Dave's cycle

Redwoods

2011-12-11T09:11:00.000-08:00

Growning up in Humboldt County, California in the 1950's it was a common sight to see logging trucks with just one redwood log on it on the way to a mill. It was also common for guys to get jobs in local mills 'pulling green chain'. We used to make trips over to the Scotia Mill to watch huge logs being stripped of their bark hydraulically. It was amazing to see bark flying off logs just by squirting water at them.

We also made numerous trips to Humboldt Redwoods State Park and Founders Grove on weekends for picnics, swimming in the Eel River, or just to visit the groves where we would get to know individual trees. There was the Founder's Tree in Founders Grove commemorating the Save the Redwoods League who worked to purchase acres of old growth redwoods. There was the nearby Dyerville Giant, which at one time was thought to be the tallest tree in the world at about 370 feet tall. The Flat Iron tree which at one time leaned but didn't fall over and grew a buttress to support it leading to it's name. We paid homage to these wonderful old trees. In a childs eyes these groves were big and they seemed endless.

During the 'fight' to establish Redwoods National Park - and it was a big political fight -it was said that the groves of old growth redwoods set aside in State Parks were much like the stubble on a guys face that he missed while shaving. I thought that was a slight exaggeration - at the time. Driving through the northwest coastal roads of Humboldt and Del Norte Counties now one realizes that it isn't an exaggeration. The patches of old growth in State and National Parks are just that. Patches. But that doesn't just apply to coast redwoods. Where are the huge old Sitka Spruce forests? Douglas Fir? Noble Firs? Virtually all gone in a lifetime.

On a quiet day in March in the early 1990's the Dyerville Giant came down. A nearby tree fell, knocking another one over, which in turn hit the Giant weakening it to a point where it too finally fell. The first time I saw the now recumbant Giant a big lump grew in my throat and my eyes became wet, for here was something that just wasn't right. The Giant shouldn't be on the ground. But there it was, still impressive even in repose.

Even though the brain tells you that the increase in light now permitted by the tree's fall will allow smaller nearby trees to grow faster, and the slow decay of the tree will recycle nutrients back in to the surrounding forest, the feeling of seeing the downed tree was much like losing a friend. It hurt.

The Dyerville Giant

Pit River Power House

2011-12-11T08:10:00.000-08:00

Pit No. 3 Power Plant. Another Unlawful "fish

hash factory" operated by the Pacific Gas and Electric

Co. Is the Fish and Game Commission "Electrically

controlled" by the Pacific Gas and Electric Co.?

Walgreens Pharmacys unfriendly to bicyclists

2011-08-31T09:54:00.000-07:00

This morning on my way to work I thought I'd swing by my local Walgreens Pharmacy at SE 82nd & Holgate to pick up a prescription. I thought I'd save some time like so many other users and use the convenient ride through window.
There was a button below the window with a note saying Do Not Push Button because a buzzer automatically sounds. After a minute or so of waiting I pushed the button and the clerk came to the window and told me that he was unable to wait on me because I was not in a motor vehicle. I said 'you're kidding'! He said No.
Steamed I went around to the entrance, parked my bike, and went inside. I forcefully, but politely, told the clerk I was 'pissed' about the inconvenience of having to come inside just because I was on my bike. When I got to the pharmacy window I asked why the policy. No, it wasn't state law. It was company policy because someone somewhere might have been hit by a speeding motorist going through a drive thru zone. Or so he thought. I told him I could use the Wells Fargo ride thru teller machine down the street, but I couldn't use Walgreens ride thru window? Amazing. This leads to all kinds of questions. Has anyone somewhere been hit while walking across their parking lots by a speeding motorist? Why not close all drive up windows and make all customers walk in for service at the pharmacy? It could be argued that Walgreens is in the health care business and drive up windows do not foster healthy life styles. The less we walk, or bike, the less healthy people are. Encouraging people to remain in their vehicles while the motor is running pollutes the air and promotes obesity. And Walgreens is in the health care business...
Should Walgreens learn from Burgerville's ride thru fiasco?

April 18, 1906 - the "San Francisco" earthquake and fire

2011-04-17T21:21:00.000-07:00

San Francisco, California. Baghdad by the Bay. It has and will be a great American City perched on the rim of the Pacific Ocean on the south side of the Golden Gate. It is a city of opulence and poverty.

Lobby, Hotel St. Francis, San Francisco, California

San Francisco, Cal. Old Fish Alley, Chinatown.

Chinatown, as it still does, adds an air of mystery and the exotic of a city within The City. This postcard plays upon the darker unsavory stereotype of Chinatown, where danger lurks, as maybe do the opium dens.

Kearney Street, looking South, San Francisco, Cal.

San Francisco bay served as the gateway to the California gold rush country in the Sierra Nevada mountains to the east. Because of the trade that transited the bay, The City developed in to an strategic economic center. Skyscrapers lined the streets of the growing city. The Call Building, where the Call morning newspaper was published, was one of the most visible of the tall buildings at 18 stories in height.

Street cracked by the earthquake April 18, 1906. San Francisco, California

At 5:13 on the morning of April 18, 1906 the northern section of the San Andreas fault lurched. Shaking lasted for over a minute as one place at Point Reyes north of The City on the west side of the fault moved 21 feet north relative to the east side. Buildings in The City built on land made since the gold rush along the bay suffered the severest damage from the shaking. Cracks opened in the streets as the land settled and liquified. Many brick and wooden structures collapsed in this area trapping many who were then later killed in the fire which did the worst amount of damage within The City.

Recent aerial view of Shelter Cove, Humboldt County, California

Whereas the movement along the San Andreas was generally horizontal, there was a vertical component to the fault movement at Shelter Cove in southern Humboldt County. It is in this area of Northern California where the north-south trending San Andreas fault ends as it merges in to the east-west trending Mendocino Escarpment.

The Russ, Early and Williams store, Ferndale, Humboldt County, 1906.

Severe damage occured from San Juan Bautista in the south up to Ferndale, Humboldt county in the north. In Ferndale the Russ, Early and Williams store, later known as the Valley Grocery, was severely damaged. The damage was repaired and the building stood until April 1992 when it again received similar severe damage in three large earthquakes. It was then torn down and replaced.

Looking up Market St., showing the burning of the Call Buidling. April 18, 1906. San Francisco, California

Several fires started within a relatively short period of time after the shaking stopped. One of them, the Ham and Eggs Fire, started after a fire was started in a stove in order to cook breakfast. The fires burned for four days. The fires created what one author called "The Damndest Finest Ruins". The famed Palace Hotel, one of the grandest hotels in the world, on Market Street raised it's flag in defiance of the approaching flames. It, like it's neighbor The Call Building, succumbed to the flames.

Southern Pacific R. R. Ferry Boat "Piedmont" in San Francisco Bay, California.

Prior to the construction of the bridges across the Bay ferries transported people to the north and east sides of the Bay, while trains would transport them to points south. After the earthquake rail travel was curtailed because of damage to the rail lines. The Piedmont ferry and others were very busy transporting refugees from The City and food and supplies in to The City.

San Francisco April 18th, 1906. the Day we all Moved

Message on the postcard: "The Picture is just as we saw and acted the day of the fire". Many people were left with less than a trunk and bag full of possessions.

Market st., showing the Palace Hotel and Call Bldg., San Francisco, Cal., after earthquake and fire

The view up Market Street showing the burned out shells of the Palace Hotel and The Call Building.

