Corey G's Jibber Jabber

Attack Of The Christmas Tree

2009-12-25T13:45:00.000-08:00

My 2009 Christmas Tree: Holla!!!

It's been a few years since a Christmas tree has entered my abode. You know, I didn't really know why it's been so long until this holiday season.

Do you ever have memories which are so dire, so embarrassing, so bad that they bury themselves deep within the oceans of your mind to hopefully never see the light of the sun again (i.e. too many awkward first dates to count, a piggy back ride which turned into a bloody muddy mess, considering to actually vote Republican, etc.).

Well, this year when I thought of getting a Christmas tree (actually it was Roz who inspired me to get one), I had one of those flashbacks to one of those deep dark memories: my first "job".

It was the winter of 1987. I was 15 (10th Grade). One of my best friends in the world (Jay Yoon Lee) and I were in Mr. Roehler's Biology class. I can't remember how it came up, but I remember the topic of Mr. Roehler's Christmas Tree Farm came up. In fact, he had job openings! Now I was boyish 15 verging on manhood, and one of those coming-of-age acts is to get a J-O-B! (C'mon, you need money for that Intellivision video game you just have to have, tickets to a movie, or the latest Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles comic book. Ummm, yeah, girls weren't exactly in the picture at this point. Let's be honest. I was too much of a skinny little nerd, so people of the female persuasion just saw me as "Mr. Help-For-Homework".)

Going International! (Yup, those are postcards!)

The thought of work was truly alien to me. I must admit I was a little trepidatious about the whole endeavor. Jay was all excited about it and was already scheming what he was going to do with his riches. I had to go along for the ride.

So on one winter eve after school, Jay and I drove all the way to Highland from Rialto and found Mr. Roehler's tree farm. We were given our saws & our orders, "When you see a customer eyeing a tree, ask to help 'em, cut their tree, lug it to their car and load it for 'em. Simple as that. Have 'em pay at the office, and if you get a tip, that's yours to keep."

Jay and I teamed up. I was glad for that. I was a shy & skinny (have I mentioned that before?!) little kid, and I was too scared to make small talk with strangers. Jay was a shmoozer and good with people even back then.

Within minutes, we had our FIRST customers. I remember following them to their tree. Now since I was the weakling of the duo, I was given the simple job: hold tree while Jay cut it. Simple enough, right? Jay started cutting down the tree....well, let's be real here, it was actually a redwood. This tree was a green skyscraper to my 15-yr old newly-employed eyes! I stood there and I held that tree with all my might.

My might wasn't enough.

Just before the tree was cut, I felt a *CRACK!* The once-solid tree shifted and then gravity began to pull the tree down towards me, of course. I blinked once. I held my breath. I blinked again. The tree was falling toward me, and I was powerless against it. Within 2-seconds, I was consumed by the tree. Pine needles cut into me. I imagine maybe a limb or two could be seen sticking out from underneath the tree...or maybe I appeared to have vanished to those who saw the tree fall.

At any rate, Jay picked up the tree with one hand--probably with one finger of one hand. "You ok?" he asked.

"Yeah," I replied. At about this point, I wanted to disappear. This was my job, and I just got squashed by it!

Jay carried the tree to the customer's car (I think I held on to the tip of the tree to look like I was helping, but I know I wasn't).

Jay received a tip, and I tried to hide in the shadows. Honestly, the rest of the evening was a blur. I don't remember any trees after that one. I don't know, maybe I went to hide in the car while Jay finished off the night.

The next day in Biology class was uncomfortable.

"Corey, can I speak to ya in the back?" Mr Roehler asked. "I heard ya had a tough night on the farm." (It wasn't a farm, it was just a lot in the city which somehow was able to produce trees--amongst the smog, and 100+degree summers!) "Well, some people just aren't cut out for certain type of work. I think you might be just a tad small for this job--maybe next year. No hard feelings?"

"Ummm....", what could I say.

"Ok, let's go cut some frogs open!" Mr. Roehler gave me something like $5-10, and that was that.

This memory floated above my head. Floated above Eisenhower High School in Rialto, CA. Floated above a cloud...wait, actually it's a cloud of smog. And disappeared into my subconscious. It would revisit me from time to time, but it had been years, until last week.

This Is How I Brought In Christmas At Work--H1 Locked With A Range Of 16Mpc (a nice shift)!

Last week, I wanted a tree. The dogs and I would be alone for Christmas (I was working 10 days straight over the holidays), but I still wanted a tree. I went to a local shop, and picked a tree. The tree was under four feet ($29).

This tree fit inside my MINI Cooper.

This tree I could handle.

And off to work I go.

"Merry Christmas!!!", says Gomez.

El Casco Viejo 2008: Bond, Cowee Bond

2009-12-03T22:52:00.000-08:00

I. Had. No. Idea.

After finally watching Quantum of Solace on DVD the other day, I was inspired to write something about the movie with regards to a trip I made in early 2008. One of my best friends (Ang) and I were finishing up a 2-week Panama y Colombia trip and were touring around Panama City's Casco Viejo neighborhood the day before returning to the States. While strolling around the old streets, a tour group walked by us. I was taking photos, when I heard the tour guide say, "the new James Bond movie will be filmed here."

Whoa.

Here are two Quantum of Solace locations in Panama City's Quantum of Solace (we were all over this area when sight-seeing Casco Viejo!)

So in the new James Bond, Panama City wasn't Panama City, but La Paz, Bolivia. So, I guess I can say I've also been to Bolivia, too! Everything's a masquerade in Hollywood. There were two major scenes filmed in locations I was familiar with: Grand Hotel (actually Panama's Institute of Culture) & the Green Party (previously an old haunt of Manuel Noriega's known as El Union Club).

TIMELINE:
1/28/08
First day of my trip abroad. Hung out alone in Panama City. Checked out a salsa band in Casco Viejo. It was an interesting night to say the least.

2/3/08
Last full day of my trip; Ang & I both hung out in Casco Viejo & this is when we heard about the movie.

2/7/08
Filming in Casco Viejo begins for Quantum of Solace

11/14/08
Film Release date in the US.

I am a total fan of the new James Bond and Casino Royale, so when I heard that the next Bond movie was being filmed right where we were--I was intrigued. It wasn't until much later that I found out that filming took place just days after we left (and right after Panama's Carnival celebration).

Needless to say when the movie came out, I was totally stoked to see if I recognized anything from the movie. A crew of us set out to watch the movie on opening night. I totally jumped in my seat when scenes flashed on the big screen of places where I walked the streets of Panama City...errr...La Paz!

The Scene: Checking In To The Grand Hotel

This is a popular tourist spot in Casco Viejo

For this scene, debonaire and sexy Corey Gray...errr...James Bond, and his fellow characters check into a fancy shmancy hotel as "teachers on sabbatical who just won the lottery". The scene is only a few seconds, but in this shot the camera is at the base of the Pablo Arosenena statue pointing skyward (the eagle from the statue is the first thing shown). The camera then sweeps down towards Bond's taxi as it pulls in front of the "Andean Grand Hotel". Then the characters exit the car to check in. It's a quick scene, but we were there.

This area is actually where the French Embassy is and now has a quaint square with some monuments, cool-looking trees, and vendors (I bought a mola-embroidered shirt here). Here you can see cool views of Panama Bay, the sky-scrapers of Panama City, and many other cool areas of Casco Viejo.

Movie Screenshot: Bond, Strawberry Fields and crew arriving at the "hotel". Notice building on the left. I took photos of its old doors

This is a photo I took (not knowing anything about the movie). I wanted to capture the old buildings sandwiching a skyscraper in the background.

Doors & Windows With Character

So the camera must have been at the very base of that statue, because the eagle at the base of it is in the scene.

The Scene: The Green Party
(formerly El Union Club)

For the scene when Bond and Stawberry Fields (*ahem*), attend a party hosted by the villain of the film, an old skeleton of a structure is used for the location. I was very familiar with this structure. It was directly across the street from the bar (La Platea) I spent hours at when checking out a salsa band during the Panama Jazz Festival.

On my first night in Panama, I took a taxi to the bar Platea. The drive over was a bit sketchy. Not all streets in Casco Viejo were cool--some were dark and scary. I was dropped off near the bar and then walked in to listen to some cool music. I distinctly remember looking at the dilapidated building across the street. There was a temporary fence up around it & a trailer in front of it. It looked really cool looking, but I guess I assumed it was getting renovated (it would be a shame to not restore many of the sad structures in this same state), or fixin' to have an encounter with a wrecking ball.

For those interested on the interior of Platea, here's a clip from a band playing around the time I was there:

In the film, it looks like they must have either "CGI-ed" Platea or gave it a quick paint job, because in the movie it looks a different color and the signs were removed. It's just a trip though to think Roger Craig was walking the steps we walked just days afterward.

Movie Screenshot: Notice the window & light fromthe building in the background.

This is one of my favorite photos. Looked a little different in the movie.

In the background, was where I took photos and heard the tourguide talk about the Bond film shoot.

Movie Screenshot: I remember standing out on the sidewalk (like folks on the right) cooling off between salsa songs.

Movie Screenshot: This looks like a cool party! The street and Platea are on the other side of this building.

I remember taking this photo because I thought the building looked cool. I had to angle the shot high because I didn't want to get the fence in the picture. If I only knew the fence was there to protect the area for the upcoming shoot!

Movie Screenshot: My cab dropped me off in the lot where those white-helmeted motor cops are coming from.

More On Yelp

2009-10-22T20:52:00.000-07:00

This is a cop-out (posting a post from another blog for my blog!), but I liked this clip about how Yelp came to be, check it out here.

Yelp on.

Lost Coast On The Quick

2009-10-14T19:23:00.000-07:00

Three times to Humboldt in one year: Indigenous People's Week '08, Big Time '09, and Ari/Jeremy Wedding '09. While heading down to the wedding, I stopped off at Humboldt to hang out.

Before going into hanging out in Humboldt, I have to mention how FUN it was to ride my MINI on the 299 just north of Crescent City. Taking the tight curves, and operating my machine fast around the turns was purely sexual--I was smiling and literally laughing as I was hugging and caressing the road! Ok, back to reality....

For a first stop, stopped at A&J's for some Beatle's Rock Band (man, I need to get this!). We then hit up downtown Arcata and made a trip to the new Arcata Theater Lounge (previously, Arcata Theater). This places is AWESOME. We made it here for Silent Movie Night. Back in the day, this was a big airplane hangar of a space, but now, it's chill, chic, and dare I say modern (and this is in the town of the hippie). There were about 20 films on tap for the night, we ended up catching a couple, including Snow White.

Arcata Lounge

I was crashing at Chag's for the night, so we made trip short. I made it to Lowry's and crashed on the couch....I was so tempted to play with Trey's Millenium Falcon before going to bed!

The next morning, I hit up Stanton's for breakfast with the Lowry's, and then got to hang out with Chag, Trey, and Jeremy (babysitter) back at the house. I could write a whole other blog about Chag's work and hobbies, but I'll leave that for him to write on his own. But I do have to mention a few things. Holy smokes! I had no idea about the magnitude of Chag's comic collection. Wow! I collected a comic or two in my day, but dang, I have to bow down to Chag's library. I then got to hear a little about Chag's work with California Native Veterans and see some photos related to this work. It's so impressive to see Chag's work, and his knowledge in this field. After this, I went down memory lane and watched Chag's "homemade" video gift to his mother Sandra. Basically, he captured a few days in his life at Humboldt. He's one of my best friend's, so I was in there. It's crazy to think that was filmed over 13 years ago! We were so young.

We then headed over to Humboldt to have lunch with Bag o' Donuts, Vinny Bag o' Donuts. We picked Vinny up on campus---and I had to endure a couple of minutes of heckling by Vincenzo about my new vehicle....I don't know what he has against "Mini Coopers" (he always has to say "Mini Cooper" in a high feminine voice to try and rile me), but I think he secretly wishes he had one.

Straight Pimps

We headed over to Sunnybrae's Fiesta Cafe for lunch. Man, we just hung out for an hour, but wow---my jaw and gut were sore from laughing so hard. It's always like that when the "Three Amigos" get together (Elsie, I would write what you call us on here, but.....naaaah!!!) ;)

So, I had intended to leave Humboldt early to hit the Lost Coast, but I'm so glad I bent my schedule around---I can be so anal about these things. "Corey, you gotta loosen up!" I said to myself. So yeah, I ended up zipping down toward the Lost Coast around 4pm. I made a pitstop in Ferndale (it's the quaint Victorian town featured in a few movies---Outbreak & The Majestic for example). Here I picked up some provisions & a bottle of a local brew. Then I was on my way away from civilization---to The Lost Coast.

Downtown Ferndale

There are roads and then there are roads. This is one of THE drives for me. The road is tiny, rough, and crappy, but it makes this drive what it is---a masterpiece for the senses. The road immediately climbs above Ferndale, and then you curve through pastures once on top of the King's range. You know you are Lost within minutes. The first big drop takes you quickly down (with several hairpin switchbacks) into the Bear Creek valley. Before going down, this is where you get your first high-elevation glimpses of the Pacific. Another fast climb out of the valley and a jaunt through some more pastures, and then you're roll onto one of the climax's of the drive.

Loved The Way These Trees Looked

Yeah, I filmed this while driving one-handed Down A Curvy Road

My Favorite Piece Of Road

Here is one of the paramount views of the Lost Coast from above. It's a quick view, because you quickly head toward the ocean and down--fast of course. The elevation change on this road is something you wouldn't find on one of your more traveled highways...perhaps it was designed that way to keep this area "lost".

Once down on the beach, the road parallels the beach for several miles. Sometimes you're close enough to the water to be sprayed by crashing waves. Then this road heads inland and up to the microscopic town of Petrolia. Normally, I'd head that way, but I only had about 90min of light. So I decided to park on this stretch of the road and make a short hike of my overnight stay on the beach.

Parked & Ready To Go

The first word to come to mind when I had my pack on my back, and walking away from my car: wind. It was soo windy. I guess that's the price to pay for cloudless skies. With the wind I decided to try and find a place which would offer the best protection for the gale force breezes. My destination---a fair sized rock-formation within a half mile from the road.

My Tent Was On The Other Side Of This Rock

On Top Of The Rock Castle

Lost Coast Lichen

The Tunnel

The rock looked like my personal castle---equipped with a little bridge/tunnel. On the back side of the castle, were a couple of spots high up on the rock which looked perfect for my tent and a small bonfire. My first task was to gather up wood for a fire. I then just soaked the scenery. I tried to read a little, but the views, sounds of the waves and and smell of salt water proved too much of a distraction.

The Best Sunsets

Within an hour or so, the sun began it's disappearing act. This was one of the first times I've been on the Lost Coast when I'd actually get to see an actual sunset--in most cases clouds sneak in to cover the sun's escape. So, while atop my tower, I watched the sunset. It might be seem like a boring show, but I could watch reruns of this anytime. A cool thing about the sunset was that within minutes it was followed by another act: the moon rise. The nearly full moon rose above the King's range and lit up the beach like an early dawn.

Might Be Boring, But It's A Sunset In Its Entirety

Moonrise

Ok, enough with the astronomical theater, I had to set up my tent, make dinner, and build a fire--easier said than done. As the star of the night lingered, the wind stole the show, and demanded its full attention. My tent wanted to act like a balloon and fly the ocean blue on several times, but I was able to keep it at bay. Dinner was easy and quick. My fire was surprisingly easy to start. I was able to start it with my flint & stone set up, and within 1-2 seconds, it raged full on with all the oxygen jetting into it. I stared like a caveman of old into the fire for a while, but slumber called.

