I mentioned in an earlier post that John Wells, a New York photographer, had exited his busy world of high-fashion photography to move to Terlinqua, Texas and live off the grid. The New York Times recently sent a writer and photographer down to do a piece on John and his lifestyle. The article can be found at the following link.http://www.nytimes.com/2011/03/10/garden/10texas.html
John lives one of those lives that I would love to live but would never have the nerve nor the recklessness to live, but I really like to think about it. I am perfectly happy living my life as it is, but there is a certain romance and nostalgia to live out in the old, wild west living on nothing but your wits. Any way it is always a good start to my day.
John has a very small cast of characters and places that are interspersed into his daily blog. Belinda, an adopted long horn cow meanders in and out of his daily life. Belinda has become a small time favorite face book page and coffee mugs can be ordered from John with her likeness on the cup. Floppy is a burro that hangs out at the field lab and usually is in to some sort of mischief. John operates a live web cam of the field lab at his website and Floppy is always knocking it over.
Some friends of John are two western cowboy singers Brent Lovelady and William Rich, better known in west Texas as the Bent Lovehandles. They recently released their first album called "Sacred Order of the Lonely Hearts" which can be purchased from iTunes for $9.98. Brent and William play at local establishments in and around Big Bend National Park and can be seen at the Starlight Theater, a favorite haunt of John and many Big Benders who frequent the area. Brent actually created a YouTube video of a song he wrote and performed at the Field Lab.
John seems to enjoy his notoriety and seems to enjoy entertaining visitors a the field lab. So if you are in the area and would like to enjoy the company of a true individual, give John a call.
Sunday, March 20, 2011
Thursday, March 17, 2011
Everyday life
No hiking this weekend and that is a shame (maybe I go out Sunday and get in a short day hike). I am working on a new piece of business (I actually do work for a living. Yes. it is true) and they want to have a conference call at 10 am on a Saturday morning.
So now it looks like I will get out next weekend and do some hiking in the Bankhead National Forest with the Sierra Club group. Yes, I joined the Sierra Club. I used to be a member when I was in Louisiana but it lapsed over time. So I am back to being a tree hugger. Not really but I am concerned about the environment and I want to preserve the wilderness areas, national forests and public lands for future use.
I enjoyed the Sierra Club meeting night before last. Jay Hudson's presentation was very informative and insightful. He basically talked about the diversity of plant and animal life in Alabama and how quickly that diversity is beginning to diminish. Alabama has the lowest amount of public lands as a percentage of total land in the US. That means the availability of parks, wildernesses and national forests in Alabama is very limited. If we only had a median share what a boost to tourism that would be. Unfortunately our politicians are too short sighted to see that.
The explorer has a leak in the radiator and I need to get that fixed in the next week or so. I need the ability to be mobile without leaving Karen without a car so the time is now.
Just thought I would throw in a picture of the basin in Big Bend National Park. I am ready to go back.
If you have not checked out The Field Lab blog I encourage you to. I think it is self assuming on my part that I am writing like I am talking to someone. I just assume at a point in time someone will actually come and read about my little corner of the world.
So now it looks like I will get out next weekend and do some hiking in the Bankhead National Forest with the Sierra Club group. Yes, I joined the Sierra Club. I used to be a member when I was in Louisiana but it lapsed over time. So I am back to being a tree hugger. Not really but I am concerned about the environment and I want to preserve the wilderness areas, national forests and public lands for future use.
I enjoyed the Sierra Club meeting night before last. Jay Hudson's presentation was very informative and insightful. He basically talked about the diversity of plant and animal life in Alabama and how quickly that diversity is beginning to diminish. Alabama has the lowest amount of public lands as a percentage of total land in the US. That means the availability of parks, wildernesses and national forests in Alabama is very limited. If we only had a median share what a boost to tourism that would be. Unfortunately our politicians are too short sighted to see that.
The explorer has a leak in the radiator and I need to get that fixed in the next week or so. I need the ability to be mobile without leaving Karen without a car so the time is now.
Just thought I would throw in a picture of the basin in Big Bend National Park. I am ready to go back.
