Middle School Track Team

Kara has been selected to her Middle School track team. A highly contested tryout saw young Kara rewarded for her hurdling skills. First meet is next Wednesday.

Happy Birthday!

James Austin Clark turns 16 today! My son is 16. Let me repeat that. My son is 16. I am turning into an old bastard before my very eyes.

NFL season begins

The 2010 NFL season just kicked off with a Redskins victory. It took everything the Redskins had as well as a horribly executed game from the Cowboys to secure an opening victory for the Redskins. On the last play of the second half, the Cowboys ran an ill advised play that saw them fumble the ball to a waiting DeAngelo Hall, who ran it in for what turned out to be the game winner.

The game itself came down to the last play when the Cowboys scored the game winning touchdown. But wait. A holding penalty nullifies the play and the Redskins hold on for the win.

Pros
Redskins were rocking the gold pants for the opener.
Redskins defense was much more aggressive. Offense needs to buy the Defense dinner all week.
Jim Haslett's promise for more turnovers turns out to be prescient as the fumble provides the difference in the game.
Sloppy play by the Cowboys costs them the game.
McNabb makes the Philly trade seem a little ridiculous, especially taking into account the fact that Campbell stunk up the joint in Oakland's loss.

Cons
Six points by the offense and no touchdowns shows that Kyle Shanahan's vaunted air attack needs a lot of work.
Barring a stupid penalty, the Cowboys could have won this one. If Orakpo doesn't get held, does he get to Romo? We will never know.
More scoring needed if they want to win more games.

Learning to Drive

Today, I took Austin out for his first driving lesson. This is my second time doing this. Where have the years gone? I am not ready for a second teenage driver, but time marches on. For the record, he did remarkably well and it won't be long before he is tooling down the road.

Community Service

Tracy and I just spent the day painting the Booster Club apparel shack and organizing the interior for the upcoming football season. Someone please tell me how I got roped into this.

Happy Birthday Amanda!!!

Happy Birthday Amanda, we miss you.

UNC-Ch Football Program Under Investigation

Today brought news that the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill (UNC-Ch) Football Program is under investigation by the NCAA. In an interview today, Butch Davis attempted to quell the rumor that the source of the investigation is because of the Tarheel's tendency to lay down when playing the Wolfpack.

Davis said that "we are not under investigation because we can't beat NC State. That's simply because they are too good. We are under investigation for other reasons that I am not at liberty to disclose at this time."

James Madison University

Yesterday, Kellie completed her first college tour as we went to JMU in Harrisonburg, VA. Kellie was very impressed and is ready to to apply today. More tours to follow and she will have a better scale to which to gauge this visit.

Two Wheel Tuesday - #4

The rumors continue to fly that Rossi is headed to Ducati and Stoner to Honda. During this week's race, the rumors had passed the threshold from ridiculous to accepted. Is this a done deal? Time will tell. Additional rumors this week include the return of Loris Capirossi to Ducati although on the Satellite Pramac team instead of the factory seat.

Carolina wins the CWS!

The Carolina Gamecocks are the big winners in this years College World Series. Congratulations to the USC Gamecocks!

Suck it Chicago!

I have spent the week gleefully reading about the Supreme Court decision that ruled Chicago's handgun ban unconstitutional. Washington D.C. suffered the same fate last year, so this is hardly a surprise. The surprise lies in the court's decision to extend the provisions set forth in the Second Amendment to the States and Municipalities. I think that this is a good thing because it keeps the bleeding hearts in Chicago from denying American citizens rights guaranteed under the Constitution. In the long run, it's much better that Chicago learns a lesson than allowing them to terrorize its law abiding residents by making gun ownership a crime.

All set for the weekend

I am all set and ready to go for the Fourth this weekend. I went Fireworks shopping last weekend and have a great show planned. More in this later. I think that I will try and shoot a few pictures this year. If they turn out, I will post.

Two Wheel Tuesday - #3

This past weekend Assen hosted the Dutch Grand Prix. As a Nicky Hayden fan, I had big hopes for this race as #69 has won here in the past. As far as Nicky was concerned, the race was over at lap one.  He had a poor start from 5th and never recovered. He was in 9th at the first turn and that was that. In the post-race interviews, Nicky said that he was folding the front trying to make up time and went as fast as he could under those conditions. Not a very good showing from Nicky during this race. He needs to step it up a notch. The other side of Team Red's garage fared much better as Stoner put the Ducati on the box for the first time this year. Spies led a MotoGP race for the first time and finished a very respectable fourth, the satellite rider's career best finish. Rossi's bike was parked again and once again, the rising star of Lorenzo shone down upon the land. Jorge is in a league of his own. Pedrosa gave him an early run, but Jorge shrugged the challenge off again and laid waste to the field. This championship is his to lose. Sorry for the abbreviated race report, but this race had little drama and wasn't my favorite contest thus far this year.

The drama was reserved for later in the week, when insiders are confident that Rossi has already signed with Ducati for next year. This dovetails nicely with the associated rumor that Stoner has already left the nest for Honda. The rumor mill around Rossi has been spinning tales for some time now. For example, it's been long rumored that Rossi has a decision to make, take €9M from Yamaha or take €15M from Ducati. It's long been assumed that Lorenzo wants €8M from Yamaha and if he wins the title, he will get it. That's too close for comfort for the prized Italian rider and he might bolt for Ducati. If he does that, stand by for a the Italians to lose their minds in absolute ecstacy. An Italian champion on an Italian bike? It's happened before, but it has been a very long time.