Hmmm...as sleeps on the Lost Coast go, this was not on the top of my list. The wind was just bad. Actually it wasn't the wind, it was more the sand which foiled a good night sleep. Sand was everywhere. The wind bullied its way through the screens of my tent like nothing. So, sand was all up in my business. I slept, but I kept waking up to blow sand off my lips and dust my face off. It was rough.

"I wonder what Bear Grylls would do," I thought to myself.

The Hike Back

In the morning, and for days afterward, I was finding sand in crevices all over--my ears were full of sand for days. But it's all an adventure right. This is what it's all about. It's all about stories. The Lost Coast provides, and I know I'll be back again.

...with a better tent.

(now on to a wedding!)

Driving Through Redwoods: Wedding-bound

Willits Wedding

2009-10-08T04:50:00.001-07:00

Ari and Jeremy met years ago at Humboldt State---I think many of us know about their encounter in their Spanish class where their story began. For years, we've all gotten to see their relationship grow through ups and downs, adventures and stories. For this new phase of their life together, marriage, I feel honored to be one of the people to be around when this phase began. It began in Copenhagen, Denmark: "the happiest place on Earth".

We weren't there when it happened, but Jeremy proposed to Ari at a special place: the statue of the Little Mermaid. I remember when Ari was a wee tyke---she watched Disney's "The Little Mermaid" just about every day. In other words, Jeremy picked the perfect spot to start the next phase of their life.

The months of preparation for the big day all paid off. The wedding took place at Jeremy's mother's beautiful house in Willits, CA. During this Fall wedding weekend, we were lucky to have beautiful weather...ummm...except for the chilly temperatures. The wedding ceremony took place on a scenic spot on a side of a hill (girls didn't wear heels!), with a big rock formation as background.

The Wedding Site

The reception afterward was in a barn! It wasn't a hoe-down, and their wasn't straw on the floor, the barn was transformed into a really cool party place.

The rehearsal went well. Cheryl Seidner (Wiyot) was the officiant, and she helped layout the overall structure for the wedding ceremony. I remember meeting Cheryl years ago when I was a student at Humboldt State. She worked for over 20 years at Humboldt at the Equal Opportunity Program (EOP) office. She is one of the kindest people you will ever meet. Her officiant resume began when one of my best friend's Chag asked her to do their wedding. She's done weddings for several other of my Humboldt friends since then, and I was glad she was going to be a part of this special moment for my sister and Jeremy.

Who are these dudes??? And Is That Mario With The Bouquet??

For Tomorrow

After the rehearsal, we all hit downtown Willits! Yup, we took over El Mexicano restaurant for the Rehearsal Dinner. Mmmm...my tamales were yummy. After the rehearsal we walked down Main St. and hit up Shanachie Pub. Had a nice time here chilling the night away....well, everybody except for Johnny (dang those 21 & older requirements of the US!). A highlight: Tee drinking a 60 oz. mug of beer (congrats to Tee & Asia for their engagement!).

After a night on the budding metropolis which is Willits, we rested up for the big day. I was one of the groomsman for Jeremy. I thought with that, we'd be busy setting up, escorting people, slapping the groom out of unconsciousness, etc., but there wasn't really much for us to do. We just had to look handsome!

For me, the ceremony went so fast. We staged ourselves in waiting up in the house. We then headed to the wedding site. We escorted close family to their seats, and then positioned ourselves on the right flank of the wedding area. Ari and her posse stole the show. First the bridesmaids (Asia, I saw you almost slip, but your sure-footedness was also witnessed). And then the star shined. Dad escorted her down the aisle. He then asked if "we would all" give Ari away: we did.

Yup, That's A Kilt.

Mom, Cheryl & Joy

The Groomsmen...errr...Groomspeople

"Whatchoo Lookin' At?!"

The Bridesmaids

Ari looked so beautiful. This was my first time seeing her in her dress. I was around when she picked it out in Portland, and she picked an outstanding garment. I think what did it for me was to see her newly-made moccasins. Our mom had just finished her last stitch the night before, but those Siksika moccasins were the bomb. Ari got married in 'em, meeted & greeted with tons of people in 'em, had dinner in 'em, and danced the night away in 'em. I think she broke 'em in good. Moose hide was a good choice.

Escorting The Bride

The ceremony was magnificent. Cheryl did so well. Ari was/is stunning. Jeremy was the perfect gentleman. I heard hawks screaming in acceptance of this union. My brother and I were honored to sing an old style Eagle Whistle song (I had trouble drumming--my stick was a little light, so Tee had to be the Master of Beats, Terminator X---as he always is). After the ceremony, my bro & I were also honored to hear the best of compliments from our Auntie Chris--her words made us proud. Thanks Ari and Jeremy for letting us sing.

Here Come The Ladies (watch Asia's smoothness at 0:15 sec)

Hand Drummin'

Umm, yeah, I was filming

Husband & Wife

"Like From The Dixie Chicks Song," Says Elaine :)

Ari & Jeremy had guests from all over. There were people from up and down the west coast, there was the huge Humboldt crew, there was the contingent from Alberta (two vans worth!), and there was our family from Scotland. So yeah, they had a worldly audience.

Auntie Chris & Lavina and Cousin Leah From Alberta!

The Family From Inverness

Ari & Uncle Jim

The Humboldt Crew: They Brought It!

Cheryl Post-Ceremony

And now for the picture-taking. Ari & Jeremy had tons of photogs running around them...dare I say they had paprazzi? The hired photographer did a good job. He and his wife were all over the whole night, and I can't wait to see their work. And now for some posed photos....

The Siblings

Ari & The Big Bros

The Lovely Ladies

Those Siksika Crackin' Up

Voila!

Awww...

Married Feet

The sun slipped down behind the pine-covered hills as the final poses were just about ending for the new wife and husband. It was now time to get our eat on and party down---California Style. Aieeee!! :)

Ok, enough of my jibber jabber....just check out the photos!

What A Chivalrous Husband

Mom & Russell

Father & Daughter Dance

The First Dance

Happy Ari....Now, Did You Eat That Grenade Cake?!

Maybe Jeremy Has Another Career He Can Pursue?!

Groomsman Daniel Partying, Willits-Style

The Bride & Pachomio Cuttin' Rug!

My Rooster!

Groomsman Johnny Partying, Inverness-Style

Hands In The Air.

Holy Cow. Pectasan Stole The show! She Was Workin' The Robot, I Was Too Enthralled To Capture This From The Beginning (It was a 3-min Robot!). She Was An Excellent Dancer, I Even Did Some Salsa Turns On Her, And She Rocked 'Em. Yay, I Have A New Dance Partner!

Mmmm....Apple Pie

Watchin' Sis. An Unforgettable Night.

Having Breakfast With The Humboldt Crew

Engaged

Personal Heaven

2009-09-21T00:53:00.000-07:00

Walking this beautiful earth.
Taking a warm shower.
Soothing muscles.
Going to bed with warm sheets.
More later.

First 2009 Cascade Hike

2009-08-30T03:17:00.000-07:00

A Nice "Unnamed" Alpine Lake

It was August 29th....and it was my first major hike of the summer. Let me repeat that: August 29th?!?! Is that pathetic or what? Summer of 2009 will always be remembered in infamy for the simple fact that the "summer" didn't really start until the end of August!

A crappy July? I can accept that, but an even worse August?! To look at my calendar is to look at a complex football play of X's & O's: I can work this "graveyard shift" up the middle as long as this "salsa practice" goes long & "time for sleep" sneaks its way along the sideline. That's just plain sad.

With that said, everything's not totally dire. Summer ends on 9/22. Being the eternal optimist, I can envision squeezing a summer into a paltry three weeks...well, maybe not a total summer. Enough of one to atleast make it not as embarrassing as its already turned out. This gives me three weeks to cram for a real summer. How can I make it happen?? More calendar calculating & time-management magic? It's do-able.

I had a free Friday: August 29th. No matter what was going to happen, I was going to get out of town. My destination: Chinook Pass & a hike along the Pacific Crest Trail. This could only be a day hike, so I packed accordingly. Instead of lugging a 50-lb backpack, I had a much lighter cargo, namely water, lunch, bug spray, and a fleece top. I was packed and ready to hit the road in minutes early on Friday morning.

As usual, my resolve was tested. Something always try to act the monkey wrench. That morning it was plumbing. Like clockwork, the plumbing to the house I rent backed up into the basement: oh joy! I don't know how many times this has happened at times when I was just about to venture out the door. On this instance however, I had to say, "screw it". I had to go. The mountains beckoned.

The dogs were thrown into the back of the car, and we were on our way.

The drive to Chinook Pass was about 2.5 hours. I left the Tri-Cities at about 7:30. Made a quick stop at the Ranger Station in Naches, WA to pick up a Wilderness Pass and find out conditions up in the mountains. Like clockwork, I made it to the trailhead around 10am. This was a new hike. I have a tendency to repeat hikes. Repeat them monthly, annually, cerebrally. This time I was hiking a completely new hike. This was a trail I was entering blindly. I briefly looked at it via Google Earth months ago, but I didn't know what I was in store for. I didn't know where I was going. Surely there would be an awesome lake on the agenda. Fields of wildflowers must be on the menu. Huckleberries? Yeah, they will be sirening me. Gunner & Gomez? They just wanted a new place to go pee.

A Fork

We were on the trail, and I had a spring to my step. We wanted to get away from the parking area and WA-410. It's funny how trails can clear slates. Within a few switchbacks and the passing of a few batches of trees, we were gone.

Almost instantly, we stole our first view of a scene subconsciously hoped for all summer: a clear & sunny sky and a sky-blue alpine lake surrounded by craggly mountain ridges. This is the medicine I needed. I don't know the name of this lake, but it offered a nice "welcome back" to the mountains. I lead the dogs down to the water, and they, of course, sauntered into the water. I think they thought we had reached our destination. "Sorry guys, this is just the beginning!" I know they were calling me a "bastard" in their corgi brains.

We got back on the trail and continued south. We passed a few hikers just starting their multi-day trips down south and other hikers finishing their long trips north (why can't I be like these people!?). Overnight backcountry trips are nothing. I dream about what a 3-4 day trip would be like, or a 4-6 month trip along the entirety of the PCT---from Mexico to British Columbia. I couldn't even imagine what that would be like. Daydreaming is part of the drill when hiking.

Flowers Amongst Huckleberrie Bushes

Ha! It's funny about hiking. When you're out on your own, your mind has this uncanny ability to wander. It's always nice to think about your life. Think about those you are close to. Think about hikes in the future. Think about all that's happened since the last time you were in the mountains. It's amazing. My brain can hopscotch from topic to topic and before I know it, miles have been walked. Daydreaming is not a bad thing.

Ok, so I was at the top of a ridge, and I could see a huge lake below: Dewey Lake--the lunchtime destination.

On the way down, I had my first mosquito bite. I'm phobic about mosquitoes. I've been up to these mountains before and have had ounces of blood sucked out of me within minutes. Taking trips to the mountains always start with questions about the "mosquito situation". After this bite, I immediately sprayed some bug spray on. You know, the illegal kind---the stuff with DEET in it. I'm about as eco-friendly a person that you'll find, but if I can find something to repel mosquitoes away, I'm all for it. (It seemed to do the trick, because I would only have one bite the whole trip).

Finally made it down to the lake. This was a huge lake. It was beautiful, and it was big. We sauntered up to the water, and walked along the "beach" for a little. It would have been nice to hike a little more...but it was lunchtime.

Lunchtime (and yes that Widmer was ice cold)

After eating I then went about some of the business which was on my agenda: huckleberry-pickin'.

During the hike to the lake, I spied quite a few huckleberry bushes. They looked yummy, and it looked like I was going to have my fill for pickin'. Huckleberry bushes are generally pretty low. They are in areas where they can get sun and they usually are in bunches. They're a bit elusive, in that they sort of hide under their leaves. So, at quick glance, their dark purple yumminess is easy to miss. But if you are able to see one, there are sure to be more. My technique was to spot one, and then get on my knees and start looking for others. Much like looking up a skirt (or so I've heard), if you look at the bushes from below, you'll find that the huckleberries are there just waiting for you to find 'em.

Now I think this is where my indigenous genes kicked in. For the Siksika, our berries of choice are saskatoons and choke cherries. With these berries I know of tricks to quickly harvest the berries, but since I'm not Yakama, Colville, Nez Perce (or any northwest tribe), I don't know of any harvesting techniques other than picking by hand.

Ummm...Can I Get A Yum?

I have to say berry-picking was addicting. There were so many, and my eyes were scanning bushes like a mad man. I was able to get fairly adept at picking, but it was a bit overwhelming. I could have easily spent the whole day getting my fingers purple, and filling my bags with huckleberries.

As my hands and arms motored their way through the bushes, bees were busy humming alongside me doing their work in the wild flowers blooming for them. Instincts were propelling us both.

After picking one area, I'd tell myself to get a move on, but then I'd walk a few steps and then see another stand of even bigger huckleberries and would have to stop. I ended up spending about an hour looking and picking berries. When it was all done, I came away with about 11oz of berries in my little ziploc bag. I was going to have some yummy smoothies this week!

The dogs and I finally wade our way out of the Dewey Lake basin. I felt a little bad in that Gunner and Gomez were really starting to look bushed. It wasn't too hot, but their tongues were practically draggin' on the trail (several people we walked by commented on their sorry state). They were troopers though. Once we made it back up on the ridge, their spirits were lifted, and I kept telling 'em the water was close, and they could go swimming---I think they understood me because they started to scamper with resolve.

Dog Nose & Potato Chip In Alpine Scene

Before we knew it, we were back at that first little alpine lake. Gunner & Gomez knew where they were and bee-lined it down the trail and went right into the lake! Gomez is part fish because he basically just hung out in the water for the next 30min. I'd throw sticks for him and he'd paddle out to snag 'em and bring them back to me. He could have done this for the rest of the day. (it's amazing how skinny he looks when he's wet.)

I should have brought some swimming trunks. Swimming in this gin-clear water would have been so refreshing. I thought of skinny-dipping, but this lake is too close to the trailhead, so there were quite a few people around for an audience. At any rate, this little lake (not been able to find the name of it) served as a refreshing dessert for the day's hike.

Finally, A Swim

So, after waking up at 5am, quickly packing, getting out the door at 7:30, and getting to the trailhead at 10am, we ended up getting back to the car at 2pm. The hike to Dewey Lake is 2.5 miles. Then drove home and chilled before making it to salsa practice at 8pm (had an awesome practice and learned moves for our new choreography). After that I ended up transitioning to graveyard. Which meant staying up until 7am (that's being up for 26 hours, son!). So it was a full day. I think if I manage to have a few more of these jam-packed days, I might be able to salvage this summer!

The Total Trip

The Start From Trailhead

View From Dewey (That's Rainier In The Background)

My 11oz Huckleberry Harvest

Why We Yelp

2009-08-19T10:49:00.001-07:00

"My Name is Corey Gray, and I'm a Yelpaholic."

E-logging (for work), blogging (for me), Yelping (for everyone)----man, there's so much to write about in this world!

I think ever since my 8th (Ms. Tavidian) & 9th (Ms. Silvus) grade English classes, I've always had a secret desire to one day become a devilishly wicked writer. I'm obviously not a published novel-writer, but I still aspire.

