Alcohol and Earplugs

Yellowstone winter trip, 2012

2012-02-10T20:17:00.000-07:00

I put several videos together for this one big vid...if you've got ten minutes to kill...

Pussy Riot

2012-02-10T06:26:00.002-07:00

I don't know what you might be expecting with that post title, but here goes...

The other day, driving home, I heard a story on All Things Considered about a protest group in Russia that calls itself Pussy Riot. Russia is a country that could be on the verge of serious unrest and protest for a lot of reasons, including women's rights issues and the fact that Vlad Putin has more or less turned the country into a dictatorship. One of the interesting things to me about protest in our current era is the role that social media plays in spreading the word and connecting like-minded people. Pussy Riot is a collective protest group of young women who have been staging some interesting and angry protests, and they caught the eye of somebody at NPR. The story led me to check out a video of their latest protest, in January in Red Square. This video is pretty amazing. I have no idea what they are singing, but the anger and rage ooze off the screen when you watch.

You can check out the NPR story here, and watch the video below:

Winter Wonderland, 2012 version...

2012-02-06T19:44:00.001-07:00

We are freshly back from our latest trip to Yellowstone National Park in the winter, and I have a whole bunch of pictures to share with you. I'm going to keep the commentary to a minimum and let the pictures tell most of the story. We started on Jan. 27 with the drive to Chico Hot Springs, our now traditional launch pad for our winter trips. We added a new wrinkle this year, stopping in Red Lodge at Sam's Tap Room for a delicious 'let's get started' ale. Chico was great, as always. After a nice soak, we had an incredible meal. Hey, any meal that starts with raw oysters is halfway to great already!

We got up early, and headed south for Mammoth Hot Springs, where we would catch the snow coach to Old Faithful. One of the cool things at the Mammoth Hot Springs Hotel is the Map Room, a large sitting room with a giant map of the US made of inlayed wood. Several different kinds of wood were used, with no neighboring states of the same wood. It is pretty awesome. Here is a close-up of the Wyoming area:

Hey, quit staring at the map and get on the snow coach! OK...
Ready to start:

Buffalo on the side of the road:

The obligatory Roaring Mountain portrait:

A pair of swans on the Gibbon River:

Close-up of Gibbon Falls, one of my favorites:

Buffalo bedded down next to the road:

And then we were at Old Faithful, and the snow was stunning! After a month of warm weather and little snow, there was some nervousness about the snow. But in the couple weeks before our trip, that portion of Wyoming got LOTS of snow, and there was fresh powder all around. We got settled in our cabin, and then strapped on the skis and hit the Fern Cascades Trail, a 3+ mile loop right by Old Faithful that has some uphill, some downhill, and some gliding through the trees, with a serious downhill at the end. I liked it so much that I did two loops, while Karen did one and then headed back to the cabin to rest.

Here are a few snaps from the trail:

I've uploaded all my photos from the trip to a web album, and you can see all of the pictures from the first day by clicking here.

The next day, we had an excursion planned on the DeLacy Creek trail to Shoshone Lake, which left late in the morning, giving us time to walk around the geyser basin a bit. We saw Old Faithful go off and we were the only people there!

Beehive Geyser:

We have made the trip down DeLacy Creek several times, both walking and skiing. It is a Warner favorite. After a quick little downhill, the trail goes through an area of timber before opening into meadows that follow the creek to the lake. It is beautiful any time of year.

The sign at the trailhead:

The snow was so soft, the skiing was amazing:

Only four of us made the trip: Emily, our guide and driver, Curtis, a Xanterra employee who joined us, Karen and me. It was great! We had a lot of fun with Emily and Curtis, the weather was spectacular (i.e., not too much wind!) and the skiing was nothing short of amazing. Emily and Curtis dug out a little sitting spot for us at the lake, and we shared snacks and stories.

The Shoshone group:

Looking out on the lake:

All of my pictures from Day 2 can be viewed here.

Our third day saw us off early to another of our favorite ski trails, the Spring Creek Trail. This one starts on the hill to the southeast of Old Faithful and winds its way along Spring Creek to where the creek meets the Firehole River. From there, it is a short jaunt to Lone Star Geyser, and then back to Old Faithful. All told, somewhere around nine miles total, I think.

You can't scare us with that:

On the trail:

At Lone Star Geyser, it was kind of blowy and snowy, so we didn't hang out for an eruption:

The Firehole River:

It was a great day with fantastic ski conditions, and we celebrated by drinking a bottle of Scottish ale (from Scotland!) that Karen got me for Christmas, an act immortalized in a video seen by clicking here. All of my pictures from this day can be seen by clicking here.

Our next day, we had another excursion planned, this one an all day trip to the Canyon area, including some skiing. On the way, we saw a fox doing some ground hunting near a bunch of buffalo (and people!).

The fox and a buffalo:

Fox solo:

Karen gearing up at the Canyon Visitors Center for a ski to the Lower Falls:

On the trail:

The Canyon was incredibly beautiful, with the sun poking in and out of the clouds, lighting different spots at different times.

Our first view of the Canyon:

A view looking at the Lower Falls, over 300 feet of drop:

The white arch in the foregound is all snow and ice, built up from mist and snowfall:

Our second ski of the day took us up the river above the Upper Falls to Chittendon Bridge:

The river with Mt. Washburn in the distance:

Looking up the river:

A view of the Lower Falls, 109 ft. of ice and water:

Next, we coached up the river to the head of the Hayden Valley, where we had the great treat of seeing two beaver playing on the ice:

Coyote tracks on the river:

A beaver climbing up onto the ice with a stick in its mouth:

We stopped for one final ski on the way back, on the Virginia Cascades road. Great skiing, and the Cascades looked beautiful:

It was a great day! Our guide Crystal was really good, and the rest of the group were a lot of fun. All of the Canyon day pictures can be seen by clicking here.

On our last day in the Park, I got up a bit before dawn and went for a short walk for some early light photos. It was a short walk because all the walkways to the geyser areas were blocked by bedded down buffalo, except for Old Faithful itself. I did get some nice shots of that, with a solitary buffalo and a lone coyote for company at Old Faithful.

The coyote leaves with the mist from the geyser:

After breakfast, we packed up our stuff, got checked out of our room and went for one last walk among the geysers.

Here is Karen in front of the cabin, with our stuff loaded on sleds to take back to the lodge:

Daisy Geyser:

The run-off at Punchbowl Spring:

We had been hearing about a 'thumping' sound coming from Black Sand Pool, so we went to check it out, and sure enough--the ground was thumping! It was sporadic but happened every 15-20 seconds, and it was a 'thump' that you could both hear and feel. A ranger told me it was hot air bubbles collapsing under the weight of the water. Whatever it is, it is weird!

Here is Black Sand Pool:

A coyote walked down the trail right next to us on our way back:

On the snow coach ride back to Mammoth, we stopped at Fountain Flats, and checked out the thermal features there. That was the highlight of a somewhat boring trip back to Mammoth.

Buffalo tracks in a thermal runoff bed:

All of my pictures from our last day can be seen by clicking here.

We spent the night after the coach ride back at Chico, gratefully soaking...

It was another great, great trip, made possible in part because Karen has been working so much overtime this winter. Thanks, Karen!

And, we both hope to be there again next year--perhaps you can join us...

Painting the castle...

2012-01-22T19:08:00.004-07:00

When we were in Scotland in 2010, one of the really amazing places that we visited was Dunottar Castle. It is on the northeast coast, near Stonehaven, and we were completely mesmerized by it. My friend and co-worker Jim Hagstrom saw some of my pictures of it, and I prodded him into expressing an interest in painting it. And so, he did paint it from several photos, and I gave it to Karen for her birthday. It has obviously taken me too long to get this posted, but here are a couple of photos of the painting. Jim is a very talented artist, and my non-studio photos don't do full justice to the amazing work that he did here, but you get the idea...

A bit of a detail shot...

And here is what it looks like in one of my photos

If you like this, you should check out some of Jim's other work, at his website, by clicking here. And thanks Jim! It looks great!

MLK Day

2012-01-14T19:14:00.003-07:00

Today is Martin Luther King Jr.'s birthday, and tomorrow is Martin Luther King Jr. Day. The 'day' was set up to not only commemorate King, but also the other courageous people who fought against racism over the years, and, more importantly, to remind us that that fight will never be over. And if you think maybe that last part is over-stated, then I would invite you to spend some time in Wyoming.

Wyoming's motto is 'The Equality State' but for most people in the state that only applies to whites. The rest of the world? Well, Wyomingites would rather that you keep your mouths shut and stay home. To have a holiday honoring the fight against racism is something that appalls the majority of people here. Most of my co-workers would describe it in terms that would not be fit to print here. And for them to have a black president is an error that needs to be fixed as soon as possible. I'm sure it is the same everywhere: the racism is part of culture and society and will probably never go away. When I hear young people here speak of minorities in the same way their elders do, it does not give me a lot of hope that it will ever fade away.

I know that as a whole there has been good progress in the battle against intolerance. Many things that were unthinkable 50 years ago are reality now. But when I hear the rhetoric against 'illegal aliens' I hear racism. The 'aliens' that are being targeted in speeches are not all of the undocumented immigrants. No. It is the ones from Mexico. There are undocumented immigrants from all over the world here in this country. But you never hear about the ones from 'white' countries, because we don't hate them like we hate the Mexicans.

Wyoming is a beautiful, awesome place. MLK Day serves as a reminder that it would be a lot more tolerable with a lot less intolerance. I hope that we all can think more positively of the true equality and non-violence that King stood for.

Does anybody smell a Fire?

2012-01-12T19:53:00.000-07:00

Ok, yeah, we all know it: the Warners love The Arcade Fire!

And this week, Austin City Limits has them on the show! Hey, watch it! Or, set your dvr! Or both!

Here is a link to the ACL website, which has a couple of videos from the show:

ACL Season 37, Episode 9: Arcade Fire

And then imagine you are watching them in the esplanade of a Scottish castle, and you will know how great Sep. 1, 2011 was for Karen and me.

Hello, Information?

2011-12-31T06:07:00.002-07:00

This year we have vowed that in 2012 we will finally make good on our threats to visit Glacier National Park. I am hoping that maybe some of you may have visited Glacier and can give us some advice on our visit. What we have been talking about would be to spend 2 or 3 or 4 nights on a backcountry hike, a few nights in an established campground, and a couple of nights in park lodging. Any info we can get on hikes, drives, backcountry sites, campgrounds, lodgings, restaurants, and other stuff would be greatly appreciated!

My Favorite Music of 2011

2011-12-24T17:36:00.003-07:00

If you like the kinds of music that I like, then 2011 was a good year for your ears! There was a lot of good new music released this year, and once again I have to thank my musical children and friends for sharing some that they discovered, and Sirius XM for playing so much new music on their channels.

I don't have any particular order for my top albums, except...

Helplessness Blues by Fleet Foxes
This one was much anticipated, following their earlier EP and full length efforts. For the second full length, Robin Pecknold and co. took a while, in the writing and recording and releasing, but it was very much worth the wait. Still present are the jangly guitars and wonderful harmonies. The stories of the songs seem more real now, more of the moment. I have listened to this many, many times, and every time a new lyric jumps out. Do you want to know my favorite tracks? Well, I can't say, because I really like this album as a whole, from the opening noes of 'Montezuma' to the final fade of 'Grown Ocean.' The title track is special, as is "Sim Sala Bim' and, most especially 'The Shrine/An Argument.' We had the great good fortune to see Fleet Foxes live this year, and it was an amazing show. Hippie dance music is back!

Now, in no particular order...

w h o k i l l by tUnE-yArDs
Warning: This music is not for everyone! A lot of you would probably have trouble calling this 'music.' It is heavily percussive, with lots of banging and big beats, some hip-hop stuff, and a whole lot of Merril Garbus chanting, singing, ranting and raging about life in the time we live in. And I love it! I usually play this when I am by myself, very loud.

Father, Son, Holy Ghost by Girls
Following up the strong full length called Album, Girls released one of my go-to records of the year. This one is still way up on my playlist. I like their sound, and this time around they play more guitar, which nicely offsets the sometimes plaintive vocals. "Honey Bunny' kicks things off in a kind of surprisingly rock-ish way, and the songs just build from there. There is a lot of heartbreak in these songs, especially 'Saying I Love You', 'Vomit,' and 'Forgiveness.' This is a group to watch.

The Whole Love by Wilco
I am not going to pretend that this is my favorite Wilco album, but it is very, very good. These guys, led by Jeff Tweedy, give us the best of themselves here: They easily glide between a version of alt-country and rock/pop as only they can. This record does not quite demand to be listened to in the same way that Yankee Hotel Foxtrot did when that one came out, but it is a very good record by one of my favorite bands, and I've listened to it a whole bunch of times.

The King is Dead by The Decemberists

For me, every release by the Decemberists is a little better than the one before. While still drawing heavily on the sounds of English folk-rock from the 60s and 70s, the songs here are stand alone type songs, instead of being tied together in a concept. 'Don't Carry It All,' 'Rox in the Box,' 'Down By The Water,' and 'This Is Why We Fight' are all stand-outs.

El Camino by The Black Keys

The Keys snuck this one in just before Christmas, and I admit that I haven't had time to fully digest it. But, it would be on the list just on the strength of 'Little Black Submarine,' truly a killer track. Throw in 'Lonely Boy' and 'Gold on the Ceiling' and I think we have another winner from this guitar/drums duo. It rocks pretty good!

Nine Types of Light by TV on the Radio

From the opening notes of 'Second Song,' there is no doubt this is TV On The Radio. This is yet another strong outing from this bunch, who, like many of their Brooklyn brethren, are not afraid to throw any type of music into their mix. If you've never listened to TVOR, this is a good jumping in place. On a sad note, their bass player, Gerard Smith, died this past spring from cancer.

Strange Mercy by St. Vincent

Annie Clark records under the name St. Vincent, and I really like her music. Her sweet little voice, offset by sometimes thundering guitars, is a great sound. This is not your typical rock music, it is way too crazy to ever be on the radio. But 'Surgeon,' 'Cruel,' and the title track are really, really good, and I recommend it if you are looking for something a litlle surprising, and a little different.

First Edition by Various Artists

A group called the Fruit Tree Foundation invited several Scottish indie and folk musicians to spend a few days together on a farm, making friends and music, to be released with proceeds going to The Mental Health Foundation of Scotland. The results, as you might expect, are a bit uneven, but I still listened to this one a lot, for the Scottish connection, and for the 'in your living room' feel of several of the songs. If you like going to a bar or club and listening to some dude, or some chick, or some dude and some chick, play acoustic guitar and sing, give it a try, and I don't think you will be disappointed.

Cults by Cults

Pop hooks and girl-group vocals dominate this duo's music, and it is great fun to listen to. The lyrics aren't always as happy as the music, and the use of some real cult leaders vocal samples is a little disturbing, but 'Abducted,' 'Go Outside,' and, especially 'You Know What I Mean,' are top notch tunes that deserve a little ear time.

I guess you can call that my top ten (was that ten?). But there were lots of other releases that caught my ear this year, including:

Cape Dory by Tennis
Zonoscope by Cut Copy
Days by Real Estate
Codes and Keys by Death Cab For Cutie
Underneath the Pine by Toro Y Moi
Smoke Ring For My Halo by Kurt Vile
D by White Denim
Bon Iver by Bon Iver
Degeneration Street by The Dears
I am Very Far by Okkervil River

And, there were a whole bunch of songs that I heard a lot on XM, but didn't get to the full albums for whatever reason...

I hope it was a good year for you for music.

There's a new kid in town...

2011-12-19T19:57:00.002-07:00

The newest Warner is here! Hannah emerged this morning, all happy and healthy!

