Colorado City Lake State Park

I'm on call this weekend, so I can't go anywhere too far away.  But it's Labor Day weekend, so yesterday I decided to get out of town.  I went east on I-20 about an hour and turned south to Colorado City Lake State Park.  The area is home to several moderate-sized man-made reservoirs.  Colorado City Lake was built by a power company to provide water to their coal-fired power station, which looms over the south end of the lake, just across from the state park.  In the park, much of the shoreline is made up of outcropping rock (!).  Sabkha and I poked along the rock.  It's a cross-bedded sandstone but also appears to be heavily bioturbated and pelletized.  Much of the rock has a nodular, carbonate-looking form.  I was surprised by the number of spiderwebs in and among the rocks.  Thinking back, Arizona really was remarkably spider-free in most places.  Texas has spiders everywhere -- even in arid regions.



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Colorado City Lake shoreline in the state park.  Sandstone.

Desert vegetation.

Sabkha taking a swim.

This picture doesn't make the power station look very looming!

Close-up of cross-bedding sandstone outcropping along the shore.

Overall, this park was really beautiful.  The more we poked around, the more interesting places we found.  The water level was pretty low -- I think around five feet below normal.  This allowed us to walk out onto the peninsula that separates the campground area from the boat launch area.

Unflooded peninsula -- but still gooshy!

Former animal life.  Future rock.

Sabkha enjoyed running around on the muddy/rocky beach.  She was really enjoying herself.

Some lovely grass growing in patches.  Seemed to show timing of the water level drop.

The sun was getting a little low in the sky when we started on our last mini-adventure in the park by walking the interpretive trail.  There were number signs but no pamphlet or other information, so we had to focus on the scenery and the pleasantness of the evening.  On the trail, did see some wildlife.  A little creepy but not as bad as the really evil-looking centipede I saw at Inks Lake State Park last year.  These critters are why you sleep in a tent in Texas.

millipede

The interpretive trail was lined with groves of prickly pear with a good crop of red fruits.

Fishing structure.

The interpretive trail dumped us out into a campground and we walked along the campground road back toward the car.  Suddenly a pit bull ran at us from a campsite, with the owner hollering after it.  Sabkha and the pit bull sniffed each other, but I could tell right away it was going to be a dogfight.  Sure enough, the other dog attacked Sab.  I pulled Sab back repeatedly with her leash, which was probably a mistake as it encouraged the other dog and allowed it to land its bites.  Eventually the owner, who was afraid to grab his own dog (which raises the question of why you have the dog at all) managed to hold his dog back.  Sabkha got a gash near her eye and was also bleeding from her lip.  Neither injury looked too serious, but it's tough to tell due to her black fur.  I was pretty mad.  I really need to carry my Halt anti-dog pepper spray.

After surviving the dog attack, a little shaken, we drove back to Midland in the dusk.  There is a little state park in Big Spring that I'd planned to stop at but time didn't allow.  Another time.  Big Spring is situated on a substantial bluff (for west Texas).  A few miles west, passing Outback Adventure Track east of Stanton, we saw plenty of riders out and about with their headlights shining in the gloom.

Sacramento Mountains

Moved to Midland in part to be closer to mountains.  In part to have better job.  Went to mountains this weekend for first time since moving to Midland.  Left Friday night, drove about 2.5 hours to Brantley Lake SP in New Mexico, just north of Carlsbad.  It's neat to see the Pecos River through Carlsbad, which is surrounded by such dry country.  I've been in Carlsbad a few times before, first in 2008 with a work field trip.  I remembered some landmarks from that trip and was able to go right to the Chevron and the Wells Fargo across the street to get some cash.  The SP was fine.  Got up early on Saturday and headed west again and finally up the mountain, up the gentle eastern slopes of the Sacramento Mountains.  Cloudcroft, NM was my destination.  The Subaru wasn't too happy.  I didn't have much gear on board -- just the normal camping kit.  But I was pulling my trailer with my Honda 230 dirt bike.  It was a struggle to get up the hills at normal speed, and my gas mileage was atrocious -- around 19 mpg, including much flatland driving.  And I was driving at or below the speed limit, mostly around 60 mph.  When the Sub was new a few times I got around 30 mpg on longer highway trips.  In more recent times I average in the low 20s.  The Sub flipped to 90,000 miles on this trip.

At the parking lot: so far, so good. Sun shining.

