CY Rider

Wind Turbine Resistance

2009-11-12T08:13:00.008-05:00

It begins! The resistance I predicted that would come to the Grand Rapids Water Departments desire to put up two commercial size wind turbines on their lake front facility property has begun!

Not in my backyard! Give me a break!

In the Wednesday edition of the Grand Haven Tribune, a Letter to the Editor is expressing dismay concerning noise and light flicker issues. The couple that signed the letter mention that these machines make noise and we should be very concerned about that.

The couple that has expressed this concern live in a $2,000,000 lake front home just north of Lake Michigan Drive on the west side of Lake Shore Drive, south of Grand Haven, Michigan. Their home will be approximately 4000 feet away from the installation site for these two wind turbines. They will have no view of the turbines from their home as there is a small rise with large oak trees between them and the water treatment plant. The turbine site is at a lower elevation south of the water treatment plant.

One study published by the Renewable Energy Research Laboratory at the University of Massachusetts (www.ceere.org/rerl) recommends a wind turbine noise study be completed and published if there will be residences within a distance of three times the blade tip height of the site of the turbine. For this particular installation that would be a distance of 900 feet. My guess as to the likely site described in the press release would put the closest home at further than 2300 feet from the turbines. Almost three times the distance above what would be recommended for a study.

Some other considerations for this resistance is the ambient noise that will exist at this site. The roadway that runs north and south on the west side of the water treatment plant has a 55 mile per hour speed limit. At times such as normal going to and coming home from work there is considerable traffic on this road. Truck traffic is restricted to minimal use on this road by the Grand Haven Township.

The most significant source of ambient noise at this site, that would cancel any and all noise generated by these wind turbines, is the sound of Lake Michigan's waves coming ashore on the beach. This wave noise results in a roar that can be heard for quite some distance from the beach. The location of this particular couples home is within 100 feet of the beach. Noise generated by waves and the wind blowing unabated from the Lake results in a roar that would drown out any downwind sources of the magnitude generated by these wind turbines.

Another issue they complain about is "light flicker". This is a result of the light from the sun shining at a low angle, such as sunrise and sunset, through the blades causing a flickering shadow striking a residence. This can be very annoying for the home owner. There are three homes to the east of the proposed site that may have a "light flicker" problem. I don't have the capability to determine if this will be a problem at this site. The homes are approximately 2300 feet away, at minimum, and the wind turbines will be approximately 300 feet tall. From very rough calculations, the sun would be lower then 7 degrees above the horizon to cause a shadow to fall across these homes. With the local vegetation and the lake front dune, which at this area is not very high, this may or may not be an issue.

What really amazes me is the resistance to wind turbines with little or no experience or thought as to other noise or environmental issues.

Vehicle travel on Lake Shore Drive is especially heavy during the summer months. This is especially of greater concern during these months as windows are more likely to be open. The current popularity with Harley Davidson motorcycles is one of particular concern. The term "Rolling Thunder" is one that is applied with particular pride by the motor cycling crowd with regard to these machines. The louder the better. They even use the argument that it is safer if they are loud because more people are aware of them. Where is the resistance to this noise? Are current noise regulations enforced concerning these vehicles? Obviously not!

The current season brings to the fore front another annoying noise. Leaf blowers! The prevalence of these extremely loud devices and their constant use by landscape maintenance crews and home owners is much more of an issue then the wind turbines.

This area has an excellent example of what the wind turbine installation is trying to mitigate. We have the Consumers Power Campbell Coal Fired Electric Generating facility just south of the GR Water Treatment Plant. This plant is a 1440 MW base load generating plant. The base load designation means that it is running the majority of the time. This facility has provided the area with many millions of dollars of taxes to provide services for the people living in this area.

The generating facility is almost hidden behind the mountain of coal that is burned at this site.

Unfortunately, this generation process burns coal. Lots of it! Over 5 million tons of coal every year. This results in long trains running through the city of Holland that most people that live in this area have experienced. Consumers Power has spent millions of dollars to reduce the amount of effluent going out the smoke stacks. This does not reduce the carbon dioxide resulting from the process. Additionally, the stacks are built very high to distribute the particulate matter and other effluents over a greater area. Is this what we want, more of this?

The resistance expressed in the Letter to the Editor appears to be a reiteration of ignorant self serving resistance to any change. The demand for electricity is growing daily. Do we want to do everything possible to implement alternative generation systems or do we want to build more coal burning plants?

The policies that have been adopted by the city of Grand Rapids to investigate and implement any alternative that proves feasible to get to 100% renewable energy sources should be celebrated and supported, not vilified for effects that are not relevant.

Thank you Grand Rapids for your efforts! An information and comment meeting will be held at the Grand Haven Township Hall on November 30, 2009 at 6pm to 8pm.

The Hilly Hundred

2009-10-26T12:48:00.011-04:00

John Muir told us: "Climb the mountains and get their good tidings. Nature's peace will flow into you as sunshine flows into trees. The winds will blow their own freshness into you... while cares will drop off like autumn leaves."

Well, we didn't exactly hit the mountains but we found some steep hills in southern Indiana. A friend, Tim, the owner of Rock & Road bike shop, and I, loaded up his VW Euro-van and headed south Friday evening. We had heard all about a ride near Bloomington, in Elletsville, Indiana, called the Hilly Hundred. It is a two day event with a fifty mile loop on Saturday and a different fifty mile loop on Sunday.

Along with several other regular riders from the Grand Haven area, we decided to make a weekend of the trip. Since the rides were "only" fifty miles there would be college football to watch in the afternoon on Saturday (& beer).

The start of this great adventure did not go so well. The trip down was made in torrential rain for almost the entire trip. The deluge stopped just south of Indianapolis. Our arrival at the venue required us to watch a safety video and check in. Tim and I were going to camp at the Ellettsville High School, where the rides would start on both days. We completed the check-in and proceeded over to our camp site. To say the ground was wet would be misleading, to say it was flowing would probably describe it better. We managed to find spots that were not completely underwater and pitched out tents. I mentioned to Tim I hoped my Thermorest mattress would float me above the wetness. As it turned out the tents did a great job, it was only our feet in the bike shoes that suffered. Why do those things have holes in the bottom?

The Saturday ride turned out to be a challenge in more ways then the hills. More rain moved in Friday night and it was still misting at 9am when we launched on the ride. Since it was raining I did not bring my camera. I was also a little nervous concerning the advertised gradient of the hills we would be riding. In the Grand Haven area, the maximum grade we encounter is about 9% on 5-Mile Hill. We would see 18% on Saturday and 23% on Sunday. My bike has a 39-26 low gear. Most people rode with a triple crank set.

The Saturday ride starts out with a short hill with a 12% grade. This was wet and covered with leaves. Twice I came to an abrupt halt when my back wheel spun out on the slippery surface. Once we got over that hill, conditions improved, at least the roads were a bit cleaner.

Both days have rest stops and lunch at 10-15 mile intervals. This is way generous! The food was great at all rest stops and fried chicken was served for both lunches. You could have made a real pig of yourself, but then you would be hauling more "stuff" up over the hills.

After lunch, Tim and I got hooked up with a group of 6 college students from Indiana University doing the Hilly Hundred as a training ride. Great fun, riding up and down the hills as a group. We were really moving along averaging about 40kph on the flats and stomping up the hills.

The last big climb of the day, Water Tower Hill, did me in and I was spit out the back of the group. This is billed as a 0.8 mile 17% grade climb. It was! I did manage to catch the group on the back side as they slowed near the end. I thanked them for dragging the "old man" around on their ride. What fun!

We spent our afternoon and evening in Bloomington, Indiana, watching football, University of Michigan and Penn State and fueling (& beer) for the next day. Unfortunately, Michigan was pummeled by Penn State.

The camping Saturday night was much better then the night before, as the deluge had subsided. The stars were out but we were tired so went to bed by 10pm. I was awakened in the night by some coyotes howling at the neighborhood dogs.

Sunday dawned nicely, with a bit of clouds and a great sunrise. Our group managed to get together at 9am for the start.

Along with 5500 of our best friends and bike riders.

Both days amazed me that there can be that many people in one place all riding their bikes at the same time. At almost no time on these fifty mile rides were you out of sight of many others. This was a truly eclectic group. All manner of bike, gear, clothing and ages and gender.

One of the longest climbs, is the Bean Blossom Hill. This one goes on for about 2 miles and has a 17% maximum. Most of the hill is a much more reasonable grade.

This is the view at the climax of this hill.

There is a screaming downhill after this climb. This downhill was the one really scary part of the ride, not so much the downhill itself, but one rider in the group I was in went off the edge of the road at around 35mph. He did a great job of keeping it under control and getting back on the road in an upright manner.

Lunch came at about 28 miles on Sunday.

Does this bagel make my face look fat?

The crowds at the rest stops and lunch were much heavier on Sunday, probably due to the improved weather.

Our group rode together for a while after lunch in anticipation of the crux move of this tour.

The Mt. Tabor climb.

This is a short wall billed as 0.2 mile and 20%, with 23% on the inside of the turn at the top. It was that and there was traffic, bikes and cars. The lead up to this climb has a nice down grade for several miles so I was flying along not really thinking about this climb. All of a sudden, the road ducks into some woods and seems to go straight up.

I geared down and started cranking. People were falling out all over, this bad boy was steep. I got into the surge forward, then pedal rhythm, until a car from behind and a car ahead tried to do the hill at the same time. The car coming up from behind passed me, then the car coming down, which had stopped at the top, all of a sudden started down the barely two lane road filled with, I am guessing, about a hundred riders and now two cars. The car that was going up that just passed me, decided it needed to get over for the downhill traffic, so it just made a turn to the right, placing it at about 45 degrees across the road and stopped. This left me with about 12 inches between the ditch and the bumper to get by. If I had stopped at that point it would have meant walking the rest of the way up. I was not going to do that! I did make it by and then took the path right up the center so that would not happen again. Success!

Holy crap, that thing was steep. I made it up onto the grass at the top of the hill to take a photo of Tim coming behind me, while my heart rate dropped below humming bird speed.

Tim is sneaking by in the left side of the photo on the orange/black Giant.

After this climb we rode along a ridge until just before Stinesville. This was great fun flying down the hill into this little village. The turns were mostly 90 degree and they had placed hay bales on the outside of the corners to cut down on the carnage. I loved it. I was chasing Tim down this hill right on his tail as we flew through the corners, free of the big crowds we had been riding in most of the day.

In a nice little park adjacent to the stream that runs through Stinesville, was the last rest stop. We took a short break here to replenish our water and a poddy break. Right out of the chute is Mt. Carmel Road hill. That was tough after stopping, then having to start climbing right away.

The last ten miles was into the wind and kind of rolling. That was tough. Tim and I did manage to grab on to a small group and do a pace line rotation into the wind.

The last big effort is a re-do of Water Tower Hill. Yep, you have to do that twice! It is a definite challenge, especially after two days of this stuff for us flat-landers. I was getting tired but managed to keep the tempo going and surprised myself getting over the top nicely.

The rest of the ride, as they say, is all down-hill. Well, not really, but its not bad.

I made it back to the campsite and sat down for a nice break.

This is a great ride in a very nice area of the country. The organization was superb, the food was great (need coffee at the rest stops) and the company was a lot of fun.

I love scampering up and down those hills, when you feel the need for speed, you have to get up before you get down.

For those who care to see the pain that was generated graphically, check out my GPS tracks at: Saturday: http://connect.garmin.com/activity/17116641 and Sunday: http://connect.garmin.com/activity/17116631

Lies!

2009-10-14T11:49:00.003-04:00

Either these companies think Americans are stupid or they are incredibly naive.

Why does a study by the insurance companies, that they funded, conclude that the cost of insurance will go up if the Congress passes a Health Reform Bill? Because the exact opposite is probably true! They are trying to scare people into opposition of the Bill.

Why does a Petroleum Institute of America media campaign called EnergyCitizens.org claim that, if the current climate bill passes Congress, energy costs (oil) will go up and jobs will be lost? Because the exact opposite is probably true! They are trying to scare people into opposition of the bill.

Watch the videos on EnergyCitizens.org. The real meaning of EnergyCitizen is EnergyHog! Continue to do as you please. Use it now before someone else uses it up.

These tactics are so transparent as to be ridiculous.

I am tired of them.

If you cannot come up with a valid solution, slam the ideas presented by others. Don't try and work together to make things better for all, consider only yourselves. Short term greed is much better then long term prosperity.

Grand Haven Township Wind Turbines

2009-10-02T11:49:00.002-04:00

In the Wednesday edition of the Grand Haven Tribune, an exciting announcement was made concerning a new alternative energy installation. The Grand Rapids Water Filtration plant has contacted the Grand Haven Township administration about installing two 1.5-2 MW wind turbines at their facility about 5 miles south of the city of Grand Haven. Their intention is to use these machines to provide an alternative energy source of power for the filtration plant.

Grand Rapids owns approximately 48 acres of land on the south east corner of Lakeshore Drive and Lake Michigan Drive. The installation of the two turbines would be about a half mile from either of these roads. The area is one of forested rolling land with a small creek on the southern border. The visual impact of the turbines, which would stand about 300 feet tall would be minimal in this location. The turbines would be visible from either road but the overall impact would be minimal as far as sound and shadow from the operation of the machines.

Unfortunately, there will be resistance to this project. In the recent past there have already been letters to the Tribune editors, expressing reluctance to having this type of activity going on "in their backyard", and questioning the effectiveness of alternative energy in general.
Wind turbines do not run at full capacity 365 days a year. But neither do conventional energy plants. In countries like Denmark, wind already meets one-fifth of the population’s total energy needs – and Denmark has achieved this using less than 20 percent of its actual wind resources. On very windy days, Denmark gets all of its electricity from the country’s 5,000 wind turbines.
If this type of application of alternative energy can be used to reduce the need for additional fossil fuel power plants, the amount of greenhouse gases and effluents put into the air can be reduced. We have three huge coal-fired plants within 10 miles of Grand Haven. The Campbell plant, to the south, burns 5 million tons of coal per year, the Cobb plant, to the north, burns 1 million tons of coal per year and additional natural gas, and the Grand Haven plant burns about 200,000 tons of coal per year. That is an amazing amount of effluent and CO2 into the air just in this immediate area. We have all noticed the huge stacks that are associated with this activity. Another impact on this immediate area is the water from Lake Michigan, the Grand River and Muskegon Lake that is used to cool these facilities. What ultimate impact this has on our supply of drinking water can only be guessed.

