Great Day!

My new friend Fried Chicken Chrispin Tristin. Don't tell MUD that you can't rhyme anyone's name. Can you tell he played the rhyming game? Took a little while to warm up but a great little guy.
This is Amanda taking pictures and keeping tract of where the other camera's are. Makes me want to be young again.

This is Barb and Kim talking in the shade. Pretty soon all the girls were together and having a great visit. Our niece from Tulsa was there and we had a great visit with her. Barb has her picture on Facebook.

Can you imagine that there is a person that goes to Chili cook offs and doesn't eat meat? He loves cheese pizza. Oh well, more chili for the rest of us. Andrew or AJ is a great kid.

We went to old town Lenexa to visit the Cedar Creek Chili team. They have a great set up and compete in several categories from wings to Chili. The weather was so nice, and I don't think it could have been better. It was in the 70's when we got there and by 2 PM was almost 80. The great food and good company made it the almost perfect day.

One of the nieces mentioned that she thought my mother was kind of mean. Barb told her that Mom wasn't as mean as she loved to have a good controversy going on and got them going by telling the last person she was with what she thought they wanted to hear. Instead of being united, we did have a few spats that were not needed. Yep, I was right in the middle of some like the rest of the kids were.

Leaves are falling like snow here and if the trees would just give the rest up, I would get out and rake them all up. It would be just a big waste of time to pick up half and then have another pile added later. OH well, I will get out and do something fun today.

MUD

Takin' a Day Off

Yesterday Barb and I cleaned out the garden and put it to bed for the winter. Bales of straw and composted manure now cover the surface. I haven't made up my mind if I an going to add more manure and soil or till it all in.

Because of all our good work, I'm going to take the day off. I hope we wind up in Old Town, Lenexa. Chili and cinnamon rolls sound pretty good. I'm not sure about the rolls but there be Chili there.

MUD

Life 101

One of the things enjoyed by the "Older Adults" is that we have more experiences to even out the day to day adventures called life. There are even a few of us that can remember when Wichita State not only played football, but won a game now and then. Life is not like Facebook where every teenage remark has instant impact and lasting effects. In the best of years, even the number one team seldom goes undefeated. Yes, K-State won the Sunflower Game and in a damned impressive manner.

Every once in a while, in one of those dark moments between awake and sleep, I ask myself what do I really want out of life? The correct answer is that I have what I have due to the planning I made and damned sure had better get used to it. Once you cross the threshold into retirement, it is kind of late to make mid course corrections. The nice thing is that so far the planning we did seems to be enough to help us cross over to the finish line with some flexibility. If I have to worry about what there is to eat, it is only because I'm out of Klondike Bars and have to eat vanilla ice cream. I am pretty sure that Barb has the bills paid and we have enough utilities to read our books and newspapers.

I am probably going to work over the garden today. I have to take out the drip irrigation system, cut the dead plants down, spread composted manure and till the entire garden. I will also manage to get in a few throws of fetch with Taco and sit in the Sun to catch a few rays.
If that isn't a great life, I don't know what's better.

Oh well, you probably didn't learn a lot here today but it costs no more than what it is worth. A summary of the message is "Getting what you want isn't nearly as important as wanting what you have." If you want to be happy, do it the old fashion way and save for it.

MUD

Random Stuff

Sunflower State Game Tonight

I think it is about time that I re-mention the Free Speech controversy again. While I might listen to the argument for some kind of a minor fine for stupid speech I have already done my duty to support the idea of free Speech. I really have to hold my nose from time to time when I hear people say things that just smell bad in the light of day. It is not in my normal behavior pattern to "suffer fools gladly" and I will often tell people what a stupid thing they say when they say things that even a simple man like me couldn't believe. I guess my laughter and size keeps me mostly out of fights when I say things. I really haven't had a fight since I learned to kill people in Basic Training. Good thing that!

These mid-term elections are shaping up like they might be a lot of fun to watch come election day - eve. There is money leaking out all over the place in spite of the best intentions in the law to limit spending. I think there should be a law that makes it a crime to spend more money on the election than the job pays. I would hold everyone to that from the School Board to the Presidency. Money should not be able to influence voters, but it does. I would ban the PAC's that can throw money into the fight without any accounting for the source. I wouldn't go back and use it as a weapon to kill the PACs, only make it the law out in the future.

What I find funny is the things people say in elections. For example, the current Attorney general of Kansas could read the tea leaves and see that once the Democrats got their act together they were going to pass some kind of Health Bill. He didn't join in a six State lawsuit to oppose it to save the Taxpayers the added expense. Now his opponent is saying that he supported the Health Bill. There is a hell of a long distance between not opposing a bill and supporting it. Even as a kid I knew when dad took off his belt, someone was going to get a whipping. Get it now or get it later. It was only a matter of time and it didn't matter how much I cried to mom.

Real Leadership in Congress would come up with a plan to make some kind of a plan to help seniors invest in America to help pay off the national debt. I for one would be glad to have a program that paid off the debt to the Chinese if I could deduct it from the taxes I owe. Hell, I might even be willing to cut my Social Security payment down to help that cause. I'm not saying that there is any way I would take it from those seniors that rely on the payments for their entire support. You can bet your bippy that I would want any funds collected for this be put in a strongbox and paid for the cause it was intended. I think that even a fool can love his country and fear his government.

The weather here is so nice in the afternoon that it makes you want to get out and play in the yard, ride a bike or just throw a stick to the dog. I have done a little of all three in the past couple of days and need to shut this off here so I can do some more right now. (9.947 Miles on the trail at lake Shawnee & 7 throws throws to TACO)

MUD

What a Day Yesterday was!

Can Christmas be that far away?

