Donner Pass. (Insert tastless joke here.)

We're on our way home at last. Only 250 miles in the log today, but we could have had more. It was just so damned hot after we left the cool breezes of Hollister, we decided that we'd spend a much cooler night at 5000 feet, high in the Sierra Nevadas. We're not really at Donner Pass- that's just a few miles south of where we're parked, which is called the "Donner Summit Rest Area". It's very cool.. both literally and figuratively. There's a trail that takes you to the Pacific Crest Trail.. the Appalachian Trail of the West.

*****

Meanwhile, here's a teaser.. well, no... it's not a teaser, it's the best shot I got at the Pinnacles National Monument. If you can't click it to enlarge, you'll have to take my word for it: That's an endangered California Condor. More on our condor-watching and high-altitude hiking in a future post.

Yeah, But it's a Dry Heat.

August 3rd, 4:44PM, Alpaugh, California. Glad I'm indoors.........

That's More Like It!

For all you suffering in unbearable heat and humidity back east? The "extended forecast" looks just like the current 5-day, and the previous week was identical as well. I suppose if you look back over the last 30 days, and ahead 30 days there will be little change. However, we're not bored yet. I could see how boredom could set in, though...... BAAAhaaahahaahaahah! NOT!

*****

The perfect weather notwithstanding, the Scottish Deerhound portion of the reason we drove the 2500 miles to California was pretty much a disaster. We missed two events due to breakdowns, and the one event we did shoot- the AKC trial- "we" lost the win pictures. Perhaps our luck will change now.

We've got two weeks before the next event, up in Hollister. Our schedule is starting to fall together as to how we will spend that time.

When we leave Santa Maria, we'll head up the coast to Paso Robles, where we will park for a day or three at Margaret's cousins. She thinks she remembers that her cousin's husband is a good cook. There's that "food theme" again!

Then we have some options. We've been invited by a total stranger- but one who is familiar with this blog, and knows someone who knows Dutch Salmon, and therefore we're all friends (I like that logic)- to stop and spend time in Coalinga.

Or.. we may drive from Paso Robles to Alpaugh and spend time with Dr. John Burchard, whom I haven't seen in 8 or 9 years, and his cohorts, George Bell, and Herb Wells, (another photographer whose open field coursing images many of you may be familiar with). There's a better than even chance we could go scare a few jackrabbits.

We may do both! And probably will.

That should get us near to where we have to be in Hollister, which I've been told is only about 25 miles from where we might get a chance to photograph one of these guys:

Stand by for that! For a Hollister weather image, just add 1-2 degrees to the above ;0)

Long range plans- beyond the Hollister trials- call for a return on Interstate 80, through Wyoming, where we may veer north to Medicine Bow and, you guessed it, kick up a few more jacks. White tails, in this case. Then up to I-90 so we can see the sites of our adopted state: Badlands, Rushmore, Crazy Horse. Then we need to get our driver's licenses renewed while we're there.

And finally, back to Michigan. Whew!

I've got to talk about our dinner here in Santa Maria the other night, but I'll save that for another post. I'm still processing that.. literally, as well as figuratively.

Time to feed the crew.

Help Us Spike!

We left Flagstaff around 11 this morning. The problem with the motorhome fixed, with a $22 part, and 4 hours or research labor. What was the problem, you ask? I don't want to talk about it. Let's just say it involved a part that I mentioned on the very first post on our trip.

Besides.. we have bigger problems now than some old K&N filter with too much oil on it.

We travelled 235 miles today, to roughly 25 miles west of Needles, California. We were into our second climbing stage out of the Colorado River basin when there was a loud noise, and it only took a second to realize that while the engine was still running, we didn't have any power steering. Cataclysmic destruction of the serpentine belt.

So, here we're parked, behind the Colorado River Cheverolet Dealership in Needles, waiting for them to open in the morning, so we can get the damn belt replaced, and not miss more than two deerhound events.. (LGRA, ASFA Lure Coursing).

You know you've heard of Needles if you watch your local weathercasts: "And the hottest place in the nation again was Needles, CA at 107 degrees". Fortunately, we'll be gone before Wednesday, when it will get really hot.

Oh.. and gas here? $4.99/gal. Yeah.. we could live here. It's hot... but it's a dry heat.

*****

Talk about a vertical profile! That trip down Oak Creek Canyon was nothing. In 4 hours today, we went from around 7000', cool-ish temps, at Flagstaff, to the California border at the Colorado River: 326' and 102 degrees. A shock to the system.