The question is not if CO2 emissions should be reduced, but how. Fossil fuels like coal, oil and gas produce CO2, while other technologies leave behind hazardous waste for future generations. Coal and nuclear power plants require large amounts of clean water – already a diminishing resource.

Do we want more of this?

Wind is clean. It doesn’t produce CO2 and other greenhouse gasses. And it doesn’t use up our already scarce drinking water. It just produces energy.

We have an opportunity to participate in the reduction of our dependence on fossil fuels. The wind is everywhere. There is an unlimited supply – and it’s free.

Wind power is a sustainable, predictable and clean source of energy. Michigan has a base of manufacturing that can easily participate in this modern energy market. Our demand for energy is greater every day.

Will we embrace this concept or fight against it? I hope we fully embrace and encourage the growth of alternative energy!

Chrysler Fiat

2009-09-27T17:26:00.002-04:00

I just finished reading an article by Tom Krisher of the AP in the Grand Haven Tribune.

Mr. Kirsher discussed the problems that the new Chrysler Fiat alliance must over come to be successful. One of the issues was the Americanization of any models that may be used imported or produced for the US market based on Fiat models.

He mentioned that Americans are put off by the "stiff" suspensions, "firm" seats and not enough cup holders. This is one reason small cars will never catch-on or be popular in the US.

Who wants to drive a small car that handles like a marshmallow so the "ride" is smooth? For years the design concept of "road isolation" has brought us the likes of the Crown Victoria, along with Buicks, Cadillacs, and Lincolns. These cars are perfect examples of living rooms on wheels. These cars are not meant to be driven, they are for riding in. When you turn one of these loosely sprung wonders, you must anticipate the maneuver well in advance so the weight can be shifted smoothly. I remember the first time I drove a new Chrysler Neon (Hi!). I thought I would sink out of sight in the foam seat and the handling was like driving a boat. Wallowing around corners, nose diving under braking, and generally mushy.

Driving a well designed small car with supportive firm seats is a joy. You have confidence that the vehicle will perform what you want it to do even in emergency situations.

I will never understand the un-supportive foam seats that are found in most American cars. These seats do not provide proper seating support for spending time at the wheel and remaining alert. If any maneuvers are attempted that cause any sideways forces, such as entering a cloverleaf highway on ramp, you feel like you are sliding into the door instead of being held in position. I can understand the reason behind the foam seats, they are cheap!

Driving is not a love or a task that is viewed as important. Notice how the average driver is slumped to one side, with their wrist lackadaisically draped over the steering wheel. We have all heard the debate over texting, talking on the phone messing with the iPod, windshield view blocked by GPS. So many things to do other then drive the car.

Americans "love" their cars only because there is no alternative. So we have grown to demand cars that are more like sitting in front of the TV at home. Automatic transmissions, built in GPS so we can be told how to get places, "Sync" systems to more easily talk and read emails, electronic stability control so we don't have to be responsible for maintaining control of our vehicle, and size matters to keep us safe.

It has been mentioned that there has been a "real" change in the buying habits of the motoring American: no more supersize! I don't believe it for a minute!

Ah, traffic!

2009-09-23T07:59:00.002-04:00

It always amazes me driving in America!
The standard answer to traffic problems is throw up a stop sign.
No one feels any responsibility to anyone else on the road. "Rush Hour" is a time for snoozing, drinking coffee, talking on the phone, texting, and generally spacing out. I have always been one that thinks its rude to inhibit others on the road! If the speed limit is 55mph try and at least go that speed. If you have thirty cars behind you and you are doing 10 mph under the limit, you are rude!
Another fun one, on the limited access highways, is merging with the brake pedal. You can cannot merge into traffic by slowing down! Its even more amusing when the person next to you in the right lane is also slowing down to let you in! Coming down the entrance ramp, punch it, get up to speed, then try to merge in. Don't think you are going to lazily cruise down the ramp and move smoothly into traffic that is doing 20mph faster then you.
I have always viewed driving as a task that should be "grasped firmly with two hands, and done well". In America its a conundrum, supposedly we love our cars, but hate driving. The truth of this can be seen in the massive SUVs and trucks the vast majority of Americans want to drive and then the lackadaisical manner in which we drive them. The wrist draped casually over the top of the steering wheel is not a position that garners effective evasive action. The same goes for the "rolling thunder" riders with their feet spread out on the cruising pegs, no where near the back brake or shifters.
The responsibility issue goes to all other tasks that driving requires. Not signaling your intentions is a task that has been reduced to optional at best. Oh, yeah, if you are already in the left turn lane, turning on your left turn signal at that point is not telling me anything. Slamming on your brakes and flipping on the turn signal at the same time also does not tell me what you are GOING to do it tells me what you are doing. Your actions have already spelled that out! The turn signal becomes redundant at that point.
My rant for the day is over, be safe out there!

Ludington Invitational CC

2009-09-22T08:34:00.005-04:00

cDSC_5210
Originally uploaded by cyoas55

The Grand Haven High School girls gave a great performance at the Ludington Invitational Cross Country Meet this last Saturday. On a brilliant day in mid-September, the team provided the fans and families with a perfect performance, placing GH girls in the top 5 spots to score the minimum of 15 points.
This season has proven to be a real test for the GH girls after losing some very capable seniors last year. All of the girls have just stepped up their training and desire and filled those shoes so far this year.
It is always exciting to watch the girls compete against each other and themselves to grow and improve their confidence in themselves.
As Dr. Seuss once said, "Oh, the places you'll go!"

Foggy September Day

2009-09-22T08:27:00.004-04:00

I'm back in Kalamazoo again today for a class in Industrial Fluid Power. The drive down was a foggy one. In and out of the dense fog made for a surreal ride in the little Echo. I am always amazed at those that think the headlights on their vehicle are for their benefit only. Once its light enough for them to remain on the road without them they could care less if you can see them coming out of a, I mean the, fog.

Its been an interesting couple of weeks here at the Kalamazoo Valley Community College. I have learned several interesting things so far: I am now a Cougar, long hand division will yield different results then the calculator, and the traffic getting into the parking lot is amazing.
The KVCC mascot is a cougar. This struck me as kind of humorous considering all the comedy based on this on SNL and even a TV show now.
Mathematics or in this case simple algebra has always intrigued me. At times I have beaten myself up because I could not solve a specific problem but as a general rule I have not had much trouble with math. Both of the classes I am now taking involve some simple algebra to solve some pretty straightforward problems. Electricity is constantly using Ohm's Law which relies on E=IR (Voltage = Current times Resistance), and fluid power is F=PA (Force = Pressure times Area). In one of our Electricity problems we were doing some problems that involved dividing some figures with positive and negative exponents. One suggestion that was arrived at by long hand division was not what the rest of the class got by calculator. It was then stated that sometimes the "manual" method yields different results then the calculator. I loved it.
The parking situation here at KVCC seems to be a direct demonstration of the theory that as the economy turns bad people return to school. I am telling you, getting off the highway and turning south to drive the last half mile to the campus is a total traffic jam every time I come here. As a rule, I have been driving by in the right lane, instead of trying to make the immediate left turn into the parking lot, and proceeding to the west side of campus to get in the lot at that almost unused entrance. I park in the southwest corner of the lot mere moments from the door to the Student Commons area. Amazing!
Otherwise, the experience so far has been great! The two professors I have are interesting and engaging. I have been able to ride on the Kal-Haven Trail one day, and the drive down is pleasant as I can listen to NPR coming and going. The Echo has proven very capable and has been averaging about 42 mpg for the trips.
My one day ride on the Kal-Haven Trail was quite interesting. The overall impression is that the trail is quite flat. That was proven wrong! My ride began at the eastern terminus parking lot on the west side of US131 in the NW corner of Kalamazoo. Another connector trail proceeds down into Kalamazoo. I do mean down! I was on my mountain bike with large flat tread tires pumped up to about 50 psi. This was to accommodate the slag gravel that is used as the riding surface on the Kal-Haven Trail. the Trali down into Kalamazoo is paved and for the most part is separated from the regular road way. From the parking lot to the end of the trail near the center of Kalamazoo is approximately 7 miles, I covered this fairly quickly. I thought I was doing really well until I turned around and started back west. My heart rate was up a bit more then I thought it should be for the speed I was going, especially considering the first part of the trip. I have been using a Garmin Edge GPS bike computer so I took a minute to check the elevation chart. Holy Crap! I turns out that the trail is downhill almost the entire way from the parking lot to the end in Kalamazoo. The grade, since it was an old railway, was quite gentle, usually around 2%, so not really noticeable unless you were really paying attention. It got my attention on the way back, up hill all the way. It really more psychological then anything, because there does not appear to be a real grade just an unrelenting drag on your effort.
I made it back to the parking lot and proceeded west, past the old caboose that is used a kiosk. I was now riding on the slag surface of the old railway. The riding is quite delightful as you are usually enclosed under a canopy of trees and quite sheltered from the sun and wind. The conditions were nice in that the day before we got some rain which wetted down the usually very dusty surface. I have ridden this trail from the west end before, where the entire bottom half of the bike is gray from the dust that accumulates from the trail.
I encountered the same issue as riding into Kalamazoo! After riding almost to Bloomingdale, I turned around and started heading back. The last three miles of the trail are exactly like the trail on the east side of the parking lot. I managed to find the highest spot on the trail to start, which requires that you go up hill back to the beginning. The grade that is the usual engineering requirement for the railroads is kind of disguised when you are on a bike in the tunnel of trees cruising along.
It is a great ride though for an afternoon cruise and for camping along the trail. The trail is actually a Michigan State Park and has several campsites that can be used along its length.

Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore

2009-08-16T19:14:00.001-04:00

cDSC_3891
Originally uploaded by cyoas55

The last couple of weeks have been frustrating for my knee pain. It has progressed to the point where I had another MRI last Friday. This required another trip to the Orthopedic Surgeon for a consult on my "degenerative" and "arthritic" knee condition.

I am somewhat depressed about all this as it seems like there will be no fix, just the downward slide. I guess I am not 18 any more. I am not happy with that fact.

The weekend I spent riding up and down the hills of the Sleeping Bear Dunes Lakeshore perhaps aggravated it and is now resulting in the increase in the pain.

The riding in the National Park area is great because the roads are in excellent condition and for the most part have paved shoulders. I love the challenge of the climb up and the flying down the backside. One really great climb takes you up almost 650 feet from the shore of Glen Lake heading south. From the peak of this hill it is another 5 miles along M-22 into Empire mostly downhill. Flying down the road!

The visit to the OS resulted in a discussion concerning cutting into my knee with the scope for shaving and clipping. I am not ready for that yet. Since once the cartilage is taken out, it does not grow back. I did opt for a cortisone shot into the knee synovial capsule. I was not prepared for this. I guess I am a wimp. I don't mind the occasional injection but this was going to go way in there.

The worst part was when I kind of tensed up during the insertion. The doctor told me I had to relax my quads so he could move the needle around. OK, that makes it easier.

Well, its now been about two days since the injection. The knee is swollen but the pain seems to have subsided. I will wait one more day and then try a ride on Tuesday.

I hope this improves before the ski season gets here!

Riding the Waves at Lake Michigan

2009-08-16T18:58:00.002-04:00

My Hotness and her Mary!
Originally uploaded by cyoas55

This was an excellent day at the Buchanan Street beach on Lake Michigan just south of Grand Haven. The wind was blowing nicely out of the SW giving us some great waves for body surfing.

The public beach access is restricted to the same width as the road that ends at the Lake. The throngs are constricted between two bright orange plastic fences. It gives everyone that togetherness feeling. Especially when it is windy and the towels filled with sand are shaken out to the enjoyment of all those down wind.

The Lake was in great shape today. Mid-70's temperature and 4-5 foot waves. The current going north up the shore felt like it was about 4-5 knots. When you are working your way out through the waves to get to the head of the waves you have to dig your toes and fingers into the sand of the Lake bottom. It does a good job of cleaning any dirt that may be under your nails.

Many waves were ridden. One I got to just a little late and rose up to the top of the curl. I then was slammed to the bottom in the shallow sand bar where the waves break. Oh, that hurt!

I think we were at the beach for over 7 hours.

Lake Michigan in the summer! Take it while you can get it.

Crash!

2009-08-16T13:57:00.003-04:00

I managed to put myself into the dirt rather nicely on a recent trip to Fort Custer Recreation Area!

Matt and I traveled down to Kalamazoo, Michigan to watch Andrea and Mackenzie play Lacrosse. After the game was finished we were to do some riding at the Fort Custer Recreation Area mountain bike trails.

I had never been there before and was quite excited as I have heard some good things about the riding there. It is a really nice set of four loops that have ability ratings that will satisfy all but the most radical hucksters. We rode three of the loops that have a nice variety of terrain that is usually on the technical side so the speed is kept to the low side. There are a couple of nice lakes that the trail goes by with excellent views.

On the first loop we did a constructed obstacle is presented for your enjoyment. It consists of a large table that is about four feet off the ground with various ramps going up and down. The first time around I was a little bit to the right of the down ramp I chose. No problem though, we continued on easily.

Then on our last loop lap we decided to do the first one over again. As we came up to the ramps and table, traveling as fast if not faster then the first lap, I thought, I better go left a little to get on the down ramp better. That didn't work! My front wheel just missed the left edge of the ramp. My right fork tip caught the edge though. This caused me to slam down onto the ground sideways. Most of the initial impact was to my head and helmet which plowed up about 10 pounds of dirt. My hands and left knee managed to get quite mangled in the process. Cracked the helmet in three places. Bummer.

The next night, my left hand ring finger began to swell up. I had a heck of a time trying to get my wedding ring off so the swelling would not get worse. I iced my hand for a long time, ibuprophen, and then with some baby oil, I manged to yank off the ring. I think I broke or cracked the lower phalange of that finger as it is still swollen and I cannot get thee ring back on. I have resorted to using my old dog tag chain and wearing it around my neck.