Let me be the first to tell you that there is just no way in hell that I could ever work in a mine far below the surface. I don't care what they pay or how many safety measures they take. I am glad the miners in Chile got out but shudder to think that I would ever have to fit in a small round tube to get out. Kind of like the joke about jumping out of a perfectly good airplane. How many big old guys would they have to cut orders on to throw me off that plane.

I went out to the National Guard Museum at Forbes Field yesterday morning to have coffee and doughnuts with the retired guys that meet the second Wednesday of the month. It is really interesting that most of us managed to retire with a good foundation financially. There was not a lot of negative talk about the lack of a raise in Social Security for the second year in a row. Most of us there have investments that we can get to and don't depend on one form of income to get by. The only talk about the POTUS was about a speaker at the 35th Division Reunion that said some negative things and how most of them felt that the speaker was wrong to say it the way he said it. One person that was there said he didn't disagree with what was said but the time and place was inappropriate.

I think that we all have been through the good and bad times in Washington and know that things will change. Not always for the better but they will change. Somewhere we all hope that the Congress finds a way to tighten the spending a little (or a lot). They all admit that many of the younger guys retired from the Guard and are now working full time for one of the Defense Contractors or as Civilian employees right there in the Guard. There will be some new unemployment but in the long run we will recover. I think our worse fear is that we will down the road fail as the Soviet Union did and things can get a lot tougher.

One common denominator in most of the guys was their love of travel. Most have at least one good trip each year and almost all have traveled to Europe at least once. My favorite thing was to see the wall between the Germanys on one trip and then to drive right through the old gate into East Germany as it all came back together. Having the wife along was bonus. Barb is a great traveler unless it is in high mountains and then she copes pretty well. I think that is looking up in Zion rather than down in Bryce and the Grand Canyon that made it all the better.

Martha said today is National Dessert day. Who knew?

Oh well, things to do and places to go.

MUD

Fun Evening

Barb and I went to the Topeka Festival Singer's concert at White Concert Hall (Washburn Univ) last night and it was very good. The focus was on religious songs and I would have thrown in a little more fun but all in all what they performed was excellent. I told Barb that I either wish I was good enough to sing with them or that my memory was so bad that I couldn't remember that I was once good enough. I am not sure if it is my hearing that just doesn't hear the perfect pitch or my memory that just doesn't remember all the words.

We met an "Old" Guard friend at the concert and he remarked that he hates to go to these things because of all the old people there. Knowing that he is a few years older than I am and I am one of the white haired members of the audience made me smile. He is still in denial and dies his hair the worse shade of black you could ever see. I told him that I am not sure that I want to join a club that would have someone like me as a member. I'm sure that remark went right over his head. Yes, the Westborough group was there and they even sang their rendition of God Bless America. The needed a few male voices but they were very in tune even if their message was not to my liking. What a positive thing they could be if they would focus on the joy that people have in religion rather than the hateful sections of the bible. Oh well, they will die only if people just ignore them.

We got about an inch of rain in the past 24 hours and the trees are dropping leaves and turning about the same time. By the time the leaves dry off, they will be stuck to the sidewalk and the deck. If they fall dry, I just take the leaf blower and move them along down the hill. That's probably the thing I hate the most about the fall, LEAVES. Looking out the south side windows, there is a little red in the leaves. barb and I know that it is probably poison ivy growing up on the trees and just leave it alone.

Better run. I hear Barb up after a late night reading session.

MUD

Nuts, Gnats

In a move to be more green, Barb has really been working hard on composting. She has been keeping the compostible stuff in a bowl and taking it out once every two days or so. With the availability of all the pears and apples, we have the inevitable fruit flies that annoy the heck out of me. I guess it is the fact that when I grew up, we called those little winged suckers after where we saw them in the summer months. In August, those poor old dogs in our neighborhood were always tormented by the gnats that circled their nether regions. For the lack of a better name, we called them "Dog Pecker Gnats".

Yes, it is hard to be politically correct when you grow up in a poor neighborhood. We had a lot of people from Oklahoma, Arkansas and Missouri there and most were first generation Kansans. They tended to call things as they saw them with out the benefit of a PC filter. Add to that, the negative effects of 30 years in the Military and you get a vocabulary filled with colorful descriptions that can't be used at the dinner table. I was the first generation there to use the correct version of the "N" word. Yes, boys and girls it is naked not Nekkid. Nekkid is when you don't have your clothes on and are up to no good.

We had a break last night in the 2 week drought. I tried to get over to the rain gauge in the garden but I was wearing sandals and with the rain last night, my feet were getting wet. I will just say that we got some and let Barb sort it out. She'll drag hoses all over the place to make sure the plants don't go to bed for the winter with dry feet. If I'm lucky, I'll get the hoses all picked up before I have a yard full of frozen hose snakes. If not, they will be there until spring.

1/1/1 to 10/10/10 seems to be a big thing. I am just glad as hell that I survived 1968 and the rest is gravy. Barb started it out right for me by marrying me in Feb 1968 and then a trip to Vietnam on the USNS Geiger spoiled the rest of the year. I think that 42 years of married life is just a testimony that Las Vegas weddings can work if you want them to. Take it from me that War is a great way to get your butt shot and in some cases die.

Oh well, can't dance and it is really too wet to plow...

MUD

Bidding But not yet Kissed

I have a NIKON D70 that has been well used and I want to have a used one to take apart and see what the pins for the CF card look like on the back side. My camera stopped working in the the middle of the Bryce Canyon shoot and it stayed down until I straightened it out. It seems to be working OK right now but still would like to see what connects the pins to the processor. I have been bidding on E-Bay and am not going to spend big bucks on a broken camera. If I win an auction, I'll have a spare. If not, no big deal.