Then again, all this talk may be a carefully orchestrated means to get Rossi in the news while he recuperates. Time will tell.

The Mississippi Chronicles

Through the magic of the Internet, I "spoke" with Amanda this evening about their recent relocation to Mississippi. It seems that they have moved into a neighborhood that has another McCormick family nearby. Same name, that's not something you see everyday.

But wait, there's more.

This family also hails from the fair city of Mobile.

But wait, there's more.

The man's name is Rod McCormick (Rod/Ron).

But wait, there's more.

The new neighbors have a daughter named Molly (Molly/Millie).

But wait, there's more.

The Ron and Amanda variety also has a Molly 'family' member, namely their irascible little Dachshund.

There are strange things afoot in Madison, MS.

Wolfpack Fans Unite!

This morning as I was entering the 7-Eleven to buy gas, I ran into Tim. Tim has a daughter in Kara's grade in the same school and lives in a development across the main road. This is important because Tim is an alumnus of N.C. State. We spoke briefly about Tom O'Brien and his approach to student athletics, the recent hire of Debbie Yow as the AD, and recent trips to the motherland. It really made my day to speak, even if only for a few minutes, to one of the Wolfpack faithful. At least someone in this godforsaken, Carolina loving county has some taste.

Monday Roundup - #3

Since school is out and the summer of 2010 is officially underway, the activity of the Clark kids has slowed somewhat. Kellie continues to go to work at the pool and is finding that the daily duties of a Virginia lifeguard include cleaning up disgusting things that end up on the bathroom floors. Ask her about it. She will be glad to enlighten you. Austin continues to train for Cross Country and the Playstation Olympics. Kara got a job working as a Mommy's helper and just finished her first official (paid) babysitting job. The added funds will enable her to continue to operate as a loan institution for her brother and sister. They like to borrow money from Kara in the hopes that she will forget what they owe her and get a free gift. The only problem with that approach is that Kara NEVER forgets who owes her money and how much.

Two Wheel Tuesday - #2

Over the weekend, MotoGP returned to the historic Silverstone circuit for the British Grand Prix. Jorge Lorenzo rode away from the pack for an easy win, but the remaining podium positions were hotly contested. Dovizioso and the surprising Ben Spies took second and third respectively.

Going into the race, we were treated to another Ducati first. Nicky Hayden out qualified Casey Stoner for the first time as his teammate, but Casey's race pace was a clear sign that the qualifying positions really wouldn't matter once the flag dropped. That didn't materialize because Stoner had clutch problems on the start and entered turn one in last place. The fact that he finished fifth was easily the most impressive run through the pack we have seen in years. Casey was a bit of a douche about the matter, publicly throwing his team under the bus about the technical problems. This attitude towards the usually tight knit Ducati teams only served to heat up the rumors that Casey is headed to Honda at the end of the season. Clearly Stoner has not warmed up to the new bike. Maybe it's too rigid in in current incarnation. Rumors are also swirling about the paddock that Ducati has already signed Hayden to a ride in 2011. The fact that they have signed one rider and not the other also gave weight to the rumor that Ducati has made a run on Rossi for next year.  Rumor also says that Rossi has been watching Hayden's progress on the Desmo and had given it his seal of approval. This type of conjecture is normal in any racing series, but it's a little early for this kind of thing in MotoGP.

For the second time this season, Hayden beat Stoner to the checkered flag, but the fourth place position was little consolation for Hayden for several reasons. Hayden was beaten to the podium by a satellite rider (Spies) on the last lap and barely beat Stoner who had to pass nearly everyone on the track. The big news was that Spies passed Hayden on the track and took third away from him. Are we seeing the start of an American rivalry? I hope so, moreso because I never put Spies on the podium this year before Hayden, but that's where we are.

Lorenzo was in a different world and made everyone else loo a little silly in the process. Very impressive. Yamaha parked Ross's bike and did not produce a replacement rider. This is probably a nod to the fact that the Rossi faithful would crucify anyone who dared rider the masters bike or they just couldn't find anyone willing to do it.

Colin Edwards must be feeling a little lost as the nominal lead rider was outshone by a rookie. One factor that hasn't seen much airtime is the fact that only two riders (Stoner/Edwards) had ever ridden there before, so that meant Spies was not at a big disadvantage here and he made the best of it.


Current Standings after 5 races:

Position	Rider	Bike	Points
1	Jorge Lorenzo	Yamaha	115
2	Andrea Dovizioso	Honda	78
3	Dani Pedrosa	Honda	73
4	Valentino Rossi	Yamaha	61
5	Nicky Hayden	Ducati	52
6	Randy De Puniet	Honda	46
7	Ben Spies	Yamaha	36
8	Casey Stoner	Ducati	35
9	Marco Melandri	Honda	32
10	Marco Simoncelli	Honda	32

Monday Roundup - #2

The big news this week is that all of the kids are out of school. Kellie is progressing with her new job with ease. Our only problem is keeping her from blowing all her money the day she gets it. Austin spen the last week as a counselor at middle school track camp and Kara just had her camp track meet on Friday night. Right now, all the kids are in Ocean City catching some rays.

2010 Track Camp at Brentsville District High School

Kara attended the evening track camp held at Kellie and Austin's high school all last week. Austin was there as well as a camp counselor. Photographer extraordinaire Chris Robbins was there as well and he took a few action shots of Kara competing in the end-of-camp track meet. Enjoy.