I have secured a new Giro Ionis helmet. It is awesome. Fits my head much better then the smashed Atmos and is much more quiet while riding.

Perhaps a lesson has been learned about chasing 22 year olds through the woods? Naw!

Summer is Progressing!

2009-08-16T13:45:00.005-04:00

Summer is Michigan is always a variable affair. We are now mid-way through August and we have heat! I think we have had the AC on only about three days this whole summer. Amazing!

The great fun activities of the area have come upon us and we have conquered them! The Coast Guard Festival was an event that seems to just get bigger every year. We managed to attend the parade and a great party in the evening for the fire works.

Later in the evening we made it to a friend's house up above the river and the Dairy Treat to party and watch the fire works. This trip was accomplished on the bikes with the ehlp of our lights. Its a great way to gt around on the last Saturday of the Festival as the traffic is so bad it takes hours to get everyone out of town after ward. It takes us about 20 minutes to ride home. Cool!

It seems now that August is here its all about getting ready for school to begin. The athletes are in training, the band is practicing and the side walk sale are on down town.

Perhaps some better economic news will give us a boost in the job market. More soon!

A Chilly Summer!

2009-06-11T10:56:00.005-04:00

Today its raining and about 60 degrees. Another day in Michigan paradise.

This is a shot from the Pere Marquette Park in Muskegon, Michigan. On a nice day in June this beach would be jammed. Not today.

It seems that summer just refuses to arrive. Hopefully, this weekend it will shine upon us. The National Weather Service is predicting some fine weather in the mid-70's. Finally!

On the job front here in Michigan, it is still rather gloomy. The latest issue concerning Chrysler's sale to Fiat has been allowed to go forward. The upper management of Chrysler has been replaced by the CEO of Fiat, the dealership ranks have been trimmed drastically, and the labor contracts renegotiated.

I still don't understand.

One commentary mentioned the current offerings were still heavy into the SUV and truck market, with few if any new vehicles in the immediate works for better fuel efficiency. The thought was mentioned that regardless of the market mix of vehicles, and the desire of the consumer to purchase these vehicles, could the consumer afford them?

It seems to me there is still the culture of huge in this country. The only thing holding people back from continuing on the same old road of bigger is better is the economy and the unstable fuel prices. If fuel stays near $2.00 a gallon, there is no question in my mind that SUVs and trucks will remain King.

All you have to do is read one review of a "smaller" car to realize no one in the current American auto industry gets it. An article I read the other day, I think it was on the Ford Focus, stated that the ride was harsh. Its a small car, it doesn't weigh 5000 pounds and have tires that come mid-way up my chest. Perhaps another reason its ride is harsh is because the roads in this state are so bad.

The design standard for "luxury" cars in North America is based on the concept of "road isolation". Eliminate all outside disturbances from the experience of "driving". This would include noise, road feel, shifting, and performance. The only thing that is left is the feeling of floating. Don't try to complete any evasive actions as the body will roll on the suspension like a breaching whale. But its got a smooth ride.

How can a Cadillac and a Mercedes be in the same luxury category? One has seats of foam that you sink into like a marshmallow, with a ride that eliminates all road feedback. The other has firm well supportive seats, with handling that gives confidence at speeds called insane her in the US.

I have dealt directly with several of the "Big 3's" assembly plant for quite some time. This was supplying parts that were either provided as bulk, same parts in totes, or sequenced as the the vehicles were to be assembled on the line. The only feeling I ever got when I was in the plants was one of arrogance and intimidation. It was all about how the only reason more cars and trucks weren't being sold was because of the suppliers.

I happened to see this poster on despair.com web site yesterday. I thought it was quite truthful. My experiences have for the most part been ones that included threats, intimidation, humiliation and disrespect. Plant managers would tell me they had never seen anything worse then the door handle that happened to arrive at their plant with a 0.8 mm dirt speck in the paint. Oh, and by the way that was noticed after the vehicle had made it through their entire assembly process. I've been screamed at, forced to sort thousands of parts for one dirt speck in the paint, threatened with line shutdown if we did not immediately comply with their demands, and treated disrespectfully when evidence leads to determine the assembly plant caused the problem in the first place.

This goes along with their marketing process also. One of Ford's only selling auto lines, the Ford Fusion, Mercury Milan, and Lincoln Zephyr, (again why do they need three) is entirely assembled in Hermosillo, Mexico. One third of the Chevy Suburbans were assembled in Mexico. The Chrysler PT Cruiser, and the Dodge Journey are made in Toluca Mexico.

But all the advertising tells us to "buy American". Many of my friends say they have to "buy American" because one or more of their family works for one of the "big Three".

I have never purchased a vehicle from GM, Ford or Chrysler. At this point I have no plans or desire to either. I have never owned anything other then a four cylinder engine until I purchased a used Subaru Forester. I don't haul huge trailers, I have no need to drive around alone in a 7-8 passenger vehicle for the one trip out of 1000 that might include 7 or 8 people.

Then there is the "safety" issue. I think one of the reasons that there is the impression that people need to protect themselves while driving is that there is no perceived need to drive well. So, the notion is that I must protect myself from the other guy that is drunk, talking on the cell phone, texting, reading, running red lights, or just generally bored with the whole affair. Driving is not viewed as a task that requires great attention or discipline. Hence the lackadaisical draping of the wrist over the top of the steering wheel while traveling 80 mph down the highway.

Put yourself in a vehicle that handles well, pay attention, don't drive like an idiot and perhaps there would be less need for behemoths.

There seems to be a need for a drastic change. We continue to see the unemployment rate at its highest level in 25 years, the number of people claiming unemployment benefits for at least a week is at 6.8 million, the highest number since 1967.

It will be interesting to see what becomes of the auto industry. I predict an immediate return to traditional business as usual if fuel prices stay low. This country as a whole is so polarized in our vies of what needs to be done to help boost the overall economy. The world economy has become one of globalization. Most of the corporations are world wide in pursuit of profits, including the "big 3". One of the newest trends is alternative energy, the US is losing out on that push also. The US is way behind in pursuing the use of these new methods and the distribution of energy. Many other countries are way ahead of us.

In this state of Michigan, one of the large energy producers, Consumers Energy, is pursuing building another coal fired plant, when all indications are that there are methods of producing energy by alternative means readily available. I can't understand the desire to have a 600 foot smoke stack spewing effluent instead of some wind mills. I see no logical comparison.

We shall see.

My Girls!

2009-05-28T12:38:00.004-04:00

I love all my Girls!

They are awesome!

They try new things!

They have fun!

They are smart!

They are athletes!

One of the good things that Nixon did was to sign into legislation Title XI, which gave equality to women's athletics. The expanded opportunities for the women in this country to participate and excel is unfathomable.

I have watched as every one of "my Girls" has found their challenge, be it running, lacrosse, crew, skiing, biking or others to come.

These opportunities would not have been offered if not for that change in policy implemented in the Title XI.

This change has benefited many athletes across the country. I want to see participation not an exclusive club we are for the most part on the outside just watching.

I especially enjoy knowing that it has enriched our lives to share these opportunities. All "my Girls" have and are making new life long friends that were found through this love of their sport. That is a bond that is unique in that it is formed by shared hardships and struggles to make goals and succeed. The memories of work outs, the pains, the joys, the defeats and the wins give them all more strength and self worth that carries over in to all aspects of their lives.

They know they can do anything they want to do. And they will!

It is truly satisfying to see the opportunities provided, and taken, that over half of our population have embraced. Being surrounded by "My Girls" it makes it all the more satisfying to see them happy and successful in those pursuits.

Bike Riding in Michigan

2009-05-28T10:13:00.006-04:00

Our Memorial Day Holiday weekend in the Traverse City Leelanau County area was a great time. The partial contingent of the Sole Sistas all had a successful Bayshore Half Marathon. All completed the course under their 2 hour goal. The weather was incredible for camping, running and riding.
Craig, the Younger, and I managed to do a ride around Torch Lake in the afternoon of the girls running race. This was a nice undulating ride with some fast sections and a couple of easy hills. The hot tub and the beers after the ride made for a good day.
To refuel the entire group, with kids, went to Pearl's restaurant in Elk Rapids for some Cajun Crawfish dinner. Pearl's is a fun and popular place for food and drinks in the north. The food is good and the New Orleans style music is great.

Later on that evening, I was enlisted as the "designated driver" for the "after race" celebration. The three Sole Sistas" had a really good time traveling to some of the local Elk Rapids pubs. I will say that the celebration was complete and full.

Herself and I traveled back to our campsite at the Platte River campground of the Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore. As I have said before, this is a great place to camp for its isolation and the night sounds of the critters, birds and the wind.
After sleeping in late on Sunday, we had a very nice brunch at the L'chaim Deli in Beulah. This place is a real jewel in a relatively desolate area for good eats.

Our Sunday saw some rest for Julie and a delightful ride in the Park for me. I love riding in this area because the vast majority of the roads are maintained by the federal funds from the Park. The examples of the roads that are maintained locally are really bad in many cases. The Park roads usually have paved shoulders and seem to be repaired well when there are issues.

Julie wanted to spend some time relaxing on the beach of Lake Michigan. I dropped her at the Esch Road beach and started a ride from there. This is a tough place to start from as you are essentially at the Lake level and then have a rather steep road to immediately tackle. I then traveled north through Empire, via Wilco Road. This route takes you up the back side of the Empire Bluffs with a fun ride down the hill through the woods into Empire. It is a bit tricky as this section of the raod has been "chip sealed", which does not repair the road, it merely covers up the defects and makes them almost impossible to see.

I stopped shortly at the Park HQ for a water bottle fillup. Again heading north toward the Glen Lakes I ran into some road construction. The detour shunted everyone from M22 onto M109 to get around the West side of the lake. This is required because the bridge across the "narrows" is being replaced. The detour was fun as you go up over a large rise and then get some 35-40 mph cruising down the back. As I got down to the west side of Glen Lake I turned east. This road takes you right along the shore of the lake until turning up hill toward Inspiration Point.

The climb up to Inspiration Point is a nice challenge that gets you way up over the east part of Glen Lake with a nice view of North Manitou Island and the two parts of Glen Lake. I missed a shot of a Bald Eagle soaring by just as I arrived at the turnout. The ride down the back of Inspiration Point is much steeper then the ride up. This results in a 45 mph cruise through a couple of nice turns and then out onto the flats beyond. I love it!

The rest of the ride took me on a counterclockwise tour of Glen Lake. This is on M22 and M109. The road travels through Glen Arbor, a nice northern Michigan destination for summer and winter activities, and then west past the Dune Climb and the DH Day farm buildings. The large barn and other buildings have been preserved by the Park to demonstrate the farming history that took place in an earlier time.

My ride back through Empire took me back up to Empire Bluffs in the opposite direction which I had traveled earlier. The climb is one that gradually gets steeper toward the top and wanders back and forth through a tunnel of trees.

The wind had picked up out o the NW while I was riding. This provided a helpful push back to the campground for a shower and some rest.

Our evening was capped by a nice Mexican dinner at the Roadhaus in Benzonia. A nice camp fire was our nightcap for a fun day in the north.

On Monday, we broke camp and decided to take an easy cruise home. It always amazes me the size of some of the "camping" trailers you see on the road.

Tuesday was a rain day to provide some sustenance for the growing grass, flowers and trees. Wednesday I went for a ride on Lakeshore Drive south of Grand Haven.
Part of this route is used for our Thursday evening Rock&Road group rides. As is usual in Michigan the asphalt roads take a beating from the weather. The resulting holes in the pavement cause the typical flat tires if the riders in the lead do not adequately warn or steer the group around the obstacles.

I want to make one point very clear: all pictures of the road conditions on this post are the result of tax payer funded work that has been conducted in the last two weeks. These are not photos of "stuff" that is awaiting repair, these have all just been "repaired".

What annoys me is the seeming lackadaisical method used by the road crews to "repair" these holes. In the week before the Memorial Day holiday, the Ottawa County Road Crews were out doing their "cold patch" repair. As anyone that has driven in Michigan knows, this consists of typically taking a shovel full of the heated cold patch material and tossing it in the general direction of the hole in the pavement. Then the rest of the job, packing the patch material, is left to the passing traffic to take care of. This results in haphazard bumps, depressions and a patch work of marginal effectiveness.
As can be seen from the included photos some holes are filled and others are ignored. One hole will be "filled" and another right next to it will not be. So, in effect the work was wasted.

On my ride on Wednesday, after the holiday weekend, I again rode the Lakeshore Drive down toward Holland. This time, I noticed, the shoulders of the road, had been "pulled". This activity is supposed to renew the gravel shoulder back to the level of the pavement surface. This erosion of the gravel shoulder is caused by many things such as vehicles failing to remain on the road, mail delivery, general water erosion and subsidence.

The "pulling" of the shoulders is completed with the large road commission trucks with a blade under it and a gravel dumper in the back. This work is usually, or should I say supposed to, accompanied be a rotary broom truck. The first blade truck "pulls" gravel from the outside of the shoulder in addition to adding the quantity if needed. Then the broom truck cleans the "pulled" gravel off the road surface.

In my totally unscientific analysis of this process, it seems the rotary broom truck is broken and not used probably 75% of the time. This results in gravel being left on the right hand one third to one half, or mare of the road surface. This is then left to the other traffic, and weather to remove from the road surface.

As you can imagine, riding a bicycle on this type of road surface is dangerous at best. At other times when dry gravel is applied to the road shoulders, driver visibility is reduced and vehicle damage from the resulting flying debris occurs.
I have always wondered why this activity is not conducted in a more consistent manner. Sections of the road will end up as huge areas of haphazard patch material. The holes are filled in an entirely arbitrary manner with unpacked shovel fulls of patch material applied in a manner that does not take into account the size or the shape of the defect. The "pulled" shoulders are treated in a similar manner. The obvious poor work of leaving large quantities of gravel on the road surface, is also demonstrated by its arbitrary application. It seems the only criteria to the work is that the trucks covered the distance, spread some of their gravel or cold patch, then made it back to the road commission barn at quitting time.

