Friends,
I am finding that Facebook is not to my cup of tea. In the future all
photos will be sent via Flickr.
Aloha,
Norm (Greynomad)
Friday, September 30, 2011
Saturday, September 24, 2011
US/Canada Travels for 24 September 2011
US/Canada Travels for 24 September 2011
Kentucky Illinois Missouri Texas Hawaii
The family that I stayed with while volunteering for the Padre Island
National Seashore, Corpus Christi, Texas, the dad has a farm in the
Good Old Boy country just north of Elizabethtown, Kentucky. So for the
next few days it was Geocaching, no showers, pit bulls, and bloody
mules braying all night long.
Finally made a break for it and headed for Land Between the Lakes in
southwest Kentucky. Unfortunately I was only able to spend a night
there as getting into Missouri was a priority where the Goatmobile
will be stored for the next 2-3 months before I am back in mid
December.
The Goatmobile now resides in with friends I met through my travels in
the Pacific working for Fish and Wildlife Service. The wife of sorts
consider herself the ultimate Green Machine growing chicks from the
shell to eating size while spreading chicken scat throughout her
neighbors back yard and the counties drinking water system. She in her
own little way has increased the number of Green Toyota Prius on the
road by selling her previous one then buying another. Of course the
only sane one is the husband who has managed to secure a job with The
Nature Conservancy as a consultant traveling to Berlin, Beijing, and
Japan pushing plastic water bottles from Wal-Mart.
Flying from St. Louis, Missouri to Corpus Christi, Texas was next
where for the next few days it was laying in the sun, checking on my
volunteer position for next year and drinking cheap wine, very cheap
wine…… My bag did not make the trip with me and it wasn't for another
12 hrs that the bloody airline found it. One airline one bag……………..!
The time had come that I had to head home to sunny Hawaii looking at
12 hrs flying time. Some how in my thinking that the airlines still
offered free meals and movies for flights over 3 hours. Was I ever
mistaken and of course the seats have moved closer and smaller for the
enjoyment of all.
As I sit now in Hawaii surrounded by naked dancing hula dancers,
drinking Mai tai's by the pitcher full, palm trees swaying in the
distance and the cool ocean breeze
blowing off the ocean……..I would rather be in North Dakota fighting
the Black flies, stale beer, a ten days of no showers and me last box
of wine then the easy life.
I end this trip with new friends, routes taken, Geocaching numbers
up, and the anticipation of next year's travels.
Aloha and mahalo for this year, keep the rubber down…………..
The Greynomad
Tuesday, September 20, 2011
Adult truths...these are far and away too true and funny to boot
Adult truths: 01. Sometimes I'll look down at my watch 3 consecutive times and still not know what time it is. 02. Nothing stinks more than that moment during an argument when you realize you're wrong. 03. I totally take back all those times I didn't want to nap when I was younger. 04. There is great need for a sarcasm font. 05. How the heck are you supposed to fold a fitted sheet? 06. Was learning cursive really necessary? 07. Map Quest really needs to start their directions on # 5. I'm pretty sure I know how to get out of my neighborhood. 08. Obituaries would be a lot more interesting if they told you how the person died. 09. I can't remember the last time I wasn't at least kind of tired. 10. Bad decisions make good stories. 11. You never know when it will strike, but there comes a moment at work when you know that you just aren't going to do anything productive for the rest of the day. 12. Can we all just agree to ignore whatever comes after Blue Ray? I don't want to have to restart my collection ...again. 13. I'm always slightly terrified when I exit out of Word and it asks me if I want to save any changes to my ten-page technical report that I swear I did not make any changes to. 14. I keep some people's phone numbers in my phone just so I know not to answer when they call. 15. I think the freezer deserves a light as well. 16. I disagree with Kay Jewelers. I would bet on any given Friday or Saturday night more kisses begin with Miller Lite than Kay. 17. I wish Google Maps and GPS systems had an "Avoid Ghetto" routing option. 18. I have a hard time deciphering the fine line between boredom and hunger. 19. How many times is it appropriate to say "What?" before you just nod and smile because you still didn't hear or understand a word they said? 20. I love the sense of camaraderie when an entire line of cars team up to prevent a jerk from cutting in at the front. Stay strong, brothers and sisters! 21. Shirts get dirty. Underwear gets dirty. Pants? Pants never get dirty, and you can wear them forever. 22. Even under ideal conditions people have trouble locating their car keys in a pocket, finding their cell phone, and Pinning the Tail on the Donkey - but I'd bet everyone can find and push the snooze button from 3 feet away, in about 1.7 seconds, eyes closed, first time, every time. 23. The first testicular guard, the "Cup," was used in Hockey in 1874 and the first helmet was used in 1974. That means it only took 100 years for men to realize that their brain is also important. Ladies......Quit Laughing. |
Friday, September 16, 2011
Thursday, September 15, 2011
US/Canada Travels for 15 September 2011
US/Canada Travels for 15 September 2011
Pennsylvania, West Virginia, Kentucky
It is Muncy, Pennsylvania, spending time at the Tewksbury Organic Farm
for a week or so. Right off I have a list of projects that would keep
me busy for months but thankfully the Senior Citizens labor Laws kept
me to only 150 hrs of work per week. Thinking that my travels
Geocaching would have kept me in decent shape for farm work proved a
bit of wistful thinking. The first few days there oxygen was in short
supply or energy in this body of mine to even think of the next day
events.