The weather here is definitely on the nice side and the Jet Stream is way north so the changes this past week were only cool fronts not cold ones. We could use some rain but only to keep Barb from dragging a hose all over the yard. She does not like to put her plants to bed with dry feet.

Barb mentioned that the battery light was on on her Buick. Rather than stop and look at it, I drove to the auto parts store. Imagine my surprise when I found the serpentine belt shredded and just laying there. No need to put the tester on it. The alternator cannot charge the battery without the belt. The part that really surprised me was that the water pump on that car is driven by the cam belt and it did not overheat. Other than the battery light indicator it acted like everything was OK. It took me less than 10 minutes to repair it and most of that was time spent getting the belt around all the pulleys in the right way. Good practice.

This morning, I noticed that all of our cars have great tires on them right now. Most have been in for an oil change and are in pretty good shape although all are headed for the high mileage list. Is that a good sign or a bad one? I hope it is like that for me, lots of miles but well loved.

OH well, moving on...

MUD

Indian Summer

As a child, I often heard the description of a warm period in the late fall as Indian Summer. It will be in the 80's again today with clear skies and low humidity. No offense to the American Indian, that's what we called it.

Barb is at a hair appointment right now and sometime today we will go for a bike ride. Got to keep the legs in shape. It puts a smile on our faces and warmth on our face. If we go early enough, the foot traffic on the path will be minimal. If we wait until noon or later, the dogs, kids and people will make it slow going.

I am watching season 4 of Dexter and must have missed a couple of the earlier episodes. Fun update.

MUD

Great Car Mystery

Dave and I have been working on his Malibu with 130,000 miles on it. I am doing my best to keep it on the road for at least another 20,000 miles (or more). He seems to have problems with the driver's side brakes and when a bearing noise started, it sounded like the driver's side. Yep, I tore into that sucker and replaced the out side bearing on the driver's side. When the noise continued, I replaced the trans/axle or whatever the hell they call it now days. No improvement. I took it to the transmission guy who fixed it in July and asked him to see if he could tell me just what the hell is the problem.

The first thing he did was to check the transmission fluid and smell it. It was cherry red and no burnt smell. He then test drove it. he started out in low and accelerated. He shifted the lever in to 2 and it shifted very well with no hesitation. Same with 3 and all's well. About 30 MPH, the whine from the front wheel was loud. He said that if you listen, you can hear the noise change when you turn the wheel left and right. He indicated that one of the wheel bearings was bad and the noise was transmitted by the steering so you couldn't really tell which one.

Well, Duh, if I replaced the driver's side, it about had to be the passenger side. I stopped by the Parts Store and spent another $80 on parts. I now can change one of those suckers in less than an hour. Put everything in its place and the noise is gone. Isn't that the way things are, fix one bearing and it is the other that is noisy.

Oh well, it drives like a dream now and it will go to its grave with great wheel bearings. 'Nother day, 'nother project....

MUD

PS. It appears that the 80 dollars spent on an impact wrench and sockets was a darn fine investment for me.

My Screen Saver

This is my friend Grissy. She belongs to my best friend Ken. This was shot with his new camera. Got to 80 today here in the Heartland. Run, hide, I think barb wants another tree cut down.

MUD

Thinkin' Globally, Shootin' Locally

This morning it dawned on me that I haven't pushed the shutter button for over a week. I spent my time downloading last weeks shots and looking for things on EBAY. The reason I took the class was to take me places to shoot but also to help me enjoy my camera. Mom had a sign on her bathroom door that said "Happiness is not getting what you want, but wanting what you have." Here are a few of the Rabbit Run photos.

Leaves of Three, let it be

Barb's wildflower garden

Great Gate flowers

I am also going out to air up the bike tires so we can go ride. Great day right now. UPDATE: We rode about 7 miles when we were riding 8 and realize that two weeks off riding and your legs leave. Wonderful day out there. Just now is 80.

MUD

Great Chili Hunt

I have decided that I am going to dedicate a few hours to hunt for the best bowl of Chili I can find. McAlester's Deli in Lawrence served me a pretty darned good bowl the other day and it was in the lead until I had a bowl at Cook's American grill here in Topeka. To be fair, Cook's salad is so darned good that I might have given them extra credit.

As the mornings are turning cooler, I just haven't wanted to get out early and ride. I'll try to get Barb to go with me when it gets above 65. Should be a good week for a mid afternoon ride. I guess I'll just throw on a jacket and go play fetch with the dog. He had been escaping the dog pen and I reworked the electric fence. So far he is respecting the new fence. I built it a lot tighter and have it almost dog proof. We'll see.

I have been looking at cameras on EBAY and see a lot of the same ads over and over. I think I want to start with a replacement body for the D70 but then I see the D80's for a few hundred more and then there are the D90's. Oh well, no search is worth its salt without taking some time. We really don't need any lenses as we have a pretty good supply. I do hate to buy the body only as a lot of the cameras have a lens for just a few dollars more, Oh well.

Better go see what I can do to make Barb's day. Thanks to Dave's wife, we didn't forget her birthday. Might even do a card today as I just didn't get it done yesterday.

MUD

Mo' Pics

On my last day of shooting, we traveled to the North Rim of the Grand Canyon and passed this along the way. Beautiful cliffs and bright red rocks. It was in the middle of the day so the dramatic shadows were not available. Pretty place in spite of the time of the day.

Even without the trees the bluffs along the road were tremendous. There were shallow valleys along the road and there were cows and at least one buffalo herd.

View of the Grand Canyon from the north rim was spectacular. Many people walk from rim to rim and then have to take the bus back. 12 miles across and 300 miles on the road around through Flagstaff.

I tried to take evening shots at the North Rim and walked out on the path from the Lodge. They need to complete the handrail on one side so unnamed scaredy cats can get out to the end of the trail.