This type of work on the roads of this state and county, has been going on for years. There seems to be no considered plan or reason for "repair" or replacement. The pot holes that form are haphazardly filled then reform as soon as it rains again. Roads are ground up and repaved to fall apart in a couple of years because the underlying problems are not taken care of. A good example of this will be Sheldon Road in Grand Haven. The southern few blocks of this road were just ground off and repaved. The underlying structure of this section consists of a narrow two lane road that was poured concrete before the road was widened and curb and gutter was added. This has resulted in the typical transference of the joints in the concrete and the edges of the concrete road surface showing through to the surface of the asphalt that was used to pave over and widen the road. This mess was just ground down a little bit and repaved. I would bet that within a year, these issues will be seen again.

Another example is the road I live on. It is a cul de sac with approximately 14 homes on it. Last year we received a letter stating there was some federal government money available to upgrade some of the poor streets in the county to acceptable standards. This was done on a township level of government. Our road had some minor cracking of the pavement and a patch about 4 feet by 10 feet that had been patched ineffectively a number of times. If the small area had been cut out and repaired effectively, instead of standing back and throwing a shovel full of cold patch at it occasionally, the other repaving could have been avoided. As a result, our road was ground down, all the storm sewers and manholes were raised up and the road repaved. All this while less then a quarter mile north of our road, Warner Street remains gravel.

This type of mismanagement, poor planning, expend the funds before someone else does, lackadaisical work which seems to reward speed over safety, quality and longevity needs to be reviewed. This economy cannot afford to pay for haphazard work that then needs to be redone almost as soon as the original work is completed.

Its probably one reason the SUV culture has flourished in this country: because the roads are so bad you need an "off-road" vehicle to drive on them. Try riding a bike on them!

Be careful out there, watch out for the holes.

The Official Start of Summer!

2009-05-23T06:23:00.003-04:00

We are up in Traverse City for a Memorial Day weekend of running, biking and beer drinking.

Herself, Amy, and Carrie are all on the bus heading out to the start of the Bayshore Half Marathon on Mission Point. Its quite a production to get this race going. A full marathon starts at the Traverse City Central High School and goes out onto the Peninsula and does a loop back to the High School stadium. The Half Marathon starts out at the half way point of the full version, thus the buses. The finish is quite cool in the football track stadium of the school.

The weather is perfect for running as the skies are a bit cloudy and the temperature is about 52 degrees F. Their start is at 7am so I am anticipating a 9am or thereabouts finish. So I have a little time to get caffeined up and then head over there to see the finish.

We drove up north on Friday taking a leisurely cruise. Our accommodations are at the lovely Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lake Shore Platte River camp ground. We reserved a walk in site several weeks ago. The camp sites in the walk in area are great. They are quite spread out with only minimal views of the other campsites from each site.

The tough part of the day is that the race starts at 7am so we had to get up at 4:30am to get to the race venue and get the girls on the bus out to their start. Out drive over from the campground was on M72. Until we were about 5 miles out from TC the only movement seen was several deer. These were "honked" at so they would clear the way for the Subaru.

Our camping experiences over the last several years have lead us to this area and we continue to return. It seems, to us, the Michigan State parks are overcrowded, under staffed, noisy and not maintained well. Our last two trips, one to Orchard Beach State Park north of Manistee and to Muskegon State Park have ended badly. Orchard Beach is a lovely site perched up on top of a high bluff right on Lake Michigan. The Park is an old orchard that is now owned by the State. We have spent many nights there with beach and bike activities available. Muskegon State Park is on the north side of Muskegon Lake on the point formed by the small lake and Lake Michigan.

Out trip to Orchard Beach ended bad because of a camping neighbor's fire and dog. It would seem the campers were accompanied by friends that had another site several places down from them. They arrived, set up their tent, started a roaring fire, tied their dog to the tree at the back of our two sites and proceeded down the road to their friends place. It was quite windy and the sparks from the fire were flying all over. The fire was left completely unattended. The worst part was the dog could see where they were. Not with him! It began to produce the most annoying high pitched howl I have heard from an animal that was not mortally wounded. It probably thought it had been abandoned.

The owner came back to the site to fetch a round of beers and started to leave again. Herself mentioned very politely to the woman that their dog was missing them. She stated quite flatly that the dog was alright. Herself mentioned that the dog was howling quite loudly while they were away. She also mentioned their fire was not attended and was blowing around. Their response was to turn and walk away. We contemplated speaking with a ranger but thought why should we pursue that avenue. These people just don't get it. It is go camping and do exactly as you please regardless of what affect you have on others. The final outcome was at about 11pm we packed up and left.

We have not returned.

The Muskegon Sate Park trip was quite delightful, with several of Herself's co-workers spending some time camping, eating and "wineing". The problem arose when the State, our awesome senators and representatives decided to not come to an agreement on the State budget. So, on the last day of the fiscal year, the State claimed it was out of money and forced everyone out of the park early. All State facilities had to be vacated. Stupid!

But on to better things.

Craig, the Younger, and I are going for a ride around Torch Lake later today. After the girls have been collected and cheered to the finish, they will be brought over to Amy's parent's house on Elk Lake. There they will hot tub, nap and relax while the two Craigs ride.

Then it is on to Pearl's for dinner.

I am excited for the weekend as there should be more biking on Sunday, then the cruise back on Monday. We are to be at my sister's for awesome ribs to celebrate our nephew Mac's birthday.

Its three minutes until the starting gun goes off for the girls and I am about out of coffee, so I better head back to the Traverse City High School.

I hope everyone has a fun and safe Memorial Day Weekend. Celebrate those that have suffered the ultimate sacrifice for us to provide this country and many others around the world with the Freedoms we enjoy today. Contemplate peace!

Its Not About Fun! (Well, maybe just a little!)

2009-04-24T12:02:00.005-04:00

"May your trails be crooked, lonesome, dangerous, leading to the most amazing view. May your mountains rise into and above the clouds, May your rivers flow without end, meandering through pastoral valleys tinkling with bells, past temples and castles and poets towers into a dark primeval forest where tigers belch and monkeys howl, through miasmal and mysterious swamps and down into a desert of red rock, blue mesas, domes and pinnacles and grottoes of endless stone, and down again into a deep vast ancient unknown chasm where bars of sunlight blaze on profiled cliffs, where deer walk across the white sand beaches, where storms come and go as lightning clangs upon the high crags, where something more beautiful and more full of wonder than your deepest dreams waits for you - beyond that next turning of the canyon walls."
-Edward Abbey

"Climb the mountains and get their good tidings. Nature's peace will flow into you as sunshine flows into trees. The winds will blow their own freshness into you... while cares will drop off like autumn leaves."
- John Muir

Sometimes I have a difficult time explaining why I put myself through some of the experiences I have found. It is the "whoaness" that results from the hard won summit, the "A" group ride I managed to hang on to, the freezing night in the tent, the steep and long mountain road, the flying downhill ride, and the 10 knot reach across the empty Lake. Its not found in a video game, it has to be earned.

Where most people glide down the hill, I rode up it. Where some drive their jeeps, I rode my mountain bike. It is the near collision with a white tail while riding the trails, the quick photo of a moose hiking Isle Royale, the stars in the middle of Lake Michigan, and the end of the 50 km VASA. Its a test, its all a test.

I enjoy the challenge, the solitude, the quiet, the view. Earning the speed, the endurance, the peak, the run!

You have to be out in it to experience it, there is no reading about how someone else did it, it has to be done first hand.

My best advice, go do it!

Michigan Spring!

2009-04-22T17:11:00.002-04:00

Spring in Michigan is always a surprise. One minute the sun is shining and its nice and warm, the next minute the huge wet snow flakes are hitting you in the eye, if you go outside.

One thing for sure, regardless of the weather, the sports must go on. The track and lacrosse seasons are well under way. There have been track meets and lacrosse matches in the sun and in the rain. This year the lacrosse players have full status as a varsity sport, elevated from a club sport.

The track meet with Rockford High School a couple of days ago was delightful. Nice and warm, with lots of spectators. I went to the Forest Hills vs. Grand Haven Lacrosse match on Monday evening, it was raining and about 35 degrees.

I enjoy watching the teams competing at their sports. They all seem to enjoy their time together and at practices.

Some of the action at the track meet includes a start for the hurdles and the start for the 1600m run.
The new facility at Grand Haven is great for both sports. The track is superb and the lacrosse action is on a shared soccer field behind the bleachers for the main stadium. Both the main stadium and the soccer/lacrosse fields are of great artificial turf.

The Party's Over!

2009-04-19T23:05:00.003-04:00

Well, the day has finally come, the trip has ended. I made it home safe and sound. It would seem that I brought back some warmer weather then had been in residence before I arrived.

The trip was mostly uneventful, no issues with traffic or mechanical problems. Just the typical mindless American drivers, camping thirty yards behind you in the left lane at night, using you as their cruise control and the lunatics in Chicago, doing thirty miles per hour faster then traffic and weaving back and forth.

The unpacking of the car and getting rid of the dust that has settled over all parts of the vehicle is still under way. I have managed to get the Yakima box off the roof and the majority of the bugs and dirt sprayed off. Its raining and forecast for tomorrow also so it will remain dirty for a day or so more.

I did manage to get some riding in after I made it home. On Wednesday, I went for an "Old Guys" ride with some of the gang from our usual Thursday and Sunday rides at Rock & Road. We tried to do an easy pace out on some of the lesser used roads of the area south of Grand Haven. On Saturday, a couple of friends and I did another ride casually cruising around Grand Haven and parts south to near Pigeon Lake.

This ride resulted in some unwanted attention from one of the more unreasonable drivers in the area.

Unfortunately, this incident has some history attached to it.

Last year, we, a R&R Thursday night group, the exact number eludes me but I think it was about 10, wer riding south on Lake Shore Drive just south of Wildwood. As we rode down into the gully where a pond is behind the fence of the east side of the road, a large, very large, blue dump truck came down the hill around the corner from the south heading north. As it approached us, it pulled over the double yellow line to cover at least two thirds of the south bound lane. It was an obvious move to threaten us as bikers on the road. This section of the road has no paved shoulder.

I noticed the very obvious large lettering on the sides and rear of the truck as it went by and I turned to look at it afterward. Bark & Chips 786-9786. I think the letters and numbers are at least 12 inches high if not more. So, unmistakable.

Saturday afternoon, two other friends and I were having a delightful ride south of town. Easy miles in hopes of not being too burned for a longer Sunday ride. We went south on Hiawatha and proceeded west on Croswell to Lake Shore. At the top of the overpass hill we stopped then turned left going south toward Sandy Point. We had pulled out to go around the storm grates on the side of the road as usual after checking traffic. Immediately pulling back in to a single pace line formation with me in the lead. We were riding on the west (right) side of the white line on the right side of the road heading south near the entrance to the RR repair yard for the coal cars at the Campbell Consumers Power plant. This section of Lake Shore Drive has an approximately 3 foot paved shoulder.

Then, an extremely loud truck horn started blasting behind us. It was obvious it was closing on us at a high rate of speed. I knew not to look back as I did not want to risk weaving around on the road. While the horn was still blasting, the truck roared by within a foot of my handlebars. I was not on the road surface, I was on the right side of the white line. The horn had started blasting well before he got to us and continued well past us. No one was hurt or thrown from their bikes.

The reason I am documenting this is because it was the same truck, Bark & Chips, 786-9786.

His business is noted in the GH Yellow pages as Hardwood Bark & Chips. 13433 Bingham Road, West Olive just east of US31 across from the West Ottawa Golf Course.
Business phone numbers:
616.786.9786
616.836.4088
Fax 616.786.9090
Truck Phone 616.240.2824
Nextel 130*40*1153

Otherwise, I would ask that if there are others out there that have had similar experiences with this truck, who advertises who he is while he is in fact committing assault, which in my mind demonstrates he feels he is above civilized behavior, that we gather these reports for presentation to the authorities.

This type of behavior, threatening, intimidating and the obvious use of force, against other citizens, that are otherwise acting well within their legal rights, is uncalled for and reprehensible. I am not fully aware of how the other two felt I was riding with but I thought I was a dead man. There was no question of "reasonable apprehension of imminent harmful or offensive contact", I truly thought I was a goner.

Michigan Legal Definition of Assault: "The threat or use of force on another that causes that person to have a reasonable apprehension of imminent harmful or offensive contact; the act of putting another person in reasonable fear or apprehension of an immediate battery by means of an act amounting to an attempt or threat to commit a battery.

I am truly sick of this type of treatment while I am traveling the roads of this country. It is not limited to while I am riding my bike. There is a cowboy mentality that exists in many activities in this country. It is in boating, motorcycling, general driving, and other cultural type activities in public places.

Boating and motorcycling tend to fall into similar categories, noise and speed. Why is there such a need to be so unnecessarily loud?

Driving needs little explanation, speeding, running red lights, disregard for courtesy, such as turn signals and proper lane use, are among some of the issues. Need we mention disrespectful behavior toward others such as bikers?

The last thing I will complain about in American cowboy society is the public arena behavior. Screaming, unneeded trips out of the seat, lack of control of ones intake of alcohol are only a few of the behaviors inflicted on others. There are times and places for behaviors, such as when the big points are scored but not during an entire musical concert. The screaming at the concerts I do not understand.

I guess I have been affected more negatively then I thought by this latest run in with the big blue truck. I think I have been sensitized to the nuisance because I got to spend so much quality time enjoying the outdoors on my own terms in the wilds of Arizona and Utah. I enjoyed the solitude of the mountains and desert and did not have to listen to the "rolling thunder" I will soon have inflicted on my from the land and sea.

I hope to return soon.

Back to Moab!

2009-04-13T17:54:00.005-04:00

Well, the time had come! The flight schedule said Julie and Cat had to go back to Michigan. So, Sunday morning we were up early to take them to the Phoenix Skyharbor for their return to reality. It was sad to have to go back, but the pets await.
One of the local residents came out to wish everyone goodbye! He was lurking under the pool toy box on the patio. My brother was especially excited to see this guy! A few months back one of its brothers managed to poke Cam in the toe while he was sleeping. His description is it is like a really bad bee sting but then there are lingering effects caused by the neuro-toxin the scorpion injects. Several days of tingling. This one met an untimely demise under Cam's shoe! He was not sad to see it go.

