After posting my excitement about new techo-toys, I read Deb Schinder's article in WinXPNews. I read it each week, because she's tied heavily into the hardware and software worlds as a tester, tech-writer, etc. I hereby give Deb credit for much of this discussion. I regurgitated paraphrased bits of her article as they mirror my own thoughts and concerns.
We've been hearing predictions about the "death of the PC" for a couple of years now, and I want to be very clear in saying that we are not ready for that.
We who "play" with PCs a lot consistently respond with "No way am I giving up my powerful standalone computer for some skinny client, web-based OS or tablet." Personally, I like the feel of a real keyboard, the advantage of a large display, the capability to securely store multi-terrabytes of information in my own home, totally isolated from the outside world, unless they break into my house and take it.
The worrisome thing for me...big technology companies are listening to the pundits and the media - not to us.
Hardware and software vendors seem to be aligning with the predictions. Not good for those who want to keep using desktop systems. Rumors abound that the next generation after Windows 8 might be Microsoft's last full fledged client operating system, with future desktops being "in the cloud." Microsoft hasn't declared this as their plan, but that's what the tech-media is saying.
One scary piece of the puzzle, HP, the top-selling PC vendor, announced that they are getting out of the PC business. Maybe Dell and the smaller companies just fill the gap, but initially, there will less available, so prices could go up, which again might push people toward cheap, bare-bones, cloud-based systems.
My personal hope is that some new vendor steps up with well made PCs at a low price for the diehards...like me. Samsung springs to mind, as they tend to dive into any market and rise to the top.
I also agree with Deb that there would be a second PC revolution, when the world realizes the limitations of the cloud...what if ISPs cap bandwidth and charge by the Megabyte? People won't be able to afford to run their OS and apps from the cloud if they're paying for every Meg that moves from Internet to device and back. Also, what if your ISP goes down, or your modem dies, or any of that. You wouldn't even be able to run Word or look at any of your stored files or pictures or anything. That would suck, in my opinion. Even with my stand-alone systems, I have portable hard drives that only get connected to a PC to transfer something from one to the other. That makes them pretty secure.
You might say, "you can just build your own PC like we used to back in the early days", but if fewer people are buying, the price for those commodities will go crazy, as well. For me, a transition to cloud computing would make it easier for THEM, but fraught with pitfalls for us.
Sorry for the techno-rant...just didn't want to give anyone the wrong impression. I LOVE techno-toys, but, for me, they are just scaled-down, mobile tools. I will always want powerful stand-alone machines that are somewhat independent of (and not at the mercy of) the internet and ISPs.
Joe
Tuesday, August 23, 2011
Monday, August 22, 2011
Joe on technology toys
I've mentioned, in previous posts, the coolness factor of these new technology toys. I do realize that those in their twenties and younger have always had fancy computers, cell phones, CD's, and the like, but I started playing with computers when the "cutting edge" was magnetic tape drive units. I have even seen punch card readers in active use in the data processing center of a major worldwide manufacturer. SO, when I see the power in these tiny pocket devices, I am duly impressed.
I bought this Droid X phone to use on sabbatical, because I wanted the ability, at ANY time, to find things like food, gas, campgrounds, groceries, points of local interest, etc. Over the course of two months traveling around the country, I sort of integrated the device into my way of thinking. I am still staggered by the power of this thing! Time and time again, I just pick it up, hit the little microphone icon, and ask for what I want...and it just GIVES it to me! I can say, "Acme", and it pulls up the closest Acme store with address and the whole bit, along with a little touch button that will immediately dial the store! (I know, I keep using exclamation points, but this kind of power REALLY excites the kid in me)
Still, having used it over and over, I forget that I am walking around with a powerful computer in my pocket. I was looking for a glass shop in Akron, as Kristen (my elder son Cory's S.O.) had asked me to help her repair their front porch light. The guy at Home Depot, who told me that they don't cut glass (that's a story unto itself...why on EARTH would a store like that not cut glass????), sent me in the direction of the glass shop on N. Main street. I drove to the section of N. Main that he said contained the glass shop, but found none. As I was formulating a plan to cruise the other direction, all the way to the Y bridge, Kristen says to me, "why not just use your phone?" Well, duh, why not? I hit the magic microphone, said "glass shop" into it, and it spit out the exact address of the shop I was hunting. Three minutes later, I was waiting for them to cut me a little glass panel...that cost a whopping $1.51, with tax.
As I've said, I started pretty early in the wave of computers...before personal computers even existed, to be more specific. My first computer had 16KB of RAM and no hard drive. You could connect a tape drive to it or even an external floppy, but those cost more than the computer itself! It was a Texas Instruments 99/4A. It had been on the market for $1000 until TI decided to get out of the PC market and they dumped them all for $50 apiece (If it weren't for those $50 computers, I may never have sunk so deeply into programming as I have). My second computer had a whopping 640KB of RAM and included a 20 MB hard drive. It ran at the breakneck speed of 8 Megacycles. Along with a monochrome monitor, that PC cost me $1000.