*****

And who is this "Spike"? You know. Click on the title.

*****

Decent little Chinese place here.... right up on the corner. Dinner specials packaged like lunch specials, including rice, soup, and soft noodles. Hmmm, noodles in Needles.

Land of Enchantment.

New Mexico has the most amazing, and constantly shifting and changing, cloud formations.

On the other side of the Sandias, the sun is setting, giving those of us on this side a spectacular light show. And the people who live here get this every single day!

We want to be those people.

Summer Hunting With the Family

Yes, it's possible. If you get up really early on a July morning, even in New Mexico, you can get your dogs out in the field before it gets too warm, and the snakes wake up.

Early means 5:00AM if you want to get to the fields near Moriarty at the crack of dawn. We loaded up Sandia with his sister, Maya, and his aunt, the notorious Camille, in Steve's Explorer and headed out at 5:30 in moderately cool 58 degree temps.

By 7:30, we'd run two jacks, and the temperature started to rise. We headed back to the vehicle, and by 8:30 we were meeting Joan and Margaret at the once-closed, and now re-opened with new owners, East Mountain Grill, (No web page). As good, or better than we remembered.

This is our "day off" from travelling. I've got a little project to finish on the motor home, and mostly we're just kicking back. Maybe we'll go ride the "World's longest aerial tramway" to the top of our Galgo's namesake mountain. Or maybe not, now that I've checked the rates. :-(

Maybe we'll just sit tight, and await tonight's next powerful thunderstorm.

Not So Cold.

Doesn't seem all that long ago I was bemoaning the lack of warmth in our Michigan climate. We're back, after our 1500 mile jaunt to the II and the Saluki specialty, and things have changed. For one, there's been a whole lot of rain in the area, and it's turning into a steamy jungle. And that brings out...

...these guys. As sure a sign of summer as there could be. Oh, and mosquitos, too. Be careful what you wish for. I see there was snow at the Snoqualmie Pass in Washington yesterday. It looked nice. ;-)

Doubly Suspended, at the ASFA II

They say the closer you can run to the ground, the faster you will go. This guy must be really flying! Or crashing.

And here's something only a handful of people saw on Saturday. The lightning and thunder were closing in, the judges on Field B decided to get the hell off the top of the hill, and to get the lure operator off the ladder. The whippets that had been at the line, were on their way down the hill to shelter. I caught movement out of the corner of my eye in the direction of the woods...

...and away he (she?) went, across the coursing field, and over a fence and out of sight. Someone shouted the obvious, "loose the Deerhounds!". Only myself, 2 of the field clerks, and the two judges saw it.

I have no idea if the deer was watching from the edge of the forest, waiting for an opportunity to bolt, or if it was just the beneficiary of extremely lucky timing. Whichever... it showed great form!

Hitting the Road.

We're halfway to the ASFA II in Leesburg, VA. We stopped in Wheeling, WV to have Rally checked out by The Greatest Vet in the Universe, who was channeling a rapper, or pro athlete when he said, in the third person, "Dr Radcliffe's not happy" with her progress. X-Rays show that she still has major loss of bone density in the calcaneous, where the achilles tendon is attached, and he's afraid we might lose the repair, so it's back on heavy-duty antibiotics (from a short list of those that the staphlococcus haemolytus is not resistant to), and a splint. This will go on for at least another two weeks.

Business out of the way, we went to dinner last night with the good doctor and his wife. Before that, though, we went to their house so we could see the newly remodeled kitchen. Wow... it's a chef's version of Heaven.. check out the Electrolux professional stove. That's restaurant quality there.

Speaking of restaurants, nobody's going to be surprised when I tell you we went to the Metropolitan Citi Grille. Was it as good as I remember? Of course. Bummer of the night was that Margaret and I were the only Detroit Red Wing fans in the place, and the Wings were losing!

We parked at our favorite location for the night.. Cabela's, so I could get a replacement "sun cutter" hat which I'd lost last August.

Today, we'll head for Virginia where, I hear that besides the rabid foxes, they're also having a bad tick year.. deer ticks no less, so a quick trip back to Radcliffe's office before we leave is in order, to pick up some Preventic collars.

Weather forecast for Leesburg, VA for the weekend calls for 88 degrees and scattered thunderstorms on Saturday, and 86 and sunny on Sunday.

Global What?

Climate change.

