Don’t Miss Your Turn

Posted on July 26, 2014 by waterhigh

Wrong turn? Road not taken?

“Life should not be a journey to the grave with the intention of arriving safely in a pretty and well preserved body, but rather to skid in broadside in a cloud of smoke, thoroughly used up, totally worn out, and loudly proclaiming “Wow! What a Ride!”

― Hunter S. Thompson

The Road Not Taken

Cities of Gold

Posted on May 27, 2014 by waterhigh

Cover via Amazo

So I read another Douglas Preston book this spring. (I bought this one, Mr. Preston.) It was a departure from his horror/thrillers I’d read previously, but this non-fiction book was fascinating in another way.

He decided to retrace the steps of Coronado from the border of Mexico to the Pecos Pueblo in search of the Seven Cities of Gold. It turns out that it was a bit of a wild goose chase for Coronado, but people will believe what they want to believe when it comes to treasures of gold. Time hasn’t changed that.

Preston smoothly wove massive amounts of history into the story of his trek on horseback through some very harsh lands. He’s also made use of the experience in some of his fiction, i.e. Thunderhead, Tyrannosaurus Canyon, and others.

Tyrannosaurus footprint from Philmont Scout Ranch, New Mexico (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Let’s see. Did Mapsmith call Dal foolhardy? Well, let’s just say it takes a certain mix of courage, stamina, and not too much information to undertake some adventures. Which is why the glory goes to the brave. Kudos to all of you. Lacking two of the above, I’m just happy to get the vicarious thrill when I read about your adventures.

Pecos Glazeware Bowl, labelled as serpent design, Pecos National Historical Park From the ruins of the Pecos Pueblo in in San Miguel County, New Mexico.

Worth the Cold?

Posted on May 15, 2014 by waterhigh

Glad to hear of the successful rescue of a searcher who got stuck in the snow out west! (See Dal’s site, Thrill of the Chase, for details.)

But hey, people. Could we not be doing things that might keep Forrest up at night! And his nephew Chip. And the other heroes. Just saying.

I’m only hunting morels and asparagas until the snow is melted in Yellowstone. (Can’t eat ’em, but, you know, it’s the thrill of the chase.)

“Just How I Roll”

Posted on March 21, 2014 by waterhigh

Remind me not to whine about a little snow…..

Kenny Salvini

I woke up At 6 AM on Sunday morning, groggily cursing daylight saving time for having robbed me of an hour’s sleep – as if I was innocently staying up till 1 AM the night before and it had snuck up on me. Like a ninja. But as my two caregivers – one disturbingly chipper and the other equally as grumpy as me – stuffed my lifeless limbs into layer after layer of winter clothing, I felt my mood begin to shift, for the early morning came with good purpose. Round two on the slopes awaited.

The nerves from the week prior were gone. Having cleared so many emotional hurdles on the last trip, I was looking forward getting my bearings on the bi-ski without the stress and pressure of such a momentous undertaking clouding my mind. We arrived early and met with the two volunteers who would be…

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Birkebeiner Bronze

Posted on February 2, 2014 by waterhigh

Think birchbark leggings and skinny skis. And snow. Lots of snow. (Like today.)

‪Norsk (bokmål)â¬: Birkebeinerne Torstein Skevla og Skjervald Skrukka frakter med seg lille Håkon Håkonsson, kongssønnen, i 1206. Maleriet Birkebeinerne av Knud Bergslien fra 1869 (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

In 1206, Birkebeiners whisked the 2-year-old Prince of Norway through mountains and forests to save his life. Since 1973, the event is marked in Wisconsin with a marathon ski race.

1982

Mr. W is in there somewhere. We’d both tried doing the 54 kilometer (34 miles) American Birkebeiner cross-country ski race the year before. Back when I thought I was in shape and had handily finished a 10k.

My brother tried to warn me. He told me to sign up for the Korteloppet, the half-marathon, which he’d done the year before. He was going back to earn his Birkebeiner medal. I wanted one, too, not a mere Korteloppet ribbon.

Viking on Lake Superior

Heck, no, I said. I can do it. (I seemed to forget that I’d been yanked from a 30-mile walk for hunger when I was 16 by a nurse who thought I’d overestimated my abilities.)