For years, I have had opportunities to write technical pieces related to work, our instruments, or how my shift went. For the most part, this scientific prose was written in websites we call e-logs (electronic log books). For my work at LIGO (Laser Interferometer Gravitational wave Observatory), there were two elogs where I re-honed literary skills: the e-log for the Hanford observatory and the Seismic e-log for the new Advanced LIGO Seismic Isolation hardware.

During LIGO's two-year Science Run #5, writing e-logs was like breathing. I took in technical issues and exhaled shift summaries. My writing fix was appeased. After S5, there was a void. I still wrote technical stuff, but not as much. There was a hole. This is where blogging came in, but probably even more---this is where Yelping came in.

The Beginning

Basically I happened upon Yelp.com by utter randomness. I was working at MIT in Cambridge for the summer, and I wanted to find cool places to eat. With google, I happened upon some Boston restaurant reviews, and even a laundry service near my hotel. I used the site to help navigate my way around to places I would have never found on my own (my personal favorite from that trip: Muqueca--a corner Brazilian restaurant in Inman Square. It's one of those places I still daydream about). Later that year, I started my own account and was on my way writing my own reviews.

I liked being able to keep track of places I've been to. I guess I was sort of in "e-log" mode. Instead of writing about earthquakes in New Zealand shaking our instrument around, I was writing about other-worldly cocktails or curries with magical flavorings. Oh, and it's not just food. One of Yelp's plusses is you can write about just anything. As long as it has an address (you can even ballpark them), you can review anything. I've Yelped favorite hikes, a towing service, a Sheriff's department, a newspaper, a city, even Yelp.com! Someday, I have to remember to Yelp the Earth (not sure of the street address for that one though).

I travel a decent amount, and with that Yelp can be a really cool tool. Wherever I go I always do a quick scan with Yelp. I bookmark restaurants I wanna try out. I like to find out nuances about hotels which you won't find on the hotel's websites. You can also post questions on the Yelp Talk forums and get specific questions answered as well.

Getting A Life & Becoming "Cool"...Finally!
Once you get in the swing of Yelping, you become privy to more options when going out. You find yourself really searching those non-chain restaurants. You look for those places which are unique, and you become more adept at researching places to go. But randomness is also virtuous. There's nothing like discovering new and then writing about it for the sake of others. I used to not put much thought into going out (for a meal, a drink, fun, etc.), but now I try to always be on-point when & ready to go when I go out nowadays.

With that, there's a pressure. Once you become good at being able to find cool places (with thanks to Yelp), everyone will now look at YOU as a resource for picking out places to go---in other words, you become "Mr. In-The Know", or "Mr. Cool". There have been some misses, but there have been many more purely memorable places discovered via Yelp (I mentioned Muqueca, but there's also Quinn's & Paseo in Seattle, and Jimgermanbar in Waitsburg to name a few). Because of these treasures, one is always seen as the go-to person for picking out an evening's itinerary.

Inner Reporter
It's good to use Yelp as a resource, but it's also fun to be a part of the resource. I like being able to find new places to Yelp. I like being able to document all the taco trucks in my fair city. Yes, sometimes when I'm at a restaurant or other business, I snap a few pictures at the storefront or at my plate. Overall, I think Yelping has made me a more observant person when giving my business to an establishment. I'm far from being a well-seasoned foodie or cuisine critic, but I'm definitely good at giving opinions.

Yes, there's a Yelp sticker on my new bike (c/o Katie S.)

Stimulating The Economy
Yelp definitely does some stimulating. Yelp's a fairly new website, but it's quickly become fairly huge. It's used on the iPhone and on their commercials. If you look at some storefront's, you can see some "People Love Us On Yelp" stickers. When one thinks of review-websites, Yelp.com is definitely up at the top.

With its popularity, many of the 4/5-star business have to be getting stimulated. There's a big Yelp community, and many of these Yelpers will frequent places which are the haps. Even if this tough economy, people really need to think carefully about where they want to give their business. So Yelp helps to support those good businesses.

For people like me, who like to go out and explore new & independently-owned places (so that I can review them), it can only help these small businesses. So yeah, Yelp has done its part to help the economy, and Yelp should get its props for that.

Cool Reviews, Cool People
What keeps me coming back? The Yelp community--definitely. Yelpers are definitely cool (well, for the most part). I don't live in a big city, but I do find myself in Seattle quite a bit. And with that, I've made lots of Yelp Friends in Seattle and in other cities. I can't wait to make it to a Yelp Event in Seattle, Portland, or San Francisco---one of these days. These are parties held at pretty cool places, with free food and drink, and with tons of Yelpers. They look like fun. One of these days I'll make it to one.

And Then There Are The Never-Ending Yelp Puns:
Yeah, I find myself swapping Yelp for other words in everyday language, and I do twitch every time I do! I can't help it, I'm just like a Smurf trying to Smurf everything.

C&C Yelp Factory
H.R. Yelp N' Stuff
"Good Morning, Can I Yelp You?"
"Yelp. Yelp Like The Wind"
"I'm Not A Playa, I Just Yelp A Lot"
"Yelp is Dead. -Friedrich Nietzsche"

And the list can go on.

Yes, I'm a Yelpaholic, but there is no Yelpaholic's Anonymous, so I'll just have to make do with this vice.

I Can Blog Again

2009-08-16T09:30:00.001-07:00

My new Gary Fisher Sugar 4 (& No It's Not A Girl's Bike, John!)

For the last few months, I hadn't felt the calling to blog. My last real blog was post after we rolled down a mountain. And since then, life's just been hectic, busy, and an up and down whirlwind---all of it in a good way.

It had been almost 6 months, but this past Saturday I finally decided to return to the scene of the "accident". I just bought a mountain bike, and yes, I could have ridden anywhere (that's the way WA just is), but my first thought: Let's go where I wrecked.

I was all down for some catharsis (sorry--for some reason this $10 word was in my head, and I had to use it!), I think checking out the crash site, and hitting the trails would be the remedy. The drive up to the trails was great. Listened to some awesome music (Bjork & Fishbone always do nicely when hugging curves on mountain roads). It's summer, but there was a chill to the air. I still chose to ride with the windows down and sunroof open. I must admit driving in my Mini (with it packed to the gills with me, mountain bike, and fly fishing stuff), on this mountain road, in the summer, was exhilerating.

And then it happened. I drove by where it happened. It came and went. I drove by where I lost control of my truck and sent 5 of us careening down a hill. No time to dwell though---I was at the trailhead.

So, I pulled out my bike, stretched the cobwebs from my old joints, got on my bike, and I was on my way. Now this was the first time I'd really been on the saddle of a mountain bike since '97 (my previous bike [Gary Fisher Hoo Koo E Koo] was stolen just prior to me moving up to the northwest). For the most part, getting on the bike was like "riding a bike". All the motions came back to me...for the most part. There were nuances I had to get back into muscle memory. I forgot how good it felt to really use your quads. The trail I took immediately pointed upward & my legs were put into gear from the get-go.

Riding Uphill

Overall my ride was fine, but I did notice a few issues:

I only have a 12-speed. The tiny (hill-climbing) gear wasn't working for me---the derailleur needed to be adjusted. So, I was going to have to Armstrong-it and go in lower gears than I would have liked--I didn't care. I was here for a workout.
I didn't have toe-clips. It's amazing how much less force you can apply to the pedals when your feet aren't "tied down" to the pedals.
I should have gotten bike shorts (it's three days after the trip, and my butt bones are still feelin' it!)
Lastly, I might want to get a helmet (for obvious reasons).

Looking down at Bluewood

So, I basically rode a path friends and I snowshoed earlier in the year. I ended up treading some new ground and kept going passed where we snowshoed. I approached a side road, and this trail looked enticing. It was smaller and there was a non-motorized vehicle prohibited sign was up. I had to take it. After I made the first turn, I came across a deer leg. I don't know who left this here. Maybe a cougar left it as a sign: "This is my trail: turn back". Whatever the case, it got me thinking about animals---I was on their turf.

Road 500

I kept on going. One thing about mountain biking, it allows for reflection. Your mind can venture off path and think about all sorts of things. I missed this about riding. I'm so glad to be riding again. So within an hour I made it to the top of a ridge. It took me about an hour to climb 1300ft & I had some great views of valleys on both sides of me (one of which had the Bluewood Ski Resort). I chilled here for a bit, and then pointed my front wheel downward.

A Poser

Holy crap!! I forgot how fast you can go downhill. Within seconds I was easily going super-fast. This was without pedaling and with my elderly-self riding the brakes!! I don't know if its wisdom or plain old age, but barrelling down this trail was scary! It seems like in another life I would have cascaded down this rocky trail with abandon, but now I definitely had reservations. There were times I felt like I froze, but I think this was mainly related to my long absence from riding. I was able to loosen up by not putting all my weight on my hands and taking it more on my legs and upper back. I now have a full-suspension bike, but knee & elbow joints have always been the best shock absorbers.

18-minutes later I was back at the trailhead: Whew!!

The Ride

I was now officially a mountain-bike-rider again. I had a great ride, and a nice time in the Blues. The memories of sliding off an icy road was behind me (I briefly stopped at where I lost it last time, on the way back---man, we were so close to the trailhead--we crashed within a half mile of leaving the trailhead!).

We All Have Our Own El Guapo

I then headed down to Dayton, put on my waders, put on some old basketball shoes (yeah, I fly fish rez-style!), and hit the Touchet. The Touchet is a small stream, but it's fun. I caught (and released) a grip of trout. A few were on the order of 12", but the average was more like 8". It was fun though. After this I hit up the Liberty Theater and checked out a special screening of Three Amigos (a classic!!). I then stopped off at my favorite bar in the world, had a Pisco Sour, and listened to a local rock band.

All in all an excellent day. A day worthy of getting me back into blogging!

Wind & Tumble Weeds At LIGO

2009-03-31T15:29:00.000-07:00

Today there was no chance of running our instrument for Gravitational Wave detection: we had wind.

With steady winds around 40-50 mph (and gusts 10-20mph higher), our buildings were being pushed around and in turn were wiggling our Test Masses (big mirrors) to a point where we could not lock-up our 2k interferometer. I took this opportunity to venture outside, and snap a couple of video clips of tumbleweeds invading our facility (and overtaking our bridge). Enough talk, here are the movies:

Here I get hit in the head with a tumble weed (at about t = 15sec).

It was hard to keep my eyes open for this shot!

This is a shot looking down the X-arm. The tumble weeds look like running animals on the desert floor.

A shot as I was being pushed down the hill.

The Hanford site eventually shut down some of the main roads going into the Hanford site due to high winds. Tomorrow the "tumbleweed baling" begins!

"My Pony Threw Me, And Now She's Dead"

2009-03-02T09:15:00.000-08:00

[ Quote from Philbert in Pow Wow Highway]

The Crash Scene

I was in the snowy mountains of the Blue Mountains with my brother, his girlfriend, and my two dogs. We had just finished a nice snow shoeing trip (http://www.yelp.com/bi...). After feeling a bit tuckered from an awesome snow workout, we were all ready to hit Waitsburg and check out some of their cool establishments. We hopped in my truck, and slowly left the Sno-Park.

Johnny Cash's "The Legend Of John Henry's Hammer" was playing on my iPod, and during this track, I took a leftward curve in the road and felt a little slip on the road. For a second or two we slid toward the UP-side of the hill, but the road then curved to the right, and this is when I lost it. We were now sliding full on toward the downside of the hill to the valley creek below. We were going slow, but we just kept sliding toward the edge. I had no control, and the edge of the road approached. The Johnny Cash song was still playing.

My Up-ended Rig

The nose of the vehicle thenwent down first and the butt-end swung forward (rotating us 180deg). Then we rolled 2-3 times down the hill (30-40ft below). The air bags never deployed (we were going slow & we were rolling along the long axis). As the world rolled around me down the hill, I couldn't help thinking of the scene in the movie The Fugitive when Harrison Ford and others rolled down a hill inside of a prison bus. Gunner and Gomez ended up flying from the back of the truck up to where Asia was sitting---acting as air bags! It seemed like it took forever, but the truck eventually came to a rest on the valley floor. We all ended up upside down. Asia and I were able to shake ourselves and take stock of ourselves. Tee appeared to have blacked out, but once I gave him a once over, and unbuckled him, he fell from the seat and then immediately woke up and started gathering all of our stuff from the wreckage.

We were fine, and Asia immediately climbed up the hill to the road and flagged down a couple of vehicles for help. The sheriff and the tow truck arrived fairly quickly. I had a one of Tee's police baseball caps in my truck by chance. He grabbed it, and when the sheriff arrived he jumped into action helping the sheriff handle the accident scene. We were ultimately on the scene for a couple of hours while the tow truck intricately maneuvered my dead truck from out of the valley below.

Pulling It Out

When all is said and done, all the males in the truck emerged no worse for wear. Asia appeared to be unscathed, but she ended up spraining her foot (leaving her crutch/cane bound for a couple of weeks). Still, we were so lucky. It could have been so much worse. I'm amazed and thankful for Nissan's engineering of the Xterra cab--it really held up well and protected us.

Now we have a crazy story to tell everyone we survived. It was very action-movie-like.

City Of Roses: PDX, Salsa, & Donuts

2009-02-23T22:17:00.000-08:00

The City of Roses

Made an overnight trip to Portland to check out the City of Roses. It had been atleast year since I'd last been there. I stayed downtown in the area south of the Pearl District and Burnside. The primary reason for the trip was a show: Afro-Cuban All Stars at the springy McMennamin's Crystal Ballroom.

Arrived in PDX around 4:30pm and headed to my hotel: the stylish Ace Hotel. I must admit I tripped out on the hotel, because I had a bit of déjà vu looking at the photos of this hotel. I actually stayed here 10 years ago when it was the old Clyde Hotel--back then, it was a bit of a decrepit & cheap hotel (with character)--a scene from Drugstore Cowboy was also filmed here. That was a different time. Now the hotel is a cool boutique art-filled hotel. Glad I stayed here.

Ace Hotel Pendelton Blanket

My Room

Later in the evening, I met up with my fellow Tri-Cities salseros for a meal at Mama Mia Trattoria down on 2nd Ave---I love downtown Portland, because there is so much to see and do, and you can easily walk around to wherever you want to go---or you can always take the Max.

After a decent meal, jogged back to The Ace, and slipped into Salsa Gear. I then walked a couple of blocks west and around the corner to The Crystal. This show was part of the larger Portland Jazz Festival. The Crystal Ballroom is a notable venue in that its dancefloor is an old one which is fixed with springs, so you can really get the dancefloor going.

Lilla D'Mone & Her Band

The opening band was Lilla D'Mone. She's a sultry singer whose music spans jazz to R&B to reggae. She got the crowd going, and I must admit I jammed up to the stage and was feelin' her. After her set, I found her in the back area and talked to her a little while buying one of her albums (it's actually pretty good). I found out she played at the Democratic National Convention in Denver last year--I was down at that point & she signed my cd: "To Corey, Thanks for the support. Peace, Love, & Music. Lilla D'Mone". Ummmmmm....nice.

Next up: Afro-Cuban All Stars.

Viva Salsa!

This was a big band with three singers, several horn players, percussionists, etc. They immediately got the crowd goin' with some Afro-Cuban salsa. Maybe it is because this was part of the Portland Jazz Festival, but from where I was at (near the stage), most of the crowd (including me) were not dancing salsa---we were all just checkin' out the band and groovin' to the music (solo). Until......

