A day in the life of Dutched Pinay

When I am not travelling abroad part-time, I am still travelling within the country (Netherlands including Belgium) full-time.

Next week will be a heavy week with Maastricht again and Belgium on the list among other places. Anyway, I have always loved driving. It gives me the rush, the freedom and I actually look forward to long drives. I just need to watchout for speed cameras otherwise I will end up paying lots of penalties every month!

Picture of my car's GPS was taken today during mid day after my first meeting and a quick lunch in Amstelveen (beside Amsterdam). I have simulated here the route for my next meeting in the south of the country which is in Eindhoven. February

Speechless? Batman Cave!

Not often I am speechless.Nothing to do with climbing. But this is good.










"The narrow cave, no wider than Alexander is tall, is located in Roca Foradada Mountains in Montserrat, Spain—a location that has inspired this professional Italian Norwegian athlete’s flying dream his whole life. Alexander hopes his success will inspire others not only to ‘climb over their mountains,’ but to also fly right through them!"



http://alexanderpolli.com/

Glacier :: Highline Trail

The next morning (Tuesday July 27th) I drove the Going to the Sun Road. The shuttles are nice and you have the opportunity to look at the tremendous views as you are riding, but it is nearly impossible to get good photos through the window of the moving bus! Also, the shuttle does not stop at any of the overlooks.

Taken from about a third of the way up the road.

A little further up the road with the road visible on the right. Steep drop-offs were the norm with guardrails in only some sections.

Nearing Logan Pass. This was taken from the Highline Trail. Construction along the highway can cause delays of up to half and hour in several different sections. It took me 1.5 hours to get to Logan Pass and another 1.5 hours to get to the east side entrance at St. Marys.

The Highline Trail, which begins at Logan Pass on the Going to the Sun Road, is one of the premier hiking trails at Glacier National Park. I only walked the first mile or so where it hovers several hundred feet above the Going to the Sun Road. This section of trail was rather wide in most places, perhaps 5-6 feet, but narrowed to less than 2 feet in some spots. They did have a chain threaded through water hoses and attached to the mountain side for you to hang onto if you felt the need...

A portion of the Highline trail on the left (in the shade), Going to the Sun Road winding up the hill, and Clements Mountain in the background.

Wildflowers were in bloom, scattered here and there, clinging to the walls of the mountain.

Another view of the Going to the Sun Road and Clements Mountain. Waterfalls graced the sides of the valley – one can be seen in the lower right corner.

While We're Still In Northeast

(From left to right-standing: Nick& Kiki Kendros, Pota& Peter Cokinos, Kalliope Cokinos)

Middle Row-Catherine Cokinos w/big bow, little George Cokinos

Seated:Bill Maofis and Harry Tagalos)



So I was looking in old photo albums when I found a picture of the Kendros and Cokinos families. Dad's been reading a bunch of crime books by a certain local writer with a Greek background, and it came back to him that our families have crossed paths and were all part of that H street scene.



I wanted to know more. (What else is new?) so I hooked Dad up with Ruby Kendros Pelecanos who is sharp as a tack, and sort of a cousin. She was born right around the corner from our family at 808 K Street. Her Dad, Nick Kendros, had the Woodward Sandwich Shop at 1422 H Street in the 1920s. She also remembered Bill Maofis who had a dry cleaner across H from our family's candy shop. Bill was godfather to my Uncle Nick and to Ruby as well. Her maternal grandfather, Harry Tagalos was great friends with our grandfather, Peter Cokinos, and her paternal grandmother, Economia was first cousins with him as well. (Peter that is) (Yep, my head hurts,too) And a lot of them made the trip from the tiny hamlet of Agoulnitsa, Greece all the way over here, so along with George Washington and Thomas Jefferson, they got this city rolling. Hats off to those urban pioneers.

Southwick and surrounding woods

About 6 miles. 2 hrs 15 mins. A couple of showers but nothing really wet. As I got home the sun came out.





Lovely walk, with only likelihood of wandering off track right in the last half-mile or so.

