Today we went to the lava beds in California!
The caverns there were made by lava flowing in tubes, and a sign told us there are 777 discovered caverns, as of January 2011. That's a lot! There is a loop you can drive with areas to pull off to see some of the major named caves. Ones like Hercules Leg, Lava Brook, Labyrinth and Catacomb. The first one we could walk into, but most have a steep stair going down into them. So steep that you sort of duck between or under rocks looming an inch past the railing. Sometimes it pays to be small! I would go down them facing out.
Going into them is sort of annoying. There is sunlight, and then none, and your eyes can't adjust that fast. Mine can't. It seems like your flashlight is a useless gesture, and you pick your way slowly and flash it around a lot to try and keep track of the floor as well as the ceiling. They sell hard hats for $6 at the visitor's center. Flashlights are free but need to be returned. If they don't get all the flashlights, they know someone is still out there, so its sort of nice that way, even if you don't have to take their lights.
The rock was all liquid at one point, but its not smooth like you sometimes see in tv shows or movies. Apparently as the surface cools, the inside is still liquid and moving, and is constantly breaking up the smooth surface so that the rock is all jagged and torn up. The ceiling and walls of the lava tubes are melted, like millions of tiny stalactites or candle drips. A hardhat is not a bad idea with all those sharp points hanging around. They aren't brittle. It's really rock, and I couldn't break off even tiny drips from rocks which were already on the ground (I wouldn't mess up the actual ceilings, in case I could break one- but I needn't have worried!). Also, the rock seeps water. There aren't actual drips usually, though if you stood still you could hear some drops, just millions of tiny beads of water clinging everywhere like diamonds in a flashlight beam. Combined with the yellow mineral traces left all over, we thought it was fool's gold at first. It's gorgeous.
The footing is sometimes smooth, and sometimes craggy and more like climbing. You can walk in a lot of places, but you also duck down a lot (even little ol' me) and the more extensive caverns require duck-walking or even an outright crawl to get into the deeper parts. We did a lot of the duck-walking and a few times we crawled, but you'd want more than just jeans for anything major. Sometimes the floor has as many sharp jagged points as the ceiling, which is to say ouch!
We're told the temperature of the caverns stays mostly the same, so that now they feel cool, while in the winter they'd feel warm. I want to come back in the winter-time. I feel like I should bring some knitted socks though, because they don't have toe seams, and having my feet move around in my shoes the little bit they can made me wish for better socks. I was also lucky not to step in any puddles, which sometimes were there waiting for an unsuspecting foot. Seems like they teamed with the low ceilings so you'd be more worried about banging your head and less concerned with feet, hehe. I actually only banged my head once, and that very lightly because I knew the ceiling was low and right there, but I did need my light shining down at the rocks for my foot because my other foot was losing its place. But only once! Several times we laughed when Val's helmet let out a screech as it touched the ceiling.
We joked about dungeons and dragons a lot. Anytime we came to a hole which might be a tunnel or a tight spot we'd say "send in the halfling!". They are only 3 feet tall. I did, being the smallest, get to scout out a few choices. We found one nice chamber which would make good living quarters with a possible chimney vent, and a separate area for sleeping. Neat! We rested there a bit, because it was at the end of one route we'd been following. Most of the caverns would end and you'd come out the way you went in.
After a whole morning of exploring, I think five hours, we had lunch that we'd packed- roast beef sandwiches and cookies, and drove home.
I like it here!
Sunday, July 17, 2011
Thursday, July 14, 2011
Yay bowling in Oregon!
So, we just got back from the coolest bowling alley ever. I have no complaints. None. We even had our lane glitch once and a guy came out and sat on the swing arm and fiddled with something, which was highly entertaining as our friend's dad was miming throwing a ball at that moment. Would have hit the guy in the butt, hehe. But after a minute of flailing legs, all was well.
They, like most alleys I'm sure, do the rock'n bowl thing. Only they do it well, unlike mom's local alley (not mine anymore, yay!) The Epicenter has blacklight fluorescents at the edge of each regular light, so the effect is bright and even. The alleys are a strange color, so that under the light they look ghostly white. It's a really cool effect to have your lane glowing. The gutters have the usual cap over the ball return chute, only these have lights set in every few feet, so they have nifty patterns going on if you look out over the whole scene. They aren't bright to be distracting either. The music I think was great. I found myself moving a whole bunch- practically dancing at some parts and at the very least bouncing or tapping toes to most else. It was a great mix of music, lots of songs I knew but not heavy on rock or rap, or any one genre.