Only the most rigid, and inflexible are in denial over the concept. I spoke with one at the trial last weekend.. an old friend, and way too set in his ways. When the first drowned polar bear washes up on his Indiana lawn, he may begin to see things differently.

Normal people on all sides of the political spectrum now agree that the climate is changing; the argument is over whether we, as a species, are the cause.

We've already had more tornados this year than we normally have in a full season.. including big ones in the middle of winter. Alaska has had it's first deaths- ever- from yellowjacket wasp stings. I've seen dead armadillos as far north as central Missouri, on I44.

So with all this evidence of so-called "Global Warming"...

...Why the hell does it feel like early April in Michigan... at the end of freakin' May? (Don't answer that, it was a rhetorical question). It was 39 degrees when I got up yesterday, and the wind blew strong out of the northwest. I had to wear my coat all day. This morning was no better.. 41 when I took the dogs out.

The weekend promises to actually be like late Spring, rather than late Winter. We're going to bail on the trial we had scheduled, to move out a bunch of the things we have in storage. Then maybe we'll have a picnic... if picnic weather happens.

Spring Has Sprung!

The calendar says it's closer to the beginning of Summer than the beginning of Spring. But in Michigan, I don't consider it to be really Spring until the Trilliums bloom!

Trillium Grandiflorum

A member of the lily family, the Trillium that we know in Michigan, is also plentiful all across the Upper Midwest and Northeast. It's also known as the "White Wake-Robin", and in French, "Trille Blanc".

Following the link under the photos will take you to information about this complex and scientifically important plant. It will also explain the inexplicable: those leaves? They're not leaves. And the stem's not a stem. WTF??

Around here, it's just the final sign that Spring has sprung.

Feelin' Like Hedda Hopper..

Sometimes I get to be like one of those Hollywood gossip columnists.

The ASFA trial this past weekend was a carbon copy of the previous 4 weekends.. one good day, one day of rain. The trend had been rainy Saturday, and pretty nice Sunday. As a change of pace, this past Saturday was gorgeous.. probably the best trial day of the year so far, and Sunday.... let's just say I'd finally had enough of the rain and wind and cold, already. I walked off the field!

While hanging out around the Express watching Margaret work ;-) I spotted this license plate.


I didn't think much of it at first, figuring it was just another vanity plate purchased by a dog fan who had an affinity for the United Kennel Club. Then I started to "put two and two together." Judging at this particular trial were two "high elected officials" of ASFA. Ok... the two highest officials. During lunch I noticed these two officers in earnest, private conversation with a mysterious dark-haired woman I didn't recognize from the trial.


What could it mean?


I keep coming up with "Four".

A Week in the Life...

It's been an interesting past few days.. you might say from the ridiculous to the sublime.

We shot the River Raisin Rhodesian Ridgeback Club's AKC lure trial last weekend. Saturday was soaking waves of cold rain, all... day... long. That was fine; I've worked in the rain before. Could be worse.



Sunday, it got worse. The snow in and of itself wasn't bad, it was the 25-30mph gusting Northeast wind that was driving it that really sucked. Of course, in typical coursing irony, the snow moved on, and the sun came out... 20 minutes after the trial ended. The wind didn't go anywhere, however.

This is one of the great fields we shoot at. It's a private farm, and there are great rolling hills that are actually grass.. not a mowed hay field. Makes a natural bowl. Take a look when we get the pictures from the weekend uploaded to our website. (Should happen later today). I think the Saturday Borzoi runoffs give a pretty good look at the topography, as I moved into the bottom of the bowl.

From the trial, I drove into Ann Arbor to drop Margaret off at Weber's Inn and Restaurant, a legendary local establishment. She was going to get to spend the night there, in one of the nice poolside rooms, adjacent to her parents' room. I could have stayed, too... but somebody had to go back to Jackson and take care of the dogs. I would join up with them all on Monday morning.

Why? I probably haven't mentioned this before, but Margaret's parents are HUGE Michigan sports fans, and longtime members of the M Club, the folks responsible for the "Go Blue" banner any sports fan who watches football on Saturdays will recognize. They attend countless basketball (men's and women's), hockey, baseball, softball, swimming & diving, gymnastics, meets every year.

The guest speaker at the M Club luncheon (poached whitefish or grilled chicken) would be Michigan's new head football coach, Rich Rodriguez. This was his first meeting with "the club", and it seemed he started off on the wrong foot, with a group you really don't want to piss off. He was late, leaving the host to stall for time, while the natives got restless. And dessert was not a part of the lunch. WTF??

