By the River

The other day I went for a walk after supper. I had been glued to the computer all day and hadn't been outside at all, and the sun was shining as it dropped. Almost as an afterthought I grabbed my camera. I'm glad I did.

2011-04-28 By The River

(click to see the photos)

Taking pictures of wildlife in low light, with a long lens, hand held is when you can never have good enough camera gear.

Wee, sleeket, cowran, tim’rous beastie

Just when I told people I was sure our mouse was gone because there'd been no sign of him for months.

(All the seed on the ground is fallen from the bird feeder.)

Easter Rabbit Visiting Innovation Place

Rootstrikers

Sawing off the branch you're sitting on

7 Science-Education Battlegrounds of 2011 from Wired Science

Do these people not realize that the science they are attacking is what supports their modern lives?

That if they succeed in killing science, they will destroy their own civilization?

We couldn't feed our billions without science.

Do they deny science when they or their families get sick and need a doctor or a hospital? *

Of course, they would say it's only certain parts of science they disagree with, like evolution. But science isn't a buffet. It makes no sense to say, "I believe in addition and multiplication but not division".

Science is a process with demonstrable results. It's not an infallible process. It's not foolproof. But we talk on cell phones that are a result of that process, we fly in airplanes that are a result of that process, we eat food that is a result of that process, we take medicines that are a result of that process. If you undermine and destroy that process, then you will lose the results of that process.

What's the goal? To go back to being ignorant sheep herders? All seven billion of us? And where would the lobbyists be then?

* There are a (very) few people that would refuse doctors and hospitals. And that might be happy to destroy civilization. But those aren't the people making anti-science legislation.

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Alternate Realities

One of the reasons I think travel is worthwhile is that it reminds you that there are other ways of life. Living in Canada or the USA it's too easy to think ours is "the" way of life.

It's pretty cool to see there are kids out there that are ploughing their fields with oxen in the morning to grow their own food, and rock climbing in the afternoon. Despite the Cuban government making climbing illegal - what's up with that?

Great photography as always from Renan - watch it HD and larger sized to get the best view

Cuba Chapter4_The Life of Leo from renan ozturk on Vimeo.

Spring Slowly

Despite the cold (-15c yesterday) and snow still everywhere, spring is slowly arriving. The days are longer and the sun is stronger. And the honking of the geese is heard once more.

Museo Slips a Notch

I was biking by the Mendel yesterday and I decided to stop at Museo Coffee. Recently I've been hearing about Jimmy (the owner) roasting his own coffee and Collective Coffee using his beans.

Normally I'd order a latte or an americano, but I thought I'd check out their other coffee. I asked what kind(s) they had. Neither of the staff knew what kind of coffee they were serving!? This is a place that claims to have the best coffee in Saskatoon and they don't even know what kind they're serving? Eventually they found the bag of beans and told me it was "Kenyan" - not very specific. But I saw the bag and it was the Nyeri Ichamara that Museo had just blogged about. I was interested to try it so I ordered a cup.

I was a little surprised (and disappointed) when they poured a cup out of a big thermal dispenser. Museo's web site says "drip coffee is made fresh by the cup". Not any more I guess. The coffee wasn't hot, a sign it had probably been sitting for a while. It was still good, but I can't help think it would be better if it was fresh.

It was a little ironic because one of the reasons I order a latte or an americano is to ensure that it's made fresh. But I (mistakenly) thought I didn't have to worry about that here. Maybe they still offer individual brewing as an option, but they didn't ask.

As a business owner myself, I know that there is always a gap between the owner's ideals and the practical running of the business. All you can do is try to pass on your values. And the staff turnover in a coffee shop must make it tough to do that. That might explain the staff not even knowing what coffee they were serving. (Although at least one of the ones who didn't know has been working there quite a while.) But switching from brewing by the cup to brewing big batches was presumably a management decision. And no matter how much you think you'll keep the batches fresh, staff that doesn't even care what kind it is, isn't going to be motivated to throw it out and brew fresh as often as they should.

Probably the staff complained that it was too much work and too slow to brew by the cup. But it can't be any more work than a latte, and they still serve those. Maybe some non-aficionado customers complained about the wait. But you can't try to be the "best" AND be quick and cheap.

Maybe part of the problem is that Jimmy is now focusing on the roasting and not so much on Museo.

Note: Coffee Collective isn't brewing individually but at least in very small batches (in home sized french presses). Hopefully they won't devolve into brewing by the bucket.

Don't get me wrong, Museo is still a great place and the coffee is still really good. I'll continue to go there. It's just too bad that their initial ideals are fading a bit.