Some weird looking teenagers were in abundance. One girl had pierced her pudgy cheeks, it looked very odd. I'm not sure if she had dimples or if the depressions were from the piercings. They weren't spaced evenly and were lopsided, anyway. Weird.
I threw a 13 pound ball! I had trouble keeping it secure in my fingers, but I could aim really well with it. It started hurting my ring finger and when we found a pink 8lb ball with nice smooth and well-spaced holes- I nearly fell over. It was so light! And boy could I wing it down the lane. Can't control it worth a darn, but I was getting better. Jamie started fooling around with our friend's brother's ball so I started throwing left for giggles. Given more time I'd have gotten good with it again, but it takes a bit of practice to control my left arm well enough to aim.
I've decided I need my own ball, eventually. But I'll make my own bag. No way am I messing with that silly ring like in the bottom of Jamie's- I'll get some foam and make it a little nest and dare it to get lopsided in there.
So I am beyond thrilled with our bowling alley. Score another point for Klamath's awesomeness.
(So the bad part about being on the west coast at 9pm in the coolest bowling alley in the world- its midnight for them and therefore rude to text your family and share this exciting news with them when the impulse strikes you.)
They, like most alleys I'm sure, do the rock'n bowl thing. Only they do it well, unlike mom's local alley (not mine anymore, yay!) The Epicenter has blacklight fluorescents at the edge of each regular light, so the effect is bright and even. The alleys are a strange color, so that under the light they look ghostly white. It's a really cool effect to have your lane glowing. The gutters have the usual cap over the ball return chute, only these have lights set in every few feet, so they have nifty patterns going on if you look out over the whole scene. They aren't bright to be distracting either. The music I think was great. I found myself moving a whole bunch- practically dancing at some parts and at the very least bouncing or tapping toes to most else. It was a great mix of music, lots of songs I knew but not heavy on rock or rap, or any one genre.
Some weird looking teenagers were in abundance. One girl had pierced her pudgy cheeks, it looked very odd. I'm not sure if she had dimples or if the depressions were from the piercings. They weren't spaced evenly and were lopsided, anyway. Weird.
I threw a 13 pound ball! I had trouble keeping it secure in my fingers, but I could aim really well with it. It started hurting my ring finger and when we found a pink 8lb ball with nice smooth and well-spaced holes- I nearly fell over. It was so light! And boy could I wing it down the lane. Can't control it worth a darn, but I was getting better. Jamie started fooling around with our friend's brother's ball so I started throwing left for giggles. Given more time I'd have gotten good with it again, but it takes a bit of practice to control my left arm well enough to aim.
I've decided I need my own ball, eventually. But I'll make my own bag. No way am I messing with that silly ring like in the bottom of Jamie's- I'll get some foam and make it a little nest and dare it to get lopsided in there.
So I am beyond thrilled with our bowling alley. Score another point for Klamath's awesomeness.
(So the bad part about being on the west coast at 9pm in the coolest bowling alley in the world- its midnight for them and therefore rude to text your family and share this exciting news with them when the impulse strikes you.)
Tuesday, July 5, 2011
Hmm?
Trying to decide if I should keep this blog or not. A few people have told me they'll read my emails, but not the blog. Which then defeats the whole purpose of the blog. It's not that difficult to blind carbon copy to everyone when you're all organized into groups already anyway. Friends, Family, Co-Workers. Done.
Actually you all on my lists should have just gotten a July 4th booklet update :)
So, should I kill the blog? Or keep it?
Actually you all on my lists should have just gotten a July 4th booklet update :)
So, should I kill the blog? Or keep it?
Tuesday, May 3, 2011
Happy Tuesday 5/3/11
I know I haven't written in my blog lately. I haven't really used my computer that much, which means no typing.
I've been relatively busy at work, which might be why I feel like doing very little at home. Apparently springtime is the time to do all your fieldtrips. Both the highschool shuttle and my 4th graders have been shaking things up. The highschoolers, being a sort of outdoor dropout prevention course, have gone to a "rock quarry" where they dig up and do things with coquina rock. They've also been to the water treatment plant which I may I have mentioned in an earlier update. Tomorrow is the rescheduled trip to a land fill, which some 4th-graders will get to attend also to make a solid group. The group can't be too large, however, so most will be left out. This is if plans have not changed- perhaps it will only be the older students now. My paycheck was a nice surprise.