Thankfully they have a handicap free spirit tattooed flower child who
shows up with her wheel chair every Thursday, motorized of course with
racing slicks on the back, to handle the small jobs of picking the
maggots out of the tomatoe patch. Anything motorized is not allowed on
the farm, matter of fact the only thing that is allowed on wheels is a
wheel barrel; even then it had to be blessed by organic bunny of
nonsense.
I arrived in the sunshine and leave in the rain. Matter of fact I was
out the door on 6 September and the rain is forecasted to last another
4-5 days regardless how far south you travel. Traveled south to the
sunny (rainy) town of Confluence, Pennsylvania for 4-5 days of
Geocaching but the forecast for the next week was rain and more rain.
Found a small Navy base with a RV sight in Sugar Grove, West Virginia,
now getting to Sugar Grove via GPS had me down roads that had not seen
a motor vehicle in the last `100 years…………..Sugar Grove it was for the
next 4 days in the George Washington National Forest Geocaching,
getting lost without cell phone service and still had fun.
Leaving Sugar Grove and heading west to the Daniel Boone National
Forest in Kentucky is not a straight line affair for those who think
that the great road system in the US has a path waiting for the weary
traveler. Well then they haven't traveled though West Virginia, we
first travel south 75 miles on Virginia 220 then
Route 64 west is waiting for us. We then look at Rt 64 and decide that
why are we traveling south when Rt 60 provides a straight line of
approach. What we find out on Rt 60 is small towns, every bloody
biker in West Virginia and speed limits of 25 mph and not one straight
road to be had and a Harley – Davidson Motorcycle dealer in the middle
of nowhere until you realize that every biker on Rt 60 is a Hog
rider.
Finally we find Daniel Boone National Forest and a site for the next 5
days. The vehicle GPS is on the blink so its Google Maps that provide
the guiding light. Did you know that the fine state of Kentucky will
not sell booze on Sunday's as we are in the middle of the bible belt .
Here is a state that is as crooked as any other in the south and the
bloody twits will not sell me a cheap box of the finest wine out of
eastern Africa made out of kuku berries.
Morehead, Kentucky is the nearest big town and Wal-Mart for sure. The
gates to the National Forest close as of 1 October and will reopen
next year in March where the temp's might be just a bit cool. What
makes traveling early spring and late fall is the absence of kids and
the noise factor of plus 100.
I am out of Daniel Boone National Forest the 15th of September and
keep motoring west, west to another spot where friends gather, drink
fine Kentucky Bourbon and cheat at the cards.
May you all be blessed with a good case of crabs, run out of your case
of Depends diapers and just enjoy life with heartburn………..
Aloha,
The Greynomad
Monday, September 12, 2011
Monday, September 5, 2011
2011 Pictures
Aloha Everyone clicking on this link with bring you to my new Flickr
account with pic's from this
years tour........enjoy. Those lucky few that have traveled with me
via Facebook have another chance to review.....
account with pic's from this
years tour........enjoy. Those lucky few that have traveled with me
via Facebook have another chance to review.....