Afro-Cuban All Stars

"Check this dude out! He's dancing better than you," said some random person to my right. I glanced at him and then to who he was talking to: a totally stunning Latina behind me!! After closing my slobbering mouth, I tried to smoothly turn back toward the band.

The woman behind me said something, but I couldn't hear. It was some time around this point, that I ended up stepping on the woman's foot behind me. I turned toward her, and she had a "No you didn't", look on her face.

"Oh, he cannot dance better than me," she said. Her friend was laughing at her because he knew he was pushing her buttons. I simply agreed with her, and bowed down to her skills. And then I grabbed her and danced salsa with her. I tried the basics, and we did alright. We received a bit of attention, because there was no partner dancing going on up where we were. I did the best I could and held on to her. A few cross-body-leads, and spins of her, we were doing alright, but at some p0int our salsa transformed more to "dirty dancing"---I didn't appear to mind. My only regret is not asking for her name, phone number, or another dance.

I have no skills.

Christian "The Salsa Master" & Me

It was alright though. I had such an awesome time. Afro-Cuban All Stars were great, and I danced and sweated the night away. My fellow Tri-Cities salseros kicked butt dancing salsa from the back of the dance floor, and I watched them from the balcony (while I cooled off). After a few encores, the show ended around 12:30-1:00am. The night wasn't over though. Next up: The Mambo Lounge across the river.

At the Mambo, there was another band--CAÑA SON. This was a pure salsa place. Here there was a large dance floor and everyone on the dancefloor was dancing salsa. It was awesome, and packed. Here I watched the pretty awesome dancers from the sidelines, as well as watch the band. I was too chicken to ask for any dances here, but I had a great time, and now know a cool place to go for salsa next time I'm in PDX.

CAÑA SON at the Mambo Lounge

CAÑA SON

Made it back to my room around 3am. What a night.

The next morning, my main objective before heading home was a getting a donut. Not just any donut, but a Voodoo Doughnut. I walked to Voodoo, and was surprised to find a line going almost around the block. I grabbed a place in line, and waited for about 30 minutes. It was worth the wait. Voodoo had a menagerie of donuts of every kind. I knew what I wanted: the bacon maple bar! Surprisingly, this donut wasn't as scary as it sounds. It was actually very tasty. I can't believe that this was my first time to the Voodoo---how I've deprived myself!

The Donut Line

This Is Just Some Of The Donut Craziness

What a weekend. I've always loved Portland, but this trip renewed the love affair. Portland is like a woman. When you feel her, you're alive. It can be rainy, but it flashes you sunlight, like flashes of skin. Ok....I better stop.

I won't be such a stranger to Portland--no doubt.

NOLA: Bow Up On It!

2009-01-25T12:22:00.000-08:00

The Crew!

A few other LHO-ers (LIGO Hanford Observatory-ers) & I, ventured down to Louisiana for a week of work at our Livingston site. Betsy, Jody, & Hugh worked on Advanced LIGO Suspension work, while Mike & I did some Seismic Isolation commissioning (or atleast we tried). At the end of our week, we ventured down to NOLA (that's New Orleans, LA).

Galatoire's Revisited: The Radkins Experience

While in New Orleans, we stayed right off the French Quarter, and hit Bourbon Street. We tromped around the music-filled, strip-club-clad, drunk-person-inducing blocks for a few hours. We stopped at the Crescent City Brew Pub for a nice meal. Our first choice was Galatorie's, but apparently we were a little too disheveled to be allowed to occupy their establishment. (It's ok. We snapped a few shots of Hugh standing in front of the place---he had been there when he was a kid and was reminiscing about it.)

A Nice Looking Bunch

All in all we had a nice time hanging out in NOLA. Everybody except for me had to get up at the crack of dawn to catch a plane....I, luckily, arranged to have an afternoon flight (but even that ended up being a little early for me! Oh well, planes are meant for sleep anyway!) :)

Is This A Corgi?

Galatoire's & Bourbon

Post Script:
If you're like me, you might not know what the slang in the title means: "Bow Up On It". It's a southern term which roughly means to "get 'er done". You can also flex your arms (body builder-style), and I guess that also looks like a bow. Anyway, it's new to me.

Wish I Were In DC

2009-01-20T22:14:00.000-08:00

I would have liked to have made it to D.C. today, but alas, I was on travel and working in Louisiana (but I sported my well-worn Obama shirt). I was working in the Control Room, and it would have been nice to have been able to watch the Inauguration on TV, but we're in Louisiana, and some people are just sore losers & sad little people. So, I got to listen to the inauguration and watch it online, and that did just as well.

A Beautiful Family

Watching From Space (click on photo to get bigger view)

Superheroes

Snow Shoeing The Blues

2009-01-17T22:05:00.000-08:00

Blue Trail Is Final Trek Down Mapped By GPS (click to see bigger image)

For a second weekend in a row, managed to make it up into the mountains and onto the snow. This weekend's activity: snow shoeing. Now I've had snow shoe's for a few years, but I've only managed to use them a measly two times before. So, they still needed a proper breaking in. Luckily, we now have a sort of "snow shoe crew". With that, we had been making plans to get out there for a workout in the snow and this past weekend we made it.

Leaving a cold, cloudy, and depressing Tri-Cities, we made our way eastward to the Blue Mountains of southeastern Washington, by way of Dayton. This is a familiar and favorite drive of mine, although most of my experience of the drive is during the summer when I'm fly fishin' the Touchet.

The Fellowship (sorry to get all nerdy!)

So we made our way to a Sno Park area just before the Bluewood Ski Resort. Here we followed a groomed trail (Forest Service Road) into the woods. This is where our epic journey began...our Fellowship of the Snow Shoe.

The Infamous Orange Gloves

We were graced to have some really excellent weather. Once we got up into the mountains, the gloominess of the weather below gave way to some really nice and sunny weather. We clearly observed a temperature inversion on this trip. The weather seemed to get better the higher up we went.

We hiked a mile or so along the groomed trail. On this trail, there wasn't too much need for the snow shoes since the snow was compact and hard. To really feel the benefits of the snow shoes you have to go off-trail. We ultimately decided to go off trail and head up a ridge to see what we could see.

Photo Ops

Ready To Hit The Trail Again

We booked it up and at the top we were greeted by an excellent view down into some valleys (one of which is called Green Fly Canyon according to Google Earth). There was also another groomed trail up here. We had a quick break here, had snacks, and snapped some photos. We then continued on the trail/road west-southwest. We talked about how we were Lords-of-the-Rings-ish with our crew hiking through the wilds of WA. Had the hardest time trying to remember the Lord of the Rings theme song, too. We eventually caught back up to the original trail we were on.

The Misty Valley

Lunch

This is where we heard/saw our first fellow snow shoe-ers of the day. They were a ridge away from us and they were a big group (about 14 or so). They walked by and we waved at eachother. We then decided to start heading down (I used my iPhone's gps to mark this final descent). This was a cool part of the trip because we were making our own path (no groomed trails), and it was also downhill most of the way.

Here we decided to head back along the ridge-line trail and see where it went. Nic also ate a big chunk of snow. We approached a "Road Closed" sign and decided to break for a quick lunch.

Jammin' Downhill

Trying Not To Eat It

Cyrus Skiing Down

We didn't know exactly where we were at this point, but we had an idea. Most of the time, we could catch glimpses of the Bluewood ski lifts. After a while, we then saw and "heard" the paved road. So, we were lucky and happed the ridge which just happened to drop us off fairly close to our vehicles.

All in all we had a pretty good workout. This will hopefully be the beginning of many more adventures in the Blues.

Notes:

Trip Distance: 4.16 miles
Starting Elevation: 4265 feet
Lunch Break Elevation: 5085 feet

Crosscountry At White Pass

2009-01-15T00:01:00.001-08:00

This past Sunday (1/11/09), Justin G. and I were Cascade-bound. We drove from the Tri-Cities up toward the mountains so we could get some cross-country/nordic skiing in. We ended up stopping in Naches, WA at the Little Red Schoolhouse to pick up some rental equipment. For a whole set-up it was only $10 (+$1 for insurance). This is the place I went to about 8-years ago to pick up my first rental, and its still as cool as ever. They had some used gear, but no boots in my size. I looked at skis for a little while, but I was too excited to get up into the mountians. Once we were equipped we headed up to White Pass. Our destination--the groomed Crosscountry Trails at White Pass.

Nice Cozy Yurt

Since were skiing between Thurs-Sun, we had to buy a Nordic Pass to use the trails. It was only $11 (so total for skiing was $22---not too bad). We then hit the trails. Once again, within seconds I determined I didn't know how to ski downhill---due to falling a few times. Once on the flats or on uphills, I was able to fly. That's generally how I am with sports---I may not be elegant or techinially-proficient, but when it comes to physical stuff, I am fine.

Ready To Go

For groomed trails, there is generally two tracks, with an open/free-style area in the middle. I did a little be of everything, but tried to do the freestyle more. I wasn't able to "skate" with my skis, but I was able to move alright. Crosscountry skiing is a laborius sport, and I was sweating within minutes! All in all, Justin and I tackled just about all the trails, and we did it within 1.5-2hrs (this was about 6.5-miles). We only had one casualty (other than falling tons of times on the downhills), and that was the loss of Justin's waterbottle.

Justin Makin' Tracks

Justin Tucked In For The Downhill

Once we finished our loop of the entire course, I still felt like a workout, so I opted for one more go-around. Justin hung out in the cozy Nordic Center yurt. I started off amitious and fast, but within a mile or so, I became pooped! I kept going. I ended up doing most of the loop we did earlier in the morning (except for the Dark Meadows Loop on top). Overall, I think I clocked in about 11-12 miles!

Felt very tired and fulfilled after the workout. Justin and I treated ourselves to some tasty brews and burgers in stinky Sunnyside at Snipes Mountain Brewery. It was a good day (and hopefully the start of many more while the snow is here!).

Justin also blogged about our day and provided some GPS stats and more pictures. His entry is here.

From Grandpa Yellow Fly

2008-12-28T15:14:00.000-08:00

The Yellow Flys: My Grandma (Cecille), Grandpa (Percy), Chuckling Uncle (Sherman), and Mom (Sharon)

As a gift over the holidays, my mom surprised me with an heirloom of my grandfather, Percy Yellow Fly. My grandfaher became the first Band Manger for our tribe (Siksika Nation) and also served as Chief and a Councilman for many years. In 1981, he traveled to London with other Native Diplomats to meet with the Queen to discuss treaty rights. Gaa?s (this is how you say grandpa in Siksika...the "?" is a glottal stop---a throaty sound) was very involved with the community and did many things for our tribe. He passed in 2005 afer a long and proud life.

Roach With Attached Beaded Head Band

At some point in his life he was given a roach. A roach is something one wears on their head (generally a dancer). It is made of porcupine and horse hair. I have one and wear one when I Grass Dance. The roach my grandfather received was given to him many years ago, and it must be a very old item. He later gave it to my mother, and I was honored to receive this item as a gift this past Christmas.

Top Of Roach

It's a huge honor, but its also a big responsibility. I don't know whether I should seal it up and keep it stored in a closet somewhere, or whether to dance with it. I'm sure what I'm supposed to do will come to me.

Oahu

2008-12-24T11:33:00.000-08:00

Earlier this month, I was lucky to venture to the island of Oahu with a friend. This was the time to go. I left freezing temperatures back home and enjoyed tropical weather (tried to get a tan, but wish I got darker).

For the first six days we were on Oahu's North Shore. I'd always heard of this area---mainly because of the tons of surfing going on here, and the huge waves this stretch of beach is known for. While we were there, some surfing competitions were going on. Apparently, there is also a rogue surfing competition always waiting to take place. It goes down if the waves are some huge height (I think like 100ft or more!)---it didn't happen while we were there. I still liked the waves. I liked sleeping to them. I liked watching them. I liked playing in them.

Chickens At the Shrimp Truck

The North Shore was cool because it was fairly chill for Oahu---which is the most populated of the Hawaiian islands. There were lots of surfer bums, ex-pat-types, shrimp trucks (as opposed to taco trucks, which I'm accustomed to on the mainland), etc.

Surfers On The North Shore

Turtle Bay Resort was pretty nice. It was in the middle of it all on the North Shore. If you've seen the movie Forgetting Sarah Marshall, then you've seen this hotel. The hotel, one of its restaurants, and some beach scenes were filmed in the movie.

Lighthouse On Southeast Corner Of Oahu

Made a loop around the island, and this proved fruitful because we went to a pretty awesome beach: Kailua Beach State Park (next to an equally nice beach called Lanikai). This is a nice beach for swimming in sandy-bottomed clear blue waters, as well as laying out on nice soft sand. This beach has the benefit of not being too crowded because it is off the beaten path and is surrounded by residential neighborhoods (vs. hotels). Once on the beach, you can travel up the beach for 3 miles until you find that nice patch of sand.

Palms At Kailua

I don't know if they're regulars, but I saw the coolest thing--a woman with four dogs (pug, beagle, weiner dog, and lab), and she swam with all of them for a long time. The pug was statuesque on a boogie board while one of the other dogs pulled. Very cool-crew. :)

Also made a visit to the Dole Pineapple Plantation. It was super touristy, but I like pineapples, so it wasn't too bad. They also have a fairly large maze there, and Jen & I racked our brains for an hour or so trying out a "scavenger hunt".

Pineapples

Another major highlight for me was the luau we went to. It was a small one on the grounds of Turtle Bay Resort. It was cool though. There was a troupe from the nearby Polynesian Cultural Institute---they did pretty good, and their "MC" was a "smooth" talker and pretty funny. But what am I writing about here...we all know a luau is all about the food, baby!! yeah, I had a few types of seafood, some teriyaki beef, some pork, and of course some poi (I had two bowls of poi, son!!).

Alas, after about 6 days, we had to leave the North Shore, and into Oahu's beehive known as Honolulu. Don't get me wrong, Honolulu isn't that dire of a city. It's just a big city in a tropical place. So as long as you're near the beach (or a palm tree), Honolulu shines. We were lucky to stay at the old and storied Moana Surfrider hotel, and our backyard for two days was the sleepy Pacific and Waikiki Beach.

Upon entering the Surfrider the game to play is to not get trampled by newlyweds. Yes, it seems like there was a bridal-gowned woman and tuxedo-ed man around every nook and cranny in the Surfrider's lobby. You can't fault them though, the Moana Surfrider is classically picturesque. And, in the lobby the other major feature: a huge "snow"-covered Christmas Tree.

Christmas Tree & Ms. Big Crow

So, here we were on the world-famous Waikiki beach. I was fine with spending most of our last couple days in Hawaii on the beach or in the water. I needed a tan!! I managed to get a little dark and freckled, so I was happy.

All in all, had a nice vacation from the chilly Pacific Northwest.

One More Sunset

A Trip To Arcata (Oct. 15 -19, 2008)

2008-12-23T19:11:00.000-08:00

I don't know why it took me so long to finally get to blogging about this trip, but here it is--better late than never, eh?

I had just got back from a trip to Salt Lake City (worked a few days), and then made the long drive down to Humboldt County. The drive down was fairly uneventful (which is good and bad for an 11-hr drive). A high point--catching the sunset as I hit the Pacific coast in Crescent City. The California Coast is hard to be away from.