Pictures Link

Schools Out ... For ... The Summer

Summer officially begins today for the Clark kids!

Two Wheel Tuesday - #1

We are four races into the 2010 MotoGP season, but already a few concrete observations can be made and a few major events have already occurred.

Season Recap:
     Race 1: Qatar - Rossi (1st), Lorenzo (2nd), Dovizioso (3rd)
     Race 2: Jerez - Lorenzo, Pedrosa, Rossi
     Race 3: Le Mans - Lorenzo, Rossi, Dovizioso
     Race 4: Mugello - Pedrosa, Lorenzo, Dovizioso

Jorge Lorenzo currently leads the series, followed by Pedrosa (-25) and Rossi (-29).

MotoGP Rider Notes:

Valentino Rossi - By all appearances from the results listed above, the GOAT is off to another fine season and will contend for yet another title. That was true until the final practice at Mugello where Valentino suffered a nasty highside in Turn 4 and fractured his lower right leg. Valentino missed the race and is expected to be out of commission for up to six months. For the first time in a decade, he will not be a factor in the title chase.

Jorge Lorenzo - Jorge is the heir apparent in the MotoGP world as he had given Valentino all he can handle thus far this year. This tension between teammates has fueled several rumors in the paddock regarding rider placement this year. More on this later. The Spaniard has had a spectacular season thus far and is heavily tipped to win the show this year. Yamaha clearly has the flagship team this year. In light of Rossi's medical issues, it's clear that Lorenzo will step out of the considerable shadow of Rossi and become the #1 rider for the first time.

Andrea Dovizioso - Dovi has had a great set of races and seems to be the major recipient of the much stronger Honda engine. He is really pushing Dani through the opening rounds.

Casey Stoner - Casey has already had a pair of DNFs in the first four races, both the result of front end tucks. Ducati considerably changed the bike to ensure that someone other than Casey could ride the beast, but it seems to have affected Casey in a very negative sense thus far.

Nicky Hayden -The changes to the Ducati seems to have met well with Nicky's style in these opening rounds. He finished 4th in each of the opening three rounds before suffering his own front end tuck in Mugello and failing to finish the race. He is clearly more comfortable on the new bike and in Jerez, dealt Casey his first ever straight up loss to a Ducati teammate in which both riders finished. He is currently the highest scoring Ducati rider.

Ben Spies - Big Ben's introduction to MotoGP has not been the Cinderella season that World Superbike was last year. Ben is struggling with the Yamaha somewhat, but has shown flashes of brilliance already. He is clearly someone to watch when he figures this bike and the Bridgestones out.

Dani Pedrosa - Pedrosa is a dick and that's all I have to say about him.

Other Riders of Note:

Troy Bayliss -This past weekend at the World Ducati Weekend in Misano, Bayliss squashed the rumors that he was coming back to the World Superbike paddock. The racing world was abuzz for a few days when we thought that the most popular rider in Ducati's history was coming back. Bayliss said he's retired and he's happy, so no comeback. Then, to add insult to injury, he participated in the Misano test and posted the fastest time of any Ducati rider, including the current factory riders! The man is simply amazing and has left the racing world wondering what could have been.

Rumors -
Rossi's Replacement - No definitive word yet on Rossi's replacement rider. Ben Spies was the supposed replacement rider, but rookies are not eligible for factory rides. Colin Edwards is the likely candidate, so the real issue is who takes over on Colin's bike. Cal Crutchlow from World Superbike turned the ride down, so the issue is clearly up in the air.

Stoner leaving Ducati? - Stoner is heavily rumored to go to Honda next year and either Lorenzo or Rossi are rumored to take the open slot at Ducati because these two roosters can't be in the same garage.

Monday Roundup - #1

I am starting a few new series on the blog that will be published more or less on a weekly basis. Today, I am debuting the Monday Roundup which will highlight the activities and accomplishment of the Virginia Clark kids from the previous week.

Kara, Austin, and Kellie are still in school, but the year is definitely winding down. The teenagers even have a few abbreviated class days this week.

This week, we will go youngest to oldest.

Kara - Kara is finishing her first year in middle school and appears to have made the transition well, so no problems there. Tonight she began a middle school track camp at BDHS, and at this writing, she is still there. Kara is finishing her first year in middle school and appears to have made the transition well, so no problems there. Tonight she began a middle school track camp at BDHS, and at this writing, she is still there.

Austin - Austin discovered that he is a big fan of History this school year, particularly American history and WWII. The proof is in the pudding as he scored a 595/600 on his Virginia Standard of Learning test last week. He is also attending the track camp at the high school this week, but in the capacity of Assistant Coach.

Kellie - Kellie took the SAT's last week and will have to take some SAT prep classes to bring her score up a little before next year. She has started her job as a lifeguard at a local pool and is dying to spend her first paycheck before the enforced savings begin. She remains on the lookout for schools of choice next year. We plan to visit JMU sometime this summer.

World Ducati Weekend

It's been said that there are two motorcycle brands in the world, Harley Davidson and Ducati. The rest are merely motorcycle manufacturers. Regardless of your position on this topic, no one can deny that Ducati fans are among the most supportive anywhere on the third rock from the sun. This past weekend, the annual World Ducati Weekend was held in Misano, Italy.

Nicky looks to be very popular among the Italians.

I think there were a few Ducatis at the event.

I am not sure how to describe this guy, but 'Crazy Bastard' comes to mind.

