The flight to El Paso was uneventful. However, for the sake of travel tradition, the train at the Dallas airport broke down for a few minutes so I would feel more at home. Cecilia and her husband were waiting for us at the airport. I was a bit concerned that we wouldn't have enough room in their car for all of our luggage, but they recognized the overage of American materialism and brought the Suburban.
To go into another completely hypothetical situation, suppose that the border might have proved to be slightly problematic. Not to point fingers, but we might have had an issue where one of us that had been to Mexico, had left without getting her passport stamped and was going to owe approximately $4,000 in back charges. (Note to self: Either get stamped leaving Mexico or don’t ever come back.) If this completely hypothetical situation might have happened, I imagine that to deal with it we would have potentially needed to have our “guide” use a lot of Spanish along with hand gestures and pleading. However, in the spirit of what seems to keep happening in this blog, let me embellish the story as of course this would never happen in reality -- there might have been some exchange of funds that seemed to ease the process and we passed on without much incident.
We checked into the hotel (nice) and went for a traditional Chihuahua meal. We went to a place with the same name as the ranch in Bonanza, which was covered with the heads and bodies of exotic animals from around the world that the owner had hunted and killed. (From hippos to lions, leopards to crocodiles). We had a lot of great food that I would misspell. We had a cheese with peppers and sausage in real tortillas. (The tortillas were a great corn instead of flour). We had wonderfully flavored steak, with guacamole, and enchiladas.
We also learned some key Mexican terminology:
Mild or Might be Spicy = Hot
A Little Spicy = Very Hot
There was also another term called “Spicy” of which I am unsure of the translation as it made it to my vicinity only to burn my nose hair. I did not try “Spicy”.
After dinner, we went to a Mexico City style ice cream place where I had flower ice cream and rose petal ice cream. My lovely wife had been talking about the ice cream for as long as I have known her (7 years) – and it was good to finally have some.
Monday, July 31, 2006
Saturday, July 29, 2006
Extreme Business
This Sunday I head off to Juarez and Chihuahua, in the state of Chihuahua, Mexico. It is only logical as that I have traveled to China in monsoon season that I go to Mexico in the heat of summer. It would also be funny (if it were not true) to talk of my plans for a trip to Geneva, Switzerland this winter. If they try to send me the Middle East, I may start to get a bit suspicious that there is a larger messaage they are trying to convey.
I don't think that I will get to do too much locally as I am one of two trainers for all of our applications -- so while I have worked to prep prior, I am sure that the nights before I will be reworking the slides from all of the other sources to match my conversation flow.
Regardless, I look forward to some good Mexican food.
I don't think that I will get to do too much locally as I am one of two trainers for all of our applications -- so while I have worked to prep prior, I am sure that the nights before I will be reworking the slides from all of the other sources to match my conversation flow.
Regardless, I look forward to some good Mexican food.
Loose ends...
A few loose ends from the canoe trip...
A mouse got into our gear. We had packed all the perishables into the cooler, but had left a freezer bag full of energy bars in plastic bin with the lid on. I had also left my waterproof hat out sitting on top of my knife and box of waterproof matches. The mouse got into the bin (impressive), ate a hole into the plastic freezer bag and sampled two of the energy bars -- choosing one mint mocha and one apple crisp. Apparently, these bars were so tasty that he then decided instead to eat the cover off the waterproof matches. I find this funny in that my wife would probably also choose to eat cardboard over the energy bars I eat.
When we got to the end, there was a family playing in the water with a beagle that went crazy when we glided by. He jumped in the water and started to swim after us. My assumption is that canoe is somewhat slower that chasing cars -- so we were a better target.
As a testament to the canoe, we didn't have to scoop much water until a great rapid at the end where we went through with little problem until a drop of about 3 feet had a wave that hit David (in the front of the canoe) high in the chest. We calculated that we had taken in about 20 gallons, which being the heavier guy on the trip, was all sitting down with me in the back of the boat. We pulled over to the side only to startle off a copperhead (poisonous snake) from the bank. Neither of us really like snakes, reason again why I prefer to backpack in the northern regions.
A mouse got into our gear. We had packed all the perishables into the cooler, but had left a freezer bag full of energy bars in plastic bin with the lid on. I had also left my waterproof hat out sitting on top of my knife and box of waterproof matches. The mouse got into the bin (impressive), ate a hole into the plastic freezer bag and sampled two of the energy bars -- choosing one mint mocha and one apple crisp. Apparently, these bars were so tasty that he then decided instead to eat the cover off the waterproof matches. I find this funny in that my wife would probably also choose to eat cardboard over the energy bars I eat.