Vehicles are still not repaired, but its not too big of a worry at this point. A transmission has been found, and perhaps that man would like the truck, and they will work out a trade. Jamie knows more about all that, of course. We're a month away from the big move and I can feel the excitement all the time now. Not only will it be a great big road trip that I'll get to visit Jessie AND our Wacraft family, but soon we'll be near our friends to play with in real life as well as in the game. And there will be new places to visit, a new town to memorize, new people to meet. New weather to adjust to, I'm sure. The few days of very high temperatures mixed with high humidity had me longing for the days to rush by faster. The storm brought a slight round of cool again, but its fading very fast.
We went fishing with mom for her birthday. I got 3 things! I got a very pretty little fish (with many many rows of wicked teeth inside!) with yellow and blue edges, he had some trouble getting back off the hook. We used live shrimp (scrimps!) and they are so much better than the goo worms I remember. I also had a crab that wanted to swing in atmosphere before getting back in the water. Lastly, I got a skinny little brown speckle fish, with wicked teeth again. Sea fishies don't mess around. Jamie got a crab also, and a few rock croppings which had him diving out in the depths to unsnag the hook. We both burned in odd places. Jamie had remembered to get sprayed with sunscreen, but before he took off his tank shirt. He burned from shoulder to shoulder on his back. I was sprayed in my swimsuit, but had been standing in water already. I burned on the lower half on the sides of my hips and butt. Badly. Sleeping flat on my back is NOT comfortable. I think tonight will be fine, as I was able to very carefully turn onto a side and stay there- if I didn't move to change the pressure. Jamie said he was better already and he slept on his back last night. I only remember because I cuddled him carefully on my side at one point. I got very sleepy very fast after the all-day field trip to St. Augustine with the 4th-graders.
Right, yesterday's field trip. I got to ride a trolley train! We had a narrated little tour riding around, went inside a gorgeous huge church with a sad story behind its 361-day construction, and rode the trains to the fort, then to the playground because the times had been mixed up, so we had lunch first before walking back to the fort for a tour of that. I'd have liked to stay longer, but time flies when you're having fun. We ended up being 15 minutes late back to school, which meant to kids basically ran in to grab their backpacks and some ran back out to ride the bus home.
I've still been riding my bike, but field trips do cut into pedaling time. Not that I'm complaining, mind you. I rode to the library and a doctor's appointment, rode the eastern section of trail and managed to catch the city workers relaying pavement markings. The truck lays down a flat ribbon which is more of a like a rubberized coating than actual paint, and a spray of powder which is actually tiny glass beads goes over the top inches after that to make it reflective. The yellow lines are actually incredibly bright and leave afterimages in my eyes as I go down the road. After a week these seem less noticable. Perhaps its because of the old lines being so faded that it simply unusual so I noticed the new bright lines more. We also got brand new reflectors on that road which flash like diamonds if you catch them at just the right time when the sun is right. Its weird the things I notice sometimes and the things which strike me as pretty.
Speaking of striking, I almost hit a turkey this morning. Huge bird tried flying across the road, and he made it, but only just. I thought for a second that I'd have turkey for dinner- it was a big enough bird that I'd have considered learning how to clean a bird in a hurry if the bus nailed him/it. Like I said, he made it. Scared me though.
That's all I guess. Happy Tuesday!
I've been relatively busy at work, which might be why I feel like doing very little at home. Apparently springtime is the time to do all your fieldtrips. Both the highschool shuttle and my 4th graders have been shaking things up. The highschoolers, being a sort of outdoor dropout prevention course, have gone to a "rock quarry" where they dig up and do things with coquina rock. They've also been to the water treatment plant which I may I have mentioned in an earlier update. Tomorrow is the rescheduled trip to a land fill, which some 4th-graders will get to attend also to make a solid group. The group can't be too large, however, so most will be left out. This is if plans have not changed- perhaps it will only be the older students now. My paycheck was a nice surprise.
Vehicles are still not repaired, but its not too big of a worry at this point. A transmission has been found, and perhaps that man would like the truck, and they will work out a trade. Jamie knows more about all that, of course. We're a month away from the big move and I can feel the excitement all the time now. Not only will it be a great big road trip that I'll get to visit Jessie AND our Wacraft family, but soon we'll be near our friends to play with in real life as well as in the game. And there will be new places to visit, a new town to memorize, new people to meet. New weather to adjust to, I'm sure. The few days of very high temperatures mixed with high humidity had me longing for the days to rush by faster. The storm brought a slight round of cool again, but its fading very fast.