The Greynomad
Start Your Day with a Texas State Photographer Video-wonderful
Subject: Start Your Day with a Texas State Photographer Video
This should entertain you.
This should entertain you.
West Texas
Sunday, September 4, 2011
Para hawking---
Para hawking---
A new concept in flight training. Parahawking!
This video was taken at Torrey Pines ... just north of La Jolla.
http://www.parahawkusa.com/Home.html
Thursday, September 1, 2011
US/Canada Travels for 1 September 2011
US/Canada Travels for 1 September 2011
Ohio – West Virginia (blink) – Pennsylvania
Wright Patterson Air Force Base, Fairborn, Ohio. It was near here that
the Wright Brothers made their famous flight, sponsored by Kentucky
Fried Chicken no less.
So for 7 days I stayed here Geocaching on all points of the compass.
Recovery rate was not the best as the bulk of caches centered on the
numerous steel bridges that date the growth of the farming community.
You only have to bump your head just so many times crawling under
these relics that a proper case of the backside develops trying to
find a small magnet black key box with log. All manners of small
biting, crawling, and blood sucking insects are waiting for you in the
best of form.
The best one for this time period was sticking my hand into a hole,
which was a nest for ground wasps. Nasty indivisibles with an
attitude. I don't know how many times my hand took a hit but I was
moving at an accelerated rate far beyond the speed of my swearing. Of
course the initial shock is the discomfort, for a better term, then
the swelling to the size of a baseball glove. Of course the worse part
besides swelling which lasted 3-4 days was the itching of the hand
over the same period. This itching was cured by an old Aussie remedy
from the turn of the century where you had to soak the hand in a
bucket of chilled beer for a minimum of 3-4 hours a day. This of
course had to be done at night while watching the telly and
replenishing the beer as it got warm. This remedy has been validated
from all of my mates in the southern latitudes and you can go to
www.beer_cure.com for more good info.
Out of the Air Force Base and head southeast to the Ohio River then
follow Route 7 north through the Wayne National Forest. Just above
Wade, Ohio we find the first, in my case, a National Forest campsite
that not only has electrical hookups for RV's but hot showers. This
particular campsite sits right on the Ohio River and right across from
the site sits Bygone West Virginia, which of course is still in the
19th century as far as kerosene lamps and horse and mule wagons for
transportation.
If thou has never driven up the Ohio Valley on Route 7 then you have
never lived. When I say that COAL is king you best believe it. I saw 4
huge power plants and all depended on coal for fuel. The Ohio Valley
takes you into the 19 hundreds with the houses and streets as they
were then. Majestic, beautiful, dirty, it's all there, and I wish that
I could of spent the time walking through the region photographing the
landscape what a story it would tell.
Finally crossed into Pennsylvania and headed north into the Allegheny
National Forest where I will be staying at an Army Corp of Engineering
Recreational site with all of the bells and whistles for $14.00 per
night. The showers are a right pain, this is where you have to
continually push a small button to keep a constant flow of water and
of course the hot water temp is right above freezing, but no worries
as I am looking at 10 days of no showers for this period of time.
There are areas in the Allegheny forest that you definitely don't want
to be caught in. Some of red necks are still contesting the out come
of the civil war and the confederate flags attest to that. It is the
land of," The Good Old Boys" and some one with a Boston accent would
best moving on. For Geocaching it has to be some of the most enjoyable
for terrain wise. Did a lot of humping getting to some of the remote
caches, of course this only led to off setting the loss fluids through
sweat by drinking greater quantities of red wine which led to
heartburn, etc………….
We continue east to Muncy, Pennsylvania right behind Hurricane Irene
that just passed through the eastern seaboard. Some wind damage in
Muncy but nothing compared to Vermont and New York. Weather wise for
Muncy and the surrounding area looks good while here at the organic
farm of little people. The day starts early and only when the sun sets
does work end. The farm is a great feeder though and the body has made
quite an adjustment from Power Bars, box wine and hummus to food that
actually benefits the body.
September will find ourselves moving south into Kentucky and Missouri
for our finally leg of this journey.
Stay safe out there, chew your food properly, don't pass gas in
public, and last of all conserve water by taking only one shower a
month regardless of your neighbor's complaints.
Aloha,
The Greynomad
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
