Not much going on this weekend. I'm in desperate need of some rest before next weeks trip.
The four of us and Chance are going to spend 2 nights in Corpus Christi, 2 nights in Del Rio and 1 night in... Somewhere (we haven't decided yet). Then it's back home and at least a few Express games.
I'll update from the road next week. Laters...
I'm sitting here at our hotel in Amarillo. Tab and I are here to research a few things for her book. Batman Begins is on TV, Tab is asleep and I'm typing this...
This is our 2nd night in Amarillo. We stayed in Lubbock on Thursday night and will be staying in Abilene on Sunday night. Lubbock and Amarillo have been fun as well as educational. The highlight for me was visiting Alibates Flint Quarries National Monument up in Fritch. Our guide was Ranger Dean Watkins, a very knowledgable and friendly Park Ranger. He took us on a two hour hike up to the quarries and back down.
Our trip has taken us to quite a few county courthouses, the various museums of Texas Tech, Breedlove Foods, Prairie Dog Town, Alibates, Lake Meridith National Recreation Area, various county museums, the Bug Ranch, the Cadillac Ranch and parts of Historic Route 66. We'll be visiting the Amarillo Zoo and Arts Museum tomorrow before we head to Abilene. We've got a few places to visit in Abilene as well as have lunch with my old friend Grant (who I haven't seen in probably 15 or more years). I'll let yall know how Abilene goes soon.
I guess I need to post the pictures of California too... Maybe next week.
Laters...
The only decent restaurant in the city of Barstow. Awesome Mexican food. The waitstaff, bartenders, cooks and customers are all Mexican... It has to be good.
What's better than great Mexican food? How about great Mexican food with a live Mariachi band every Friday night? HOLEE CRAP! These hombres were incredible. I sat there for over 2 hours listening to them. Really talented guys. I was so impressed I bought them all cervezas after their second set. They were very appreciative.
If you ever come through Barstow on a Friday night you owe it to yourself to stop in for a while, have some supper, a cold beer and enjoy the music.
I recommend the Carne Asada and a Dos XX's.
Well, didn't make it to the Astros/Angels game tonight. We worked 16 hours today trying to get the systems up with the 3rd ACR. We're almost there. Just a few more squadrons to get up and running. We'll see how it goes tomorrow.
By the way, these are the guys I'm going to Iraq with. After spending some time with them I feel much better about going. They're a good group and I already know a few of them (they came through my last class at Fort Hood).
It's amazing how fast the temperature goes from a nice cool morning to stupid-hot. And I do mean stupid-hot. It's been 105 or hotter everyday. "But, it's a dry heat..."
Laters...
Wow, talk about your complete opposites. Denali last month- Mostly green, lots of trees and mountains, lots of critters, and miserably cold. Mojave today- Mostly brown/tan, few trees but lots of mountains, a handful of critters and miserably hot.
I was on the road/on the Preserve for the better part of 8 hours today. The Preserve is around 1.6 million acres and I think I covered quite a large chunk of it, both on the road and off the road. And speaking of off road, don't come here without a 4x4 truck/SUV/Jeep of some sort. You will be limited to the hardtop if you do and you won't get to experience this place to it's fullest.
For those of you who collect NPS cancellation stamps you have the chance to get 3 here. One at the Barstow Visitor Center, one at the Kelso Depot and one at Hole-in-the-Wall Visitor Center. I got all 3... ;P
Saw the following critters: A Collared Lizard, Fringe-Toed Lizard, Jackrabbit, Desert Cottontail and a lizard I didn't get to identify because it was moving at the speed of sound across the sand dunes. I saw a large variety of tracks and scat as well
Laters...
Drove to San Diego today (or to be technically correct, La Jolla) to see Erin and Enrique. Cristian should be arriving sometime next week. Which is good because I think Erin is going to go mental if she doesn't get out of that hospital bed soon. We include the 3 of them in our prayers every night and it would be great if you would too.
San Diego. I thought I was going to have to put a jacket on when I got out of the parking garage. It was 77 degrees. Now that doesn't sound chilly. In fact I love a good 77 degree day, BUT... When you've spent the last 2 in 109 degrees and then you're hit with a sudden 77, it'll put a chill down your spine.
I-15 sucks! No other way to put it. ESPECIALLY in San Bernadino and then again once you hit San Diego. Enrique assured me it wouldn't be so bad going back... I'm gonna punch him next time I see him. It was worse going back. A 2 hour drive turned into 3 and 1/2 hours. Got back to the hotel at 2200hrs, wore out and in need of a cold beer. Gonna watch a movie then go to bed. Laters...
Just got in a few hours ago after a "long" flight from Killeen. Mo and I landed in Las Vegas and then drove out here to Barstow. What should have been a 2 hour drive ended up being a 2 hr 45 min drive due to a wreck on I-15.
Did I mention that it's 109 degrees?