A Night of Classic Rock

Tracy scored tickets to the Foreigner/Styx/Kansas concert last night, so we grabbed Chris, Bethany, Lisa, and Gary and headed to Jiffy Lube Live. The coolest thing about the concert was seeing a entire audience my age or older. All of these bands came to the national stage in the 1970's, so the 20-30 year olds were few and far between. All the members of the band are old, but so am I, so who cares?

We were treated to 4 hours of 70's and 80's rock and roll. The 1980's remain the golden age of music in the United States and hearing the old stuff kicked ass. Tracy, as usual, made a spectacle of herself, but who could blame her? There is something ethereal about hearing the music from your youth and Tracy let loose.

Predictably, each band closed with their most popular song:

Kansas - Carry On Wayward Son
Styx - Renegade
Foreigner - Juke Box Hero

Since the bands are so old (Renegade was released 32 years ago), very few of the original members are still around. That said, the new singer for Foreigner was a dead ringer for the original vocalist and if they had not brought it up during the concert, I never would have known.

 

 Rocking out in Section 303

One Week Later

Today marks one week to the day that the McCormicks moved to Mississippi. That is all.

Are you %$^#ing kidding me? - Episode 1

I am often put in situations where I am with friends and my Indian heritage comes up. Most people are generally interested in what that means, but they are often insulting. This rarely bothers me because they perceived insults are almost always an attempt to use humor or just plain ignorant. Sometime the ignorance reaches levels that boggle the mind and a recent episode is the genesis of this multi-episode series.  Welcome to Episode 1.

Over the Memorial Dy weekend, I had the occasion to meet a friend-of-a-friend and I was fortunate enough to be on the receiving end of a very peculiar pearl of wisdom. As described above, my heritage was brought into a conversation and my new acquaintance began talking to me about it. As I recall, his best guess was that I was Chippewa, but I corrected that innocent error. I never found out the reason why he went with this particular choice because of what happened next.

I was describing the physical layout of Robeson County and how the white invaders passed over the area due to its apparent lack of any arable land. I went on to describe the large amount of swampland recovered and made into farmland in the years since. It was at this point in the conversation when the stupid bomb hit.

At this point, my new friend informed me that the Lumbees were lucky because all the East Coast Indian tribes were pushed into the uninhabited west. I verbally poked at this statement to make sure that I had heard him correctly, and yes I had. It was his assertion that in the late 1600's and early 1700's, the western half on North America was entirely devoid of human population.

Are you %$^#ing kidding me?

I was polite, perhaps overly so, and made no comment whatsoever. What could I say? I have no answer for such blissful ignorance. If this was a young man, I could have perhaps excused such idiocy, but he was not. In fact, he was older than me. I had heard that the average American's historical knowledge is frighteningly incomplete, but this is absurd. I am not even sure who or what is to blame for something like this. Yes, I have a special interest in this topic and certainly know more about this than the average bear, but let's face the facts. This is pretty basic information that should have been covered in a 4th or 5th grade history class.

Cheerleaders and Basketball Folly

Last Saturday night, Kellie and the rest of the BDHS Varsity Cheerleaders played in a basketball game against the female faculty team. This was supposed to be the girls varsity versus the teachers, but for some reason the cheerleaders were involved as well. Bear in mind that only the rising senior cheerleaders were involved, but those 10 girls comprise half the team.

Let's just say that the cheerleaders and the girls basketball team are cut from different cloth. The girls basketball team wore their varsity uniform. The cheerleaders were dressed somewhat differently. They had the jersey, but all 10 of them augmented the uniform with a pink T-Shirt under the jersey, knee-high socks with Tiger paws on them, and ribbons in their hair.

This is not meant to belittle them in any way, but after the first couple of minutes, it was obvious that the cheerleader's combined athletic skills are based in areas not advantageous to the game of roundball. It did, however, provide the crowd with a tremendous amount of entertainment. After much abuse and no pity whatsoever from the faculty team, the cheerleaders put all 10 girls on the floor and a Benny Hill episode broke out. This truly had to be seen to be enjoyed. I can thank the cheerleaders for a great laugh and a greater Saturday night.

I love my daughter to death, but a basketball scholarship is not in her future.

One key thing that I forgot was the cheerleader pyramid defense scheme. Under this daring plan, the cheer team set up a human pyramid under the goal, which you might expect provided a great defense. It's fairly easy to block shots when you are using the rim to balance yourself.

2010 Junior Prom

Kellie is currently enjoying her Junior Prom in Fairfax, VA, but I did manage to capture the moment digitally before she left for the evening. Interested parties are invited to check my web album for the 2010 Junior Prom.

The Google Earth Picture is live

The picture I submitted to Google Earth is live! To see it, do the following:

1. Start Google Earth
2. Search for 'Chisos Mountain Lodge'
3. Select the search result labeled 'A - Chisos Mountain Lodge'
4. After it zooms in, look at the lodge and select the photo icon that is in the Southeast corner behind the lodge.
5. The picture is titled 'Mountain Lion - Chisos Mountains Basin'
6. My picture is credited to 'locarakko'

Comments are now allowed

To make things easier around here, I have enabled open comments once again. Previously, you had to become a member of the blog to comment, but now it's wide open. Fire away.