Wood 'n' Dogs

2011-12-14T19:07:00.003-07:00

When dogs help cut firewood, they usually don't provide much more than comic relief, but that is usually enough:

Sunday Mumblings

2011-12-04T07:15:00.002-07:00

One of my favorite things about being at a hockey game: No matter how big the arena, or how many people are there, everyone in the house can hear frozen rubber smack steel when somebody hits the post...
We are still a couple of weeks from the first day of winter, and already we have been below zero several times, and probably close to a couple of feet of snow. Most of the snow has melted, but it is snowing again as I sit here typing.
We were supposed to go to the UNH-Montana State football playoff game in Bozeman yesterday, but the roads were a little iffy, so we opted for safety and stayed home. The wrong 'Cats won the game.
I like our country, but I hate the process of picking a president.
The 'Occupy' movement and the Tea Party probably have more common ground than either would be willing to admit, but in our polarized times, neither can admit it.
I sometimes daydream about a life where we live in Scotland for half the year.
If anyone wants to practice using a log splitter, we have one in our back yard next to a big pile of (unsplit) firewood.
2011 will be at least our second year in a row in which we did not go to the theater for a movie. I'm not sure I even remember our last movie in a theater experience.
The Red Sox are a mess right now, but I just hope they can figure out a way to keep Pedroia and Ellsbury on the team for a long time. Those guys are fun to watch play.
In other years, beating Clearmont and Farson on the opening weekend of high school basketball would be a reason for great optimism for the Meeteetse boys team. Let's hope they can keep it rolling through the Little Six tourney into conference play. It has been a while...

A Letter

2011-11-27T15:36:00.002-07:00

Dear NBA players and owners:

I don't care.

Your work stoppage was, for me, formerly a lifelong fan, the end of the line. The final straw. While you were trying to figure out how to divide up nine BILLION dollars, the people who sell your over-priced tickets, and your over-priced t-shirts, and your over-priced nachos, and your over-priced beers were out of work, not making the pathetic wage they make when they are working.

You can say whatever you want about the other side being at fault, but the bottom line is still the same: I don't care.

My mind and my heart are both telling me that I will never watch another boring NBA game again.

Good-bye.

A Weekend in Jackson

2011-11-14T19:21:00.008-07:00

Telling you about our celebrations of Karen's birthday is even more protracted than the events!

Back in the summer, Maggie told me that she would like to get together with us for the birthday, and make it a surprise. We decided that meeting in Jackson for the weekend would be a good idea, and started planning it. This turned out to be a VERY hard secret to keep, but I did it! On Sep. 23, we headed for Jackson, by way of Yellowstone. It was kind of hazy, from several fires, and downright smoky by Yellowstone Lake, but still a beautiful drive.

Here is Lewis Falls:

And, a close-up of Moose Falls:

And, a picnic starting, at Lewis Lake:

It was quite smoky around Jackson, so the views are a bit different, but still beautiful:

At several stops along the way, Maggie and I were trading text messages, setting up our meeting. Karen thought I was talking to Zack about the basement project! We finally arrived, and Karen was pretty overwhelmed by the appearance of Maggie and Rakesh at our door! We headed for the Snake River Brewery for a beer and some catching up. It was great!

On Saturday, we took the tram at Teton Village, and did some hiking around the top--over 10,000 ft! It was still smoky, but fun.

There is a popular hang-gliding spot at the top of the mountain:

On the trail:

A curious thing that we found is that at the hut on top of the mountain, waffles are for sale. Yeah, that's right, fresh made waffles. Well, of course we couldn't be rude guests, so we got some, and it seemed ok to Maggie and Rakesh to wash them down with PBR's:

Back down in the valley, more beauty:

On Sunday, we took the boat across Jenny Lake and did a quick hike that was nice, if a bit crowded, to a waterfall and a vista of the lake.

Maggie on the boat, washed in sun:

The trees? Well, the trees were big:

It was a great weekend, and fun to spend with Maggie and Rakesh. Thanks to them for coming! All of my pictures from the weekend, including a few videos, can be seen by clicking here. (The pictures may not be in perfect chronological order...).

And, one more time: Happy Birthday, Karen!

Who Are You?

2011-11-06T19:10:00.001-07:00

Here, according to blogspot.com, are the countries of the visitors to my blog last week, and the number from each country. The questions that arise are obvious: Who are these people? And what is up with you Guyanans? Only one? Really?

United States

Russia

Germany

Philippines

Portugal

Canada

Guyana

Back to Edinburgh. Back to USA

2011-10-29T19:12:00.001-06:00

We really enjoyed our time on the Isle of Mull, but now it was time to head back to Edinburgh, for one last night in Scotland. It was a beautiful morning as we headed out of Fionnphort, to catch the ferry to Oban from Craignure:

Once again, things did not go as planned with the Oban ferry. When we got to Craignure, we learned that the ferry was broken, and we would have to drive to another port to catch a different ferry, and then drive another extra 75-80 miles...Fortunately, it was a beautiful drive on a beautiful day, just more saddle time than we had anticipated.

We got to Edinburgh, somehow found the car rental place, and returned to the hotel, where we met up with a friend of Karen's who had done some med school work in Cody. Yvonne (That's Dr. Yvonne!) and her mom Carol came into the city from near Perth to join us for a visit and supper, and it was great. They didn't have any preference, so we went to the Guildford Arms for another yummy meal and good ales. Karen and Yvonne caught up on gossip, and we had a nice visit about life in Scotland, and in general.

Here are the doctor and the nurse:

Doc and Mum:

A couple of things to report from the meal: First, Yvonne had venison stew, and she found a bullet in one of the pieces of meat! Yeah, I know! A bullet! She said it was her first bullet extraction as a doctor. A bullet!

When we had first hit the Guildford Arms the week before, my eye was drawn to a special beer on the menu: The Dark Island Reserve from the Orkney Brewery. And, for 'dessert' we had one. And it was very good. It is conditioned in whisky barrels, and the smokiness from that reminds me of the barleywine that I make. I hope to be able to drink another, someday...

And now, time to go home. Here we are, on the plane, heading to Newark, USA:

Bye bye, Scotland:

One final surprise: We were flying along, and I looked out the window and thought, 'Well, those clouds up ahead look a lot like mountains.' I turned my mini-tv from the movie I was watching (Spinal Tap!) to the in-flight map, and lo and behold, those were mountains. The pilot announced that we were in for a rare treat, flying over the southern tip of Greenland on a clear day. And it was awesome! Here are a couple of out the window shots of Greenland:

And then, many flying hours later, we were back home. It was a great trip. To be able to celebrate Karen's birthday with a trip like that was so special. I hope you have enjoyed taking the blog journey with us, and I am sorry it has taken so long...I do appreciate everyone who has taken the time to read these posts, and to comment.

For all of my pictures from this last part of our trip, just click here. And see you down the road!

The Ninth Wave

2011-10-24T19:13:00.000-06:00

We like to eat. But you probably already know that. And we especially like to eat seafood. And we most especially like to eat fresh seafood that is lovingly and beautifully prepared. The opportunities for that are few and far between. When we picked Fionnphort as our home base on Mull, we started checking the books and websites for good seafood restaurants. One stood out in every listing that we looked at: The Ninth Wave Restaurant, conveniently located in Fionnphort. Pricy? Well, yes. But the chance for one of those once in a lifetime meals could not be passed up, and we booked a table for our last night on Mull.

John and Carla Lamont run the Ninth Wave out of their refurbished crofter's house. Using locally grown produce, much of it from their own gardens, and absolutely the freshest meats and seafoods you can find, they do it up right. Carla is the chef, and John runs the front of the house. When I say he runs it, I really mean that he is waiter, wine steward, busboy and host. He is the only person, other than fellow diners, that you see all night. Both John and Carla are amazing at what they do.

If I remember correctly, there are six tables in the dining area, a total of sixteen chairs. You occupy your table for the whole evening. And what an evening it is! Several options are available, and we went with the four course dinner, with a bottle of wine to wash it down. After ordering, we munched on some delicious herb bread.

And then it was time for the first course. This was the only course that we chose the same item. But really, do you think either one of us would pass up Crab/lobster Wonton Curry Soup? I really don't care what the other choices were, I knew I wanted this soup:

And it was amazing! The flavors were just incredible. Yeah, that is a little wonton on the soup spoon just behind the bowl to the left. With the bread, I could have called this soup a meal by itself, but we were just getting started.

For me, course #2 was Salmon Done Two Ways. In the back right, a slice of smoked salmon on a mango bed with dill sauce, and in the lower left, a salmon ceviche with chopped fresh veggies. Oh, my! It was so good.

Karen's second course was seared scallops on a bed of spinach in a creamy sauce, with some other stuff I don't remember! I had a taste, and yes, it, too was yummy!

Now, time for the main course. For me, another easy choice. One of my favorite fishes is haddock. I have always loved haddock, and when I get the chance, I eat it. And here was my next chance: a piece of sauteed haddock on a bed of homemade, homegrown salsa, spiced up with some fresh-made chorizo, and some mussels on the side:

WOW! The fish was so fresh, and perfectly cooked, and the salsa with the chorizo was glorious. The mussels, well, they were great, too.

For her third course, Karen went with the Half-a-lobster. Swimming this morning, supper tonight! Again, I don't remember what else was on her plate, besides the beautiful bed of fresh greens. It must have been good, because there was only a shell left...

And now, the final course: dessert. I went with the Chocolate/berry plate, with a scoop of white chocolate ice cream and a kind of a mousse/cake thing in the lower left, with fresh strawberry. This plate pushed me over the edge into food heaven!

Karen, for dessert, got the Drambuie Ice Cream with Sticky Toffee Cake.

Again, the results from both plates would indicate extreme pleasure. Actually, all eight plates went back to the kitchen eaten clean. If it had looked like it would have been ok to lick the plates, we would have done it! It was an exquisite meal, topped off with a homemade chocolate truffle for each of us.

My hat is off to Carla and John for one of the most amazing dining experiences I have ever had. If you are a little extra hungry after looking at the pictures, well, sorry about that! If you are ever on the Isle of Mull...

Next post: We return to Edinburgh, and home...

Isle of Mull, Here We Come!

2011-10-18T20:05:00.000-06:00

After the concert, our time in Edinburgh was done until our plane flight home. On Sep. 2, we picked up our rental car after breakfast, and headed west for Oban, where we would catch the ferry to Craignure on the Isle of Mull. It was a beautiful drive, but unfortunately it was made about 80 miles longer than it should have been because a car wreck had closed the road, and we had to make a long detour. But it was still very scenic, and we had allowed some time to sight-see Oban, so we still got to the ferry on time.

One thing we had read about in the Lonely Planet Scotland book (Hey, if you are traveling anywhere, get the Lonely Planet book for that area--they are the best!) in Oban was a seafood shack on the pier by the ferry. Since we are always on the lookout for good seafood, we found it, we tried it, and we liked it! Fresh oysters for about a buck apiece (Karen got several...) and a crab sandwich for me, and we were refreshed and ready to go to Mull.

Here is Karen at the seafood shack:

It was only about a 45 minute ferry ride, and it was cloudy and wet, but we did get some nice views of Duart Castle on the way, including a sailboat in the scene:

Once on Mull, it was about a 1 1/2 hour drive to Fionnphort (pronounce it Finnafort), where we would be spending the next three nights at the Seaview Bed and Breakfast. Driving on Mull is CRAZY, and this was our introduction to it. 99% single lane roads, tour buses blasting at mach5, sheep everywhere, curvy hilly roads. I was happy to park the car for the night. Our hosts told us to dine at the Keel Row Pub and Restaurant, right next door to the B & B, and it was a great recommendation. Karen had steak pie, cooked in Yorkshire pudding, and I had the best fish and chips I've ever eaten. And the pub has some fine ales...

Fionnphort is an awesome little town. It is located at the western end of the Ross of Mull, with a nice, fairly protected little harbor. Less than 100 people live there, and it is pretty remote. Still functioning as a fishing village, it is also the ferry blast-off point for Iona, a small island just across the channel from Fionnphort that is both a religious and a tourist destination. More on Iona a bit later. Our accommodations at the Seaview were just right. The bed was comfy, the room was kind of small, but certainly adequate for us, and the breakfasts were just right. And, the hosts gave us lots of good advice on where to go and what to see.

We had two full days on Mull, and the weather forecast suggested that we spend the first day driving and exploring the island. The day started wet, and dreary, but improved as the day progressed, and we never ended up getting wet. And, we saw most of the island.

Our first stop was just down the road from Fionnphort, at the Ardalanish Isle of Mull Weavers, an organic farm which raises sheep and cows, and has their own weaving mill. On our trip last year, early on in the adventure, we were at a shop and I had in my hands a beautiful sweater that I thought hard about buying, but then didn't. I told Karen about it later, and we looked for the rest of the trip, but never found one. She vowed that if we ever went back, she would find, and buy, me a sweater.

Allow me a brief digression...When I made my first trip to Scotland, in 1975, one of my regular garments that I wore was a sweater that Mom made for me. It was really nice, incredibly comfy, warm, and beautiful. She could crank out the knitted items like nobody could. One night, as usual, I was in a pub, visiting with some locals, and one guy was really liking that sweater. He told me several times how much he liked it, and finally asked me to sell it to him. No, I said, I liked it too much to sell, and besides, I needed it to keep warm against the chill of a Scottish evening. He persisted, and asked a couple more times to buy it. I kept telling him no, but he would not give up until I told him that my Mom had made it, and there was no way I was going to sell it. He immediately became upset with himself, saying, of course, there is no way you sell something that was made for you by your mother, apologized profusely, and bought me a beer! (All's well that ends with me getting a free pint!)

So, the sweater search was kind of rooted in my past, and it would sort of complete a circle if I could find one. Before we left, Karen did some research, and found the Ardalanish folks. We went to their place, and it was really cool.

Here is Karen getting a tour of the woolen mill:

The machines were awesome, mostly old models that had been fixed up, re-fixed, retro-fitted and re-modeled to the max. And the merchandise they produce is stunning.

Their black wool comes from a breed of black sheep that are pretty small, but evidently give a good wool.

And, with enough of that wool, spun and knitted in the right way, you get one very happy American tourist!

Their place is right on the water, and the animals have their own private beach:

The main roads on Mull make a figure 8, with a side shoot off the southeast to Fionnphort. We were headed for Tobermory, in the northern part of the island, and what a ride it was! Beautiful scenery everywhere! The square in the bottom of this picture is a stone wall livestock handling pen set-up:

We stopped near the little town of Salen to look at a couple of abandoned fishing boats, and also saw a seal basking on the rocks:

Tobermory is a neat little arc-shaped fishing village, and we enjoyed walking around town. We had in mind to do some shopping, and ship some gifts, from the local fish smoker (they don't ship...) and the local cheese farm (nobody home...).

So, we headed across the north of Mull to the west coast road, stopping just outside of Tobermory to check out the Glengorm Castle (not open to the public...)

The west coast road was particularly beautiful, I think. I am not all that sure because it was intense driving--winding through cliffs, steep hills, sheep (of course!)...we took a break at the beach at Calgary Bay (Yeah, the place in Canada got its name from here), which was quite nice:

One of the views on the ride:

It was a great day of touring, but we were pretty wiped out, so we headed back to Fionnphort and returned to the Keel Row for dinner. Karen had an interesting, but odd, take on shrimp scampi, and I had a delicious salmon/sweet potato fish cake.

On Sep. 4, we decided to go to the Isle of Staffa, and to Iona, the little island across the channel from Fionnphort. After another great breakfast, we headed for the pier on a beautiful morning. Our hosts at Seaview had arranged for us to go on the tour with Capt. Davie Kirkpatrick, who they said had the best boat tour of Staffa. He would drop us on Iona on the way back, and then we would return to Fionnphort on the regular ferry.

It was a truly wondrous morning. Here is Fionnphort, with the Seaview being the house just right of center with the three dormers:

Sheep prints on the sand in the harbor:

Looking across to Iona:

The beach on the harbor, with crab/lobster pots and sheep:

Upon leaving the pier, we worked our way through several of the many little islands and rocks that dot the waters around Mull, and were treated to a nice seal sighting:

Then it was on to the Isle of Staffa, a quick 45-minute boat ride. Staffa was featured in a National Geographic article that helped inspire our trip last year, but we did not get to go, and I am very happy to report that it is an amazing place, very much worth the visit. The island is composed mainly of hexagonal columnar basalt that look like closely laid pillars. It is truly wondrous. I'd like to wow you with more geology about the place, but I am no geologist, and will not pretend to be one. Here is the island as seen on approach:

One of the really cool features on the island is Fingal's Cave, one of several. It is over 230 feet long, and after we landed, we were able to walk to and into the mouth of the cave.

Making our way to the cave:

Yeah, we liked it there!