Saturday didn't feel like a good day.  It was such a struggle to get up to Cloudcroft.  CC is a neat town.  It's a resort town, with rows of cottages on wooded hillsides.  It's a bit run-down in the way that towns get to be when they're covered in snow for half of the year.  We poked around in town then headed south toward Sunspot.  I found the pull off I wanted and we unloaded and got the bike off and going.  Then we set off down some rocky trails.  The riding was so-so.  I saw a proper trail heading down the mountainside so I veered off down that.  Immediately, I realized I was getting into more than I could chew.  The trail dove down the hillside and I thought "can I get down that?"  immediately followed by the thought "can I get back up that?". 

Stranded

So I stopped, and tried to turn the bike around. The hillside was slick and wet with recent rains.  For every few inches I gained, grunting and pushing with all my strength, the bike slid down or sideways.  I was losing this battle as the bike inched toward a much steeper part of the hill with no trees to block a potential downward slide hundreds of feet.  The bike would then be unrecoverable.

I went back to the car and got the ratchet straps I use to tied down the bike on the trailer.  With these wrapped around a tree, I thought I could inch the bike up the hill.  I got it stabilized, and even moved it uphill a few inches.  But then I couldn't release the straps to start over -- the bike would slide back down.  I was at a loss.  I had nearly exhausted myself.  I couldn't push or pull any harder.  I needed help.

Stabilized.  Now what?

Back down to the parking lot I went again, thinking about driving up the dirt road to near the bike and trying to pull it up with the Subaru.  This would have seriously damaged the bike, but it was better than a total loss.  I was mulling this over when I saw two motorcyclists in the parking lot.  They saw me, walking back with a helmet but no bike or ATV.  I told them I was stuck and they came and helped me.  He was a big guy, and she helped too and it was still quite a task to get the bike up.  After thanking them I rode a few more trails but I realized that this isn't a place to be riding alone.  Luckily I was stuck just a few hundred feet from the trailhead and I wasn't injured.  On my short ride after getting unstuck I saw many other places I could've been stuck and it would've been hopeless.  So I decided, no more riding this stuff alone.

Right about this time a downpour started, and it continued to rain more or less the next 12 hours.  Sab and I visited Sunspot, NM and did another very short ride in a meadow up into the forest.  We went back into CC for dinner and eventually found a camp spot, which involved lots of driving around in the rainy dark. 

Sun telescope near Sunspot, NM.  Note approaching clouds.

Brewing storm.

Moto-hiking in a forest meadow.

Sunday morning we got up early (for my daily call from the field) and went into CC.  Got bfast and coffee at the merchantile on the highway -- the best place in town.  People are happy and friendly.  I guess they are glad to be in CC.  Then we went and hiked Osha trail.  I didn't have a cable to lock down the Honda, but I rigged up a couple of padlocks thru the back disc, after much tinkering.  After Osha I didn't want to deal with relocking the bike (couldn't drive with that setup), so we did one more loop through CC and took off.  It's about a 4.5 hour drive back home to Midland, TX.

Best I could do with what I had.

Osha trail (for the Osha plant).

Osha trail II.

Ready to depart for home.

Summary:

• ride with someone else, or even a couple of people
• find a place to camp early, and camp with other people
• have more than just 5 rounds for your handgun
• always have a plan, and a backup plan
• bring lots of food
• bring beer
• bring a lock for your  bike
• get a new car/SUV with more power
• check your (car) tires for wear

Umm, what are those strings coming out of my tire??

West Texas Wildlife Digest #1

In the backyard of the house I'm renting in Midland, TX, there are at least two turtles.  They are each about 5" in shell diameter.  They have different markings.  The one pictured here is more gregarious and active.  He's often up on the concrete patio.  If you pick him up, he jumps forward.  He snaps his jaws at Sabkha when she comes sniffing.

Two weekends ago, I went riding over at the Outback Adventure track, east of Stanton, TX and right along I-20 on the north side.  This is about 40 minutes east of my house in Midland.  Outback owns one square mile which covers sandy desert and about half of a semi-dry lakebed.  After riding around on my Honda in the hot sun for two hours, I was packing it up and heard some rustling in the brush.  The source of the sound was a Horned Lizard.  He didn't shoot blood from his eyes.

 Entrance to Outback Adventure Track.

Castle Gap Park (not accessible)

Castle Gap park is near Crane, TX, about an hour south of Midland, TX.  Google shows the park.  It's situated at a little pass in a mesa topped by windmills.  The area around Midland is quite flat, with some slight rolling, but no mesas.  The mesa near Castle Gap is the first mesa-like edifice south of Midland.  Sabkha and I drove down there, and we found Castle Gap road, and we drove it to a gate that said private property.  We couldn't go any farther.  As far as I could tell, this is the only access to the "park".