Tuesday, March 15, 2011
I have been busy with life
I have been negligent in my duties to my blog for the last couple of weeks. I have not been hiking or camping since my ill-fated trip on the Pinhoti, but I have not given up my passion, just life getting in the way. Nothing earth shattering or newsworthy, just moving furniture, bad weather and some light yard work.
Tonight I will attend my first meeting of the Cahaba River Sierra Club meeting at the Hoover Library. Jay Hudson, a volunteer leader of my hiking club and a true naturalist, is giving a presentation on the fauna of the Alabama woods and forests. I am not a big joiner and certainly do not consider myself much of an activist but I like Jay and want to hear what he has to present. I certainly want to see our wilderness and forest areas preserved and given the state of the economy it may be left up to us to make sure that happens.
I will file a report tomorrow and let everyone know how the meeting went.
PS. I have discovered a blog that I find truly interesting. I know you will not be surprised that it is about the Big Bend area. A gentleman by the name of John Wells, a former fashion photographer from New York, sold everything he had, purchased 60 acres outside of the gates of Big Bend, and built a one room house off the grid.
John blogs everyday about his adventures of living alone, living off the grid and truly living by his own wits. You can find him at http://thefieldlab.blogspot.com/
He was recently visited and written about by the New York Times.
Tonight I will attend my first meeting of the Cahaba River Sierra Club meeting at the Hoover Library. Jay Hudson, a volunteer leader of my hiking club and a true naturalist, is giving a presentation on the fauna of the Alabama woods and forests. I am not a big joiner and certainly do not consider myself much of an activist but I like Jay and want to hear what he has to present. I certainly want to see our wilderness and forest areas preserved and given the state of the economy it may be left up to us to make sure that happens.
I will file a report tomorrow and let everyone know how the meeting went.
PS. I have discovered a blog that I find truly interesting. I know you will not be surprised that it is about the Big Bend area. A gentleman by the name of John Wells, a former fashion photographer from New York, sold everything he had, purchased 60 acres outside of the gates of Big Bend, and built a one room house off the grid.
John blogs everyday about his adventures of living alone, living off the grid and truly living by his own wits. You can find him at http://thefieldlab.blogspot.com/
He was recently visited and written about by the New York Times.
Wednesday, March 2, 2011
The Odyssey of paying AARP dues for 13 years
We all have heard the terms "the new 40's" or "the new 50's" and the like. In a lot of ways these terms are accurate and reflect the changes in lifestyles, technology and medical advances. But from time to time you come to face with reality that you are getting older and you have to try harder to stay ahead of Father Time.
I came face to face with this reality a couple of weekends ago when hiking on the Pinhoti Trail just north of Mt. Cheaha. As I related in an earlier post I was stricken with a case of heat exhaustion on a warm but not necessarily hot day in Alabama. Surely something must have been wrong with me to have such a hard time. Certainly it could not have been anything that I did or did not do on that day to cause me such stress.
Well, off to see Dr. Rene to find out what malady has stricken my body. Surely all my arteries must have been blocked or I had malaria or some esoteric jungle disease. Dr. Rene took the mandatory blood samples and then sent me off to see the cardiologist and a nuclear stress test disguised in the name of cardiolite stress test. Thursday morning I showed up at this fancy health club on Highway 119 operated by St. Vincent's Hospital. There were three other people taking the test that morning and they were all older and fatter than I. I am of course rationalizing that some mistake had been made putting me with such an unhealthy group.
When my turn came after being prepped with some sort of radioactive isotope, I hopped up on the treadmill and performed for the technician. She gave me the same comment that most nurses and doctors give me-"Did you know that your heart rate is low?" Every medical person since my early teens have made the same comment. "Yes, I do know that and should I be concerned?"
Well, the test went very well and I was told that I am in very good physical shape and my heart and plumbing is doing well. It was obvious that they are not "Dr. House" who surely would have diagnosed me with some sort of dengue fever or a bite of the African Tse-Tse fly.