When we got to the end, there was a family playing in the water with a beagle that went crazy when we glided by. He jumped in the water and started to swim after us. My assumption is that canoe is somewhat slower that chasing cars -- so we were a better target.
As a testament to the canoe, we didn't have to scoop much water until a great rapid at the end where we went through with little problem until a drop of about 3 feet had a wave that hit David (in the front of the canoe) high in the chest. We calculated that we had taken in about 20 gallons, which being the heavier guy on the trip, was all sitting down with me in the back of the boat. We pulled over to the side only to startle off a copperhead (poisonous snake) from the bank. Neither of us really like snakes, reason again why I prefer to backpack in the northern regions.
Sunday, July 23, 2006
Canoe-dling
It turned out to be the perfect weekend. Quick outcomes to my previous concerns...
(1) Sleeping Bag worked great.
(2) Reds had a 2:55 rain delay. Even though we only stayed for the first 6 innings, I didn't get home and to bed until 1:45. I delayed getting up until 5:30.
(3) Krispy Kremes -- not even a consideration
It was pouring when I got up in the morning. Like pouring so much that when I backed the car into the garage to load my gear that a rabbit almost came inside to get out of the rain. (I would have let him if he had asked politely, but would have considered trading him for the steaks for dinner). I got out at about 6:15 and made it across town to David's by 6:45. We loaded our gear and strapped on the canoe. We were running a little late and didn't leave town until about 8 -- making it right on time to the shuttle by 10 on the nose.
There is a little joke about the shuttle in that the bus ride to the drop off is the most "exciting" part of the trip. I believe that the bus and I share a birthday and I must say that I have aged more gracefully. To further the comparison, it is a short bus. So picture the old short bus pulling a trailer of canoes/kayaks stacked 2x2 and 3 high going a bit speedily down twisty mountain 1 1/2 lane roads. After my experiences in Asia, I sat peacifully and watched the scenery go by.
There were two other groups in the bus.
The first group was a man & wife with I believe a younger brother. They were engaged in diligently looking at the topo map to memorize landmarks, etc... I found this funny for 2 reasons: (1) It is a river without any forks or tributaries so there is only 1 way that you can go, and (2) I did the same exact thing my first trip. We saw this group on the water and they probably ended up fine.
The second group was what appeared to be 3 buddies with a girlfriend thrown in to round out the group to 4. I am sure that somewhere in a night of drinking one guy suggested the idea, the buddies said that they were "in", and the girlfriend asked to come so that the boys wouldn't get into trouble. We saw them three times on the river:
(1) Sleeping Bag worked great.
(2) Reds had a 2:55 rain delay. Even though we only stayed for the first 6 innings, I didn't get home and to bed until 1:45. I delayed getting up until 5:30.
(3) Krispy Kremes -- not even a consideration
It was pouring when I got up in the morning. Like pouring so much that when I backed the car into the garage to load my gear that a rabbit almost came inside to get out of the rain. (I would have let him if he had asked politely, but would have considered trading him for the steaks for dinner). I got out at about 6:15 and made it across town to David's by 6:45. We loaded our gear and strapped on the canoe. We were running a little late and didn't leave town until about 8 -- making it right on time to the shuttle by 10 on the nose.
There is a little joke about the shuttle in that the bus ride to the drop off is the most "exciting" part of the trip. I believe that the bus and I share a birthday and I must say that I have aged more gracefully. To further the comparison, it is a short bus. So picture the old short bus pulling a trailer of canoes/kayaks stacked 2x2 and 3 high going a bit speedily down twisty mountain 1 1/2 lane roads. After my experiences in Asia, I sat peacifully and watched the scenery go by.
There were two other groups in the bus.
The first group was a man & wife with I believe a younger brother. They were engaged in diligently looking at the topo map to memorize landmarks, etc... I found this funny for 2 reasons: (1) It is a river without any forks or tributaries so there is only 1 way that you can go, and (2) I did the same exact thing my first trip. We saw this group on the water and they probably ended up fine.
The second group was what appeared to be 3 buddies with a girlfriend thrown in to round out the group to 4. I am sure that somewhere in a night of drinking one guy suggested the idea, the buddies said that they were "in", and the girlfriend asked to come so that the boys wouldn't get into trouble. We saw them three times on the river:
- After the very first small rapid and each of them had almost flipped the canoe there were phrases heard from a distance like "I don't know what you want me to do" and "Fine, paddle on your own"
- After we had landed for the night, set up camp and were well into cooking our steaks -- when they passed by us on the river looking remorsefully at us and stopped, looking exhausted almost as if they wanted to share our site.
