'Tis Nevermore :: The Nevada Shoe Tree is Gone

In the high desert of Nevada, a large Cottonwood Tree stood for decades alongside a stretch of U.S. 50 near Middlegate, between Fallon and Ely. Known as The Loneliest Highway in America, it is now even more lonely because a local icon has been destroyed.





The Shoe Tree was introduced to you, my readers, in Redefining Shoe Tree. About a week ago I was contacted by a gentleman who wrote a song about the tree being cut down. He wanted to use the photographs from my blog post in a video tribute to the tree. I was truly saddened to hear of the demise of the Shoe Tree.



A Google Search turned up numerous articles about the old tree telling what is known of the incident and a little history of the tree.



A month ago, vandals pulled out their chain saw and cut the Shoe Tree down. No one except the culprits saw the deed being done. As it so happens, the Shoe Tree was on property owned by the Bureau of Land Management so if the culprits are ever found, they will face federal charges. The incident is still under investigation.





There is no understanding acts of vandalism. Nothing will bring the old tree back, but I hope that the culprits are caught and get the punishment they deserve!



The music video tribute by Chris “CW” Bayer has been posted on You Tube: Someone Cut the Shoe Tree Down.



Disclaimer: I have no business or other relationship to or with Chris Bayer. I received no remuneration from him for his use of my photographs. The video is simply a tribute to an icon and will not be for sale.

Red and Yellow

This is a small group of red and yellow yuccas that I found at a roadside pull off.

How Much to Carry on a Ride?

When riding for sport or recreation, I've noticed that the amount of stuff I feel that I "need" to bring along is not only subjective, but dictated by my bike's setup. When my bicycle is set up with a handlebar or saddlebag, that bag inevitably ends up filled with things I am convinced I need. What if it rains? Let me just stuff a jacket in there. And a sweater in case I misjudge the temperature. What if I get hungry? Pack some food just in case. Why not stop to take pictures? In goes the DSLR camera. And maybe a book in case I stop for coffee. By the time I am done, the bag is bulging with all the things I "need" for the ride.

And yet when riding a roadbike without any kind of bag attached, I somehow manage to make do with my jersey pockets: Keys, phone, money. Done. Leave. Ride. Even when the morning starts out cold and I end up removing layers of clothing toward the end, I can usually just stuff them in one of the pockets (that's a wool long sleeve tee sticking out of the left one and a pair of gloves in the center). I can keep surprisingly large food items in there as well - riding with a banana or an apple in a jersey pocket has not been a problem.

There is a point of view among cyclists that a bulky saddlebag or handlebar bag on anything shorter than a daylong ride is an affectation and an unnecessary handicap. There is also the opposite point of view - that riding without a fully packed bag is akin to being unprepared and irresponsible. I can sort of relate to both ways of looking at it, depending on the mood I am in.A year ago, I felt "safer" with a bag even if I did not need it, but nowI prefer to carry as little as possible. If I want to focus on the cycling, I take only what fits in my jersey pockets. If I am using my bike to explore photographic locations then a bag is a must, but I try my best not to overpack it.

How much do you carry with you on a ride and has this changed with your riding style?

Sparks Will Fly

Sparks Will Fly, originally uploaded by ParsecTraveller.

As part of a photographic experiment in long exposures, earlier tonight I launched a small shovelful of glowing bonfire embers into the air and onto a very wet, rain-soaked lawn. The end result showed the embers leaving parabolic trails in the air, quite an interesting study of math in nature.

Although, I would hardly call hurling embers a natural occurrence.

Don't worry - the rain was coming down all night and I had the hose handy...no houses burned down in the making of this picture.

First Autumn Snow

Autumn at Mount Rainier, especially in the alpine and subalpine zones, does not last long. In fact, some argue whether it exists at all. Camp Muir had beach-like weather last Thursday; by the next night there was 70 mph gusts slinging fresh snow into climber's tents. Summer conditions to winter conditions in less than 24 hours.

Last weekend about 2" of melted precipitation dropped on the mountain. This caused drifts of snow "knee to mid-thigh" deep on the climbing routes. Snow and high winds can make navigation, especially on the upper mountain, difficult. Be sure to have a solid navigation technique, whether it's using a GPS or map/compass/altimeter, before venturing onto the mountain.