Quite up and down. I parked by Southwick church and walked up to the water tower on the Glapthorn Road, but there's a fair sized lay-by at the top. Of course that puts the uphill road walk at the end.





The track starts about 100 yards past the water tower, to the right.

It runs through at least three fields of this crop - is it bamboo? Pandas next?





(I'm told this is a bio-fuel crop)





It was very windy up on the ridge, but the plants were some protection as they were taller than I am.





The hedges around had lots of blackberries.





For much of the way the path runs beside Short Wood Nature Reserve.









After about a mile or so the track comes to a metal gate leading into a large meadow, and today I was treated to the sight of these two little deer.





I was surprised when they came towards me at first, so I tried to get a shot - usual problem of the wrong lens for the job, and the splodges are raindrops! It was a joy to watch them leaping about. The wood behind the deer is part of Glapthorn Cow Pastures Nature Reserve, famous for nightingales in May, and black hairstreak butterflies in June.The cows were in the lower part of the field keeping themselves to themselves.





The track goes across to another gate, then right on a road leading to Provost Lodge. I followed the path between the two big barns and through a gate then downhill. According to my instructions it crosses a stream, but it looked as though there has been no water in the stream bed for some time. The path goes uphill to another gate, past a gap in the hedge. At the gate I went slightly diagonally left towards yet another gate. Then turn left towards an old farm building - this part of the walk is alongside a ploughed field. There is a bit of grass along the edge, but it's a bit rough in places.

At the old building (Tottenhoe Lodge) turn right and carry on going north, with a hedge on your right until you reach a wooden footbridge almost on the road.





There's a bridge which you have to cross - it brings back memories of cycling over to Suffolk almost twenty years ago, as I remember stopping here for a rest, and Harry drawing Crossway Hand Farm on the hill.





I followed the concrete track towards the farm, turning left just before it, and then along the track towards Boars Head Farm. There is woodland immediately on the right, but no public access as it's a conservation area. The track continues as a grassy path just past Boars Head Farm, going downhill and entering the wood, at its narrowest point. There is a clear path to left and right. We go to the right along a gravel track signed with a horseshoe. As I walked along here, I first heard, then saw a couple of jays - are they burying acorns already?

I followed the route straight through, past three paths to the right. The last one of these leads to Shire Hill Lodge, but the path becomes very narrow for a short distance before joining the track .

Soon there is a small plantation of fir trees on the left, and at the end a footpath cuts across the track. I turned right - it's clearly marked as a footpath, but not for horses. The path turns left after another young pine wood. When it joins a gravel track go straight on, not to the right. A little later turn right and follow this path directly to Southwick.





(If you come out of the wood and spot the Water Tower on your right, a little behind you . . . retrace your steps. If you're out of the wood you should have the trees on your right not your left!)

Spot the statue?

You arrive at the church after crossing a footbridge over a stream and following a small lane to the footpath signs and two benches.

No, it's not the leaning tower of Southwick.

Thanks to 20 Best Local Walks, by Nicholas Rudd-Jones, for this route.

Chicken update

Our last remaining Buff Orpington:



We didn't get new chicks this spring. If we don't have too many predator losses we really won't need them. But if the chickens start disappearing at the rate they did last spring, we'll be short on eggs for a while.

Why the coyotes/bobcats/hawks don't go after the roosters, I don't know. We've lost three chickens so far this spring - all hens. We're back to the too many roosters problem of last year.

I'm afraid I've spent too much time with them to use the previous solution. Our sweet Easter Egger rooster will eat out of my hand. Even the Rhode Island Red is nice, if a bit stand-offish. (Email me if you're local and want one of those two!)

Current chicken count:

Roosters:
1 mean Easter Egger, "Stewpot"
1 nice Easter Egger, "Eagle"
1 nice Rhode Island Red, "Big Red"

Hens:
1 White Leghorn
1 Buff Orpington
5 Easter Eggers
1 Dominique
3 Marans

I think that one of the hens is a Dominique. She may be a Marans instead - they look very much alike.