I wasn't really that surprised.  I couldn't find anything online describing this "park" besides a few junk websites, and one from Sibley Nature Center talking about the cool fossils in Castle Gap -- and thanking the landowners for access.

Where does one go to tromp in the desert around Midland?  In Arizona and New Mexico, there's always BLM or National Forest land not far away.  I don't favor government ownership of land, but it sure affords a lot more recreational opportunities.  Is there an alliance of landowners than will let you have access?  Maybe a hunting lease is the solution?  Or buying a piece of land.  The area to the south of the Mesa, around McCamey, TX, seemed pretty cool and had nice views to the south, where it seems the elevation drops off, giving the impression that you're up on a big rise.  FM 2463, heading north along the east side of the mesa, also had a nice rural feel.  Once north of the mesa again on the way home, the desert quickly gets pretty boring in terms of meso-topography.

Midland, Part Two: House Hunting

Stopped in Midland on the way out to Colorado to look at some houses.  Spent about five hours with Realtor while Sabkha cooled her heels in the Odessa Studio6.  Then a monumental thunderstorm came in.  Here are some Midland pics:

The "Duck Pond" along "A" Street in central Midland.  From here to the west along Harvard and Princeton is the nicest area I saw in Midland.  Lots of redone houses, many with architectural flair

Duck pond.

Subaru parked outside house for lease for $2300/mo.  But it has great view of downtown over duck pond.

Typical nicer fixed-up house in Duck Pond area.

Another fixed-up house.

A great big tree.

Downtown Midland, lots of deserted buildings with "For Lease" signs on them.  Cool buildings!

I like it.

Future blogs on the various buildings downtown Midland.  Several have been recently destroyed.

How I Spent my Summer Vacation

Colorado, I love thee.  I just returned from a nine-day trip in the direction of Colorado and New Mexico.  I'm glad to be home, but it's strange to be indoors.  I came home a day early so I'd have some decompression time before returning to work tomorrow.  The next two weeks are going to be Crazy Time because I need to move to Midland, TX to start a new assignment on July 19th.  This involves the processes of selling my old house, cleaning it, repairing it, packing stuff that I don't want the movers to take, supervising the mover packing, holding a bye-bye BBQ at my house, picking a new house in Midland and getting the closing process started, finding a temp place to live in Midland, etc. etc.  Oh yeah -- and finishing up the old job, leaving everyone happy, and starting up a new job and making a bunch of new people happy.  Or at least finding them oil.  Or, barring that, at least drilling some wells faster, cheaper and safer.  But in the reverse order, of course!

Soon, I will post my fav Colorado pics, probably on Facebook because it's about 1000 times easier to post batches of pics on FB than here on Blogger.  Speaking of, my mom has started a blog (hi mom!) called "Plants Amaze Me".  She and her sister (aka Aunt Marie) spend 1-2 days a week traveling around West Michigan looking for parks, nature preserves and public lands of all sorts.  They often discover some interesting and truly off-the-beaten-path places.  In those places they search for unique forms of plant and animal life, and they usually find it.  Mom and Aunt Marie seem to like to traipse around in marshy, muddy, swampy areas.  So, if you like my blog (and who doesn't?), then check out Plants Amaze Me, which is linked to over there on the right.

It will give you something to do while you wait for those pics from CO and NM.  Meantime, here is my general itinerary from the trip:

Sat: drive to Midland, TX; look at houses for five hours w/ Realtor

Sun: drive to Nat Forest outside Las Vegas, NM; hike and camp

Mon: drive to Taos Ski Valley, NM; hike to Williams Lake; get altitude sickness; camp at BLM place on the Rio Grande; hike to Red River

Tues: drive to Monte Vista, CO ranger office; get tons of info and maps; drive to Creede, CO, decided to hike 14er next day; camp in remote campground; hike partway to Wheeler Geologic Area.

Wed: hike San Luis Peak, 14014'.  My (and Sabkha's) first 14er.  Got terrible altitude sickness and barely made it back to the car.  Toughest physical challenge of my life.  Eat pizza in Creede.  Camp.

Thurs: Oil change in Monte Vista.  Drive to Crestone, CO.  Eat.  Short hike with Sabkha in horrid mosquito conditions.

Fri: Great Sand Dunes Natl Park; dune climb; burned feet and paws; Zapata Falls (cool!); BLM marsh (closed), ogling Blanca Peak from afar; chasing T-storms; return to dunes after big storm... wet sand!, back to Crestone.

Sat: Bfast in Alamosa (one of only three restaurant meals entire trip = bringing well-stocked cooler is worth it), drive through lovely Spanish Peaks -- amazing radial dikes "Great Dikes", hiked OHV trail, depart for home; drive to Amarillo, TX; see amazing frontal system on the way.