Here is the opening into Fingal's Cave:

After viewing the cave, we climbed the stairway/walkway to the top of the island, a fairly flat grassy expanse with great views of the surroundings:

Looking down on the basalt columns from above:

Here is Capt. Davie bringing the boat back to pick us back up:

Bye-bye, Staffa!

Then, it was on to the Isle of Iona. Iona is a place of great spiritual and historical significance to many people. St. Columba sailed to Iona from Ireland in 563 and established a monastery there, and there was also a nunnery established in the 13th century, now in ruins. There also is a large abbey that is still used for religious services and retreats. The island and town have kind of an odd feel, spiritual and touristy at the same time. We had a real nice walk-about. Here is a group of school children getting some learnin' at the nunnery ruins:

The highest hill on the island--of course we walked up!

Karen climbing up, with Fionnphort in the background across the channel:

After the hill, we went to a beach on the western end of the island, and as usual, we liked it!

I was kind of fascinated by these shelled creatures:

We caught the ferry back to Fionnphort, and headed off to dinner, which was so spectacular that it warrants its own blog post, so that will be next...

Here is a short video of several of our Mull visits. Don't mind the sometimes windy sound, and the questionable camera work!

As usual, if you still need something to help you sleep, you can see all of my pictures from the Mull adventures by clicking here. There are a couple of more videos there, too.

See you next time!

Sunday Thoughts

2011-10-09T16:16:00.002-06:00

One of the things I don't like about winter is that the days are too short. Hey, I still have stuff to do, and when I get up at 5:30 or 6:00, I don't wanna have to wait an hour or two before it is light enough to go out.
The Red Sox collapse was just epic. If I weren't a fan, I would have been really enjoying it. I mean, who doesn't like watching the train wreck? As it was, I was merely mesmerized.
We had our weirdest summer yet for gardening weather. June was cold. On July 1, our corn was about 2" high, and I wondered if we would get anything at all from our little patch. Then it hit 90 every day in July and most of August, we had one frost--a very mild one at that--before this morning, and we ended up with one of our most productive gardens ever.
One of the things I like about winter is that the motorcycles are gone.
Today is sunny, chilly, and the mountains are white with snow--it is beautiful!
Meeteetse football, 2011: Opponents combined score--375, Meeteetse combined score--60. Average game score--62.5-10. Record--0-6. Not a good year for the 'Horns...Still a couple of games to go...
Hockey season has started! Let's hope we see some great games this year, UNH makes the Frozen Four, the B's make it 2 straight, and Sid comes back healthy and has a good year.
I am excited to get things going in the brewhouse again this winter--some potentially interesting brews are brewing in my head...
Today starts Emergency Nurses Week. Hug your favorite emergency nurse!

Chaos and Noise: Castle Rock

2011-10-07T16:50:00.000-06:00

Besides the obvious magical allure of Scotland, the deciding factor in our quick return to that wonderful place was the Arcade Fire concert at Edinburgh Castle. And, on September 1st, the time had finally come for the show. Now, faithful readers already know of our love for Arcade Fire's music, and you know that we saw them in April in Utah. The anticipation level was extremely high!

On the day of the show, we cruised up by the Castle to check out the scene, and see if it would be ok for me to bring in a camera (Yes). Here is Karen in the Esplanade with the stage being set up behind her:

A bit closer to the stage. All of these people are getting the place ready for us!

In case you can't make it out, the tape on the one case below says 'REGINE ACCORDION' and 'F---ING FRAGILE':

Going on a walkabout described in the previous post, we passed the SINGLE MOST IMPORTANT VEHICLE IN EDINBURGH. That's right, it is the beer truck. The one dude rolls the kegs down the sidewalk to the other dude, who keeps them from rolling all the way down the Royal Mile. We were relieved and happy to know there would be plenty of good ale in town for the evening.

After a quick supper of bangers and mash at Mum's, it was time to head for the show.

Karen, ready to go:

A couple of Arcade Fire fans, ready to rock:

Several weeks before the show, it was announced that the Walkmen would be opening act for the night. These guys have put out a bunch of music that I have liked, and I really looked forward to hearing them play live. Apparently, I was the only one there who was excited. The Walkmen played a very lackluster, lifeless set to a crowd that might have listened if the band had given them a reason. But they never projected any energy at all, and the crowd reacted as you would expect. The band never announced who they were, or who any of the individual members were. Even I was running out of patience before they finally left the stage.

A bit of a digression, concerning opening acts: Over the years, I've had the great pleasure of seeing a lot of concerts, some with openers, and some without. And some have been good, and some, um, not so good. We saw Kings of Leon open for U2, and they came out and tore through a solid set that pleased the crowd. Ben Folds opened for John Mayer a few years ago, and blew him off the stage. On the same night, Brett Dennan opened for both of the aforementioned, and he won over a bunch of new fans. Hardly anyone goes to a show for the opening act, but that does not excuse those openers if they come out and play a lazy set that looks like they were only there for the money. How many people at that U2 show even had a clue who Kings of Leon were? Years ago, I saw Procol Harum open for Mountain. Talk about two groups with different fan bases! But did Procol Harum just mail it in? No. They were great, playing their music with passion and energy, and the audience appreciated it.

So, the Walkmen were a real disappointment, but, if given the chance, I will give them another opportunity to win me over. I still like their music. We just happened to be there on a very off night for them.

The Walkmen finished while it was still light, but daylight was fading. While the stage was being re-set, the Castle people lit up a bunch of gas lanterns around the rim of the outer wall, which was very cool.

And then, finally, the lights went down, and it was time for Arcade Fire! Instantly, from the first chords of 'Ready To Start', the mood of the place changed. Energy level was over the top, from the band and the crowd. At the end of the first song, Win Butler announced that everyone in the seated area (that was us) needed to stand up, dance and keep warm! And we did, and it was great! This is what it looked like from our seats:

And, the band:

It still gives me goose bumps to look at this picture:

I was not expecting the sound to be all that good, it being outdoors, in a venue not made for concerts. But the sound was really quite good. We could hear clearly, and loudly!

Here is the setlist:

Personally, I would not have changed anything on the list. The show had a great flow, the slow numbers did not diminish the energy of the crowd or the band, and it was just amazing from start to finish. The band was clearly excited by the venue, and the crowd. At one point, Win said, 'This is definitely the most secure venue we've ever been in,' and later, he said that when the band first saw the date on their calendar, they figured the Castle was some place in a mall on the edge of town, not, as he put it, 'a real, f-ing castle!'

I've seen Arcade Fire live one time before, and also several times on tv and the internet, and I know that one of the real highlights of some of their shows is when they combine 'Neighborhood #3 (Power Out)' back to back with 'Rebellion (Lies)'. I told Karen before the show (apparently several times!) that I did not want to seem greedy, but I sure wished they would do that at the Castle, and they did! Wish granted! They finish 'Power Out' in an avalanche of noise, and out of that noise comes the opening notes of 'Lies'. Goose bump time again...

As the band hit the final chords of 'Lies', the cannons on top of the castle, about 15 or 20 of them, all blasted off. It was an amazing finish to an amazing show! It is hard to compare concerts over the years, but this was most definitely the most amazing concert experience I have ever had. Several times during the show, most especially during 'Wake Up', I looked at Karen rockin' away, and it made me feel so good, and then I looked at the stage, and I felt, "I can't believe we are here, in Scotland, watching Arcade Fire", and then my eyes would pan up to the Castle, and it was "HOLY SHIT, THIS IS INCREDIBLY, UNBELIEVABLY AMAZING!!"

It seems almost a dream. It was that good.

After, we stopped at the Bow Bar, and it was packed with happy concert people, and we joined all of our new best friends for an ale:

This is Karen, happy:

And, one short snippet of 'No Cars Go'. Sorry it isn't longer, but who wants to hold a camera up when there is rockin' to be done!?!

Next up, we head out of the city for some Scottish island time.

Really? We Get To Go Back?

2011-09-30T06:26:00.012-06:00

Back near the end of the winter, Karen called me at work one day to tell me that Arcade Fire was going to be playing at the Edinburgh Castle on September 1, and wouldn't it be a great way to celebrate her 60th birthday by going to the concert? Of course, she and I both knew that was kind of a crazy ridiculous idea, and she at least more or less forgot about it.

Well, I didn't forget about it, and using the crazy ridiculous part of my brain, I asked the children if they 1) thought it was too crazy to consider, and 2) would like to contribute their share of birthday gift to this venture. We all pretty much instantly jumped on board, I got concert and airplane tickets, Karen nearly had a heart attack when we told her, and then we started planning our second trip to Scotland, less than a year after our first! Another dream making its way to reality...

Planning done, we boarded the plane in Cody on August 29, and on the morning of the 30th, descended into Edinburgh Airport after a long day/night of flying. We had some concerns about our flights, because we were following Hurricane Irene into the Newark Airport, but everything was open and functioning when we got to Newark, and we didn't have any problems.

We were able to check into our hotel in spite of the early hour, got ourselves cleaned up, and headed out into the city for some sight-seeing and tourist action.First, a bit of nourishment, from a place we had missed on our first trip, Mums. Karen had some delicious pumpkin/potato soup and I had a broccoli/cauliflower/ cheese bake, and we were ready to go! Mums turned out to be a real find--we went back there twice more.

On our last trip, we had been unable to visit the Palace of Holyroodhouse, which is the official residence of the royal family in Scotland, because the pope was coming to town and it was closed to the public. This time it was open, and we went. The abbey, now ruins, was established in the 1100s, and the palace has been there since the early 1500s. Parts are open to the public when the royals aren't in town, so we went for the tour. It is a pretty awesome place. Here is a shot of the palace from the side of a hill called Arthur's Seat:

The outer courtyard of the palace:

A couple of tourists pose in front of a statue in the outer courtyard:

And, part of the ruins of the original abbey, on the back side of the palace:

The abbey ruins, with Arthur's Seat in the background:

After the palace tour, we headed down to the Prince's Street Gardens, which are really more of a lawn area than a garden. It is a very relaxing spot, right below the castle and the Royal Mile. One of the highlights is this floral clock, the largest of its kind in the world:

Here is the Castle, looking up from Prince's Street Gardens:

Then, it was time to find some real ale, and some supper, and we knew just the place: the Guildford Arms:

Karen had mussels in a cream sauce, I had beef/tomato/basil sausages with mashed potatoes, and we both had delicious hand-pulled ales! After, we stopped at one of our favorites, the Bow Bar, for another ale and Ardbeg, and then a long sleep to cap off a great first day back in Scotland.

On Aug. 31, we woke to pretty decent weather, and decided to make the walk up Arthur's Seat, for its views of the city and the surrounding area. After breakfast at Mums, we headed back towards the Palace of Holyroodhouse, where one of the paths up Arthur's Seat starts. Arthur's Seat is about a mile from the Castle, and rises 823 feet above the city. It is a fairly easy walk up any of the several paths, and the views are great!

Here is Karen looking down on the Palace of Holyroodhouse in the foreground, and the Firth of Forth (that is the waterway that connects Edinburgh to the North Sea):

And, looking towards the Castle:

After Arthur's Seat, we were still in the mood for some walking, and some gardens, so we walked to and through the Royal Botanic Gardens, a truly wondrous place. On over 70 acres near the heart of the city, the Garden was established in 1670. It really is an amazing collection of plants from all over the world. We lost ourselves wandering around for a good long while. Here is a short video I took of some bees doing their job on some flowers (If the video won't play, you can see it on the link to all my pictures at the end of this post):

A still shot of a bee on another flower:

One of the highlights of the place is a long 'wall' of beech trees, over 100 trees, that have been pruned into a wall that is over 25 feet tall and several hundred feet long. It is amazing! Here is Karen standing in a 'gateway' in the beech wall:

Here is a shot from the Demonstration Garden area with the 'wall' in the background:

After the Gardens, we were thirsty, and, conveniently near Kay's Pub, which may now be my favorite pub in the world (as I know it...). A tiny place, on a back street, they somehow still manage to have 12 (TWELVE!) hand-pulled ales on tap. Are you kidding me!?!? Here is the bartender doing his thing, with my water bottle representing Red Lodge Ales in the foreground:

Our new friends in Kay's also told us of a good place for supper, the Ondine Restaurant, which is a little bit fancier than we might have been looking for, but they do specialize in seafood, and that is what we were after. They had three different oysters for an app., and then Karen got into some more mussels, while I feasted on Ginger Scallops. Another fantastic meal to end another fantastic day. Walking Arthur's Seat and going to the Gardens, followed by great ale and a great meal, all with Karen = a perfect day. And of course we topped it off with a stop at the Bow Bar for a nightcap.

Sep. 1 was concert day! We started off with a big breakfast at the hotel, and then went for a walk up Calton Hill. Calton Hill is also in the middle of the city, is slightly smaller than Arthur's Seat, and has an unusual array of monuments on top of it. There is a tower for Adm. Nelson, an Observatory, a few other buildings, and bizarrely, the columns of what was supposed to be a replica of the Parthenon, which was abandoned for lack of funds. Here is a view of Calton Hill from Arthur's Seat:

Looking at the Palace, on the left, and Arthur's Seat from atop Calton Hill:

Not quite the complete Parthenon, with Nelson's tower in the background:

After Calton Hill, we walked around a bit, and then ended up at the National Museum of Scotland, a museum that takes in just about everything Scotland, from geography to culture. The older part of the building has a really cool central hall, seen here with a lighthouse glass in the foreground:

Did you know it was in Scotland that the first mammal was successfully cloned? Yeah, that's right: Dolly is a Scottish lass. Or was. This may or may not be her, stuffed.

And I got to fulfill another lifelong dream. Here I am prepping for orbit.

It was another great day, but now it was nearly concert time. In my next post: Chaos and Noise meets Castle Rock! All of my Edinburgh pre-concert photos are available by clicking here. In addition to a bunch more pictures, there are several videos mixed in, a sure cure for insomnia...

Let's Party!

2011-08-28T16:12:00.001-06:00

The monthlong Celebration of Specialness commences tomorrow!
'We've got the vision,
Now let's have some fun'

A Letter

2011-08-20T18:05:00.002-06:00

Dear Democratic Party Members,
Do you remember the old days? You know--back when your party was the one that stood up for the poor, the elderly, the ailing. What happened to those days? And how come none of you are standing up to the kooks in the 'Tea Party' who insist that the way out of this current fiscal mess is to cut programs that actually help people, and keep taxes low on millionaires and billionaires? How have you let these people convince so many Americans that it would be OK to cut so much, and not even consider raising some money from the rich folk? All of you spineless wimps make me sick. Are you really going to fall for this nonsense? You can't possibly believe that letting the rich keep a few extra dollars is going to get things going. You can't possibly believe that they will create all these new jobs that will kickstart the economy. Rich people only want one thing: more money. They are going to sit on their money. And don't think they aren't making it. Corporate America is on a roll right now, making big profits and paying ridiculous money to their CEOs, etc. And you Dems are sitting there, wringing your hands like some hapless bunch of idiots. I guess that is because you are a hapless bunch of idiots. How does it feel when a guy who is the anchor on a 'fake news' program is doing more to try to fight for the people who need help than you are doing? If you don't stand up and fight this ridiculous notion that we can't tax people who can afford it, then we are all screwed. The government must spend money on projects and programs that will provide jobs. I heard a report the other day that one reason for high unemployment is the number of former gov't workers whose jobs got cut. Without them, the unemployment number would be close to 6%, not the 9% we have now.
Oh, yeah, and Democrats: You control the Senate and the Presidency. Do something with it!

Garden Update

2011-08-13T13:32:00.002-06:00

Back in the end of June, I posted a picture of our garden, looking like it might not ever grow big enough to produce anything...

Proving once again that gardening in Meeteetse is nothing if not a time-compressed activity, the garden really has turned into a produce producing machine. After having only a handful of days through the end of June that even saw 70 degrees, in July just about every day saw 90, and with a couple of hundred dollars worth of water, things really started happening. Here is a picture today of the veggie plot:

Broccoli and snowpeas were first out of the gate. Here is a monstrous broccoli head, to be eaten soon!

The same fate awaits this snowpea:

Yesterday we had our first green beans, dipping into the cookbook for the Moosewood green bean salad, always a favorite!