But since this did not happen I guess I will face the real issue and that is I am getting older and must put in more work that my younger counterparts just to be able to have a comparable result as they. So the effort must be continual or I will digress into not being able to do what I want to do. Even though the 60's are now the new 50's, I have concluded that to be general statement and not a complete truth. We baby boomers are going to have to continue to work harder to accomplish what we used to be able to do in our sleep.
I came face to face with this reality a couple of weekends ago when hiking on the Pinhoti Trail just north of Mt. Cheaha. As I related in an earlier post I was stricken with a case of heat exhaustion on a warm but not necessarily hot day in Alabama. Surely something must have been wrong with me to have such a hard time. Certainly it could not have been anything that I did or did not do on that day to cause me such stress.
Well, off to see Dr. Rene to find out what malady has stricken my body. Surely all my arteries must have been blocked or I had malaria or some esoteric jungle disease. Dr. Rene took the mandatory blood samples and then sent me off to see the cardiologist and a nuclear stress test disguised in the name of cardiolite stress test. Thursday morning I showed up at this fancy health club on Highway 119 operated by St. Vincent's Hospital. There were three other people taking the test that morning and they were all older and fatter than I. I am of course rationalizing that some mistake had been made putting me with such an unhealthy group.
When my turn came after being prepped with some sort of radioactive isotope, I hopped up on the treadmill and performed for the technician. She gave me the same comment that most nurses and doctors give me-"Did you know that your heart rate is low?" Every medical person since my early teens have made the same comment. "Yes, I do know that and should I be concerned?"
Well, the test went very well and I was told that I am in very good physical shape and my heart and plumbing is doing well. It was obvious that they are not "Dr. House" who surely would have diagnosed me with some sort of dengue fever or a bite of the African Tse-Tse fly.
But since this did not happen I guess I will face the real issue and that is I am getting older and must put in more work that my younger counterparts just to be able to have a comparable result as they. So the effort must be continual or I will digress into not being able to do what I want to do. Even though the 60's are now the new 50's, I have concluded that to be general statement and not a complete truth. We baby boomers are going to have to continue to work harder to accomplish what we used to be able to do in our sleep.
Sunday, February 20, 2011
The Good, The Bad, The Ugly
The Birmingham Hiking Meet-Up group was off to the Pinhoti Trail this weekend for a 10 mile day hike of a section of the trail just off the Talledega Scenic Highway. We left from the parking lot at the Cracker Barrel on 280 and joined up with another group at the Target in Oxford, Alabama. The total count of hikers was 31 and was a diverse group age-wise.
The good part of the hike was that the weather was nice and warm. By the end of the day the temperatures had risen to mid-to-high 70's. There was a little breeze and the humidity did not seem to be that high. The start of the hike was 3 miles on an old CCC road that would connect us to the Pinhoti Trail. What was interesting about the road hike was all of the rock work done by the CCC back in the 30's and 40's. The Civilian Conservation Corps was started by Franklin Roosevelt in an effort to get people back to work. A lot of the work done was in National Parks and National Forests and their handiwork has stood the test of time.
As we arrived at the Pinhoti Trail I was at the back of the pack as far as hikers. The only problem with that was that there was no rest break and we were off down the trail. About a mile into the Pinhoti section of the hike I noticed that I really had no spring in my step and was beginning to struggle on the uphill portions of the trail. I was beginning to feel somewhat bad and also feel the effects of the sun on my face. After about 4 miles into the hike on the trail and 7 miles total, I arrived at the designated lunch area much later than I should. As I set down to eat my gourmet meal of peanut butter sandwich, trail mix and Little Debbie Oatmeal cookie, some of the hikers began to move out. I stayed as long as I could but eventually had to move on out myself. All in all my little rest and lunch break was only about 15 minutes and I was not fully hydrated.
The leader of the group, Jay Hudson, realized that I was struggling and hung in with me at the back of the pack. The longer we hiked the more I struggled. I stopped a couple of times to try to get hydrated but it was always a temporary fix. As we got near the top of a long hill climb I told Jay that I needed to sit down because I was not feeling well. After a few minutes I tried to get up and things sort of went black. I knew then that I was into heat exhaustion. I got out of my pack and stretched out on the ground and elevated my feet on a log. I have had heat exhaustion before and I knew what to do. After 20 to 30 minutes the color came back into my face and I began to feel much better. We were finally able to complete the hike and find the cars. Unfortunately the remainder of the group had to wait an hour for us to get out.