Sunset At Crescent City

One of the primary reasons for the trip to Humboldt was to hang out with Ari and Jeremy, but another thing going on at Humboldt was the Indigenous People's Week (IPW) at HSU. This was something which started back in about 1996-97 when I was there. A group of us Native students organized the first IPW---wow, such a long time ago. I remember how we all dressed up in black, like ninjas, boarded Tee's old white Nissan pickup, and then posted all sorts of Native signs around the campus. It was subversive and fun.

Here we are over 10-years later, and the IPW is still around. This year my sister Ari, and her boyfriend worked with others in organizing it. One of the highlights for me was my mother being invited to be a keynote speaker for the Week. She was there to give two talks. One on her Residential School experience in Canada, and another on her work with Siksika Language and Its Preservation.

My Mom and Her Class

Sharon Yellow Fly, our mom, gave a heartfelt and powerful presentation on her experience in "Boarding School". My mother gave a history on the governmental policy of Canada and the Queen with regards to Native children. A policy which was carried out for over a century and which lasted as recently as the '70s. Generations of children were scarred by this and it started a cycle of dysfunction generations of Native communities still deal with. My mom survived this and she came out on top and became a very loving, intelligent, and strong Native woman. My mom gave a really informative talk, but it was also personal and there were some moments which were hard to hear, but it was still good to hear her words. I know my sister and I were very proud of her talk.

Names In Our Family

The next morning my mom gave a more technical talk on her work with our tribe's language. She covered some of the basics of the Siksika language. She also talked about the Siksika Dictionary she has written. This is a project I hope she publishes, but her main priority was making this document for us, her children. It was an awesome talk, and I was happy that one of my good friends (Vincent Feliz) from Humboldt was able to make the talk.

My Home For Several Years (right next to the laundromat)

Ari and Dogs At Mad River Beach

The Ear of Gomez

After these duties were fulfilled we hung out in Humboldt. We had an awesome time heading down to the Lost Coast one morning. We also took a trip out to the Mad River Beach. This is a beach I went to all the time, and this is the closest one to Ari & Jeremy's house. Had a cool time taking a salsa lesson at Muddy's Coffee shop.

Un-Dam the Klamath!!

Arcata Farmer's Market

Honey

What else, oh I also did the "ceremonial" game of "21" with my homies, Vinny "Bag 'o Donuts" and Chag "Two Egg Breakfast". Even though we're all older, Chag still has that money outside shot, Vince has some crazy ball-handling skills, and I still run around like I'm on crack. Many laughs ensued and my jaw was sore from laughing so hard.

California N8V Ballers

Our stay was capped off by heading to the Lowry household for a nice yummy meal (a la Luzmila's) and then playing a game of cards. I'd never really played much before, but I ended up doing alright. I didn't get spanked like Vince did, so I was happy. ;)

Pimps

Cards With The Homies!

Getting His Hat Handed--I Love Ya, Chumash!!

Seattle Salsa Congress (November 28-30 2008)

2008-12-23T00:33:00.000-08:00

Months of salsa training culminated to this: My First Salsa Congress

What's a salsa congress you might ask? Well, it's not as political as it sounds. Its more of a gathering for those interested in salsa dance. At a congress you get the opportunity to see some of the best salsa dancers and instructors in the country. They give several performances during the "Congressional Session". One also gets to attend workshops/classes (by several of these professionals) and learn things like new and cool salsa combinations, musicality, or the history of salsa. And the Friday/Saturday nights culminates with social dancing until the wee hours of the morning.

Dana, Christian And The Aussies

A cool thing about this Congress is that my salsa teachers (Dana & Christian--the best salseros!) organized a Tri-Cities crew to head over. About seven of us made it for the Congress and then another two joined up for the social dancing on Saturday. It was so cool to check out the Congress with the homies. ;)

One good thing about this particular Congress: it's right after Turkey Day!! So, you can wake up bright and early on Friday morning, get your salsa on, and work off that cranberry sauce! I'm not joking Friday and Saturday were very long days of salsa. I paced myself, and did Friday for about a half day, and then headed back up to hang with Tee & Asia (we then met up with the Sirois' at Pyramid and then the Tap Room--very cool).

Asia, Two Siksikas, A Colville, And A Cree At Pyramid Ale House

Saturday was the big day for me. I went for a the full day. This was class from about 9am till about 7pm. Then the performance at 9pm, and then social dancing (via DJs) until the wee hours of the morning.

Christian and Priscilla

As for the instructors, there were some good ones and so-so ones. I'll just mention my favorites. The Spaniards, Antonio & Vanesa, were awesome. Antonio's english was a little rough, but he's a good dancer. I liked how he showed a move from the combo, and would then scream out, "is that ok?! C'mon, say something? Ok?!?". Anyway, I ended up taking two classes from them, and they showed some ok footwork, and some really awesome combos.

Antonio & Vanesa's 2nd Combo

The other big instructor was Alex Da Silva. He's taught many music and movie stars and has acted as choreographer on several reality shows. He and his partner (whose name escapes me), were very funny and did some awesome combos which were fun and sexy. He had big crowds for both of his classes.

Alex Da Salva's 2nd Combo

After the two days of intense salsa-ness, I actually could see myself beginning to get this stuff. I've had the best instruction from Christian and Dana, and everything they taught plus the Congress and then the social dancing just all came together nicely. I can finally see myself transitioning froma clueless novice to an actual "salsa person"-- very cool. I just need to keep it up!!

Filming The Moves!

A Very Heated Evening

2008-12-04T23:20:00.001-08:00

Right now it's 9:20pm and I'm sitting in an AC room here at Turtle Bay Resort on Oahu's North Shore. Usually the AC would be off, and my friend Jen Big Crow and I would have the patio door open listening to the waves crashing outside, BUT.......

After a full day of exploring the Windward side of Oahu, hanging out at Kailua beach for a few hours, and having some greasy shrimp truck food, I had the bright idea of going for a workout. It all started well. Ran for 13 min (that shoulda been an omen). Then did my usual exercises--pull-ups, ab jack knives, arm curls, etc. I ended my workout by doing some leg presses. Started out at about 200lbs, but for my fourth set, I did all the weight--about 400lbs.

I then walked outside, and Jen followed me shortly after. Within a few seconds, I started to feel bad (it was warmer outside than in the gym). It was dark outside, but still warm. I was able to walk a bit, but I was quickly becoming quezzy. Jen was very concerned and asked what she could do. I played "brave", and said I was ok, but then asked if we could sit down. We sat on a bench in the dark right above the water. Sitting down and breathing didn't seem to help. I began to get nauseated (wanted to puke!), tired, and was feeling out of it. At this point, I heard, "I'll be right back, Corey". I laid down on the bench...at some point I think I burped some grossness in my mouth **sorry for being graphic...I just don't want to forget this, and want to document**

The next symptom was the scariest. I sat up, opened my eyes, and I couldn't see anything!! I knew I was blinking, and I was looking toward lights, but I couldn't see anything. "Am I having a stroke, am I blacking out, will I need an ambulance", I thought to myself. I was freakin'! All of a sudden Ms. Big Crow (my hero!) showed up with a cup of cold water, and then put a cold-water-soaked towel on my neck. Within seconds my sight came back. I downed the water. I was slowly starting to feel better. Jen went and gave me another cold towel.

After a few minutes, I was back to a state where I felt I could move around again. I felt so dumb, old, weak--you name it. My body rarely fails me, but this night my "mortal-ness" was exposed.

Thanks to nurse Big Crow, and her quick thinking, I'm still here! :)

Pictures Of The North Shore & Windward Side...Enough Said.

2008-12-04T20:22:00.000-08:00

This Is Sunrise This Morning, And The View Out Of Our Lanai

Flowers and Rabbit Island On Oahu's Windward Coast

Jen And The Dog Crew In The Kailua--the Dog Crew was a woman, and four dogs (pug, beagle, weiner dog, and a lab...the pug rode on a boogie board the whole time, and the other dogs swam!)

Mr. Obama Goes To Washington

2008-12-03T01:54:00.000-08:00

Have heard stories of a mythical cinema hidden within the U. District. It was said to be teeny tiny, but showed films with heart and intelligence. Now I made it there on a wing and a prayer just as the reels were spinning. My horse was tied down to a hitchin' post down the street (and it was free since it was after 6pm!).

The viewing room is tiny (fit for about 80-100 souls). Her walls are thin (you can hear the passing 808's bump as they roll by), but this theater met all the expectations I had for it. Very independent, full of character, and worth many return visits.

Oh, and it has a coffee shop connect to it.

As for what I saw, I saw a viewing of "Mr. Smith Goes To Washington". I'd been wanting to see it on the big screen for ages, and jumped on the chance. Jefferson Smith is such a noble, humble, and heroic character. Jean Arthur plays his "Sancho" well and her personality and looks are certainly pleasing to the eye. Now I wish they had hankie dispensers when they show these damn Capra movies, because I always grow teary-eyed watching this movie--Damn You, Capra!!!

This is one of my favorite films, and it is one of those stories filled with hope which makes me excited for our Mr. Obama Whose in Washington.

Cicely, AK....aka Rosyln, WA

2008-11-22T10:05:00.000-08:00

As we walked the scene of a chilly Cicely, AK (aka Roslyn, WA), I tried to think of how we'd fill the cast of the show:

The Cast

Tee..........as Holling Vincoeur
Asia.........as Shelly Tambo
Nic...........as Chris in the Morning
Anamaria........as Maggie O'Connell
Corey........as Ed Chigliak

Ok, I'm a Northern Exposure nerd, and I do these things, sorry!

****

On Friday Nic, Anamaria, and I headed up from the Tri-Cities met up w/ my bro and his lady at The Brick to see a couple of bands: The Moondoggies & The Maldives. Before the show we had some pizza across the street at Village Pizza, and then headed on over to The Brick. The Brick was a central location for the 90's TV show Northern Exposure. Now for the show, The Brick's interior was a set, so the Real Brick is a bit different. The Brick is Washington states oldes saloon. There is a big bar area, and then the next space over is where bands play.

I was surprised to see a little "stream" right there in the bar. Yup, I was surprised to see a tributary of the Cle Elum river running along the base of the bar! :) Actually, my brother told me this little waterway was used for those "chewing". They'd spit their chew into the water and it would drift downstream passing drinker's feet. Ok, I'll stop with the water talk---I was intrigued though.

The Brick's Bar (the stream was underneath, patron-side)

There was a cool vibe at the bar. The crowd was fairly diverse--camo-clad hunters, Seattlites fresh from the trek over Snoqualmie, college students from Ellensburg, locals, and of course some Tri-Citians. :)

Sobriety Test By Officer Tee

We hung out and imbibed some local brews as we waited for The Maldives. While waiting for the band, took a break and walked over to "Minnifield Communications Network" and the KBHR radio station. I've been to Roslyn many times, but this was the first during the evening.

"Chris In The Morning's" Location

Effler & Dog

Once back at The Brick, the Maldives took the stage. They were an 8-piece band, and they were pretty good. They had a violinist and a banjo player. The Moondoggies took the stage to a fairly full dance floor. I managed to bop to a few songs, and also squeeze some salsa moves in there. :)

Maldives

Moondoggies

All in all, we had a great time--The Brick was a cool venue, Roslyn was a neat town, the bands were cool, and the company was the best.

It made for a long night though. Didn't get home till about 3am!

Hey!

Hah!

Northern Exposure Theme: Notice Village Pizza!

November 4, 2008: HISTORY

2008-11-05T01:08:00.000-08:00

So Happy.

The Yak in October

2008-10-27T00:26:00.000-07:00

Doug and His Babies

It was October, the leaves were turning, the weather was getting colder, and had only made one other trip to the Yakima this year (with Justin in July)--been a busy year. Luckily, Doug, Mick and I decided to venture to the Yakima.

Yak Forecast

We left fairly early from the Tri-Cities, and made it to Red's (about 3/4's of the way up the canyon). Spent a bit of time, and got some pointers from one of the Red's guys. After this we went up to Umtanum. I crossed the bridge and headed up river. The river was really low--probably the lowest I've seen (I've never been here this time of year). I fished the bank away from the parking lot, and then made my way to the center of the river--I probably could

Umtanum Bridge

Umtanum Upriver

have waded across the river if I wanted---not possible most of the summer. I had zero action! I tried and tried. Used different types of flies, and nothing. I think we were here to early. I like to fish dries and hatches don't start until the afternoon time. I did see another guy upstream, and he was reelin' 'em in. Dang.

We moved on.

We went downstream to another spot Mick had tried earlier in the year. After carefully wading through some "deep" and slippery water, made my way to the opposite side of the river. My small-water tendencies took me to a shallow sidestream. Within a few minutes, I had some bites, and eventually landed a decent-sized Yakima rainbow.

Where Fish Were Landed

Fished a little more here, and didn't get too much action. Caught a few nice pictures. I then moved up to where Mick had been, and he said he had lots of fun upriver (but the shadows were eating up his spot. I hung out here for a while, and sure enough there were fish jumpin' left and right. Unfortunately, they were having none of what I had--story of my life. At this point, I was starting to get caught in the shadow, and almost immediately I began to get cold. I went downstream with Doug, and fished one last place (I caught another fish, but it was totally on accident when I wasn't looking--pathetic!). I was too cold to care though.

We left shortly afterward. The day was perfectly capped off by a stop at the Taco El Grande taco truck in Yakima (near the fairgrounds). It was YUMMY!

The Lost Coast

2008-10-17T19:57:00.000-07:00

During a recent trip down to Humboldt, one of our morning/afternoon was reserved for trekking down to the the Lost Coast. For me, there are places you daydream about visiting, moving to, or being buried at---lately, some examples would have to be Cartagena, Barcelona, or the No Brand Burger Stand parking lot, but a place which has been on that list for a while would have to be northern California's Lost Coast.

Mattole Road Heading In Toward Petrolia

I went to Humboldt State in '91, and made my first trip to the Lost Coast in '93, and I've been a fan ever since. One of the beauties of this area is its location. This stretch of beach a bit on the isolated side, and driving there requires one to drive a narrow, old, and potholed road over the King's Range mountains. Once you get off the 101 and leave the Victorian town of Ferndale, there are no towns other than the small 1-store village of Petrolia. Isolation is what comes to mind when thinking of the Lost Coast, hence the name.

Lost Coast "Sand"

Driftwood Shadows

It's probably because I was born a water person, but I've always been attracted to streams, rain, and the sea. This is probably a big reason why I love the Lost Coast. As you make your way along steep and switch-backed Mattole Road, and get your first view of the Coast, it's hard not to be enamored.

Usually, I make trips to the trailhead which is downriver from Petrolia, and from there generally make the trip to the abandoned lighthouse at Punta Gorda (where we'd camp). This trip was only for the day, so we hung out about 6miles north. Here is a stretch where Mattole Road zips on by the coast line for about 8miles. It starts with a breath-taking view of the coast line from a bluff high above, and then the road quickly drops 800ft to the beach. Here it skims along the coast. Before heading inland to Petrolia, there's a spot where we pulled over.

Layers of Color

My mom, Ari, Jeremy, the dogs, and myself, then got out and walked around. We were extremely lucky to catch the ole Lost on a really beautiful day. We left a cloudy and bleak Arcata earlier that morning, but once we crossed the King's Range, the clouds disappeared out to sea giving us a sunny day.