Frost and Fog

I'm a sucker for frosty foggy mornings. The funny part was that just this morning I had taken my G12 camera out of my pack (where I usually keep it, just in case) thinking that I was highly unlikely to be taking pictures when it was this cold (-25c). But I was listening to a podcast on my iPhone so it wasn't too bad to take my mitts off, pull it out, snap a few photos, and then quickly put my mitts back on before my hands froze. Perversely, if my better camera had been in my pack I might not have taken any photos because I wouldn't have wanted to dig it out.

Alamar

I watched the film Alamar (To the Sea) last night on Netflix. (Filmcritic.com review) It's slow and there's not much plot or action. But there's a friendly cattle egret and a neighborhood crocodile, beautiful ocean scenery above and below the water, and a glimpse of a simpler life. I liked it.

At one point the grandfather says: "Those who live at sea live happily. You have to love the sea, otherwise you'll be unhappy. It's beautiful here at sea." How many of us "more privileged" folks love where we work, love where we live, call it beautiful?

The film is set in Banco Chinchorro a UNESCO Biosphere Reserve off the coast of Mexico.

It's in Spanish with English subtitles. I even managed to catch a few words of Spanish :-)

Netflix may not have the latest Hollywood hits, but it has a lot of other good films that you won't find in the video store or on iTunes.

To Go

"For my part I travel not to go anywhere, but to go; I travel for travel's sake. And to write about it afterwards, if only the public will be so condescending as to read. But the great affair is to move; to feel the needs and hitches of life a little more nearly; to get down off this feather bed of civilisation, and to find the globe granite underfoot and strewn with cutting flints."

-- Robert Louis Stevenson

The Dirtbag Diaries

On long drives I like to listen to podcasts. I recently discovered The Dirtbag Diaries podcast by Fitz Cahall and we listened to a bunch of episodes on our recent road trip. The podcast is sponsored by Patagonia and you may have seen it mentioned on their blog, The Cleanest Line. You can subscribe on iTunes.

The podcasts cover lots of different outdoor activities including skiing, climbing, kayaking, and conservation.

One of my favorite episodes so far is No Car, No Problem.

If you listen to podcasts and you like stories about the outdoors, give it a try. I really enjoy them.

Fun Kindle Ads

Great ads (even if that is somewhat of an oxymoron). And I do like my Kindles.

A Hell of a Place to Lose a Cow

[by Shelley]

"Do these shoes go with this dress?" "Do my shirt and tie clash?" We're so timid when it comes to fashion. Instead we should learn from Mother Earth. She's beautiful because she's bold. At Bryce Canyon National Park, where she's applauded daily by an endless crowd of international critics, she sashays in a florid, orange-and- pink designer original by Dr. Seuss. -- WOW Guides, Utah Canyon Country by Kathy and Craig Copeland.

Leaving Zion we had just one more day to play before getting serious about heading home. We arrived at Bryce Canyon about 11:00 and again did a popular hike (Navajo Trail and Queen's Garden) which, being off season, was fairly quiet. Of course, the best times for photos are sunrise and sunset but I think we still got a few good ones and even at noon and into mid afternoon the funky spires and rock shapes and colors were absolutely amazing to look at. I won't even begin to try to describe them -- you'll have to look at the photos! We saw Thor's Hammer, Cinderella's Castle, the Flame, and Queen Victoria. I'm sure people's imaginations allow them to see much more!

The same guidebook points out that "this crazy, colorful land . . . was named after the region's first white settler, a Mormon farmer -- Ebenezer Bryce -- who was neither crazy nor colorful." However, I suspect Mr. Bryce had a dry sense of humor. According to a sign in the park he remarked of the canyon, "It's a hell of a place to lose a cow." I thought my Dad would get a laugh out of that one -- and also be able to sympathize with him!

Bryce Canyon

Zion National Park

[by Shelley]

We hit the road and left Vegas early in the morning to make our way over to Zion National Park in Utah. We've seen lots of photos of the area in climbing magazines so we wanted to have a look for ourselves. It was too cold for rock climbing and we just had time for an afternoon hike. We chose one of the more popular and scenic trails -- it's the off season and not busy so we didn't have to worry about it being crowded.

The trail up to Angel's Landing is rated as "strenuous" and although it's relatively steep, the vast majority of it is paved in order to prevent erosion. An interesting feature is the 21 switchbacks in the trail called "Walter's Wiggles" (named after some guy named Walter who designed them).