This was the last picture on the D70 that I was able to download. I have the new card in the camera and it seems to work now.

Everyone needs to see Zion, Bryce and the Grand Canyon at least once in their life. I can say now, "Been there, done that!" Hope you have enjoyed the pictures of this Road Scholar trip. I highly recommend any trip they sponsor. It is conducted in a professional manner by real people that treat you with understanding.

MUD

Waitin' for E-Bay

I looked on E-bay for a non functioning Nikon D-70 Camera to take apart and see just what the Camera card pins are hooked to. While there, I just looked at the D-80 Camera auction. There is a nice D-80 body only for $335.00. Yes, I put in a bid and now am waiting the last hour to see if I am the winning bid. I also bid $25 on a non functioning D-70 body but that won't end until tomorrow. I got a couple of snarky remarks from Barb about needing to get rid of two before I buy anything new. I think I'll go up and see if there is anything in the hall closet that needs disposed of. We keep our camera equipment in there and have a couple of used cameras that could go to the good will.
update - My bid of $335 was a great price and I should have not been surprised when in the last few seconds, the actual price jumped by over $25 bang, bang, bang. There was no way I coule even enter a bid it all happened so fast. So, I learned a lesson and should bid mu Max bid to a realistic place. To tell the truth, a Bid of $400 would have been less than half of retail on a new D90. Oh well...

I am trying to decide if the 57 Chevy is worth spending money on or if it needs to be sold. I am not happy with the way the 4 barrel carb works and am pretty sure that I need to step down to a smaller one or even a 2 barrel. There is a small matter of the steering not being tight and the lack of power/disc brakes. I could mention the need for A/C but that's for next year if/should I decide to drive it. There are a lot of things I need to implement the use or lose rule to.

Oh well, I'll just keep on trucking on.

MUD

Car Trouble

Yesterday Dave brought his Malibu over and we worked on the left front brake again. It looked good and nothing was worn more than the other side. After putting it all together again, I took it for a test drive. There is either a wheel bearing gone or the trans axle shaft driving the driver's wheel is gone. I need to look at the manual and see if there is more to be found. I don't know enough to tell what the problem is right now.

I hate it when I have all the tools to fix a problem and don't have the technical knowledge to even tell what to fix. The more complicated things get, the more we are determined to be a disposable society. It it takes a $90.00 service call to fix a used mower, people just tend to spend $125 for a new one. I can find examples of this all over.

When I worked in a gas station in the 60's, I could rebuild a generator or starter for my Chevy. Once they started putting in Alternators, that all stopped. Everything on a car today is Factory Rebuilt or new parts replacement. That's the ticket, we need to be able to rebuild the mechanic when his knowledge isn't up to the task today. Sadly, ain't going to happen McGee.

Oh well, frost on the pumpkin this morning.

MUD

Customer Service

In our automated world, are we losing the person to person part of doing business that I call Customer Service? For a while, I thought that it was the fact that our young people are spending so much time not talking to people that was a part of the problem. I have started to notice that the bean counters are applying so much pressure to deal with a customer fast and efficient that time not satisfaction has become the focus. Staffs are cut to the bare minimum and how well they do is measured in not having pissed off customers, not happy customers.

The other day, I shopped in a HyVee store and asked a person where an item was located. That person insisted on taking me to the correct aisle and to where the product was located. All I really wanted was to know where it was not to be led on a safari looking for that item. On the other hand, I got what I wanted.

I think Customer Service is related to a comment about Leadership I once read. Leadership is getting the other person to do what you need them to do and having them think it was their idea. If a person thinks you are concerned about them, they will give you a good grade on Customer Service.

I worked as an instructor at a call center and there were many goofy things done to make customers happy. Instead of really fixing problems, they would give a customer a credit on the amount the person owed. Made for a good feeling one time but led to a frustration when the problem would re-appear time after time. The customers didn't want money, they wanted their small problem fixed. If GETCC they couldn't fix a small problem, were they doomed to appear unable to provide service in the long run. They were adding new customers and not insuring that the customer's problems were taken care of and that they paid their bill. I tried to get a step put in the system that caused the representative to look at the customer's bill and see if they were paying. A simple comment about the state of the payment would have made the system look legitimate and not phony.

Oh well, There are places I shop for lower prices and places I shop at for good service. I don't go to WalMart for excellent service, I go to Best Buy for a friendly young person that knows what the hell they are talking about.

OK, I'll go play fetch with the dog, at least he acts glad to see me.

MUD

Cool Mornings, Warm Days

As we enter October, I find myself still dressing like it is is August. I took out the trash in shorts and sandals and found it about 50 degrees out there. A little cool for not enough clothes. Perfect weather for Barb's Cashew Blueberry pancakes. Throw in a couple of cups of coffee and some time on the blog and it is just right.

I am concerned that a lot of us are thinking that a new batch of Representatives and Senators will change the face of our Government for the good. The sad part is that unless we can find a way to elect people that will serve for a short period and do good for the country - AND GO HOME when it is over, we will get what we got! It needs to be more like the service to our country we did as young men and women and not a place where people build our sense of entitlement by providing an endless stream of wine, women and song. If Washington meant living in a barracks and not a home there, it might be seen as a place to do business. It should be an unaccompanied tour and you had to return home to your State each weekend. I would limit it to half time in Washington, D.C. and half time at home.

Let me be clear that most of the people I know have the goal of making the United States the best place it can be. The achievement of that goal is in the way we do it. On one side, there are people that feel that we should be friendly with the Nations of the World and they will like us. The other (and extreme side) feels that we need to keep our fists strong and take no crap from anyone. When I hear that all the people that are here illegally are going home to live in a better place I will seriously worry. I do hate that right now there are a lot of people out of work and people that think Government will step in and save them from all ills. No, I don't have all the answers, but to blame it on the last guy isn't the answer. I also don't blame it all on the President or the Congress. There is enough blame to go around.