Smiling Siksika Women

There's not much to do on the Coast, but that's the point. I prefer to find a nice patch of sand, and let it all soak in. It can be a sensory overload with the smashing waves, oceanspray, sand on your barefeet, and sun on your face. We hung out here for an hour or so.

Dunes

We then made our way back to Ferndale for the other major stop of the day: No Brand Burger Stand. Our friend Nina discovered this place years ago, and we've been addicts ever since. For me, a homemade bannana milk shake, Cajun-spiced cheeseburger, and Cajun-spiced fries did me in. After this we headed back up to Arcata, and I started my daydreams for my next Lost Coast visit.

No Brand Burger Stand

Ferndale Cemetary

LIGO @ 2008 SACNAS Conference in SLC

2008-10-12T18:52:00.000-07:00

Gerardo & Mini-Interferometer

This past October 9-12 my work, LIGO (Laser Interferometer Gravitational wave Observatory), had the opportunity to exhibit a booth at the 2008 SACNAS (Society for Advancement of Chicanos and Native Americans in Science) National Conference---sorry for all the acronyms in just the first sentence here! My co-worker Gerardo and myself were lucky to head down to Salt Lake City for this conference. I had been to a SACNAS conference as an undergrad waaaay back in 1995 in El Paso, TX; this time I would be there as a "professional" on the other side of the table.

The Exhibit Hall

Keynote Presentation

Gerardo At Booth

Gerardo and I were at the conference to help spread the word about LIGO and to also talk up the cool opportunities LIGO has for undergrads (interenships in cutting edge research), and job seekers.

Aztec Dancers

SACNAS is an organization which encourages "Chicano/Latino and Native American students to pursue graduate education and obtain the advanced degrees necessary for science research, leadership, and teaching careers at all levels." Needless to say, we were surrounded by some inspiring professors, professionals, and students. The conference offers many presentations and workshops catered to empowering and supporting students in their endeavors. Hundreds of students also presented posters for research they were conducting as well. There was also an Exhibit Hall filled with exhibits from many universities, research facilities, and professional organizations. This is where Gerardo, myself, and LIGO came in.

SACNAS Student Posters

Gerardo Tweaking The "Mini-Ifo"

The theme for this year's conference was the International Polar Year: Global Changes In Our Communities. Keynote presentations and some of the workshops focused on the subject of global warming, research related to global warming, and how it is affecting communities throughout the world.

Gerardo & LIGO "Goodies"

For Gerardo and I, most of our time was spent at our little booth. It took us a little bit of time to get everything set up and our mini-interferometer online, but the majority of our time was spent being "LIGO Salesmen". Actually, in general we didn't have to sell too hard. Our mini-interferometer demo was a big eye-catcher and brought all kinds of curious "science-folk" to our booth. For many, this was their first opportunity to hear about LIGO, and the astronomical research we are conducting.

Gerardo Laughing With Students

Showing A Mechanical Engineer an Interferometer

As I mentioned before, this was our first time running a booth, and we had ideas of what to expect, but I was so struck by the interest we received, and also by the caliber of students we talked with. I felt so proud and inspired to talk with students of color who are kicking butt in their respective fields. We met so many students during the Exhibit, and the time flew by. I must admit for some periods it was a little overwhelming when we had people sort of queued up to listen to us. Gerardo was an awesome co-exhibitor and I think we both did pretty well with representing LIGO.

Talking With Neetsaii Gwich'in Athabascan Elder Sarah James about LIGO

Now it wasn't all-science 24-7. I had done some researching of salsa clubs in the area (some of you may know I've become a salsa nerd!), and found a club having a Latin Night on Thursday. I ended up walking down to the Sky Bar (club on the top of a Red Lion hotel). It was about 10pm when I got there and, as usual, they were starting out with salsa music. This was a cool club and they had some very good dancers.

Can You Find Gerardo??

SACNAS also had some social activities during two of the nights of the conference. On the Friday night, there was a ¡Pachanga!---this was basically a dance. SACNAS really hooked up the students and brought in a pretty nice band...now for the life of me I can't remember their name, but it was something like-- Orchestra Latina. This band was hot. They played mainly salsa standards, but also a few merengue songs, and even one cumbia song. Now, I've been learning salsa, and was so tempted to get out there on the floor, but I was too much of a chicken. I had fun watching the dancers and the band though. There was a big Puerto Rican contingent of students on the floor and they let everyone know. All in all a fun night.

"Bailador, Bailador..."

Salsa Band

Dancers At SACNAS ¡Pachanga!

On Saturday night there was a Pow Wow, and I participated and danced my style--which is Grass. Now it had been months (more like years) since I'd last danced! I think I did alright though. It's always odd to dance on carpet, and I know there were a few instances where I just about slipped and fell on my butt, but I'm a master at playing off mistakes! :) It was fun to have various people come up to me and ask about my outfit and my style of dance. Everyone was really nice. This was a good way to end the conference. We had such fun, and met so many awesome people. I truly hope we helped out in spreading the word about LIGO and ideally getting some more people of color in the sciences, namely with LIGO!

Grass Dancing Blur

LIGO Operators

To Shoe Lake (Again!)

2008-09-28T19:31:00.000-07:00

Started the day off fairly late and didn't hit the road from the Tri-Cities until about noon. I was off to make my self-imposed annual pilgrimage to Shoe Lake. Shoe Lake is an alpine lake in the Cascade mountain range and is along the Pacific Crest Trail. I started trekking to this lake back in 2001, and I've been making trips up almost every year since. Have always jumped onto the Pacific Crest Trail via the trailhead at White Pass. This time I wanted to try and get to the lake from a different route. I tried this via a couple of attempts.

McCall Creek & Corgis

My first doomed attempt at getting to Shoe Lake was via the McCall creek. This creek comes from the McCall Basin which is a basin north of the Shoe Lake basin. There was no trail. So, the dogs and I did some bush whackin' along the creek. This was a doomed trek. Made it ok for a little bit, but after a while, the creek-carved canyon became narrower and much more thick with brush. Eventually got to a point where my back-packed body and my dogs' short legs were done in. Tried to continue for a little bit by hiking up the canyon wall and then going up the canyon. The climb up was burly, but the dogs were troopers. Once on the top of the canyon hiked toward the McCall Basin. Unfortunately, the hiking wasn't much better. At this point, I called it, and decided to head back down. I still wanted to get to Shoe Lake, and there was only a few more hours of light. So we booked it back to the truck via some elk/deer trails. Then headed to a the Tieton Meadows trailhead to catch the Pacific Crest Trail south of Shoe Lake.

Tieton Meadows Trail...this was EASY

Now I read reports of this trail being super steep, but we felt up for it. There wasn't much time to think about it. It was about 4pm, and there was only about 3hrs of light left. So, the dogs and I had to book it.

Only followed the North Fork Tieton trail for a little bit, and then we took a right onto the Hidden Springs Trail (#1117). This was the beginning of our hell for the evening. It seems like after a few minutes the slope of the trail zoomed vertical. It wasn't bad at first, but after time it wore us down. Every other opportunity, I'd look skyward for any signs of approaching the Shoe, but time after time---nothing.

Rock Face with Scree Slope Below (not in picture)

At one point, we approached the base of a scree slope (a wall of small boulders). For some insane reason, I thought we could leave the trail and cross this slope horizontally and somehow end up at the east side of Shoe Lake.....I thought this slope was just below Shoe Lake. So, the dogs and I slowly and carefully walked on the rumbling rocks. It was steep, and the rocks were very loose. We tried this for about 15min, and at one point I looked back and saw Gunner and Gomez sitting down and just looking at me and thinking, "you don't expect us to hike this, do you?!" I picked up Gomez, and we headed back to the trail.

While scrambling the scree, this was the first time we heard elk bugling in the distance (or it could have been hunters). It was cool to listen to.

It was good, because when we got back to "climbing" the trail, I found that this slope was at the base of just another range. We were still one range away from Shoe!!!! So, we put our heads down and continued upward.

At one point, I looked up to see another person (first of the hike). This guy (and later his wife), were just coming back from Shoe Lake. They were camping at Hidden Springs. They suggested I camp with them, but we were focused, and we had one mile left, so we politely said, "no thanks", and continued up the trail. We shortly reached the Pacific Crest Trail....we were almost there!

After a few more minutes, my tired legs, blistered feet, sweaty body, and aching back reached familiar territory: The southern rim of the Shoe Lake basin! Snapped a few pictures, and then we rushed down into the basin. Gunner and Gomez knew where they were and made a beeline toward the water and slurped away.

Shoe Lake! (& Gomez)

We then made our way around Shoe Lake's shore to the small grove of trees we call our camping spot. At this point, it was all business. I got some water boiling, pitched a tent, and then started cooking dinner. All in all, it was an uneventful evening. Before going to bed, I watched a movie on my iPod: There Will Be Blood. Then it was off to sleep.

Shoe Lake at Dusk

Around dawn we were awoken by a loud "bark". I believe this was a male elk (they were in rut now, were "horny", and wanted to fight, or...well, you know. I think the elk was on the rim of Shoe Lake basin, and was barking to see if there any elk in the basin. This has happened before during other trips. It barked a few times, and then it stopped. It was a loud noise, because it is so quiet along the lake.

Shoe Lake In The Morning

Hidden Springs...very "hidden

Woke up and had a bit of a snack, and then headed out. Stopped by Hidden Springs again and looked for the actual spring. It was pretty small--now I know though. Then hit the trail again, and made quick work of it. Topped the day off by making a pit stop in Yakima at Miners. It was alright (a bit too much mayo on my burger), but next time I think I'll hit the taco truck Taco El Grande.

Until 2009, Shoe Lake.

And Here Are The Signposts...

Blog To The Future

2008-09-24T22:06:00.000-07:00

After blogging for a while, I had a bit of a dilemma in wanting to make a few posts from the "distant" past. I wanted to write something about my January trip to Panama & Colombia (or any other trips over the last year). I know this was almost a year ago, but I still wanted to write something to log the trip and also post some of my favorite pictures and video from the trip.

So, I went ahead and posted what I could remember from the trip. I also dated these posts as close to when they actually happened as possible. So yeah, these posts are certainly delayed, but atleast now that trip is documented. Hope you like!

Oh. So, to look at these posts, go to my posts from January and February.

Corgi Calculus

2008-09-24T12:55:00.001-07:00

Just thought I'd post this video. If this dogs knows calculus, my dogs know atleast their times tables!

Gomez Calculating How To Lick Some Ice Cream

Officer Tee!

2008-09-10T12:19:00.000-07:00

It was years in the making, and it culminated in over four months of intense training both physically and mentally. On September 10, 2008, Stephen Lee Gray and more than 25 other citizens became Police Officers as they were deputized after successfully completing Snohomish County's Police Academy.

Tee has long had aspirations of being a Police Officer and being a servant of the community. In Steve, the Tulalip Tribe will be getting a strong-willed, fair, smart, and exemplary employee--a natural leader.

Becoming an officer wasn't easy, and it wasn't handed to him. He endured job interviews, physical agility tests (with tons of sit-ups and lots of running), tons of training for various police skills, and lots and lots of PT (that's physical training to us civilians). He was even more "negaTee" than normal due to the stresses of Academy life, but all close to him knew it was tough. There were times when most would have had thoughts of quitting, but Tee endured.

Through it all we heard many of his tales of woe and wonderment, like taking part in a police situation exercise, getting talked to by one of his teachers, and then getting surprised by this teacher as he sprayed Tee in the face with pepper spray---Ooooo fun! :) Or, getting to drive vehicles in ways we only see in the movies (I'd say think of the A-Team, or Talladega Nights). There were also the drill instructors screaming in your face (a la Clint Eastwood in
Heartbreak Ridge), and making you feel like a "scum bag". Then there was....lots and lots and lots of running. Or addressing and being addressed by last names, "Yo GRAY!! Gimme 20!!"

I know Tee and his fellow cadets will miss all of this fun stuff, but for us, we were glad they were done and are very proud.

The graduation ceremony was held at convention room at the new Tulalip Resort. The room was packed with friends, family, and fellow officers. The ceremony opened with the marching in and placing of the colors/flags. After this, a few veteran officers gave talks, and instructors for the cadets were introduced.

Then the cadets took the stage. This was our first chance to see them together and at attention. Additionally, this was our first "photo op", and as soon as this was mentioned throngs of
"paprazzi" rushed the stage (including me & Asia). Flashbulbs were flashing and people were tripping over each other trying to get the perfect snaphots. All the while, the cadets did their best to stay stoic. We were allowed a few minutes to scammer around, but then we had to take our seats.

After this, more talks were given. Some awards were given, and then the future officers were given their certificates of completion and were badged by someone close to them. The way it worked out, the Tulalip tribe ended up being the last agency to deputize their officers. And since there were only two officers and Tee's name was what it was, Tee was the closing act for the show. Basically this meant he didn't have to stand at attention as long as everybody else.

One by one, each recruit was called up to receive their certificate and congratulations from various Veteran law enforcement officers, they were then badged, they then all went up on stage and stood at attention. Our dad did the honor of pinning Tee's badge (was a little loose, but it looked fine).

Once again, while all the officers stood at attention the audience were given our second opportunity to snap pictures. The throng rushed the stage and the flashes snapped and popped for minutes. This time the crowd did their best to crack cadet smiles. "Yo Tee. SMILE, man!" I said in a deep funny voice. Today these officers were stars.

This was the ceremony, and this is what happened. This was Tee's show. But he had a contingent there to share this special moment. His ex-boss from the Tulalip job, and other officers were there to share the moment. But more importantly, Tee also had some family there to whoop (war whoop, that is ;) ) and holler.

Ceremony

Badge-pinning

Congrats

Crackin' A Smile!

Paparazzi

On The Line

I love graduations. They are such big parts of a person's life. They usually signify a change in one's life, and it's always good to be there to support a graduate. I'm so glad I made the trek to the west side to be a part of it with Tee, Asia, Dad, Tork, & Suzie. We had an awesome time.

Line Up

Not everyone could physically make it to the graduation, but Tee knew they were all their through texts, thoughts, and phone calls. We're all proud of ya, Tee ("ya big lug", says Jay).

PS--Tee, I owe you $$ for a tattoo!!

PPS-- Ok, enough of my rambling. There are tons of pics, and those are far more interesting! You can click on each picture for a full-size view. Enjoy.

The Colors

The Gang

Tulalip Cops

Tee & Asia

Hanging Out

Asia Smile

Tee's Posse

Future Hoopty

Outside Tulallip Resort

Tee & Dad

Tee Escalade

Cop Feet

On Patrol, Aieeee!

Yum!

Rock The Bells 2008 @ The Gorge in George, WA

2008-09-06T00:26:00.000-07:00

Hip hop in the deserts of WA! The Gorge was host to the hip hop festival Rock The Bells, and we were there. Thanks to the Romanian's (aka Effler) keen eye and organizational skills to get a group of LIGO-ites to represent the Tri-Cities, we had an awesome day out in George, WA.

Through The Fence, Yo!

The LIGO Crew

This was an awesome show. Living in the desert of Eastern WA one doesn't get the chance to catch much hip hop. When Rock The Bells announced they were going to be at The Gorge, and then I saw the line up: I WAS DOWN!

C'mon, De La, Mos Def, Tribe! Dang!!!!

I'd be reliving my high school days w/ some De La and Tribe. I must admit, when I saw some of these dudes up on stage, I was feeling old! But that's alright, they still rocked the house and got the crowd jumpin'.

Awesome Patch of Grass!

