovery is about a 25-minute drive from Gulfport. The GPS routed us there via I-10 … probably because it was faster, but I would suggest the scenic Beach Boulevard/US-90 route if you’re coming from the west. That way, you’ll be welcomed to Ocean Springs by the little red caboose, and Crooked Feather.

Crooked Feather is a 30-foot (9m) sculpture depicting Ocean Springs’ origins as a colony of the American Indian. carved by Thomas King in 1999, the sculpture replaces the original one created in the 1940's by Peter Toth; it survived Hurricane Katrina.

Coming in from I-10, however, worked to our advantage as a minor mis-direction led us to the Mississippi Vietnam Veterans Memorial, which is off the beaten path of the walking tour we had planned for ourselves.

Also on the grounds of the Mississippi Vietnam Veterans Memorial (on the right) is
a UH-1H "HUEY” Helicopter, the base for which was constructed by the Navy SeaBees.
Sharing space here is also the mast from the USS Mississippi CGN-40 (on the left).

The Mississippi Vietnam Veterans Memorial was built in 1996 as a tribute to the men and women who served in that long and horrific war. Two black granite walls face each other. Engraved on the walls are the names of the 668 Mississippians killed in the war. The photographic images of many of the GI’s listed are laser-etched into the granite as well. Limestone and concrete walls surround the memorial.

The flags of the allied nations (Australia, South Korea, New Zealand, Thailand, and South Vietnam)
who fought in the Vietnam War alongside American troops are flown at the memorial.

While all 50 states have memorials to the Vietnam War, the one in Mississippi is
unique in that engraved photographs from those memorialized are also displayed.

As we strolled around the grounds, we came upon the Tullibee Memorial, installed in recognition of the sacrifices of the nation’s submarine veterans. The Tullibee was lost after leaving Midway on 26 March 1944. The sole survivor and witness reported that the boat sank as a result of “a circular run by one of Tullibee’s torpedoes.” (If you’d like to read the story of the Tullibee, click here for the words etched in the center panel of the memorial.)

79 submariners lost their lives when the USS Tullibee went down in 1944.

Detail from elements of the Tullibee Memorial.

Left: The main mast from the retired Nuclear Cruiser USS Mississippi (CGN-40) honors Navy veterans.

Right: Memorial dedicated to the submariner’s wife. On the back are etched the words:
”This Memorial is dedicated to our wives and the hardships they went through
as they served with us.”

Our next stop took us to the L&N Depot. Formerly a passenger train station built in 1907, the building now houses the Chamber of Commerce. Our stop here was two-fold: to browse the weekly “Fresh Market” and also get tips on not-to-miss places on the walking tour. Turns out the market didn’t hold much of interest for us, but we did get to park at the Depot for free while we went on our self-guided walk around town.

“rusty art” is always good for a shutter click!

The handy-dandy walking tour map of Ocean Springs focuses on the many shops and restaurants that line the streets. There’s something to cater to every taste. But we weren’t there to eat … or to shop. We were there so Mui could get his “people-fix” and I was there to search out and photograph murals.

We must be “dope’s” since we didn’t buy any of the soaps sold at Queen’s Bath!

This post will go on forever if I don’t split it into two segments, so I am going to skip the murals — at least most of them — and the cultural center where we ended up spending far more time than we thought we would, and continue on with our post-lunch touring.

A quiet spot on the grounds of the Mary C. O'Keefe Cultural Center makes a
great spot to rest and enjoy our packed-from-home lunch.

In researching things to see in Ocean Springs, I had come across mention of the not-to-be-missed murals at the Community Center. These are no ordinary murals, mind you. Painted by Walter Anderson, they cover an entire room. The one-page brochure describes them as “…completed in 1951 and valued at more than $30 million, cover nearly 3000 square feet [278 m²]. The images depict the discovery of Ocean Springs and the beauty of the coast’s flora and fauna.” These I had to see!

Turns out that we almost didn’t get to see them. The Community Center, and the adjacent Walter Anderson Art Museum, were being set up for a fundraiser and no visitors were being allowed in. Luckily, we were given a chance to take a peek and a couple of quick snapshots. All I can say is WOW! What a place!

Sorry about the bar running through the bottom half of the photos. There was a protective barrier in front of the murals. Bad for photography, but I can understand why it’s there.

Too bad the restroom door wasn’t incorporated into the mural.

After leaving these priceless murals behind, we returned to the L&N Depot, picked up the car, and drove over to the Biloxi Bay Bridge. But before we crossed over the bay, we detoured to Front Beach Road for a look see. The locals had come out to enjoy the sunshine and warm afternoon on the beach. Deciding to take a page out of their book, we parked the car near Fort Maurepaus Park and strolled towards the pier at the far end of the road. A wide pedestrian/bike path made for a leisurely 30-minute walk. Our reward — a couple of fearless great blue herons that were perched on the railings hoping one of the fishermen would drop them a little snack!

Of course, I could have stayed on the pier for the rest of the afternoon, never tiring of the photographer-friendly GBH. But Mui convinced me that I had enough photos already. When we drove away this time, we did go over the bridge and across the bay to Biloxi.

The plan was to drive straight home … but that was before I spied a tree sculpture on the Biloxi Town Green. Of course I had to stop and photograph it. We’ve seen quite a few tree sculptures on the US-90 median between Gulfport and Biloxi, but I have to say that these varnished/painted sculptures carved from trees destroyed by Hurricane Katrina did not have the same impact on me as the Katrina Angels did (post here).

Tree sculpture carved in July by Marlin Miller; painted by his wife.
The turtle's shell carving utilizes concrete that was poured into the
trunk years ago to minimize water damage to the tree.