Sun: drive home to Houston, back ~7 PM.

Magic Mystery Day

Today was a good day.  I slept in to a reasonable degree, but not enough to feel guilty: 8:15 am.  Then I went and met my friend at the dog park.  Sabkha got to play and frolic in the mud with her friend Mattie.  Mattie is tied with the other dog, Guiness, for being her Best Friend.  It's hot in Texas this time of year, but it was just cool enough to get the humans saying "it isn't too bad for this time of year".  Each time a cloud blocked the sun and a gust of breeze came through, it even felt good for a few moments.  We cling to our small pleasures here in the swamp in the summertime.  After hosing off Sabkha, we returned home and lounged a bit, awaiting the arrival of the Future Brother-in-Law (FBiL).  The FBiL was late and clearly groggy from sleeping in to an unreasonable degree.  We jumped in the car -- Subaru, it's too hot for the convertible -- and hit the local Starbucks for chemical fortification.  So armed, we headed for Macy's at the local mall.  I have a hard time shopping.  I definitely need moral support, or else I flame out in about 30 minutes.  Coffee helps, and so does summertime outside.  It makes the cool, dark interior of the mall that much more inviting, and I can tell myself that I don't really want to be outside anyway.  Macy's was a limited success, but prices were high.  We applied our Shopping Logic and realized we needed to strike out in the direction of the outlet mall off 290, northwest of town.  Said and done.  The outlet mall was flush with deals and shortly we both found ourselves with strings of bags as bracelets up our arms.  We just shopped, and enjoyed the pure pleasure of it -- and, dare I say, the sport of it.  Just after getting a second shot of cold creamy caffeine from the happy green sea-goddess, I got a call from the Fab Five, requesting an Obligatory Friendly Visit (OFV).  Apparently, I had forgetten to update my Outlook calendar and therefore became delinquent vis-à-vis my OFV schedule.  The FBiL got roped into this, and we headed for the Fab Five residence and had a nice visit with the trips.  Sabkha wasn't along, of course, so we dognapped GG (aka Guin-Guin, aka Guiness) for some doggie slumber party playtime with Sabkha back at the Sandfield ranch.  Back home, the FBiL and I decided to hit the local LA Fitness gym with some free passes we acquired online.  After nearly an hour on an elliptical and treadmill, I was about to barf, yet was strangely hungry, so we stepped next door to New York Pizza and had a delish slice.  After drinking six liters of water I began to feel better.  FBiL hit the road and I walked the hounds around the 1.7-mile loop in the gathering dusk.  Everyplace looks much better when you're about to leave it.  More packing, a quick trip to work, some blogging, and here I am.

Midland, Part One: Preliminaries

I'm moving to Midland, TX.  I applied for the transfer about three or four weeks ago.  It seemed unreal; it seemed like a long shot.  But suddenly it was real when my new supervisor called and offered me the job.  The wheels had been set in motion.  I couldn't safely say no, now.  I had thought it over when I applied and decided, yes, I will go if I'm offered.  So here I go!

The Company is moving me, so no trouble there.  They pay for closing costs for my house here and for a new on in Midland if I so choose.  They hand me some cash for inconveniences and I think they cover a month or so of housing, car and food expenses.  I'll have to drive my cars (2) out to Midland and pull my trailer with my various power toys, which they won't ship.  That's ok.

I start pretty soon, like in July.  I have a vacation scheduled for early July, and I'll probably pass through Midland on the way to northern New Mexico and southern Colorado.  The job is a good one.  It's worked from Midland because of company history issues.  The job itself is working assets in a northern area.  More details on that later.  It will involve a little bit of travel up north.  Also probably a few times to Houston.

I have mixed feelings about leaving Houston.  I don't love my house, but I love my neighborhood.  I love all the shops in Houston, and the highways and the business.  The humidity I've grown to tolerate, and the flowers and plants can't be beat.  Midland is in the middle of a flat, treeless, nearly featureless plain.  But the city has some surprises.  It has a downtown with skyscrapers, maybe in the 20-story range.  Around downtown are homes built beginning in the 1920s, then 30s, more in the 40s, lots in the 50s and so on.  There is a price inversion.  In Houston, you can get a nice new house in the suburbs in the mid to high $100ks.  If you want a 30s house in the Heights, you can now expect to pay well over $300k, probably more like $400k for redone places.  In Midland, you can get 40s and 50s houses in the high $100ks to $200k, and new homes begin around $300k.