In my perfect world, there is a leader that helps us all know that this is about the best place in the world to be and success is just a few steps from here. Barb and I grew up poor, and we both worked hard, got a good education and worked to make our lives a better place. We are at almost the opposite ends of the political spectrum but both worked to make our world a better place. We might think Globally, but acted locally.

As soon as it is warm, I'm going to go out and do a few errands. Spent most of the day mowing yesterday and am looking for a less serious set of actions today. Have a great weekend.

MUD

Crown Vicky FORD

We averaged between 25 and 28 MPG in a full size car on our trip. It is the way to go on the highway.

MUD

Bryce

Please forgive me if I use any of Barb's pictures for Bryce as my camera had an equipment failure right after the evening shoot at Bryce. I think the loose nut behind the lens caused the card to be jammed in and a pin bent for the CF card. We went to Sunset point and the view is stunning. The features are called HooDoos and look like someone had stacked beautiful rocks to make an endless collection of things that your eye can make up things when you look at them. After the looking up at Zion, it was kind of strange to be looking down. This is really the edge of a Plateau not a canyon.

Someone named this feature "Grottos" as it kind of does look like caves in the side of the hill. I'm pretty sure that it would be almost impossible to live in any of them. Hell, it would be tough for a scared cat like me to even repel down to the openings any more. I will just try to remember how interesting they were.

Yesterday I went downtown to have a new windshield put in the FORD. It was kind of fun to watch the process. I found out that they wanted me to let it set for an hour after they finished to let the adhesive set. I walked over to the camera shop and talked to the camera repairman. He had no way to straighten out the bent pin.

On the way home I stopped and bought some tools at harbor freight and spent the next half hour trying different combinations of ways to get the one bent pin straight. I think I have it OK for now. I am trying to decide if I want to buy a used D-70 and use parts to try to fix my camera or try to deal Wolfe's out of the D-80 they took in as a trade. There is always E-Bay with a bunch of cameras. What ever I do, I will probably stay with NIKON as we have such a great lens collection. Even if Barb has the wrong lens when she see's something neat.

OH well, Mowing calls so I had better get the mowers sharp and running.

MUD

Mind Fog

As I anticipate traveling, I have that feeling like I had when I wanted a cold beer on a hot day. Need isn't enough to describe the feeling of want, anticipation, pent up energy I have before a trip. After two weeks on the road, I have what I can only describe as a mind fog that feels like my battery is about 10 or 11 volts in a 12 volt system. So far all I have been able to do is make a list and work off the items that I need to accomplish. Old retired guys should not have to work off a "TO DO" list.

Perhaps what I really need to do is drink a beer, take a nap and remember all the great stuff I saw on the trip.

MUD

Splain it to me Lucy!

I am having trouble understanding a couple of things.

FIRST - There are many people that want to have bigger government to guarantee that the less privileged people have their fair share. They don't seem to mind that as you look at the current social experiments, Centralized Health Care, more Governmental Control, Subsidized Housing and less Local Control, these are mostly failing in the places they have been tried. Europe comes to mind and some of the Health Care issues in Canada. If you need an emergency appendectomy you can generally get in there, but Carol from B.C. said her knee replacement is at least a year away even though she really needs it now. Even the Conservative left want Government to jump in and ban abortion.

SECOND - In Cuba, the centralized control of the value of the dollar is failing fast. One of our Road Scholar friends said that she and a group of friends went on a trip to Cuba. To get approval from both Governments, they each had to take 15 lbs of Medical or Educational Supplies with them as they traveled to Cuba last year. She reported that many of the people that are working in the tourist trades in Cuba can earn tips in a "Convertible Peso" and with that can buy more than is available on the ration system with the Peso available to other workers. Yes, the red beans and rice is fairly cheap, but the pork to go in the beans is rationed and if you want more than a taste, you have to buy it with the convertible Peso. There are Doctors and Engineers working as bell boys to earn enough to feed their family. There is almost nothing in the Capital investment pool in Cuba to allow any building of new homes. Yet, we find Our Government moving towards the most massive debts and central control of the economy.

If you want free medicine, go to Canada. If you want cheap red beans and rice, Go to Cuba. If you really want to be a success, get a good education, work hard, save a little right here in the Good old USA... You might even be able to be the President in Washington, D.C. and make things better but don't send your kids to the Public Schools there.

MUD

Zion National Park

Because I wasn't driving, I didn't realize just how easy it was to get to Zion National Park. When I looked at the map later on, I saw just how close to I-15 and civilization it really was. For the first 2 1/2 days we shot Zion in all its glory and splendor. I wish we had spent more time there and that I didn't walk as far the first day. I think my tired legs kept me from walking farther the second day. At the end of the first day there was a walk down the Virgin River walkway that I should have skipped. This is by far my vote for a park to see.

You can go from one great view to another. There isn't a bad shot unless you have a loose nut behind the lens.

Because the other motel was full, we were staying in the Majestic View Best Western. There were three or as many as four buses from Road Scholar groups there and we got by far the best of the deal. The view from the front porch there was almost as good as in the park.

I'm not sure if you break down the price per person, that you could have done our trip much cheaper. I'm sure that our host, Nancy and our two photography instructors were worth almost the cost by themselves. They opened our eyes to things we might have missed.

I have a trick for anyone traveling to an area. Look at the transportation routes and see if there is a shuttle that goes across the park. If there is, get the map and take the shuttle to see if you can really find your way around. On the shuttle, form an overall impression of each area and see if there is any difference to you. Then go back and see the pieces. The shuttle in Zion is free and it would allow you to get off at each stop as another shuttle was soon to come there and take you to the next stop.

