Tag Archives: hiking

20201102 The new blog using no fingers:

Okay folks out there in blog land, this is the new chapter in my blog. I’m using a new program called Dragon speaking naturally version 15. It’s not a perfect solution but it may go a long ways towards containing my jittery fingers. So far things are looking pretty good. I have dictated this first paragraph and only had to go back and take out the 15 about five times. But no fingers!

Now the one danger here is that someone speaking in the background could get included in my blog. That was a particular problem with version 12 that I was using before. When I went to proofread what I had just written I would discover comments from Judy included in my text. This new version is passing the test with flying colors. Judy is over next to me listening to videos particularly the one about two bartenders in a boat of our friend Henry and none of it is showing up in my blog.

We have come across three states now, Oregon Nevada and Arizona. Were halfway across New Mexico and tomorrow we are going to Hueco tanks State Park near El Paso Texas. This is a really fun state park because it has huge boulders everywhere. It’s a playground to people who do what they call bouldering. Here’s what you see when somebody is coming bouldering.

Judy in 2006
Judy hanging out under a huge rock December 2006

You see this huge mattress waddling down the pathway like SpongeBob SquarePants with a little person under it. They choose a boulder, lay their foam pad at the bottom of the climb, rosin up and free climb to the top of boulder. Of course the Sponge Bob is waiting there to catch climber in his arms if they fall. Often these boulders that they’re claiming are 12 to 20 feet high and many of them have shallow depressions in the top of which are called tanks that’s really what the name Hueco Tanks is referring to.

If it's old it's not grafiti at Hueco Tanks
Historic Pictographs

The other thing we like to do is hike and take the camera and photograph the pictographs that are everywhere including on the bottom side of some boulders.

We first came to this park in December 2006 and spent a couple of days taking the long hikes in the north part of the park led by knowledgeable rangers. I got lots of good photographs that we won’t have a chance to do this trip.

I’ll end this blog on that note. I had to correct a few mistakes with my fingers but it is been pretty good.

Angel of Mercy

Judy and I went for a little walk after supper this evening. Our destination was the Point Hudson Marina in Port Townsend’s “Down Town.” The route was just over a mile and a half. What we didn’t think about was the 230 foot high hill between nearly sea level at the park and nearly sea level at the marina. On the way back we were smarter, we ducked around the end of the hill on “F” street, but that made the return trip almost 2.5 miles, but that hill was only 117 ft. We reached the corner of “O” street and Cherry and were contemplating one last hill to climb, probably about 100 feet when an angel of mercy drove by in a State of Washington Rangers pickup. If we got her name right it is Elishia. She recognized us from the park and stopped to offer a ride back to our camp. It knocked about 7/8ths of a mile off our return trip.

San Diego Yawl, Pacifica
San Diego Yawl, Pacifica

The photo is a San Diego yacht, the “Pacifica,” about 50 ft long and it appears to be a yawl. The wheel is definitely ahead of the mizzen mast and it appears the rudder must be ahead of the mizzen also, the defining characteristic of a yawl. I am speculating that we will see this boat in the Classic Mariners Regatta starting June 5th. First race is noon on the 6th.

February 20, 1965: Fifty Years Together:

On June 20, 1964 I kind of kicked off a series of events that have brought Judy and I to this point in our life together. This is our Fiftieth Wedding Anniversary. To celebrate this event I polished up an old song by Hank Snow called “With this Ring I Thee Wed.” It was just the song I needed at the time. I was somewhat nervous and timid, but if I could sing it in a song, I could get my message across. At the time I was working for the Northern Pacific Railroad. To pass the time, I spent many hours hiking and playing my guitar. The main thing on my mind was this enchanting young lady, Judith Starr, who lived in Spokane, Washington. Continue reading February 20, 1965: Fifty Years Together: