Thursday's Thoughts

The Timberland SQ2. This is actually the tent when somebody says tent.. The tent covered by a rain fly is below.

It battens down nice and snug and is exceptionally well ventilated

It is an easy 2.5 person tent

especially with the vestibule which is accessible from the interior.

• A couple of days ago I saw a pic on a news browser with a description to the effect, " Fans line up to exchange Rice jerseys". There were hundreds of people. I literally have no idea who Rice is or what he is accused of and I am quite sure I am all the better for that fact.
• Wait, by osmosis I think I have learned he was the one who beat up a girlfriend- right?
• We're watching Bill And Ted's Excellent Adventure.
• Party on-dude.

  

  An old video camera which surfaced from the detritus of one of my former lives recently. It was purchased to film me and my buddies machine gun competition performance. A former in law threw the charger way after I left it at her house. When I asked her about it she said, I didn't know what it was, so I threw it away.

  
  

  

  It was noted to be in the bag of recycles in the bed of my my truck.

  
  

  

  Since we were camping as is so often my wont I challenged myself to a thought exercise- to wit: What would we do  if we were stranded on a deserted island with only a dumb, ancient video camera?

  
  

  

  At least we wouldn't go hungry

  
  

  

  and I would feel less sad and bummed out while rockin' my awesome bracelet and you would have somebody to look up to who is accessorized cooler than you.

  
  

  

  We could use this quite powerful lens to look at bugs and stuff. Or yeah, I guess we could start a fire or whatever. Quit shivering you big whiney baby.
• A few days ago as of this writing (09/23/2014) I learned William Tweed embezzled as much as 200 million dollars- in the 1870s. That is bind moggling. I knew Thomas Nast's cartoons were part of his downfall but I also learned their omnipresence led to his identification after he fled and was found working as a seamen on a Spanish ship. He died in jail of pneumonia
• On 08/29/2014 I wrote in my journal of truth justice and the American way: "People oddly get offended when I won't let my children watch a movie the offended party has determined is OK for their children to watch. Just because you feel guilty doesn't mean I have judged you as such."

  

  A great comfort product with at 2.5 ounces a very low weight burden. It is an REI branded inflatable camping pillow. It won't work well in a bag that doesn't have a hood and a pillow pocket type hood is even better but I love it. There are some ideas bouncing around in my head-brain to keep it in one place overnight. Place a dab of Velcro in my sleeping bags and on the pillow might be a solution but I don't know.  Somebody smart tell me what I should do please.

  
  

  

  Big Agnes Double Z-Core mat. Get one yesterday if you camp at all- even if you use a cot. Inflated it is 4 inches thick of awesome. It has a two piece valve that allows inflation without air loss then very rapid deflation when it is time to head back to civilization. Get the wide/long. You'll find it in REIs awesome section.

  
  

  

  I almost always lay everything out as we pack up to head to the casa. Everything gets cleaned and repacked. Trash and dirties are separated and I consider what did and did not get used, what might work better etc. It only hit me on my last trip- it is a holdover from the Army. Interesting.

• Scatter brained or scatterbrained? Oh, according to my spell check it is all one word.
  
  
  
  

  

  In the back seat of my truck. Some things just because you can do them doesn't mean you should- others, because you can- you absolutely must.

• This morning (09/24/2014) on the way to work I tapped my brakes a bit causing the orange in my passenger seat to fly off and shoot forward like it had been shot by a fruit cannon. It's friend the apple I took note remained in place. Later a woman thought it best to pull over into my lane and stop- as quickly as she could. The apple flew forward when I braked. I saw it take off, heard it bounce around and I assumed it turned into applesauce somewhere under the seat. The problem is I can't find it. No, I haven't turned the truck upside down and shook it out- but a good 5 minute search was fruitless.
• Ha- fruitless- get it?!
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  

  

  In the morning it was slightly bruised looking but not soft in the least. When I got home it looked like this. I blame ebola.

  
  

Monday's Missives

I've waited for years to have the chance at a sunburst with a jet contrail coming into it.

Harvester ants were everywhere- a good sign. We didn't see any but horned lizards love eating these guys

From Dinosaur World, a privately owned venture near the park.

Prevent tree loss- quit putting up signs every 50 feet.

Was kidding about the last quip- their signage is probably appropriate and beneficial. Here a probably young, new to the area beaver had a snack.

Would like to have a better image to show but this one is interesting in its own right. This thing was a crazy shade of red and his pincers sort of a tiger striped pattern. I've never seen one quite like it.

Big Agnes

Pavilion overlooking Paluxy river. Wall this bad boy up and I'd be good to go.

Raaaaaar!

I know who to call when I have some winching work to do that needs to be well lit.

Zac got mad at me

We interrupted a squirrels lunch. When I turned my back Zac started chowing down. Do squirrels have cooties?

For some reason this sign made me laugh.

From trucks placed in front of Rio Brazos restaurant

• We just got back from Dinosaur Valley State Park. If it is still there after Zac and I got through with it ask for site #39 when you visit- it is very nice and well sited for cold or hot weather. It is also near the little playground and close but not too close to the bathrooms.
• Something I had to have known but forgotten- people used to dig the fossil tracks up from the Paluxy and sell them on the roadside for garden focal points and other landscaping. In some places all you can see are the holes the tracks were dug out from.
• Paluxy comes from Biloxi a Siouan tribe/language.
• There is a ban on gathering firewood for the campsites.  The motto is something to the affect, It may appear dead but inside- there is life! That is true, insects depend on the wood and animals depend on the insects but in a 1500 acre park there is plenty of rotten wood for the termites to eat and there is no way people would clean out the whole park of dead wood. My guess is if picking up dead wood was allowed there would be a very predictable area cleaned away from the sites- probably about a 100 meters out from each as people would only go so far away from the sites. As it is now there are tinderbox situations of fuel right where people are allowed to make fires. Also, by bringing in wood from outside there is an increased chance outside pests could be brought into the parks.
• A bit of interesting legalese: nudity is defined on a woman's upper body as the breast being visible from the upper part of the areola down- unless she is nursing.
• I wonder why we are so hung up on that anyway? It seems odd to me, especially on beaches.
• We met a couple from the Netherlands. 
• There is a store out that way- a typical We sell cigs, wine and BEER! store called something like BUBBA'S. I wondered, did that guy when he was growing up in a Lahore Pakistan slum ever dream he would be selling Keystone Light to the yocals along FM 51 in Nowhereville Texas?
• I do not care if there are eleventy billion examples living in the world of the species Bear Grylls eats on his show, every time he does so it  is a waste and that is shameful.
• The lady who runs the souvenir shop is I think 88 years old and has been there for 19 years. She took a one month break when she had a heart attack. She is very sweet and it was oddly funny to me for some reason to hear her correctly pronounce complex dinosaur names.
• I'm sure the person I asked to not read the blob has not been back. It was not too much to ask in my opinion anyway but yeah, my respect level has gone up at least 2 and maybe 3 notches for her. I'm really surprised at the amount of respect I'm assuming she was showing by honoring my request.
• The big dinos on display out front of the DSVSP gift shop are in sorry shape.
• Big Agnes performed admirably. It only took 10 minutes- maybe to put her up. Like any other tent buy the size larger than you need (as long as your not backpacking) and get it when on sale from Campmor. Every order over 49 bucks is free shipping. Buy a tarp to place under the floor. It will be cheaper by a fourth than a footprint, save the floor just the same and be comfortable to walk on.
• The best thing about camping may be coming home and after some delicious Panda Express falling out of a hot tub into a bed with clean sheets.
• Good night world. I love you in spite of yourself.