The high winds associated with the storm cycle resulted in poor skiing conditions. Some leeward locations have loosely wind packed freshies, while other windward locations are scoured, grit-covered, hardpack. Though the skiing hasn't become great, the climbing conditions have held out! The lower freezing levels have solidified the sketchier crevasse crossings and the feshly plastered snow has kept loose rock in place.

This upcoming weekend, September 24th and 25th, will be the last weekend that the Climbing Information Center in Paradise is open. Please come on by to chat, chill, and register. We'll be open from 7:00 am to 3:30 pm. After this weekend climbers can self-register in Paradise at the self-registration kiosk on the porch of the Paradise Old Station (the small A-frame right next to the toilet tunnel in the upper parking lot). Directions on how to self-register are posted.

Wild Woody Fun

Earlier today, Daryl and his crew, or as my MIL says "Daryl's" and Austin went to visit the Cherokee Nation. I'm hoping Austin will blog about it since I wasn't there so I can't. When they returned back to our campground, they invited us to do some Go Kart racing.



Nathan was hesitant, and I suspect that is because I have won every race we've had in Go Karts since we got married. He says it is because I am lighter. I had no idea that being lighter makes you a better driver, but he is the engineer so there ya go! Daryl and Diana are hard to turn down though. And they know just what to say/do to make it work. So off we go! (thank guys!)



On the way into the racetrack, the crew stops for a moment of silence. Or awe. Or wonder. Or something.

Because there is some crazy person detecting device here. Nathan always says you can't fight with crazy, because crazy always wins. I see now why. I mean who could beat someone who is willing to do this. Willing and actually PAY to do it. I forfeit right now. You win!

Now we're off to the track. Let's get ready to rumble!

We do the first race. I ride with Josh to help offset that lightness factor that Nathan worries about. That and Josh asked me to ride with him, and I can't tell Josh no. Daryl and Lauren ride together. Everyone else rides alone. I don't know much about the singles, because they left way before us so it was just us doubles fighting for the lead. We won't discuss this race. Let's just say I came in dead last. Hmmm....maybe there is something to that lightness factor. We still had fun.



We take Josh over to the little guys track, so he can drive his own car. He loved how I drove, but he wanted to do his own thing!



Josh was made to race cars. He's a thinker. He's independent. He is a risk taker. And he knows the important rules like let the cute girl pass you because you can lap her later, but never ever let the other boy pass you. If he does, pass him right away.

If the other boy gets upset...well, that's just part of the game.

In this game, you just gotta do your own thing. Josh takes first place. Further supporting Nathan's theory. The other boy cried a bit. Which broke my heart. But not so much that I didn't high five Josh for beating him.



The kids all want to do one more race on the big track. The adults want to take pictures. It's a fair deal. Josh and Aric just do their thing. Austin beats up on girls. Lauren is all by herself. I understand that, because she drives like a mad woman. She tried to make me spin out in the race I drove/lost. Not once. But twice she did this. She's fierce!

At some point Aric tries to lap Austin. Austin doesn't let him. They are content to do this for a few laps. Aric bumping into Austin. Austin letting me know that they've got nothing on him. Then they catch up to Lauren. It's the end of the race. She's in front. She doesn't understand the concept of "they already lapped me a few times". She just knows..she is in front. She won!

My guys are so gracious, they let her believe she won. Now that's real love. Of course, once you are married...it's a whole different tune. You only win if you win. And it's still real love. Just a different kind.



Living the life in Tennessee!

Lyddington, Seaton, Bisbrooke, Uppingham Lyddington

Led by Mel, 12 of us altogether. Norma, Chris and Marion, Barrie and Vera, Terry, Barry, Eddie, Jill, Ken and me. Fine morning, firm underfoot. About 7 miles in all.

Church of St John the Baptist, Bisbrooke

A gentle walk through grassland and tracks from Lyddington, uphill to Seaton, across to Bisbrooke and into Uppingham.

A well-earned break?

Posing for the paps?

We stopped near the market place for our coffee break, then continued downhill past the community college playing fields and back to Lyddington, before driving to the café in Cottingham for lunch.