Julie and Cat were gone so I had to begin my journey back also. I decided to seek an alternate route back north to Moab, as we had done the I17 journey in our quests for the vortex energy a number of times.
The route I chose took me up through Payson, past the Petrified Forest National Park, and Canyon de Chelly National Monument. I wish some more these National features were spread across Michigan, but I guess when a mile thick ice sheet scrapes your state flat you get lakes instead of high rocks.

One the way north, I ran into several types of weather: snow, dust storms, and fine partly cloudy skies. The one constant that seems to never be in short supply out here in the Spring is the wind. Always the wind!

There were several appropriately named features seen on the tour north, one was an area of several large buttes called Los Giganticus Buttes, and the other is a gift shop (tourist trap) named the Hole in the Wall, because it is in a hole in the rock wall.

Upon safe arrival back in Moab, I set up camp in the delightful "Up a Creek" campground. It is located on a small stream that runs right through Moab. Only a short walk from a great grocery store and the library. I managed to get some red beans & rice cooked up and then headed up into the park for some sunset shops. This place is never without its options.

On Monday, after a great night of sleep, I got up to some oatmeal, coffee and an apple. This was to be the day of the road bike tour on the Park road.
I got suited up and headed into the Park. I parked the car at the Visitor Center which is immediately inside the Park entrance. The ride begins with a great set of switchbacks right out of the parking lot. The road is about 18 miles long ending at the Devil's Garden trail-head and camping area. This is the area I camped in when I was here the week before last.
The ride is an up and down affair, but mostly up to Devil's Garden. The crowds were already gathering at the trail-head. I had part of a PowerBar and started the ride back. Whoa, Nellie! I think the ride out took about half the time of the ride in. It was great. There are sections where it almost becomes a strain to stay in the tuck flying downhill for so long. The most fun was in the final miles in the switch backs down to the Visitor Center. There was a Mustang that had passed me a ways before going into the turns, if I had another 100 yards I would have caught him in the turns.
See the ride file on: http://trail.motionbased.com/trail/activity/7995787

After the ride, I had some more to eat and went for a hike starting in the Park Avenue section of the Park. This is a great trail that is about one mile long behind the huge fin of red rock called Park Avenue. Most people either go down and back or have a pick up at the other end.
I continued on down the wash to see if I could hike up one of the canyons and get to the top of the plateau. No luck. I was thwarted in my attempt by too much rock. I was able to get quite high up in a saddle behind the Three Gossips to obtain some nice wide shots of the valley and the Park road.
Much fun!

The final shot is from the starting and ending point of the hike in the lower Park Avenue trail head parking lot. The sun had come around to provide a better angle by the time I got back.
I am now heading back to the campsite for some dinner and a shower. Much needed at this point.
In the morning I break camp and start back East. It appears there may be some rain in the forecast. Bummer!

20 Miles of Bad Road!

2009-04-10T12:13:00.006-04:00

This was one of the best days of the trip so far. It began early, with our drive north again toward the Red Rocks of Sedona, and ended late when we had to drag ourselves out of the Verde River Hot Springs and get back to Phoenix.

Our initial destination was the Slide Rock State Park just north of Sedona. This is a great little park in the valley of Oak Creek. We came in from the north to avoid the Gatlinburg like congestion of Sedona. The drive down the canyon to the the Sate Park was great. The valley is awesome with the road hugging the cliffs and cruising around the switchbacks is always fun.
We wanted to do a hike up Sterling Pass before we toured the Park. The trail head is about a half mile down the road from the State Park entrance. This hike was a real stairmaster. It is very steep going up a red rock canyon to a "low" spot in the white rock that sits on top of the red. There is much evidence that a wild fire has occurred in this canyon in the recent past. All the Ponderosa Pines are black up the trunk with many of them dead. We saw many of the lizard natives on the way up and down.

The views back down the trail to the Oak Creek canyon were spectacular. We were a little disappointed that the pass at the top did not yield a better view down into the valley on the back side. There were quite a few trees up there that did not afford a good view.

After we went up and down on the Sterling Pass Trail, we headed back to the Slide Rock State Park. My brother had introduced me to this park several years back. It is a nice family oriented park for picnicking and swimming, when the water is warm. We hiked up the river to check out the rocks and the stream. I think the water was about 50 degrees.

The cliffs and the river are nice to hike in. There are huge boulders that have washed down the stream bed in the past. The best part is the smoothly eroded "slide" that is the real attraction here. If you can brave the water the ride looks like great fun.

On our drive back south, we took the detour to Verde River Hot Springs. I "discovered" this hot spring on the web when Julie mentioned she wanted to go to a hot spring while she was in Arizona. I always give her what she wants.
This one has a great history. It was established back in the 1920's as a resort. The resort was built around the springs and now provides the pools that you soak in. These were made of poured concrete and had the inlets and outlets to provide a stable level and two different temperatures.
The journey just to get to the hot springs is a tale. From I17 you head east on AZ260. After about ten miles a Forest Service road heads south. The trail description told us we had about 20 miles of bad road. They were right! The first half is used extensively by cattle ranchers to reach their grazing lands. This has resulted in heavy washboard of the road surface. Then the road gets worse. It really just meant that we had to go slow and revel in the scenery. At one point we came upon a large bull that seemed to want to get friendly, and I mean really friendly, with our car. He must have liked the color. We also observed another car down the embankment that seemed to now be there permanently.

After running the road gauntlet succesfully, the last hurdle to the Hot Springs is a short hike from a small campground. The hike is about a mile long upstream to a river crossing. The trail begins at an old hydro-power plant that is in the process of being dismantled and the area restored to its natural state. This was easy at the time we did it due to the low water level. There was evidence in the brush and trees along the river that the water can get very high.
Our trail description told us to look across the river to find two lone palm trees. These are some of the remains of the resort that can be seen easily from the far side of the river. Due to the vegetation it is difficult to see the other remains.

After getting across the river, the excitement level goes really high. It was kind of amazing we found the place and it actually existed. As you hike the last hundred yards the old ruins and the actual hot pools come into view. It would have been a great place to escape to back in its day.

As we came around the corner of what appeared to be a large concrete main plaza, the hot pools appear. It happened to be strewn with rafts and camping gear. Two guys were in the middle of a one hundred mile rafting journey down the Verde River and this was their second night out. They were great company and a real source of history as they have lived in the area for quite some time.
The pools themselves are unique. Two different pools give two separate experiences. An outdoor pool built out from the rocks with poured concrete is the "cooler" of the two pools. This is out on a large concrete deck about thirty feel above the river. The other pool, which, Julie thought was about 103 degrees, is inside a rock room. It appears to have had a roof and a door at one time but is now open to the sky.
The art work that adorns the inside of the "room" is incredible! The art is quite elaborate and extensive. The campers mentioned there were many "hippies" that frequented the hot springs that took care of the pools, cleaning and decorating. At times it is obvious there may be a distinct lack of bathing attire also.

Alas, as the sun was going down we decided we better tear ourselves out of the hot pools and start our journey back over the 20 miles of bad road. The sunset was really nice but we had to get going. It would have been great to camp there and be able to stay at the springs into the dark of night and see the stars.

The drive out of the canyon in the Subaru was slow but easy. We came upon several people heading in to the springs as we were heading out. One couple was in a Saturn and were planning on staying overnight to go in the hot springs in the morning.
We did see two large black cows in the brush next to the road as we drove out. It is mostly all open range on the road so you have to pay attention.
As we came around one of the ridge turns the lights of Camp Verde came into view and we knew we were almost to the end of the bad road.
It was worth every second! This was a long, and varied day, but the journey was great. From high to low, cold water to hot, bad mountain road to Interstate Highway, many contrasts. We will be back!

Phoenix Mtn Preserve

2009-04-08T17:40:00.003-04:00

Today was to be a day of dust storms and high winds! This has not materialized.
About mid-morning Herself and I decided to go for a hike up Lookout Mountain near my brother's house. The hike ended up about 5 miles total loop with over 720 feet of vertical. I love my little Garmin GPS majig!
About half of the hike is walking through the Phoenix neighborhoods. The landscaping is amazing with the utterly different flora then our Michigan. Rarely does anyone attempt to keep a lawn. Most space in the yards is some type of aggregate of all different colors, shapes, textures and sizes.

The views take in from Squaw Peak on the left in the background to downtown Phoenix to Shaw Butte with all the radio antennas on top on the right.

Lookout Mountain is aptly named as it gives a good 360 degree view of the Phoenix valley from the top. The other peaks we have hiked up have areas that are kind of hidden from view. The populated valley seems to go on forever. Where do all these people come from.

The breeze at the top was great. The trail up is kind of tricky in spots as the rock has broken up and is kind of like walking on ball bearings on a slope. I was happy neither of us ended up on our rear ends.

I did notice the pervasive, nasty, sneaky, "Devil Spawn" Cholla Cacti were stalking me. They were on the slope below us as we hiked along the trail. I could swear they were sending up advanced troops to try and jump onto me again. We managed to elude their best efforts and get down the mountain unpoked.

Sedona Vortex Energy

2009-04-07T12:11:00.007-04:00

We have felt the Vortex Energy Centers calling to us as soon as we got within the range of their influence. So this journey was ordained to seek out the center and go to it. We did not have our crystals but we could still feel the energy coursing through our bodies.
Actually, we went to the Red Rocks of Sedona, Arizona today. Our journey lead us down the Schnebly Road from I17. It is a dirt road that is used extensively by the Pink Jeep Tours. Awesome views and fun to drive the Subaru down. I think we went down over 1500 feet and ended up right in the middle of Gatlinburg, Arizona, oops, I mean Sedona. I am somewhat dismayed by all the crystalography, New Age, and Vortex Center hype that goes on here. I just want to walk in the rocks.

We began our tour by going down to one of the Bell Rock trail heads. There has been extensive work done on the roads in this area lately. The last time Julie and I were here I was afraid to drive the car off the road to get to a parking space. Now the road is a four lane divided boulevard with lovely parking areas for the trail heads. Bathrooms, vendors, paved spots that by 11am on a Monday are full to the brim. All for the low cost of $5 for the Red Rocks Pass (federal).

We began our hike up the trail toward Bell Rock and took an immediate right turn to get away from the hordes. Our trail was a loop around the backside of the Courthouse Butte, past the Spaceship Rock and then on to the final fun clambering around on Bell Rock. This area is one that is especially noted for its Vortex Energy. This energy is gained only by full body contact with the Red Rock. As can be seen we made every attempt to collect as much of the energy as possible. More energy can be gained by closer contact, to include full body.

The wild flowers were out in force today. Along with the flowers were the butterflys. Quite a delightful sight.

As we came around the east side of the Courthouse Butte, the Spaceship Rock was spotted. It had landed out of sight of the general public back in a low canyon. We had to walk around the rock to determine how the aliens got in the vehicle. We tried our best to meet with them, but they would not open the hatch. Julie and the Cat tried to extend their antennas to gather the most energy they could to communicate with the beings and I tried to meditate at the top of the ship. None of our efforts seemed to matter to the aliens in the Spaceship.

Cat did find a new friend near the Spaceship that she wanted to bring home with her. We did not think the airline would allow it to be brought on the plane.

Our next stop on the tour was the hugely popular Bell Rock. We managed to hike up and about all over this large chunk of Red Rock. It is quite enjoyable to go smearing around on the slanted rock. It is amazing to see from a distance all the variety of people that are drawn ever upward on the rock. The views are great. The day was one of our best for clear air and long views.

Toward the end of our stay at Bell Rock we had to pose in front of what must surely be the model for the new Ottawa County monument to justice, the Courthouse Butte. It appears to have been designed by the same architect with similar materials.

On the way back to Phoenix, our group needed to be fed. The source of the food was found up in the small mining town of Jerome. It is a great little town that is on many levels. It is perched on the side of a mountain with the shops and houses all on stilts and dug into the rock. To go one block in the town involves either driving up a switchback or using stairs if you are walking.
We had lunch at the Haunted Burger. The story goes that the building is haunted and the resident ghosts like hammers. Many have gone missing in the building.
There were excellent views of the valley over to Sedona and beyond to Humphrey Peak, the highest point in Arizona.

A partial rest day has been called for re-energization and basking in the sun. It is the warmest day so far predicted to hit 90 degrees. Not a cloud in the sky and no wind today. Woo-Hoo!

Squaw Peak

2009-04-06T00:40:00.008-04:00

A great day to be on vacation.
I was going to go for an early ride with a bike group here in Phoenix, but since the theme of the visit is vacation, I decided to sleep in and do another trail ride on the mountain bike. I did an easy 25k with less then 1000 feet of climbing. Great trails also in the Phoenix Mountain Park.
After I got back and cleaned up we decided to go down to Squaw Peak for a hike up to the top of that mountain. It is about 1.2 miles from the parking lot trailhead to the peak 1400 feet up.
It is a true example of the Nature's Stair Master as very little of the hike is along a trail but stepping up to a new rock each time.

Once we got to the top a short rest was in order. This trial is very popular. There were probably 20 people resting at the top. Numerous people of all descriptions were seen going up and down the peak.

We did have a bit of excitement on the way down. Cat spotted two different lizards, which I think were COMMON CHUCKWALLAs (Sauromalus ater). They appeared to be eating the vegetation on the sides of the trail in the rock crevices. One of them was quite impatient with our blocking his path across the trail to get to some other vegetation. It appeared to attack us, so we thought, as it tried to run across the trail. The Chuckwalla is quite comical when it is running. It appears as if a switch is thrown that starts the legs moving, very fast. When it is on the ground it moves fast, bouncing around, going up into the air and in erratic directions. It did add to the excitement of the hike. One guy was telling us they were Gila Monsters. You meet all kinds out on the trail.

In the morning, we are going to head up north to Sedona and Jerome. The Red Rock is calling and we must go.

Herself has Arrived!