I am grateful to Jay and his patience with me as a distressed hiker. Other people might have been less patient or short with me but Jay knew exactly how to handle the situation. I nor Jay showed any panic even though I knew that I was in trouble. When you get in trouble in the wilderness try to be as calm as you can and remember basic first aid skills. I think our actions kept more serious consequences from coming into play.
I will be taking a trip to the doctor this week to try and pinpoint why I had such trouble. I have been hiking a lot over the last year without any trouble whatsoever. I need to be checked out to make sure there is no other cause for the issues that I suffered today.
The good part of the hike was that the weather was nice and warm. By the end of the day the temperatures had risen to mid-to-high 70's. There was a little breeze and the humidity did not seem to be that high. The start of the hike was 3 miles on an old CCC road that would connect us to the Pinhoti Trail. What was interesting about the road hike was all of the rock work done by the CCC back in the 30's and 40's. The Civilian Conservation Corps was started by Franklin Roosevelt in an effort to get people back to work. A lot of the work done was in National Parks and National Forests and their handiwork has stood the test of time.
As we arrived at the Pinhoti Trail I was at the back of the pack as far as hikers. The only problem with that was that there was no rest break and we were off down the trail. About a mile into the Pinhoti section of the hike I noticed that I really had no spring in my step and was beginning to struggle on the uphill portions of the trail. I was beginning to feel somewhat bad and also feel the effects of the sun on my face. After about 4 miles into the hike on the trail and 7 miles total, I arrived at the designated lunch area much later than I should. As I set down to eat my gourmet meal of peanut butter sandwich, trail mix and Little Debbie Oatmeal cookie, some of the hikers began to move out. I stayed as long as I could but eventually had to move on out myself. All in all my little rest and lunch break was only about 15 minutes and I was not fully hydrated.
The leader of the group, Jay Hudson, realized that I was struggling and hung in with me at the back of the pack. The longer we hiked the more I struggled. I stopped a couple of times to try to get hydrated but it was always a temporary fix. As we got near the top of a long hill climb I told Jay that I needed to sit down because I was not feeling well. After a few minutes I tried to get up and things sort of went black. I knew then that I was into heat exhaustion. I got out of my pack and stretched out on the ground and elevated my feet on a log. I have had heat exhaustion before and I knew what to do. After 20 to 30 minutes the color came back into my face and I began to feel much better. We were finally able to complete the hike and find the cars. Unfortunately the remainder of the group had to wait an hour for us to get out.
I am grateful to Jay and his patience with me as a distressed hiker. Other people might have been less patient or short with me but Jay knew exactly how to handle the situation. I nor Jay showed any panic even though I knew that I was in trouble. When you get in trouble in the wilderness try to be as calm as you can and remember basic first aid skills. I think our actions kept more serious consequences from coming into play.
I will be taking a trip to the doctor this week to try and pinpoint why I had such trouble. I have been hiking a lot over the last year without any trouble whatsoever. I need to be checked out to make sure there is no other cause for the issues that I suffered today.
Thursday, February 10, 2011
Another Snow in the South
A very nice snow event in Birmingham last night that left a blanket of white everywhere. This time it was all snow and it is certainly a post card event. I am going to travel today so I hope the roads are not that bad. It is certainly beautiful while it lasts.
Monday, February 7, 2011
The Case of the Lost Photos
When I returned to Big Bend in early January I was shocked to find that the HD card in my new camera was missing. I had viewed the photos before my return trip from Gonzales so I know that it was there at one time. We searched everywhere and no card was found. I was deeply disappointed that I had lost all my pictures from that camera. Luckily, Wes had used my other camera so I was not empty handed.
In working with my camera this weekend I noticed something strange. The camera actually had a built in 1 gig plus memory. I thought at the time that the memory was for the instruction manual. This morning at 4 am I decided to check that feature again. Voila!!!! There were my pictures!!!! Life is good again. It always pays to read your owners manual before using anything.
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