Ingredients:

1 ½ lb. fresh green beans, left whole

1 ½ c. thinly sliced red onions

2 c. grated hard white cheese, like Colby

¾ c. olive oil

½ c. red wine vinegar

¾ t. salt

lots of pepper

2 t. chopped garlic

fresh parsley

Steam the green beans until tender. Mix all the rest of the stuff except the onions and cheese, and add this dressing to the beans while they are still hot. After they cool, add the onions, and put in the fridge for 2-3 hours. Mix in the cheese just before serving. You can use regular onion and any other kind of cheese, and it will taste just fine, but you won’t have the pleasing color combination.

Here are some Hungarian Hot Wax peppers, almost ready...:

And cherry tomatoes:

The bees are liking the sunflowers:

And, some food for the soul, the back bedroom garden. As always, Karen has done a spectacular job on the flowers.

And, for the beer lovers, Columbus hops are flowering!

Liz Art

2011-08-02T06:00:00.000-06:00

Maggie's friend Liz is, among other things, an artist who paints bold, bright, colorful canvasses that are a pleasure to look at. Maggie has a couple of her paintings, including this two-parter that Cody commissioned Liz to paint for her:

And, after Maggie and Liz made a trip to Vegas (to see Lady Gaga!) they were both intrigued by the Hoover Dam, the subject of this painting that Maggie also has at her house:

My photos don't really do the paintings justice, but I hope you get a feel for them...

When Liz, for whatever reason, has a painting for longer than she wants, she will sometimes cut them up and turn them into another kind of art: wallets and purses. After admiring some of these over the years, I finally bought one this spring, and I like it so much that I wanted to share it with you. Many times since getting it, I've been asked about it in stores. Here is a picture of my wallet, the outside:

And, the inside:

Maggie got a purse that was made from the same painting:

The inside of Maggie's purse, with its old friend, my wallet!

Cool, aren't they?

Now, I normally do not do commercial endorsements. Quite frankly, I think my agent overestimated my value in that market. But I'll make an exception here, and tell you that if you are needing a new wallet or purse, or maybe you just want something that is cooler than even what the cool kids have, you oughta go to Liz's website and check them out. You can shop for her stuff here and you can look at all of her website stuff here.

A couple of words about the wallets. They are made of canvas, so maybe won't have the staying power of a leather wallet. And, they are not huge, so you aren't gonna wanna be stuffing a whole bunch of stuff in it. Think of it as your Sunday-go-to-meeting wallet...

Go ahead, do it. Or maybe you just don't want to be cool.

Chaos and Noise in SLC

2011-07-30T15:48:00.001-06:00

We Warners love the Fleet Foxes. Each of their releases have been warmly welcomed by our musical family. Jangly instruments, beautiful harmonies and great songwriting combine to make some of the most interesting music on the Indie scene these days. Robin Pecknold leads the group, doing most of the writing and singing lead. They are currently on tour supporting "Helplessness Blues," their latest release which came out in the spring. It is filled with songs that have more desperation, love lost, and well, helplessness than were on the previous "Fleet Foxes." But that does not diminish at all my enjoyment of it. I think it is one of the best releases of 2011, and expect to see it on top of many critics lists at the end of the year.

One of their tour stops was last Friday night at the Red Butte Garden Amphitheatre in Salt Lake, and we got to go! The Amphitheatre is an outdoor venue on the edge of the U of U campus. It is fairly small, I'm guessing not more than a few thousand squeezed in for a full house. Set on a little hillside with the stage at the bottom, it is a really nice place to hear music. And, better yet, one can bring in coolers filled with good food and good beer and set up a little picnic to enjoy before the show. And, best of all, Maggie and Rakesh filled the coolers and with some of their friends stood in line to get us a choice spot so Karen and I could just amble in and party! We had a nice picnic, delicious food, and then sat back to enjoy the show.

Alela Diane and Wild Divine led things off with a really good set of songs featuring Alela's very good songwriting and really good singing voice. Her band includes her father and her husband (and a couple of other dudes) and provided strong backing to Alela. If you like the singer/songwriter types, you might activate the Spotify machine and check out her music.

When you are done with Alela Diane, set the Spotify to Fleet Foxes and enjoy some great music. Because that is exactly what we did! None of the interweb music dorks have posted a set list for the show we went to, but here is the one from St. Louis, a couple of nights earlier. The set lists on this tour haven't varied all that much, and it wouldn't take much effort to convince me that this is the same set list that we heard:

Starting out with the instrumental 'The Cascades' and then going into 'Grown Ocean' is a great way to start the show, and I was hooked. The crowd took a little while to warm up, but everybody was standing by the time they got to 'Sim Sala Bim' and 'Mykonos.' The sound system was one of the best I've ever heard at an outdoor show--you could actually hear music--and really highlighted the bands talents. A lot of groups that use harmonies have a bit of trouble bringing that to the stage, not having the ability to use 100 takes to get it right. But these guys were right on. Skyler Skjelset, J. Tillman, Casey Westcott, Christian Wargo and Morgan Henderson join Pecknold, and the band sounds just great.

Before most any show, I have one or two or three songs that I really hope to hear, and I was not disappointed by Fleet Foxes. 'Sim Sala Bim' was great, 'Helplessness Blues' was truly amazing, and 'The Shrine/An Argument' was even better than the recorded version. The new material has been played enough that the band is obviously comfortable with it and the older songs have a nicely lived-in feel to them. The first encore song, 'Oliver James,' from the album "Fleet Foxes," was played solo acoustic by Pecknold, and it was a beautiful lead-in to the final 'Helplessness Blues." This is a band that is on top of their game right now, and I urge all of you to check out their music, and, if you get the chance, see them live. Here is a link to the official video for 'Grown Ocean'--go ahead, give it a listen!

Saturday we had a really nice day visiting with Maggie and Rakesh, attending Amy and Adam's wedding via Skype and relaxing. I do not have many pictures from the trip, but here is a familiar face...

Wood River Walking

2011-07-30T15:43:00.001-06:00

Ok, so this is a bit overdue. Back on the 16th, we went for a hike up the Wood River. We had wanted to go up Cascade Creek out of Kerwin, but the rivers were still running pretty high, so we didn't want to chance losing Maple (or one of us...) on the crossing right at the trailhead. It looked like a little more than we wanted to tackle. The drive up to Kerwin had provided us with a couple of dicey river crossings as it was, but the truck had no problem. I did not have the same faith in the occupants of the truck. So, instead we hiked up the river, past an abondaned mine shaft building, which is pretty cool, and enjoyed a very pleasant walk up a beautiful valley on a glorious day.

Here are Karen and Maple standing by the river:

The start of the valley:

A sign on a cabin on the trail (partially de-faced!):

A frequent visitor to the Wood River in the first part of the last century was Amelia Earhart. Before her final voyage, she had started the building of a cabin that she hoped to 'retire' to when that last trip was over. She obviously never got back to finish the cabin, which was on the site of what is now a Forest Service cabin, the one which is the subject of the above sign.

In the foreground, the remnants of Earhart's cabin, with the Forest Service cabin in the back:

A beautiful place for a hike:

Happy hikers:

A great picnic spot:

In the upper right corner of the picture of Karen and me, above, is a snowfield way high up on the mountain. As we were getting ready to pack up from our picnic and head back down the trail, we saw a sow griz, with cub, walking across that snowfield. It was pretty cool to see.

Griz with cub on snow:

Snowmelt cascading of the rocks:

Another awesome view:

If you want to see all of my pictures from the day, just click here.

To Amy and Adam

2011-07-23T05:00:00.000-06:00

I hope that today is a beautiful and happy day for you, and that the rest of your days are full of peace, love, joy, happiness and good food and beer!
Sending you love from Wyoming!

Bull Run

2011-07-21T19:24:00.002-06:00

Today marks 150 years since the Battle of Bull Run, not too far from Washington, DC, one of the first major battles of the Civil War. This battle was thought by both sides to be the crucial battle that would decide a quick and relatively painless war. Both sides were certain of victory. Neither was right. The Southern troops could claim victory in this battle, but the war carried on in an extremely bloody fashion for four more years. Obviously, no one ever goes to war thinking they will lose. It especially worries me to remember what has happened throughout history when we, the US, think that we can bully up on anybody, win any war, and impose our will on the world. The wars of the past decade have been very costly to us, in terms of money spent, prestige and world standing lost, and, though the casualties do not compare to other wars we have fought, lost lives and wounded troops. Our perception of 'national interest' is so skewed that even our leaders can't enunciate it. Military solutions are never quick and painless and I wish that our leaders, and the rest of us, could keep that in mind when we cavalierly start flinging our might around the world, sticking our nose in other people's business...

A Holiday Drive

2011-07-07T19:39:00.000-06:00

On Sunday Karen, Maple and I went for a drive over the Beartooth Pass, with a side trip into the Lamar Valley in Yellowstone. It was a beautiful day, and a wonderful ride. It is still very snowy in the high country, and pretty wet on the hiking trails, so we didn't do a whole lot of walking, but I did take some pictures...

Here is Pilot Peak, seen from the banks of the Clark's Fork:

There were many, many buffalo in the Lamar Valley:

The water coming off the mountains from all of the snow melt is really quite spectacular. We went by a creek called Crazy Creek, and it was indeed crazy! Well out of its banks, water just spewing down the mountain. I had my new Canon G12 camera with me, and I took a couple of videos during the day, including this one of Crazy Creek.

On the top parts of Beartooth Pass, there is still LOTS of snow, and most of the high mountain lakes, like this one, are still frozen. Maple loved playing in the snow again!

At the very top, there is a flat area that was being used by three kiteboarders who were definitely enjoying their day. Here are a couple of shots of one of them. I got a little excited when the one guy went airborne, so you don't see his kite in the picture. We also saw several snowmobilers, hike/skiers and hike/boarders. On the 3rd of July!

It was a great day, topped off with a nitro pour Scottish Ale at Sam's Tap Room...

Belle & Sebastian - I Didn't See It Coming

2011-07-04T13:27:00.000-06:00

Back in October Belle & Sebastian released the album called "Belle & Sebastian Write About Love." I can't remember when I got it, but I have always liked their style of indie pop music. The vocals by Stuart Murdoch and Sarah Martin perfectly compliment the music, and it is very listenable. So I expected to like this one, but it has really surprised me by continually finding its way to the top of my playlist. I listen to this a lot! Only one or two of the songs would I consider weak, and I really recommend this one to all of my music friends.
I include a video for 'I Didn't See It Coming,' one of my faves from this album. I particularly like the 60's feel to the video, which is a lip-synch performance by the band, complete with silly applause after the song fades out. The only thing missing is the go-go dancers!
Hope you like it!

A prayer

2011-07-02T05:59:00.002-06:00

Dear God,
I have heard that you told Michele Bachmann to run for president of the USA, but would you please tell all voters not to vote for her, and designate her for assignment to the dustbin of historical irrelevancy where she belongs.
Thank you

The Garden, June 26, 2011

2011-06-27T05:13:00.002-06:00

The Big Man

2011-06-19T11:04:00.000-06:00

Yesterday, Clarence Clemons, best know as the sax player for Bruce Springsteen's E St. Band, died from complications from a stroke he suffered last week. If you ever had the good fortune to see Bruce and the band live, then you know it was a joyous rock party, and The Big Man, as he was known, was often at the center of the joy. Having a sax player in the group filled out the sound in many ways, whether he was playing fills, or background, or lead. Though his role on recordings seemed to diminish a bit as the years went by, in concert the Big Man was always a focal point. "Badlands" has always been one of the bands highlight songs in concert, and even here, 30 years after it was originally released, the song still packs a punch. Push play, turn it up and enjoy the Big Man, Bruce and the rest of the band.

CBC HNIC Stanley Cup Playoffs Tribute 2011 (HD)

2011-06-19T06:05:00.000-06:00

New Jersey

2011-06-17T05:14:00.000-06:00

I want to buy a Bruins Winter Classic XL jersey with no name on it, but can't find one. If any of my hockey jersey friends should stumble upon one, please let me know...

Cuppin'

2011-06-15T20:46:00.001-06:00

WOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

It would appear

2011-06-15T05:15:00.002-06:00

that what I pack for lunch, which car I drive, what I eat for supper, when I eat, what chair I sit in, what kind of Garybrew I drink and when I take Maple for a walk do not have an effect on the game tonight. But, since there is no definitive proof, I will not be taking any chances. GO B'S!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Yellowstone--Winter Wonderland!

2011-06-12T16:19:00.002-06:00

Yesterday we went on a day trip drive through Yellowstone. Now, I know the whole country has been seeing some strange, wierd, extreme weather, and we have not been exempted from that. Cold and wet has been our spring weather, after an above average snow year. So, going into the park now is still snowy, and cold. The temp on top of Sylvan Pass was 37, at noon! And, there is a 2 mile stretch with no stopping because of avalanche danger. Here is proof:

The snow plow cuts in the snow on the pass are 10-15 feet high in some places. We did not stop, but I took a few rolling shots near the top:

In the interior, everything is either white or wet. We stopped at a picnic ground at a nice meadow with a creek running through it. Except yesterday, there was no meadow, and it was no creek!

We did have a great drive, and saw an awesome display by Old Faithful.

Another great day in Yellowstone!

Hockey players rock!

2011-06-03T09:04:00.002-06:00

Check out this story about an Edmonton Oiler's chance encounter with Bono, of U2. And, from Puck Daddy.
Make sure you watch the video on Puck Daddy as Bono intro's the band as hockey players...

Fleet Foxes

2011-05-28T10:07:00.002-06:00

OK, it has been a few weeks since we first started listening to Helplessness Blues, the latest release from Fleet Foxes, and this one is a clear front runner for best of 2011. Each time I listen, and that has been often, another killer cut jumps out. If you haven't already, give it a try. Here is the video for 'Grown Ocean,' so you can see what the fuss is all about.

Old Goat Turns 60!

2011-05-20T08:36:00.000-06:00

Others to follow!

Happy Birthday, mcwinpa!

ESPN Dustin Pedroia Sandwich Commercial -- Watch the Laser Show - Baseball

2011-05-15T09:59:00.000-06:00

...and that's why it's on the Esposito...

Conference finals time

2011-05-14T05:28:00.002-06:00

Today the NHL Conference Finals start (Go B's!!!!!!!). Here is a link to an article I liked on ESPN.com. Yeah, they have actually noticed hockey exists.

Sprawl II (Mountains Beyond Mountains) (Unstaged)

2011-05-13T14:44:00.000-06:00

One of my faves from The Suburbs. Go ahead. Play the video. Loud. And sing along!

Sprawl II by Arcade Fire

they heard me singing and they told me to stop
quit these pretentious things and just punch the clock
these days my life i feel it has no purpose,
but late at night the feelings swim to the surface
cause on the surface the city lights shine.
they're calling at me "come and find your kind"
sometimes i wonder if the world's so small
that we can never get away from the sprawl.
living in the sprawl
the dead shopping malls
rise like mountains beyond mountains
and there's no end in sight.
i need the darkness someone
please cut the lights
we rode our bikes to the nearest park,
sat under the swings and kissed in the dark.
you shield my eyes from the police lights.
we run away but we dont know why.
black river, your city lights shine.
they're screaming at us,
"we don't need your kind"
sometimes i wonder if the world's so small,
that we can never get away from the sprawl!
living in the sprawl,
the dead shopping malls
rise like mountains beyond mountains
and there's no end in sight.
i need the darkness,
someone please cut the lights!
They heard me singing and they told me to stop,
quit these pretentious things and just punch the lights!
sometimes i wonder if the world's so small
can we ever get away from the sprawl?
living in the sprawl
the dead shopping malls
rise like mountains beyond mountains and
there's no end in sight.
i need the darkness.
someone please cut the lights.
i need the darkness.
someone please cut the lights!

Mother's Day Eats

2011-05-08T12:25:00.000-06:00

We just got done with Mother's Day brunch: A poached egg on top of Triple B's (Bacon, blueberry beer pancakes), with some fresh strawberries. It was kind of yummy!

About to get the mom's seal of approval

Kylie getting down with Triple B's. She ate 3 of them!

Happy Mother's Day!!

Hey Flyers:

2011-05-06T20:47:00.002-06:00

That thing rolling around on the floor is the spent can of Whoop-Ass the Bruins just opened on you! WOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Some more random things

2011-04-30T11:12:00.002-06:00

1. I got my bike spring-tuned the end of March, and I have only been able to ride it once. The weather here has been leaning a bit more to winter than spring. This morning: 2" of snow!