This little device that I carry around in my pocket has 18 GIGA-Bytes of storage, a color screen on which I can play videos, operates at a couple of Gigacycles, plays music, translates what I say to it with staggering accuracy, stores my email and tells me when I recieve a new one, has Swype technology input, so I don't have to lift my finger off the keys....and cost me $50...the same price that I paid for that TI-99 some 30 years ago. I have a hard time believing that we have come this far, and to be honest, my device is already obsolete. There are already faster, newer, more powerful ones coming out all the time.
The other techno-toy I mentioned was my geocaching GPS. I didn't want to spend an arm and a leg for what was only going to be, in the words of Uncle Denis, "a lark" (no worries, Denis, I laughed heartily when I read the comment), but I wanted SOME bells and whistles. I bought a Garmin Venture HC. It has color screen, a USB cable that allows me to download maps, waypoints, tracks, trails and whatever to the device in literally seconds. I can also upload tracks that I have recorded TO my PC to save them in the included Mapsource software. With a couple of clicks of a button, I can pull up a list of stored waypoints, displayed in "closest-to-you" order, and either display a map with the waypoint and ME on it, or Go-To, which displays a navigation screen with an arrow pointing me toward the waypoint and distant to it, and several other little tidbits. When I get close to my intended location, it makes this little 3-note sound telling me that I have arrived.
Having purchased a monochrome Magellan Meridian many years ago for more than twice what I paid for this, I am again thoroughly impressed with the coolness factor of such modern toys...and I didn't even buy one of the expensive ones! This one can be had on Amazon.com for about $120. You can probably find it even cheaper than that.
I again thank Christopher for adding to my understanding of my own GPS. He bought a similar model a few months ago, so he had already found his way through some of the confusions...like using Map instead of GoTo. The GoTo function will take you pretty close, but then it seems to get a little confused and bounces around a bit. The Map function just shows you walking up to your intended location. You can keep zooming in until you know you have to be standing on or near what you are looking for.
One very nice benefit of this geocaching thing...it's another way to get outside and spend some time with my kids...though, I may have to buy Koen his own GPS. He keeps wanting to take mine so he can run ahead and find the cache first.
I bought this Droid X phone to use on sabbatical, because I wanted the ability, at ANY time, to find things like food, gas, campgrounds, groceries, points of local interest, etc. Over the course of two months traveling around the country, I sort of integrated the device into my way of thinking. I am still staggered by the power of this thing! Time and time again, I just pick it up, hit the little microphone icon, and ask for what I want...and it just GIVES it to me! I can say, "Acme", and it pulls up the closest Acme store with address and the whole bit, along with a little touch button that will immediately dial the store! (I know, I keep using exclamation points, but this kind of power REALLY excites the kid in me)
Still, having used it over and over, I forget that I am walking around with a powerful computer in my pocket. I was looking for a glass shop in Akron, as Kristen (my elder son Cory's S.O.) had asked me to help her repair their front porch light. The guy at Home Depot, who told me that they don't cut glass (that's a story unto itself...why on EARTH would a store like that not cut glass????), sent me in the direction of the glass shop on N. Main street. I drove to the section of N. Main that he said contained the glass shop, but found none. As I was formulating a plan to cruise the other direction, all the way to the Y bridge, Kristen says to me, "why not just use your phone?" Well, duh, why not? I hit the magic microphone, said "glass shop" into it, and it spit out the exact address of the shop I was hunting. Three minutes later, I was waiting for them to cut me a little glass panel...that cost a whopping $1.51, with tax.
As I've said, I started pretty early in the wave of computers...before personal computers even existed, to be more specific. My first computer had 16KB of RAM and no hard drive. You could connect a tape drive to it or even an external floppy, but those cost more than the computer itself! It was a Texas Instruments 99/4A. It had been on the market for $1000 until TI decided to get out of the PC market and they dumped them all for $50 apiece (If it weren't for those $50 computers, I may never have sunk so deeply into programming as I have). My second computer had a whopping 640KB of RAM and included a 20 MB hard drive. It ran at the breakneck speed of 8 Megacycles. Along with a monochrome monitor, that PC cost me $1000.
This little device that I carry around in my pocket has 18 GIGA-Bytes of storage, a color screen on which I can play videos, operates at a couple of Gigacycles, plays music, translates what I say to it with staggering accuracy, stores my email and tells me when I recieve a new one, has Swype technology input, so I don't have to lift my finger off the keys....and cost me $50...the same price that I paid for that TI-99 some 30 years ago. I have a hard time believing that we have come this far, and to be honest, my device is already obsolete. There are already faster, newer, more powerful ones coming out all the time.
The other techno-toy I mentioned was my geocaching GPS. I didn't want to spend an arm and a leg for what was only going to be, in the words of Uncle Denis, "a lark" (no worries, Denis, I laughed heartily when I read the comment), but I wanted SOME bells and whistles. I bought a Garmin Venture HC. It has color screen, a USB cable that allows me to download maps, waypoints, tracks, trails and whatever to the device in literally seconds. I can also upload tracks that I have recorded TO my PC to save them in the included Mapsource software. With a couple of clicks of a button, I can pull up a list of stored waypoints, displayed in "closest-to-you" order, and either display a map with the waypoint and ME on it, or Go-To, which displays a navigation screen with an arrow pointing me toward the waypoint and distant to it, and several other little tidbits. When I get close to my intended location, it makes this little 3-note sound telling me that I have arrived.