Of Zion, Bryce Canyon, and the North Rim of the Grand Canyon, I vote Zion the best. I wish we had a week to just go there and enjoy. Perhaps next time.

MUD

Crap!

As I went out on the photo shoots each day last week, I would bring my camera in each day and download the new photos. As I went out on the third day at Bryce Canyon, my CF card died. I lost about 30 evening shots of the beautiful rock formations. I had all the other photos on the card downloaded but that card is dead. The Instructor said that I should down load the pictures each day but then format the card. He said that some of the pictures tend to leave remnants on the card and makes the pictures have blemishes on them. I had close to 300 pictures on the card.


To add insult to injury, I bought a new 2GB card and tested it in the motel room prior to going out to the sunrise shoot. I shot three shots in the Motel room and deleted them. I got out on the morning shoot and for some reason the card "lost" its formatting. I sat there in the pre dawn light and tried to find out how to format the card in the camera. There is no relationship to the real way it formats and what the camera menu said. Reading the fine print in almost no light was a real pain. Add to that the fact that at 8000 Feet, it was about 30 degrees. I did finally get it working but it was at best a pain in the butt. I had the D70 booklet in the camera bag but no light to read with.


We are now home and glad to be in off the road. Most of the trip way fine except the I-70 traffic from Vail to Denver. What should have been at the most a 45 minute drive was well over two hours. It was bumper to bumper at anywhere from 8 to 24 miles per hour. It wasn't until we got into Denver that the roads cleared up and I could drive anywhere near the speed limit.

MUD

New Stuff

This is a video of Kolob Canyon taken yesterday evening. ( if it works)

MUD

Zion Pictures

OK, the Deer was Barb's picture. She was at the right place with the right lens and did a great job.

The following pictures don't do justice to the magnificent views here in Zion National Park. They are a taste and imagine that you could turn in any direction and take a great picture here.

This is a Kansas Sky that formed in Utah.

What Kansas Kid could resist this sky

Virgin River Waterfall

Nuts, they have them here too, Bushy Tailed rodents

MUD & Barb on the river

Yesterday we walked 7.5 miles in the canyon and my feet, legs and mind are worn out. I have exactly 2 hours to take a nap and go to our next class. They say the river is called the virgin river because it runs just fast enough.

More tomorrow...

MUD

Zion National Park

Can You guess which picture Barb Took?

We are in the Zion national Park in Southern Utah. This is one of the most spectacular places I have ever been. More Landscape photo's tomorrow.

MUD

On The Road Again

Million of years ago, lava flowed out of rifts in Central Idaho as North America caused plates to be subducted and all that rock just had to come out somewhere. It covered an area 20X60 miles with a layer of lava. It was not a volcano, just molten rock that escaped and covered what is now Craters of the Moon national park with layers of lava up to 6 feet deep. On the surface much of the rock has weathered down into what is almost a black sand with a few bigger rocks.

In the cracks and crevices, the ubiquitous Sage Brush is growing and now is the season when it blossoms. The yellow blossoms just pops against the black rocks.

A little south of the park, there was an overlook with a big sage brush and I just couldn't help but snap a picture of it.

We spent a few days working on the floor at Mom's and hopefully she thinks the hassle is worth the results. I hope that Mom knows that my brother-in-law did the lion's share of the work and I played helper to hand him tools and fetch things. The even great news is that in the end Ken is still speaking to me. I know that as long as Grissy welcomes me, Ken will to.

We are spending the night in Jackpot, Nevada and will wind up in St George, Utah to start our five day photography workshop. I hope to have more pictures then.

MUD

Twin Falls and the Snake River Canyon

Gee Honey, it is a beautiful evening so lets go for a walk. Sure we are only a few blocks from the Snake river and the Perrine Bridge across the Snake River Canyon.



Looks like a beautiful place to snap off a few shots of the beautiful scenery.

After taking a couple of pictures looking West, I turned my attention to , "Holy Shit is that guy going to jump off that bridge?

Yes but he had a parachute and there is a designated landing zone on the side of the river. Looks like a small marker with flowers for someone who didn't make it.

Our Jumper made it down safely but I wonder just how many big guys it would have taken to throw me off that bridge.

I guess this a daily thing and the base jumpers go off the bridge all the time.

MUD

Views from the Road Day two

Wake up in Wyoming and the first thing you will notice is the wind. Drive across the State and you will see hundreds of giant wind generators sweeping the sky. To me they are beautiful.
The first rest area we stopped at is on top of the most windy hill any where. 60 degrees with a 25 MPH wind was like 50 and way too cold to stay outside long.

I didn't know that I-80 is the Purple Heart Trail. I am proud on my friends who were awarded the medal for wounds received. Me, I am glad I don't have one. Just lucky I guess.

One rest area was entirely run with passive Solar. Great idea. Wish I had time to really stop and look at all the parts and pieces.

In case you didn't notice, Wyoming is covered with Sage brush. Tonight my head is completely stopped up from the sage brush pollen and dust. I guess I am not really a Wyoming pioneer.

Just north of Provo is one of the rest areas with the most scenic view. Nice shelters and nicely mowed grass. Barb thought the toilet was too dirty but it was OK for me.

As you go north into Idaho there is a sign that tells you about the lake that covered the southern half of Idaho and most of Utah.
Just a Hawk picture for Barb. Didn't see a Hawk anywhere. When I tried to call one in, it upset the hell out of the caretakers dog.