2. The sight of the damage from the tornadoes that hit the US in the month of April, especially those from this past week, has been shocking. The sight of some tv news anchors in London for the 'royal wedding' instead of here in this country was not so shocking but terribly disappointing. The royal fam has no power, other than social and cultural (in the UK, not here), and yet, our 'news' sources continue to perpetuate the myth of their importance. Hundreds dead, thousands homeless, untold damage, and we are being spoon fed useless info on dresses and hats.

3. Fleet Foxes release new music on Tuesday. This falls somewhere between the tornadoes and the royal wedding in importance for me.

4. The Stanley Cup playoffs are into the second round. Most of the series in the first round were good ones, and their were some great games. Good news: The Bruins overcame an 0-2 start, at home, to win 3 of 4 and beat the Canadiens.

NHL teams that I have always liked:
a. Bruins

NHL teams that I like, but never as much as the B's:
a. Avs
b. Pens

NHL teams that I can root for, because I like some of their players or just generally don't mind the team:
a. Sabres
b. Black Hawks
c. Lightning
d. Blues
e. Ducks

NHL teams I know so little about that I don't have much feeling for them:
All of the rest except:

NHL teams I don't like but do respect:
a. Canadiens
b. Red Wings

NHL teams I will never like:
Any team that has Avery, Heatley or Bertuzzi on it

NHL teams I will always hate, with passion:
a. Rangers
b. Flyers
c. Caps

5. The brewhouse has been so busy that I am getting a little concerned about my empty bottle supply.

Playing Dress-up in the Brewhouse

2011-04-24T19:26:00.000-06:00

Frozen Four--St. Paul Style

2011-04-17T09:14:00.006-06:00

I know, I know, the Frozen Four is practically ancient history, and I am just now getting the blog post finished. Well, sorry.

The Frozen Four this year was in St. Paul, MN and it was great, as usual. I've been through the airport in the Twin Cities several times, but this was my first time on the ground. And, while we did not venture as far as Minneapolis, we did see a good bit of St. Paul, and I enjoyed my visit. Per tradition, the first stop on the journey was at the Meeteetse Chocolatier's to pick up our FF goodies. Tim has taken on the task every year of making us a hockey related chocolate item, and he did it again this year! He made each of us a goalie mask, fashioned from Rice Krispie treat, dipped in chocolate quite a few times, and then hand decorated. Here is Tim with one of his creations.

Since there were six of us, there were six goalie masks, lined up here with our tickets:

As an added treat, this year Leigh made each of us a bowl, decorated Frozen Four style, and individualized.

We are a bit spoiled!

Jeff arrived a few hours before us on Wednesday, the 6th, and Cody, Mike and Jason got there on Thursday morning. Our room had a curtain valance that was just perfect for hanging up hockey jerseys, so we turned our room into a little hockey shrine. Here are Zack and Jeff in the room.

Fortunately for us, the Great Waters Brewpub was just a few blocks from our hotel, and even more fortunately, they had three brews on cask pour, so, of course, we had dinner and a beer or two there (And returned there several more times...). After breakfast on Thursday we went for a walk while waiting for the Penn State crew to arrive. It was warm and pleasant and we had a good walk. This is the State House. We were a bit concerned because of the work being done on the gold dome and the gold statue, wondering if maybe they were peeling off the gold to help balance their budget.

Hockey hillbillies in the big city:

There is also a nice cathedral (St. Pauls, of course!)

And a section of the city where all the rich folk built their house 100 or so years ago.

In Wyoming, we have carved bears in the front yard. These people have a wood carving of a guy helping a little girl with her boots.

And, my first ever sighting of a curling club!

When the boys arrived, Jason got busy with a beer and Mike contemplated his helmet.

Thursday night were the semi-final games, with the University of Minnesota-Duluth vs. Notre Dame and Michigan vs. North Dakota. Happily, UMD handled Notre Dame and surprisingly, Michigan knocked off North Dakota. With Boston College beaten in the regionals, most people assumed that the Sioux would waltz through the Frozen Four. They were both good games, close and well played for the most part, and we really enjoyed them.

On Friday, the college crew all had work to do so Zack, Jeff and I went for another walk, and then met up with them for Mike's birthday dinner, at a really good Mexican restaurant, joined by Val, one of their Penn State friends who now lives in St. Paul. We ate too much, and, um, maybe drank too much, and had a great time.

Saturday we did some more walking, then met up with the boys and poked around the city some more before going to the Fan Fest right by the arena. We had a good meal of Italian food at an Italian market and then it was game time. Most of the crowd, and us, were for UMD, and they played a good game and won it in overtime. The three games this year were probably the best set of three games that we have seen in our time at the Frozen Four, and St. Paul was a good city to have the tournament.

I did not end up taking a lot of pictures this year, but if you want to see them all, you can see them here. I did not get any pictures of all six of us, but here are five, just outside the Fan Fest...

See you next year in the hockey hotbed of Tampa!

Chaos and Noise--Sleeping is giving in...

2011-04-14T18:34:00.001-06:00

It was quite a week I just had...Last Wednesday, we went to the Frozen Four, and I'll be blogging about that when I sort through my pictures and get some picked out to post. On Monday, Karen and I drove to Orem, Utah, just south of Salt Lake City, and went to see Arcade Fire with Maggie and Rakesh. If you have followed my blog, even casually, you know that we are big fans of Arcade Fire. I think they are one of the best bands of the last ten or so years, and I've been anticipating an opportunity to see them live. Karen fell for them after they appeared on Austin City Limits. She especially likes the jumping around, banging on all kinds of instruments, and just overall fun they bring to the stage.

We first met up with Maggie and Rakesh in Park City, and then a bit later in Orem, where we went to Pizzaria 712 for supper, and it was really good, really good. So good, in fact, that we lingered a bit longer than we should, visiting, and we missed seeing the opening act, Local Natives. Maybe next time, because I do like them, and would like to see them sometime, but not that night.

We got to the venue, and got settled in, and then it was show time! And, it was good...

Arcade Fire in touring mode is made up of Win Butler, Regine Chassagne, Richard Reed Perry, Will Butler, Jeremy Gara, Sarah Neufeld, Tim Kingsbury and Marika Anthony-Shaw. At any given time, seemingly any one of them will be playing some combo of guitars, drums, bass, piano, violin, percussion, accordion, hurdy-gurdy, mandolin, etc, etc. Win and Regine take care of most of the lead vocals, and all chip in on background. Will is very, very active, running and jumping around the stage, singing, banging on stuff, playing several different instruments. This was the second night of a summer-long tour that will end at the Edinburgh Castle in Scotland (um, yeah, we are going there, too!), and some of the songs, especially early in the set, seemed a bit frantic, but it was all good. Here is the setlist from the show:

Win forgot the lyrics for most of 'Suburban War' but nobody seemed to care. If you know Arcade Fire's music, and you look at the list above, you know that they played a whole bunch of their best songs. My personal favorites would be hard to pick out, but I really like 'Intervention', 'Rebellion', 'Sprawl II', 'Rococo', 'Wake Up' (of course!), and this tune, 'Power Out'. I know this is a crappy video from somebody's cell phone, but maybe you can get a little sense of how great it was!

Thanks to Maggie and Rakesh for going with us, and thanks to the band for a great show. If you ever get the chance...

Spring IS Coming

2011-04-02T05:45:00.002-06:00

Here is how I know that spring is coming to Meeteetse:

Yesterday I saw a sandhill crane.
The poppies in front of our house are poking out of the ground.
Last week we had robins in the back yard.
The sun is getting higher in the sky and the moon is getting lower.
I saw a bluebird the other day.
There are nearly 90 tomato, pepper, basil, parsley, cleome and other plants growing in our kitchen.
On Wednesday we board a plane for the Frozen Four.
There are some radishes and greens trying to grow in our cold frame.
Today's high is forecast at 64--tomorrow's is 37. Springtime in Wyoming!
Some nights I am thinking about bed and it is still light...

What signs of spring do you have?

way far away

2011-03-31T20:03:00.003-06:00

Did you know that we sent a rocket ship to Mercury, the planet closest to the Sun? Well, we did, and now it is there, and it is sending back pictures of that far away and fairly mysterious chunk of rock. And, this is what it looks like:

For more, visit the website of space.com. Go ahead, give it a click.

Honey Badger The Most BAD ASS Animal on the planet!!!! Give it the th...

2011-03-27T09:28:00.000-06:00

Amy told me about this video, and I think you should all watch it. It's educational!

Endurance

2011-03-22T19:50:00.000-06:00

One of the books I got for Christmas was from Maggie, and it is The Endurance: Shackleton's Legendary Antarctic Expedition by Caroline Alexander. The book came out in 1999, and it tells the story of the expedition put together by Ernest Shackleton in 1914. Their goal was to land on the Atlantic coast of Antarctica and leave some of the men, who would then become the first group to walk across the entire continent. The South Pole had already been reached, in 1912, and this seemed a quest that would be able to be called a 'first.' Of course, as with most polar expeditions on the early 20th century, things did not go as planned, and what could have been a total disaster became one of the greatest survival stories ever.

When the Endurance, Shackleton's ship, left the island of South Georgia in December, 1914, they intended to make for the Weddell Sea and landfall. The fact that whalers had warned them that the pack ice was not out of the sea and they might have trouble reaching land did not deter the explorers. They set out, but they never made land. They got stuck in the pack ice almost within sight of land, summer became winter, the ice froze solid and gradually the ship, now their home for the winter, drifted north with the ice. Then their hope became to drift with the ice and eventually come again to the open sea. That didn't happen. As the ice started to break up, the tremendous pressure of the moving ice destroyed the ship, and the men were left with some gear, some food, and the two lifeboats, which they converted into sleds. The men spent the period from October, 1915 to April, 1916 floating on ice floes as the pack ice drifted north, tantalizingly close to Paulet Island just off the Antarctic Peninsula, but not close enough to risk trying to get there. Finally, in April, they broke out of the ice to open water and launched their two little boats into the ocean.

Two weeks later they landed on Elephant Island, an uninhabited island in the middle of nowhere. With winter approaching, the decision was made for one of the boats to try to make it back to the whaling station at South Georgia Island, with most of the men remaining behind. No one knew if they would ever see anyone alive from either group. Seventeen harrowing days later, the little boat somehow found South Georgia, but of course even the end was not easy. The boat landed on the opposite side of the island from the whaling station, and it was an arduous two day hike to reach 'civilization.' Then, as winter was setting in, after several attempts were stymied by ice, the men on Elephant Island were rescued, more than a year and a half after the Endurance first departed South Georgia.

This book tells the story in a precise, concise, very readable way, and I really enjoyed reading it. One of Shackleton's crew was the photographer Frank Hurley, and, miraculously, many of his images survived the whole ordeal. The book is liberally sprinkled with a whole bunch of these amazing photos, and they alone would make the book worth looking at. But if you happen across this book, read the narrative and marvel at what these men went through to survive. They didn't have any Gore-Tex, or Patagonia, or Jet-boils. But they made it. One of the days we were in Yellowstone in January, the temp went to 38 below, and even with all of our nice modern stuff, it was unbearable to be outside. These men survived a whole winter of that!

If you get a chance, check it out. And, thanks Maggie!

Banner Friday

2011-03-19T06:46:00.002-06:00

Two of my favorite sports are college hockey and college basketball (I think you knew that already...), and yesterday was a great day for me to be watching sports on the Dish in Meeteetse. CBS has finally figured out that we the fans would like to be able to choose from all of the games in the basketball tournament, and so I think all 16 games were televised on various networks. I'm not sure if they ALL were on because I didn't try to keep up completely. That's because there were also 6 conference hockey tournament semifinal games on during the course of the day, including one of the best hockey games I've seen this year when North Dakota (Go Sioux!) beat Colorado College in the WCHA semis 4-3. And, the Orange won their first game!
By tomorrow, b-ball will be down to 16 teams, and the 16 teams in the hockey tourney will be announced. And, yeah, I'm washing it all down with some excellent Garybrews...

Up on the Roof

2011-03-04T20:19:00.000-07:00

Back in the '60s, there was a popular band called the Beatles. Near the end of their run, they were recording an album that ended up being 'Let It Be' and also filming for a feature film that bore the same name. At one point, the boys headed up to the roof and played a bunch of songs for an ever-growing and happy bunch of listeners. If there had been such a thing as YouTube then, the video of 'Get Back' would have been ridiculously popular. Thanks to modern technology, you can watch it on YouTube by clicking here.

Fast forward a decade or two, and another popular group, U2, stole the Beatles idea, but of course, being U2 they couldn't just do it. They announced on the radio that they were going to be playing 'Where the Streets Have No Name' live on a street corner in LA to shoot a new video. Of course, a crowd showed up, and of course, it was good, and, of course, you can watch that video by clicking here.

And that brings us to 2011. In an unofficial video, the Muppets and friends from Sesame Street take to a balcony in Brighton, England to rock out, lip-synch style, to the LCD Soundsystem song 'Dance Yrself Clean.' Now, LCD is not the Beatles, and they are not U2, but where else are you gonna see Animal and Cookie Monster getting wasted on beers at the beach? And the song does kind of rock! So, go ahead, give it a listen. Yeah, I know, it is nearly 9 minutes long, but hey, that means you don't have to find another rockin' tune for the next 9 minutes!

Ticket booth

2011-03-04T19:53:00.004-07:00

Two little bundles of joy came in the mail yesterday for us. Uh, no, not that kind of bundle of joy. I don't think those come in the mail...

No, we got tickets!

First, Frozen Four tickets arrived yesterday, which seems a little earlier than usual, but no problem, we will take them now. The games are on April 7 and 9, at the Excel Energy Center in St. Paul, Minnesota. I have been to the Twin Cities quite a few times, but never left the airport! So it will be good once again to explore a new city.

Then, we got tickets to see the Arcade Fire in Orem, Utah, also in April. Did you know they are one of our favorite groups playing music these days? If not, you haven't been paying attention! To see them live has been on our list for a while now. Very excited to see them...

Scotch eggs Scottish Ale

2011-02-27T15:31:00.003-07:00

A few years back, the Frozen Four was in Milwaukee, and one of the delicious treats that we enjoyed was the Scotch egg. Ray and I talked about it so much that it became mythic, legendary. Finally, thanks to Ray's wife Karen, we had some right here in Wyoming, and, we washed them down with some (award-winning) Garybrew Scottish Ale.

Now, a Scotch egg is a hard-boiled egg that is wrapped in sausage, dipped in bread crumbs, and deep fried. Ok, ok, so it is maybe not all that healthy, but who cares? 'Cause they are awesome! Here are a few pictures from the process, as assembled by Karen L., the newly crowned Queen of the Scotch Egg.

The boiled eggs and a pile of sausage:

Ready to dip in the crumbs:

Just pulled out of the oil:

The moment of truth:

Success!:

And, the presentation, with mustard and spinach:

Karen W. took care of dessert. She made some maple meringues, and we had a maple/caramel version of coupe eaval, a dessert we had in Scotland. This one had maple meringues, vanilla ice cream, caramel sauce and whipped cream. Here are the meringues (I was too busy eating to picture the finished product!):

And that was some great eating!

The Black Keys - Howlin' For You (Official Video)

2011-02-22T19:25:00.000-07:00

One of my favorite bands, one of my favorite songs, and a crazy funny video!
(Not exactly Rated G...)

WARNING: RANT AHEAD

2011-02-20T14:53:00.002-07:00

According to an article in the Billings Gazette, there are currently over 500 buffalo (you call 'em bison if you want, i'll call 'em buffalo...) in quarantine just outside of Yellowstone National Park. They wandered out of the park in search of food, and local ranchers don't like that, because they say the big animals eat their pasture, wreck their fences, and, most important, might be carrying the disease brucellosis. Now, I am no scientist, but I do know that brucellosis causes abortion in cattle and can be passed from animal to animal. It is known that elk carry the disease, and there have been three ranches in the Meeteetse area whose animals have contracted brucellosis after contact with infected elk in the last six months. It is thought that buffalo can also pass the disease to cattle, although at this point there has never been a confirmed case of that happening.