Having purchased a monochrome Magellan Meridian many years ago for more than twice what I paid for this, I am again thoroughly impressed with the coolness factor of such modern toys...and I didn't even buy one of the expensive ones! This one can be had on Amazon.com for about $120. You can probably find it even cheaper than that.
I again thank Christopher for adding to my understanding of my own GPS. He bought a similar model a few months ago, so he had already found his way through some of the confusions...like using Map instead of GoTo. The GoTo function will take you pretty close, but then it seems to get a little confused and bounces around a bit. The Map function just shows you walking up to your intended location. You can keep zooming in until you know you have to be standing on or near what you are looking for.
One very nice benefit of this geocaching thing...it's another way to get outside and spend some time with my kids...though, I may have to buy Koen his own GPS. He keeps wanting to take mine so he can run ahead and find the cache first.
Sunday, August 21, 2011
Joys - Yosemite, by Joe
All of my life, I figured the hype about Yosemite was just that. I have seen so many things that people had blown up to status beyond belief, only to discover a disappointing letdown. I was excited to see the park for my first time, but I held back a bit (I've mentioned that I'm a big kid, right?). To my enormous pleasure, I was awed by the astounding visuals before we ever got into the park. Our first overlook was of the Merced River POUNDING down through the rocks with foam and fury and power that made my hair stand on end. I was in awe of the beauty of it all.
There were also amazing waterfalls, and lakes, and rocks, and half-dome...I have to admit that the hype was true. If it were possible to get a campsite inside the park, I could stay there for a month with no complaints.
And my happy family...
I had to do the "fireman's carry" to get Koen across this newly made wading pool. The water was WAY cold...he started out walking with Kira (above) but couldn't take the water temp anymore.
The views from Glacier Point were amazing, too!
We even stopped to play in the snow...my kids see it very seldom.
...and THESE crazy sons-of-guns were several thousand feet up El Capitan preparing to sleep for the night. We saw a group of people standing out in a meadow looking up at the rock...went over and asked what they were doing. They were using their binoculars to watch the dudes climbing around on the rock. When I asked them to give me a reference so I could use my camera, they laughed and said that I wasn't going to see anything with THAT little camera. Well, the pics aren't wonderful, but they're not bad, either! When I showed the first guy a snap, he was amazed! It was funny, after listening to his smugness in laughing at my camera.
I am now a believer...Yosemite really is a beautiful place. I really want to get a campsite inside the park, but have no idea how to do that. We tried the online system (supposedly the "best way to get a campsite". Mara was on a computer at home and I was on TWO computers at work. When the system opened at seven am, we both tried to get sites. When the first attempt failed, I backed out to try another. ALL OF THE SITES WERE GONE!!! It took literally 3 seconds for every site in Upper Pines campground to be booked. That is just crazy. If any of you know a secret way to get a site, I would really appreciate your sharing it with me...even if I have to leave the travel trailer at home and sleep in a tent.
There were also amazing waterfalls, and lakes, and rocks, and half-dome...I have to admit that the hype was true. If it were possible to get a campsite inside the park, I could stay there for a month with no complaints.
And my happy family...
I had to do the "fireman's carry" to get Koen across this newly made wading pool. The water was WAY cold...he started out walking with Kira (above) but couldn't take the water temp anymore.
The views from Glacier Point were amazing, too!
We even stopped to play in the snow...my kids see it very seldom.
...and THESE crazy sons-of-guns were several thousand feet up El Capitan preparing to sleep for the night. We saw a group of people standing out in a meadow looking up at the rock...went over and asked what they were doing. They were using their binoculars to watch the dudes climbing around on the rock. When I asked them to give me a reference so I could use my camera, they laughed and said that I wasn't going to see anything with THAT little camera. Well, the pics aren't wonderful, but they're not bad, either! When I showed the first guy a snap, he was amazed! It was funny, after listening to his smugness in laughing at my camera.
I am now a believer...Yosemite really is a beautiful place. I really want to get a campsite inside the park, but have no idea how to do that. We tried the online system (supposedly the "best way to get a campsite". Mara was on a computer at home and I was on TWO computers at work. When the system opened at seven am, we both tried to get sites. When the first attempt failed, I backed out to try another. ALL OF THE SITES WERE GONE!!! It took literally 3 seconds for every site in Upper Pines campground to be booked. That is just crazy. If any of you know a secret way to get a site, I would really appreciate your sharing it with me...even if I have to leave the travel trailer at home and sleep in a tent.
First of the Mechanical Obstacles, by Joe
As Mara may have mentioned, at the advice of a friend, I made some "upgrades" to my '99 Suburban prior to our sabbatical trip...K&N cold air intake system, Gibson headers, Magnaflow exhaust and High-flow catalytic converters, air-bag spring system, cooling system flush, complete transmission fluid exchange, etc.
I started this project several months before the trip, thankfully, as my Newberg mechanic inserted repeated delays into the process. After finally getting the headers installed, I kept hearing a ticking noise that sounded like either a valve tap or an exhaust leak. When I took it back to my mechanic, he informed me that one of the headers was leaking. I called Gibson, who assured me that they had NEVER delivered a failing header, but they promptly sent me a new one, armed with my promise to send the failed one back for analysis. To be honest, I think it was an install issue by my mechanic, but he did manage to get the second one working (after he charged me for replacement gaskets, that is).