San Francisco Refugees from the earthquake and fire, April 18, 1906. In front of the Mint.

San Francisco will again experience another earthquake of the magnitude of the great 1906 earthquake. It will happen regardless of how you pray, or to whom you pray, or even if you do not pray, or regardless of with whom you make love or not. It will happen not because a rathful being says it will happen because you did or did not do something that did not please it, but because The City is built between the active San Andreas Fault to the west and the Fremont and Calaveras faults to the east. It will happen again because the planet we live on is alive geologically. There will be people killed and injured and we will mourn their loss and we will question the movtives of a supreme being for taking someone's life. There will be those who stand on street corners preaching that a rathful being determined the earth should shake and the ground should rend apart and the buildings should fall because someone (maybe you?) did, or did not do something pleasing in the sight of that being. And those people will lead many astray.

Dad

2011-04-17T13:16:00.000-07:00

Dad has been around for quite some time. In November he turns 100. Hard to believe people live that long, but it is true. He doesn't remember much these days. I showed him photos from a trip we took to Sweden, and he didn't remember being there. But, just before I left he did call me by name - the first time in quite a few months.

3093 Schweden LaSuede Jämtland Åreskutan.

2011-04-13T20:10:00.000-07:00

Identified by the initials A.E., as an Axel Eliasson card, it was used in 1904.

Anej - and the outrigger canoe

2011-04-12T21:58:00.000-07:00

Anej, Ujelang ~1976.

In late 1976 two new large Enewetak style canoes were built on Ujelang. Anej was one of the young people involved in learning the skills in building a unique traditional sailing canoe.

The passing of knowledge from one generation to another is a sacred trust. The cultural heritage of a group of people is especially important since one's culture is what define people. Here Anej is learning from elders who are passing their knowledge, learned from their elders, on to a younger generation on how to build a style of outrigger canoe that is found only from Enewetak.

Anej, on the right, sailing an Enewetak canoe across Ujelang Lagoon.

Anej, Decmeber 2010. Photo courtesy of Brooke Takala

Anej is one of the guardians of the knowledge taught him by his elders.

Mahtan & Yula

2011-04-10T14:06:00.000-07:00

In the mid-1970's while a Peace Corps Volunteer on Ujelang I tried getting as many photos of the people as I could. One of the tenets of the Peace Corps is for returned Volunteers to help educate Americans on life in the host country. Growing up it was a family tradition to have slide shows of our family summer vacations. It was not until later that I got my own camera and starting taking slides and having my own slide shows.

The Marshall Islands are located just north of the equator in the Pacific Ocean. Temperatures are very warm and the humidity is higher. To protect the camera and lenses from the extreme humidity they were kept in tupperware containers with rice. The cameras were protected, but the film was not protected from the heat. By the time the film was sent back home and developed and sent back to Ujelang for identifying it would frequently develop a green tinge to the photos. My Mother was extremely supportive in having the film developed and returned to me with new rolls of undeveloped film.

Fast forward about thirty years, throw in current electronics and now it is possible for what could only be seen by a few people at a time is now possible for virtually the entire world to see whenever they want to provided they have access to the internet and flickr. In the mid-70's communications to and from Ujelang were rudimentary. A field trip ship serviced the atoll about every two months. A wireless radio was used weekly to communicate with Majuro - the capital. Otherwise we were isolated in the vast expanse of the Pacific Ocean.

Mahtan and Yula, Big Island, Hawaii. 2010. photo courtesy of Brooke Takala

Yula, ~1976

Mahtan - ~1976

Mahtan, ~1976 husking coconuts

Many thanks to Brooke Takala for generously providing recent photos of people from Ujelang/Enewetak. It is very good seeing the people I lived with for two years. I just wish I had been able to take more photos.

Anna's Hummingbird

2011-03-26T07:21:00.001-07:00

Anna's Hummingbird, originally uploaded by David A's Photos.

This photo - a lucky extended arm shot - has won some praises in the NATURE by flickr group. This is one of three birds which visited the feeder in one day. All males none of them wanted any of the others to get to the feeder.

The Egg

2011-03-03T07:55:00.000-08:00

On March 1, 2011 I attended the opening ceremonies for an exhibit at the Oregon Historical Society about the Peace Corps experience. Mrs. John Dellenback, wife of the Peace Corps Director at the time I was actually in the Peace Corps (75-77) was the guest of honor. During her talk she told the story of the time she visited a country in Africa. During the welcoming ceremonies Mrs. Dellenback was given some tea to drink to drink and an egg. Mrs. Dellenback didn't know what to make of the gift of food until a Peace Corps Volunteer whispered in her ear about what a great gift the egg was. Mrs. Dellenback was told that

it was a great sacrifice to the Lady who gave her the egg for if the Lady who gave her the egg had kept the egg and it had hatched and grown in to a chicken she would have been able to feed her family for quite some time on the eggs it laid and the chickens it would have produced. It was in Mrs. Dellenback's words, the hardest egg she ever ate because she realized the extreme sacrifice that it represented to the giver of that egg.

Lombwe cooking tern eggs on a small island

So too in the Marshall Islands. At welcoming ceremonies there's a song that was sung on Ujelang. In it the guest is told that the people don't have much to give but what they have they share with you. And, that is very very true. The Marshallese do not have much but what they have they will share.

Christmas morning food 1976

How odd it is that those without the means are probably the biggest givers in this life.

Then and Now.

2011-03-02T08:28:00.000-08:00

Technologically speaking 35 years ago is a very very long time. What cell phones? What personal computers? ipods? gps? You been reading Dick Tracy too much these days? Give me a break. In the mid-70's I wasn't that far away from the days when we still had four digit telephone numbers - or even the Operator coming on line and saying 'Number Please'! OK, so what's an Operator you say? It's a live person who would help you when you had a question about looking up someone's phone number, or someone who would help you connect your call with someone in another state. It's not a FAQ that you'd have to spend an hour scrolling through to find your answer. But, I digress.
In the mid-70's after completing 4 years and a quarter of college - yes, it took me an extra quarter to complete college I joined the Peace Corps and soon found myself out on a very remote and very small piece of real estate in the tropical North Pacific. Just under 9.5 degrees north of the equator and 160 degrees east of Greenwich, England is a place that 99.99% of Americans have never heard of - but considering American's general lack of geographic knowledge that is none too surprising. Again, a digression.
Ujelang is a coral atoll that is composed of a coral reef built upon a seamount (extinct volcano actually). The narrow reef is oblong in shape, about 13 miles long by 2.5 to 3 miles wide. There are about 27 small, and I mean small (city block small) islands on this reef, the biggest, Ujelang Island, is about 3 miles long and a hundred or two yards wide. Maximum elevation at the atoll is a few feet within 27 feet. Get the picture? If not, stay tuned and I'll be writing more about the place I called home for two years.
Anyway, we took for granted back in the mid-1970's that someone around us would have a camera. Remember when your Mom wanted to get the family together for a photo, 'gee Mom do I have to'? Or slide shows with carousel projectors? Now all you have to do is hold up a Dick Tracy'esque thingy and snap a photo and it's sent anywhere you want it to go and can be seen by anyone anywhere in an instant. Definitely that could not be done in the 1970's.
I was the only person on Ujelang with a camera. The camera was kept in a tupperware container with some rice to protect it from the extremely high humidity that is found in the tropics. You think the mid-west and east coast of the U.S. has high humidity? Hah! It's nothing compared with the humidity found along the equator. Going to Hawaii from the west coast where we don't have high humidity and landing 21 degrees north you think it's humid. You also think the 72 degrees of ocean water is warm too. Hah! Landing on Majuro, the capital of the Marshall Islands is like stepping in to a steam room!