The buffalo being held are more than likely going to end up going to slaughter, since they won't stay in the park and the ranchers don't want them. And here is where I get mad. Why should these buffalo have to be slaughtered when the elk can roam freely? In fact, the elk in the park are encouraged to leave in the winter, so people can pick up their antlers ($) and hunt them (much more $). The elk have political protectors in the hunting and ranching communities. There is big money made by the states in license fees and by the ranchers, who post their land and then sell trespass permits. There is no such system for buffalo, so they are being killed. And that is wrong.

Hockey weekend across America

2011-02-18T06:15:00.002-07:00

Today is the start of Hockey Weekend Across America, and has been designated 'Wear Your Favorite Hockey Jersey Day.' So grab yours, and gear up, and go watch a game, or go skate, or check out one of numerous games on the tube over the weekend!

Winter fun

2011-02-06T19:42:00.008-07:00

We recently had the great luck to have another winter visit to Yellowstone, and if you want to sit back and relax, I'll tell you all about it...

On Jan. 30 we headed for Chico Hot Springs, our traditional jumping-off place for our winter trips to the park, and one of our over-all favorite places. The weather and roads were mostly pretty good, and we got there in the early afternoon. We didn't feel like unpacking all of our ski stuff so we went for a walk up the road past the hot springs for a couple of miles to the old town of Chico, which is now home to a few residents and a bunch of buildings waiting to fall down. It was chilly but nice and by the time we got back we were ready for a beer and a soak and a good meal and sleep, and we got all of them. In the morning it was off to Mammoth Hot Springs to get the snow coach to Old Faithful.

The weather was good, and we had a good driver, so it was an enjoyable ride. At Gibbons Falls we saw some otter tracks (but no otters...) in the snow:

And, as always, some buffalo were wandering the roads. This one hustled by the snow coach as we were stopped.

The coach with our luggage had some mechanical problems, so while we waited for it, and all of our stuff, we went for a little walk around the geyser basin. Here is Castle Geyser, one of my favorites.

When our stuff arrived and we were settled in, we went for a short ski on the Fern Cascades Loop, right near Old Faithful. There had not been much new snow for a couple of weeks and some warm days had settled and hardened the snow, so it was not the best conditions, kind of hard and ski-ed off. But I still like it! Karen was a little less sure...

You can see all of my pictures from Day 1 by clicking here.

The weather forecast for the next few days was for very cold nights, cold days and sunshine. On Tuesday we were booked on a ski trip/tour of the Canyon area, and there was some question as to whether we would go, especially when we woke up to minus 28 on the thermometer! But the big shots decided to let us go, and we headed out with our guide, driver and two other couples. I was pretty excited to see the canyon in winter. It is certainly spectacular in summer, so how could it not be in winter, too? Well, it was spectacular. Since it was so cold, (still minus 8 when we got to Canyon around 10 am), we decided to do a series of short skis, with the snow coach as our 'mobile warming hut.' Our first ski went along the river above the Upper Falls, ending at Chittenden Bridge. It was really pretty, but we were hit by some bad luck when Karen took a tumble and pulled a hamstring. She made it to the bridge, but wasn't able to go on the other skis we did that day. Her new job became keeping the driver company...

Here is a view of the bridge as we approached:

And, Karen and I standing on the bridge:

And, looking up-river from the bridge:

Next, we went for a short ski along part of the canyon rim. The views were pretty awesome!

Here is the Upper Falls from one of the viewpoints:

We also went for a quick ride to the north end of the Hayden Valley and got to see a couple of coyotes on the ice, along with some swans in the river:

Here are a couple of shots of the Lower Falls:

As we left the Canyon area, we went partway up Dunraven Pass, and stopped for some spectacular views.

Off in the distance, that is the Tetons.

Our group, minus Greg from Oregon who took the picture.

It was great to see the Canyon in winter, but not so great to have Karen hurt. That night, we found a new use for the JetBoil: Heating water to make hot towel compresses for her aching hammy. She was feeling better the next day, but not good enough to ski, so she opted out of the ski down DeLacy Creek to Shoshone Lake.

You can see all of my Day 2 pictures here.

The DeLacy trip didn't leave until just before lunch, so in the morning we went for another little walk around the geysers. It was EXTREMELY COLD that morning, with one ranger telling us the official low was -35, though she had -38 on her thermometer. It was clear and brilliantly sunny, so sunny on most of the days that a lot of my pictures were adversely affected. (I have neither the know-how not the equipment to adjust for those extraordinarily bright conditions.)

Here is Old Faithful at -30 degrees:

I was very disappointed that Karen was not going on the DeLacy ski, because it is one of our favorites. But I was happy that Phil and Lara, two of our companions on the Canyon trip, were going. They were fun to ski with, and be with, as we ended up having dinner with them that night.

Here is the open meadow just before we got to Shoshone Lake. Oh, and yes, a note to the National Park Service: the DeLacy Creek Trail needs to have much better markings, especially on the first part of the trail in the timber. If the guide and I had not been on the trail several times before, we might still be wandering around in that timber!

We skied a bit out on the lake, and it was, again, spectacularly beautiful. Here are our ski tracks coming off the lake.

All of my Day 3 pictures can be seen here.

Our last full day, Karen decided she was up for a ski, so we did a ski drop at the trailhead to Lone Star Geyser, a groomed trail to one of our favorites.

We are always happy to be at Lone Star! And, we got to see an awesome eruption of the geyser.

The ungroomed part of the trail going back to Old Faithful was not much fun, but it did not take away from a great day.

All of my Day 4 pictures are here.

Friday was our last day at Old Faithful, but the snow coach did not leave until 1:30, so we had time to walk most of the geyser basin.

Here is a picture of some cool colors in a thermal feature run-off:

And, Grotto Geyser in repose:

On the ride out, we stopped at Fountain Geyser, but it was quiet. One of its neighbors, whose name I forget, was active, though:

And, we saw a couple of bald eagles in a tree near the road:

My Day 5 pictures are right here.

After another nice soak at Chico, and a good sleep, it was back home to work for our next fun thing, whatever that may be!

2 news stories

2011-01-28T13:28:00.002-07:00

Two news stories caught my eye today:

First, in a follow-up to the fugitive-nabbed-in-Meeteetse story, comes further news of what he was contemplating before he reached our town. Here is the story from the Billings Gazette.

And then, there is this item about the dude who tossed waffles on the ice at a Maple Leafs game. The best part, to me, was "my parents are proud people, Scottish people." And his logic that since it is ok to toss hats for a hat trick, it should be ok to toss waffles when the team is suckin' it...

Randoms...

2011-01-23T17:37:00.002-07:00

Update from the brewhouse: The oak porter is in the secondary fermenter with the bourbon soaked oak cubes floating in it...
Also from the brewhouse: The coco-stout (v. 2.0) is also in secondary, and very promising...
Also from the brewhouse: The spent grain bread is awesome!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Today is not Thanksgiving, but I am thankful that in two weeks the pro football season will be over. Now maybe ESPN can up their coverage of hockey to 30 or 40 seconds per SportsCenter.
The Quake have had a disappointing season, and I am one of the disappointed.
The media coverage of the Tuscon shooting has been despicable. The shooter's face is all over the news, but you never hear anything about the wounded other than Rep. Giffords. Are they OK? Who knows? Also, six people are dead, and besides the little girl, and brief mentions of the judge and Gifford's aide, you hear nothing of those people. It does not reflect well on who we are as a people...
I am excited that Karen and I are heading back to Yellowstone for another winter visit. I'm sure pictures and a dull travelogue will follow...
Meeteetse basketball has fallen on desperate times...

At the brewhouse

2011-01-09T13:58:00.001-07:00

There was a little bit of craziness at the brewhouse this week. Inspired by a brew from our DC Frozen Four trip in 2009, and by the recent Oak Porter from Red Lodge Ales at Sam's Tap Room, and armed with some critical info from the good people at morebeer.com, I decided to brew my version of a bourbon barrel aged porter. I got some special oak cubes from morebeer with my latest order, and have them soaking in Maker's Mark, a mighty fine bourbon. (FYI: When I mentioned at work my intentions on this brew, one of the electricians, who is not yet 21, brought me in a bottle of Maker's Mark the next day! I am wondering what the penalty is for providing alchohol to an adult, or receiving it from a minor?)

Here are the oak cubes, in their bourbon bath:

Each step of the brewing process has been, and will be, toasted from that bottle...

One of the things that has intrigued me for a long time is to figure out a way to use some of the spent grain from the brewing process. I've heard of brewpubs serving grain burgers, and using the grain in breads and rolls. Also, many brewers are selling the spent grain to farmers for feed, and then buying the beef back for burgers in their pubs. I am still searching for a grain burger recipe, but yesterday decided to try making some rye bread with about 1 1/2 cups of porter grain added to the dough. The result = delicious!

Here is the porter rye bread:

And, from the Boulevard of Beer, just-brewed Scottish Ale on the left and Porter (to be infused with bourbon oak in the secondary fermentor.) on the right.

In 2011 I would like

2011-01-01T06:43:00.002-07:00

to hike from Cooke City to East Rosebud in Montana
to do at least two hikes every month
to see UNH play in the Frozen Four
to make an oak/bourbon flavored beer
to drink an oak/bourbon flavored beer
to see a grizzly bear
to ski around the Canyon area in Yellowstone
to ski to Chimney Creek up the Wood River
to see things that make me put down my camera and stare
to think that we will be able to go back to Scotland one day
to go to Glacier National Park
to have a great garden
to eat a whole bunch of great veggies from the great garden
to not have the deer try to eat all the veggies and flowers in our great garden
to hear on the news that we are not going to be fighting any more wars where we have no business
to go to some kick-ass concerts, including at least one at Red Rocks
to have the Red Sox win the World Series, and everyone on the Yankees spend the whole year on the disabled list
to have all my peeps have the best year yet--except the chocolate-covered peeps that I eat

Peace be the journey...

2010-12-31T12:27:00.002-07:00

There were many moments of happiness for me in 2010, many, many moments of happiness. You know it has been a good year when one of the things you did was be a witness to a marriage of two people you don't even know! And I was so lucky for all of those moments. I think of all my moments of happiness, none can match the feeling I had when the picture below was taken. Having left Edinburgh, and city visiting, behind us, Karen and I had explored the east coast of Scotland and came upon Dunnottar Castle, a truly wondrous place. With almost two weeks of exploring in front of us, I don't think I could have felt any better!

I hope that for all of you, and us, that 2011 is the best year yet, with many moments of happiness. And hopefully, peace, love, happiness, and good beer will be there with us all year!

My favorite music of 2010

2010-12-31T06:43:00.004-07:00

A year ago when I looked at lists of music to be released in 2010 it appeared that it would be a good year to be someone who likes the kind of music I like. And it was! There were a whole bunch of cd's released this past year that I liked a lot, and I'd like to share my faves with you here, in no particular order.

Contra by Vampire Weekend. The preppies from NYC dished out another very likable helping of tunes rich in rhythmic, sometimes quirky beats. Start to finish, I don't find any weak songs, though I am not a fan of AutoTune, so the vocal on 'California English' is not a winner for me. But 'Giving Up the Gun,' 'White Sky,' 'Run,' etc. continue to entertain me, after many listenings.

The Suburbs by The Arcade Fire. The third full-length from this Montreal-based ensemble, led by Win Butler, is a big, sprawling affair, just like the suburbs that are the center of attention in this 16 song set. It is not my favorite Arcade Fire cd--that would be Funeral--but it does have some of my favorite songs, like 'Ready to Start,' 'Sprawl II (Mountains Beyond Mountains), 'Rococo,' and 'We Used to Wait.'

Forgiveness Rock Record by Broken Social Scene. The latest from an indie collective based in Toronto that deserves a whole lot more attention than they receive. Kevin Drew leads a very talented bunch that rotates between albums and songs but always delivers top quality music. This may be my most listened-to cd of the year. 'World Sick,' 'Chase Scene,' 'All to All,' 'Texaco Bitches,' 'Meet Me in the Basement'--all stand-outs. This is one very talented group, and everyone should be listening to them!

High Violet by The National. A very big step forward for this group from Brooklyn, this was one of the pleasant surprise releases of the year. Their sound, somewhat brooding and moody guitar rock, grabs you and pulls you into the songs, and the songs are their strongest yet. 'Terrible Love,' 'Bloodbuzz Ohio,' 'Little Faith,' 'Afraid of Anyone,' and 'Lemonworld' lead a very good list of tunes.

Brothers by the Black Keys. This guitar/drums duo from Akron adds yet another strong set of songs to their catalog. They can pound out big-sounding guitar rock, blues and ballads with equal excellence. 'Howlin' For You,' 'Next Girl,' and of course 'Tighten Up' head the list of outstanding songs from this consistently good group.

Broken Bells by Broken Bells. Throw James Mercer from The Shins and Danger Mouse from Gnarls Barkley into the studio together and you get this very listenable set of songs that finds a solid groove and never gives it up. Fans of either principal here will probably tell you that you can find better work by them on their other projects, but for me this set of songs is very, very good. 'October,' 'The Ghost Inside,' 'The High Road,' and 'Vaporize' all sound good to my ears and I think they will to yours, too!

Teen Dream by Beach House. Speaking of finding a groove, Beach House really hit the mark on their third album. Victoria Legrand's vocals are generally described as 'androgynous,' which they may be, but these songs, especially 'Zebra,' 'Walk in the Park,' and 'Silver Soul' will lead you down a path paved with nice guitars and keyboards to a very comfortable musical place.

Sidewalks by Matt & Kim. These two Brooklynites give another fun set of bouncy rock-y tunes that are pretty much irresistible, so don't try to resist. 'Cameras,' 'Where You're Coming From,' and 'Block after Block' set a happy rock tone that will be sure to lift you up.

Odd Blood by Yeasayer. Another of the seemingly endless supply of bands from Brooklyn, these guys deliver a solid second cd that really mixes things up. 'Ambling Alp' leads the way, with 'Madder Red,' 'O.N.E.' and 'I Remember' also very strong. It is kind of a strange set--they lead off with 'The Children,' a good song with AutoTuned vocals that seems to be saying "come listen if you dare", but if you do listen, you will be rewarded.

Lisbon by The Walkmen. These guys may not sing happy songs, but they do sing good songs, and their sound and the production are very pleasing to my ears. They will never be famous, but that doesn't stop them from putting out great songs like 'Angela Surf City.' Maybe not for everyone, but very much OK for me!

I guess that would be something close to my top 10, but I haven't even gotten to these (which will have to be honorable mentions...all tied for 11):
Together by The New Pornographers
The Wild Hunt by The Tallest Man on Earth
Sea of Cowards by The Dead Weather
Lungs by Florence and the Machine
I'm Having Fun Now by Jenny and Johnny
Mines by Menomena
Before Today by Ariel Pink's Haunted Graffiti
Infinite Arms by Band of Horses
Sigh No More by Mumford & Sons
Gorilla Manor by Local Natives
Congratulations by MGMT
The Orchard by Ra Ra Riot
Transference by Spoon
and, all the music I never got to hear, and all the music I just got that I have not had time to digest yet...
And, if that isn't enough, check out Stereogum's list of anticipated releases for 2011!
And, oh yeah, turn it UP!!!

Yeasayer fans pay attention to this!

2010-12-30T19:28:00.002-07:00

Yeasayer, one of indie rocks best (BEST!) groups, just released, on their website, a live album from a concert in Brussels. To sweeten the pot, you name your own price. Yes, even $0. But hey, give them at least a five spot, will ya?! Here is the link

And, while you are waiting for it to download, or if you are wondering if you should, check out this live in the studio version of Tightrope, their contribution to the Dark Was The Night cd.

Snack on THAT for lunch

2010-12-19T09:34:00.000-07:00

Watch this goal, a shootout winner by Kyle Turris

Spin the Wheel!

2010-12-12T18:40:00.003-07:00

One of my favorite cookies that we make at Christmas is the Chocolate Pinwheel Cookie, which, when properly made, is as nice to look at as it is good to eat. Um, well, when I make them, they are still good to eat, but have a bit of a look like a 4th-grader's art project. And, it is a bit of a chore to make them. BUT, they are so good to eat that they are worth the effort, and, the worst part of the making is now behind me for this year. The roll is in the freezer, ready to be sliced and baked next weekend. And, the kitchen is cleaned up and not looking like a 4th grader just got done trying to make something but only ended up with a mess.
Let Christmas begin!

