Adios, 2006!

Well, we've put yet another year in the can, and here we are about to welcome in a brand new one. I'd like to take this time to thank all of you who are so faithful as to look in on this almost every day and bestow lavish praise upon me. It's been a lot of fun and -- I hope -- entertaining, as well. I'm still debating the whole Day In The Life thing, but I'll still keep it going as is for now, anyway. Thanks again for tuning in to the show, and have a very Happy New Year!

Best to all,
Doug

Mt Everest -- Texas style!

Most workdays are pretty humdrum visually. I mean, I never get tired of looking at the scenery around here, but it looks pretty much the same pretty much all the time. Not so yesterday morning. To offset a crystal-clear beginning, some clouds rolled in from the northeast, boiling up and over Persimmon Peak on the east side of my booth about an hour after official sunrise. I managed to dash out between incoming cars and catch them in the act. Awesome!

Yuletide Texana

A few images from my trip back to the Dallas/Ft Worth area for Christmas. I apologize for the rather hasty compositions, but I was in a time crunch. I need to go back and do them up right, but I just wanted to share these with you.


This is the world's largest roadrunner, Fort Stockton's own Paisano Pete, all decked out for the holidays. Paisano, by the way, is the local name for the roadrunner which means "little friend," a name given to them because they would follow the cattle drives hunting for insects stirred up in the herd's wake.


Here we have the Girvin Social Club in bustling Girvin, Texas (pop. 50). The original town of Girvin is officially a ghost town now, as the "town" moved itself a mile to the east when the highway went through. I just found this out and must go check it out someday. This is the current Girvin, or at least most of it. A couple of run-down houses and an old rusting Santa Fe boxcar comprise the rest.


This is the Texas Grill in Ballinger. I just love the cafe's signs, as well as the building itself, but have yet to actually go in and sample its fare. I really must remedy that someday.


Here we are at the Glen Rose Information Center. I've been coming to Glen Rose to camp since before the big fossil and dinosaur footprint boom, and way before the State Park came ever into existence. (In fact, they took over my favorite camping spot on the Paluxy River.)


And here we have an abandoned movie theater in Big Lake. I don't know how many times I've traveled Highway 67 and this is the first time I've even noticed this thing. How's that for observation? I don't even know the name of the theater, but I'm going to find out somehow.

Rangra Theater

Finally! After years of trying to capture the front of the Rangra Theater in Alpine, I came across it today with good lighting and NO cars in front of it. This has been a major source of frustration for me, let me tell you, as I think one of my future projects is to document as many of these old theaters -- restored, repainted, decrepit, etc. -- as I can come across, wherever I may find them. I may have to include drive-ins, too, as they seem to be fading into memory, even as I type.

Foolin' Around

While bored in the booth today, I started poking around in my little camera and came across the settings for "Sepia" and "2:3" so I thought I'd have a go. The 2:3 is the same ratio as 35mm film format and, as I abhor the traditional "salon" ratio of 4:5 (always have), I may just have to set it on this and leave it be. The sepia toning adds a lot.

Fog And Fog Again

Weather is a funny thing, you know? It was foggy when I woke up this morning, clear by the time I went to work, then fogged up again. I figured the Weather Gods were trying to tell me something, so I stepped outside and took a shot of the peak off the the west. It kind of reminds me of a color field painting -- like something Mark Rothko might do. The light diagonal band you can barely make out in the sky is the early stages (before the sun hits the fog) of what could be called a "white rainbow," an arc of white with only the barest hint of color along the edges. It was quite an amazing thing but, unfortunately, it didn't photograph well. Meteorological phenomena are just that way.

Moody Day

On my travels throughout the entire park yesterday (well, almost), I just had to stop and take a few shots of this cloud activity hanging over the Chisos Mountains. It hearkened back to a time when Creation was still new and the world held vast possibilities -- you know, before Man came around and mucked things up. Maybe not quite Frans Lanting's style, but I'm sure he would appreciate the mood.

Marathon

Here's a favorite subject of mine: the viga logs (roof support) of an adobe building. These particular ones are from the courtyard of some fairly recent additions of the historic Gage Hotel in Marathon. These are stand-alone buildings, so I guess you can't really call them additions. They're very nice, though. Okay, I guess I should give you the whole tour while I'm at it.


Here's what attracted my eye as I breezed through Marathon (pop. 455) on my way to Alpine to purchase groceries and my new grill. The combination of textures and lighting was just too exciting to pass up.


Not content, as usual, I drifted around to the entry and into the courtyard. Wow! I've been by this place a hundred times (well . . . maybe) and never once knew this was here. These ground floor rooms are called Los Portales, and were completed in 1992. Some even have fireplaces. Pretty sweet, huh?


Wall detail. Now, how could any self-respecting Texan see such a nice cow skull on a wall and not take a picture of it? Can't be done, son.


Moving back out onto and just down the street, we find the historic Gage Hotel itself, built in 1927 by a former Vermonter named Alfred Gage. Sadly, Alfred passed away shortly after the opening and never got to fully enjoy its success.


And, last but not least, we have the little town of Marathon, itself. A thriving little community of shops and galleries -- and one rocking hamburger joint, Johnny B's -- Marathon (pronounced MAIR-uh-thun) really does prosper fairly well these days, despite its apparent sleepiness. The skyline, a tall cylindrical water tower (not seen here), is one of my favorite landmarks in my travels into the area, as I know I'm only about a half-hour from Big Bend.

Man Must Grill

All righty, then! Having endured almost three weeks without grilling anything -- except on a George Foreman grill, but that doesn't really count -- I'm now the proud owner of a slick little Weber Go-Anywhere propane grill. Since my old Sunbeam literally burnt itself out, I decided once again to get a propane grill for out here in the wide open West where the uppity winds can cover everything in the neighborhood with a fine coating of ashes. These little guys are just so easy to operate, too, and there's minimal clean-up involved. All in all, I'm quite happy with my purchase and I can't wait to throw my freshly-bought load of chicken wings on it to celebrate. Woo hoo!!! Hot time in the ol' desert tonight!

Legomaniac Strikes Again

Well, I've been at it again. Sometimes I find photos of odd, improbable aircraft and I have to see if I can replicate them using Legos (see Lego Autoplane in October 2006). This time, the Rocheville Arctic Tern caught my fancy and I just could not get it out of my system until I built one for myself. I mulled the two photos over in my head for about a week, mentally fitting various Lego pieces together again and again, trying to visualize how to best achieve the plane's quirky design. Then, today, I could stand it no longer and had to sit down and have at it. At my cousin Mary's urging, here are the results:

This is the original Arctic Tern, the photos gleaned from the website 1000aircraftphotos.com:



And here are my attempts at its re-creation:



I had to take some liberties along the way, since Lego blocks don't always form things the way you would like, but I tried to be as faithful as I could. If you've never played with Legos before, you're missing out on a wonderful way to blow a few hours. Give 'em a try!

p.s. You know, after looking over the blog, I noticed that none of the shots above really show the plane off fully. So, I shot another couple of angles to show off its lines. Here's a departing shot:

Sunsets, sunsets, sunsets . . .

Well, it seems all I ever do these days is take pictures of sunsets out here. Granted, during my workweek, there isn't much opportunity for much else, but I need to expand my horizons (no pun intended), don't you think? At least the recent sunsets have been pretty nice.

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.