- The next morning as we passed them about a mile downstream where the two buddies were out canoeing circles (but improving their skills) so that the other two could argue back at camp.
Regardless, this trip was not about other people. In fact, we only saw people for a few minutes total out of the two days. The weather was perfect. The scenery was gorgeous. The camp site was soft sand. The bugs were almost non-existent. One of my best trips.
David also broke my curse of the fish. He caught 10 in the boat, but about 13-14 total. 3 of them were probably big enough to keep (small mouth bass). We saw deer munching by the river banks. We saw heron, ducks and all sorts of fish/turtles in the water. The water was clear enough to see the bottom to 6-8 feet.
The ONLY downer on the trip was that the water was a bit low so we had to drag the canoe a couple of times. David has a new canoe (a Dagger) that keeps a line in the water better, but is slightly less maneuverable. I was steering and there were a couple of rapids where I missed my line. I blame the boat (not the fact that this was my first time in 4 years.)
Anyway -- great trip that ended perfectly. I returned home, kissed the wife (quickly due somewhat to my odor and her gag reflex) and took a long hot shower.
Thursday, July 20, 2006
Planned Spontaneity
After the third planning discussion for our spontaneous trip, we have the food and gear down. We meet at 6:30 a.m. Saturday to travel south to Big South Fork to meet the outfitter at 10 that will transport us upstream to the launch point.
I am in the midst of packing and have recognized that I have a a couple of items/situations that may not fare as well as I would hope.
Outage #1
I bought an awesome sleeping bag for my trip to Glacier where the average nightly tempatures at altitude will hover between 25 F and 35 F. This sleeping bag has a comfort rating of 24.8 F which should be wonderful in the chilly northwest. Unfortunately, the low temperature for Saturday night is slightly above that at 59 F.
Outage #2
I have Reds tickets for Friday night. So I should get home around 12:30. Assuming I have to meet my friend at 6:30, that gives me a whopping 5 hours of sleep assuming the car is already packed and I go right to sleep when I get home. (See China blog for history of how well I do with less than 7 hours)
Outage #3
I am just not used to canoeing and therefore I am really struggling whether or not I should take extra oatmeal or stick with the dozen Krispy Kreme doughnuts.
... and in thinking so, I have to say that I can't think of doughnuts without thinking of my friend Doug who told me the last time that I saw him that "bread is the devil!" Well, Doug -- I may sin a little this weekend. Oddly, 6 is the number of the beast AND the number of doughnuts in my share of the package. Coincidence?
I am in the midst of packing and have recognized that I have a a couple of items/situations that may not fare as well as I would hope.
Outage #1
I bought an awesome sleeping bag for my trip to Glacier where the average nightly tempatures at altitude will hover between 25 F and 35 F. This sleeping bag has a comfort rating of 24.8 F which should be wonderful in the chilly northwest. Unfortunately, the low temperature for Saturday night is slightly above that at 59 F.
Outage #2
I have Reds tickets for Friday night. So I should get home around 12:30. Assuming I have to meet my friend at 6:30, that gives me a whopping 5 hours of sleep assuming the car is already packed and I go right to sleep when I get home. (See China blog for history of how well I do with less than 7 hours)
Outage #3
I am just not used to canoeing and therefore I am really struggling whether or not I should take extra oatmeal or stick with the dozen Krispy Kreme doughnuts.
... and in thinking so, I have to say that I can't think of doughnuts without thinking of my friend Doug who told me the last time that I saw him that "bread is the devil!" Well, Doug -- I may sin a little this weekend. Oddly, 6 is the number of the beast AND the number of doughnuts in my share of the package. Coincidence?
Tuesday, July 18, 2006
Canoe Tripping
This weekend is a spur of the moment canoe trip. I should stop to define spur of moment for a planner as we planned out the date a few weeks ago during the World Cup Semi's and we have not a more than a confirmation discussion about it since that time. Sure, it is only an overnighter on a river that I have been on before. We should only need one more planning session for our spur of the moment trip and we will be good to go.
However, it should be noted that the last time we went we tried (less than legally) to run a Class 4 rapid (after portaging our gear) that ended as you would expect. I say "as you would expect" as in you have two guys that have been out in the sun all day with limited experience in white water. I say "as you would expect" assuming you had predicted that we would not make the first cut to the right and we were flipped, I hit my head on a rock, blacked out and was pushed through the chute and surfaced later under the canoe without my only pair of prescription glasses only to blurrily watch some sort of water snake swimming towards me.