2009-04-04T17:46:00.003-04:00

The latest update involves the arrival of Herself and Cat, the Speedster, in Phoenix.
My brother and I had the opportunity to go see the Phoenix Suns take on Sacremento for a hopeful berth in the NBA playoffs. The odds are long that the Suns will make it this year. They need to win every one of their last seven games. They beat Sacramento 139-102. We had a good time at the game. Beer was $6.75.
The next item on the agenda was to get Julie and Cat at the Phoenix Sky-harbor Airport. They had a great flight from Grand Rapids and the pickup went very well. By the time we got back to my Brother's house it was after midnight, so all went directly to bed.
The next morning we all got up very early as the recently arrived part of the crew was still three hours ahead of everyone else. We had some coffee and bagels to get going.
The first activity of the stay in Phoenix was a hike up the trails I rode the mountain bike on yesterday. The day was great, 70's and not a cloud in the sky. There were lots of folks out in the park hiking and enjoying the day.
The most exciting part was the lesson in cactus safety Craig learned. We were talking about the GHHS cross country coach and his experience with the "jumping cactus". I mentioned that it really does not jump. So, to experience the truth, we had to go seek out the Jumping Cholla Cactus, Opuntia bigelovii.

We were looking at a particularly nice specimen when I spotted one of the fallen arms on the ground nearby. I thought, I will pick it up very carefully so everyone can look at it.
I was immediately impaled by numerous needles that have microscopic hooks on the ends of the spines. I then desperately tried to get it off my left thumb with my right hand. This caused the needles to be now stuck in both thumbs. Extreme pain is also included. I got the spines out of my right thumb with my teeth and some help from everybody else. They were very reluctant to even think about touching the mass stuck to my left thumb. I had my bike repair tool in the camelback and asked to have that taken out of the pack pocket. I used the chain tool to kind of pry most of the arm off my thumb thinking that chunks of my thumb were going to go with each spine that I pulled out. I finished the task with my teeth.
A bit of whining was heard from my general direction for the rest of the hike. Julie asked if I thought I would need to have anything amputated, I said, "Yes, the stupid part attached sitting on top of my neck!"
The rest of the hike my thumb was throbbing from the pain and swelling.
Let me tell you those things do jump (not really but it sure seems like it) and they hurt like the dickens. The best advice I have is to stay away entirely. Unfortunately, no photos were taken to document the incident.
More fun to report soon. Much relaxation going on now. Beer! Sun! Warm!

Moving the Operation South

2009-04-03T18:29:00.007-04:00

The final afternoon and evening in Arches National Park was spent hoping the sun would come out and the temperature would warm up. As a surprise the sun came out but it did not warm up much. The wind, always the wind.

On the way back from Moab to the campsite, I was again tempted to see some of the arches that are off the beaten path. There is a small area of hills just north of the Balanced Rock turnout that looked interesting. I could see these rocks from the hike earlier in the Devil's Garden area. Part of the route to get there involves a gravel road, the majority of which is noted as four wheel drive recommended. Well, the Subaru should be up to the task! I did make it about half way! Then considering the fact that I have to use the Subaru to get back to Michigan, I decided to turn around at a particularly gnarly uphill stretch. I was by myself and could not see over the hood nor spot myself as I made my way up the rocks, I decided it was a no go! As soon as I turned around, a father and his young son in a huge tired, jacked up, Jeep just cruised by and went up as if they were going down the highway. I think those jeeps are cheating.

After I arrived back at the campsite, a little cleaning up was in order for the packing in the morning. I then had some dinner. Then as we all know, Craig can't still for long, and the notion of going out onto the slickrock was thought of. Directly behind the campsite is a really nice section of red and white rock to hike about on.
There is one nice arch I got some shots of but the light was not great. I was really disappointed with the photo opportunities as the clouds were quite heavy. So I tried to see how high I could get and still get down. The red rocks have a cap layer of white rock on top of them. It is really strange to see all the red and then come out on the top and see all white rock. It is a slightly courser texture then the red and does not seem to be as hard. In places it looks like a big red ice cream cone with vanilla chocolate chip ice cream on top. Large rounded tops to all the fins and features. I tried to go up and over the white rock area I managed to get on top of but no safe route was found.

As I was making my way back to camp, all of a sudden, as the sun was going down, it burst out from under the clouds at the last few moments before the actual setting. I was running around, up and down trying to get some good angles before it was gone. It was fun cruising around on the slanted rock. The views were amazing and it was worth all the effort.
The breadth of the views is really what amaze me. You can see at least thirty miles away to the LaSal Mountains and the snow squalls moving through.

Morning brought the inevitable breaking of camp. I think it took about an hour to get all the stuff down, packed and back in the car the way it was before. I was amazed as that is not usually how it goes, the Law of Entropy say that the mess always gets worse, not better.
On the way down to Phoenix I stopped at the Natural Bridges National Monument. I learned the difference between an arch and a bridge. An arch is typically formed by wind and water action but not by the actual flow of the water through it. The arch is usually a result of water getting in a freezing thus breaking down the rocks to form the arch. A bridge is formed directly by the action of flowing water through and around the rock.
The Park is up on a high plateau which requires 500-600 foot vertical drops into the canyon to see the bridges up close. The feeling is different then Arches as the rock is much brighter then up north near Moab.
One very interesting sight was the Ansazi ruins across the canyon. I was surprised that from the viewpoint you are several hundred yards from the ruins. The view is not great as the ruins are a longs ways away and the shadows in the bottom of the canyon make for difficult viewing. These ruins are suggested to be about one thousand years old.
Upon leaving the Park I headed south toward Mexican Hat, Utah. The road to get there is like a roller coaster going up and down, then really down. The speed limit goes from 65 mph to 15 mph with many warning signs. The plateau literally just falls away about 1000 feet. I am always amazed how they build these roads.

After arriving in the valley below safely, I came upon the reason the nearby town is called Mexican Hat. The rock formation just north of town is quite distinctive to say the least. The moon added itself for a better effect. It took a lot of effort to get these shots. Not really, this falls into the "did not even get out of the car" group.

The highlight of the journey south, besides the Park, the road down the cliff, and the wind, was the drive through Monument Valley! This is the area made famous in countless Westerns and truly by John Ford and the Duke, John Wayne. The entire area is now the Navajo Nation. To get on to any of the property off the main road you must have a Navajo guide.
One thing I did notice that quite set me back is the road side litter. It almost appears the soil on the sides of the road is 25% broken glass. Another half is plastic bottles and other trash. It seems that Arizona does not have a bottle return deposit law and it shows. There are signs every so often for "Adopt A Highway" program. Does not seem to be effective. I could not imagine trying to pick up the litter from a 50 foot stretch, let alone a mile. It would require a dumpster!

I finally arrived in Phoenix at my brother's home. It is nice and warm!
I slept in a bed! It was warm! Did I say it was warm?
I finally got my act together about 10am to go for a ride in the Phoenix Mountain Preserve Park. This is one of the areas right in the Phoenix city limits that allows hiking, biking and equestrian activities on trails through the mountains. It is much different then Michigan because there is gradient for one and rock for another.
After a short ride on the nicely accommodating roads with bike lanes, I went up into the Shaw Butte area of the park. I had hiked this several times on earlier trips and had always wanted to try the bike. Whoa! The initial slope you ride up is at times about 22% grade, rocky, and loose. Very challenging. I "had" to stop at several points to take some pictures. That's right, I "had" to stop to take pictures, not because my head was going to explode.
The route I took goes up over the top of Shaw Butte where there is a plethora of radio antennas of all sorts, broadcast, cell phone, and phone relay microwave. Down the back side to another lower peak is another challenging slope. This is less technically difficult as there is either dumped concrete for the service vehicles or good solid rock not the ball bearings of the front side. I was more worried about this side then the front from earlier hikes but it proved easier.
I then managed to get my self lost! I got on to a wrong trail, that I had not been on previously. This required me to go all the way down to street level, unfortunately on the south side of the park. I kind of knew I could get to the park visitor center on the east side of the park and find my way back. This was a good move and I now have a map and better knowledge of the area. The other trails in the park are less gradient challenged and offer some great mountain biking.
The best part was no blood was spilled, no equipment was damaged and it was warm enough for shorts and a jersey.
I hear its snowing in Michigan.
Bummer!

One item of note is a ruin of an old restaurant, early 20's, that was up on Shaw Butte. From what I hear, all patrons were brought up the hill in four wheel drive jeeps to dine with phenomenal views of Phoenix in the evening and night. It burned down and was not rebuilt.

Can Rock be Delicate?

2009-04-01T16:59:00.006-04:00

This began as a needed trip into town from the Devil's Garden campground in the Arches National Park. As with anything out West, it is never quick and easy. The camping is 18 miles from the park entrance at a maximum speed of 45 and sometimes slower. I was tempted along the way!
The morning began with getting going from camp. I had a great night that did not involve being tightly cocooned in my down sleeping bag to keep from freezing solid. It seemed down right nice out. Chilly, but nice. I got out and there was a bit of snow on the tent. The weather here is just "unfiguroutable"!

The morning light is always nice for some photos so I stopped to capture some of the rock formations on the park road. This lead to thinking perhaps I should go see if the Delicate Arch area is empty. It was!
I would have it all to myself and with good light.

The trail starts out quite typically. A good surface for many visitors to stroll over. Then it heads up and over a large expanse of tilted slickrock.
Again the wind! There is nothing here to block it. It is cold. We are talking some definite wind chill here. Fortunately, I was well prepared. I had my Red Patagonia Wind Blocker fuzzy jacket on. Perfect!

There are great views of the main park road as you climb up the slickrock. Flowers are hidden under rocks and larger junipers out of the wind. The trail is marked with many rock cairns along the way.
The trail leads you around the back of a large fin. For about a hundred yards the trail is on a small ledge above a large drop off. Note the use of the words "small" and "large". I still amazes me that the general public is encouraged to hike on these trails.

As you come around the end of the large fin on the skinny ledge trail, the Delicate Arch presents itself rather dramatically. It is perched in a large bowl of red sandstone. This in turn leads down a large chasm below a cliff opposite the arch. This is a huge area. I'm thinking the football stadium at the UofM would be dropped in easily.

The clouds had filled in rather disappointingly as I was hiking up the slickrock. At that point I was committed to the hike. While I was have fun walking around the arch and smearing up and down the sides of the bowl, the sun came out!
I was able to get some good shots from near the arch and some across the bowl up on the opposite ridge. In one of the shots there is another hiker to give some scale.

I took an alternate route back down which uses some of the slickrock and fins behind the bowl ridge to get back to the main trail. This was quite enjoyable.

The final treat of the hike is seeing some ancient drawings from the natives that used to inhabit this area. It would appear they had a small "Mickey" in their group also.

I would like to thank the Moab Public Library for the wifi connection and their facility. It is a truly beautiful facility, nicely designed. The library has an extensive collection of books and the largest free access computer system, to include wireless and wired available computers I have seen anywhere. I hope Grand Haven's new library can match this at the least.
I have shopping to be done, and then possible another hike. It is really cold and windy here today. As I have been in the library working on this, the sky is clouded over.
In the morning I have to break camp and head to Phoenix, AZ. I think it is about 500 miles and there are several things to see on the way, natural bridges, roads to drive, and best of all Monument Vally. (John Ford and the Duke made this famous)

I meet Herself (Hotness), and Cat Meow (otherwise know as the Speedster) on Friday evening after the Phoenix Suns basketball game with my brother. Then the adventures will really begin! Woo Hoo!

Tempted in The Devil's Garden

2009-04-01T16:14:00.007-04:00

The first arch I saw in Arches National Park was right behind my campsite. After I had arrived at the site, checked in with the hosts, and setup my tent, I went for a short walk. The Skyline Arch was right in front of me with the sunset glowing in the middle of it. Cool!

The next day I got up early and fired up the stove, it is leaking. I got enough out of it to boil some water for coffee and decided to not start a fire and had a bagel with peanut butter, crunchy of course. I got up early to catch the light of the sunrise and go for a hike before the hordes of tourists descend.

From my campsite in the Devil's Garden facility, it is a short walk to the trailhead for the Devil's Garden trails. There are two trails, a main one and a more "primitive" trail around the outside and through some other fins.

The first arch you see is the famous Landscape Arch. It is very dramatic and thin. I understand in 1994 a huge chunk fell from the right side and someone managed to catch the fall on film. This is one of the few places that people are confined away from the features. There are probably two reasons here, popularity and safety. This is one of the easier arches to get to and very popular and the chance this whole thing could most probably come down in the near future.

The hiking is quite dramatic at times, finding yourself on the top of narrow fins, and highly sloped "slickrock". It is fun and challenging to see how much "smearing" you can do on a high angle rock face. The thrill of success is directly related to the amount of exposure and the consequences of the failure of friction and technique. Oh, yeah, there's that gravity thing too.
Additional bonuses are the flowers that are blooming in some hidden places.

My route took me out on the primitive loop and back on the main trail. The first arch I came to on the way out is on a small spur trail. It is quite appropriately called Private Arch. You happen upon it very suddenly, and surprisingly. It is actually a hole through a fin which is adjacent to another fin.

After much more hiking in some sand and on slickrock, you gain the main trail. This is going outward bound as yet. The farthest out feature on this trail in called the Dark Angel. It is a solitary pinnacle of dark stained sandstone. A gendarme in the rock climbing parlance. It can be seen from quite far off as it stands out in the open at the top of a slope leading down to the Salt Valley.

Another set of arches on the way out to the Dark Angel is the Double O Arch. It is two openings, one above the other. I have no idea what connotation is to be gained by this title. It is rather exciting to see, as it comes into view rather climaxically.

The flora and fauna of the park is varied and prolific. There are lizards everywhere and the ground squirrels are quite active. The lichens on the rock faces and boulders are dramatic and many colored.

The hike back to the trailhead is quite fun going over many fins and slickrock areas. I was quite amazed to see that there was evidence of previously installed handrails that have been removed. So everyone is left to their own technique and skill. Some are better then others. Some like to have contact with the rock with hands, feet, rear end, stomach and helpers.
The couple seen hiking on the top of the fin, I met at one of the arch viewing points. They had just been married and were here on their honeymoon. They are from Switzerland and are traveling and camping throughout the American West for two months. It amazes me at these National Treasures of ours how many people from around the world you run into.