As we were driving to Yosemite, on the first leg of our journey, I thought I heard a similar ticking noise to the header leak, but it sounded like it was coming from the other side. I asked Mara if she heard it, but she didn't seem to notice the change in engine noise (she probably wasn't as tuned in as I was, since I had experienced the whole header issue). As we got closer to Yosemite, the noise got steadily louder. By the time we were in an area that required me to drop down into FIRST GEAR to make it up the hills, we were notifying the world, echoing through the canyons, that we had a major exhaust leak. We drove 20 miles or so making this noise and I had a serious knot in my stomach. I just couldn't imagine that I would find a mechanic out in the middle of nowhere.
We did make it to the Mariposa KOA and get set up, so at least I could go out the next morning looking for a repair without pulling the trailer along.
Friday morning, early, I headed to the small town of Mariposa, as I had gotten a tip along the way that the town had two decent mechanics. I had looked up the operating hours of the one most highly recommended and showed up about five minutes before he was to open up. Imagine my chagrin when I sat there for 20-some minutes and nobody showed up. I called the number on the door and heard the phone ringing inside. OUCH! I snooped around and found another number and called it. It was apparently his home phone, as his wife answered. She told me, in a mildly exasperated voice, that they are CLOSED on Fridays. To her enormous credit, she did recommend the tire and muffler shop in Bootjack...yes, I said Bootjack. I drove over to Bootjack, with visions of Gestapo in my head, or maybe loggers with those big-lugged boots on. The owner was VERY busy, as his seemed to be the only repair shop open within a considerable radius. Through the entire process, he answered the shop's mobile phone every couple of minutes. Even though he had several guys working there, everyone wanted to talk to HIM. After some troubleshooting, he diagnosed the connection where the right header ties into the crossover pipe. His research found that the connection does not use a gasket, so he tried to just torque the heck out of the bolts so that the connection would stop leaking. I was sure that his bill would be staggering...I mean, here we are in the moutains around Yosemite, he's the only game in town, and he has been messing with my truck for over an hour. You can't imagine how happy I was when I asked what I owed him and he said, "awwww, well, let's call it $20." I was one satisfied customer.
I started this project several months before the trip, thankfully, as my Newberg mechanic inserted repeated delays into the process. After finally getting the headers installed, I kept hearing a ticking noise that sounded like either a valve tap or an exhaust leak. When I took it back to my mechanic, he informed me that one of the headers was leaking. I called Gibson, who assured me that they had NEVER delivered a failing header, but they promptly sent me a new one, armed with my promise to send the failed one back for analysis. To be honest, I think it was an install issue by my mechanic, but he did manage to get the second one working (after he charged me for replacement gaskets, that is).
As we were driving to Yosemite, on the first leg of our journey, I thought I heard a similar ticking noise to the header leak, but it sounded like it was coming from the other side. I asked Mara if she heard it, but she didn't seem to notice the change in engine noise (she probably wasn't as tuned in as I was, since I had experienced the whole header issue). As we got closer to Yosemite, the noise got steadily louder. By the time we were in an area that required me to drop down into FIRST GEAR to make it up the hills, we were notifying the world, echoing through the canyons, that we had a major exhaust leak. We drove 20 miles or so making this noise and I had a serious knot in my stomach. I just couldn't imagine that I would find a mechanic out in the middle of nowhere.
We did make it to the Mariposa KOA and get set up, so at least I could go out the next morning looking for a repair without pulling the trailer along.
Friday morning, early, I headed to the small town of Mariposa, as I had gotten a tip along the way that the town had two decent mechanics. I had looked up the operating hours of the one most highly recommended and showed up about five minutes before he was to open up. Imagine my chagrin when I sat there for 20-some minutes and nobody showed up. I called the number on the door and heard the phone ringing inside. OUCH! I snooped around and found another number and called it. It was apparently his home phone, as his wife answered. She told me, in a mildly exasperated voice, that they are CLOSED on Fridays. To her enormous credit, she did recommend the tire and muffler shop in Bootjack...yes, I said Bootjack. I drove over to Bootjack, with visions of Gestapo in my head, or maybe loggers with those big-lugged boots on. The owner was VERY busy, as his seemed to be the only repair shop open within a considerable radius. Through the entire process, he answered the shop's mobile phone every couple of minutes. Even though he had several guys working there, everyone wanted to talk to HIM. After some troubleshooting, he diagnosed the connection where the right header ties into the crossover pipe. His research found that the connection does not use a gasket, so he tried to just torque the heck out of the bolts so that the connection would stop leaking. I was sure that his bill would be staggering...I mean, here we are in the moutains around Yosemite, he's the only game in town, and he has been messing with my truck for over an hour. You can't imagine how happy I was when I asked what I owed him and he said, "awwww, well, let's call it $20." I was one satisfied customer.
Joe's First Post to Mara's Blog
Since I'm still on sabbatical, maybe I'll start with current happenings and fill in later. As noticed by Uncle Dennis, Koen and I have been doing a bit of geocaching this week. 
