Greg's Blog
So I Rented an RV
A little reflection on our Yellowstone transport/lodging. Music: Good Old Mountain Dew by Tony Rice, David Grisman from Tone Poems
Yellowstone Abstract Photos
The thermal features of Yellowstone, in addition to all their science coolness, have a beauty that always surprises me. Check out the little gallery after the jump. Continue reading »
Back from Yellowstone
We're back from our travels in Wyoming. We went to Yellowstone, flying in & out of Jackson or Jackson Hole (not quite sure which). Everything went well, no particular crises arose. The RV thing was, uh, an experience -- one which I shall detail in a few days. Continue reading »
End of the Summer
I'm going to try something new. Every month I'll post a little music podcast. Click that little play button up there to get it started. Whazit about? Eh, whatever stikes my fancy. This month it's the End of the Summer. Here's the playlist:
- The Dandy Warhols - The Last High
- Camera Obscura - Let's Get Out of This Country
- Old 97's - Melt Show
- Spoon - Rhythm & Soul
- The Blue Hawaiians - Last Days of Summer
The Completed Deck
Matt came down last week to add the steps onto the deck. And it is now complete. Gorgeous, ain't it? The effort and craftsmanship that Matt put into this more than impresses me. Every angle comes out perfect and it's built as solid as the rest of the house. Next up we'll have to step-up the rest of the backyard to keep up with that beautiful deck. Continue reading »
Google Street Views in Yellowstone
We're renting that RV for Yellowstone, but we're not going to be hanging around the campground during the day. There are trails to be trod. But one of my worries is that the behemoth we're driving will be too big to park at the trailhead. You know how I hate surprises and not knowing things ahead of time. What to do?
Google Street Views. Above is the trailhead I was worried about. As you can see, plenty of room. I find it equally amazing and disappointing that all the roads in Yellowstone are in there. You can drive around the park in the comfort of your own house. I guess it nets out on the positive side -- I got my answer about the trailhead parking. And Yellowstone only gets really good when you get off the roads and onto the trails. I'll really despair, however, when the Google Trail Views comes online. I'm hoping that's a few years out. Continue reading »
Geology Video - Washington DC
Earlier this summer I took a couple of geology field courses from NVCC, the Billy Goat Trail and the Bedrock of D.C. Instead of writing papers, I made a video. It's my first stab at a documentary-ish video, and as it is it's a bit of a dogs breakfast. I'd like the animations, for instance, to all have the same look and feel. Continue reading »
Apollo 11
What Cars and whatever the newest Pixar film is for this generation of boys, the Apollo program was for my generation in the late 60s / early 70s. I had all the models, knew the terminology ("LEM" and "yaw"), visited Cape Kennedy, and collected the stuff. Continue reading »
RV
This summer marks our bi-annual family vacation -- every two years H, Z and myself head west to one of the national parks. On the last one we went to Glacier, f'instance. This summer we're heading back to Yellowstone. We went in '03. Since this will be the last 'official' trip with Z (college and all that next year), I let her choose the destination, and she picked Y'stone.
Now I'm not a re-visitor. Usually I'm one and done - "Seen it, check, next place please." So this presents a bit of an issue when your daughter picks the six-year-ago destination. But since Yellowstone is a big place, I figured I could make a second trip of it with little overlap. But it took me too long to spec out the itinerary, and the proper lodging in the proper order was unavailable. I called a year ahead instead of a year and a half.
But once I set an itinerary, I'm a stubborn man. Although H's bear phobia precludes any kind of tent camping, the hard-sided RV remained the final camping option. So, we're renting an RV. It's not the Stripes EM-50 "Urban Assault Vehicle" pictured above, but I feel that it will be close. I never pictured myself behind the wheel of an RV, but there's been plenty of non-photographic expectations in my life thus far, so I forge ahead. But I figure that worse-case, I get to tell a good story, and you get to be amused. Continue reading »