The great views just got better the higher we went. Utah is known for its amazing shades of red rock and Zion didn't disappoint. We looked at the sheer walls around us and wondered how many climbing routes there were. Surely, no climber could look at this place and not wonder what the best route might be.

The "for bad ass hikers only" part of the trail was the last 1/2 mile. It's narrow and very exposed! Although there are intermittent posts and chains to hang on to along the way and a few steps carved out of the rock, there are definitely some sharp edges with long vertical drops down to the canyon below. Our guidebook agrees that it's exposed but says that a stumble wouldn't do any harm. Well, we would certainly not want to be the ones to test out that theory! This part of the trail is definitely not for the inexperienced or faint of heart! The few people we did pass looked nervous. Especially on the sections that had ice on them for added excitement.

Once back at the car we did the scenic drive to the end of the canyon and got some better views and photos of the sheer cliffs below Angel's Landing.

2011-02 Zion

Winter 2011 Roadtrip

Our travels were a little confusing, so here's an overview:


View Winter 2011 Roadtrip in a larger map

Back at Red Rocks

[by Shelley]

We knew we had a couple more good days before the weather started to get cool again. Back to Red Rocks we went and onto another 3-star multi-pitch trad route called Birdland, located in Pine Creek Canyon. It was one of the warmest days yet as it was one of the few where we didn't have to put on an extra layer at some point. The route was 5 pitches (well, actually 6 but the 6th pitch is runout and not recommended). There were two guys from Milwaukee on the route ahead of us but they'd started far enough ahead that we didn't have to wait long for them and they were accommodating in sharing belay stations.

There were two harder pitches, rated the same, so Andrew and I each took one. I think Andrew got the hardest of them though, as it involved an unprotected traverse as opposed to a thin crack which allowed for lots of gear placements. Traverses are psychologically the worst. Not only could you take a big fall but a big swing as well!

It was a fun climb, we did it in good time and all was going well. The descent was to rappel the route and with one rap left to go, we thought we had it in the bag. Until one of our ropes got stuck as we pulled them down. Unfortunately, we hadn't thought to move around to the outside of a large crack system and pull the ropes from the front of the rock face. As we pulled we could see the rope land on various ledges within the crack system and go back in behind some rocks. Andrew tried flipping the rope, pull, flip, pull, flip. At one point I thought it was going to come but no such luck.

Since I had all the gear, Andrew put me back on belay on our other rope and I climbed back up (about 30 feet) to get the rope un-stuck. It was no easy task as the rope was wedged firmly into a thin crack between two rocks. I poked and prodded for quite some time. It's the first time I've ever had to use a nut tool to get a rope unstuck! I thought for sure we were going to have to cut it but eventually, after much cursing and knuckle bashing, it came free. We'll have to have a close examination of that rope before we use it again!

By this time, two other guys who had climbed another route but were using our descent route, came rappelling down and graciously allowed me to rap back down using their rope. Much easier than down climbing! One more rap and we were back down to the ground.

These two other guys were locals and asked us what our plans were for the following day. When we said we had just one day left in Red Rocks and would do some sport climbing they asked what grade we were looking for and recommended a new area that one of them had developed. Civilization Crags, at the first pullout of the scenic drive loop, isn't in any guidebooks yet but they told us a website to get the information.

We had a fabulous time! A bunch of one-pitch sport climbs that were well within our leading ability and a few that were a bit harder that we could top rope before deciding if we wanted to lead them. We did 11 pitches each which was definitely our most productive day and also the day we led the hardest routes of the trip! A great ending to the climbing part of the trip.

Our bodies, hands, and fingers are sore again . . . what a wonderful feeling!

2011-02 Red Rocks

Joshua Tree National Park

[by Shelley]

We left snowy Silver City, New Mexico (-11c !) and drove all the way across Arizona to try to find some sun and warmth in Southern California - and to check out the climbing area of Joshua Tree.

We entered the park on the south side, stopped at the visitors center and purchased a climbing guide book Since it was already noon and most of the climbing is on the north side, we decided to do the hike into Lost Palms Oasis. It took us about 3 hours round trip (~ 8 miles / 13 km) along a relatively flat trail. There were a surprising number of people trail running. At the end of the trail the reward was a wonderful little valley full of huge palm trees. It was still a little cool but good for hiking.

Joshua Tree has the largest number of climbing routes of any area in North America. It's also notorious for sandbagged routes (i.e. the routes are actually much harder than the grade would indicate). And we learned that for people climbing here for the first time, trying to find the route you want to be on can be equally as daunting! (Even to a climber, one rock looks much like another!)