Main Street - Majuro

I took slides while down there because our family had traditions of doing slide shows after our family vacations. That was the easiest way to show several people at a time what you had done. To get my Kodak slide film processed I would mail it off to my Mother in Northern California who in turn would have it processed and mail the slides back to me. I then labelled each slide as to date and subject matter. Had I not labelled them, I'd forgotten who and where and when. Memory is afterall fleeting, not nearly as good as Kodachrome, which when exposed to the heat and humidity of the tropics does degrade.
I suppose one of the things I find the most gratifying of my Peace Corps experience is in having people now have the ability to see the pictures that I took in the mid-70's on Ujelang. Whether it is someone seeing their Grandfather for the first time in decades, or someone on Guam wanting to preserve canoe building and now seeing how canoes were built on Ujelang, the comments I have received have been extremely gratifying and frankly bring tears to my eyes.
Over the next few weeks, months, year, whenever, I'm going to record my Peace Corps experience here along with photos that I, and others more recently, have taken. In the process hopefully you will get to know the Marshallese people a bit better, and I will have succeeded in carrying out one of the three tenets of the Peace Corps which is for a former volunteer to educate other Americans about the people I lived with for two short years.

David
March 2011
Portland, Oregon

Snow at Multnomah Park

2011-02-25T18:26:00.000-08:00

A late winters snow fall provided Eric and myself to explore Multnomah Park under a blanket of snow. We have spent many hours cleaning markers, but never in the snow.

geocaching and bike riding

2011-02-03T22:33:00.000-08:00

Halema'uma'u webcam

2011-01-18T13:06:00.000-08:00

The lava lake in the crate at Halemaumau, Kilauea is particularly active at 11:00 18 Jan 2011.

Find A Grave

2010-11-20T07:49:00.000-08:00

A friend of mine, Eric, and I, started working on a project at Multnomah Park Cemetery about a year ago. At that time I thought it would be a pretty simple straightforward project. Record the names of the residents over there and submit them to Find A Grave. Genealogists, professional and amateur alike, would then have a wealth of information at their fingertips. Well now, it's been a year of working on this project and it feels like we've only gotten up a few hundred feet on the side of Mount Everest!

Helens Fest Participants, Hosts, Sponsors and Guests!

2010-09-02T07:44:00.001-07:00

Helens Fest Participants, Hosts, Sponsors and Guests!, originally uploaded by David A's Photos.

Helens Fest 2010!
What a great time people had riding their mountain bikes on the trails around Mount St Helens 9-11 July 2010. Patterned after Tim Banning's Kettle Fest, Helens Fest attracted about 60 people who worked on trails around the Mount St Helens National Volcanic Monument for a day and rode on them for two days! The event attracted riders from California, Oregon and Washington and even three riders from Norway! The Trek demo bike fleet participated in the event, which enabled riders to try out some super great bikes. It also allowed Forest Service and Mount St Helens Institute interns and employees the ability to ride mountain bikes as well - something that several of them had never done before. At least one person was heard saying how much fun they had. The event was a huge success since it provided the largest number of volunteers on a trail work party during the summer 2010 season at the Monument.
We are hoping for an even better event in 2011!

Mexicali Earthquake

2010-04-06T21:18:00.000-07:00

Not that I've never done it before, but I'm going to stick my neck out and say that there was a lot of pressure released in the Mexicali earthquake of April 4, 2010, on what could be a southern extension of the Elsinore fault, or one to the south of that fault. But it also appears that there were aftershocks on the Elsinore fault to the north-east of the fault that ruptured on april 4th.

where I'm going to stick my neck out is that did this put more strain on the San Andreas fault north of the Salton Sea? And, looking at the earthquake maps from the morning of April 6th and the evening of the 6th, is there a small thrust fault between the Elsinore and San Jacinto fault lines? Judging by a line of aftershocks that runs perpendicular to those two faults one could imagine a short thrust fault in that location.

Mount St Helens - An Uncommon Landscape

2010-03-23T06:28:00.000-07:00

2010-01-28T07:37:00.000-08:00

I've been busy!! Really!!
Been working on a book on Mount St Helens. That project got temporarily set aside (I'm nearly done though!), when I got started surveying and photographing gravestones and cemeteries! Here's three photos from the Petrolia Pioneer Cemetery in California that were taken in December 2009

Mitten and Worm Flows

2009-11-28T10:50:00.001-08:00

Smith and Worm Flows, originally uploaded by David A's Photos.

The Worm, Mitten and several other andesite lava flows are only about 400 years old.

Ape Canyon, with Smith Creek below

2009-10-24T13:30:00.001-07:00

Ape Canyon, with Smith Creek below, originally uploaded by David A's Photos.

28 years after the 1980 eruption and it is really green. This shot was taken from the ground at the top of Ape Canyon.

Ape Canyon May 15, 1982

2009-10-24T13:28:00.001-07:00

Ape Canyon May 15, 1982, originally uploaded by David A's Photos.

From my archives. Two years after the 1980 eruption and it still looks pretty bare.

Mt Adams from Mount St Helens

2009-10-22T22:31:00.001-07:00

Mt Adams from Mount St Helens, originally uploaded by David A's Photos.

A great hike on the south-west side of Mount St Helens is on the Loowit Trail north of June Lake. On a clear day there's views of Mounts Rainier, Adams and Hood. Some of the hike is over the Worm Flows. Right now it ends at the huge washout below Shoestring Glacier cirque. Evidence of the 1980 eruption is found along the northern section of the trail where mudflows swept down the east/south-east side of the mountain.

Smokey the Bear, Monument Manager Tom Mulder and Six mountain bikers

2009-10-12T10:53:00.001-07:00

Smokey the Bear, Monument Manager Tom Mulder and Six mountain bikers, originally uploaded by David A's Photos.

On the National Public Lands Day event at Mount St Helens on Sept. 26, six mountain bikers rode the cross country ski trails putting up signs at junctions and surveying the conditions of the trails. It was great fun.
Monument Manager, Tom Mulder and Smokey the Bear had to get their photos taken with us! We all had a great time.

Find A Grave

2009-09-18T21:56:00.000-07:00

I've been adding information on ancestral, and many other, graves on the Find A Grave website. See:

View from Norway Pass

2009-09-16T10:29:00.001-07:00

View from Norway Pass, originally uploaded by David A's Photos.

The mountain reflects on the still waters of Spirit Lake. The log raft is temporarily stationary until the mid-day wind picks up. Logs on the slopes around the lake are returning to the soil from which all life springs. Huckleberry, pearly everlasting, are thriving until such time as a forest spreads and shades them out. But the mountain sits and time goes on until the next time it explodes and it all starts over again. Life goes on.

June 28, 1980

2009-09-13T08:21:00.001-07:00

June 28, 1980, originally uploaded by David A's Photos.

The view in 1980. Quite different from that of 2009. One big factor in this is that the pre-1980 logged area in the foreground is outside the legislated monument boundary.

