Wednesday, October 5, 2011
An Artist a Day: Day 2
Big Bend 2011, Part 1
It's been over a month now since I returned from Big Bend, so I guess the tale has steeped long enough...
Following last year's amazing trip to Big Bend, the same four guys - Mark, Harris, Johnny and I - decided that we wanted to go on another camping trip, at a location to be determined later. We had talked about going out to the Guadalupe Mountains to hike Guadalupe Peak, the highest mountain in Texas (at 8,717 feet). But for some reason, none of us could really get all that excited about it as much as we tried. So at a lunch meeting in July, three of us (Johnny lives in another town) started talking about where we should go this year. The choices also included Big Bend Ranch State Park and the Davis Mountains. Big Bend wasn't really even on the radar. But going back to Big Bend came up, and the more we talked about it the more we realized that we were getting excited about the idea of going back. There was a LOT of stuff that we wanted to do last year but couldn't. There were entire areas of the park that we hadn't even driven to, much less hiked. So, we decided to head back to Big Bend. And best of all, we were able to reserve the exact same cabin we stayed in last year. Bonus!
We would be going on the exact same weekend as the year before, also, because of Mark's travel schedule. Most people would consider heading out into the desert to hike and camp in August a foolhardy prospect, but we knew that up in the Chisos Mountains, where we would be staying, that it would still be relatively cool. On the desert floor, however, it was above 100 degrees every day. But as it turned out, we were in the midst of one of the longest, hottest summers on record, so 100-plus degree heat didn't really scare us much. After all, the temperatures hovered around 104 degrees in Brenham for more than a month straight (and as it would turn out, it was actually a few degrees cooler in the desert than in Brenham, which hit 110 degrees that weekend - but I'm getting ahead of myself).
Our plan was to try to make this year's trip as different from last year's as possible. So instead of going on one big long overnight hike, we decided to go on several shorter (and theoretically easier) day hikes. Johnny requested a trip to the nearby town of Terlingua, so that was certainly on the agenda. Mark mentioned hiking the Lost Mine Trail and I wanted to hike into Santa Elena canyon (we couldn't last year because the river was up and we would've had to swim across to get to it). I also requested a hike to Grapevine Hills to see a rock formation called "the balanced rock." Johnny mentioned Pine Canyon, Ernst Tenaja (and going for a run on a mountain trail). The tenaja (more on that later) sounded great, but none of the rest of us a.) are in as good a shape as Johnny is b.) like to do things that make us want to vomit and die and c.) are complete badasses who would ever consider running in the freaking mountains. There's a reason there's a legend surrounding Johnny Johnson. Chuck Norris has nothing on this guy.
So our agenda would be:
Day 1: Travel and hike to "the window" for sunset
Day 2: Lost Mine Trail, Pine Canyon Trail, Ernst Tenaja
Day 3: Casa Grande (hiking up the back side), Santa Elena Canyon, Terlingua
Day 4: Travel back
The proposed agenda was grouped by location in the park, more or less. The best layed plans, as they say. Things would change a little. But I'll get to that soon.
So the agenda was set. A trip to REI and Academy, several posts on Facebook and a month later and we were ready to go. Or so we thought...
Part 2: "Cannibalism and sloth" coming soon...
Following last year's amazing trip to Big Bend, the same four guys - Mark, Harris, Johnny and I - decided that we wanted to go on another camping trip, at a location to be determined later. We had talked about going out to the Guadalupe Mountains to hike Guadalupe Peak, the highest mountain in Texas (at 8,717 feet). But for some reason, none of us could really get all that excited about it as much as we tried. So at a lunch meeting in July, three of us (Johnny lives in another town) started talking about where we should go this year. The choices also included Big Bend Ranch State Park and the Davis Mountains. Big Bend wasn't really even on the radar. But going back to Big Bend came up, and the more we talked about it the more we realized that we were getting excited about the idea of going back. There was a LOT of stuff that we wanted to do last year but couldn't. There were entire areas of the park that we hadn't even driven to, much less hiked. So, we decided to head back to Big Bend. And best of all, we were able to reserve the exact same cabin we stayed in last year. Bonus!We would be going on the exact same weekend as the year before, also, because of Mark's travel schedule. Most people would consider heading out into the desert to hike and camp in August a foolhardy prospect, but we knew that up in the Chisos Mountains, where we would be staying, that it would still be relatively cool. On the desert floor, however, it was above 100 degrees every day. But as it turned out, we were in the midst of one of the longest, hottest summers on record, so 100-plus degree heat didn't really scare us much. After all, the temperatures hovered around 104 degrees in Brenham for more than a month straight (and as it would turn out, it was actually a few degrees cooler in the desert than in Brenham, which hit 110 degrees that weekend - but I'm getting ahead of myself).