As I wandered around, looking for the best angle to photograph the tree sculpture, my eye was caught by a mosaic mural and a black granite wall. Curious, I walked over to check it out and scored another bonus for the day by stumbling on the Biloxi Katrina Memorial. It was built in partnership with Roy Anderson Corp and the ABC reality TV show, “Extreme Makeover: Home Edition.”

The Katrina Memorial consists of a mosaic wave, a granite wall, and a sculpture
encased in glass. The granite wall is 12 feet (3.5 m) high, about the height of
the water during Hurricane Katrina's storm surge at the Town Green.

The names of the Katrina victims are etched on the wall.
The glass-encased sculpture consists of personal keepsakes donated by Katrina Victims.

When we got in the car this time, we really did head home ... arriving just in time to gobble down a sandwich and head to a free screening of Zero Dark Thirty in the temporary theater set up in the SeaBees Museum. The movie is the story of events leading to the capture of Osama Bin Laden. Probably not everyone's cup of tea — and I could have done without the four letter words bandied about — but we found the movie interesting. And to boot, we finally got to see the one-room museum that we'd tried to visit earlier during our stay!

A Little Birdie

I sat down at the piano at dusk tonight to play my troubles away.  As I was playing Bach, I heard this little bird outside the front porch window just singing its little heart out.  It was perched on the top of the porch swing with its head thrown back just singing away.
The phone rang, and while I was walking to answer it, I was fussing about our duet being interrupted and figuring that the bird probably wouldn't come back.  
Conversation over, I sat back down and began playing again.  After a minute or two, it again started singing to my accompaniment.  Another of life's grace notes; a gift from God.  

Sun Rays at Stairway Falls

Earlier this week Jessica and I did some hiking within the Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness just off the Gunflint Trail in northeast Minnesota. We did the Caribou Rock Trail all the way to where it intersects with the Border Route Trail at Rose Lake. This is NOT an easy hike! We were prepared for a tough hike, as all the guide books say it is a difficult hike and takes much more time than you would expect. Even so, the trail was much more rugged than we were expecting! You are pretty much always hiking either uphill or downhill and the hills are often very steep. So steep, in fact, that this time of year with the majority of the leaves already blanketing the ground, it can be very difficult to tell where the trail goes. Several of the slopes along the trail were more like goat trails than people trails. It's hard to believe that a trail was constructed through such demanding terrain.



The difficulty is worth it, though, as the sights along the trail are spectacular. You pass by 4 different lakes, 2 just outside the BWCA (West Bearskin and Moss) on the first half of the hike and 2 within the boundary waters (Duncan and Rose) on the second half. There are magnificent views of each lake as you hike past them on the surrounding hilltops. The last overlook of the hike is arguably the most dramatic as you sit on an open rock ledge high above Rose Lake overlooking the vast U.S./Canada border country that surrounds you.



The final reward of the hike is a visit to Stairway Falls on Stairway Portage, which connects Duncan Lake to Rose Lake. Stairway Falls is located within a beautiful rocky gorge lined with moss and cedar trees. We were there at just the right time of day to see some amazing sun rays penetrating down into the gorge from above the waterfall. According to the guide book, the hike was 4 miles from the parking area to the Rose Lake overlook, making this an 8-mile round-trip hike. According to our GPS unit, it was just over 5 miles from the parking area to Rose Lake, which would make for just over 10 miles round-trip. Whichever was right, the guide book or the GPS, one thing is for certain: this was a strenuous hike with rewards that made it well worth the effort to get there!

Know What You Want

I found a great article on a blog called Helen Jane. Here's the link:http://helenjane.com/../05/23/know-what-you-want/">
I made a list of what I DON'T want. :
THINGS I DON'T WANT IN MY LIFE
IN GENERAL
1. Negative people and/or people telling me I can't do something
2. Frantic activities
3. No margins
4. Being gone from home too much
5. No time for creativity
6. Being overweight
7. Sickness/Weakness
8. Spending too much time on minutia
9. Spreading myself too thin in time and/or relationships
10. Ungratefulness
What do I WANT in my life? The opposite of the above plus some.

Golden Gate Sea Kayak Symposium, part one

We just returned from the second annual Golden Gate Sea Kayak Symposium and we're still processing the experience and the photos. This was an unusual symposium for us because we attended as students, not as instructors. Alec took the BCU four-star training with Gordon Brown and Tom Burgh, while Sharon chose courses that would give her more experience paddling Pacific coast features like rock gardens and tidal races.

We've always loved Marin County, where the symposium was based. Just across the Golden Gate Bridge from San Francisco, the Marin Headlands were almost developed in the 1960s but saved by a lawsuit and protected instead as part of the Golden Gate National Recreation Area. Coaches and participants stayed at the Marin Headlands Hostel, a former US Army base now converted into a hostel and arts center, and classes were based in Horseshoe Cove near Sausalito.

An aerial view of Horseshoe Cove.We've visited this area more than a dozen times over the past two decades to hike the hills, explore the historic fortifications, and collect driftwood from the beaches. It's long been a favorite vacation destination, but we never paddled in the Pacific ocean or the San Francisco Bay. Until now.

Sharon, gearing up for a day on the water.

The symposium featured an all-star cast of coaches from around the world. (Check the website for the complete list.) But we were also drawn by the opportunity to meet many of the excellent but lesser-known west coast coaches who were the backbone of this successful event. We weren't disappointed.

Cindy Scherrer isn't a lesser-known west coast coach, but she is one of our favorites.

Ironically, we also spent considerable time with midwestern coaches Kelly Blades (an old friend) and Mark Pecot (a new friend). How odd to go 2,000 miles to hang with your home team. Kelly Blades, always on.Check back tomorrow for more about the courses we took and the things we learned.