Midland is near mountains.  I love mountains.  To the south (4.5 hours) is Big Bend National Park, and state park.  Three hours south are the Davis Mountains.  Three hours (and change) west are Carlsbad and the Guadalupe National Park.  Beyond that are the Lincoln National Forest (in New Mexico), a number of canyons and a wilderness area north of the Guadalupes.  Five hours west and you are atop the crest of the Sacramento Mountains, a range that tops out over 12,000' on Sierra Blanca Peak.  Here you will find quaint and cool vacation towns like Cloudcroft, NM.  To the north in the same range is Ruidoso, home to downhill skiing in winter and some fine hiking -- almost Arizona-class.  North of Midland is Lubbock and Amarillo.  Dallas-Fort Worth is 5-6 hours to the ENE.  The halfway point between Houston and Midland is Enchanted Rock State Park.  Houston to Midland is about 8.5 hours.  All the hill country of Texas is 4-5 hours east of Midland.  Farther afield, you have all of southern Arizona, with Tucson only 9 hours to the west.

Things to do in Midland?  Cycling seems popular, although roads are long, straight and windy.  There is a soaring club and a number of airfields, pointing to the popularity of aviation.  There are reservoirs to the east.  There are a handful of dirt bike areas nearby.  Everything else is a drive: hiking, skiing, mountain biking, canyoneering.

I got the job in Midland on Friday.  On Saturday I was freaking out, thinking of all the things I must do to move.  I went to Starbucks to clear the mind and, while sipping an iced mocha, made a prioritized list:

1. sell or donate unnecessary clothes, furniture and other items
2. pack books, papers, and extra things
3. tackle yard work projects (hire and/or DIY)
4. tackle house fix-up projects (hire and/or DIY)

First things first.  Took pictures of stuff and listed on Craigslist.  The company moves all my furniture, so no stress.  Still, nice to get rid of stuff I really don't need or want in Midland.  A change to clear out the life and the clutter and begin fresh.  Or fresher.

Second, packed boxes.  No idea I had 2,000 lbs worth of books.  But I do.  Tired of packing boxes.  Actually, much of my stuff is already in boxes or crates due to on-going organization efforts.  Papers from school, outdoor gear, files, camera stuff: all neatly packed in boxes.

What's next?  This week I guess I'll hear from the company HR about moving details.  They'll tell me what I need to pack up, when I'll move, and how much they'll give me for storage or an apartment at the other end.  Next weekend will be more packing and then preparing for my 10-day vacation coming up soon.  Then I'll come back and work another week or so before boxing up my office for the more to Midland.

The next few weeks are going to be a wild ride.  Here it goes!

Japanese Blues

Friday 3 July 2009

"Do you really want to travel?  Think twice.  More interesting things lie inside your mind.  What will you see?  It won't be as good as it looks in guidebooks.  Your main emotion is likely to be one of dissapointment.  It is difficult, hot, wet, dirty, and more expensive than you think.  If you want to see cities, travel is ok.  Cities are the only places you can easily get to.  If you want to get off the beaten track, stay in places where you can drive (i.e. your own country).  Since arriving in Japan I've wanted to go home.  Not homesickness, but a sense my time and money could be better spent.  All the sights I've seen so far are mediocre.  Nothing has been mind-expanding or inspiring.  Except maybe Nagasaki harbor.  I am very much looking forward to going home again.  How do people travel for months on end?  Years?  I don't know where I'm going now -- probably back toward Tokyo."

Hmm, I was clearly not having the greatest time on my second trip to Japan.  But looking back, I have many fond memories of that trip.  It was expensive, and I did cover a lot of the same ground I saw in 2005 in my previous trip.  Planning.  My planning was poor.  It was raining season, I was traveling alone, and I got a sour milk drink with my chocolate pastry.  I expected delicious fresh whole milk.

Gulf winds

Tonight I sat outside, facing east, and watched the clouds sailing by.  Clouds coming off the gulf.  The springtime on the Gulf brings south winds and south breezes, and these bring the humidity.  In the spring, the humidity is nice.  It only gets oppressive as the temperature climbs about 85F, then 90, topping out around 95F in high summer.  Lately, I have all the sliders open, wishing I had more screened windows, and wishing I had star jasmine growing in the yard.

"Now the clay of which you were shaped has dried and hardened, and naught in you will ever awaken the sleeping musician, the poet, the astronomer that possibly inhabited you in the beginning."

I've chosen for my red clay plot a delicate oolong.  It must be reserved for this one flavor.  The tea leaves come bunched up, little balls, and they open up into full leaves in the water.