Last month I'm at the Arctic Circle and it's -11 degrees... Amazing what a month and a few thousand miles can bring you.
Tomorrow we check in at Fort Irwin and see what our schedule is. I'm crossing my fingers for the weekend off but, I don't see it happening. Depending on what happens next week I may drive to Anaheim, the Astros are in town to play the Angels... Laters.
We were in Austin on a fact-finding/picture-taking trip and we ended up at the Driskill Hotel. We got in and CW said that he saw Vizzini from The Princess Bride. CW and Tab walked back outside and sure enough, it was him. We spoke with him for a bit and then I took a picture of the 4 of them. He's a really nice guy, nothing like Vizzini or the Grand Nagus Zek (Star Trek: Deep Space Nine).
Needless to say, Mike and CW were a little starstruck/freaked out. Laters...
I'm sitting at the Glacier Brewhouse in Anchorage. Thank God for free wireless connections. I caught an early flight out of Fairbanks in hopes that I would get an early flight back to Texas. Ain't happenin'. The only flight from Anchorage to Dallas on American Airlines leaves at 10:05pm. So... Here I am. At the best dang brewpub I've ever been to in all my travels. They have the best IPA, bar none.
I'm talking with the bartender and I ask him how long he's been here. He says 4 years. I then ask about one of the bartenders I met last year and he says, "Oh, Monique." Ten minutes later in walks Monique. When she sees me she does a double take and says, "I know you." Turns out that Gayla will be in as well in a few hours, so we'll have a little reunion of sorts (I was in here everyday for 3 weeks in February of 2006).
Now, as far as golf is concerned... Sunday we played at the Northernmost golf course in the United States. That's all fine and good except that it's the worst course I've ever played. The course is on Tundra. It's like walking on a giant sponge... THE ENTIRE COURSE. It's more tiring than walking on wet sand. That and the fact that it rained the day before didn't help. That and the fact that they had just opened the day before (after a Winter break) didn't help. That and the fact that the course is pretty much covered in Moose turds, fox turds, bird turds and some turds I couldn't readily identify, didn't help. We did manage to piss off a group of Japanese tourists and almost cause an international incident (when I hit into them on the green with my 5 wood from about 215 yards). They were playing stupid-slow and wasting time on the green. I didn't really think I'd reach them but I knew that if I really got a hold of it... I would. And I did. They yelled, screamed and cursed at us and when we caught up to them on the next hole, I guess they got a little scared. They pretty much clammed up and refused to look at us other than to bow in our direction. Good thing too, I was in the mood for Sushi... ;)
Anyway, here I am in Anchorage... Waiting for my flight tonight. I'd rather already be home but if I have to be stuck in Alaska, I can't think of a better place than the Glacier Brehouse.
It was very cold this morning. Two minutes after I walked out of my hotel it began to rain. It rained for the next hour and a 1/2 as we made our way back to Denali. It stopped raining around Healy and cleared up somewhat.
By mile 5 inside the park it was snowing. Not too bad but just enough so that we couldn't see very far across the plains. We'd seen a few Ptarmigans and an Arctic Hare but at this point we weren't holding out much hope of Bears or Wolves. We reached the 30 mile turnaround point and got out to stretch our legs as well as eat lunch. Bill and I walked out onto the big overhanging deck to check out the scenery (or what little we could see due to the snow).
And there she was... A big mama Grizzly with her cub across the river. I hollered at Bill and we both stood there trying to see them through the snow which was becoming worse by the minute. I grabbed my camera (which didn't help a bit) and took a few pictures (mama looks like a little blonde dot and the cub looks like an even smaller black dot, time to buy a new camera). I ran back and got Brian and he joined us on the deck. By this time we had yelled at everyone who was there that there was a bear on the other side of the river. Luckily, one of the guys had the biggest pair of binoculars I've ever seen and let us borrow them. Mama was extremely large and very blonde. The cub looked to be about as big as a certain 14 year old son of mine and was a very dark brown. It was so cold that Brian and I had to return to the car and get our heavier coats on before we could resume watching the pair. This pretty much made the trip for us.
The drive back to the main gate was uneventful except that the snow was REALLY coming down now and the bottom fell out of the temperature. We exited the park and proceeded back to Fairbanks.
Stopping along the Nenana River, Brian and I got out to take a few pics on the foot bridge across Nenana Canyon. I had taken a few shots when something caught my eye near the end of the bridge and up close to the highway. It was a large canine which I originally mislabeled as, "BRIAN!!! WOLF!!!". It ran down into a little gully with something in it's mouth. Brian and I moved down the bridge towards it to try and get some pictures. Once we got close enough we realized it was a fox (albeit a rather large fox) and it was munching on an Arctic Hare. As we got closer I got one last picture, he noticed us, tore the hare in half and proceeded to vacate the area. Another very cool experience.
The drive back to Fairbanks was a mix of snow and rain. We did see two Moose in a field off the side of the highway and stopped and took some photos quickly but by then we were all a little tired and it was friggin' cold outside so, off we went.