As you can see to the right, we visited the plaque commemorating the Original Stash...the very first cache ever placed in America, as I understand it. While chatting with BIL Christopher, I found that he and his brother were childhood friends of the guy that started it all. How cool is that??
I owe Christopher many thanks for considerable improvements to my "geo-senses", as he joined/guided us on our first assault on local caches.
I am quite impressed with the creativity of some cachers. My favorite, I believe, is one that leads the hunter to a bench, with the insistence that "we must bring at least 1/2 gallon of water." We followed our trusty GPS (incredibly cool toy) to the location (carrying a gallon of water...who knows?) and sniffed around until we found a tube, maybe 4 feet long and 2 inches in diameter. We screwed the cap off of the tube and poured water into it until a cache container floated to the top. VERY exciting (OK, maybe I'm easily excited...it's the child in me). Another cool feature is that the tube immediately starts draining into a catch basin, so you had better pour water enough and fast enough to get a grip on the container before it descends back to the bottom of the tube. Koen and I went away laughing and fist-bumping at our most well thought out discovery. Hopefully, this description won't ruin anyone's caching experience. As far as I know, Christopher is the only cacher among followers of this blog, so, Christopher, forget that part of the blog. ;-)
Koen, our ten-year-old son has caught the bug worse than I have! He can't seem to contain himself when he sees a potential hiding spot in the direction we are walking. He HAS to run ahead and check it out.
On my first local trip with Christopher and the twins, I logged 16 caches. The next day, we went out again and Koen REALLY wanted to set up an account of his own. We set up his account on the road, with the use of my Droid X (another very cool toy), as we were driving to the location of the Original Stash. When we got home, he wanted to log all of the caches we had found the previous day, but it occurred to me that, since he hadn't signed the logs, people might delete his records from their caches. SO, guess what we did on Saturday...he and I rode around on our bikes and knocked out eight of the caches in our area that I had already logged. We rode 7.3 miles in 95+ temps and arrived home with his face beet red. I had him splashing cold water on his face and head, but Mara insisted that he jump in the shower to lower his body temperature. He didn't get one of those heat-related headaches, so we obviously caught it in time. That kid really sinks his teeth in when he gets interested in something! That's all for now, Joe
As you can see to the right, we visited the plaque commemorating the Original Stash...the very first cache ever placed in America, as I understand it. While chatting with BIL Christopher, I found that he and his brother were childhood friends of the guy that started it all. How cool is that??
I owe Christopher many thanks for considerable improvements to my "geo-senses", as he joined/guided us on our first assault on local caches.
I am quite impressed with the creativity of some cachers. My favorite, I believe, is one that leads the hunter to a bench, with the insistence that "we must bring at least 1/2 gallon of water." We followed our trusty GPS (incredibly cool toy) to the location (carrying a gallon of water...who knows?) and sniffed around until we found a tube, maybe 4 feet long and 2 inches in diameter. We screwed the cap off of the tube and poured water into it until a cache container floated to the top. VERY exciting (OK, maybe I'm easily excited...it's the child in me). Another cool feature is that the tube immediately starts draining into a catch basin, so you had better pour water enough and fast enough to get a grip on the container before it descends back to the bottom of the tube. Koen and I went away laughing and fist-bumping at our most well thought out discovery. Hopefully, this description won't ruin anyone's caching experience. As far as I know, Christopher is the only cacher among followers of this blog, so, Christopher, forget that part of the blog. ;-)
Koen, our ten-year-old son has caught the bug worse than I have! He can't seem to contain himself when he sees a potential hiding spot in the direction we are walking. He HAS to run ahead and check it out.
On my first local trip with Christopher and the twins, I logged 16 caches. The next day, we went out again and Koen REALLY wanted to set up an account of his own. We set up his account on the road, with the use of my Droid X (another very cool toy), as we were driving to the location of the Original Stash. When we got home, he wanted to log all of the caches we had found the previous day, but it occurred to me that, since he hadn't signed the logs, people might delete his records from their caches. SO, guess what we did on Saturday...he and I rode around on our bikes and knocked out eight of the caches in our area that I had already logged. We rode 7.3 miles in 95+ temps and arrived home with his face beet red. I had him splashing cold water on his face and head, but Mara insisted that he jump in the shower to lower his body temperature. He didn't get one of those heat-related headaches, so we obviously caught it in time. That kid really sinks his teeth in when he gets interested in something! That's all for now, Joe
Saturday, August 20, 2011
Getting home
Did I tell you that the Wienermobile was hanging out at the Strasburg KOA? There were games to win Oscar Mayer related items- Koen won a key chain for each of us- the rest of us had a difficult time making the bag go into the hole, but he was pretty consistent. 
We left Denver at 8:20 something in the morning- pretty early by our usual standards! The kids seemed eager to get on the road, knowing that we were headed home. (Both of them were so happy to hear that I wasn't going to fly home and leave them. They didn't seem to mind that they wouldn't be getting to Mt. Rushmore, just excited to get home. Kira especially mentioned how much she wanted to go home, so she could just go to her room and do stuff, and how much she was missing the little dog.)
The drive out of Denver reminded me of the road trip that I took with Jennifer, many, MANY years ago. (For perspective, one of my other little dogs came along- at 11 months old. She died of cancer at 13, 5 years ago.)The roads hadn't changed much since then.
