Crescent Moon Sunset

This image is actually a few days old (taken on Thanksgiving Eve), but I liked it so much I just had to share it with you. I took this from the fee booth I work in and was quite taken with the color and feel of the setting. Enjoy.

Turkey Day Buffalo Hunt

What, you might ask, should any red-blooded American (born right here in Texas) of Native American descent (a dash of Osage blood running around in there somewhere) do on Thanksgiving Day? Why, go on a Buffalo Hunt, of course! So, having the day off and in dire need of some fresh air and exercise, I packed up my Camelback with lunch and trundled off in search of the elusive Red Buffalo, one of the finest examples of Native American rock art in the park.


The actual whereabouts of the buffalo is a pretty well-kept secret around here, for obvious reasons, but I will tell you that this particular rock formation -- looking for all the world like something out of a Looney Tunes cartoon -- is what you're looking for. No, you're right -- it doesn't look much like a buffalo, does it?


Ah, but upon stalking your quarry further, you come across this -- the one and only Red Buffalo itself in all its spendor. It looks exactly the same now as it did in the winter of 2000/2001, when my buddies Jennifer and Romaldo first took me to see it. Pretty impressive, huh?


Here are some geological curiosities I came across in the area -- sandstone bowling balls. These make the "moqui marbles" in Snow Canyon, Utah, look really puny. These guys are about the size of volleyballs or basketballs. Pretty cool! You have to wonder how these got formed so perfectly. (Well, you don't have to, I guess. I just do.)


Here's another erosional detail I found fascinating. I just love this kind of work, don't you? It reminds me of a sculpture by Henry Moore.


And last but not least, here's a little geological specimen I think might have had a little help obtaining its perch. Nice placement for it, though.

A Gathering for Mom

Well, as most everyone that tunes into this blog knows, Mom passed away recently and would have left a bunch of miscreant cousins as the Adults of the family, were it not for her sister, Wanda, out in El Paso. Here is a picture of the motley bunch (most, but not all) from the Moore side of the family. God help us all.
Left to right: Standing - me; Uncle Sonny's first son, Will; Will's son, Dalton; Sonny's younger son, Wendell; Lyn's son, Matt. Seated - Will's wife, Leslie; Aunt Wanda's daughter, Lou Anne; Lyn; Lou Anne's older daughter, Ashley.

The Dash Is Done!

All righty, then. Well, I made it safe and sound once again to Big Bend National Park in the glorious state of Texas after a nine-day, 3114.6-mile trek halfway across the country. Whew! It's always fun and exciting, but I'm always glad when it's over, too. So, before I start to bore you with my woes, here are some final pics from the last leg of the trip.


Here we are cruising along through the beautiful little town of Fredricksburg, heavily populated by folks of the German persuasion who originally settled this place. I've never actually spent any amount of time here, but I'd like to remedy that some day. It's just so lovely here.


On the way out of town, I passed by the Fredricksburg airport and espied this rather sad example of a Douglas DC-3 sitting on the ramp. I immediately did a u-turn and headed back to catch a shot of it for my ongoing airplane file.


As a bonus, I came across this conversly beautiful example of a North American (or Ryan) Navion, a plane I've been in love with for a very long time. I just love this paint job!


And here we are on Highway 90 west of Del Rio, waiting to go through one of several immigration checkpoints scattered all over southern Texas. This is always a welcome sight to me, as it means I'm getting nearer my destination.


And off into the Big Empty we go. Outside of Del Rio, the landscape falls away to virtually -- and literally -- nothing, filled with nothing but scrub brush and cactus. Not a very welcoming sight for the uninitiated, but you can get a lot of thinking done out here. Nothing out there to stop you.


Here we are at the entrance of Big Bend National Park, just in case you had trouble reading the sign. It always seems like it takes forever to get here, but it's always worth the time and trouble once I'm here. Woo hoo!!! Let the fun begin.


Home at last! Pepe all unloaded and resting comfortably in the carport on the east side of the apartment building. My apartment is on the far side. (How appropriate!)

Gettin' There

Well, I'm just about to wrap up another long, tiring dash, but it's still been great fun, as always. But now, sitting here in the beautiful city of Austin, I'm ready to put an end to it once and for all and get on into Big Bend and put it to bed. Before I do that, though, here are a few more shots of the trip so far.


Here I am on a run through the University of Texas at Arlington, my old Alma Mater. Nothing much has changed around here that I could see, except for the addition of overhead walkways that, to me, really takes all the fun -- and adventure -- out of getting from class to class.


And here we are now in Austin, where cousin Mary is currently busy building a batch of homemade chocolate chip cookies. The girl does love to cook.