Yes, I took a lot of pictures from Rest Areas. If you were my age and loved coffee and bottled water like I do, you would have to stop often too. I'll put up some really great pictures when the class starts next week. Bye

MUD

Views From the Road

Did I mention that I am a proud resident of Kansas? I walked past this sign and just couldn't pass up a chance to share the details of my State with you

In Topeka a lot of people make a pretty big deal out of Junteenth. I'm not sure exactly what it is but every time someone mentions it, it gets tied to the little town of Nicodemus in Western Kansas. For 30 years in Topeka I have been told about Nicodemus and never had a chance to go near it. Well, these pictures show you that even a blind pig can find an acorn now and then.

The Museum host shared with us that in the 1860's and 1870's many black people were lured out to Kansas with the promise of free land. By 1870, 400 former slaves settled in Nicodemus and continued to live there until like a lot of small towns, the town started to fade away. It was one of the few all black cities in Kansas.

In 1955, they had to close the school and many people just moved away. Today out of the 40 people in the town, 25 are decendents of the origional settlers. She said the average age of the members is 76. The Hostess and I had a long talk about how many people didn't know that a lot of the cowboys that brought cows up to Abilene and Dodge City were black and many hispanic. We laughed that the Movies and TV would lead you to believe it was a lilly white world. She talked about that there were a lot of blacks in Kansas prior to the Civil war that were free men. We also talked about the fact that past Kansas City, the Civil War was not a real factor in the lives out west. She said there was a battle in New Mexico and one near Kansas City but many people farmed out west and were just left alone.

Hope you are all well. After about 10 hours behind the wheel, I'm ready for a shower and sleep. Oh, these pictures are from my I-Phone.

MUD

Its a Game, Not Life

Many of our friends live in Texas and are all angry that the Cowboys lost their game yesterday. One of the National Sports Networks showed the highlights of the game and one referee made most of the tough calls. The good part was that they showed the play and what caught the line judge's attention. Good Calls ref. Tonight our KC Chumps will play a "Big Monday" night game and we'll see if there is a chance in hell that they will be worth watching the rest of the season. I know the coaches are playing everyone in preseason so I try to not judge them from that record. But to everyone out there I am reminded of a wonderful saying from a former member of the National rowing team and the current Juniors Coach of the KC Rowing Club- "Athletes row, everyone else plays games!" JJ Jewett

This morning it was a wonderful mid 60's as I went out to gather in the paper. For several mornings, big dog met me at the door as he had achieved freedom from the electrified fence. I went out and rebuilt that sucker yesterday and today, he was in the pen all secure. I took him out and we played fetch for about half an hour. There is a stone fence between the patio and the driveway that is about a foot and a half high. Big dog is too fat to jump over so he has to run around it to get the stick. He kind of runs out but walks back. he pretends he has to stop and pee on every tree but I'm pretty sure that it is a stalling tactic to cut down on the repetitions of run then waddle back. Taco is one of the sweetest dogs I have ever had and it breaks my heart to see him just getting fat and not getting out to play as often as he deserves.

I think Barb is going over to the KS Natural History Museum today to help them clean up the Kansas Wildflower garden. I will make a run down to the County Court House and get our car tags renewed. I have Dave's info and will replace his tag also. He didn't renew his personalized plate so he will just be another number in the 123ABC type. He said that this year Kansas issued directions that there would not be the same tags in different counties. There will no longer be KUHawk in multiple counties. Only one per state.

As I downloaded all of my CD's to my I-Phone, step one was to load them into my computer. I now get to listen tom as I write on my blog or wear out the mouse playing solitaire. I have a really varied collection and it is just great when the songs play alphabetically. I will have a song from Tommy followed by something from Roy Orbison followed by the Theme from Star Wars. Somewhere the 1812 Overture is also in the list but it is at the end so unless I start there I don't hear it often. It is one of my favorite pieces so I do try to hear it at least once a week.

Better get rolling.

MUD

Say What?

Did you hear the rumor that KU won? Nah after getting their butts kicked last week, it 'Tain't possible is it? I have said that Turner Gill is a great guy and will be a great coach over and over. Good On him! The rest of the team didn't do a bad job either.

The Topeka paper put the story about the Westborough Baptist Church burning a Koran on the front page and then reported that it wasn't much of a story. If something is hardly worth reporting and that paper runs it on the front page does that mean the paper is hardly worth reading? I have been a fan of newspapers all of my life and that allure is fading fast. I have stopped watching the news on TV and soon may give up the paper.

Dave had been having a problem with the driver's side brakes on his car. Seems like we have redone that side twice and both times the pad was worn down to the rotor. So far, we have replaced the caliper, flexible brake line and the pads and rotors twice. Anyone got any ideas?

Sometime today I am going out to work on the dog pen. That big old stupid dog has so much fur that the electric fence doesn't seem to keep him in very well. I guess I am going to go back to Hard wire not that electrical horse tape.

This morning I read that there is a component in happiness that includes money. The funny part is that it said that if the family income is under $75,000 money is a dissatisfier and makes people unhappy and stressed. Above $75,000, additional money doesn't make you happy, it only makes you less unhappy. That reminds me of a leadership lesson I once shared with a General when he made a stupid remark. He said that soldiers were made happy by having nice looking mess halls. His quote was, "Soldiers eat with their eyes and that motivates them". I called BS on that and referrred him to the FM on Leadership that made the point that bad food was a dissatisfier and good food wasn't a motivator. The things that motivate soldiers are the common things like recognition, clear goals and a sense of belonging. I guess that's a lot like the money thing. If you can self recognize your successes, reward yourself and feel like a part of the rest of the people you might be on your way to finding happiness.

MUD

Correction

I have told the tale of how impressed with Barb's seeming ability to manage as one of the reasons I asked her to marry me as I went off to Vietnam. I repeated that yesterday at the breakfast table she said, "Nice Try but you really just liked my cute butt." Correction noted...

I find it noteworthy that tales well told in a repeated manner become more factual based on the time passing since the event and number of times the tale is told. It is not a "damned bold face lie", just an enhanced version embellished to make it more fun.