Well, "Rich Rod" finally showed up, to a lukewarm standing ovation... I overheard one of the men at our table say, "He doesn't deserve a standing ovation.. he was late". Tough crowd. They would warm to him, though; I knew they would. This guy is a favorite of ESPN, and we were about to find out why. For a kid who grew up in a tiny coal mining town in West Virginia, he's certainly a fabulous extemporaneous speaker. I hazard to say he can probably out-charisma any coach in the Big 10.. and a majority in the rest of the country.

But why take my word for it? Just watch this clip Margaret shot.. this was his "wrap up" story, about how fortunes can change in the business of college football coaching..





Needless to say, at the end of the hour the crowd was a bunch of pussycats, and they were eating out of his hand. More fun than I've had in a couple of years.

Tuesday, I had to finish up my article on the Pack Hunt and Desert Hare Classic for PSJ . Finish, did I say? I had to start and finish it.. already past the deadline. What the hell... I always work better under pressure. By Wednesday morning, I got it finished up and, not to boast,... (OK... I'm boasting), it may be my best stuff yet, so make sure you get your subscription started if you don't already have one. The issue should be out in about a month. Should be a good one, because Dutch will also have a piece about lamping jackrabbits, with some of the pictures I posted here during our Winter in New Mexico.

Anyway, Jackie, the editor, had a fabulous idea. We met her at Chicago Water Grill in the little burg of Jonesville, MI. We've met her there before and we were looking forward to it, as it's one of those incongruous places: fine dining at it's best in a little town far from any bustling metropolises. It gets its name from the fact it sits on US12, known as the Chicago Road... the way you got from Detroit to Chicago before the advent of the Interstate System. I had a Grouper sandwich.. I've mentioned here before my love of grouper haven't I? I'm sure I have. Desert was a "Old Fashioned Tin Roof Sundae". They even do Bananas Foster at your table, (which, by the way, was the answer to the last little quiz, not that anybody cared apparently.) Great restaurant if you're ever in the area. Go out of your way if you have to.

And for a final little restaurant tip... how about the place we just had lunch? Los Tres Amigos. In the Top 5 of all the Mexican and Tex/Mex places we've written about in the past. We try to get there at least once every trip into southeast Michigan. Try the Enchiladas Pacifico- 3 enchiladas stuffed with at least 2 dozen large, grilled shrimp, covered with green sauce (not green chiles.... damn!), rice, guac, beans, and sour cream. The best. Really good margaritas, too- you know that's important.

Tomorrow we'll be off to Stony Run County Park near the town of Crown Point, IN. This will be our first ASFA trial in quite some time.

Runaways.

Well. That was exciting... in a stressful kind of way. And hard on the vocal chords. (Cords?).

What was that, Dan? See, it's like this: To get Rally out of the motor home to walk, she has to be picked up and set down on the ground.. while this is happening, the door swings wide open, because both hands (and attendant arms) are on the dog. This offers a golden opportunity for Mr. Sandia to make a break for it. Most of the time I've made a circus grab, on the fly, and tossed him back in before closing the door. Today, I got a finger on his collar, but he just slipped off and away he went.

To make today unique, Fanny took advantage of the wide open door while I was turned and yelling at Sandia. Just one, I can get back fairly easily. With two, I had co-enablers. Away they rushed... toward the campground office. They said hello to a lady getting into a pickup, wheeled and ran back toward me.. hey, this was going to be easy after all.

Not. They ran to a corner and peed, looked over their shoulder at this...

Yes... a cornfield. A big cornfield, with a couple of deer stands on the perimeter. The temptation was obviously too much, as they disappeared. When the dogs disappear in the deserts of New Mexico, I don't mind.. I know they'll be back. This is completely different. Farmers in Michigan, and most other states in the vicinity, shoot dogs that are chasing deer. I hoped they didn't jump any deer. I did see a sandhill crane launch more vertically than they're used to.

Meanwhile, I still had Rally on the flexi, and she hadn't peed yet, so I couldn't put her back in, and I couldn't trudge across the cornfield with her and her cast, and the long-promised rain just beginning. So I stood on the campground side yelling, and they cavorted on the opposite side. I just hoped they stayed in the field and didn't venture into the surrounding woods.