Upper Clearwater forest

2009-09-13T08:17:00.001-07:00

Upper Clearwater forest, originally uploaded by David A's Photos.

Where's the view?! In 2009 the view is quite different from that of 1980.

Spirit Lake and Mount St Helens

2009-09-12T12:40:00.001-07:00

Spirit Lake and Mount St Helens, originally uploaded by David A's Photos.

Taken in August 1985.

Mount St Helens and Spirit Lake

2009-09-12T12:39:00.001-07:00

2009 09 10 NorwayPass 181_edited-1, originally uploaded by David A's Photos.

Taken on September 10, 2009.

Upper Ape Canyon in clouds

2009-09-10T05:32:00.001-07:00

Upper Ape Canyon in clouds, originally uploaded by David A's Photos.

Clouds in the canyon.

Loowit Trail, above Ape Canyon

2009-09-07T21:50:00.003-07:00

Loowit Trail, above Ape Canyon, originally uploaded by David A's Photos.

Here is a photo taken July 12, 1986. compare it with the one taken September 7, 2009.

Loowit Trail above Ape Canyon

2009-09-07T21:50:00.001-07:00

Loowit Trail above Ape Canyon, originally uploaded by David A's Photos.

Did some comparison photo work up on Mount St Helens today. Here's a photo on the Loowit Trail above ape Canyon on September 7, 2009.

Curly Falls

2009-09-05T08:26:00.001-07:00

2009 09 04 LewisRiver 004, originally uploaded by David A's Photos.

Curly Falls, September 2009

Curly Creek Falls

2009-09-05T08:25:00.001-07:00

Curly Creek Falls, originally uploaded by David A's Photos.

Curly Creek Falls in June 2008

Pumice Plains, Mount St Helens

2009-09-01T19:44:00.001-07:00

Pumice Plains, Mount St Helens, originally uploaded by David A's Photos.

It will be interesting to see this area in a few years time. Already there is vegetation growing on once was a sterile environment.

fungus on forest floor

2009-08-31T08:03:00.001-07:00

fungus on forest floor, originally uploaded by David A's Photos.

I thought this was pretty in it's shades of brown.

after tree removal - upper side

2009-08-29T22:34:00.001-07:00

after tree removal - upper side, originally uploaded by David A's Photos.

There were three trees down at this point. The large hollow one will probably provide a nest shelter for a hornets nest.

Before tree removal - upper side

2009-08-29T22:32:00.001-07:00

Before tree removal - upper side, originally uploaded by David A's Photos.

Saturday August 28, 2009.
Three of us head up to the upper reaches of the Siouxon Trail, Nr 130 on the Gifford Pinchot National Forest and got in only about a mile or so. The trail is on the north side of a clear cut. Winter storm winds, from a southerly direction, have blown down a large number of trees. There is a lot of work left to do up there.

Flowers on the Hummocks Trail

2009-08-27T15:58:00.001-07:00

2009 08 15 MSH 022, originally uploaded by David A's Photos.

In a few short years the Hummocks Trail, Mount St Helens National Volcanic Monument, will be a closed canopy alder forest - it's almost that now! There are some openings where lichens, paintbrush, sedges and other plants are now growing.

outrigger canoe sailing in Ujelang Lagoon, Marshall Islands

2009-08-26T15:10:00.001-07:00

outrigger canoe sailing in Ujelang Lagoon, Marshall Islands, originally uploaded by David A's Photos.

This is one of four large outrigger canoes on Ujelang in the mid-1970's. This photo was taken in the evening as several of us were returning to Ujelang Island from a day on one of the smaller outer islands fishing or picnicking.
This photo gets a lot of hits from image searches on google and yahoo.
It's also the first photo ever posted on flickr as identified from Ujelang Atoll.

Mount St Helens, June 1907

2009-08-25T06:36:00.001-07:00

Mount St Helens, June 1907, originally uploaded by David A's Photos.

Here's a Real Photo Postcard I recently obtained off ebay of Mount St. Helens. It was taken by someone identified as "A.A.W." in June 1907. While trying to determine where this photo was taken I realized that the photo on the postcard is reversed!

Mount St Helens, 1907

2009-08-25T06:29:00.001-07:00

Mount St Helens 1907, originally uploaded by David A's Photos.

Old Real Photo Postcard (RPPC) from 1907. This is the correct orientation for the photo.

Quartz Creek

2009-08-24T10:40:00.001-07:00

Quartz Creek, originally uploaded by David A's Photos.

Lower Quartz Creek in August. When the snow is melting, or in flood, the water must be really rushing through here, judging by the 'no vegetation' zone.

Quartz Creek Trail at Snagtooth Creek

2009-08-24T10:39:00.001-07:00

quartz Creek Trail at Snagtooth Creek, originally uploaded by David A's Photos.

Snagtooth Creek

2009-08-24T10:37:00.001-07:00

Snagtooth Creek, originally uploaded by David A's Photos.

The water is cool and refreshing. Few people get this far up on the Quartz Creek Trail in the Gifford Pinchot National Forest. The trail is steep in places and quite a few trees have fallen across the trail. Several of us did some trail clearance work on this trail on Friday August 21, 2009.

canyons on the plain

2009-08-17T22:14:00.001-07:00

2009 08 15 MSH 175, originally uploaded by David A's Photos.

after the landslide on May 18, 1980 pyroclastic flows swept out of the crater covering the landscape and flattening the topography. Those pyroclastic flows are now being eroded. Eventually vegetation will cover the surface.

Hummock erosion, North Fork Toutle River

2009-08-17T10:37:00.001-07:00

Hummock erosion, North Fork Toutle River, originally uploaded by David A's Photos.

Hummocks eroding on the North Fork Toutle River. These deposits were Mount St Helens before the May 18, 1980 eruption.

Lupine

2009-08-17T10:32:00.001-07:00

Lupine, originally uploaded by David A's Photos.

On Johnston Ridge, Mount St Helens National Volcanic Monument, August 15, 2009.

Trees in fog

2009-08-17T10:30:00.001-07:00

Trees in fog, originally uploaded by David A's Photos.

In the afternoon of August 15th, 2009 on Johnston Ridge, Mount St Helens National Volcanic Monument.

Anniversary

2009-08-06T07:20:00.000-07:00

Today is the anniversary of the first time an atomic weapon was used in war. It is the 2nd time such a device was ever exploded. The world has not been the same since. The genie is out of the bottle and hard to control.

Sheep Canyon, Mount St Helens

2009-07-26T09:10:00.001-07:00

I made a return trip up to upper Sheep Canyon on Mount St Helens. Both trips were on July 23rd. One in 2006 and of course in 2009.
2006
2009
It is interesting to compare the two photos. In November 2006 there was a major warm rain on snow event that created a flood that had a large impact on the slopes of Mountains in the Cascades, at least from Mount Rainier to Hood. Compare the two photos. You will note a larger amount of snow in 2006. Some water in the channel in 2006 which is now significantly deeper than it was in 2006. What other changes can you see?
It will be interesting to compare the previous winters' precipitation. In 2008-09 season most of the precipitation that feel was snow. Heavy snow packs remained in the mountains in to at least mid-May before melting. The summer of 2006 was very dry.