This last arch on the Devil's Garden hike is Partition Arch. By this time of the day the trail and the arches get very crowded. It was now after "the crack of noon" after all. This arch has a nice bowl area for practicing your smearing technique. There were some kids having a great time much to the dismay of their parents who could not get to them to get them down on the main trail. I had nothing to do with encouraging that behavior.

After I completed the morning's tour, I had lunch. I then got bored. So I needed to go for a ride.
There is an area of rocks across the valley that can be seen from the Devil's Garden area. It is know as Klondike Bluffs. The road to get there is about 10 miles long from my campsite. The first two miles is on the main park road. A nice road it is! Then you turn off onto the valley road our to Klondike Bluffs. This is a dry gravel (ball bearings no adhesive material to hold together) road that runs across the bottom of the valley. It is traveled regularly by jeeps and trucks, so it is very wash-boarded. I did not know which was going to give out first, my rattled brains or my rear end. In the end I made the decision based on the wind, which in true Utah fashion, was howling again from the NW and cold.

The evening proved to be just as entertaining. The clouds came in and the wind came up even more, if you can believe that. The gusts were amazingly loud and sudden, above the typical wind. Then at times it would be dead silent. The night was great for sleeping as it seemed downright warm compared to other nights on this trip. I did wake up and arise to snow on the tent in the morning.

I have to travel into town in the morning to see about getting the stove fixed and get some more bagels.

The First Ride in Moab

2009-04-01T15:20:00.006-04:00

Moab of the Red Rocks. I can't tell you how excited I was to get here. I ended up staying in a small private campground in Moab. It was nice and had shower facilities that I used well. The next day was to be the first time the bikes were taken out of their seclusion.

I had been checking out these roads on the maps for weeks now, as Herself can attest. I drove out from Moab on the north side of the Colorado River. I think it was about seven miles out from town when Long Canyon presents itself as a side canyon to the main one the Colorado River is now in. The rocks here were unbelievable. This is a popular climbing area as well.

The bike finally is released from its bondage to go to the hills. One of the first arches I saw in the Moab area was one right here where I parked my car. The Jug Handle Arch. It is a side arch extending off the face of the cliff.

The road starts out as paved, until you get to a mining operation. This is obtaining potash from the below ground here and is extracted as a liquid. The slurry is then put in evaporation ponds to solidify.
Some of the early sights were the red striped rocks and the way the roads are not gravel but rocks.

The earlier reference to Thelma & Louise was for all you movie buffs out there. In the final scene of the movie the two characters decide the only way out of their problems is to be found at the bottom of the cliff they found themselves at. The Colorado River is 1400 feet straight down to the right. I guess they had to go get the car they sent over the cliff. As typical of this area there is no protection of any sort.

The next item on the ride agenda was the Shafer Trail. This is a dirt road that takes you from the White Rim Trail, which completely encircles the Canyonlands National Park Island in the Sky Unit, up to the plateau that actully forms the "Island". This trail is 15-20% grade the whole way. A comparison for GH folk, 5 Mile Hill is between 8 to 9% grade. The views are staggering, and the effort is beyond belief. Very few go up this trail except by means of a motor. This actually did not turn out to be the most demanding part of the ride. I just put it in low gear and kept plodding along. At one point I had to stop and talk to a ranger that was on his way out to install a traffic counter on the White Rim Trail. I had to be sociable "ya know".

The road then reaches the top of the plateau, where the "Island in the Sky" name comes from. This is a relative term as there are still ups and downs. Oh, yeah, did I mention the wind? Holy Crap! I had about 4 miles of riding to do to get to my turn down Long Canyon. This was the most psychologically draining riding I have ever done. I was beginning to get a little tired from the earlier riding, and the top of the plateau was cold and the wind was blowing into my face at at least 25 knots. "This is the season", as they say out here. I was heading for the turn off at the Knoll as seen in the road photo. As soon as I made that right turn, it was literally "all down hill from there"!

Long Canyon is a tight little gash that leads down to a more open area above the Colorado River. I was truly glad I was going down this and not up. There were some stretches that were very sandy and torn up from the jeep traffic that is also a very popular activity here.
As you can see from the photo of the big chunk of rock it was a good thing I had me helmet on in case something like that happened while I was riding under it. That would leave a big mark.

I finally came around the last corner of the canyon looking up at the Jug Handle Arch and then saw my cute little blue car. I was happy to be done but was well worth the effort.
An unbelievable place to ride.

Ever Closer to the Red Rock

2009-04-01T14:44:00.006-04:00

After a delightful night at the local Grand Junction Walmart, I decided to get up early and check out the road in the Colorado National Monument that I needed to ride. A short drive out of town and you start up into the rock wall that you can see from town. Amazing. One of the reasons I became aware of this road is some dork being chased by the police for some sex crime, decided he'd do humanity a favor, drive up here and go off one of the cliffs. I guess it is quite a popular area to do one's self in, 27 incidents in 2008. Ala, Thelma and Louise. (we'll get to that subject later) Well, I'm not sure if he was stupid, drunk, or stupid and drunk, when he chose this course of action, but, when he found his launching pad, ran the countdown to zero, he went about 120 feet off the road and managed to land his van on top of a rock pinnacle with all four wheels spinning.
Photo compliments of The Rocky Mountain News.
He now resides in the "Big House" and the tax payers got the bill to get a huge crane up there to remove the debris.

These are shots from my drive along the road during my scouting tour.

To allow the day to become a bit warmer, I decided to do a short hike on the trails on the east side of the park. The trails are cut into the rock and go up the face to the plateau above. One of the trails called the Serpents Trail is actually the remains of the original road up one section of the canyon. Many switchbacks.

Another trail was called Corkscrew for obvious reasons. This thing went back and forth so many times I was dizzy.

The No Thoroughfare Canyon Trail starts near the south entrance and goes up a box canyon. This has a small creek running down it with two water falls. The middle falls is small, about three feet of drop. The upper falls comes out of a rock mouth up on the cliff and drops probably 100 feet. This area is in constant shadow so there was still ice on the fall pond and on the rock wall.

An unfortunate turn of events did not allow me to do the bike ride I had needed to do. The bikes remained in seclusion. The weather brought forth some incredible winds which were worse on the canyon road up on the edge. I made the command decision to abort the ride and continue to Moab. As can be seen by the photos the wind kicked up a dust storm like I have never seen in my life. The wind was coming from the SW and "stuff" blowing across the highway was always a challenge to avoid. I did make it to Moab and that is the next chapter.

Colorado Calling!

2009-03-28T21:35:00.011-04:00

Gradient is the elixir of life! I love the mountains! Michigan only has little bumps, I am sorry!

I finally made it up out of Denver with the Saturday morning ski crowd. That is a mean rush hour. I am glad it was not a powder day, that gets even more cannibalistic. There were several accidents and slow downs but I made it. Coming out of the Eisenhower Tunnel is always amazing! You then get a long downhill immediately after. As I previously mentioned this takes you through the Summit County area with all of the ski areas.

At the CO91 exit, I turned south past Copper Mountain. This road leads up over Fremont Pass toward Leadville. Fremont Pass is about 11,600 feet and had a lot of snow up there. The road is great, twisty with high rock walls and many fir trees. The chair lift at the top is for sight seeing. The wind was screaming!

Just on the south side of Fremont Pass is the headwaters of the Arkansas River. Perhaps I should have brought the fly rod as there were many people out fishing today.

The high mountain town of Leadville is at almost 10,500 feet. Originally a mining town, it is delightfully Victorian in its appearance.

After Leadville the road stays south until I hit US50, heading West again toward Gunnison. As you make your way down this section there are many high peaks off to the right, some reaching over 14,000 feet. Mt. Shavano is among these peaks.

The next stop was the Black Canyon of the Gunnison National Park. This is an amazing spot as it seems so out of place. The park road climbs steeply up for 5 miles to gain the rim of the canyon. Until getting in the park there is no clue what is about to unfold. This canyon is actually deeper then it is wide at some spots. At the Chasm View it is only about 1100 feet wide but over 1,820 feet deep. It is hard to get photos of the canyon due to the shadows.

A road runs along the rim of the canyon going south to reach the high point in the park. There are many turnouts with short hikes to the rim for views down into the canyon. At times you can hear the river in the bottom but cannot see it.

Along one trail there are some interpretive signs that explain some of the high plateau flora and fauna. One that really amazed me is the Service Berry. This plant also grows in Michigan and is one of our earliest flowering trees. On the high plateau near the canyon it is a stunted bush about 4 feet high.
The drive from the canyon to Grand Junction was easy with mostly two lane 65 mph roads. It was about 60 degrees F here today at Grand Junction. My plan is to stay here tonight and see if I can ride in the Colorado National Monument tomorrow.

Homage to the Duke

2009-03-28T12:09:00.010-04:00

On across Iowa!

I decided to pay homage to the Duke! John Wayne was born in Winterset, Iowa a little southeast of DesMoines. His birth house is available for tours and view of items from his life. I decided the drive by would be enough.

Surrounding Winterset is a number of well preserved and restored covered bridges. I think they are from the turn of the century. A real attraction for these bridges is the movie "The Bridges of Madison County". This is based on a fictional book of the same name. The story is of a woman, Francesca, who came to the US as a war bride from Italy, and meets a National Geographic photographer that is on assignment to document the covered bridges.

The land around Winterset is rolling farmland. One of the movie sets that can be found driving from the Interstate is the one used as Francesca's farm house.

The house is well guarded by a barbed wire fence and large notice of electronic monitoring.

The day then consisted of heading West as the traffic and roads allowed. The weather was great except for a steady north wind at about 15-20 knots. I had to dial in about a 15 degree turn to the steering wheel to keep the car straight.

That proved good for the wind farms that were seen along the highway. Two large ones were seen starting in Adair, Iowa.

Each of these farms had at least a hundred turbines cranking out the electricity.

The next state I80 traverses is Nebraska. It is long and flat. Over 400 miles mostly traveling along the Platte River. The most extraordinary thing I saw was the, literally, millions of Sand Hill Cranes migrating north. I was not able to get any decent shots of the birds other then the long distance from the rest area.

The day ended with the sun setting over the Colorado high plain before the rise of the Front Range. I spent the night at a delightful WalMart in Fort Morgen. There were many other travelers including semi tractor trailers, RV's and others in their cars. The only problem encountered was the temperature fell to 10 degrees F due to the clear sky. I had a pleasant night in my down sleeping bag, but the inside of the car was quite frosted over in the morning and my water bottle was froze solid.

The last stretch into Denver was awesome watching the sun come up behind me lighting up the fog and the mountains.

The drama began as I headed up I70 into the mountains. Just after the first incline and before Golden, Colorado, a Hummer managed to nail a Honda Accord and stop traffic for about 45 minutes. After this was cleared up traffic was backed up just before a short tunnel. After the tunnel away we go. My plan had been to go over Loveland Pass instead of the Eisenhower Tunnel but I thought the warnings and the high wind I could see blowing snow off the tops of the mountains indicated using the tunnel.

Coming out of the tunnel is always exciting as you are now in the middle of the area that is home to Breckenridge, Arapahoe Basin, Copper, Vail, and Eagle's Nest Wilderness. Several 14,000 foot mountains are just to the north of the highway.

That's all for now, I will get some shots of the mountains in the next update. The plan is to head south near Cooper and go on to the Black Canyon of the Gunnison National Park, up toward Grand Junction to perhaps ride in the Colorado National Monument.

The Trip is GO!

2009-03-27T09:17:00.002-04:00

After much anticipation, the trip is finally go!

The Subaru was loaded up last night with all my stuff. Herself cut off all excess hair from my head. The weather checked one last time.

I made it out the door at about 4:40am edt. Traveling in the early hours has always been easy for me, a cup of coffee and NPR, just cruising.

Made Chicago before rush hour began. Paid my $0.60 toll and kept on cruising. The sun came up on a mostly cloudy day that keeps getting chillier. The temperature is now 30 degrees F. That's ok because I am not outside in it.

Saw my first large wind farm some where near Ottawa, Illinois. It appeared to be about 50 good size machines on the south side of the interstate.

I was crossing the Mississippi River into Iowa just as Herself called to check up on me. She beat me to the punch by about a minute, I was going to call as soon as I made it into Iowa.

I stopped at the rest area about 3 miles inside Iowa for a break. Iowa is cool they have wireless internet in the rest areas, hence I figured I better do my first update.

I am hoping the nasty weather farther West stays south of I80. Then all will be well.

Better head in to the rest room. Next update probably in Nebraska.

Solutions!

2009-02-27T09:18:00.004-05:00

Seeing as the economy has given me this time to reflect on things, I have two priorities at this moment. One is to find employment outside the automotive industry and the other is to increase my advocacy of alternate means of transportation.

Our government has chosen to implement a Stimulus Package to see if the economy can be revitalized. Part of that stimulus includes money for enhancements to transportation and alternative energy. The enhancements to our transportation system will help encourage alternative methods of getting around, hopefully to ensure better bicycle and pedestrian system integration. The alternative energy stimulus is aimed at sources other then burning fossil fuels such as coal and natural gas, and the improved distribution system these new methods will require.

I am looking into the wind energy industry for opportunities for employment as I find this quite interesting and exciting. The idea of using a renewable or non-fuel burning source of energy is interesting as it poses challenges to produce and distribute the energy to users. The distribution concerns are covered in the proposed upgrades to the distribution system that has been called a smart grid. This allows for a more distributed collection of sources and the handling of problems within the grid. The design of new sources requires careful thought as to siting and construction to maximize the output. The industry has designed wind turbines ranging from small machines capable of mounting on the roof of individual residences to huge 4.6MW turbine that stand taller then the Washington Monument.