I know a little more about the Bret Michaels incident that you may think

If you read People magazine, then you know all about Bret Michaels and his recent medical problems. If you don't know and remain interested, just Google it. Michaels recently suffered from a subarachnoid hemorrhage and had a hard time of it. On the way home from work tonight, someone on the radio said that only 10-20% of those inflicted make a full recovery. That number struck me as alarmingly low for a simple reason. I am a survivor of the same hemorrhage (in 2005) and by all accounts I am one of the lucky ones.

I have already wrote about the incident here and here, so I won't rehash old news.

Google Earth Approval

I have been playing with Google Earth of late, primarily to see how well they have rendered the Chisos Mountain Basin. Verdict: Extraordinarily well. If you zoom in on the basin, you can get a terrain-based view as well as an overhead view. Once you have zoomed in far enough, you can see little icons for photos. After I had processed all of my photos, I submitted one of my mountain lion photos to be included in Google Earth and I am proud to report that it has been selected for inclusion in the Google Earth database. It has been tagged for the next data transfer, but I don't know when that will be. When it's live, I'll let everybody know.

BDHS 2010-2011 Cheerleading Squad has been selected

Tryouts are complete and Kellie will be a varsity cheerleader for her senior year. You go girl!

Big Bend Photo Album

I processed all my Big Bend photos tonight and put the keepers into a web album. Take a look. Comments are welcome.

Big Bend Road Trip - Day 11

Route:	Biloxi, MS -to- Pembroke, NC
Miles Today:	723
Total Miles:	3,944

Bike trip is over. Pulled 723 miles today, a personal best. We did the five state tour as we traveled through Mississippi, Alabama, Georgia, South Carolina and North Carolina. The rain storm that forced us to stop in Biloxi last night passed through. We caught up with the storm in Georgia and the remainder of the day was spent in a downpour. At least three hours of the ride was in a torrential downpour with very limited visibility, but once you are out in it, you might as well keep going.

This trip was full of personal firsts:

• First single mileage over 700 miles
• First time riding a bike with Cruise Control
• First time visiting several states (Alabama, Mississippi, New Orleans)
• First time riding in the rain for over 300 miles
• First time in Big Bend National Park
• First time I have ever seen a wild mountain lion
• First time I have seen a wild Javelina
  

Big Bend Road Trip - Day 10

Route:	Schulenburg, TX -to- Biloxi, MS
Miles Today:	500
Total Miles:	3,221

Today was a brutal day in the saddle. Not as many miles as we set out to do, but that just wasn't going to happen today. We ran into major traffic in Houston, TX and lost more than an hour of road time. Another issue in Baton Rouge left us stopped atop the bridge over the Mississippi and that wasn't fun. The wind was blowing and the pavement was slick enough for James to spin his rear tire on the bridge. We probably lost another hour due to traffic and road work. When we crossed into Mississippi, we did not see dry pavement for over an hour before lightning forced us to stop in Biloxi. We were trying to run to Mobile, but fell about 65 miles short. We will take off early tomorrow and try to run all the way to Pembroke.

The most interesting views were the 10-mile wide swamps and Lake Bigeux, which resembled a flooded forest with trees growing right out of the water.

Big Bend Road Trip - Day 9

Route:	Big Bend National Park -to- Schulenburg, TX
Miles Today:	546
Total Miles:	2,721

This was day one of the long haul back home. I have about 1800 miles to cover in three days, but we fell somewhat short of the planned 600 miles today. A slow ride out of the park, rain, and traffic in San Antonio were the reason for the 54 mile shortfall. Tomorrow should be smoother running if we can get through Houston will little problem.

Most of the run today was made on I-10 and I can describe today's weather in west Texas with one word: Windy. We were blown around for 400 miles and I can still hear the wind rushing over my helmet. The only good thing to say about the weather was that it was not cold.

The day started off well and we made for Marathon, TX for breakfast. We stopped at the same place we had lunch last Sunday; Johnny B's. Once again, the food was very good and I can safely recommend this place to anyone passing through Marathon.

We encountered the reverse change of terrain that we encountered when traveling west, only this time, the landscape changed from desert to relatively lush green. It was more than a little strange to leave the desert where there were deer walking around in the parking lot and in the same day be in bumper-to-bumper traffic in San Antonio. Texas is truly a diverse and large state.

Big Bend Road Trip - Day 8

Route:	Big Bend National Park
Miles Today:	68
Total Miles:	2,175

Today was our last full day in the park, and in the morning the group splits in two. Dad, James and I will be headed back to Pembroke in the morning. We went out to Rio Grande Village for another overlook of the river, but nothing much to report there. The only thing of note was a small display of wire form scorpions that appear to have been put there by Mexicans which were for sale. A jar was placed next to the merchandise and payment was made on the honor system. It seems that the Mexicans cross the river at night and grab the cash. Remember that the river at this point is no more than 20 feet wide and very easy to wade across.

The mountain lion pictures proved to another popular draw up here as Dad showed them to another group of people.

We also got a fellow lodge visitor to snap a group photo of everybody before we leave the park in the morning.


We leave at 8AM tomorrow and began the ride back east.

Big Bend Road Trip - Day 7

Route:	Big Bend National Park
Miles Today:	205
Total Miles:	2,107

I'll get to what proved to be an interesting ride today, but let's address the big news first. At 6:00PM, as all of us were headed to the restaurant for dinner, we saw a crowd of people standing behind the cabins. Several were pointing and clicking away on their cameras. When we asked what was going on we were told that a Mountain Lion had cornered two deer. I ran back to the room and grabbed my Nikon and managed to squeeze off a few shots of my own. Here are two images from my camera.