Two things

2010-12-05T05:57:00.002-07:00

I learned two things yesterday. Well, one was more of a realization, but that is still learning. Karen and I went cross country skiing for the first time of the season in Red Lodge, on a trail we had not been on before. It is up the West Fork Road and is called the Silver Run trail. It winds beautifully through the timber in a really nice valley. It is not groomed but nicely skier tracked. And, I realized that skier tracked trails through timber are my favorite kind of skiing. Nicely machined set trails are great to ski, but I just really like gliding (if you can call what I do gliding) through the trees. It was a beautiful day, and the snow was fantastic, and we had a great time. Sorry, no pictures.
The second thing I learned is that the Oak Porter, a bourbon barrel aged porter from Red Lodge Ales, is probably the best brew they have ever made, especially served on the nitro pour. Sadly, it is seasonal (that means it will run out soon) and it is not available anywhere but at Sam's Tap Room. But it sure is good!

I wanna know...

2010-12-04T20:46:00.002-07:00

I WANNA KNOW: Why is it that the Republican "leaders" in Congress refuse to extend unemployment benefits because they are unfunded, but they have no problem extending an unfunded tax cut for people who make over a million bucks a year? It is time for all of them to wake up. I have a nephew who is a smart college graduate who lives just outside of Syracuse who cannot find a job (ANY JOB), not at Walmart, not at P & C, not at Burger King, because there are no jobs. And there are 50-60 year old people who have been working all their lives who can't find a job either. And it is not because they are lazy, or flippin' burgers isn't good enough. No, there just are no jobs. And now the rich asses in Washington won't even throw them a bone, because they are too busy pickin' all that is left off of the bones before they throw them in the garbage. And the Democrats are no better. They had majorities in Congress and the Presidency for the past two years and they just let this fester, and get worse. Hey, all of you: Wake the F up!

Everybody wants to be a Quake

2010-12-01T18:03:00.002-07:00

Apparently, it is so prestigious in the hockey world to be on the Yellowstone Quake (Wyoming's Team) that people are now lying about their age to get on the roster! Check out this story from the local rag.

O Tannenbaum

2010-11-28T19:18:00.002-07:00

Every year about this time, Karen and I look at the calendar to see which weekend we want to drive up the Wood River to cut down our Christmas tree. There are typically three or four places we will check, depending on snow and road conditions, and every year we find a nice tree in a thick stand of young trees, so we don't feel guilty about thinning the area for our tree. Well, it looks like this year might be different. The damage from the pine bark beetles is so extensive and so devastating, that I don't think we are feeling like it is OK to cut ANY tree that is still alive, no matter how thick a stand it may be in. So, it is looking like this year, for the first time I think ever, we will be buying our tree. Since the trip for the tree has always been one of the highlights of the holidays, it won't be quite the same this year...

Happy Thanksgiving

2010-11-25T09:10:00.000-07:00

Happy Thanksgiving to everyone! I hope your life is full of peace, love, happiness and humor! Here is a bit of humor from the New Yorker:

Is That a Gun In Your Pocket, Or Are You Just Happy To Be Flying Southwest Air?

2010-11-21T09:26:00.002-07:00

I pity the TSA, those people charged with making air travel safe for all of us. Every step they make, to ensure more compliance with the rules, is greeted with increasing cries of invasion of privacy, creating longer lines, etc. And yet they still have to do their job in the face of potential terrorists doing THEIR job of finding ways around the safety procedures. I would not want to be in the middle of that one. People (like me in Paris when Karen got over-searched) complain that "there is no way that you can mistake her for a terrorist." As if there is a line somewhere that delineates terrorists from non-terrorists just by the way they look. But the only fair way to treat people is to have no line, and, unfortunately, view everyone with suspicion. I don't like it. But I accept it. And the people who are trying to get a boycott started because of the latest scanner/patdown rules will need to come up with a real, workable solution to convince me that this is not just another inevitable step in the way the world is now. We had the scanner search in Amsterdam, and it was different from here because the person looking at the scanner was looking at us, too. Here I understand the viewer is in another room, giving a degree of privacy and separation. But that of course will please no one. And so, yeah, I pity the TSA for the job they have to do. Hope you Thanksgiving travelers do OK...

Whoops!

2010-11-19T16:55:00.002-07:00

This week, Northwestern and Illinois are going to play their football game at Wrigley Field, home of the Chicago Cubs baseball team (You may have heard of the place.). Just one minor problem: All of a sudden, it was decided that the wall in right field, or the end zone, depending on your point of view, is too close to the field, and even though it is well padded, well, somebody could get hurt running into it! So now, like a half court basketball game, both teams will play offense in the SAME DIRECTION! Every time there is a change of possession, the teams will flop around and go the other way. I know, I know, you think I am making this up. How could something like this happen in the year 2010? Well, I am not making it up and here is a link to the whole story on ESPN.com.
So, the next time you screw something up at work, just tell your boss about this!

"What was That?"

2010-11-14T06:34:00.000-07:00

I know my blog has been a bit heavy on music lately, but you MUST check out this video short from SNL last night, with a guest appearance by Arcade Fire!

Weekend Music Club

2010-11-13T13:32:00.000-07:00

When I started at UNH in the fall of 1972, I was already a music junkie, but my addiction was seriously fed while I was in Durham. That fall, one of the greatest albums of all time was released: 'Talking Book' by Stevie Wonder. Stevie was only 22 years old when 'Talking Book' was released, but he'd been in the music business for quite some time before that, starting with his first hit single in 1963, "Fingertips, Pt. 2." He had several other hits, and even wrote a few songs for other Motown acts, and then, after a contract fight with his label was settled, released 'Music of My Mind.' That very good album was only a hint of what was to come.

For 'Talking Book,' Stevie carried even further his penchant for playing most of the music on his records, with only a few guests, mostly for guitars, horns and vocals. He plays almost all of the keyboards, using the 'new' synthesizers of the day to great effect, and a lot of the drums and percussion. The album has a nice mix of love songs, social and political songs. It starts with one of his greatest love songs, "You Are The Sunshine of My Life" and the rest of the songs on side 1 flow from that high start. "Maybe Your Baby" features some great funky guitar work by Ray Parker, Jr. After "You and I" and "Tuesday Heartbreak" the side closes with the beautiful "You've Got It Bad, Girl," co-written by Yvonne Wright. Those five songs alone top the best of most other artists, and we haven't even gotten to side 2!

The second side of the vinyl album starts with "Superstition," one of Stevie's most popular, and best, songs. That song, according to legend, was originally written for Jeff Beck, a British guitarist and friend of Stevie, who had a song on one of his records called "Ain't Superstitious." Stevie wrote "Superstition" as an answer to that song, though Beck never released it. Next up is "Big Brother", one of Stevie's most powerful social political songs. His harmonica work on this song is just over the top! "Blame it on the Sun," a song of lost love, leads into the great two song finale of "Lookin' For Another Pure Love" and "I Believe (When I Fall In Love It Will Be Forever)." "Pure Love" features a beautiful guitar solo by the aforementioned Jeff Beck, and "I Believe" is another beautiful love song with Stevie playing all the parts, and then, just for the heck of it, breaks into a little funk thing at the end to leave us dancing again.

I put this album on my iPod a while back, and I've listened to it several times in the past few months, and I can tell you that it holds up to the test of time very, very well. Stevie released several more really good albums and had a bunch of hit songs, and I am sure there are some very good 'greatest hits' compilations out there that are quite fantastic. But your music collection will never be complete if you don't have 'Talking Book.'

Not too long after the album was released, Stevie and his touring band played "Superstition" on Sesame Street. (I know, that sounds almost crazy to even think about now!) The video is not the best quality, but I include it here because of the joy Stevie brings to it. And, I just dig those righteous duds they are wearing, and the little dude on the stairs that they show a couple of times. Hope you like it!

We're not enemies, we're frenimies

2010-11-12T07:59:00.000-07:00

Watch and laugh!

Do these Game Day Gold Pants make my butt look big?

2010-11-07T11:17:00.003-07:00

Without a doubt, one of my favorite moments in sports radio these days comes right before Wyoming Cowboy games, when, sandwiched in between the Keys to the Game and the Starting Line-ups, comes the Brown and Gold Outlet sponsored Uniform Report, wherein Kevin McKinney tells us what color uniforms the teams are wearing. And, you know, when you are listening on the radio, that is very important information, and once you hear the Uniform Report, and you know the Pokes are wearing their Game Day Gold pants, well, it's time for Cowboy football!

Weekend music club

2010-11-05T11:40:00.001-06:00

I know, I know, this is not a review of a cd, new or old. but I just love watching the videos of the kids from PS 22 on Youtube, and this is one of their latest. It's 'Kids' by MGMT.
Hope you like it as much as I do!

And, if you want to sing along...

You were a child,
crawlin' on your knees toward it.
Makin' mama so proud,
but your voice was too loud.

We like to watch you laughing.
You pick the insects off plants.
No time to think of consequences.

Control yourself.
Take only what you need from it.
A family of trees wantin',
To be haunted.

Control yourself.
Take only what you need from it.
A family of trees wantin',
To be haunted.

The water is warm,
but it's sending me shivers.
A baby is born,
crying out for attention.
Memories fade,
like looking through a fogged mirror
Decision to decisions are made and not bought
But I thought,
this wouldn't hurt a lot.
I guess not.

Weekend Music Club

2010-10-31T12:50:00.000-06:00

The first half of this year saw the release of a whole bunch of music by groups that I like. Slowly, as I listen more and more to the songs, the cream is rising to the top. And swimming in the middle of the cream is 'Forgiveness Rock Record' by Broken Social Scene. BSS has been around for a while, formed by Kevin Drew and Brendan Canning in Toronto. Their first major release, 'You Forgot It In People," came out in 2002. I first started hearing them a few years later when I got XM and was listening to the Verge channel. Somewhere along the way I picked up 'You Forgot It in People' and liked it a lot.
BSS is really more of a musical collective than a band, with Drew and Canning leading a group that uses members of many other Canadian, and particularly Toronto-based, bands. The list of collaborators reads like a who's who of Canadian Indie rock, with wonderful vocal contributions from Lesley Feist, Emily Haines of Metric and especially Amy Millan of Stars. The female vocals on several songs on each album lend a nice variety to the sets. The group also is not afraid to play their instruments, with several instrumentals on their first couple of cd's. The new one only has one instrumental, the fine 'Meet Me in the Basement.' Several other songs use long instrumental intros and outros to great effect.
The album starts with one of my favorites, called 'World Sick.' Great guitar work leads into a fine song, and with that the album is off and running. You are not likely to hear any of this music on 'regular' radio, and I don't see a whole lot of commercials that might want to use these songs. Certainly, Texaco is not going to use Texaco Bitches! They are probably not going to like the anti-big oil vibe from that one! If you click on that link, you can watch a live version. I would have had the Youtube link like the one below but I don't know how to put more than one of those in a post...
BSS is one of those groups that I like mostly because of their sound. I like the way my ears feel when I hear their music. Lyrics are a bit secondary for me with these guys, and if that is a problem for the songwriters, well, sorry. But they do have a sound that I really do like, and especially the variety of the songs, all though still with the BSS sound. It is good, well-played rock music. I like most all of the songs here, particularly 'Art House Director', 'All to All', 'World Sick', 'Meet Me In the Basement', and 'Sentimental X's' (Amy Millan on vocals there...).
Obviously, I highly recommend that you give Broken Social Scene a try if you haven't already. Here is another live version of one of their new songs, this one being 'World Sick.' Hope you enjoy it!

Devil Day Fun

2010-10-30T10:10:00.001-06:00

Every year the city of Cody closes off a five block stretch of the main street for Trick or Treating. All of the merchants have candy and treats, and the kids have a great time going from store to store. Parents like it because then the candy grab is limited to downtown and not so much in the neighborhoods. This year I decided to tag along with Kylie, Jenny and Zack for the action. It was a beautiful afternoon and the street was full of cute little kids in costume with their parents in tow. Of course Jenny knew a whole bunch of them from school. And Kylie the butterfly was there, too! Here are some pictures from the day.

Some things that I am sick and tired of

2010-10-28T20:56:00.002-06:00

The 2010 election. I heard on the radio yesterday that the combined spending for this year's Congressional seats is over 2 billion bucks. Are you kidding me? And then Karen told me that one of the candidates for gov. of cali. has spent 140 million dollars of her own money. This has got to be some kind of horrible dream. Do any of them realize what 2 billion dollars would do for poor children of this country? Does that candidate really think her 140 million is better spent on a vain-glorious run for office than it might be in the state school system? We have some terrible, terrible economic problems in this country, and our so-called leaders spend money on this?
When I am driving by myself, I sometimes like to tune the XM to ESPN or Foxsports or CNN or MSNBC but now I can't. The news channels are hung up on the elctions politics, rather than the election itself, and sports radio can't stop talking about the NFL and the NBA. Did you know that the NFL is all of a sudden worried about people getting hit in the head? Did you know that 3 'superstars' of the NBA all play on one team? did you know that some people love the 'TEA party' and some people hate it? Well, if not, then you are not paying attention, because nothing else in the world (NOTHING) is more important than that.
One of my favorite magazines for a very long time, Rolling Stone, has for several years been bashing people who download music on the interweb for free (i.e. stealing) while at the same time having a full page of songs featured every week that are hot on the interweb, at least half of which are usually 'leaked.' Hey, you guys can't have it both ways.
The deer eating our gardens.
The beetles eating all the trees in the forests.
Major league baseball not being able to figure out a way to speed up their games.
Classic rock radio.

Thank you for allowing me to vent.

A couple of baseball notes

2010-10-24T17:42:00.002-06:00

As the holiday song says: "It's the most wonderful time of the year" It's World Series Time!!!!!!
As a Red Sox fan, whose team did not even make the playoffs this year, there can be little sweeter than watching A-Rod strike out (LOOKING!) to end the game and the ALCS.
One reason I'm happy the Giants beat the Phils is that I do not favor a team whose fans wave towels. I do not like the towel waving.
I have to pull for the Rangers. Their manager is an ex-coke head. Their best player is a recovering drunk and druggie. The team is so afraid to let the player near booze that they use ginger ale for their celebrations! How can you not root for that?
I think the Giants will win.
I was hoping some punches would get traded during the little brouhaha in the Giants-Phils game last night. Really, is there anything more pathetic than baseball teams emptying the benches and then milling around on the field?
Next year, the Sox will win. Well, they might.

The Amazing Journey Concludes

2010-10-23T15:30:00.007-06:00

As we left Lochmaddy on the Isle of North Uist, it was with a certain bit of sadness, for a couple of reasons. First, we had an amazing time on the islands, seeing awesome sights, eating great food, meeting nice people. We didn't want to leave. And second, leaving meant we were on our way back to Edinburgh, and the end of our trip. But, of course, it had to end, and we meant to enjoy it to the end. Here is a shot of Lochmaddy as we departed, and then one of the shore as we left Uist.

Our destination on our last ferry ride was Uig, on the Isle of Skye. Here we make our approach to Uig, another wonderful little coastal town.

After landing, we drove to Dunvegan, where we would spend two nights. We arrived near dinner, and our hostess suggested that we believe the Lonely Planet guide and drive the short distance to the Stein Inn for dinner. The oldest inn on the Isle of Skye, it was perfect. Set on a loch in the little town of Waternish, it had hand-pulled ales from the Isle of Skye Brewery and outstanding food. What we found a bit odd was a sign that said "Papal Parking." We puzzled over that for some time, even after we found out the pope was bound for Edinburgh in a few days. Surely he wasn't going to the little fishing village of Waternish? So why did they need papal parking? A mystery unsolved...

I really liked the town of Dunvegan. Another little port and fishing village, it is another postcard perfect setting for a nice, friendly town. Here is a view from a hill just on the edge of town.

The next morning, a mini-disaster struck that had an effect on the last few days of our trip: Karen came down with a cold. She tried to downplay it for the first day, but she was obviously suffering by the evening, and was trying to battle it until we got home. That morning, Sep. 12, we went to the Tourist Information to book a room for the trip back to Edinburgh, and also get some tips on places to see. Since the weather was less promising in the afternoon, we decided to go on a walk to Neist Point Lighthouse in the morning. It was on a point of land in Glendale, not far from Dunvegan. And it is amazing! You have to walk down a long hill/stairway, but it is very much worth the walk. The lighthouse is just on the other side of this knob.

