Friday, December 15, 2006

Another Big Game!

In just over an hour, there will be another big game. Unlike a few weeks back, where Michigan played Ohio State for an "unofficial" National Championship, this one is for real. This one is in NCAA Division II, and features my alma mater, Grand Valley State University, 14-0, and the number one seed, vs. 14-0, number two seed, Northwest Missouri State in a rematch of last year's national title game, won by the Lakers. It was their third national title in the last four years. Win one today, and I would call them an official "Dynasty".

This is a lot of fun for me, because when I attended (this gets wordy) "Thomas Jefferson College of the Grand Valley State Colleges" in the early 70's (we got college credit for bowling, bicycling, producing a humor magazine and, not incidently- photography), the football program was only in it's 3rd or 4th year- they had yet to win a single football game! They are now the owners of the nation's longest winning streak (27)... that's in all divisions.

Things have certainly changed. Go Lakers!!

Thursday, December 14, 2006

Get Well Tim Johnson. Please!

From time to time we report on political news about our adopted "home" state, South Dakota. This one has national implications. Our Democratic Senator, Tim Johnson has suffered an apparent stroke and is in critical condition. If he dies, or is incapable of returning to the Senate, the Republican governor of the state will undoubtedly replace him with a Republican which will revert power back to the bad guys.

Things that make you go "hmmmm".

I hope their checking Johnson for Polonium.

Friday, November 17, 2006

Festival of the Cranes


This is the third year in a row we've come to Socorro at this time. We're primarily here to hunt with our hounds, but there are so many other things going on in the area. The biggest, of course, is the Festival of the Cranes, held jointly at the Bosque del Apache National Wildlife Refuge near San Antonio, and the campus of New Mexico Technical University in Socorro. Art fairs are held around town, and in nearby communities such as Magdalena. Not to be confused with the Festival of the Cranes, there's also this...

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Stop the Presses! Dining Correction.

Today, following a rugged drive from Pueblocito to San Antonio on the Quebradas Scenic Backroads Byway,

we decided to try the green chile cheeseburger across the road from the Owl Bar. We have an aquaintance in Socorro who has maintained for years that the burgers at Manny's Buckhorn Tavern were way better than the Owl's. Well... these two diners agree! At the Owl, I've always left feeling like I could go for another burger. (Or in many cases, I did have another!) That was certainly not the case at Manny's. Big enough that they cut it in half for you. Great meat, great bun, and really great chile. Much smaller than the Owl, you will need to plan on waiting a while for a seat.

It's not just us, either... here is just a sample of many websites I found. Those are just average Joes. This one is from a guy who went looking for the best burgers in America. (See number 7).

Thursday, November 16, 2006

Going NoMail.

Rumor has it there's a somewhat important football game Saturday. It's no rumor that we'll be watching and will be completely incommunicado until it's over. Don't even try to reach us.. for anything, until about 7PM EST. If you've been living under a rock in Islamabad all year, an excellent explanation can be found here.

Tuesday, November 14, 2006

Plugs!

Observant readers will have noticed the links on the right hand side of the blog.. (Including the Tip Jar! Remember that? Hmmm?). One is for GoCoursing.com. Well, two weeks ago, Rally started wearing her snazzy new coursing blankets from GoCoursing.com. We thought you'd like to see how they look in action. This image is from the Region 9 Regional Invitational in Gilbertsville, NY where she finished 2nd in Field Champion stake. This weekend in Albuquerque, at the Region 3 Invitational she was First in Field Champion. Pretty good results. Is it the clothes? Posted by Picasa

Eating Tip: New Mexico Version

This post is guaranteed to elicit a comment from Louisiana. Guaranteed. We arrived in Socorro, NM last night. A short trip from Albuquerque, got us to Casey's Socorro RV Park. We got settled in and decided that common-sense eating would have to wait: We headed 8 miles south to the famous Owl Bar, home of great green chile cheeseburgers. No red wine was consumed- it seemed out of place- but we did enjoy the cheeseburgers, a bowl of chiles and beans, and home made fries. And a Corona. (The beer selection is sadly lacking).

Needing to get the Escape to the local Ford dealer early this morning for a new clutch, and front brake rotors, we decided to hit the Socorro Springs Brewery for breakfast. A microbrewery and pub that opens at 6:30 AM Monday through Friday is rare indeed. That the fare is excellent is just a bonus. No, we didn't have beer for breakfast. Starbucks coffee is the house brew in the AM. Margaret had Eggs Florentine, which she pronounced delicious. I had the SSBC omelette: 3 Eggs, green chile, capicola ham, feta cheese, spinach, pepper jack. Fat and moist, it was just what the doctor ordered. Well, maybe not. Good though.