Day off ramblings

I love Tuesdays off.  I took my 19/30 flex day today.  These days are normally consumed by vacations, because I try to stitch together holidays, vacation days and 19/30 days to maximize my trips per year.  Not doing so well this year on that.  Been taking half-days to go dirt biking.  It's worth it.  Only other trip this year will be driving to Colorado over the Independence Day holiday. 

Today I focused on rational hedonism.  I've lately realized I don't do much I enjoy.  I'm forever trying to get done the "things that need to get done" and finally, after 32 years, I realize that this list never ends.  It is an ever-flowing well; an endless spring.  Now, don't get the idea I'm giving up lists.  That would be crazy!  If I don't have three or four lists to update, cross off and throw away with a little squeak of glee, what would I do nights and weekends?  My new specialty is themed lists: home projects, shopping, places to consider visiting, things to look up online. 

Enough with lists, what do I really enjoy?  That needs to be mixed in, in a big helping.  If I'm to survive in Houston and stay sane, I realize, I need to change some things, and that's one of them.  What do I enjoy?  Last night, I made a list.  One: I enjoy driving my convertible. 

I strung together a list of "should-dos".  First I slept in.  Then I dropped off the cleaning and enjoyed the beautiful, dry, cool morning from the seat of the Mazda, which has 7200 miles, 95% with the top down.  Next was Pottery Barn to try out some leather chairs -- I decided I want a reading chair and lamp, to enjoy.  Nothing doing -- all the chairs are too long in the thigh, which means I sit in a slouched position.  Next Sears tool department -- a fun place to look at and touch shiny metal objects.  A shrine to male-ness, right at your local mall.  Maybe I should get a part-time job there, for the spiritual fuel it would provide, just smelling all those tools for a few hours a week.  I was looking for a better torque wrench but decided $80 was too much.  Next to Big Tex to pick up my real metal trailer license plate, then back down to Ikea, where I found nothing at all.  Their chairs are no good either.  Just north of Ikea in Houston is a neat, tidy little 1940s and 50s neighborhood.  This must have been a nice area then too, as these are big houses for that time period - 2500-sq-ft-ish.  I drove north up Antoine, amazed at how nice much of Houston is.  Big, gorgeous trees.  Lots of green everywhere.  Gnarly oaks.  The neighborhood then went downhill as I drove north -- it's amazing how one can pick up even slight changes in the "goodness" of the neighborhood, and how quickly they change laterally.  A few more cars parked outside, a little peeling paint. The $66k lot I went to check out was also in a 1940-50 neighborhood, but very simple small houses with carports.  Today, it has taken a dive.  Not the place for my new ideal house. 

Off to Java Coffee and Tea.  Through the villages, my favorite part of Houston.  Picked up a variety of odd teas -- none fruity -- and got a red-clay teapot, but not the one I thought I wanted.  Covered in Chinese characters, probably the Abbreviated Teachings of Mao, for all I know.  I'm like the Japanese Tourist with a T-shirt that says "Butt" in English.  A couple of tiny red clay cups with it.  These things bring me joy.  The ritual of making tea, and pouring it out, and feeling the grit of the sand and silty in the making of the clay cups.  Finally, the highlight of the day, I went to Happy Great Hand and Foot massage for -- you guessed it -- a "deep tissue" hand, foot and body massage.  I can't say I enjoyed it at the time, or that it felt good.  It was definitely deep tissue.  At times I was in severe pain.  I think I popped a lung.  But for an hour and a quarter of torture, I paid only $20.  Amazing!  E.R. Flesch, you need to try this place if you're in Houston.  If they can't break you, I don't know who will. 

After recovering from my "massage" with about twenty mini-clay-cups of whole-leaf oolong tea, to cap off the day, Sabkha and I went for an "adventure walk".  This is going for a walk someplace you haven't been before.  Today, it was really close to home.  We walked about 1/2 mile south to the Westside High School in Briar Forest, and walked the road around the school grounds.  Quite interesting.  Lots to see.  Stuff you don't see from the car, driving past 1,000 times.  Little wooded areas.  Puddles of water.  Cool trees.  On the way we smelled jasmine.  Some of the ritzy houses just south of me have jasmine climbing the fences.  In Tucson I had a huge spread of jasmine.  I need to plant some here.  The Eldridge corridor, where I live, is on the rise.  They recently finished a nice new LEED office tower near my house.  And a brand-new Hilton.  The landscaping is great.  The trees keep getting bigger every year.  It's good to be the cheap houses surrounded by much higher-end neighborhoods.

Here is a map of our adventure walking route.

White White Moutains

From a long time ago...