De La was on point, and I think they were the first group to get the crowd going. When they played "Ooooh!", I was totally jumpin'. I was down close to the stage and bounced their whole set. I felt 18 years old in the Toe again! Yeeeyah!

Can You See Mos Def?

"Ooooh!"

Here's the "Oooh!" video

Freeze!

Mos Def was alright. His TWO DJs would spin some songs, and Mos would rap a bit, but then they'd stop the sample and do something different--granted they were nice samples, but hate it

Wassup?!

when I'm groovin and then they catch me mid-step floating in the air when they stop the jam. It was alright though. They played Ms. Fat Booty--my only gripe, they didn't play my favorite lyric:

"Showin me that tan line and that tatoo Playin Sade, "Sweetest Taboo" "

That's cuz Sade's my future wife! If he rhymed that line I woulda pooped my pants!! So I guess its good that those lyrics were lost into the Columbia. :)

But atleast he rapped my second favorite lyric:

"A$$ so fat that you could see it from the front"

Mos Def: "Sexual Chocolate!"

Another highlight was Supernatural rhyming off of items he pulled off people in the crowd--it was hella cool. Among some of the 20+ things he grabbed and rapped about: a cell phone ("called someone in NYC"), glasses ("was like Tom Cruise in Risky Business"), sombrero, and a joint!

Tribe was on point. I was wondering if they were all their, cuz they started w/ Q-Tip on his own, and then later joined by Mos Def. But after a few Q-Tip songs, the rest of ATCQ got on stage and they rocked! I just wished the played longer!

ATCQ Fists UP!

The Scenario Video

Oh My God Video

Check The Rhime Video

The Drive Home

2008-08-14T23:13:00.000-07:00

The mission: get the car returned by 6:30pm.

After a late night movie in Calgary, I got a few winks back in Siksika and then woke up to a vividly colored sunrise. Can't believe I've been missing all these sunsets--that's what I get for being a night owl! I was ready to go and on the road by 6:30am.

As I headed south off the reserve, and over the last few days, I kept telling myself, "I can't be a stranger." Three years is too long to be away from Siksika. I also need to become more acquainted w/ my Scottish roots as well. Looks like I'm doomed to travel to beautiful areas---could be worse, right? :)

A claim to fame for the small farming town of Vulcan (South of Siksika) is, well, their name. Since the township's name is from a race of people only Trekkies would know, it looks like they were milking it for what's worth: "Live Long & Prosper".

The road leading up to the Rockies

As I approached the border at Kingsgate at around 11:00am, I was making some excellent time. I wasn't even worried when I saw a line at the border crossing. After about a 30min wait, I approached the Border Patrol Officer. I confessed to having a 6-pack (Big Rock Honey Brown Ale), and having a bad time at a border crossing over a decade ago (this was due to some racist Border Patrol Officers). I knew that when he asked, "have you had trouble crossing the border before?" I was in for some crap.

"Would you please pull forward and park to the left, and wait for an officer," he said. D'oh. They were ruining my schedule!! I had to go into the Border Patrol Office and fill out a Declaration card and answer some odd questions---where was I born? What was my major? Do you have any tatoos? (?!?!? tatoos?? man, what's up with that?)

Two officers went through my vehicle for about 20min. They were nice and atleast didn't throw all my crap on the ground. In 1994, my brother, cousin Leon, and I were stopped at a middle-of-nowhere Border Station during a trip to Rocky Boy (for their pow wow). These bastards, totally went through our vehicle, threw everything on the ground, and then told us to re-pack the vehicle--racist, ego-trippin, bastards! Ok, sorry for straying....

....these Officers were atleast cordial. My vehicle wasn't left in a shambles. I didn't want to question them on why they stopped me, or go all up in their faces---I didn't want to ruin my schedule (or get arrested and sent to Guantanamo!).

Other than this stop, the rest of my trip was uneventful, and I made it to the rental office with 30min to spare! Another trip was complete.

Crowfoot & Blackfoot Crossing Monuments

2008-08-13T23:12:00.000-07:00

Blackfoot Crossing Monument

On my last day in Siksika, I tried to cram as much as I could into my last day. Something I wanted to do was head back toward Blackfoot Crossing (site of where Treaty 7 was signed & where the new Blackfoot Crossing Historical Park is). I wanted to visit some of the monuments for the signing of Treaty Seven as well as see some of the monuments related to one of our great chiefs, Chief Crowfoot.

In this area are several monuments/memorials. All of these monuments are situated upon the ridge overseeing the Bow River Valley and the spot where Treaty Seven was signed, Blackfoot Crossing. The first place I visited was the Crowfoot memorial. From the Crowfoot Memorial, one can see the "tipi top" of the Blackfoot Crossing Historical Park.

View from Crowfoot Memorial With BCHP In The Distance

The next monument I visited was the site of Chief Crowfoots last tipi campsite. This monument has a plaque and one can see the tipi ring (circular rock formation) of Chief Crowfoot's tipi.

Rocks Left At Crowfoot Tipi Monument

Blackfoot Crossing Monument Plaque

The road out to Blackfoot Crossing is named the One Gun Trail. Chief One Gun was another important Siksika Chief.

Nights In Calgary

2008-08-11T23:11:00.000-07:00

While up in Siksika, I also made some trips off the reserve to Calgary. Calgary is an hour west of Siksika Nation. During this trip I made my first visit to the "Red Mile". This is a stretch of 17th Avenue west of the Calgary Flame's Saddle Dome arena. This is where Flames fans go crazy when their beloved hockey team does well. This stretch of road is loaded w/ pubs, restaurants, and clubs.

A Calgary Community Garden

Also able to squeeze in a merengue/salsa lesson at the Don Quixote Tapas Bar. The lesson was taught by Marcos Ruvelo from Cuba. He was pretty funny, and taught us a cool merengue move (this took most of the class). We then tried dancing this merengue move to salsa. I must admit that I had some difficulties dancing this move in salsa. Oh well, had some fun.

Salsa at Don Quixote's

Spent a Monday night checking out some classic rock n' roll with: Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers. This was the first time Tom Petty and his crew ever made it to Calgary, and you could tell. The sold out crowd at the Saddle Dome went INSANE for Petty. I'm not a huge fan of Petty, but he played all the songs I knew and liked as well as a Traveling Wilbury's song. It was pretty awesome. Thanks for the tickets Trudy!

Had a mini-family reunion at Glenmore Park on one evening. Our "tribe", consisting of tons of kids, took over an area of the park and a few barbecues. On the menu....well, lots of meat. :) It was so good to see all of my cousins and their awesome kids (I can't begin to pretend to know the names of all the kids! It was so good to see so many Blackfoot kids.)

A Screamin' "10"

"10" and Mom

My last night was spent w/ my cousin Letty, and we checked out the T'suu Tina's new casino and had dinner there. After hanging out the casino, we caught a late movie, Pineapple Express. I knew I'd be hatin myself in the morning for the late night, but had a fun time.

Siksika Fair

2008-08-10T22:21:00.000-07:00

As I've mentioned before, I scheduled this trip around salsa! I have missed a few classes before, so I wanted to plan my next trip around salsa class (which is every Tues). My window appeared in August in that we had a week off in between Beginning Salsa III and Intermediate Salsa I. So, I took this opportunity to head up to Siksika and see everyone and hang out (and to see the newest member of the Yellow Fly family: "10" a.k.a. Mr. Tenisyn). This window happened to coincide with the weekend when our tribe (Siksika Nation) has it's annual pow wow: Siksika Nation Fair.

I wasn't arguing. I like to pow wow, and hanging out at our own pow wow was fine with me. This year's pow wow was from 8/7 - 8/10. The Host Drum for this year's pow wow was Black Lodge (a Blackfeet/Yakama drum from White Swan, WA). Black Lodge is an awesome drum group which has been around for decades. I listened to them when I started singing.

Black Lodge Singers

Pow Wow and Hand Games Arenas

After hanging out for a little, I then went into "drum-groupie" mode. I went around and listened to each drum as they each sang. After listening to all these awesome singers, I became ancy. I wanted to sing, or atleast dance. Unfortunately, I totally spaced and forgot to pack my Grass Dance outfit, so I was delegated to being a "drum groupie". Oh well--there's nothing wrong with listening to good singin'.

Now our pow wow happens to coincide with a new pow wow in Cree country, Enoch. They recently opened a casino, and their pow wow has become big. So, some drums and singers make their way up north during this weekend. Our pow wow still rocks though.

While checking out the pow wow, I also got to judge some of the Men's categories. There were some great dancers, and it was hard to choose my favorites. Seeing some old timers gettin' down out there, made me feel guilty for not dancing (lame, lame, lame of me!).

Warrior Tribe Singers

In Search Of The "Cabaret" and 49

Something I've never heard of for a "post pow wow" activity is a cabaret. I guess its a dance type get together with a DJ. This particular one was located off-reserve in the border town of Carseland. Made it out to this small town, but this little town was totally dead. We couldn't find anything! Ended up shooting pool at a local haunt, and that was fun.

Later in the evening (ummm...some time past 1am), we heard word of a 49 back on the rez. With this news and rough directions of where to go, we made our way in search of the 49. It sounded like the 49 was some where near where I went fly fishing the other day, on the West End, so I made my way over there. As we arrived to the area, it was pitch black and no one was around. Took this opportunity to hang out, and look at the sky. While standing on the prairie and looking at the sky, several meteors were spotted. I totally forgot that the Perseids meteor shower always peaks around the time of our pow wow. Very cool!

Raining Perseids

While watching meteor showers saw a caravan of headlights in the distance. They weren't coming toward us. Looks like I misjudged the rendezvous. Anyway, made our way to where everyone was. I must admit, I was a little wary, since our mode of transportation was the little Prius, and we were doing some off-roading. We made it though.

49 was alright. Felt pretty old, cuz there were lots of kids, boozin', and cow flops. We ended up staying for only a little while. And yes, the Prius made it out no worse for wear! :)

Hanging Out In Siksika

2008-08-08T23:02:00.000-07:00

Yellowfly Household

After the long travel day yesterday, and then staying up late to watch some NAIG(North American Indigenous Games) highlights, I got some decent sleep for my first real day in Siksika. I started the day out by going to the Deerfoot Sportsplex. After no exercise during the long drive yesterday, and a Tim Horton's donut & "coffee" drink, I felt the need to work off some calories, and this is where the Deerfoot came in. I think I've only been here once in my life (played a little bit of ball w/ my cousin Trudy----many many many years ago).
I walked in acting like I was a local, and asked "where's da gym"? I ended up going to the front office, and then was pointed to the gym. The exercise room was fairly small, but it had some nice equipment (treadmill, ellipticals, free weights, nautilus machine, etc.) I ended up getting a good 1+ hr in. I then checked out the rest of the Sportsplex. There is a big basketball gym, and there was also a hockey rink. I was totally surprised to find I was the only one using the facilities.

After showering up at Deerfoot, I made my way to the Band Office for some business---to pick up a couple of Distribution cheques which were waiting for me ($350, come to papa!). While there, I felt a little self-conscious driving my Prius around because the Band Office was packed and there were tons of people outside hanging out. I quickly felt better when another car stole all the attention---a bright blue Ferrari with the license plate: REVEAL. Wow, a Ferrari in Siksika! One tall and lanky Siksikaqwan walked by the Ferrari and said, "Welp, I need to move my car", he then laughed a smile at a friend nearby. I was hoping to cash my check, but the Bank was totallly packed--apparently, it was payday, and there was a line all the way down the hall at the bank. I canned that idea, and decided to make my way to the next place on my list: the Blackfoot Crossing Historical Park (see separate blog entry).

Other places of interest I frequented were Old Sun Community College. This building houses our college, post secondary administration, Aitsiniki media, the Reztaurant (run by my cousin Christopher Eagle Ribs and his wife Tanya), and a library. This is an old building and its roots stem from a much darker time when it was originally a residential school--religiously-run school (residential or "boarding" school) which was a place where kids had to go to school after being taken from their parents. Generations of Native Peoples in Canada and the United States were scarred by this governmental policy whose goal was to assimilate Natives into the mainstream society.

Ok, lets talk about fly fishing, sunsets, and food!
After the Saturday session at the pow wow, I snuck away for some fly fishing on the Bow. It was alright. It was a bit windy, and I was driving a Prius on dirt roads. I found a spot on the West End of the reserve a ways downstream of The Spring. I was able to wade out to a stone island and cast to a few different runs, but to no avail. Didn't see anything. I did manage to pick a few choke cherries though--yummm. Just missed the saskatoon season--oh well.

One mission I was given was to get an auntie (Catherine Sleigh) to make some of her world famous bannock, a Blackfoot delicacy. Catherine didn't disappoint--Mmmmmm!

Bannock Bread

Blackfoot Crossing Historical Park

2008-08-08T22:20:00.000-07:00

The Blackfoot Crossing Historical Park (BCHP) is fairly new and has been open for just a year or so. This is Siksika's newest endeavor into the museum business, and by first impression, it looks like a good start. The BCHP building is architecturally stunning. The building site is along the Bow River Valley near the historic Blackfoot Crossing site (where the Treaty 7 was signed). The building is perched along a ridge of the valley, and cuts into part of the canyon wall, and yields a great view of the river and valley. The design is culturally unique in that it employs many Siksika features in the building structure. The building is laid out like half of a big teepee, with the other half open and facing the valley. Large glass windows offer awesome views.

No "Indian discounts" for admission here. I didn't mind though. It was only $10, and I was supporting a local endeavor for our people. I feel bad, and have to apologize now, but as soon as I entered the museum, I totally went into tourist-mode and had my camera holstered and ready to go. I also asked lots of questions about the place. After the initial adjustments, I then checked out the museum.

I was impressed. This was definitely a world-class tourist destination. No punches were pulled, and you can see that in "most" of the museum. Being nitt-picky as can sometimes be, I did see a few cosmetic items which could be improved. I noticed some dust, dirt, bugs at certain areas. I also saw that some of the painting and dry wall looked to be unfinished at some places. Ok, that's it for that, they were very minor, and can be easily fixed.

I ended up doing a quick scan of the museum (which is on the bottom floor---no photos allowed), and then headed upstairs to the theater--a show was starting at 12:30pm. This was a movie about the Siksika and was very good and professional-looking.

After the movie, I decided to grab lunch at the cafeteria. I had a bison burger and fries with gravy---it was a huge meal and I couldn't finish it. To work off some calories, I then went for a little "hike". Outside the museum is an eco-walk down the hill from the museum. There are a couple of things to check out along the path: "authentic tee pee" lodging, choke cherries, and a dig where mud housing was found.

After the hike, I then went back into the museum (to cool off first) to check out the museum more thoroughly). There were quite a few exhibits and I checked out most of them. i must admit that I didn't read everything. I think I'd need more than a few hours to go through everything. I mainly chcked out most of the exhibits, and then watched several of the video presentations. After checking out the museum I then made my way up to the gift shop and dropped some more i/do?\ bumop (money) on various things.

A couple of other things, there is a library on site at the museum, but it was closed. I would definitely like to come back and check this out. Like I said earlier, one other feature which is offered is sleeping in an "authentic teepee". I don't think I'd do this, but FYI, the rates are something like $370!

All in all, I liked the BCHP, and would like to make it back and spend more time to thoroughly explore what is offered. I hope it continues to flourish and help spread the word about us Siksika people.