Here is a shot of the Point and one of the lighthouse. Check out the foghorn on the left of the building!

One of the things you notice when you go anywhere in Scotland is that almost everything seems to be made of stone. As one person pointed out to us, they don't have a lot of trees, but they do have a lot (A LOT) of rocks. Here are some stone walls on a hillside on Neist Point. I pity the fool who had to make that!

After Neist Point, we decided to tour Dunvegan Castle, one of the most famous in the country. Owned and occupied by the MacLeod Clan for nearly 800 years, it is open to the public unless they have some sort of function happening. Unfortunately, the castle is undergoing some repairs, so we got some nice views of scaffolding in places. But it was still pretty cool, though we still favored Dunnottar as our #1 castle...Here are a couple of pictures of the castle.

To me, the best part of Dunvegan Castle is the gardens, which are truly amazing. Unfortunately, it was starting to rain a bit, and Karen was running out of gas, so we kind of hurried through a little more than we might have, but still they were wonderful.

After the castle, we got Karen a whiskey (for medicinal purposes) and me an ale, and then Karen retired for the day, not feeling very shiny. I dined on a couple more ales...

In the morning, we left Dunvegan and the Isle of Skye. I would certainly put Skye at the top of my list to explore more, mostly because we didn't have the time or weather to do a good job of it. It was a rainy drive, and pretty long, to Callander, where we spent our last night before Edinburgh. Here is a coastal shot on Skye.

Along the way, we stopped and toured Eilean Donan Castle, another fairly famous castle. This one dates to the 13th century. It sits on a little island in Loch Duich, near the town of Dornie, and is accessed by a nice arched stone bridge. It is pretty touristy, and has a bunch of re-created stuff inside, but is also very beautiful, even on a dreary rainy morning.

One of the pluses of the rainy stretch was that we saw a kind of unusual phenomenon, maybe not for the Scots, but it was for us. The rain activated little streams seemingly everywhere on every hillside, and was really pretty cool to see. Here is one hillside with a whole bunch of rain streams.

The drive from Dunvegan to Callandar was the longest we made on the whole trip, and with the rainy weather, we were happy to arrive in mid afternoon and set up camp in a b & b on the edge of town. Karen took a nap and I went for an exploratory, wet walk, had a beer, and then we had a fine dinner at Poppies Hotel and Restaurant, conveniently located right next door to our lodging! Karen had pumpkin soup and lamb casserole and I had a salmon cake and pork chop. It was a good sign that Karen wanted to eat!

The next morning, after our last fantastic b & b breakfast, we made the journey we had both been a bit apprehensive about: driving back into Edinburgh and trying to find the car rental. With the navigator a bit under the weather, and a lack of confidence in our ability to get around in the city, we headed out. And, we made it! We got slightly misplaced once, but not altogether lost, and ended up right where we needed to be. The car folks got us back to the Best Western, and all of a sudden our trip was about to end. It was a nice day, and just after noon, so we went for a walk, with the intention of touring the Palace of Holyroodhouse, the royal residence in Edinburgh. Well, it was not to be. The aforementioned pending arrival of the pope had the place closed to tourist, so we only got a couple of exterior pictures. Here it is.

We walked back to the hotel so Karen could have a quick nap while I went in search of a good place to dine, and we ended our eating with a wonderful dinner at the Guildford Arms. They had ten (TEN!) hand pulled ales, and some really good food, including an amazing app of mussels in cream sauce. Yummy!

On the way back to the hotel, we couldn't help ourselves: we stopped in at the pub where we started, the Bow Bar, for one last ale and Ardbeg. If you are ever in Edinburgh, and I hope you are, go to West Bow St., and find this place:

The next morning, we started the long trip home. We flew from Edinburgh to Amsterdam to Minneapolis to Denver, with no real problems, and arrived in Colorado tired but glad to have the day done. Our dinner that night (Appleby's) was a bit of a comedown! The next day, the drive home to Meeteetse, and the Amazing Journey was over.

For me, this trip was a 35-year old dream come true. When I left Scotland in 1975, I knew I had missed a lot of the country, and I've always wanted to go back. And it was just a remarkable trip. We commented several times that there was not a single place that we went that we felt like we could have skipped. Everywhere we went had new and amazing wonders, and we enjoyed them all. Of course, we would have liked more time at each place, but we are so happy to have been able to go. People ask me my favorite part of the trip, and that is easy: It was getting to spend two weeks with Karen. My favorite places, well, I think you can see if you made it through all five parts of my travelogue that would be hard to say. But I really like the Islands, and I was absolutely taken by Ullapool. And the food, oh my, the food. It really was more than I even hoped it could be.

All of my pictures from this last segment of the trip can be seen by clicking here. And, if you want to see even more pictures, with a few videos thrown in for good measure, Karen took a whole bunch of great pictures, and you can see all of them by clicking here.

Once again, I want to tell you that I appreciate you sticking with me on this long narrative journey. I hope you enjoyed the reading and viewing as much as I enjoyed the telling, and I really do also appreciate the comments.

Weekend music club

2010-10-22T15:51:00.003-06:00

Back in the May, I told you about a video for a song from a forthcoming cd by the Black Keys called 'Tighten Up.' The video featured a dancing dinosaur and a great song, and I loved it. The cd, called Brothers, is one of my favorites this year, and this weeks feature music. The Black Keys are a guitar/drums duo consisting of Dan Auerbach on guitar and vocals, and Patrick Carney on drums. The pair share songwriting credits on most of their originals, and do play some occasional covers. They've been playing together since 2001, both coming from Akron, Ohio, and have released several cd's. I first got wind of them through XM with the release of Attack and Release in 2008. Their sound is blues based rock music with some modern twists, and I really like the sound and their music.

Brothers, in the version I got, has 16 tracks, maybe a couple too many to keep my interest to the end. But it is loaded with a whole bunch of good songs. I read in an interview that Auerbach was coming off a romantic breakup when they wrote and recorded a lot of the songs here, and, well, that chick is probably not too happy with the results, especially a song like Next Girl ("my next girl will be nothing like my ex-girl..."). You can check out a live version of that song here. Ten Cent Pistol, Sinister Kid, and I'm Not the One are some of my other favorites. If you like basic, blues based, guitar driven rock music, I suggest you check out the Black Keys.

Now, I read also in an interview that the boys were not too happy with their label for putting out the dancing dino video of the song Tighten Up, and, it being one of the first singles from the cd, they made their own video, which is, in many ways, even more awesome, and much funnier, than the dino version. I include that video here, and hope you enjoy it, and hope you like the Keys!

The Amazing Journey Won't Stop!

2010-10-19T18:31:00.001-06:00

One of the really pleasant surprises on our trip was the abundance of really nice beaches. And in the guidebooks we had, the Isles of Lewis and Harris were noted for their beaches. For our second day on the islands, we headed first for the beach at Luskentyre, on South Harris. Now first I should tell you that it is a bit deceptive of the Scots to have you think there are two different islands, Lewis and Harris. And I know it goes back in history about the names, but really, you don't even drive over a bridge or anything when you go from one to the other. There is just a sign in the middle of a field telling you that you are now on Harris. There is a causeway from North Harris to South Harris, so at least you feel like you have gone to another island. But I quibble.

The beach at Luskentyre is really beautiful, and we had a wonderful walk there. Here is a look down one part of the beach.

One of the things I really like about beaches are the sand patterns, especially what is left by the out-going tide. Many of the Scottish beaches are long and flat, so there are some pretty cool patterns left in the sand by the receding water. This picture is a close-up of one of my favorites. I think it looks like 'sand trees.'

Walking the beach, we found lots of cool shells, and even a few starfish. The first one we found, I was pretty sure it was dead, and somehow going to go back to Wyoming with us. Here it is.

Well, before you could say, "Is anyone here a marine biologist?", it started moving its teeny little feelers on the bottom of the star points, and we realized it was still alive, so we rushed it back to the water's edge, with an apology and good thoughts for its survival.

The scenery on the islands was awe inspiring, and it was a wonderful drive to our next spot, Hushinish Point. This might be a good time for me to re-visit the whole driving thing. By this point, I was pretty comfortable driving on the left hand side, although it did still occasionally startle me on a less traveled road to see someone coming at us on 'our' side of the road, before I quickly remembered it was their side, after all. And we did both head for the wrong door several times. (Karen had no interest in mirror image driving, so I did all the driving...) What I found particularly challenging were the many one lane roads we encountered. I would say that more than half of the roads on the Islands were one lane, with pullouts labeled 'Passing Place' every one or two hundred yards. You pretty much drove down the road and if another vehicle was coming, the first one to the passing place pulled in and let the other go. That can lead to some fairly exciting exchanges, especially when one driver (me) is a tourist and the other is a local with great familiarity of the roads and an urgency to move along. Many of these roads were fairly flat and straight, so you had plenty of time to react. But the road to Hushinish. Oh, the road to Hushinish. It was hilly, curvy, one lane for something like 12 or 14 miles. And, to increase the degree of difficulty, there were sheep everywhere, including on the road. I did not get to enjoy the views on that part of the drive but Karen tells me it was typically beautiful! So I was doubly happy to get there, because Hushinish, very, very remote, is awesome, with spectacular views, a lovely little beach and great cliffs. Here is the beach. Those few buildings are the 'town.'

While we were out walking around we got treated to a sighting of a couple of basking sharks, the second largest shark in the world. They are so called because they feed at the surface, with fins exposed, and their slow movement makes them look like they are basking in the sun and warm water. Here are their fins...That is actually two different sharks.

The beauty of this place was indescribable. To give you an idea of the scope of the landscape, here is a picture of Karen on the hill above the cliff by where we saw the sharks. That little white spot in the center right is her!

We finished out our day with dinner at the Crown Hotel in Stornaway, just another incredibly fresh seafood meal, washed down with incredibly wonderful Scottish Ale! After dinner, a pleasant drive back to Galson Farms for a nice night's sleep...

On the 10th of September, we were up early, and after another great breakfast, we left Galson Farms and drove the length of Lewis and Harris to catch the Ferry from Leverburgh to Berneray, to explore the Islands of North and South Uist and Benbecula, which sits between the two Uists. It was wet, cold and windy on the drive. Leverburgh is not even a real city, I don't think, because the only tea we could find was from a lunch wagon parked at the ferry depot! Here is a shot looking back at Leverburgh.

When we got to North Uist, the weather had cleared considerably and we hit TI in Lochmaddy for accommodation help and some tips on places to see. And, as always, they were a great help. First up was a 5000 year old burial mound at Bharpa Langass. It was pretty cool, set up on a hill. One thing we noticed immediately about these islands is that they are much flatter than Lewis and Harris, which had their share of fairly good sized mountains. Not so on Uist. It was mainly flat, with lots (LOTS!) of little ponds everywhere. The islands are pretty small anyway, but even when you can't see the ocean you can still see some sort of water. With the rocky terrain and little lakes everywhere, it was kind of like a sea level version of the Beartooth Mountains near Red Lodge. Very beautiful. Here is a picture of the burial mound. The dark spot in the center is the entrance. Oh, yeah, I crawled in and took a couple of pictures!

Next we went for a little drive, stopping to do some shopping, enjoying the sights and seeing a bit of wildlife. We had been told a couple of different spots to go see stuff, and so we did. First we saw a couple of mute swans, cousin to the trumpeter swan that we occasionally get to see here in Wyoming. Here they are.

Right near the mute swans was a farm with some sheep that had some serious curl to their horns, as you can see here.

Just up the road, our second sighting of deer in Scotland, the first being early in our trip near Dunkeld. These two were having a bite near the road and didn't seem to mind to much having their pictures taken.

At the Tourist Info office we had been told that on one road there were some wild ponies, who, unlike the wild horses in Wyoming, are not at all shy. Well, it wasn't too hard to find them, and no, they are not shy!

That night we stayed in a splendid little town called Caranish and had dinner at a place called the Temple View Hotel, where we dined on the sunporch, watching the sunset and enjoying another amazing meal, scallops for Karen and roast lamb for me. If you look at the menu, you see a dessert called Coupe Eaval. We saw the waiter carry this to another diner, and for the first time on the whole trip, we could not resist dessert! And it was yummy!

The next day, we walked from our b & b to the ruins of the Trinity Temple, once a medieval college and monastery built in the 13th century. Here are Karen and me at the temple, and the site itself.

Our ferry ride that day wasn't until mid-afternoon, so we went on one of my favorite walks of the whole trip, at the Balranald Nature Preserve. It was so beautiful, with beaches, rocky shores and great views of some of the real out-lying islands. Here are several shots from Balranald.

After a relaxing beer at the Lochmaddy Hotel, we hopped the ferry for Uig, on the Isle of Skye. I'll pick up the narrative there in my next post, and get us home!

Thanks again for visiting the site. I hope you enjoy the story and pictures. All of my pictures from this portion of the trip can be seen by clicking here.

Garybrew Goes Public--Public Seems Happy

2010-10-17T06:58:00.001-06:00

Back in the beginning of the summer, The Terrace Restaurant in Cody announced that they were going to host the Wild West Brewfest, a homebrew competition and spotlight for regional microbrews. I decided to enter, and made up a couple of beers to take. The hard part, of course, was not drinking the beer before the competition. I set aside 40 bottles each of an ESB and a Scottish Ale.They were saying to expect 300 people, and I am thinking there were at least that many.

Here is Team Garybrew ready to serve up some beer!

First up was a judging by three professional brewers from the Wind River Brewery and Red Lodge Ales. Then the public came, and drank, and drank some more, and they voted for a 'people's choice'. Also present were beers from Carter Brewery in Billings, Montana Brewing Company in Billings, Sam Adams, the two mentioned above, and a couple of others that I forget. All of these were apparently eligible for the people's choice. The Garybrew Scottish Ale was quite popular--you might even say that there was a 'buzz' about it, as people really seemed to like it. And, I will say that it is a recipe that has been made quite a few times, always to grateful palates at our house! And, it won! Both categories! Judge's choice and people's choice! I won a hundred bucks! This might be the point where I should mention that only one other homebrewer bothered to show up with beer, so the competition was not all that heated--I was guaranteed a top two finish from the start...

But it was great to have my beer so well received, and I really want to thank Karen, Jenny and Zack (the birthday boy) for helping with the pouring and serving, and especially to Karen for being my taster over the years.

Weekend music club

2010-10-15T14:22:00.003-06:00

I'm going to try something new: every week, sometime on the weekend, I will try to give you a record review. Now some of these will be new releases, and some will be a bit, um, older, depending on how I feel, and what I've been listening to, and if I actually have any new music to share. And, the term 'new' may be a bit misleading because it will probably take me a month or two to digest and then share my thoughts on new music.

First up is the highly anticipated release The Suburbs, by one of the Warner family's favorite artists, the Arcade Fire. The Arcade Fire released an EP in 2003, and since then have put out three full lengths, Funeral (2004), Neon Bible (2007) and now The Suburbs. I first caught up with them on the release of Funeral, and have been taken with them ever since. They are a big band, with seven permanent members and even more on tour, and they play all kinds of instruments. The leader of the outfit is Win Butler, but it seems that they have a collective spirit that shines through in their music. In concert broadcasts I've seen (haven't seen them live--yet!) the energy level is over the top, with players changing instruments as needed, running around banging on things as needed and just generally playing to the crowd in a great big happy way.

The Suburbs is not really a concept album but it does maintain a theme of growing up in, living in, and looking back at everyday life in the everyday world of the 'burbs. The band has never been shy about making Big Statement Songs, and they do it here, too. But they never seem to get bogged down in that, and the music flows freely and smoothly from one track to the next. When I first listened, I thought that 16 songs was maybe a little too long. One of my pet peeves with artists these days is that they seem to think that because they can put out a cd that is 70 minutes long, then they should do that, and most of them shouldn't. The old lp, at 45 minutes, max, is still the model that I like best. I thought maybe a couple of tracks could have been sliced off, and it would have been better. But now that I have listened to it, a lot, I don't see where it could be cut, and I like its length. For me, standout tracks are "Rococo", "We Used to Wait", "Sprawl II", the title track. Well, it's hard for me to stop at just a few. This album is very good, start to finish, and I hope that if you haven't had a chance to check it out, you will soon.