My Shangri-la Beneath the Summer Moon

I talked to Morgan on Sunday night, after the inaugural stage.
After the first stage of Transrockies on Sunday they were in 16th place. After yesterday's stage two, Dos Machos Sasquatchos had slipped down to 22nd - out of 71 two person teams, in their age group.
It seems though, at least according to Morgan, that the first two days would probably be the hardest. Monday's stage had the most amount of climbing out of all the stages. And he knew that the climbs would be the hardest for him.

He said they raced through snow, rain, thunder, freezing temps, sun, hike a bike and singletrack.
Morgan's like a diesel engine. He tends to not jump at the gun, but winds his way up and along the way steadily making good progress and gradually passes all the engines flittering out - to finish pretty strong. He's strong, steady and solid.

Me, I'm an old volkswagon. More like a karmin ghia. Trying to pretend I'm cool, trying to start out fast, puttin' along and barely hanging on, but happy to be all red and shiny.
And then Matthias, well, Matthias is strong all around. Morgan mentioned that during the first stage Matthias was holding back and having to wait a little on the climbs. But things were going well for them
Today's stage looks like it'll give them a little reprieve - and less climbing. So maybe things will settle out a little bit and they'll slowly begin their ramp up.
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Here, on the west coast, shortly back from LA and the bum rush of the cat lady...
Sam fractured his ankle on Friday about an hour after I dropped him and his buddies off at camp. Some kid slide tackled him during a pickup soccer game at camp. It's hard to tell with Sam when things are really wrong. Because un like both Lulu and I, he never complains about anything. He's a lot like Morgan.

But sure enough, after 5 hours in the ER on Saturday and still not a peep of complaint from him, we had our result.
So he's recuperating at camp grandma's for the week.
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And me, well, I'm riding my bike and...

Today's donut Tuesday here at work. Every Tuesday, Dale the doorman, brings a bunch of boxes of donuts and spreads them out for all to enjoy.

I don't eat donuts. I know my limits. Donuts are like crack to me. If I even have a tiny bite of one it's all over and then the whole day is lost. It usually starts with me cutting a small corner of and having one little bite, and then while I'm standing there eating the corner I'll eat the rest. And then I'll eat another one and tell myself I'll just run/ride at lunch and it'll be ok.
This is the start of the rise up to peak, when I rationalize that if I eat only 1 or 2 more then I can have a banana and almonds in a few hours, still before lunch and still feel ok to work out.
Because right then, I feel great. And everything is beautiful.
And then, I'm spinning in circles with the golf club and hitting golf balls down the hallway into the sales area and kicking the exercise ball at people I don't necessarily like as they walk by the studio. And then I'm riding my bike through the sales floor as fast as I can trying not to hit the cubicle partition walls.

And then in another half hour, I'm sitting at my desk complaining with a headache and feeling sick and telling the photographer to shut up. All this because of donuts.
But that was at my old job.

Nowadays, I just don't eat donuts. I just turn and walk away.

Eastern Gall Rust

I took this picture in April .. but only recently figured out what it was. When looking up something else I ran across a photo of Eastern Gall Rust (Cronartium quercuum). It's similar to the Cedar Apple Rust that I wrote about last year. They are both heteroecious, which means that they require two unrelated hosts to complete the life cycle.
I learned that $10 word from the Rust page on James Worrall's excellent Forest Pathology site, where you can also learn about cankers and wilts and so many other problems that you'll be amazed that trees can survive at all.
According to one site, the portion of the tree beyond the gall normally dies, which I suppose explains why I haven't noticed this gall since the spring I took this picture.

Cactiprunes

I've read that they're supposed to shrivel in winter, to prevent damage when it freezes. But this seems a little extreme.

Opuntia humifusa, Eastern prickly pear cactus.
It's the only cactus that's native here. I remember being really surprised the first time I ever saw one growing out in a field.
It likes poor soil - dry and rocky suits it just fine. So where it grows in our backyard is probably not a good place for flowerbeds.
When the previous owner scraped out a road and put down chert on part of the property, this cactus sprang up in sunny areas along the edges. The healthiest plants are growing in a small area that was apparently cut over as a turn-around for the trucks. Wild hyacinth (Camassia scilloides) flourishes there in the spring.

Foothill Sunset

Foothill Sunset, originally uploaded by ParsecTraveller.

The hills are golden this time of the year, and while that means the wildflowers are gone too, it doesn't mean there are no scenes left to photograph.
The hills turn an ethereal pink just after the Sun sets behind the mountains. This photo shows the Sun about 30 seconds before it disappeared into the coastal hills.

Collective effort

Unfortunately there weren't enough of us today. The score in the Six Nations rugby match at Murrayfield was Scotland 6, Wales 24.
When I passed this poster (is that the right word? it seems too big for a poster) yesterday morning, the comma was up at the top of the 'y' of 'play', like an apostrophe. When I passed by on my way home in the evening, it had shifted down to be a comma. I wonder whose concern for grammar got it sorted.

SOUTH OF THE BORDER - MEXICO

Well, we've been here since November and have only one month left and hadn't been to Mexico yet, so we decide to venture down South of the Border. We hear from many Winter Texans that Nuevo Progresso is still safe.We travel down with our Canadian neighbors, Shirley and Marie - they're not chicken!



We park on the U.S. side and walk over the International Bridge - there is a 25 cent toll.

You can see the "Wall" that was built - complete with gaps - what were they thinking?The Rio GrandeCan you find the soldier in this picture? Hint . . . he is camouflaged

The main drag, full of shops, drugstores and dentists and wall to wall sidewalk vendors.Prescription drugs are 1/3 to 1/4 the cost of U.S. and you don't need a prescription to buy them. You can get a porcelain crown done for $90-$140. In one drugstore a lady was loading prescription drugs into a suitcase and most of the Dental Clinics had full waiting rooms.



It is a warm day and all the walking makes us thirsty and hungry!

A popular spot off the main drag. Unfortunately, the quaint open air marketplace where it is located has fallen by the wayside because most people are afraid to venture outside the main area.

We enjoy a nice lunch, margaritas and music.Time to go back to the States but we will return (I could use a crown or two and it is only $13 a bottlefor Tanqueray, Capt. Morgan and Absolute Peach. Hasta la Vista!



Meanwhile we keep on Trek'n Melissa & Gary

Lake Superior Aurora - Grand Portage, MN

Here's what I captured last night. Throughout the afternoon I was watching the Aurora forecast sites predicting STORM-LEVEL Auroras only to watch the index fall just as darkness was approaching in Northern Minnesota. Even though the activity level was no longer classified as "STORM" by the time it got dark here, it was still classified as "ACTIVE", so I decided to head out and watch the sky for a while. It was a good thing I did, as I saw plenty of activity in the first hour that I was looking. At first all I could see were several faint pillars of light dancing from East to West across the sky. Soon those pillars were joined by a glowing green "cloud" of light. Above the lights the sky was saturated with stars. Lake Superior was so calm the only sound coming from the shoreline below my clifftop vantage point was the barely audible, soft lapping sound of the water as it kissed the rocks along the beach. It was a sublime night for sure!