Stopped by The Pump House for supper and then I dropped the two of them off and headed back to the hotel.
Fun day.
I miss my wife and kids.
It would have been more fun had they been here. Laters...
Visited with the Aviation Brigade today to give them an Executive Overview of our software. Bill and I will be teaching 8 of their soldiers on Monday and Tuesday of next week before we pack up to fly home.
Tonight we went back the The Pump House. Had a few beers and ate some Halibut. We played shuffleboard again and Bill and Brian together were able to defeat me 2 games out of 4. Then Bill beat me twice... I'm losing my edge.
Tomorrow we are going back to Denali.
More on that tomorrow. Laters...
You heard me... The Freakin' Arctic Circle!!! Brian, J and I left Fairbanks around 1430hrs. The drive was right around 200 miles and it took us 4 hours to get there along the Dalton Highway. Now, highway. A reletive term here in sunny Alaska. The majority of the 414 mile road is a combination of dirt, rock, mud and ice. Parts... parts of it are somewhat paved.
At mile 55 we crossed the Yukon River, very cool. It's a really big river and the majority of it is still frozen over. At this point we are 120 miles in either direction from a gas station (until next week when the one at the end of the bridge opens) which is important as you will soon find out.
At mile 115 we reached the Arctic Circle. We got out and took a few pictures and realized that there was no sound out there except for our cameras clicking. Quiet. Absolutely quiet. Nothing. Now you're probably wondering, "Stu, why the heck would you go to the Arctic Circle?" Simple... Have YOU ever been there? That's why.
We told ourselves before we left that as soon as the gas tank hit 1/2 we would turn around, even if we didn't make it to the circle. Wouldn't you know, we hit 1/2 at the circle. We figured, "No worries." So, we made our exit and headed back to Fairbanks. On the way back we stopped at Finger Mountain. We couldn't stay long because the temperature was hovering around 0 or below with the enormous wind chill. Back into the truck we hopped and proceded South.
At mile 25 the gas light came on.
At mile 12 the truck came to a stop.
We called our buddy Adam and asked for a little assistance. 35 minutes went by. Brian calls Adam and we start talking about where we are and where he is. We're roughly 12 miles outside of Fox (did I mention that we had just come into cellular range about 100 yards before the truck stopped?). We get the directions communicated and we wait. Another 20 minutes. Brian calls Adam and Adam has found a man lying on the side of the road and has stopped to render aid (turns out he's ok, just resting or something). Another 20-30 minutes passes and a truck pulls over to ask us if we're ok. Praise be to God, he's got a 2 gallon gas can that's about 3/4 full.
3 miles up the road/mountain we find a dang gas station!!
We finally meet up with Adam just outside of Fox. I owe him dinner tomorrow night...
The trip was completely worth it though. We also saw the following critters: Moose, Caribou, a Peregrine Falcon, a Vole, a Lynx and some really ginormous Ravens.
Did I mention that I've been to the Arctic Circle?!?
Yesterday we went to Denali National Park. I would have blogged this last night but Tripod was having issues and I was too tired after 6 hours in Denali (plus a 4 hour drive up and back).
Denali... Wow. Those of you who have never been, you owe it to yourself to see this place. Just wait until June. It'll be a little more green. Aside from that it was one of the most impressive places I've been to around this little chunk of rock we call Earth.
We saw Moose, Caribou, Dall's Sheep, Marmot, Ptarmigan, Snowshoe Hare, Red Squirrel, Mallard, Merganser, Robin, Winter Wren, etc.......
The Moose were really cool. We got within 20-30 feet of two bulls. J and I were standing on a low bridge taking pictures and they just walked out of the brush and into the creek. They walked towards the bridge and started posing for us. I'll post pictures at some point.
Today we are contemplating driving up to the Arctic Circle. I'll let yall know how that goes. Laters.
Well, after thinking about this off and on for a while I've decided to create a blog. I spend a lot of time sending and receiving status reports to friends and family and I think this is just an easier way to do it (not that I don't like e-mailing yall). So, here it goes.
Friday, 04 May 07 (although technically Saturday, 05 May 07:
Class was put on hold in the afternoon due to poor attendance. Not that Bill and I minded... We went to the midnight showing of Spiderman 3 (2 was better) and we were a little bushed. It's really hard to adjust to the days/nights up here. It doesn't get dark until 2330hrs and then gets light again at 0330hrs (I'm in Fairbanks, AK in case you didn't know). Driving down the street and thinking it's 1800hrs and pulling over to go to a store only to find it closed because it's 2230hrs is a bit disorienting.
Tomorrow Brian, Bill, J and I are going to Denali National Park. Then I'm going to try and convince them to take a trip to the Arctic Circle next weekend... We'll see how that goes.
I'm not going to promise you that I'll update this everyday but, I'll try. Laters...