Loowit Trail photo comparisons

2009-07-11T07:29:00.000-07:00

Here's a comparison of photos of a spot on the Loowit Trail, on the east side of Mount St Helens. The first was taken July 10, 2009, while the second was taken 12 July 1986.
July 10, 2009
12 July 1986

Mount St Helens - changes

2009-07-09T11:06:00.001-07:00

The only constant is change. Whoever was the first person to utter those words was brilliant. I've explored Mount St Helens over the years and have taken photographs on my trips around the Mountain. Now, thanks to the wonders of the electronic age many of my photos are being posted on flickr. Here is a sampling of three locations from 1986 to June 2009.

Ape Canyon - rock falls

June 2009. notice the section of cliff on the left that has recently fallen. Quite a large chunk. It will take another rather large mudflow event to 'clean' that rockfall out of the canyon.
July 1986.

Trim Line from Muddy River Mudflow/Lahar
Notice the regrowth of vegetation on the far slope from 1986 to June 2009.
June 2009.

12 July 1986

Upper Muddy River Mudflow. There are fewer dead trees standing in the foreground in the 2009 panorama taken from near the same spot as the 1986 photo.
12 July 1986

June 2009.

Chinese Garden, Portland 6/12/09

2009-06-14T07:18:00.000-07:00

garden of awakening orchids

Chinese Garden, Portland, Oregon

I'm still here!

2009-06-07T06:05:00.001-07:00

I'm still here! And, I'm still opinionated! I'm busy as ever trying to maintain and juggle hobbies, interests, and work! So, enjoy three photos I've taken recently on the Cave Basalt south of Mount St Helens, two moths caught in flagrante delicato at Lake Merwin, and a photo I took off Hawaii Volcano Observatory's webcam over looking Halemaumau on a recent morning.

Babies and sex and teens

2009-05-06T18:59:00.000-07:00

When we see new born babies it is a typical reaction to go, aw how sweet, and coo coo. So, is a teen unwed mother the best spokesperson for the abstinence only message in trying to prevent teen pregnancies? I don't think so. Her message might sink in to one or two, but I think five or six more will see the baby and go coo coo, how sweet I want one of those.
But then as many of us know, abstinence only education doesn't work. It has to include a multi-faceted broad scope in sex education.

Scanning slides - keeping sane

2009-04-28T06:42:00.000-07:00

Why is it that bad business decisiions are made and those people get to keep their jobs and bonuses, while those who do their job well and do it enthusiastically are laid off or demoted? It doesn't make sense to me. Never will.
So to try and keep my sanity I am scanning more slides. Here are two from a hiking trip up to Strawberry Mountain, north of Mount St Helens on 15 September 1984.

Notice the thickness of the pumice layers about eleven miles north north-east of the mountain. One is at least 2 feet thick while the other is pretty close to 6 feet thick. Both of these deposits put the 1980 deposits to shame.

View of Mount St Helens from Strawberry Mountain. Eleven miles away and still inside the blast zone.

Bear Springs

2009-04-26T17:40:00.001-07:00

I went over to Bear Springs on the east side of Mount Hood today to take part in a mountain bike race! My first! It was fun, despite cramps towards the end of the race that made my slow finish even slower! It was a course of just over 17 miles (according to my GPS unit) which I completed in 3 hrs 5 min.

To see the route go to: http://trail.motionbased.com/trail/activity/8092205
The course was in a generally counter clockwise direction.

Seattle, WA

2009-04-20T08:16:00.000-07:00

It's always fun going up to visit Seattle for a day or two. Traffic is horrible though - at least in my book, but then I'm a bit spoiled riding my bike around Portland which is flat when compared with the city to our north.

It was fun going up there, but it is, good getting home and taking care of things at home. My peas are starting to sprout which is a good thing!

It's been awhile!

2009-04-16T04:41:00.001-07:00

It's been over a month since I've posted something here. Ouch! In that time period I've celebrated a birthday, found facebook, scanned lot's of old slides from Mount St Helens, testified before the St Helens Advisory Committee against transfering the Monument to the NPS - but in favor of having the FS receive better funding to maintain it. I've been busy! We've had a sale at work. The economy might be moving up, but it might be the lull before the storm too. Life goes on.

Here's a scanned slide from about April 1977. Taken on the north side at the timberline parking lot.

I went on several flights in single engine planes in the early 80's. This flight was on March 6, 1982. We went up and back on the east side of the mountain. It captures some of my favorite riding areas.

Retirement

2009-03-12T19:53:00.000-07:00

It was announced in today's Oregonian newspaper that Peggy Fowler (57), CEO for PGE (Portland General Electric) retired early on March 1, 2009. Her pay package for her last year was just the median for what people in her capacity get: $4.5 million. She'll receive in retirement about $790,000 a year.
These figures prompted a letter from me to the Editor at The Oregonian:
Dear Editor:
"I'm really happy Ms Fowler that you are able to retire at 57 with a very cushy retirement. I'm also 57 Ms Fowler, but I'll be working for quite a few years now because I have to worry about Social Security not being there. I have to worry about the amount that I've recently lost out of my retirment account not being there for me when I would like to retire. While you are relaxing in retirement keep in mind that it'll take you a month in retirement to make what I lost out of retirement account. As far as I am concerned it is attitudes that believe there's nothing wrong with giving compensation packages such as yours that is the cause for the economic situation we now find ourselves in. I don't care if it is the median or not. It is too G.D. much. Period. It is about time that the salary ratio between the bottom most paid and top most paid employees was brought back in line with where it was at least forty years ago. So happy retirment Ms Fowler, enjoy yours because I, and many other people I know, most likely won't beable to enjoy ours when we reach 65."

St David's Day

2009-03-01T14:03:00.001-08:00

A Happy St. David's Day to all!

St David's Cathedral, St David's, Cymru

Old photo from Enewetak

2009-02-14T06:49:00.000-08:00

I think by now anyone who follows my posts knows that I take a lot of photos. I do have over 6,000 on flickr right now. I'm not trying to break any records of shear numbers. Rather I try to record things and places and try and get some nice photos in at the same time.
I was in the Peace Corps in the Marshall Islands in the mid-1970's. I took a lot of slides during that time. The slide film would be sent out for development, the slides returned, and I would receive them back on Ujelang Atoll sometimes months after they were taken. I tried to record the date and other information on each slide. When I returned from the Marshall Islands I gave quite a few slide shows, showing people what life and the people were like out on a remote atoll. Since then the slides have sat in a box with my other slides. Like most people I have switched to digital photos. The slides still sat in a box. Late last year I made the purchase of a flatbed scanner and began the process of scanning my slides and posting them on flickr for all to see. This became a labor of love after some people from Ujelang had seen some earlier slides I had scanned and posted. Their reaction stimulated me enough to make getting the scanner a big priority. Since then their, and other's, comments regarding the photos I took in the mid-70's have been most uplifting and gratifying. Kom kainuj in emol! E lukun lap ao monono kio bwe emoj am loi pija ko ao.

Here is a photo of Iroij Johannej, one of two traditional chiefs on Ujelang, Tira and Oneil. The three of these men had been working on Johannej's house and were sitting around taking a break. Oneil was the only guy, that I can remember, on Ujelang who was bald. The history, knowledge, and wisdom in these guys is amazing. Their experiences during their lifetime is also amazing. Unfortunately I didn't record enough of it.