It's very hard to tell from the images, but this animal was large. Large and deadly quiet as he moved down to the deer. Eventually, the deer scrambled into the road and took off. He did not follow, perhaps because we were there, and he eventually wandered off to parts unknown. I even managed to take a shot of the mountain lion snacks before they decided to depart.


James talked with a park employee and learned that our new friend is named 'George' and hangs around the cabins frequently. This little fact puts our 5 hike into the woods in a slightly different light.

We started off the day's ride with a familiar routine. Get up, saddle up, and ride for 30-60 minutes for breakfast. The only morning event of note was that Dad encountered a javelina standing in the road. You have to be careful as they cannot see very well and are somewhat unpredictable as you bear down on them. No problems with that this time. Today brought us to a hole-in-the-wall restaurant called the Roadrunner Deli.


Before you think I am trying to make fun of this restaurant, you should know that the food was excellent. Kudos to the cook. The restaurant was part of the famous Study Butte mall. The remainder of the mall can be seen below:


After eating, we took off for the Rio Grande riverside ride through Big Bend Ranch State Park to Presidio, TX. We cut the ride off before Presidio on the advice of a deli patron and headed back to Terlingua, TX.

All of the rain in the area has the flowers blooming and each stop presented opportunities to photograph the local blooms. A few samples follow:


Here is a shot of Dad and James standing in the parking lot of the Big Bend Ranch State Park:


The road along the Rio Grande was a true delight to ride. We stopped several times for pictures, and I have included one here. Please note that you are looking at the US/Mexico border. USA to the left, Mexico to the right.


Towards the end of the overlook drive, we stopped near the river and yes, I jumped in, or at least my feet did.


While I was standing in the Rio Grande, I felt the timeless movement of water that has flowed from Colorado to the Gulf for millenia. Time only knows the number of natives that have fished, canoed, and swan in its waters since the dawn of man. I was so close to Mexico that I was sure that the Border Patrol was going to start barking at me through a megaphone. This is as close to Mexico as I will ever come (25 ft).

Before we returned to the lodge, we took a detour to Castolon visitor center. The day had become very hot and as you can see below, the group stopped for a much-needed hydration break.


Of course, all day long, we were treated to the sensational Big Bend landscape:

Big Bend Road Trip - Day 6

No riding today, but I did take the opportunity to take a long (+5 mile) hike to the bottom of the Chisos Basin. We descended 980 feet to the basin floor and back up again. Don, James and I made the entire journey in 3 hours. The most interesting thing about the hike, other the multiple warnings that bears and mountain lions roam throughout the area, was observing the change in the local flora as we descended and ascended the basin walls. The top of the basin contains a more desert-like selection of plants such as yucca and agave plants, but as we descended we were met with cactus, scrub vegatation, then trees on the basin floor. We walked to the Window Pouroff where the small stream drops 200 feet to the desert floor.

Since there was no riding and everyone was taking advantage of some time off from the road, the evening was sent trading war stories over dinner.

The picture above was taken on the trip down and is a closeup of the Chisos Basin surrounding walls.

Another picture taken of the walls from the basin floor.

James and Don navigating the canyon just before the pouroff.

A shot of the view from the pouroff.

Looking up from the pouroff up into the Chisos Basin.

This is an example of the types of trees that can be found on the basin floor, but not up at the lodge.

On the way back and very near the top of the basin, we encountered three whitetail deer grazing very near the trail.

Big Bend Road Trip - Day 5

Route:	Sonora, TX-to- Big Bend National Park
Miles Today:	330
Total Miles:	1,902

Isn't it supposed to be hot in Texas? It wasn't particularly hot today. When we left Sonora this morning, it was 57 degrees. That's not too bad until you factor in the -20 degree adjustment for riding and it gets cold.

We entered canyon country and ran for a good time through what i will name "buzzard canyon". There must be tasty carrion in the canyons because that is where all the buzzards are. Some of them were very reluctant to leave what they were dining on and once caused a serious braking situation to avoid them.

All the rain over the last few days in this area caused a road closing on our route and we had to divert to Lake Amistad. This was surprisingly close to Mexico - mere miles away according to the locals. So close, in fact, that we had to pass through a Border Patrol inspection station after we headed north on Highway 90. At this point in the day, we basically rode into the desert. Very little traffic and high speed limits (70/75 mph) made for easy riding. People warned me about the dreariness of West Texas, but this was the best day yet. The open road, little traffic, and a completely unfamiliar terrain mode for good riding. I stopped to take the following picture because it really captured the description I gave above. Note the lack of traffic. The bikes in the picture belong to our group.


Shortly before this picture was taken, we stopped at the Judge Roy Bean Museum in Langtry. Old Roy was a colorful character from the days when Law Enforcement was a very different job than it is today. Follow the previous link for more information about Judge Bean.


Parked outside the museum:


The museum also had a cactus garden and wandered about for a few shots. The following plant was unknown to me, but is the Blue Agave. If you don't know this plant, you are certainly familiar with what is made from it: Tequila.


I took this picture at the museum as well:

We are not in Kansas anymore. This is not Virginia:

After stopping for lunch in Marathon, TX. we made the final 70 mile ride into the park.


The ride into the park was striking enough, but the final miles up to the Chisos Mountains Lodge was simply spectacular. I took a few shots of the surrounding hills, but I fear that they will not do the actual site justice.