"A few weekends ago I went up to the White Mountains, AZ, east of Show Low and north of Alpine. This is really in central AZ, not northern AZ. Arizona has some high country in the White Mountains, then elevations taper off a bit toward Utah and Colorado. It's still high country up there -- Colorado Plateau -- but flat red rock and desert. The White Mountains are largely volcanic, made up of several large volcanoes, lava flows and cinder cone fields. Does any state have more cinder cones than Arizona? I doubt it. They're easy to find here: big fields north of the San Francisco Peaks and north of the White Mountains proper. I drove up to Mt. Baldy, second highest peak in the state, but found the access road closed until December 31, 2006. I got a late start from Tucson, so I didn't get to Sunrise (ski area) until early afternoon. I browsed through the hiking guidebook and picked something down south of Baldy, turned the car around and headed toward Greer. That's when the blizzard hit..."

Huntsville State Park

Huntsville State Park, TX

Dirt biking killed the mountain bike star

Went out on the trails tonight -- the Anthills, nearly out my back door.  The rootiest trails around.  Riding a mountain bike is very different than riding a dirt bike, which I've been doing a lot of lately.  Years (almost decadeS) of mt biking definitely helped me get started with dirt biking.  The main carryover skill is choosing a line.  As you ride, you constantly scan the trail just ahead and choose a line you want to ride, hopefully avoiding bad roots, bumps, puddles, flaming logs, etc.  Yes there are flaming logs out there in the National Forest.  But go back to the mt bike and things are different.  Riding dirt bike has made me cautious.  You don't want to drop the dirt bike.  The mt bike, you can be more aggressive leaning into corners, and you don't have to worry about falling over -- the bike weighs 26 lbs versus 280 lbs for the dirt bike.  Dirt bike has longer wheelbase.  The handling is different, causing me to steer less than needed on the mt bike...  Roots: a problem with dirt bike.  You don't want to hit a root at the wrong angle, i.e. while turning at all.  Big knobby tire + mud + root + turn = slide!  Not the case on mt bike.  Tires are grippier and much, much softer, and weight of rider+bike system is far, far less.  This means on a mt bike you don't slide when going over roots at an angle.  Mt bike has no rear suspension and much less travel = much bumpier ride and more standing up when riding over obstacles.  Anyway, dirt biking has messed with my mt biking skills.  But that might not matter much since the trails here in Houston are getting overgrown -- it must be spring.  Soon the spiders will claim the trails, and I'll stick to the gym or the bike paths until late November (frost = spider death). 

In other news, I love my Klein.  Too bad no more Kleins.  The bike is perfect.  I don't want a new mt bike.  It has the original tires, chain, etc.  It needs some TLC but goes fine without it.  It's really light.  Probably time for a shock rebuild, but just need to give this bike major props, kudos, and boo-yahs.  Klein, I love you.  Now shopping for a used Klein road bike.  Yes, I love steel (Rivendell) but I like the stiff Al frames too.  And I want STI.  Down-tube shifters are a pain.  Their days are done, done.

Finally got around to some long-delayed tasks.  One was: refurb shoes.  I have a shoe "problem", it's true.  "So many shoes and so few days to wear them."  I got these AE cloggy things stitched up in four places, now for some laces.  Then I smeared the wondered Bissel.. Bizwax... (?) stuff with beeswax.  It's some oily stuff in a metal tube, smells like kerosene, rub it in with your fingers, ooooo!  After, the shoes look all dark and nourished and waterproofish.

 My Clarks got the same treatment.  Yummy shoe oil in a tube!

Today I rode the Anthills and got frustrated with my decayed skills.  So I crossed Buffalo Bayou at Dairy Ashford and rode the "high road" on the north side out to the Beltway.  I was hauling butt!  It was nice to crank, I normally ride at a la-de-da level, I realize upon reflection.  Hopefully this new intensity is back to stay.  The Klein is easier/more fun to ride fast.  Bike paths are not built for drop bars and down-tube shifters, and poor brakes to boot.  Too many evil, lurking Rabbits of Death.

The frontispiece photo is some Art I made in high school.  Normally all my attempts at art/craft are epic failures.  This one turned out pretty cool!  I have a T-shirt stamped with this image.  Can you figure out what it is? 