Our first climbing day we started at Johnson Canyon near the Indian Cove campground. We first decided to stay away from the campground because "ownership" rules apply. If there's someone staying in the campsite where the route you want to do starts or finishes, you have to ask permission.

Little did we know that the Canyon presented its own challenges! Things always look so nice on a benign map without any elevation markings. Just go and meander your way up and find something to climb. Yeah, right! Meander up and over, around and under boulders of various sizes up to car and small house sized! We managed to find the first sport climb we were looking for as it was on "split boulder" which really was a boulder split in half. We then hiked further up the canyon trying to find a couple more routes but it was near impossible to figure out what was what. They were supposed to be trad routes and we did find a couple bolted routes which didn't look too bad from the bottom so Andrew started up one but quickly decided this was out of our range.

We headed back down to the campground and found an area away from the campsites which had a few doable routes and we spent a very pleasant rest of the day there. As one local climber said to us, at Joshua Tree you just have to forget your pride and climb routes that are a couple grades easier than you would anywhere else.

The second day saw us over at Atlantis Wall at Last Horse Canyon, leading and top roping several fun climbs until it was time to head out. We drove back to Red Rocks via scenic back roads through the Mojave Desert arriving in Las Vegas to a beautiful sunset.

2011-02 Joshua Tree

Silver City

[by Shelley]

After a couple days hiking and climbing around Phoenix, we got rained out and decided to head further south and east to the Gila Wilderness. The original plan was to do a multi-day hike around here but the weather forecast was lousy. We decided to check out the area anyway for future reference. The last 45 minutes of the drive to Silver City was in the dark and through a snow and wind storm. Visibility was nearly nil, it got icier and icier and the only way we could see where the road went was by the reflective posts at the side of the road.

But we arrived safe and sound and booked into the Palace Hotel. Built in the late 1800's it has a lot of interest and character to it. We asked the receptionist about places to eat and she first pointed out Isaac's across the street, highlighting the great bison burgers. When we said we were vegetarian she immediately said "Oh, you have to go to Shevek's." We did and it was awesome! Immediately upon entering, you pass through the small bar area and past the display full of handmade chocolates and desserts. The menu has three sizes of each dish -- tapa, mezze, and entree. We asked the waiter for vegetarian recommendations and almost half of the large menu was suitable. In order to try more things, we had the mezze size of the salad and tapas sizes of the other dishes:

Spinach, Cabrales Blue Cheese and Walnut Salad
with an aged sherry vinegar and walnut oil dressing.

Eggs with Fromage and Wild Mushrooms
soft scrambled eggs finished with freshly made fromage and topped with wild mushroom "caviar."

Spinach Briouats
traditional Moroccan street food. Spinach and herb-stuffed phyllo dough "cigar." Served with tzatziki on a bed of greens.

Grilled Stuffed Portabello Mushroom
with roasted red pepper pesto on a bed of greens.

Spicy Chickpea and Eggplant Stew
spiced with garlic, red pepper flakes and cooked in a sauce of roasted tomatoes and fresh herbs. Served over cous cous confit.

Accompanied by a nice Luna Rossa Shiraz, made locally at Deming, New Mexico. (We were impressed that the waiter recommended a local and quite inexpensive wine.) And followed by dessert of yummy chocolate cake with peach and raspberry filling. There were only a few people in the restaurant and the chef came out and chatted with us. Even the background music was good.

We might have to go back again tonight to try a few more of the options!

This morning after the included breakfast at the hotel we had coffee, tea and reading time at the Javelina Coffee House which is also in the Palace Hotel building. It's large and funky with an eclectic crowd. The doors are set deep into the building and there are raised window seating areas. The place is filled with assorted mismatched tables, comfy chairs, and couches, mostly of quite old vintage. There were people on laptops (free wifi), some seated at the in-house computer terminals, a group of women that appeared to be a conversational Spanish group, and a couple guys that I can only describe as "rubby dubs". It was an interesting mix!

We wandered the downtown area for a short while and since it was sunny decided that we should try to get out for a hike. We drove just 6 miles up the road to Pinos Altos only to find ourselves once again in the middle of snow, wind and icy roads. Ok, maybe we won't hike after all! We wandered some more, this time going into several of the art galleries, art shops and the museum. It's a very historic area with lots of old buildings and interesting architecture. There is lots of art around - as one of the locals told us, "Silver City is full of starving artists".

This is a really nice town and we definitely look forward to coming back when it's warmer and doing some hiking in the Gila Wilderness.

2011-02 Silver City