Get Drunk.. Stay Thin.. Live Longer

Counterintuitive? You bet. But we just love research results like this.

Trouble Looms for the Antis

The "lame duck" congress will probably pass this legislation shortly. It spells trouble for the more activist of the socalled "animal rights activists" who, as we know, really deep down, hate animals. It's interesting that this act was co-sponsored by very conservative and very liberal lawmakers. Hip Hip Hooray!

Thursday, November 09, 2006

Tucumcari Tonight.

Hard to believe that last Sunday we were more than 1800 miles East and North of here, in chilly Gilbertsville, New York. We're ensconsed for the night at the Cactus RV Park in downtown Tucumcari. The park is actually the courtyard of an old Route 66 motel. This is one of the units. They even came with garages! The weather has improved greatly from New York. Beautiful sunny, ... and warm... days. Posted by Picasa

Oklahoma: Windpower, and Sweet Horsepower


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More Dashboard Highlights

Any morning in St. Louis.. this one happened to be Wednesday. Posted by Picasa

Not Just Your Basic 18 Wheeler

Here's another new semi-regular feature. We'll call it, um...... Dashboard Highlights! Images from the driver's or passenger's seat of the 'Express as we travel around the country.

I encountered this rolling roadblock somewhere between Effingham, IL and St. Louis, on I70. As best as I can determine, this is a "74-Wheeler", and it was really heavy. The state trooper held up traffic as the oversize load took each overpass alone... and at no more than 5mph. Guess how long the backup was?

I don't know, because I was close to the front, but the radio chatter was not fit for family listening.

More to come...
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Thursday, November 02, 2006

Political Endorsement.



While there's still time, I want to reach out to all our friends in Texas, and say... if you don't elect this man your next governor, you're all morons! But then, based on your past political choices... we already knew that. (insert evil grin here)

It's not too late. Change is good.

Wednesday, November 01, 2006

A New York Album

Interested in more from our day in New York? Click on the link above to see more, like Riverside Church, lunchtime at Columbia University, Cathedral of St John the Divine, Times Square, and more. This is a detail from the Cathedral... pretty creepy. Posted by Picasa

Halloween in the Big Apple..

This is what you might see if you were in New York on Halloween, as we were yesterday.

We got to see the run-up to the Halloween parade. These guys were the "Grand Marshall". I'm told they were the real deal. How would I know?






































There's no place like.... Broadway?Posted by Picasa

Monday, October 30, 2006

Baseball: A Cautionary Tale for Bloggers.

Yup. Sometimes we can be wrong. Or... sometimes we can be a little premature. Nevertheless, the Tigers, considering where they had been the last 15 years or so, had a hell of a season, and a good post-season run. Favorite columnist, Mitch Albom, has a nice take on the season and the World Series here .

Thursday, October 26, 2006

Baseball. A Cautionary Tale for Cardinals Fans.

I've avoided posting anything about baseball for weeks. After the Tigers fell behind in the World Series 3-1, I have only this to say: The Cardinals were up 3-1 in 1968 as well, and you know how that ended. I'd feel better if we had this guy from '68 to turn to, though...




If the Tigers lose, it will be the first World Series loss for them in my lifetime... and you now know I'm pretty old.

Diversion... Sunrise?

Time again to play a game.




What is this?

I'll give you a hint: It was taken at the NOTRA Other Breed Nationals on Sunday... Have fun. Post your guesses to the comments section.. we'll highlight the most entertaining guesses.
(And, of course, the correct answer... if there is one.)

Tuesday, October 24, 2006

Lollygagging in New Jersey

I have images we need to post, but will wait till we have the all-important high speed connection. We're in the New Jersey portion of the extended year-end trip, hanging out at Barlow Chevrolet in Delran- waiting to hand over all the money we made at the LGRA/NOTRA weekend, and more, for new water pump, hoses, belts, thermostat, coolant, etc. Now we have to start saving for the inevitable transmission overhaul. We know it's coming, we just don't know when.

Future posts will review the bizarre judging at the Region 6 regional, and we'll have to report how Rally did against the fast East Coast dogs at the racing nationals, and maybe even a review of the business in Elkhart that smoothed out our ride.

Till then....

Thursday, October 12, 2006

What th...??!??!!!?!??

The photo in the previous post was taken Monday afternoon.

This was taken this morning.. Thursday.

Actually had near-whiteout conditions driving back from Ann Arbor this afternoon!

We gotta get outta here!! Posted by Picasa

Monday, October 09, 2006

Who Needs A Stinkin' Treadmill?

Just showin' off the birthday present that will go a long way toward getting the girls ready for hunting season. About 5 weeks, and counting! Posted by Picasa

Thursday, October 05, 2006

Stoog-erific

I've read some funny stuff in my life, but this, from The Smoking Gun has got to be close to the top of the list.