Up the hill

After tumbling down a hill and knocking myself in the head with a ski somewhere around the half-way point, I was ready to find the bus back. It was late in the day and I would have been pulled anyway. Mr. W made it three-quarters of the way before time ran short. Humbling.

Okay. We could blame the poor snow cover that year. Or our cheap no-wax (no grip, no go) skis.

Defeat is not in Mr. W’s vocabulary. He returned the next year with slick racer skis and came home with a medal. Me? I was home with a newborn. As good an excuse as any.

IMG_1155.JPG (Photo credit: arahbahn) NOT Mr. W, but another happy camper courtesy of flickr

It was twenty-some years before I got my fast skinny skis; and no, I have no plans to sign up for the 41st annual Birkie later this month. They only take the first 10,000, anyway.

Defeat is not the worst of failures. Not to have tried is the true failure (Photo credit: symphony of love)

10 Advantages To Living In The Frozen Tundra

Posted on January 9, 2014 by waterhigh

You’ve nailed it! Won’t those searchers in Santa Fe be jealous?

To catch up on Rennelle’s Raffle, go to Toby’s blog for the videos. (Hint: the winner lives in Colorado)

Brick House

With all the hoopla today about how cold it was going to be, I thought it might be fitting to open up my first ever Monday blog post with list of advantages to living in Wisconsin in the winter. By the way, anyone else notice that the coldest day on record since 1996 just happened to fall on a Monday? Just sayin’.

It is, indeed, a day to grind in the grim reality of at least 3 more months of cold and snow with nothing much to look forward to except that each passing day adds a couple more minutes of daylight. Oh, and a certain someone turns Nifty Fifty soon, so if you are the type that suffers from Seasonal Affective Disorder, and likes to spend money when you are depressed, feel free to buy me something cool.

1. No hurricanes in Wisconsin. Yay! Remind yourself of this as you walk to your car after work while the -50 degree wind…

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Toby’s First Podcast—Renelle

Posted on January 6, 2014 by waterhigh

From A Gypsy’s Kiss—

Toby’s First Podcast—Renelle

I just listened to this great interview with Rennelle. Beautiful in all respects.

Renelle

(Forrest and Dal’s Do Good Raffle is tomorrow—last day to buy a ticket!)

Prize donated by Forrest Fenn:

jar

One of his hand-crafted bronze jars filled with treasures that he will describe to the winner in a one-on-one visit, including ….

jarjunk

Milestones

Posted on January 2, 2014 by waterhigh

Misty morning in Glacier National Park

“How glorious a greeting the sun gives the mountains” – John Muir

John Muir, American conservationist. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Good morning all, and best wishes for the New Year. 2013 is wrapped up. Thank you everyone!

Stats for my first blog:

12, 643 views

175 followers

52 countries

(Small potatoes compared to Dal’s blog but fun for me.)

Stats for my first treasure hunt:

countless hours

4000 miles

1 trip

zero bronze chest of jewels and gold

2 entries and zero prize in Dal’s Shadow contest

a free education in history, geology, geography, etc., etc.

a few nuggets of wisdom

a priceless visit with Forrest Fenn

August 2013

Ascent

Posted on October 30, 2013 by waterhigh

Adventurers

Posted on October 26, 2013 by waterhigh

borrowed from Kelly @flateleven—Thank you.

Me to Mr Waterhigh: please, please, please, ….

I think once he’s done with his day job we could hit the road. If it’s not too cold. And I’ve got this puzzle solved, with confidence.

Forrest Fenn’s Treasure Chest

Forrest Fenn’s Book Signing in Santa Fe New Mexico (op2myst.wordpress.com)
‘The Thrill of the Chase’: Why Forrest Fenn sparked a treasure hunt for $3-million worth of gold and artifacts (news.nationalpost.com)
How to Be a Modern Day Treasure Hunter (money.usnews.com)

Where It’s Not — Part Three

Posted on September 7, 2013 by waterhigh

In the morning, I drove through the tunnel, past Mummy Cave, and the BB Dam again. About the time I stopped to pay my entrance fee to Yellowstone Park, I was struck by a blaze — the blinding kind you get before a migraine, if you’re subject to auras.

At home my remedy would have been to boil water, brew green tea with half a capsule of feverfew, and hit a dark room with an eye mask. On a 2-lane winding highway, I popped a cola for caffeine and downed Excedrin, and took a time out at a pull-out. Then I spent more time at the ranger station/stuffed animal museum. In the shade.