We went fishing with mom for her birthday. I got 3 things! I got a very pretty little fish (with many many rows of wicked teeth inside!) with yellow and blue edges, he had some trouble getting back off the hook. We used live shrimp (scrimps!) and they are so much better than the goo worms I remember. I also had a crab that wanted to swing in atmosphere before getting back in the water. Lastly, I got a skinny little brown speckle fish, with wicked teeth again. Sea fishies don't mess around. Jamie got a crab also, and a few rock croppings which had him diving out in the depths to unsnag the hook. We both burned in odd places. Jamie had remembered to get sprayed with sunscreen, but before he took off his tank shirt. He burned from shoulder to shoulder on his back. I was sprayed in my swimsuit, but had been standing in water already. I burned on the lower half on the sides of my hips and butt. Badly. Sleeping flat on my back is NOT comfortable. I think tonight will be fine, as I was able to very carefully turn onto a side and stay there- if I didn't move to change the pressure. Jamie said he was better already and he slept on his back last night. I only remember because I cuddled him carefully on my side at one point. I got very sleepy very fast after the all-day field trip to St. Augustine with the 4th-graders.
Right, yesterday's field trip. I got to ride a trolley train! We had a narrated little tour riding around, went inside a gorgeous huge church with a sad story behind its 361-day construction, and rode the trains to the fort, then to the playground because the times had been mixed up, so we had lunch first before walking back to the fort for a tour of that. I'd have liked to stay longer, but time flies when you're having fun. We ended up being 15 minutes late back to school, which meant to kids basically ran in to grab their backpacks and some ran back out to ride the bus home.
I've still been riding my bike, but field trips do cut into pedaling time. Not that I'm complaining, mind you. I rode to the library and a doctor's appointment, rode the eastern section of trail and managed to catch the city workers relaying pavement markings. The truck lays down a flat ribbon which is more of a like a rubberized coating than actual paint, and a spray of powder which is actually tiny glass beads goes over the top inches after that to make it reflective. The yellow lines are actually incredibly bright and leave afterimages in my eyes as I go down the road. After a week these seem less noticable. Perhaps its because of the old lines being so faded that it simply unusual so I noticed the new bright lines more. We also got brand new reflectors on that road which flash like diamonds if you catch them at just the right time when the sun is right. Its weird the things I notice sometimes and the things which strike me as pretty.
Speaking of striking, I almost hit a turkey this morning. Huge bird tried flying across the road, and he made it, but only just. I thought for a second that I'd have turkey for dinner- it was a big enough bird that I'd have considered learning how to clean a bird in a hurry if the bus nailed him/it. Like I said, he made it. Scared me though.
That's all I guess. Happy Tuesday!
Tuesday, April 19, 2011
Tuesday, April 19th 2011
Well things are going well for me I guess. Not much has been going on. I'm supposed to get a new student tomorrow on the bus, they gave me new directions today which go up that way. The last three kids sort of liked the change. While I didn't have to actually make the stop, it shouldn't add more than about 5 minutes to the route in the afternoon at least. Ten minutes maximum. The kids are still great most of the time. We're going on a field trip Thursday, but I'm unsure of the finer details. I'll ask tomorrow.
I'm still reveling in the awesomeness of bicycling. It's so much fun! I'm on the bike, pedaling constantly and my legs ache slightly from moving non-stop, but if it gets hard I just shift down one, if it gets suddenly easier I'll thrilled to shift up and go faster. When the wind is blowing it can feel like torture in the same gear, but just one down makes it so much better. Keeping the same cadence of leg pumping doesn't really let you notice that you're going slower, just that you're still going, miraculously. It seems somewhat strange, but sometimes it feels as if it gets easier to keep going the longer I'm at it. The return trip, or the last few miles, are usually easier (unless there is the dreaded wind!).
I got a bicycle pump today. I needed it. I think there must be a fixable leak somewhere on my back tire at least. It's slow, but persistent, and my steppy pumper got a hole where the hose bends around. I tried the floor pump we had here and surprise! it moves no air. Useless! I didn't ride yesterday because of that disappointment. So I went and got a pump today, WITH a gauge. The frame pump is great, but I can't tell how much air I'm putting in. Once again I got the tires up proper and felt the give in the rubber- I've been way under-inflating with that tiny fun thing. Oh well.
Meanwhile, I think I might be getting better. I decided today to bike to town, to see how far it was to the health department for my appointment next Tuesday, and also because I just felt like going there today. I figured I would go north from there and if I had time, stop at the bike store, and if not, time how long it took so I could plan better the next day. I had eaten lunch late today so it cut up some of my riding time.