Driving To Siksika Nation

2008-08-07T22:20:00.000-07:00

Got on the road at 7:30 Mountain Time (6:30Pacific), and escaped the Tri-Cities with no issues. I was on my way in a rented Prius! I was totally stoked to be driving this vehicle. Gas-wise I would be saving a few hundred dollars with the ~2000 miles I'd be driving, so even w/ the rental fee, this turned out to be a good deal---besides, I can see if I want to get one of these things! :)

Have been excited for this trip. It was sort of last minute, but I'm glad I was able to finagle a trip up---it had been almost 3 years since I'd last been up (I know, shame, shame!). It's funny, but the reason why I took this trip this particular week was not because of our tribe's big pow wow (Siksika Fair)---it was because there was no salsa class! Jeez, I'm a nerd. I plan my life around salsa! Could be worse, eh?

Well, my iPod was connected and I was in for a 11-12hr drive. No major issues for the drive up to the border. Once at the border, there was a line. The wait ended up being around 30min. Wasn't too bad, cuz I just coasted in my Prius---some Harley riders awkwardly tried rolling their bikes (to save gas I assume).

Once past the border, made it to Cranbrook for a bite to eat at A&W. Fries 'n gravy, baby!! Ah yes, I am now in Canada! :) Thought of stopping here for my first gas fill-up of the day, but I had a 1/4-tank left. So I decided to press on to the city of Fernie in the Rockies. I ended up getting there w/ no problems (so that was about 430miles on my first tank of gas!!). Crazy! I filled up (only about 8-9 gallons!!), and then continued on....

**well, I had to stop at Tim Horton's for an ice cappuccino (lame) & a long john donut (yummy).**

Made it through the Rockies, Peigan Reserve, and Fort MacCleod, and then I started getting tired. So, I ended up pulling over at a rest stop. It was a nice area along the Little Bow River. I ended up walking around, taking pictures, doing jumping jacks, and dancing the Running Man (just kidding!). This ended up doing the trick, and I was able to drive the last 90 min back to Siksika with no issues.

Tiff, Trudy, and 10 were at the Indigenous Games in Victoria. Hung out w/ my uncle Sherman, and chilled for the rest of the night.

Made it!

Little Bow River

Mt Aix and Dogged

2008-08-03T21:57:00.000-07:00

Went on first real cascade hike of the summer. Would have loved to do an overnighter, but decided to make it a day hike. Knew this would be a big slap in the face with a round trip distance of 12 miles and 4000-ft of elevation change, but it was such a nice day, and it WAS my first real hike of the summer.

Left the Tri-Cities around 7:30 and basically left the Aix trailhead around 10:00. Before heading up, we were greeted by a Ranger. She was swarmed by my two dogs. She just wanted to remind us that there are no camp fires and that the fire hazard was very high. She was really nice, and we ended up picking her brain about the hike (I hadn't done it in many years). She said it shouldn't be bad and there would be fifteen switchbacks we'd have to contend with, sounding like she was trying to scare us. I was a little scared.

We hit the trail--my two short-legged corgis and a couple of co-worker friends. Conditions were great. Wasn't too cold or too hot (although I always sweat even if its -30!). Within the first 10 minutes we hit our first switchback, and another, and another.... Honestly, we hit 15 switchbacks within the first 30min or so--easily. Man! Ranger Lady, why are you messing w/ our heads?!

For much of the first hour you walk through a forested area, and cross a few springs /creeks. It was somewhat ho-hum. But within the first hour or so, you start getting little windows between the trees which yield views of "the big one", Mt Rainier. As I said the weather was awesome, and the visibility was infinite. We had great views of Rainier.

Kept on hiking and the higher and higher we got the trees started thinning out. This yielded open meadows which were blanketed with light purples, yellows, oranges, and bright reds---wild flowers were doing their thing. The approach to treeline and the opening up of the scenery is when the hike became really interesting.
Reached Nelson Ridge around noon-ish (hike up wasn't too bad). Now if we were doing an over-nighter, I'd probably camp somewhere around here. Camped here once before and there was snow, but w/ the weather like it was, it would have been paradise camping up here. You are at a bit of a "crossroads", and can look down into several valleys by taking a few steps in a few directions. Up here we were able to see three volcanoes: Rainier, St. Helens, & Adams. Would liked to have seen a few more (Hood or Baker maybe?), but they were elusive.
Saw a group of fellow day-hikers who were getting ready to head down after making the final trek to Aix. So, we had a bit of a hike left to get out up to Aix. The two-leggers weren't too beat, but the four-leggers were looking a bit fatigued. We had a quick snack break, and then decided to head to Aix.

At the base of the Aix peak, the climb up the peak looked fairly craggily, and it was decided to have the dogs stay put. We then flipped coins to see who would scramble up, and then went for it. The climb up wasn't too bad, in fact it was pretty fun. The views were awesome. Once up, stood on the highest point and took a panoramic view of the mountains. There's a survey marker up on top on this rock. There is also evidence of Fire Lookout (rock steps, cabling, etc.).

It was around 2pm at this point. Decided to start the trek down. Unfortunately, one of my dogs went into "mule mode" and wasn't having it (the other dog was tired, but he'd atleast move. Had to carry one of these guys down. It was totally my fault---this was the longest day hike they'd ever been on by far.

The hike down was fairly uneventful, other than carrying a dog. My knees didn't like the hike down either. For next time, I think an escalator should be installed to make the hike up all-around more easier. Just jokin....but I'm sure Gomez could go for an escalator next time! ;)

Trains, Small Cars, & Bicycles

2008-07-11T17:37:00.000-07:00

I'm a complete newbie to international travel, but after traveling to South American and northern Europe, one notices things.

With $5/gallon gas, our huge gas guzzlers (I'm guilty here), and collapsing economy it was refreshing to see what the U.S. can aspire to.

In Europe the infrastructure is totally different and more catered to handled public transportation. Cities have a more centralized feeling to them, and because cities having a clearly central hub and everyone living close to this center, public transportation is so much more useful and efficient. Buses, trains, and subways are truly more practical and do-able options.

More centralized-structured cities also make biking and walking easier. In Amsterdam for example, bicyclists clearly were the lords of the roads. This leads to another difference between the U.S. and the world. Overall, people are just more healthy--obesity isn't the fashion.

Another noticeable transportation trait is the lack of huge gas guzzlers on the road. The streets in other countries are miraculously void of huge gas guzzlers. You see tons of smaller aerodynamic, and new vehicles. Perhaps gas prices twice as high as the States helped push them to this state. If that's the case, bring on $10/gallon gas prices here!

Clearly America is behind the world, but we have many examples to follow.

Homeward Bound: CPH -> LHR(for a long time!) -> ORD -> SEA (50 Hours Of Traveling, Baby!)

2008-07-10T16:59:00.000-07:00

Started off the day checking out of our "5-star" hostel: The Dan Hostel @ Copenhagen City. Asia and Katie headed out earlier to explore more of Denmark with family. I left Ari and Jeremy (they wanted to see more of Copenhagen), to head to the airport to see if I could work any magic and get out of my extremely long trip back home (a whopping 35 hrs with an overnight layover in London). Let's see if my my "eyelash batting" can be put to use! ;)

Well, in a nutshell....I wasn't able to finagle anything! Couldn't do anything in Copenhagen, so spent about 5hrs at that airport. When I pulled into Heathrow, there were no more flights to Chicago, so I was doomed to hang out in London. Well, it wasn't that dire. I made an evening of it.

I ended up taking the Picadilly Tube to the Holborn station, and went to the British musuem (I went to the British Museum on one of the first days of my trip, but I wasn't able to take any pictures of the truly amazing building, because my camera battery was dead! So, I made a trip here just so I could snap some pics).

While taking the Tube in, I saw that there was a Brazilian band and samba lessons and DJ at a Brazilian club near the Holborn station. So, after the British museum, grabbed a bite (Subway), and then went to the club, Guanabara.

What a place. If you like all things Brazil, like me, you'd be in wanderlust here. This place is huge. They have a juice bar downstairs, as well as a listening stations for Brazilian albums, and they also sell Brazilian CDs as well. Up a few flights of stairs you enter the bar/eating area/dancefloor/stage. Man, this place was hoppin! I got there before 9pm, so there was no

cover. A DJ was spinning some chill Brazilian tunes and people were chillin to the Brazilian vibe. Shortly afterwards, three women took to the stage and started teaching the crowd some basic samba moves. At one point the DJ played a song w/ straight-samba-drums, and one of the instructors totally jammed. She moved her booty and legs so fast and to the beat--it was amazing.

The 8-piece band, Mandinga then hit the stage. They were pretty cool, and played some cool covers ranging from (The Pink Panther theme song, to Bob Marley's Could You Be Loved, to Stevie Wonder's Master Blaster). They got the crowd jammin--no doubt. I admired from afar; at one point with a fruity caiparinha in hand.

At around 11pm I split,and then went to catch a train to head back to my lodging for the night: The Heathrow Airport's tiled floor. Made it to Heathrow around midnight. This is where I stay until my 7:55am flight--oh fun!Arriving at Heathrow Around Midnight

I ended up not getting too much sleep at Heathrow. I got on a computer for a couple of hours (and wrote the bulk of this blog entry), and then after that I joined the rest of the zombies and walked the hallways of Heathrow looking for a place to crash--finding a nice couch was hard! I ended up finding a nice couch (w/ no pesky arm rests to prevent laying down) eventually. I laid down and tried sleeping, but to no avail. I ended up being too cold! I busted out a newspaper and tried to totally "hobo"---used one section of newspaper as a "blanket", and laid another section on my head. It wasn't enough though. I just couldn't sleep.

So, I slept-walked a bit more. I eventually found a carpeted floor upstairs in this remote section of the airport. It was almost 5am. I laid out for a bit, but then an employee showed up, "Are you waiting for me?"

"Huuuuuh", I mumbled, and then went on my way. By this time, the ticket counter was open, so I went and got my ticket. Boarded my plane later, watched the movie 21 while traveling over the Atlantic and kept traveling home. It was nice to be back in the NW.

Seatac Airport: Home!!

My bro picked me up from SeaTac, and we caught up a bit. I was hella-tired, but I wanted to hang. We went to one of our haunts in Edmonds, Rory's and had some beer and ribs **yum!!**

So much happened since that one night when I was at my brother's and I had all my crap laid out in my room. I had no idea what I was going to be in for. That mystery is always a good feeling. It can be addicting. I just had an awesome adventure, but it's always good to come home!

....until the next adventure.

Christiana, and Last Day In Copenhagen

2008-07-09T17:44:00.000-07:00

Our last day consisted of me trying to get over my cold...apparently the stuff I took yesterday worked cuz I was feeling much better. Cheers to the quickest cold in history!

We started off the day by heading to an area of Copenhagen known as Christiana. This is an old military barracks which was occupied by some "free-thinking" people decades ago with the hopes of making some sort of hippie utopia. Sounds good, right? This was our destination.

I had thoughts of tons of hippies and women wearing flower crowns, and all that happy, happy, joy, joyness. From what I saw it looked more like a weed haven. You weren't allowed to take pictures, and it was somewhat depressing-looking. It was different though, and in that respect it was nice to experience. Hey, where else can you get hemp beer?

After Christiana we headed back toward Nyhavn, and walked along the canal and all the cool scenery. We'd had a long day, so after all the walking we headed back to the hostel and hung out a bit.

Jeremy/Ari went and checked out a place that wifi access (it also happened to be a pub!). This was a pub across the canal from our hostel. I was on a different mission: to snag a City Bike. These are bikes which are chained throughout the city and are basically FREE to ride. You put in 20 Kroner into a slot and the lock comes off, you ride till your heart's content, find a designated spot to chain the bike, chain bike and watch your 20 Kroner fall back out of the slot. What a cool deal! Unfortunately, it was the peak of tourist season, so these bikes were a bit hard to come by. I walked all over the city to find one, but had no luck, but as I arrived back at our hostel, there was a bike right in front of our hostel! I snagged it and rode across the bridge to Jeremy, Ari, and also Katie. They were hanging outside the pub: Cafe Langebro. I showed them my new ride.

The bikes are alright, definitely not something one would want to climb L'Alpe d' Huez. The tires are solid rubber, and the wheels are solid (vs. spoked), and for some reason the bike was a bit hard to handle....I wonder why?! It didn't matter though, it was nice to have wheels, and to do more exploring.

I wasn't too brave. I basically cruised around places with low car traffic. I ended up driving out to the Little Mermaid again, and snapped a few more pics. I then just rode around the city a bit, and got a bit of a workout. I wish we rode bikes more. You can definitely cover more ground---oh well, next time! :)

After the bike ride, we all hung out at the hostel one last time. This was the last "real night" of our trip for Ari, Jeremy, and myself. We went out on the town a little. We went to Cafe Langebro, and had a pint and hung out for a while. We also went and checked out a jazz show which was outside along the canal. I can't remember the name of the singer, but she sang some very good music to watch a sunset to.

We then went back over the canal and headed to Rädhuspladsen, which is basically a big open square downtown. There are some buildings swarmed w/ all sorts of neon (think Times Square).

While in this square we had one of those "W.T.F" moments. We happened upon a crowd of people. We were wondering what they were checkin out--street performers can always be fun to check out. As we approached the crowd we were caught by surprise by what we saw: a pair of dudes dressed up in Native regalia dancing around w/ flutes, and with New-Age-y music in the background! Ari was able to determine that the music they were "dancing" to was the soundtrack to the movie Last of the Mohicans. I personally didn't know what to feel. Ari wanted to ask them what tribe they were. Why were they out here dancing like monkeys with a cup in their hand. I guess people have to make a living, but this just felt wrong. There were a few drunk Danes who were dancing to their own beat (and looked just about as good as these two "performers"). It felt like watching a car wreck. After I pushed my mouth back up (from being open-mouthed in amazement and confusion), we ended up splitting and not wasting our time trying to figure out what the deal was---only in Copenhagen!

Roskilde, Vikings, and Being Sick cough cough

2008-07-08T17:43:00.000-07:00

Ari & Jeremy are the fuzzy people

Our second day in Copenhagen (my 21st day of the trip), and this is the first day when my body failed me--I was sick. Let's go back a little....

Our second day had us getting up bright and early to catch a train out to the town of Roskilde (where they just had that big music festival) to go to the Viking Ship Museum. Roskilde is a small Danish town surrounded by some nice country. The town centre area was very nice and inviting, but we had a short walk ahead of us down to the nearby water to go to the museum.

At some point during this walk, feelings of weakness & soreness hit me like a train. I immediately felt really tired and sick. It sucked.

We made it to the Museum, and I did what I could to stay with it and be a tourist. There were a few movies about the museum and some recent viking ship trip/reenactments. In one of the theaters I laid down on the floor and assumed the fetal position while watching the cool movie about a recent voyage made on a Viking ship from Denmark to Ireland.

After the museum we had some pizza, and then took a train back to Copenhagen. After this, I don't remember much. I think I spent a good part of the day bedridden. Asia had some cold stuff, so I took a cocktail of these medicines. Miraculously, I started to feel better by the end of the day.

Still Alive! ;)

2008-07-08T16:13:00.000-07:00

Haven't been posting for the last few days, because internet cafes have been few and far between in Amsterdam and now Copenhaven. So, have 2 more nights in Copenhaven and then I'm US-bound.

Have had fun. Amsterdam was a blur, and Copenhaven has been great---just very expensive!

will try and post pics and write more later! Ok, time for bed,

c.