Soon after we arrived, we heard that a group of javelinas was feeding near the lodge and I managed several shots before they wandered off. They are not as docile as they seem and can bowl you over if they get spooked. Here is a sample photo:



Finally, here are the promised samples of the surrounding hills. These were taken at Dusk, but they will give you an idea what we are surrounded by.





Things seen from the road:

• A lone buffalo - also known as a Bison to non-indigenous peoples.
• Buzzards - lots of them.
• Snake in the road that managed to avoid death by slithering and weaving through the group.
• Border Patrol agents.
• Wonderful open road

Final note: I just went outside to walk around and the sheer silence up here was actually unsettling.

Big Bend Road Trip - Day 4

Route:	Buda, TX -to- Sonora, TX
Miles Today:	220
Total Miles:	1,572

The first part of today is easy to describe - rain. Today was the first really wet part of the ride, but not too bad and not too long. The wet conditions produced the first cold ride, and the wind only made matters worse. We took a scenic ride through the Willow City Loop. I assumed that Texas was fairly flat throughout the state, but today's ride through the hill country proves me wrong. We are not talking about mountains here, but hilly nonetheless. This would have been a great place for snapshots, but the rain discouraged any such activity for me. Since I didn't take my camera out in the weather, I found a website with a lot of pictures of the area. A common wildflower in that part of the Texas is the Blue Bonnet and they were in very high concentration on the route. Of particular note during the ride was the following sign:

Even with proper warning, it was odd to see a black cow standing beside the road. To make matters worse, it was standing under a tree when I rode by it and fairly well hidden in the shadows. I did a quick double take when it moved and I noticed it.

We rode from central Texas and have clearly entered west Texas. Today was the largest change in terrain I have seen yet. The road opened up and we entered big country.

Today's edition of Things Seen From the Road:

• A large banner over the road in Buda, TX that announced the upcoming country fair and weiner dog races. I have two Dachshunds, and one would do well in competition if I could get him pointed in the right direction.
• I saw two different kinds of antelope today in fields beside the road. The first image below is an adult version of the juvenile Impala that I observed. The second, much larger antelope was a Texas Pronghorn. Both are hunted in Texas.
  

• I did not mention this yesterday, but since I saw it again, I will bring it up now. Looking into the cattle fields, I saw a white stork-like bird standing next to a cow. It wasn't doing much more than standing there, but looked odd to an Easterner like me. One of the riders, Don Williams said that the birds stand by the cows because grazing kicks up insects that the birds eat.
  
• Lastly, I am warming to Texas. Today I saw what might possibly be the most beautiful sight I have ever seen on an American highway. When we saw the image below, we were west bound and down.
  

Big Bend Road Trip - Day 3

Route:	Palestine, TX -to- Buda, TX
Miles Today:	264
Total Miles:	1,352

A much shorter day, but very minimal Interstate highway riding as we took back roads or state highways the whole day. The fact that we are in Texas was made clear because of the oil pumps working away in the fields right next to the cattle. If you have never left the east coast, these pumps look like this:


A lot of these were idle, perhaps because the oil is gone by now. A few were pumping away very slowly. I do not know the technology behind these things, but I will have to look it up.

Buda, Texas is just south of Austin, so we are in Longhorn country in more ways than one.

Observations from the road:

• Saw a street sign for Union Chapel Road. My parents live directly off an identically named road in Robeson County, NC.
  
• Cow pastures in Texas can be much larger than those back East. Not all of them were much bigger than a Virginia field, but a few were very huge.
• There is Armadillo road kill in Texas too.

Had dinner at the famous Salt Lick Bar-B-Que restaurant in Driftwood.

Big Bend Road Trip - Day 2

Route:	Tuscaloosa, AL -to- Palestine, TX
Miles Today:	544
Total Miles:	1,088

A little hard to believe, but after a second 10-hour day in the saddle, we rode the same mileage. It's not noted above, but we rode the same distance down the tenth of a mile.

I was wrong about Alabama. There was no western speed trap like what we rolled through on the Eastern state line. 70 all the way. Today, I was on the lookout for things that clearly indicated that we were heading west:

• Armadillo road kill in Louisiana - Not a common sight on the East Coast.
• Seeing a sign that read "Mississippi River" - Note that the mighty Mississippi was not nearly as broad as I had assumed. I resisted the urge to break into Rush (Tom Sawyer) as I was crossing the bridge.
  
• Seeing the land go flat as a board once we crossed the river into Louisiana.
• Louisiana has brown highways.
  
• The mile markers count down as you head West, so it was more than a little strange to see a mile marker that read '625' miles. That's the distance until I-20 merges with I-10, not the state line. Texas is a BIG state.
• Stopped at a gas station and we were told that Bonnie and Clyde were killed just a few miles down the road.
• Saw a Texas Longhorn in a field somewhere in Texas.
  

Today marked our first exit from I-20 and we got on the road in South Carolina. This was the last of the big travel days and tomorrow we start to look around the Lone Star state. Dad also recorded a few riding videos with his new bike-mounted camera, so I will have to post them later.

Big Bend Road Trip - Day 1

Route:	Pembroke, NC -to- Tuscaloosa, AL
Miles Today:	544
Total Miles:	544

Just finished the first day on the road to Big Bend National Park in Texas. 544 miles later, I have made it to Tuscaloosa, Alabama, which of course, is the home of the Crimson Tide and Big Al. I did not make it to the University and will not do so tomorrow, so I may have missed my only chance to walk on the campus of a national champion football program.