These are Mary's kitties, Cowboy (gray/white male) and Butch (red tabby female). Both are sweet as can be, and just lo-o-ove to sleep with you.


This is a section of the trail around Town Lake that Mary and I took a little hike on today. No, that's not Mary in front of us, it's a Victoria's Secret model I hired just for this occasion. (Ha! Yeah, right, Doug. In your dreams.)


"Hey, hey, HEY!" (That's from Finding Nemo.) This is something we found in the trail in front of us, which took us both by surprise -- a one-armed crawdad. I'm not quite sure how or why he got here, but I threw him back. You see the darnedest things sometimes.


Here's Mary standing in front of one huge cypress tree we came across. This guy has to be eons old.

The Dash Continues

A new day dawns.
The next morning dawned very wintry, with a temperature of 19 degrees. Wo! It did, however, provide Jack and Anna with artistic possibilities, thanks to some condensation on the front window.


And away we go!
Off into the Indiana landscape, a frost-laden Pepe (see hood) moves quietly past the sleeping fields of corn in search of more adventures -- or, at best, Missouri.


St Louis fly-by.
Not enough time to stop and take the tram to the top of the arch -- or to even stop for pictures -- so the typical passing shot would have to do this time around. Hello, Missouri.


Sunset in Springfield.
Made it in time to chill down some beers and catch a couple of sunset shots from the motel balcony before settling in for some TV and a bacon cheeseburger from the Waffle House next door.

Movin' On

Just a quick entry to say things are rolling along and the scenery is fantastic. These images are from yesterday's jaunt through the countryside, starting in Pennsylvania. Here we go!


Here we are on the road in the Pennsylvania dawn. Areas of low-lying fog created some awesome mood displays. I just had to catch a grab shot.


This is an Indiana sunset, which would've been much more impressive if I hadn't had to shoot it through my windshield. I learned via e-mail from Bill that from where I was in Pennsylvania that it would be 8-1/2 hours to get to their home in Indiana. Yikes! I gathered myself up as quickly as I could and hit the road running. As it turned out, Ohio decided its interstate system needed refurbishing at this time, so I hit nothing but construction most of the way through it. So what started out as an 8-1/2 day turned into a 10-hour day, hence the windshield sunset shot.


I did manage to make it to Bill and Susan's while the kids were still up, and got to document the bedtime festivities. Here they are enjoying The Hungry Hungry Caterpillar.

And away-y-y we go!

All righty, then! The stuff is sorted, packed, and stored, and Pepe is packed to the gills -- as usual. I'm in Milesburg, PA, and trying to get my hip to calm down long enough to get this out, so bear with me. The trip has been well worth the effort to get on the road -- as it always is -- and I'm enjoying rolling through the rolling hills all around me. But before I get into a possible e-mail entry, here's a quickie photo blog.


And here we are, packing our little butts off. As you can see, this is fairly early in the process, so I thought I'd get the shot before total bedlam set in.


The last supper. One of my favorite meals: Buffalo wings, Monterrey Jack cheese and Tostitos. Yum! By the way, that's Monk playing on the computer -- a download from iTunes. I'd downloaded the pilot episode, only to find that it came in two parts! Aiyeee!!! So, of course, I downloaded the the second part, since the first was so riveting and hilarious. What a great show!


Here's Pepe, warming up and rearin' to go. I'm doing some last-minute cramming of stuff into hidey-holes and finding places for the the last of the stuff going to the storage unit, and I'm moving so fast you can't see me. (No, wait, I'm taking the picture!) Anyway, the craziness is pretty much over and the sanity of the road is nigh.


Here is one of my hip therapy stops, the Quechee Gorge in Vermont. I just had to get out and exercise my hip and leg, so I took a 10-15 minute hike across the bridge and along the hiking trail to work it out. This is actually the first time I've ever seen this in all the times across the bridge. Huh. I hope the photo comes out right side up.


Here we are at Rancho Desconsamos, the home of the Stagers and Velasquezes. Lisa gives her dad, John, technical advice while her mom, Susan, tries vainly to duck out of the shot. Ha! Ya gotta be faster than that when I'm around, Susie.


This is Lisa's little boy, Kevin, enjoying(?) the fruits -- or would that be vegetables? -- of their labors. He really is much more animated than he appears here, being two and all, he's just camera-shy.


And here I am with Clea. She's always so glad to see me, even if she's getting cataracts in her advancing age and is having trouble doing so. She's still a love. Look at her ears -- and tail. She's no friend to a black fleece, though, let me tell you. Oh, well. She's worth it.