Colorado is a bit greener this year than it was then, though. Apparently, they had a rainy spring, too. Being Sunday, the traffic was relatively light, so we made good time. We hit Wyoming around 9:30 in the morning.
It was truly strange, crossing the border between Colorado and Wyoming, seeing camels and buffalo! The wind turbines, windmills, wind farms, whatever you want to call them, started getting more prevalent. Colorado had some- but not as many as Wyoming. They don't seem that large, but twice, 18 wheelers passed us with the propeller blades. They were longer than the trailer they were attached to by a considerable margin. They are HUGE!
There were lots of scenes that were gorgeous- and trying to capture them while Joe drove to get to our camp site (with speed limits of 75!) was interesting!
While we were on straight stretches, I did some knitting- especially when I knew we weren't close to any state lines. I ended up finishing the last sleeve, so all that remained was the sewing to make it a sweater. YAY! :o)
This is the Sinclair Oil Refinery- apparently there is oil being refined in the US!
There was some GORGEOUS scenery and such a huge blue sky!
Our campsite in Wyoming- near the border to Utah- was off the highway, so it was quieter. There weren't as many flys or as many mosquitoes, but there WERE horseflies!!! There were several that guarded the pool, which we discovered when we went in. They would buzz by, and if you weren't vigilant, they would land and bite. So, we made it our mission to #1 not get bit, and #2, to kill them! The kids dunked themselves into the pool every time they flies buzzing; I bailed to start the coals for dinner; Joe managed to both kill two and get bitten by at least one. It swelled up to the size of a quarter. Meanwhile, back at the camper, I was attempting to get the fire lit- and it wasn't working. It took over an hour to get the coals lit to a point that we could cook with them. Luckily, we were only cooking brats, so it didn't have to be that hot.
That night, a storm moved through- strong winds and rain- shaking the camper to a point that Kira woke up, freaked out by being in the top bunk in the wind. We didn't sleep that much- but at least we weren't in a tent, like some of the other campers! Again, we were on the road by just after 8:00- amazing!
We crossed the rest of Wyoming. There were fences everywhere. They weren't connected, they weren't complete, and they didn't seem to just be along ridges, so they didn't seem to be wind breaks. Turns out, they were snow fences.
Then, we drove into Utah. There were lots of signs indicating strong winds, which we did run into. There were oodles of trucks on the road with us, but most of them were pretty considerate of us. The scenery was beautiful, as well.
Being hit by the wind as they passed us was interesting- because there was nothing to do except try to correct the push across the lane of traffic as it was happening. We made it across Utah and into Idaho.
Then, we stopped in Meridian, ID, just west of Boise. Joe had wanted to push on for another hour or so, but the vote was split, so we stayed. It was a nice KOA- parking lot, but well cared for, with decent showers, an indoor pool, and no grill or fire rings. (There is apparently a no live fire rule.) So, we used the pancake griddle for hamburgers. It was a peaceful night. For the last several nights, we turned off the air and just did the windows. It was feeling so great to wake up and be a bit cold!
Tuesday morning, we were up and out of there by 8:30 or so, again. Being so close, we just crossed the border and stopped in Ontario for breakfast.
It was so nice to be in Oregon again.
Watching the scenery of desert and seeing the Blue Mountains.
Seeing Mt. Hood in the distance as we entered the Columbia Gorge.
We saw some interesting things on the highway, too.
Mt. Hood continued to get closer, and we continued to get close to home.
The Columbia Gorge was gorgeous- and traffic wasn't too bad. 
We headed down I 205 and got home around 4:00. Whew- one day over 2 months on the road- 10,878 miles total. Amazingly enough, we had a good time, too! It has been a little weird to be home- like we are visiting someone else's house- but we are getting used to it! :o)
We left Denver at 8:20 something in the morning- pretty early by our usual standards! The kids seemed eager to get on the road, knowing that we were headed home. (Both of them were so happy to hear that I wasn't going to fly home and leave them. They didn't seem to mind that they wouldn't be getting to Mt. Rushmore, just excited to get home. Kira especially mentioned how much she wanted to go home, so she could just go to her room and do stuff, and how much she was missing the little dog.)
The drive out of Denver reminded me of the road trip that I took with Jennifer, many, MANY years ago. (For perspective, one of my other little dogs came along- at 11 months old. She died of cancer at 13, 5 years ago.)The roads hadn't changed much since then.
Colorado is a bit greener this year than it was then, though. Apparently, they had a rainy spring, too. Being Sunday, the traffic was relatively light, so we made good time. We hit Wyoming around 9:30 in the morning.
There were lots of scenes that were gorgeous- and trying to capture them while Joe drove to get to our camp site (with speed limits of 75!) was interesting!
While we were on straight stretches, I did some knitting- especially when I knew we weren't close to any state lines. I ended up finishing the last sleeve, so all that remained was the sewing to make it a sweater. YAY! :o)
Our campsite in Wyoming- near the border to Utah- was off the highway, so it was quieter. There weren't as many flys or as many mosquitoes, but there WERE horseflies!!! There were several that guarded the pool, which we discovered when we went in. They would buzz by, and if you weren't vigilant, they would land and bite. So, we made it our mission to #1 not get bit, and #2, to kill them! The kids dunked themselves into the pool every time they flies buzzing; I bailed to start the coals for dinner; Joe managed to both kill two and get bitten by at least one. It swelled up to the size of a quarter. Meanwhile, back at the camper, I was attempting to get the fire lit- and it wasn't working. It took over an hour to get the coals lit to a point that we could cook with them. Luckily, we were only cooking brats, so it didn't have to be that hot.
That night, a storm moved through- strong winds and rain- shaking the camper to a point that Kira woke up, freaked out by being in the top bunk in the wind. We didn't sleep that much- but at least we weren't in a tent, like some of the other campers! Again, we were on the road by just after 8:00- amazing!
We crossed the rest of Wyoming. There were fences everywhere. They weren't connected, they weren't complete, and they didn't seem to just be along ridges, so they didn't seem to be wind breaks. Turns out, they were snow fences.
Then, we drove into Utah. There were lots of signs indicating strong winds, which we did run into. There were oodles of trucks on the road with us, but most of them were pretty considerate of us. The scenery was beautiful, as well.
Being hit by the wind as they passed us was interesting- because there was nothing to do except try to correct the push across the lane of traffic as it was happening. We made it across Utah and into Idaho.
Tuesday morning, we were up and out of there by 8:30 or so, again. Being so close, we just crossed the border and stopped in Ontario for breakfast.
It was so nice to be in Oregon again.
Watching the scenery of desert and seeing the Blue Mountains.
Seeing Mt. Hood in the distance as we entered the Columbia Gorge.
Mt. Hood continued to get closer, and we continued to get close to home.
We headed down I 205 and got home around 4:00. Whew- one day over 2 months on the road- 10,878 miles total. Amazingly enough, we had a good time, too! It has been a little weird to be home- like we are visiting someone else's house- but we are getting used to it! :o)
Monday, August 15, 2011
Red Rocks Park and Hometown Days
We had a 5:00 arrival in the Denver area, after backtracking 27 some miles due to my poor navigation. We were all ready to be done driving- so Joe, Kira and Koen all changed into swimwear and hit the pool. This particular KOA has a pizza delivery service on site- so we ordered pizza for dinner. It wasn't too bad, and had the added benefit of being able to stay in to eat! They also serve wings- and they were better than many we have had.
Remember my discussion about the mosquito population? Well, in Strasburg, Colorado, they have minimal mosquitoes (YAY!) but a plethora of flies. They are not all the biting ones, but they are everywhere, and some occasionally do bite. Luckily, when night falls, the flies seem to go night-night, too. :o)
I have not quite adjusted to the time change, so continue to wake early- 3:30 Mountain time- which made for a lovely pic of the sunrise over the field behind our camp site.
We decided, after a breakfast of pancakes, to head to Red Rocks Park, hoping to find some trails to ride bicycles on. We did stop at Bicycle Village, which is HUGE! to get ideas on how to keep the new computer on Joe's bike. I also picked up a water bottle that hangs over the handle bars- since I don't have a water holder. It is also insulated, so ice water actually stays cold! (I didn't get to try it out on Friday, but I did today- it is awesome!) Then we stopped for a roasted chicken and bread at the local King Soopers (which is Denver's Fred Meyer/Kroger store). Finally, we headed for Red Rocks.
We stopped in at the trading post, and visited with the visitor center ranger. She gave us a couple of hiking trails that we could take, so we did.
The first one, which wasn't really labeled a hike, was up a bridge that covered the stone face of the hill, into and through the ampitheater- totally awesome, by the way- and into the visitor's center.
The center has all the musical groups that have played the Red Rocks ampitheater, by year and group. (Joe found the two that he had been to- lucky him!)
We were all panting a bit as we walked- thank goodness the visitor's center is air conditioned. We were able to catch our breath as we wandered around. The John Butler Trio crew was setting up for a concert that evening- so we were able to experience some of the amazing acoustics, too.
When we had wandered around, caught our breaths, and cooled off, we headed out on the 1.6 mile hike around the area- including the trading post. It was HOT, but we did get so see a deer right below us, and some amazing landscape.
The drive back through rush hour Denver traffic was a bit crazy- lots of maniac drivers- I assume that Colorado is still a no fault state!
We stopped at a different King Sooper, so I could get food for our dinner for the next two days- and some breakfast food, as well. I was exhausted by the time we returned to the campsite. Getting the coals to start at this altitude is quite a challenge. It was dark by the time we finished cooking!
Strasburg is having their Hometown Days celebration this weekend- which we sure didn't know when we booked here. Friday, they had fireworks and music (which we missed because we were grilling dinner.) and Saturday, they had a parade, free hamburgers, inexpensive rootbeer floats, and a rodeo in the evening. It all reminded me of the parades and fair that we used to go to in Tillamook- candy at the parade, lots of locals coming out to say hey and have fun. It is kind of nice to know that people/communities still do that sort of thing. (We rode our bicycles around town after the festivities- everyone said hi or waved, like they knew us- such a nice small town thing to do!)