The ranger called the lone bison I’d seen a “fed-up bull” — fed up of fighting the young bulls in the herd, and at an age where he prefers to go it alone.

There were 5 fires burning in Yellowstone Park at the time, a few pull-outs were closed, but no roads closed that day. I remembered the summer of 1988 and the massive fires in Yellowstone. We could smell the smoke all the way over in Minnesota.

Fishing Bridge

So far, going solo hadn’t been a problem (except for getting creeped out by a guy in a van who asked me where I was from. He had just been staring at my license plate, so I thought it was not a real question. This happened back at the Oregon Trail ruts and Register Cliff where we seemed to be the only tourists out in the 105 degree weather. Not a good sign. Maybe it was nothing, but I didn’t like being followed.)

West Thumb of Yellowstone Lake

Another reason I’m going to bring Mr. W next time came about at Isa Lake.

Lily Pads at the Continental Divide? Is there a frog?

I really wanted to wade into the lily pads to see what was at the end of an under-water marker, but a couple (searchers??) from Salt Lake City was kinda killin’ time, like they were waiting for me to leave.

I won, but then realized, typical female, I didn’t have the right shoes.

Also, I saw strange underwater bugs, a possible fluke-wiry worm, and a very fast little pond-hugging, mole-nosed rodent running towards me. The picture that was supposed to of him is a blur of me jumping out of his way.

Yikes!

I don’t think I screamed.

From there, not far but too far to walk, I arrived at Old Faithful at the perfect time. People were streaming towards it so I parked and joined them. Another geyser was putting on a show at the same time. Serendipity strikes again.

And then, something else. Remember I left home without a GPS? The only place I might have needed it this trip was in the parking lot at Old Faithful Lodge and Visitor Center. It’s changed in the last 15 years apparently. The other thing about migraines is the mental shadow they leave you with. It took me an extra 15 minutes (or so) to find my car, and then I scared a poor family picnicking next to it when the alarm went off.

I passed another lone bison as I continued west. My heart goes out to the old and lonely.

On to the much discussed Firehole River and Canyon. Is it “Where Warm Waters Halt”? I couldn’t say.

And then, of course, the much touted Madison River, which had lots of giant boulders lying around.

I tarried as much as I wanted that day. I had a reservation for that night in West Yellowstone, so no need to hurry. Just tried to absorb the beauty and if a potential solution to one of the TTOTC 9 clues presented itself, all the better.

No treasure yet, but so far, so good. Any day that doesn’t involve a trip to the hospital is a big plus.

25 years after 1988, Yellowstone reflects change wrought by fire (ravallirepublic.com)
August pushes Yellowstone visitation over 2.5 million (billingsgazette.com)

Wandering in Wyoming (Part Two of Trip One)

Posted on September 5, 2013 by waterhigh

My sights were set on Montana, but I had time to check out (parts of) Wyoming. The state is a collection of mountain ranges and basins. I knew I couldn’t cover it all. Had to scratch off Como Bluff and it’s dinosaur bone house—but it’s not open to the public anymore.

I planned to cover the Big Horn Canyon/Yellowtail Reservoir on my way home, but there was a huge change of plans along the way. So, where did I leave off? Worland.

In the morning I headed for Cody. First up, the Buffalo Bill Dam in Shoshone Canyon where I met Buck, a volunteer at the Visitor Center.

Buck

Wonderful, interesting, happy guy who served his country well.

After that, back into Cody to visit an historic church which the gracious man of the collar opened to me. It has an ancient Wurlitzer organ, of interest to few, but special to me. I told myself I wouldn’t refer to the church by its nickname, but there it was, on a bronze plaque right outside the door….

Downtown for lunch at the Irma Hotel. I gazed in the mirror and looked quickly down, to no avail. I also picked up a neckerchief in case that would be of help in some deciphering I’ve been trying to do.

After lunch I hit 4 out of the 5 museums at the Buffalo Bill Historical Center where I saw a fetching Fechin, the pre-sale artworks of many talented people, Plains Indian artifacts, natural history exhibits, and so forth. I skipped the Firearms Museum this time as Mr. W wasn’t along. (Been there, done that.)