Periodically since I have returned form the Marshall Islands I add items from the Marshalls to a general collection of items from there. Since I've been working on scanning my photos that naturally has taken me on looking for old photos from there. I found one on ebay recently that I had to get, and I did for what I consider a reasonable price. It is from Enewetak and was taken on February 26, 1944 during the mop up stage of the battle at Enewetak. The title of the U.S. Coast Guard photo is "Natives Evacuated from Eniwetok". I don't much care for the term 'natives', to me it is just as bad as using the "N" word when referring to blacks. Anyway, the caption goes on to say: "ENIWETOK - A grateful Mother and Father carry their two nude children into a Coast guard manned landing boat which only moments before had landed assault troops on Eniwetok Atoll in Marshalls. The frightened natives were carried to safety away from the ravaging battle. U.S.Coast Guard Photo." Eniwetok is the old spelling of the atoll from which these people were moved a short time later so we could blow up atomic and thermonuclear bombs on their home. Anyway, I didn't think I would be able to identify the Marshallese in the photo since they had their backs to the camera. When I got the photo, the first thing I noticed was the Father's hair. He was bald. Two and two makes... Bingo! I think I now know who these people are! How exciting is that?!

Horse and Sparrow Economics

2009-01-30T17:35:00.000-08:00

I've heard a great description of what is called Reaganomics, i.e. the 'trickle down theory'. It is more correctly called the Horse and Sparrow economic theory. The Horse eats the oats, and what isn't digested is passed thru the horse and when it comes out the sparrow is then able to eat what's left.

Inaugural Day 2009

2009-01-20T17:57:00.001-08:00

Sweeping

2009-01-19T19:27:00.000-08:00

On my last trip down to Humboldt County I found a ritual broom that I had to purchase. Tonight I used it in the back garden to start cleansing the bad juju. Tomorrow will be a transformative day, full of hope and lot's of work. We all need to work together.

Marshall Islands slides

2009-01-17T19:29:00.001-08:00

It has been alittle over a month now that I obtained a flatbed scanner. My goal was to scan as many of the slides I have as possible. The investment I made in that scanner has been repaid many times by the comments I have received from Marshallese who have seen photos of their relatives that I took in 1975-1977. Little did I realize the emotions that these simple photos have stirred up in those who have seen them. I just wish I had taken more photos of people.

I received this comment: this my aunty Ruth wow thank you Dave

Here is one comment I received regarding this photo: WOW.....I would never think I'd come across these kind of pictures especially on google. I love to see if got more pictures from the island of Arno. I know this person and wow its great. Good work sir. Anyway I am from that place of the Photo.

Halemaumau

2009-01-11T19:08:00.000-08:00

Well, it seems as if the 'eruption' at the summit of Kilauea has taken a break. Despite the fact that there is a lot of steam coming out of the vent in Halema'uma'u there apparently is no molten lava visible and there is no emissions of ash. There's still lava being emitted from the Pu'u O'o vent on the east rift zone.

Two Photos

2009-01-04T16:10:00.000-08:00

Ujelang, 1976.

Enewetak, WWII

New Year is here!

2009-01-04T07:06:00.001-08:00

Now that 2009 is finally here, I have to get off dead center and write something profound. Right? Isn't that what everyone does just once a year and then forget about it, until twelve months later you realize another 365 days have come and gone and it's time to wax poetic again?
Well I have been meaning to write something. And, I've procrastinated and side tracked. I've wanted to write something about Steve's birthday that came and went at the end of December. I will. I've been busy scanning old slides and posting them on flickr. My goal has been to scan the slides from the Marshall Islands, and Ujelang in particular. Then I get sidetracked with another batch from who knows where. Then I see how the slides have deteriorated a bit - lots of spots on them in the blue, which need editing. So, now before posting I try and clean the photos up a bit in photoshop. It's amazing what technology can do - a bit scary too, but it is still amazing.
Well, the biggest news on the shaking front is possibly the swarm of earthquakes that hit Yellowstone Volcano just after Christmas. Didn't know Yellowstone was a volcano? It's not just another volcano, it's a 'super volcano'. I don't think you, or I for that matter, would want to be around if that thing blows. Anyway, a swarm of earthquakes started and it looked pretty interesting the way it built up in intensity.

But then as swarms do, it has begun to die down again. Hasn't totally stopped, but it has quieted way down. The map below is activity thru 08:00MST, 4 January 2009.

For more information on the Yellowstone Volcano Observatory go to: http://volcanoes.usgs.gov/yvo/
For the latest earthquakes at Yellowstone go to:
http://www.seis.utah.edu/req2webdir/recenteqs/Maps/Yellowstone.html

garden snow pics. More!

2008-12-22T06:28:00.000-08:00

OK! Blame me if you want for the snow in Portland. Why?! Well since early this month when I purchased a flatbed scanner I've been busy scanning slides from the Marshall Islands. The coldest it got there in the two years I was there was 68F. I've also been scanning photos of another warm spot - Kilauea Volcano on Hawaii where I was lucky enough to see an eruption in 1973. So, I've been dreaming of the warm places I've been.

Mauna Ulu eruption 1973.

Ujelang Atoll, December 1976

My Garden December 14, 2008

My Garden December 22, 2008

More!

2008-12-22T06:14:00.001-08:00

Where are my garden pots? Where's the deck?

13:04/20 December 2008

21:42/20 December 2008

8:09/21 December 2008

5:54/22 December 2008

driveway

2008-12-21T17:59:00.000-08:00

Here's a photo of my driveway this morning. I posted a photo taken from the same spot a few days ago.

More!

2008-12-21T17:52:00.001-08:00

It's been a few years since Portland has seen a serious snowfall. Last year saw extremely heavy snow fall in the mountains, but virtually none under 500 foot elevation. This year?! Well, there was an early snow fall early and then almost none below 4,000 foot elevation until December. This week? HA! We've been at or below freezing for most of the week. Lows have dipped in to the teens.

Here are two photos. One taken on the first day of winter 2008, and another taken back in 1984-85 winter season. My house is now red; backin 84-85 it was a yellow color.

Good stuff

2008-12-20T07:14:00.000-08:00

I had someone tell me a story about a family in a suburb of Portland who went in to their local bike shop, buy 10 kids bikes and then promptly go over to the local fire department and donate them to a toy drive. Some lucky children are going to be happy this Christmas because of the generosity of one family.

Snow!

2008-12-20T06:54:00.000-08:00

The weather forecast for later today and tomorrow is a bit remeniscent of the ice storms that happened in 1980. Hopefully it won't be that bad, but it's beginning to sound like it could be. This is a photo from the neighborhood I lived in back in 1980.

We've had some pretty chilly weather this week in Portland. Temperatures have struggled to get above freezing with minimal success the last few days. The last several winters have been virtually snow free in the lower elevations around Portland. This week?! Well, it's been on the ground since Sunday, 6 days ago.
I've been driving to work this week being a bit leary about riding my bike. I've been ribbed a bit by co-workers who have been riding their bikes through out the entire week. Friday I bit the bullet and decided to take my Utopia, that still has the cyclocross tires on it, out to work! I didn't have a problem sliding or skidding at all. Took it slow and I was nervous, but hey I had fun!

I've been driving to work this week being a bit leary about riding my bike. I've been ribbed a bit by co-workers who have been riding their bikes through out the entire week. Friday I bit the bullet and decided to take my Utopia, that still has the cyclocross tires on it, out to work! I didn't have a problem sliding or skidding at all. Took it slow and I was nervous, but hey I had fun!