Rally finally peed. I ran back to the motor home, threw her in, grabbed my Fox 40 Classic, and ran back to the cornfield, hoping they were still in sight. I was now ready to venture into the field myself... alternatingly yelling their names and blowing the whistle.. Sandia, made a run back toward me, I brought out a dog biscuit, caught his eye... and he slowed,... and then decided he hadn't had enough exercise. Meanwhile, Fanny had disappeared from view. Then Sandia disappeared.

It had now been almost 20 minutes they'd been running loose. I was on my own, because Margaret had gone into Ann Arbor to visit her parents.. if I dropped dead in the middle of the field, no one would find me until they came through to plant new corn. I had to find them..

I was halfway across the field when Sandia approached. And stayed. I got a leash on him, gave him a biscuit that he was too exhausted to eat, (although he did remove it from my jacket pocket after we were back in the house), and we went in search of Fanny.

We got all the way across, to the foot of one of the deer stands, and she was nowhere in sight. There was a trail that sloped downhill toward Goose Lake, west of the stand... as we started down it, Fanny broke out of the woods behind us, and stood to be leashed. She was finally out of gas. But not out of surprises.

I'd thought the worse thing that could happen was that they'd be shot by some farmer. Perhaps not... Fanny was covered in burrs... including covering her right eye completely; and she'd rolled in something exotic. Crane crap? Deer carcass? It was black, and greasy, and stunk to the heavens. Great. She needed washing, and it was raining and only about 45 degrees. I didn't want to bring her in, but that was my only option.

And that's how I came to do a thorough cleaning up of the shower and the bathroom today!

Whats the Matter With Kansas?

Hey, we're back. Miss us?

We've been on the move for the last week or so.. from Oklahoma to Kansas to Michigan. Kansas was our stop last weekend for an AKC trial outside of Wichita... which leads us to the title of this post. And no, I'm not talking about Thomas Frank's excellent book by the same name, wherein he investigates why hundreds of thousands of poor Kansans voted against their own economic self interest in the 2004 elections. (Hint: they drank the Bush KoolAid).

No, I'm talking about our own wacky experiences in Kansas. First, we stopped in the brand new Wichita World Market... where we've found a wine we really like. Once in the store, I discovered we weren't going to be there for very long. No wine and beer section! What the hell is this? When leaving, one of the employees asked if we found everything OK... that's all the invitation I needed. Like she was prescient, she said, "Ah, the liquor?... thank you, Kansas". I don't understand what convoluted statutes allow Sam's Club to have a complete liquor store attached to their building, and forbids World Market from selling wine and beer. We never did get any wine.


Then, as we were leaving the state on Sunday, we witnessed a phenomenon we saw a couple of years ago: Every Spring, Kansans set themselves on fire.

They have their reasons. Good ones it turns out, as explained at the link. It's just bizarre to drive past mile after mile of smoldering grasslands. The smell and the haze aren't all that pleasant, but they're working on that.



And then there's "Pastor" Fred Phelps in Topeka. Actually, God hates you, Fred.


Now, I don't want to leave the impression that all is bad and bleak in Kansas. Saturday night we were invited out to dinner at the Kabob House restaurant on Wichita's west side. An intimate (read: small) place, featuring Turkish and Mediterranean cuisine. This was clearly a winner. I had the "Donor Alexander Kabob".... grilled, seasoned lamb, covered with a tomato-butter sauce, together with rice and bulgar. It was sooooo good. Finished up with a delicious Turkis coffee.


Now we're back in Michigan... I'm so glad we weren't still in Kansas when Kansas University won whatever meaningless sports tournament we watched on TV last night. We might have gotten trampled by the celebratory run on the campus malt shops. "Rock. Chalk. Jayhawk." What the hell does that mean? (Can you tell my money was on Memphis?).


Michigan. Snow in the forecast for the weekend. Figures.

OK. Not Funny Any More.

This started about 7 last night. Just light flurries now, but the winter storm warning continues until 6PM tonight, with another 1-4 expected. And I have to drive in to the airport to get Margaret at 4. In one of those meteorological mysteries, there's virtually no snow in Albuquerque, just 30 miles away. The problem will be getting there.

Rhymes With "OH NO!!"

Morning in Edgewood, NM...

...Dogs had a good time, though.

Not like it was any big surprise.. it was predicted days ago. Took Sandia by surprise, though. He'd never seen snow before, and the driveway was quite slippery. And why isn't that rabbit running away?

10:30 AM.... it's all gone.