Free Music Floweth

About three years after my friend Sara recommended it, I gave Last.fm a real gosh-darn honest-to-goodness try.  And I love it.  My dilema is that I have no music-playing apparatus in my house.  I used to have a couple of old Sony speakers hooked up to my terribly slow HD-DVD player -- hit "open" about 15 minutes before you plan to start viewing a movie -- but it wasn't a satisfactory setup.  You've got to change CDs every 40-60 minutes, which means you have to pick a new album to listen to.  I'm not that decisive.  I can't decide what to listen to next.  Ok, how about an iPod dock?  In theory, that would be great.  You can create playlists and you don't have to wait for the HD-DVD tray to open, you don't have to change disks or be decisive.  Problem -- you either have to create playlists, which sounds a lot like being decisive -- or you can just push "random".  Problem there -- dwelling on my iPod are many things besides songs.  Chapters from Atlas Shrugged, a relationship self-help disk, and numerous sound clips recorded by me on various trips.  Also, you might want some upbeat cleaning music.  So you start with the Pixies, "Debaser".  Then the next song comes on, and it's Joni Mitchell's "Both Sides Now".  Last, I tried the FM radio.  Commercials, poor music, static.  You understand the problem.

Last.fm is the solution.  Type in the name of a band you like, hit play, and you're done.  Last will typically start with a song from the band you choose, and go from there, in ever-widening musical circles, while staying more or less in the same genre/mood level.  No commercials.  The only two slight annoyances: after an hour or so of inactivity, Last.fm stops playing and asks if anyone is home.  Problem #2, the playlists don't seem that dynamic: typing in, say, Guster, tends to give you the same list of songs in approximately the same order.  This may just be a fluke since the sample size is very small (only the second time I've tried "Guster" as a band seed).  On the ne plus ultra side, Last.fm doesn't seem to have the hiccups associated with streaming from, say, KXCI or other local/regional stations.

So hook up those Harmon-Kardon Soundsticks to your underutilized laptop, and you've got a cheap home stereo, ready to go.  No need to drop $800 on a new stereo.  Those HK's are pretty good, too, and will be perfectly adequate, even in a large room, if you're used to hearing your music on a 4-speaker Subaru system.

Dirt Fever

It's been a long process, but I finally got a dirt bike, and rode it.  It all began in the summer of 2009 when I was pretty bummed out about Houston, and complaining about nothing to do.  I decided to look up dirt bike training, since I didn't know how to ride a motorcycle.  I knew how to shift and had some practice on my uncle's ATVs many years before, and about a quarter-mile on Erik's motorcycle, but that was it.  I signed up for a Honda riding school -- a "closed range exercise" -- designed to cover all the basics.  The school was in late October, and I eagerly awaited it.  Then it got postponed to November.  The course was fun.  I rode a Honda CRF150F, which is basically a teenager bike.  It seemed a fine size.  At the end of the class I hopped on the larger CRF230F and found it perfectly fine.  It looks big to a non-dirt biker, but once you're on it and moving, it's not too big at all.  After the Honda class, I was totally sold.  Now I just needed a hitch on the Subaru, wiring for trailer lights, a trailer and then... a dirt bike.  Months went by as I tried to find a place to install a hitch.  I was loathe to call U-Haul but finally I did.  They did not return my several calls.  I had almost given up when coworker Sam went to Master Hitch and had a hitch installed on his Audi.  He was impressed, so the next day -- sometime in December -- I went and got a hitch and the wiring.  Next came trailer shopping.  I couldn't find what I wanted -- a 5x8-ish, lightweight trailer but beefier than the basic "lawnmower" trailer.  Prices seemed too high at the local joints -- $750ish.  Finally I checked out Big Tex, which had exactly what I wanted for $599+ttl.  $720 out the door.  5x8', 12" wheels, easy to move around by hand.  A cinch to pull with the Subaru.  Now I scoured Craigslist.  The going rate for a beat-up Honda 230F was $2000-2500.  The better ones seemed to land around $2200.  Meanwhile, Honda West had a school-used 150F for $2600 out the door.  I agonized over this for a while and had decided on the 150 when I saw an ad for a lightly used 2005 Honda CRF230F with minor carb problems for $1800.  Woo hoo!  On a rainy March Saturday, I drove down nearly to Galveston to pick up my bike. Back home, a new spark plug and an overnight battery charging went a long way to fixing the no-start issue.  Next was carb cleaner in the air intake, an oil change and viola, a ready-to-ride dirt bike.  Now, where to ride?  The next weekend, the trails in Sam Houston National Forest were closed due to wetness from recent rain.  I had to ride.  I started up the bike and rode in circles: down my driveway and around the front yard.  Finally, this weekend came.  The weather looked good.  The trails were open.  We had Good Friday off work.  All the planets came into alignment.  I picked up friend Ben and his 1982 Honda 125 enduro.  We drove up to SHNF and met two other co-workers, one on a spanking-new Suzuki 400 enduro and the other on an ATV...

To be Continued...