Marshallese Soldier

2008-12-14T17:44:00.000-08:00

While I am working on uploading photos that I took in the mid-1970's in the Marshalls to flickr it was announced on the news that a soldier from the Marshall Islands was killed in the Middle East. My heart reaches out to his family.

Weather

2008-12-14T10:14:00.000-08:00

So, here I am today, Sunday, in the comfort of my home in Portland. I'm busy scanning and posting pictures from the slides I took in the Marshall Islands back in the mid-1970's. The coldest I saw temperatures reach down there was a chilly 68F. Sweatshirt weather. Today in Portland it's snowing outside. Temperatures this morning when I got up it was 35. By 8:00 a.m. the temperature had dropped below 32F. That's possibly going to be the last time the temperature will be above that mark for about 7 days.

Snow at 8:00 a.m. Dec 14, 2008, Portland, OR

Anej, me, and Ben. Ujelang Atoll 1976.

Only in Portland

2008-12-12T06:28:00.000-08:00

Last night I attended a bike industry seminar at a major hotel in downtown Portland. Everyone from the shop who attended rode their bicycles to the hotel. There were about a hundred people who attended the seminar. What to do with all the bicycles? We wheeled them in thru the hotel's lobby, in to the elevator, brought them upstairs with us, and then parked them in a room next to the meeting room. Only in Portland!
The weather is turning chilly. Even so, the number of people cycling is remaining high - even at 10:00PM there are people riding their bikes.

Stomach Churn CycloCross

2008-12-07T16:54:00.000-08:00

I had the opportunity to use some vacation days this month to come down to Humboldt County, California to visit some friends. I had my choice of weekends, so I picked the weekend in which I could try my wheels at participating in the Stomach Churn CycloCross race outside Arcata! The name should say it all! I picked the hours race since a half hour just didn't seem long enough - I'm used to 45 minute races. I had no idea how many people would show up, but figured with two heats, there wouldn't be many. I wasn't disappointed! Prior to coming down I mentioned to a few co-workers my intentions in racing in the Stomach Churn. I also mentioned the fact that some Seattle Area Crossers think Portlanders have a reputation for being a bunch of drunken cross dressers. I was told that I should bring the best in Portland's reputations to Arcata.
Well, race day came and on my drive to the venue, out in the middle of a Redwood and Spruce forest, I knew I was close. Cars with bikes on the back and racers riding their bikes to the site were on the road. I knew I was close! I nearly missed the open gate in to the field for parking. There were a few cars there and one tent - that must be where the start line is! It was! Even though the first, 30 minute race, was to start at 10:30, it hadn't started yet. A slight delay in waiting for one of the nearly 20 racers to finish in the porta-potty, and they were off. What they lacked in numbers, they didn't lack in enthusiasm. They were just, nearly so at least, as boisterous as Portlanders in cheering each other on, over and around, what is at times a field for grazing cows and once was a giant forest of old trees. Up hill and down, on narrow singletrack and bumpy field and over and around roots and trees. It was a fun course, but probaby better described as a short track mountain bike course - even if it did have two barriers at the start line that we had to jump over! There were even two Cross Dressers in the best style that Cross has to offer! So, Seattle, get over yourself and have fun at CycloCross! That's why we do it!

this and that

2008-12-01T17:13:00.000-08:00

On the last day of November 2008 I took six other guys up to Ape Canyon on Mount St Helens. We got as far as the Canyon where snow became a factor in being able to ride or not. I had hoped to, and we were fortunate enough, to see some of the Mountain Goats that are not hanging out at the head of Ape Canyon. We saw 5, but earlier hikers saw 17! Temperatures during the day were in the 50's, which is really warm for this time of year. It is also unusual this time of year to be able to ride up to Ape Canyon. It should be under quite a bit of snow.

I went out on Saturday and contributed something to the economy by buying a flatbed scanner. Why? do you ask?! Well, I have quite a few slides that I would like to digitize. The first ones I'm working on will be from the Marshall Islands when I was down there as a Peace Corps Volunteer.

These photos will be posted on flickr. It'll take some time to get them all scanned, but I think it's worth it. There's a historical value in these slides, and I'm excited about sharing them. Like all photos though, they are copyrighted though.

old postcard!

2008-11-22T08:19:00.001-08:00

I mentioned last weekend my luck in finding an old postcard, from 1909, that showed my house in Portland. I've cropped the photo with the postcard so you can get a better view of it!

Excuse my thumb!

A crop of the crop! You will note that the back of my house does not have the back room added on. My house has a back room that now contains a bathroom and utility room that was added to it. It was added sometime after 1909'ish.

gas

2008-11-22T08:05:00.000-08:00

I've thought it really funny that just a few short months ago we were paying over $4 for a gallon of gas. Now the price is about $2 a gallon. Then we were told that we were paying more because the Chinese and Indians were consuming more. So, it was someone else's fault for the high price of gas. Remember that? Remember too the gas tax holiday proposals? Now it comes out at it wasn't someone else's fault, it was our own! We, the good old USofA, were stocking up on the low sulphur content sweet crude in our own strategic reserves. Once we stopped doing that in July the price began to drop to where it is today.
Let's just hope that people have learned a lesson from those high prices and continue to drive less. We still need to use a lot less fossil fuels.

Unconstitutional Marriage

2008-11-16T19:58:00.000-08:00

The marriage that must be made unconstitutional,
is the unholy marriage of Church & State.

old postcard

2008-11-15T18:38:00.000-08:00

I had several things that I really wanted to do today, and one that I had to do. Instead of going to the protest rally downtown, which is something that was really important to do, and go to the PUMP swapmeet, I decided to do something that I wanted to do. Go to the postcard club meeting. Among the several older postcards of Kilauea volcano cards was a card looking north down Main Street, Lents, Oregon.
I told the dealer that I wanted to find a card that showed my house. At the time I didn't realize that the card mailed in 1909 did actually show my house! it was only when I arrived home and took a close look at it did I recognize the three houses shown on the left side of the card. These three houses are the only recognizable structures remaining in Lents to this day.

My house is on the extreme left side of the card. The large (apartment) house just to the left of my thumb is where Woody Guthrie lived while he was in Portland.
Oh! The old postcard was mailed from Portland on November 17, 1909. I purchased the card on November 15, 2008.

MILK

2008-11-15T07:56:00.000-08:00

Thirty years ago this month I took part in a candle light march down Market Street to the San Francisco City Hall. I was one of over 30,000 people taking part in one of the watershed moments in my life. It was a terribly awesome march in which the only sounds were those of shoes on pavement. There was no laughing, there was no talking, there was no yelling. It was an awesome moment because we were united in a terrible moment in time to mourn the loss of a man who had the fortitude to keep talking about change. Harvey Milk was shot in cold blood, as was Mayor Moscone, and we were there to honor them. Harvey made some people uncomfortable and unfortunately paid the ultimate price. He also united many of us, and we continue to make people uncomfortable in our quest for equal rights.
I hope that everyone who reads these words will see the Gus Van Sant movie "MILK".