So, I was sitting out in the wind and sun, attempting to get another batch of charcoal lit, when I noticed a snake by the rear tire of the truck. I figured we had backed over it, and was feeling bad for the poor thing, when I noticed that it was moving. I wasn't sure what kind of snake it was- but it was about a quarter in diameter, so I wasn't going to mess with it, either.
I had Kira go get the camera, and by the time she was back, the snake had crossed under the truck and was climbing up the far rear tire!
I watched it, and it disappeared up onto the axle. Then it proceeded to climb into the rear structures of the truck, finally (we think) coming to rest on the gas tank!
Joe walked over to the office and apparently, they have a few bull snakes that keep the rattlers under control, and she was sure that this was one of them- her husband is usually the snake handler, and he was gone, so she came over with a catching stick. We beat on the truck, trying to get him to come out. Finally, Joe drove around, figuring he would be thrown by the motion and drop out- nothing. The owner came over, said that it was resting on the gas tank and when it cooled off, he would come out. We all sure hope so! (Some of the other campers said they saw one going into the bushes later that night.)
We will be heading for home tomorrow. I was going to fly out, but Joe figured out that we could be home in time for my meetings and finish the trip as a family, so we will be on the road early, aiming for Wyoming. That way, he still has my help on the drives, and I can get back for all my activities with school.
Remember my discussion about the mosquito population? Well, in Strasburg, Colorado, they have minimal mosquitoes (YAY!) but a plethora of flies. They are not all the biting ones, but they are everywhere, and some occasionally do bite. Luckily, when night falls, the flies seem to go night-night, too. :o)
I have not quite adjusted to the time change, so continue to wake early- 3:30 Mountain time- which made for a lovely pic of the sunrise over the field behind our camp site.
We decided, after a breakfast of pancakes, to head to Red Rocks Park, hoping to find some trails to ride bicycles on. We did stop at Bicycle Village, which is HUGE! to get ideas on how to keep the new computer on Joe's bike. I also picked up a water bottle that hangs over the handle bars- since I don't have a water holder. It is also insulated, so ice water actually stays cold! (I didn't get to try it out on Friday, but I did today- it is awesome!) Then we stopped for a roasted chicken and bread at the local King Soopers (which is Denver's Fred Meyer/Kroger store). Finally, we headed for Red Rocks.
We stopped in at the trading post, and visited with the visitor center ranger. She gave us a couple of hiking trails that we could take, so we did.
The first one, which wasn't really labeled a hike, was up a bridge that covered the stone face of the hill, into and through the ampitheater- totally awesome, by the way- and into the visitor's center.
The center has all the musical groups that have played the Red Rocks ampitheater, by year and group. (Joe found the two that he had been to- lucky him!)
We were all panting a bit as we walked- thank goodness the visitor's center is air conditioned. We were able to catch our breath as we wandered around. The John Butler Trio crew was setting up for a concert that evening- so we were able to experience some of the amazing acoustics, too.
When we had wandered around, caught our breaths, and cooled off, we headed out on the 1.6 mile hike around the area- including the trading post. It was HOT, but we did get so see a deer right below us, and some amazing landscape.
The drive back through rush hour Denver traffic was a bit crazy- lots of maniac drivers- I assume that Colorado is still a no fault state!
We stopped at a different King Sooper, so I could get food for our dinner for the next two days- and some breakfast food, as well. I was exhausted by the time we returned to the campsite. Getting the coals to start at this altitude is quite a challenge. It was dark by the time we finished cooking!
Strasburg is having their Hometown Days celebration this weekend- which we sure didn't know when we booked here. Friday, they had fireworks and music (which we missed because we were grilling dinner.) and Saturday, they had a parade, free hamburgers, inexpensive rootbeer floats, and a rodeo in the evening. It all reminded me of the parades and fair that we used to go to in Tillamook- candy at the parade, lots of locals coming out to say hey and have fun. It is kind of nice to know that people/communities still do that sort of thing. (We rode our bicycles around town after the festivities- everyone said hi or waved, like they knew us- such a nice small town thing to do!)
So, I was sitting out in the wind and sun, attempting to get another batch of charcoal lit, when I noticed a snake by the rear tire of the truck. I figured we had backed over it, and was feeling bad for the poor thing, when I noticed that it was moving. I wasn't sure what kind of snake it was- but it was about a quarter in diameter, so I wasn't going to mess with it, either.
I had Kira go get the camera, and by the time she was back, the snake had crossed under the truck and was climbing up the far rear tire!
I watched it, and it disappeared up onto the axle. Then it proceeded to climb into the rear structures of the truck, finally (we think) coming to rest on the gas tank!
Joe walked over to the office and apparently, they have a few bull snakes that keep the rattlers under control, and she was sure that this was one of them- her husband is usually the snake handler, and he was gone, so she came over with a catching stick. We beat on the truck, trying to get him to come out. Finally, Joe drove around, figuring he would be thrown by the motion and drop out- nothing. The owner came over, said that it was resting on the gas tank and when it cooled off, he would come out. We all sure hope so! (Some of the other campers said they saw one going into the bushes later that night.)
We will be heading for home tomorrow. I was going to fly out, but Joe figured out that we could be home in time for my meetings and finish the trip as a family, so we will be on the road early, aiming for Wyoming. That way, he still has my help on the drives, and I can get back for all my activities with school.
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