March 19, 2007 by Brian.

After spending some time on the road by myself, it was sure nice to have a couple of good friends out on the road with me. During what amounted to a week for Steve Morrissette and a week and a half for Teague O’Meara, the three amigos had some great times and visited some really great places, one of them being the City of San Francisco and Alcatraz, otherwise known as “The Rock.” Here are a couple of photos of my good friends Teague (left) and Steve (right).

Here is another photo with San Francisco as a backdrop.

Alcatraz itself is a really interesting place to visit. It is frightening to imagine the prospect of being imprisoned there. We caught the prison on a nice day, but most often it is a cold, damp, steel bar hotel that must have been horribly uncomfortable for the inmates. To add insult to injury, many of the cells had views of the City of San Francisco, so the prisoners had a direct perspective of what the would probably never experience again, freedom.

Alcatraz, beyond its image as an unescapable, intimidating prison, is also an interesting place to visit for its long and diverse history. It was once a strategic military point of defense and after the prison was closed, the island was taken over by American Indians wishing to make a point about the U. S. Government’s treatment of their people. An excellent audio tour guides the visitor through, and I would recommend this interesting island to anyone visiting to San Francisco.

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February 9, 2007 by Brian.

Tucked between a few of the great peaks of the Cascades and the docile, cool Puget Sound, a sleepy town hides one of the hottest after-hours clubs in the world. One would not know it by walking the streets. On the way into downtown on Commercial Avenue, an arch over the road announces that one is entering tourist country. Home to flocks of retirees, throngs of refinery workers, a handful of fishermen and assorted seamen, and those who serve them, admittedly Anacortes, Washington does not have the sparkle and splendor of a town like Minneapolis or Seattle. Around a few corners, one finds a decaying harbor haunted by the ghost of past prosperity, spooky murals painted by a marginal talented and profoundly disturbed local artist, a ferry terminal that makes Anacortes the gateway to the many spectacular San Juan Islands, a bowling alley that serves a damned good breakfast, and a curious veteran memorial park adorned with a cannon and intricate stone work.

In addition to the crashing of waves and the occasional ferry horn, visitors may also hear the distant roar of living history. Flying out of the Naval Air Station in nearby Oak Harbor, the P-3C Orion stalks the seas near and far, keeping tabs on the world’s submarines. First delivered to the Navy in the early 1960s, the P-3 proved so useful that it continues to be integral to our navy five decades later. It will be replaced in the coming years, but for now one can still spot them roaring four propellers wide across these grey skies. One of the planes still being flown was delivered in 1969. Yes, this airplane first left the tarmac when dirty hippies were smoking joints and dropping acid on Haight-Ashbury Street. Our navy’s aircrews brave the dangers of flying these moving museums without complaint, ensuring that some Captain Communism doesn’t nuzzle up to our coasts in a stealthy old diesel sub.

One gallant P-3 tactical officer, Lt. David “DJ” Litrun, risks his life daily aboard these ancient birds. Unsatisfied with the quaint, tame nature of the night life in “A-Town,” he took it upon himself to establish The Orange Room. When one arrives, he is guided in the front door by the port and starboard entry lights. Once inside, a warm orange glow envelops guests from strategically placed lamps and holiday lights. Your host will serve a visitor a tasty beverage, serenade him with a song, and challenge him with a lively political, historical, semantic discourse. Unfortunately, The Orange Room is located in Anacortes for a limited time: it is slated to move location to Halifax, Nova Scotia in a few months. For now though, one can still raise a glass with Lt. Litrun. You might even run into a few more of the Navy’s finest, including, Duffy, Sugar, Tree, Polish Pistol, Swede, and, if you can handle it, Manlove.

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January 19, 2007 by Brian.

So the part of the subject line in quotations is the motto of South Dakota; I have stopped in Deadwood for the night and thought that the motto would be appropriate for inclusion. I began my day today refreshed after a reasonable bedtime, which concluded a very nice evening with my cousin Patrick, his girlfriend Jill, and my Aunt Shirley and my Uncle Dave, who also happens to be my godfather. We had some Pizza at Liugi’s in River Falls, Wisconsin and followed it up with some beer and conversation. Since Patrick is responsible for the math proficiency of the youth of tomorrow, however, we couldn’t really put any sheets out to the wind. Still, it was great to see my cousin and the family again, and I look forward to seeing them on my way back through in May.

The day started out fairly cold and windy, but the sun was shining.

I backtracked a little through the small highways of southeastern Minnesota, until I got to I-35 and then to I-90 and I was on my way. It is not exactly an exciting drive, but the great plains do have their humble charm on a sunny day. The motto of South Dakota makes a little more sense when one is looking out for miles and miles of windswept grasslands and the sky is so large and so blue that for a second, one thinks of little else but the grandure of it all.

Still, it gets a little tedious after awhile . . . say five hours. It got dark before I could get to Mount Rushmore and Badlands  National Park, so I decided to head into Deadwood and get a hotel room. Maybe I will even try a few hands of black jack. I wanted to get a picture of sunset over Deadwood, but it got dark, so all I could get was a twilight snapshot. It will have to do. I will have more after some hiking and sightseeing tomorrow.

Good night and good luck . . . to me.

Posted in Friends and Family, Travels in Natural Areas | 3 Comments »