I'm sure that many tales told by the older set are based on facts without the benefit of a fact checker (Unless they are married to Barb). Most of the time she will let minor alterations slip by but alone, she will edit the story back to the base facts. Mostly when we are alone, to spare me embarrassment.

Oh well, lots to do today so I'll move on.

MUD

Happy?

A person near and dear to us said that she had not had a merry Christmas in 11 years. I began to think about what it was that makes people happy. I guess that led me to looking at myself in the mirror and trying to describe what makes me happy.

Let me say that I know there are people out there that have had traumatic events happen to them in life. I have been shot at with the best of them and had life drain out of a friend as he died in my arms. I spent a year right in the middle of the prime of my life in Vietnam and away from the arms of my loving wife. I guess I could probably fall into that blue funk if I allowed it to overtake me.

In 1975 I was a probation officer in Leavenworth. One day a local bar tender called me and said that one of my probationers was just on the cusp of having his ass hauled in for being drunk and angry. That bar was just down the street from the courthouse where I worked so I walked down to see what the problem was. My friend, a Marine in WWII was standing by the bar waiving a beer mug telling everyone that he got a raw deal because he was on Guadalcanal and had to fight hard to stay alive. I walked over and told him to sit down and shut up while I shared with him a few things. I was back from Vietnam just a short 5 years earlier and I had dedicated my life to those friends I had died there in the jungle. He wasn't the only poor dumb son of a bitch that had to fight and he needed to find a way to deal with it. Hell, his war had been over for 30 years and if he couldn't deal with it he needed to trot his ass down to VA and get some help. He damned sure wasn't going to find the answer at the bottom of a Beer Mug. Later on that week his wife and I drove him to Valley Hope for their alcohol program. They came to my office and thanked me for that blinding flash of the obvious. Do what you did and you get what you got.

One of the first steps for me was to stop drinking. I was dealing with stress with a beer chaser. WRONG! I decided that the dose of reality I needed was that happiness started and stopped with me. If I couldn't get over being the "poor me" I would be trapped in a lifetime of sadness. I have worked hard to work hard and stay that way. I read books, listen to music, work on old cars and cook. Man if that isn't enough, I just find something else to do on the long list of things that could be done. I will admit that my loving wife and great finances makes it all better, but that alone is not the answer. Mom had a poster on the back of the bathroom door that said, "Happiness is not getting what you want, but wanting what you have." It is a blinding flash of the obvious that things just won't cure what ails us.

What makes you happy?

MUD

Bird Dogs

Village in Vietnam

Artillery Smoke Round

View from the back seat of a Bird Dog

No, not the kind that my grandfather had to hunt pheasant with in north central Kansas, but those itty bitty fly slow, fixed wing Cessna aircraft that the Army Flew. There was a front seat for the pilot and a back seat for an observer. The front seat had all the gauges and controls. There was a set of pedals that folded down and laid on the floor and a joy stick on the bulkhead that was held on with nylon straps and snaps. With a couple of minutes work, you could fly From the back seat but I sure as hell would not want to try to land one from back there. If you were very tall, you probably could reach the engine controls and the trim wheel but neither one very well. They would take off and land on short little airstrips all over the place and even though it took hours to get there, they seemed to have enough fuel to fly all over the place.

If you were assigned to a position that authorized flight pay, you got an extra $100 bucks a month more pay for being there in the back seat. More often than not, I wound up in the back seat of a bird dog without the benefit of extra pay. I got pretty good at reading a map from whatever altitude we flew at and even had a little "stick time" when one of the pilots had been up late the night before and we were going long distances to do a job. Most of the time, we would fly out and see where there was a river on the map that had an easy spot to locate. A lot of the time it was where two rivers came together. We would shoot artillery units at those points to help them improve their accuracy. That was called a registration mission and we would shoot by trying to bracket the target and hitting the target as close as we could. Most of the time it was pretty accurate fire unless it was a 175mm unit. If they got within 500 meters of a junction we called it target and moved on. When I was at Fort Irwin, CA I safetied one of those 175 units and the damned powder was re-bagged stuff from the USS New Jersey and bagged somewhere in the mid 50's. It was so varied in quality that you were lucky to have two shells hit in the same 1000 meter grid square from guns fired almost side by side.

On east out of Dakto, the road at one time went over to the border where Vietnam met Laos and Cambodia. All along that border was a beaten patch about 1000 meters wide where the Air Force would bomb the "Ho Chi Min trail". I had never seen the area and one of the bird dog pilots decided to show me where it was and what it looked like. About three miles west of the border area there is a small ridge of mountains running parallel to the border. The pilot flew up to the ridge parallel to the small peaks and was going to slip up and over the tops to then be parallel to the border. Just as we cleared the point where he would give some right rudder and fly over, we saw a North Vietnamese convoy with a ZSU-4 front and back. I'm sure that we caught them just as off guard as we were.

The pilot said in a calm voice"Don't do anything" he managed to have enough airspeed for us to fly back up and over that ridge out of the line of fire of those quad 51mm guns. With radar control, they could and should have just blown us out of the sky. There is just no way to explain how an aluminum aircraft escaped being blown away but luck was on our side. I think we were so slow and quiet that they didn't see us until it was too late to slew their guns back our direction and shoot us in the butt as we dodged death.

It took me all of just a few seconds to call the nearest artillery unit and start firing at that area. I know that they weren't supposed to shoot across the border but I gave them a grid 500 meters on our side and then added 500 meters to that. Soon after that, an Air Force Forward Air Controller (FAC) came up on station and every plane in about 200 miles came and flew up and down that area.

I managed to escape death that time and next time I'll tell you how I managed to cheat death in a later post.

MUD