The Marans eggs are lightening over time, and are not all they're cracked up to be in the "really dark eggs" department. Also, they're smallish. But we do get a few speckled eggs from them, which is kind of cool.

The last Rhode Island Red hen got snatched a month or so ago. I guess I've finally stopped crying over missing chickens.

Several Different Horses

I tried to get little horses in a verity of different colors, poses, breeds.

Happy Feet

Today was the first time I felt well enough to ride a roadbike since havinggotten sicklast month. It was only 26 miles, but it felt great to have my full lung capacity and energy back.



Continuing with the Italian theme, I took Francesco - my fixed gear stallion. How happy he was, basking in the precious minutes of sunshine in between thunderstorms.



Riding a fixed gear roadbike is an experience that fills me with a special kind of enjoyment - I think because it combines the sensations of walking and flying (fly-walking?).



I was worried that I might be too out of shape to make it, but I had forgotten how comfortable Francesco is. The 26 miles of pedaling felt like a stroll in the park. Although, I have learned by now that even if I feel "fine" riding fixed gear while I am actually doing it, it does take more out of me than a free-wheel bicycle. I usually sleep longer after such a ride, and sometimes I am sore the following day.



One thing that has improved my comfort level with fixed gear cycling considerably, are these "fixie" Power Grips. I wrote about the standard Power Grips here, and since my initial review I have become addicted to these things. The fixed gear version differs from the standard model, in that it makes it easier to insert and remove your feet while pedals are in motion. I cannot tell what it is about the design that makes this possible, but none the less it seems to work. I insert my right toe at the starting position and start cycling slowly while nudging the left pedal with my left toe - then swiftly insert the toe into the left grip on the first stroke. After some practice this became a familiar and instinctive sequence of movements - though it definitely helped that I was already comfortable using this system on a free-wheel bike prior to trying it on a fixed gear.



Now that I am able to use foot retention on this bicycle, I am no longer apprehensive about cycling over bumps and potholes or going downhill at high speeds. The experience is pretty much perfect and very enjoyable. One thing in particular I have noticed, is how easy it is for me to ride "in the drops" - Francesco almost seems more stable when the handlebars are held this way than higher up. Is that possible?



And another interesting thing: I find it much, much easier to get out of the saddle and pedal standing up on Francesco than I do on my other bicycles. Is it the fixed-gearness that is facilitating this or the geometry? As I've mentioned before, I have a terrible sense of balance, and that is what I believe normally prevents me from pedaling while standing up. But on this bicycle, it seems not to matter.



It rained on and off for the duration of our ride, and the colourful leaves strewn over the trail turned into a mess of a slippery carpet. Was I so excited to be riding Francesco that I began to imagine things, or is it easier to ride in slippery conditions on a fixed gear bike? I have read comments about traction before, but I admit that I don't understand them. Could somebody explain it in layman's terms?



As I prepare for some more pruning of my bicycle overgrowth, it is clear to me that I "need" a fixed gear roadbike. So while I am now considering selling my Trek- which has been fun, but not essential - I will definitely be keeping the Francesco Moser.



In the long run, however - maybe a couple of years from now - I will probably want to replace it with a "real" fixed gear bicycle. Mainly, this is because the Moser's bottom bracket is not as high as it should be - and even though my lean on turns is not aggressive enough to warrant worrying about pedal strike yet, it would be better if this wasn't even a potential issue.



But for now,Francesco is my dashing Italian gentleman and I thank him for my happy feet.

Seach and Rescue (SAR) callouts

So the park has been open for 15 days and the problems are already starting to roll in for hikers and climbers. I've my fingers crossed that there will be NO serious accidents this summer (like last year), but the callout trend remains alarming. Over the past week, we've had 3 missions launched because of overdue parties. Thankfully, no one was hurt.

One instance involved two reportedly overdue climbers (i.e. example of what not to do) and it required park rangers to respond last Tuesday. It all started as a miscommunication between family members (i.e. parent and climber). The parents thought that the climbers would be home on Sunday night, the climbers planned for Wednesday. This discrepancy led to a 911 call late Monday night and a search that involved two helicopters (one military Chinook) and numerous NPS personnel...