Well I made it to the health department in 15 minutes, which is awesome, no need to worry there. Also the bike store was only 30 minutes after I started. I had time, so I stopped in. The man in there is super nice and didn't try to sell me anything, let me just share my enthusiasm over my accomplishments, and let me refill my tiny bottle. We tried on some helmets, and at first he was doing regular adult models, until he realized when I wobbled one that the comment about me having a small head wasn't a joke. Then he magically opened a secret door into a mid-store cubbyhole and produced two helmets: one pink and one blue. I like the fit of the blue better maybe? It has a visor which just might be useful for something other than decoration. But the pink one is pretty and doesn't have the visor. Frankly I've wanted to rip the visor on my current helmet off, but it feels funny to throw it in the trash, and meanwhile there are tiny holes where it pokes into the plastic shell of the helmet. So I still wear it, but it does nothing for keeping sun out of my eyes. Also, Jessie has a blue helmet and the twin in me wants to be like we were when younger- one in pink and one in blue! When we go back to buy one I'll try them on more carefully, and we'll see which color I end up in. Oh, and these, being tiny helmets, are on sale! Because no one usually has a small head like mine, I'm pretty assured they'll still be there whenever we decide to go back, especially since they are magically hidden too! (ok not magic, but I totally did notice a door behind the rack of sales items. They swing forward like a movie secret-passage.)
So far I haven't done anything with the little trailer except pull the bare frame along behind me for the practice and extra tiny bit of weight.
Otherwise, everything else is fine. We're looking to move shortly after the 10th of June when school is out and I should get my summer's 4 withheld paychecks. Weekends are spent working on cars and the week is work, biking and laundry. Simple, enjoyable.
Goodnight!
I'm still reveling in the awesomeness of bicycling. It's so much fun! I'm on the bike, pedaling constantly and my legs ache slightly from moving non-stop, but if it gets hard I just shift down one, if it gets suddenly easier I'll thrilled to shift up and go faster. When the wind is blowing it can feel like torture in the same gear, but just one down makes it so much better. Keeping the same cadence of leg pumping doesn't really let you notice that you're going slower, just that you're still going, miraculously. It seems somewhat strange, but sometimes it feels as if it gets easier to keep going the longer I'm at it. The return trip, or the last few miles, are usually easier (unless there is the dreaded wind!).
I got a bicycle pump today. I needed it. I think there must be a fixable leak somewhere on my back tire at least. It's slow, but persistent, and my steppy pumper got a hole where the hose bends around. I tried the floor pump we had here and surprise! it moves no air. Useless! I didn't ride yesterday because of that disappointment. So I went and got a pump today, WITH a gauge. The frame pump is great, but I can't tell how much air I'm putting in. Once again I got the tires up proper and felt the give in the rubber- I've been way under-inflating with that tiny fun thing. Oh well.
Meanwhile, I think I might be getting better. I decided today to bike to town, to see how far it was to the health department for my appointment next Tuesday, and also because I just felt like going there today. I figured I would go north from there and if I had time, stop at the bike store, and if not, time how long it took so I could plan better the next day. I had eaten lunch late today so it cut up some of my riding time.
Well I made it to the health department in 15 minutes, which is awesome, no need to worry there. Also the bike store was only 30 minutes after I started. I had time, so I stopped in. The man in there is super nice and didn't try to sell me anything, let me just share my enthusiasm over my accomplishments, and let me refill my tiny bottle. We tried on some helmets, and at first he was doing regular adult models, until he realized when I wobbled one that the comment about me having a small head wasn't a joke. Then he magically opened a secret door into a mid-store cubbyhole and produced two helmets: one pink and one blue. I like the fit of the blue better maybe? It has a visor which just might be useful for something other than decoration. But the pink one is pretty and doesn't have the visor. Frankly I've wanted to rip the visor on my current helmet off, but it feels funny to throw it in the trash, and meanwhile there are tiny holes where it pokes into the plastic shell of the helmet. So I still wear it, but it does nothing for keeping sun out of my eyes. Also, Jessie has a blue helmet and the twin in me wants to be like we were when younger- one in pink and one in blue! When we go back to buy one I'll try them on more carefully, and we'll see which color I end up in. Oh, and these, being tiny helmets, are on sale! Because no one usually has a small head like mine, I'm pretty assured they'll still be there whenever we decide to go back, especially since they are magically hidden too! (ok not magic, but I totally did notice a door behind the rack of sales items. They swing forward like a movie secret-passage.)
So far I haven't done anything with the little trailer except pull the bare frame along behind me for the practice and extra tiny bit of weight.
Otherwise, everything else is fine. We're looking to move shortly after the 10th of June when school is out and I should get my summer's 4 withheld paychecks. Weekends are spent working on cars and the week is work, biking and laundry. Simple, enjoyable.
Goodnight!
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)