Our plan was to try to make this year's trip as different from last year's as possible. So instead of going on one big long overnight hike, we decided to go on several shorter (and theoretically easier) day hikes. Johnny requested a trip to the nearby town of Terlingua, so that was certainly on the agenda. Mark mentioned hiking the Lost Mine Trail and I wanted to hike into Santa Elena canyon (we couldn't last year because the river was up and we would've had to swim across to get to it). I also requested a hike to Grapevine Hills to see a rock formation called "the balanced rock." Johnny mentioned Pine Canyon, Ernst Tenaja (and going for a run on a mountain trail). The tenaja (more on that later) sounded great, but none of the rest of us a.) are in as good a shape as Johnny is b.) like to do things that make us want to vomit and die and c.) are complete badasses who would ever consider running in the freaking mountains. There's a reason there's a legend surrounding Johnny Johnson. Chuck Norris has nothing on this guy.
So our agenda would be:
Day 1: Travel and hike to "the window" for sunset
Day 2: Lost Mine Trail, Pine Canyon Trail, Ernst Tenaja
Day 3: Casa Grande (hiking up the back side), Santa Elena Canyon, Terlingua
Day 4: Travel back
The proposed agenda was grouped by location in the park, more or less. The best layed plans, as they say. Things would change a little. But I'll get to that soon.
So the agenda was set. A trip to REI and Academy, several posts on Facebook and a month later and we were ready to go. Or so we thought...
Part 2: "Cannibalism and sloth" coming soon...
Adele Forced to Cancel US Tour Dates Due to Illness
From Adele.tv:
Dang. What horrible news for someone with such an amazing voice. I hope she recovers fully because I really like her music.
Adele has been forced to cancel her upcoming 10 city sold-out tour of the U.S. due to a haemorrhage into her vocal chord. Vocal chord issues forced the British singer to postpone dates earlier this year as well. Adele has just wrapped up touring around the UK and was preparing to kick off her US tour on October 7 in Atlantic City, NJ when her illness reappeared (see below for full list of cancelled US tour dates). Renowned for her powerful live vocal performances, Adele has been advised by doctors that she’ll need an extended rest period in order to begin to recuperate properly.
Dang. What horrible news for someone with such an amazing voice. I hope she recovers fully because I really like her music.
Tuesday, October 4, 2011
An Artist a Day
I've decided that from now until Thanksgiving I'm going to listen to a different artist (or group of what I deem to be similar artists) every day, all day. I'll listen to everything I have by a particular artist or band on shuffle and repeat from the beginning of the day until it's time to go home, nonstop. This is based on my iTunes library, so there are a lot of artists or bands that would be GREAT to listen to, but that I may only have an album or two for. Basically, my criteria is that I need to have three or more albums by a band or artist. I don't want to listen to the same songs six or eight times in a day, in other words. And if I have more music than a work day will allow... too bad. I'll just play as much as I can.
Today, to start things off, I've been jamming U2. Something about fall always makes me want to listen to U2. Tomorrow is Jimmy Eat World, and so on. Every day I'll try to post here to share what artist(s) I'll be listening to that day.
My list is still somewhat fluid, so if you have any suggestions, I'm all ears.
Sunday, October 2, 2011
Sunday, September 25, 2011
Saturday, September 24, 2011
Conversation with Noble at the mall
Noble: Daddy, a pterranadon eats meat.
Me: they do? Are you a pterranadon?
Noble: no, I'm a Pharaon.
Me: they do? Are you a pterranadon?
Noble: no, I'm a Pharaon.
Thursday, September 22, 2011
Tom Selleck's Moustache Makes Every Movie Better
(click on the post name to view if you're seeing this on Facebook)
Wednesday, September 21, 2011
Quote of the Day...
Regarding the economy and deficit spending...
"Just because there are check in the checkbook doesn't mean there's money in the bank."
That should be a Republican campaign slogan in 2012.
"Just because there are check in the checkbook doesn't mean there's money in the bank."
That should be a Republican campaign slogan in 2012.
Put Up or Shut Up, You Hypocrites
Hey, all you anti-death penalty people out there... please, PLEASE tell me that this guy doesn't deserve to die for the crime he committed.
What? Silence????
I thought so.
What? Silence????
I thought so.
REM No More
From E! Online News:
It's too bad, really. I've recently started listening to my REM songs again (even songs I used to hate, such as "What's the Frequency, Kenneth?"), and listening to "I Am Superman" with my son on the way to school has become a tradition of late.
Michael Stipe & Co. made the announcement in a posting on their official site this morning, breaking the news by thanking their loyal fans for 31 years (!) of listening.
"To our Fans and Friends: As R.E.M., and as lifelong friends and coconspirators, we have decided to call it a day as a band," the band wrote.
"We walk away with a great sense of gratitude, of finality, and of astonishment at all we have accomplished. To anyone who ever felt touched by our music, our deepest thanks for listening."
It's too bad, really. I've recently started listening to my REM songs again (even songs I used to hate, such as "What's the Frequency, Kenneth?"), and listening to "I Am Superman" with my son on the way to school has become a tradition of late.
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