The primary issue was that the two climbers did not register. If they had, there would have been no search, but since the team was reported overdue by 24 hours, something needed to be done. As it turns out, the climbers were prepared to spend the extra time and they did summit too, but one father didn't know those plans and neither did we. The moral of the story, register, OR face the US magistrate to explain why you didn't.

On the brighter side of the things, our friend and former climbing ranger Mimi Allin (goes by AKA Allin too) is getting gobs and gobs of media attention again. Being the POET of Green Lake obviously carries a fair amount of clout in Seattle. KING 5 Evening Magazine visited her recently, and if you live in Seattle, maybe you should too. Hint hint, nudge, nudge...

In other good news, the Glacier Basin Trail is looking better now that the rangers flagged it extensively. Recent rangerly type activities also included helicopter training. In these David Gottlieb images, a Chinook is inserting personnel at Camp Schurman. Every year, the pilots and rangers need to be recertified in hoist operations. Over at Camp Muir, the guide services are setting up weatherports on the Cowlitz Glacier while most climbing teams are ascending the Ingraham Glacier. Everyone is looking forward to Memorial Day weekend. Now the big question, what will the weather bring??

Fishing Pier at Myrtle Beach State Park

I think fishing piers are kind of like boardwalks. They may not scream summer in quite the same way, but they do seem to have the same air of relaxation about them. They seem to say, "pull up a seat and stay awhile". The pier at the State Park was one of the nicest ones we have seen at a State Park.



There are benches to sit at and fish, or just watch the water. The pier has places to measure and clean your fish. And there are people both young and old and everywhere in between. I could sit and people watch here for hours and hours and hours.





The view is not too shabby either!



I like this one much better though because you can't see the buildings as much.



I'm going to miss this place when we leave here.



Living the life in SC!

Couples

We don't have much time to double-date, but sometimes it's nice to spend time with another couple. You know - going out to the lake together, watching the sunset...

I think you've met these friends of ours before?

They haven't been out together for a while, but finally we convinced them both to join us.

The evening involved conversation,

dancing,

rock climbing,

and attempts at group portraits.

Our small entourage attracted some local bicycle enthusiasts, and soon we were chatting about refurbishing vintage frames to the bewildered glances of passers-by, until it grew dark and each party headed home. Our rod-brake friends always do seem to get all the attention. Must be their matching outfits.

Carlsbad Caverns

We had been to Carlsbad Caverns on a previous trip to visit Gary's Nephew who wasscheduled to ship out of San Diego on a Navy Ship. It is definitely worth a 2nd trip. I think this is one of the nicest caves because there is so much you can tour on your own with no additional charge other than the Park entry fee. The natural entrance is 1.25 miles long and descends 800 feet.







It leads into the Big Room which is a 1.25 mile paved loop. It is 8.2 acres and full of natural formations of stalagmite and stalactites, pools of water, drapes and more.

Lions Tails

Column

Some tight squeezes

Besides the free tours we opted for 2 of the guided tours as well. The first was a lantern tour of the Left Hand Tunnel (it had my name written all over it). The only light was from the candle-lit lanterns we carried and at one point we extinguished them all and were in total darkness.

The Bacon hanging from the ceiling

The other tour was the King's Palace Tour which consisted of 4 highly decorated chambers. The Kings Palace, Papoose Room, Queens Chamber and Green Lake Room.

Green Lake

Draperies in Queens Chamber

I saw a pack of howling wolves in this formation - do you?

You just can't capture the immensity of these caves on film.

A tunnel that was blasted through to one of the Caverns 79 years ago is a wet cave and stalactites are forming. This will give you an idea just how long the formations took to develop. These are 79 years old!

We would have liked to have taken one of the smaller guided tours that involved wearing knee pads and helmets with headlamps but they are reserved in advance.

Well we've seen whats under our world - next see what's out of this world at Roswell!