CycloCross at PIR

2008-11-12T17:29:00.000-08:00

This past weekend's mud fest, otherwise known as a CycloCross race was held out at Portland International Raceway, across the slough from the Great Blue course at Heron Lakes Golf course. It's interesting to be a part of two different types of sports on different sides of the slough!
Photo by OregonVelo, and can be viewed at: http://photos.oregonvelo.com/p/cc080704/cc0807mjb070523

The drum corps really added a lot to the races today. To bad they were out there during my race. There is nothing like synchopated drums to get one's energy level up. Maybe bagpipes rate up there too though.

I celebrated life on November 9th and remembered also my Partner who died 14 years ago. I touched a friend of mine by telling him about the anniversary. He wrote a poem which you all should read at: http://cascadingleaves.blogspot.com/2008/11/what-dave-taught-me.html

November 9, 2008

2008-11-09T07:31:00.000-08:00

Two of my favorite people having an audience at the Royal Britain Museum in London.

Fourteen years ago this morning my partner Steve Snodgrass died. I miss him.

Tuesday's results.

2008-11-07T17:50:00.000-08:00

Tuesday was a good day at the polls for California's chickens. Proposition 2, prohibiting the confinement of farm animals without allowing them to run around, passed with 63% of the vote.
from: http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2008/nov/07/us-elections-2008-gay-rights

So, chickens are now more important than two people who want to go through a legal ceremony to commit themselves to each other.

November 4, 2008

2008-11-04T20:33:00.000-08:00

Just maybe this country has saved itself today.

CrossCrusade race at Astoria

2008-11-01T10:24:00.000-07:00

Last weekend was the Halloween CycloCross race at Astoria. I took part in Sunday's race and as usual had fun. I was able to make it around this course 5 times. Oregonvelo photographer was there. His two photos of me are from his website: http://photos.oregonvelo.com/g/cross_crusade_astoria

there was a group there dressed up as 'trons'. apparently they didn't think i was dressed up enough in costume so they tried hitting me with some frisbee type stuff as I passed them. Well, I returned the favor to some of them with some water during one of the races. At least the water was softer than what they were throwing across the race track.

politics - again

2008-10-31T18:38:00.000-07:00

Here in Oregon we just might be removing a republican senator from office. The republican party, of all political parties, is now saying it's bad to have the same political party in control of both the executive and legislative branches of government. hhhhmmmm, did they learn a lesson from the time they had control of both under the Bush dynasty? I doubt it.

Solar Energy

2008-10-25T08:24:00.001-07:00

In the business section of the October 12, 2008 issue of "The Oregonian" was an article on a new German company which opened a facility here in Oregon. The company will be making material that will be generating 500 megawatts of electricity from solar power. The article states that 500 megawatts is "enough to power 80,000 U.S. homes..." WOW! Fantastic! Eighty thousand homes is a lot of homes to power up from an energy source that will be there for quite some time! That's fantastic! Why aren't we doing more of it? The rest of the sentence was "...or 280,000 German homes." UH? What? There's a huge disparity there. Five hundred megawatts will heat up how many German homes? Two hundred eighty thousand?! WOW! And how many U.S. homes? ONLY 80,000. Guess what that tells me? We use way too much energy and live in way too big energy inefficient homes.
So, when are we going to start building fewer mansions to live in?

Precondition vs Strategy

2008-10-23T17:46:00.000-07:00

My friend, I think the person who you have chosen as your running mate doesn't understand the difference between a precondition and a strategy. You know My Friend that there is a difference. You might want to get your running mate up to speed on the difference.

taxes

2008-10-23T06:13:00.000-07:00

My friend, if you want to tax my medical benefits, aren't you in effect increasing my taxes? And please explain why you think something like that should be taxed in the first place. Something like that shouldn't be taxed at all. Where'd you come up with a screwy idea like that in the first place?

Ballot

2008-10-22T17:51:00.000-07:00

Well, it's done! I've sent in my ballot. I'm glad Oregon has the vote by mail system. Now, I wish it would hurry up and get done. I'm tired of the negativity of it all. It seems all one side can do is knock the other. My friend, I'm really tired of listening to you and your running mate who only appears with you. Does she really need a minder along?! She just sounds like a scratched record repeating the same old scripted line.

Rainier Races

2008-10-22T06:22:00.000-07:00

This past weekend's cyclocross race was held north of Portland at the Rainier High School - an hour's drive from town. The day started out under a bone chilling thick fog that added some moisture to the otherwise fairly dry ground. During my race, I made it around the course only four times, the fog finally burned off and the sun came out and things warmed up!

The course was fairly non-technical, but it was fun and fast and gave everyone a good workout because of the uphill climb involved - which also meant that there was a fast and furious fun smooth downhill in there as well!

After my race I stick around and get photos of races and have fun watching people. Today was no exception. There was a chance to get a photo of Eric Tonkin, one of the big names locally in the cycling community. I got a photo of him and two other guys approaching what is called the 6 pack. A series of, would you believe?, 6 barriers that you are required to dismount and carry your bike while jumping over them. During a cyclocross race you are required to go over all barriers - not around them. Pretty simple - straightforward rule. I took a sequence of three additional photos of Eric Tonkin and the other two riders.

While downloading my photos on flickr I noticed that the third rider actually ran around at least two barriers! hhhhmmmmmm. check out the CrossCrusade forum for the latest on smack talk: http://crosscrusade.com/forum/forum_posts.asp?TID=1971&PN=1

Lake Merwin Campers Hideaway moths!

2008-10-18T16:33:00.000-07:00

I'm still seeing new moths at Lake Merwin Campers Hideaway. This one is an Alfalfa Looper Moth. I had thought it was totally new, but had actually seen one in California back in May when I was down there for the Tour of Unknown Coast bicycle ride.
I'm not sure how many species of moths I've seen at LMCH, but it is fun seeing them. when I'm up there I leave a light on outside and check in the morning for moths on the sides of the trailer.

CycloCross Race

2008-10-16T06:25:00.001-07:00

I took part in the cyclocross race at the former Dammasch mental hospital this past Sunday. It was great fun. I place 28th out of about 43 - which is my best showing yet! The course was fast and it was lot's of fun.

The hospital buildings have all been torn down and only a few pieces of basement walls remain, along with bits of cement, brick and re-bar to indicate something stood here. The site is being prepared for re-development, but apparently the contractor has filed for bankruptcy. So, just maybe, we'll get to ride here again next year.

Since, this is written on Thursday after the race, and the day after the last (thank goodness) presidential 'debate', I'm going to say that I was not impressed with one of the debaters continual facial expressions, interruptions with snide comments and non-stop nasty attack mode.
One candidate did mention responsibility at least twice. However, when a republican talks about how you must act with responsibility here is what I hear. "You've got to provide for your health care - no one else will help you. You've got to provide for your own retirement. Corporations aren't going to provide you with pensions anymore - they're giving it all to the top executives now. We could save Social Security - but we're not going to, since we're not going to allow a raise in the cap on income. A simple fix, but sorry we don't like programs that help people." So, we've allowed unions to be busted, despite the fact that they have provided well paying jobs with good pensions and retirement health care, because they're evil, and the fat union boss is corrupt. We've allowed corporations to move offshore, destroying mid-level wage earning jobs while dramatically increasing the ratio of top wages to the lowest wage earner. We've stopped pension plans and health care plans. People say the Wal-Mart provides jobs for lot's of people who otherwise find a job, so they're better off. Maybe. Can they afford health care coverage that Wal-Mart offers? Who's responsible? Can they also afford to put money in to a 401k? Who's responsible?