You know how you always read about prima donna celebrities who have weird and strange requests, wait- make that demands- when they perform... special water, or sandwiches, cheeses, candies, etc? Well, TSG has obtained the concert rider of Iggy & the Stooges... unlike anything you've ever seen. It's long, 18 pages. I still haven't gotten through all of it, partly because I can't stop laughing.. unfortunately, I can't cut and paste a few excerpts here, because TSG has some kind of anti-theft geekery going on. Hell, I'm giving them the credit! Anyway, go read it all. It's worth it.

By the way, did I ever mention that I knew Iggy, way back in 1964, when he was still just little Jimmy Osterberg, drummer for the garage band, The Iguanas? A whole post in itself.

Political Hell...

I hate political ads. When they're from a candidate I disagree with, and they're negatve to boot, my blood pressure goes up; especially if they're total bullshit, (and aren't they all?). When I agree with the candidate, I still get upset because they're usually not pushing the issues that matter. They're all aimed at Joe Dufus and his inbred family who aren't even going to vote anyway.

So, it's bad enough this time of year, that we've got to endure congressional races, and senatorial races, and gubernatorial races for whatever state we happen to be in... but today, we're sitting in the ancestral home of all motor homes: Elkhart, Indiana. This stretch of the state, from South Bend to Elkhart is known as Michiana. Why? Because they're only a couple miles from the Michigan border. Know what that means? We're tortured by Indiana and Michigan political ads!

November 8th can't come soon enough! Geesh, another month of this crap.

Shot On Site Schedule Update

Time again, for a quick nuts-n-bolts post to let the interested know where we're going to be for the next couple months as, I think we've got it pretty well nailed down. (The dis-interested can go make themselves a coffee or something.) We're gonna put a ton of miles on the Express, that's for sure.

Oct 7-8 LARK LGRA racemeets, Oberlin, OH
Oct 14-15 MGA ASFA Region 6 Inv./trial, Erie Metropark, MI
Oct 21-22 LGRA/NOTRA OB Nationals, Marlton, NJ
Oct 28-29 Visiting NY, being tourists unless someone has a suggestion.
Nov 4-5 CCNY ASFA Region 9 Inv./trial, Gilbertsville, NY
Nov 11-12 ESCA ASFA Region 3 Inv./trial, Rio Rancho, NM (pending approval)
Nov 18-19 TCC Hunts, somewhere in the Southwest
Nov 23-26 4 Club 4 Day ASFA weekend, Los Alamitos, CA
Dec 2-3 AAWC ASFA Region 4 Inv./trial, Hutto, TX
Dec 9-10 ACC ASFA trials, Tallahassee, FL
Dec 30 - Jan 1 GANG ASFA Year End Madness, Cartersville, GA.

And, in case you weren't counting, from Oberlin, OH this weekend, to Cartersville, GA at year end, that's 5440 miles... as the crow flies!

See you somewhere, I'm sure.

Monday, October 02, 2006

Chimney Rock Park Web Album

Ok.. I've tried out the new Picasa web album. Click the link above, and you'll see more images from Chimney Rock Park than you'd ever want to see!

This will be handy for events where we want to show more photos than Blogger will allow to be uploaded.

Remember that all images are Copyright Shot On Site Photography. Try and leave them where they are.

More from Chimney Rock Park.

Don't know about you, but I think waterfalls just look better in black and white.
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Touristas at Chimney Rock Park


After Dog's Camp, we stayed a few days in Asheville to be tourists. Not wanting to be completely middle class, (and not wanting to spend $80!), we blew off Biltmore Estate, and went to Chimney Rock Park, (Near Bat Cave, NC). This is Chimney Rock. It's up there... about 2300 feet. Manmade Lake Lure can be seen in the background. The trails go even higher... probably around 3500 feet; maybe more.












But first we took the low trail, with Rally and Fanny, to the base of the 400' Hickory Nut Falls.






..and did the self-timer family portrait thing.



Interesting fact: Chimney Rock Park stood in for upstate New York in the, mostly unmemorable film, Last of the Mohicans.

Odd, with all this mountainous grandeur...

...this is my favorite shot of the day.

I'll post a link to the Picasa web album when I give it a try, so there will be many, many more Chimney Rock images.Posted by Picasa

The Dog's Camp..

So, you ask, what's the deal with this "dog camp" that you have to go to every year, and can't do our specialty?? Huh? Just what about it??!!?

Well.. those infernal "clickers" aside.. The Dog's Camp is mostly about fun..








and love,



of all kinds. And that's about it.


There are a few thousand more images at our web site, if you really want to get a feel about what it's like. Posted by Picasa