The first question everyone asks at this point, after the expected "You guys are stupid" or "What were you thinking!" statments, is "Was the snake poisonous?" Let me summarize my story to draw you to my response. Head hurt - Glasses Lost -- Snake. I can only say that I was doing my best Jesus impersonation (running on water) and did not stop to check the shape of the head. My apologies.
So this time we are older and wiser. My friend (of 25 years) has two kids now and is rather more responsible. Since this time we have also lost a childhood friend in a kayak accident. So I imagine we will be a trifle more careful.
After backpacking though, canoeing is a beautiful thing. When you backpack, you are attempting to carry the minimum amount shelter, food, water, and clothing in order to survive. Canoeing is like backpacking with a bunch of Sherpas -- you get to go along, but something else is carrying all your stuff...
For example:
Backpack Breakfast -- Oatmeal, Instant coffee
Canoe Breakfast -- Eggs (fresh), bacon, biscuits and Cafe Americano's
Backpack Lunch -- Twisted, hot sticky power bar (two on the tough days)
Canoe Lunch -- Subway Footlongs
Backpack Dinner -- Reconstituted Dehydrated Sweet & Sour Pork
Canoe Dinner-- Charcoal grilled (yes we bring both) thick cut steaks, baked potatoes and smores. This year, as a bonus, I am taking a contraption that makes homemade ice cream as well.
Oh -- and with the canoe meal we eat sitting in lounge chairs.
However, it should be noted that the last time we went we tried (less than legally) to run a Class 4 rapid (after portaging our gear) that ended as you would expect. I say "as you would expect" as in you have two guys that have been out in the sun all day with limited experience in white water. I say "as you would expect" assuming you had predicted that we would not make the first cut to the right and we were flipped, I hit my head on a rock, blacked out and was pushed through the chute and surfaced later under the canoe without my only pair of prescription glasses only to blurrily watch some sort of water snake swimming towards me.
The first question everyone asks at this point, after the expected "You guys are stupid" or "What were you thinking!" statments, is "Was the snake poisonous?" Let me summarize my story to draw you to my response. Head hurt - Glasses Lost -- Snake. I can only say that I was doing my best Jesus impersonation (running on water) and did not stop to check the shape of the head. My apologies.
So this time we are older and wiser. My friend (of 25 years) has two kids now and is rather more responsible. Since this time we have also lost a childhood friend in a kayak accident. So I imagine we will be a trifle more careful.
After backpacking though, canoeing is a beautiful thing. When you backpack, you are attempting to carry the minimum amount shelter, food, water, and clothing in order to survive. Canoeing is like backpacking with a bunch of Sherpas -- you get to go along, but something else is carrying all your stuff...
For example:
Backpack Breakfast -- Oatmeal, Instant coffee
Canoe Breakfast -- Eggs (fresh), bacon, biscuits and Cafe Americano's
Backpack Lunch -- Twisted, hot sticky power bar (two on the tough days)
Canoe Lunch -- Subway Footlongs
Backpack Dinner -- Reconstituted Dehydrated Sweet & Sour Pork
Canoe Dinner-- Charcoal grilled (yes we bring both) thick cut steaks, baked potatoes and smores. This year, as a bonus, I am taking a contraption that makes homemade ice cream as well.
Oh -- and with the canoe meal we eat sitting in lounge chairs.
Absence makes the blog grow fonder...
I have been a bit more casual about my blogs since my grandfather passed away. It seems that when my father became the elder statesman of the family, I realized that I was not too far from being next in succession -- and I did a bit of introspective thought as one is wont to do. As a bit of an introvert by nature, extrovert only by force -- this did not lend itself to keeping up with the blogging. My bad.
Monday, July 10, 2006
Planning with Planners
I have learned a few things about planning adventure travel with folks who are responsible for detailed planning & execution in their daily work lives.
1) All planning quota is met or exceeded at work
2) Email is a one way communication mechanism
3) If you want something done, bribery is the only workable alternative
I consider someone in on the trip if they buy airline tickets. We are therefore down to 2 travelers from 4. I consider this a bit ironic as I planned on some attrition and therefore had 6 tentative and 2 possible backups.
At least at this point, we aren't too far past the deposits. Sigh.
1) All planning quota is met or exceeded at work
2) Email is a one way communication mechanism
3) If you want something done, bribery is the only workable alternative
I consider someone in on the trip if they buy airline tickets. We are therefore down to 2 travelers from 4. I consider this a bit ironic as I planned on some attrition and therefore had 6 tentative and 2 possible backups.
At least at this point, we aren't too far past the deposits. Sigh.
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