Part of the problem with our economy has stemmed from the dependence on the automobile for essentially all of our transportation needs. We have designed our roads and cities around the car. Our zoning isolates residential areas from commercial areas. Very few cities have effective mass transit systems. We have to depend on the car to get anywhere. Even if you want to walk or ride a bike the infrastructure is not designed for it or the other users are not used to seeing it used in that manner. I rode my bike to work almost all last year, riding in all types weather and on all types of roads, from good roads with paved shoulders to gravel. I enjoyed this bike commuting as it gave a kick start to my day and a sense of accomplishment to the purpose of reducing my fuel usage. I always think of 28th Street in Grand Rapids, Michigan as a great example of an absolute failure for any transportation other then cars. This street is very commercial and in one section has two malls and several "big box" retailers situated along it. It is impossible to ride a bike or walk along this corridor.

Several other bloggers I follow, have done great jobs in documenting alternatives to the car and providing education and advocacy for alternative methods of transportation. Andy Cline, who writes isocrates.us/bike/, Carbon Trace, has several items such as Safe Routes to School, the One-Mile Solution and individual advocacy he encourages. Marc van Woudenberg, Amsterdamize.com, lives and works in Amsterdam, NED. His commentary, photos and video of bicycle life in the Netherlands is amazing.

Following these examples, I have seen where a campaign of advocacy can lead to changes and improvements for all. My goals are to further educate myself and enter the market for alternative energy and advocate for transportation change in our country.

Wind mills are energy producing machines and bikes are not just toys. We shall see what the future holds.

Kalamazoo Psychiatric Hospital water tower

2009-02-25T13:59:00.005-05:00

What college kids will do for "fun"!

When I attended Western Michigan University back in the 70's, this tower provided a challenge. How do we get up there?

One night, a couple of friends said they knew how to get in. This required sneaking on to the grounds of the hospital and entering the courtyard through an archway used mainly for deliveries. Up on the knoll where the tower is actually located, there is a man hole that gives access to the tunnel where the pipes for the water tower are.

The man hole cover was somehow removed. The next step requires crawling along the pipes, I seem to recall some were insulated for steam perhaps, until reaching another access hole inside the base of the tower.

Once we were all inside the base of the tower the climb up the spiral staircase begins. We did not come totally prepared with sufficient flashlights so this was kind of disorienting. The stairs seemed to go up into total blackness.

Once at the top of this stairway, there is a short passage that gets you outside the lower tower. A straight ladder leads up the inside of the masonry work and the steel tank. There is a transition to another ladder half way up.

Once you get to the top, there is a dormer type structure with narrow windows on each side and a larger window on the front over the edge of the tower.

I remember the side windows would not open. This required going out the front window and getting around the corner to the roof.

Once on the roof, the view of Kalamazoo at night is phenomenal. From what I have recently learned the roof was used to gather rain water and used as "soft water" for washing and things like that in the hospital. This provided a nice area to lean back on the sloped roof.

This structure has been restored to some extent back in the 70's and recently in the mid-00's. It was originally built in 1895 to supply water for the State Mental Hospital.

There is some discussion about trying to get some access to this historic landmark.

A good discussion of this structure is available at: www.kpl.gov/video. Search for Kalamazoo Water Tower.

This is only a test!

2009-02-24T13:27:00.002-05:00

I am checking out how this wireless stuff from AT&T works. They have wifi hotspots all over the country that come along with our ISP.

Today, I am in Kalamazoo investigating an opportunity to learn more about a Wind Turbine Repair and Maintenance course that Kalamazoo Valley Community College offers. I have a 2 pm appointment with the counselor to discuss.

So, I thought this would be a great time to check out the service and my ability to communicate and update for the big trip coming up.

Right now I am at a McDonald's on I94 on the south side of Kalamazoo that provides this free wireless service. It is amazing, just start up the Mac and click on the attwifi service and away we go.

Now that I have learned something today I can go to my meeting.

Another step towards AZ.

An Excellent Adventure!

2009-02-23T17:57:00.008-05:00

Its that time of year again, too cold and crappy to bike ride and not enough good snow to get me out to xc ski! So, the thought came up, "What are (can) we going to do for Spring Break?"

The biggest mitigating factors to our plans and dreams are the economy and my distinct lack of current employment.

My Hotness came up with several ideas involving cruising around to relatives to "see the USA". The original thought was to go visit her niece in Boston driving through Canada to see the Niagara Falls on the way. Another thought was to go West! My brother and sister-in-law live in Phoenix. It would be the warmer of the choices by far.

So the decision was made, I will leave early and drive our Subaru and Herself and the Speedster will fly out. Aren't flight miles wonderful?

Now let the planning begin. I am truly excited to be driving out West and taking my bikes with me. I have always dreamed of going to Moab, UT and the desert canyon lands near there. The bike riding opportunities are unlimited, mountain riding on the slick-rock and desert trails, and road biking on the wonderful hills and scenic roads of Utah and Colorado.

The tentative schedule is for me to leave March 27th to drive West. I will have several days to get to Arches National Park, where I have three days camping reserved. Then proceed to Phoenix to settle in at my brother's house. Julie and Cat arrive April 3rd at the PHX airport. This will give us time to relax and enjoy the warmth. My brother has a motor home and will accompany us north again to do a loop through the Petrified Forest National Park, Flagstaff and Sedona. Our hope is to be able to climb Humphrey's Peak if the snow level allows. Humphrey's is the highest point in AZ at 12,637 feet (3,852 m).

The final leg of the trip will be to get Herself and the Speedster back to the PHX airport on Sunday, April 12th, for their return to the everyday world. I will then drive back on a more southerly route, perhaps, through New Mexico and Texas.

I am now pouring over the maps of any and all areas I can get my hands on. The table in the basement has begun to accumulate the stuff that will need to go along. I have finagled a Mac Powerbook to enable me to stay in contact with the modern world and record how things go.

This will be fun.

Back at It!

2009-02-20T12:55:00.004-05:00

I have been slacking as far as writing anything. I just read some of my other posts and did not get to reporting on my camping trip.

The trip began in a flurry as I had things to get taken care of before I left. I wanted to get some snowshoes for the hike. The conditions were great, cold, about 20 degrees during the day and maybe 10 at night. This would help so I would not get wet. I borrowed a pair that had some good size and nice claws on the bottom. Things were thrown in the pack and the car and away I went.

It is about an hour and a half drive up to the Nordhouse Dunes Wilderness area from Grand Haven. I arrived at the end of the plowed road on the south side of the area. I carefully backed my car through the snow into a parking space so I might have a better chance of getting out should the plow come around again.

The simple task of throwing on the pack becomes quite tricky with those snow shoes are on your feet. Too bad I had no video of that. The hike out to the beach is about 2 miles from the trail head. I thought, "piece of cake". Hah! The pack was large and heavy, I was stomping through deep soft snow, and there are hills. It was slow going to say the least. I fell over once due to a photo opportunity. I had my gloves off and no jacket as I was generating some heat. So I had to put my gloves on while I lay there so I did not get my hands cold. The whole affair was quite comical I can imagine.

I soon came out into the area of the dunes known as a blowout. This is where the sand begins to take out or erode and move with the wind back from the beach. The blowouts generally form huge bowl shaped areas that rise into the typical dune shape inland of the beach. I walked along the fore-dune, just east of the beach until I found a nice sheltered area in some trees. I pitched my tent, got the sleeping pads rolled out and unstuffed my sleeping bag. It was getting to be sunset so I thought I would go explore down by the beach for some photos.

In the blowout the snow was generally wind packed or blown away down to the frozen sand. I left the snowshoes back at camp. I think it was the previous week, the weather had gone above freezing, and rained, then it froze. I was crossing a slight slope on the back side of dune just before the beach and stepped on some glare ice. I went down instantly. I landed on my left wrist. That hurt. Fortunately, no other damage. That would have put an early end to my trip.

The sunset photos were not as good as I had hoped as the shoreline at Nordhouse dunes faces NNW. So the sun was setting around the point to the south.

Dinner was the next item on the agenda. This was accomplished by lying on my stomach in my sleeping bag and cooking in the open vestibule of the tent. Quite routine. I like to use Zatarains for dinner camping with some Parmesan cheese. I ate my dinner while I read a book.

The unfortunate part about camping in the winter is that it gets dark so early. So I spent a couple of hours reading before I went to sleep. The night was quite windy. I was sleeping nicely, when I woke up to almost absolute silence. The wind had died down to almost nothing. Amazing. It is so quite in the winter when the wind is not blowing, no animal life crittering around.

When I awoke the next day, I boiled some water for oatmeal. I then took a walk around the dunes with the snowshoes on. No need to replay the evening before. It was quite nice to walk up to the top of the blowout and look out over the dark forest to the east. There were deer everywhere. It amazes me how they can just lie down on the snow and sleep.

Well, the time came to pack up and hike out. This went much easier then the hike in as the trail had set up a little from my stroll out the day before. I got back to the car and headed back.

This had been something I had not done for many years. It was interesting to see this area in the winter and stay out over night. I had hoped for some snow, maybe next time.

I thought about some changes for the next trip: use a sled instead of carrying the pack, and use skis instead of the snowshoes. Perhaps I can convince Herself to join in this fun also.

Cold, damn cold!

2009-01-16T10:39:00.004-05:00

Its been an up and down winter. We received records amounts of snow in December. Then it went to 60 degrees and it all melted.

Now its hovering around 0 degrees and we have more snow.

I went for a walk on the Grand Haven pier yesterday. The pier is covered in ice and something I have never seen, logs and large chunks of wood. The wind was from the NW at about 10 knots. I made some warm up stops at the lighthouse and the foghorn house.

On the leeward side of the pier a huge flock of common goldeneyes with a few scaups mixed in were diving for fish in the open water. They were a bit annoyed with my stroll out on the pier. As I walked along they moved away and took flight for a short time. While I hid behind the lighthouse to warm up, they settled down to feeding again. I then crawled along the pier behind the piled up ice so I could get a closer photo of them. It amazes me that some of the wildlife can just happily go on with life in these conditions. I would be toast or rather a popscicle in minutes if I ended up in that lake.

I have another walk planned today in the slightly better weather. Its still very cold but the sun is popping out on occasion.

Blizzard!

2008-12-21T22:49:00.003-05:00

We have a real Blizzard! The NWS has upgraded the area to a real blizzard! All day long our NBC affiliate has been on the weather and only the weather. We have been in "near blizzard" and "blizzard like" conditions all day.

Now we have the real thing! Yes!

I went skiing at the local rope tow hill, the Ski Bowl, with my buddy Craig, "the Younger", and his two girls, ages two and four. It was nice on the lee side of the big dune that passes for the ski hill, but it was raging at the top of the back hill. Much snow was had by all.

I then proceeded to watch a PBS show on Winter in Yellowstone. The cathedral of the Gods. I want to go to there! We have a small federally designated wilderness area just north of her called Nordhouse Dunes. I will go there for a night or two this week. I need to find a way to get there. Herself says I cannot take the Subaru, she needs it. I am left with the Toyota Echo, a challenge in this weather in and of itself. Then I must find transportation over the ground. I have no back country skis nor snowshoes.

This will be the quest. All else is here and ready to go. This will be an adventure and pictures will follow.

Car Companies

2008-12-05T20:56:00.002-05:00

I have been watching the "stuff" on TV about the car company big dogs going to DC with their hat in their hand. I am somewhat baffled by the differences is how the government coughs up billions for the financial institutions but is balking for companies that actually make things.

I have worked for auto parts suppliers for many years now. I never wanted to but I got sucked in by living in Michigan. I have now been "eliminated" by two of them. The latest action has relieved me of untold frustration and stress. I had direct contact with all of the "Big Three" in many of their domestic, Mexican and Canadian assembly plants. The relationships are adversarial, disrespectful, and for the most part just demands to satisfy egos.

Today there was a Detroit UAW local representative interviewed in connection with the government bail out. He mentioned they will be taking on the pension costs and they are thinking of eliminating the job bank. That was talked about as if these were new ideas. The former was already agreed upon in the last contract and the later never should have been implemented in the first place. To think that an assembly line operator can expect to be paid 95% of their pay if their jobs are eliminated is unbelievable.

I really think the market needs to decide what is going to happen to these companies. The management lives only in quarterly chunks of time and has no vision for the future. The market has been glutted by "luxury" trucks and SUV's that few really need. Then when the gas price goes up, the vehicle value drops and everyone wants to know why there are no small fuel efficient vehicles available. The market bought the vehicles and the car companies sucked in the profits.

Look at Honda's web site: they make cars, motorcycles, solar cells, jets, recreational power equipment, and marine engines. All leaders in their technology and innovation and in the markets.

Can GM, Ford, or Chrysler say that even about the cars and trucks they build?

Grand Haven

2008-11-30T13:36:00.003-05:00

The Grand Haven State Park is just south of the mouth of the Grand River, where it flows out into Lake Michigan. The piers that are aids to navigation have been huge area attractions for years. This provides a boardwalk walking path from town to the tip of the pier several hundred yards out into the lake.

I have walked upon, ridden my bike and photographed this pier for the majority of my life. I have used it as a refuge, a source of risk, and inspiration. It is never the same for each visit.

The pier has a catwalk that was used many years ago to service the fog horn and the light during severe weather. Lights have been added to the catwalk that extend inland along the boardwalk.

Changes

2008-11-29T23:54:00.000-05:00

I started this blog a long time ago. For some reason I never had anything I thought was worth putting out there.

The recent economic crises has enveloped me in its grasp. Living in Michigan I have worked in the automotive parts supply business for quite awhile. As of September 15th I have been eliminated along with 40 other people, in one day, from my latest employer. Over a course of about three months, the CEO was replaced, then many upper management positions were eliminated, and finally it came to the bottom of the barrel.

The company I was working for supplied trim parts to many of the North American automobile assemblers. This business was mostly in the truck and large SUV market. Most of the summer, many of the plants the parts were supplied to were shut down for a lack of sales.

So, now I am in the middle of some changes.

I am looking for a new job or source of income in an economy that is in a free fall. I did receive a severance package that runs out December 8th. My search has turned up some possible leads, that have since evaporated as the economic news goes from bad to worse.

Some of my search has lead me to other areas of the country, such as Arizona, where I have other family, and Montana, where I would love to live in the mountains. The search has also opened some questions as to how I could make a living doing something I love such as photography.

I hope I can resolve some of these issues and perhaps document them here.