I had a bike change today, and that's taking a little to get used to. Lots of miles on I-20 today, but the plan is to put the miles on the first part of the trip and get out to Texas as early as we can. Another big day tomorrow and then things settle down.

A few observations from the road:

• Interstate 20 has more road gators that I have ever seen on any road anywhere. This was even more apparent in Georgia. I guess they don't clean their roads in GA.
• I added the following states to the list of "States I have ridden a motorcycle in": South Carolina, Georgia, Alabama.
• This is the first time I have ever been to Alabama.
• I knew that I was in Alabama when I saw 2 kids next to the hotel trying to shoot something out of a tree with a BB gun.
• After dinner, I walked out of the restaurant and ran into 4 men discussing whether or not someone was going to be red-shirted next year. Subject: Alabama Football. Apparently this subject is common down here.
  
• Saw a few things today I have never seen before. A large C-Band satellite dish lying just off the road (Alabama) and a Harley rider riding in the East bound lane with no shirt on (Georgia).
• The first 35 miles in Alabama had a 55mph speed limit. A big change when you leave Georgia's 70 mph limit. Alabama Po-Po were EVERYWHERE. After 35 miles, speed limit jumped back to 70 mph. They must need money in Alabama. If I am right, we will see the same thing when we leave the state in the morning.
  
• 10 Hours on a bike is hard for a professional desk jockey.
• I saw the spectacle of Talledega Superspeedway from I-20. Big doesn't even begin to describe it.
• I crossed the Chattahootchie River and it took me a while to remember the Alan Jackson song.

The clerk at the hotel looked at me odd when I told her the story of how Tuscaloosa got its name. Briefly, the founders of the then unnamed Alabama town took a break from naming deliberations and went to the circus for a break. During the opening parade, an aging pachyderm at the end of the parade was noticed by an Italian migrant worker. He took note of the dangling tusk of the old elephant and shouted "Look, Tusk a loose-a!" The town founders heard the exclamation and the rest is history. The clerk just said "I hadn't heard that."

A little piece of history

Some years ago I ran across a picture on the Internet that clearly showed our house in Adak, Alaska. We lived on Adak Island from 1976-1978. What made the picture really interesting is that it was taken just after we left the island. There are a few visual clues to attest to this, but it turned out to be quite a find. I have added a few annotations to the picture to highlight a few points. Clicking on the picture will make it easier to pick out the details.

Annotation	Description
1	This is the house that we lived in. Note that it is a duplex and we lived on the left when looking from the front. The duplex units shared a washer/dryer unit in a hallway behind the garage. I cannot remember if the garage was a single unit or two walled units. The little gray boxes are snow blockers and the windows open into them. This design allows the windows to be opened despite being covered in snow. As shown here, we lived in the Kuluk housing division.
2	This the major reason that I can date this photo. The yellow GMC Jimmy with the white roof belonged to our neighbor, Joe Quenga. The Quenga's major contribution to the Clark family history is that they introduced us to Red Rice.
3	These are the snow fences located just behind our house. They were placed there to keep the snow in check. Adak's nickname was "Birthplace of the Winds". This only makes sense if you have lived there. The wind blows constantly and if left unchecked, drifts to tremendous depths. The window of my room on the rear of the house was regularly covered by snow drifts in the winter, despite the presence of the fences. To illustrate the degree to which Chuck and I had to entertain ourselves, I would hit rocks over the snow fence while standing just to the left of our house. I would do this for hours and I never ran out of rocks.
4	We had a major storm during our time there and the winds reached such speeds (+140 knots) that this very dumpster was rolled across the street like a tumbleweed. I'll never experience wind like that again. Chuck, Dad and I ventured out into the wind that night and Chuck lacked the ability to stand in it. Dad held his hand and he waved in the wind like a flag. You had to be there.
5	The only real organized activity that we had as kids was baseball. The fields were here. Looking at the picture as a whole, you will notice very little grass. Lawnmowers were unnecessary and the baseball field had no grass whatsoever. Welcome to the land of the gravel infield.
6	The Exchange and the Commissary were located here in a combined building. For civilians, the Exchange was a general retail store and the Commissary was a grocery store.

The base, Adak Naval Station, has since been closed and the island is essentially uninhabited. I did run across a set of pictures taken in July 2006 that show the island in its current state. Take a look at the following picture of the Bering Theater. In 1976, 30 years before this picture was taken, I saw Rocky here. I guess it has seen better days.

Photo of the Day - Beverly Hillbillies Dog

I managed to run across this tonight. It seems that a dog was originally written into the popular television show, The Beverly Hillbillies. It never quite made it to final production, but I did find the following picture of the dog. I think that the show missed a big opportunity here.

Photo of the Day - Dog Abuse

The picture below was taken at this year's Westminster Dog Show. The dog in the woman's lap is a long haired Dachshund, but it's problems do not end there. In this candid photo we see the owner and dog just after their time in the ring. Here, the angry owner is in the middle of beating the daylights out of her dog. She has raised a fist to her losing dog and has managed to maintain a wry smile the whole time. Dog Shows are serious business.

Photo of the Day - If you think we were snowed in, think again

We are in the midst of a record-breaking accumulative snowfall this year in Northern Virginia and I have heard several complaints from friends and neighbors about the amount of snow and all of the shoveling, etc. Before we call the waambulance, let's remember that we are in VIRGINIA, i.e., the Southern United States. Let's just be thankful that we don't live in Switzerland like the poor bastard below.


Now that's some snow!