Hanna Was Here

Well, it certainly wasn't the devastation folks see in the Gulf States, but it was pretty messy around here. Hanna showed up Saturday night around 10:00pm and dumped 7.8" of rain on us overnight -- all night long. She stopped around 8:00 or so Sunday morning, but I was too busy to go and survey the damage first-hand. Today, however, my boss and I went around the park looking at her work. This is a bridge in the Sieur de Monts area of the park, where the water decided it didn't want to make the turn in the creek and decided to take the bridge instead. This wasn't the worst of it, though.


This is our pride and joy for this season, the Schooner Head Path -- or what's left of it. The crew has spent the entire first four months of our season putting in this path, and Hanna takes it out in a half a day. We learned a lot about drainage issues and how to prevent them from this little exercise. There was also destruction on Ocean Path and a number of others, but this is all I have right now. Anyway, I just wanted to give you a look-see.

Hello Again!!!

Well, just so you'll know I haven't fallen off the face of the Earth, here I am again. I just don't seem to have the spare time these days to check in regularly, but I'll certainly attempt to do better in the future. The last time I did so, it was two months ago! I apologize for the delay, and will get right down to business.


The past two months has found me and a co-worker pounding the trails doing what's called CAC's, or Condition Assessment - Cyclical. What that means is that every five years, we have to go out on a trail and do an assessment of it and its features (bridges, culverts, railings, etc.) and determine deficiencies to write work orders against to keep them in shape. Each year we do 30 miles of trails so that by the time the five years are up, all 150 miles of trail in the park have been assessed, and we start all over again. You may remember me telling you about this last season, when I was the Wheel Man in the team (running a measuring wheel, taking waypoints on a GPS, taking photos with a digital camera), but this year I'm the assessor and work order writer, using a Panasonic Toughbook laptop attached to a "Robert E Lee" field desk (reminiscent of the old field desks used in the Civil War). This is me on the east shore of Jordan Pond writing up a work order to have this tree removed that has blown down and is draped right across the trail. It was really foggy this morning.


This lovely young thing is Kaitlin, my wheel person this year, as we assess the Jordan Cliffs Trail high above Jordan Pond. This was Kaitlin's first season on Trails, and she volunteered for this job so she could get out and see the rest of this beautiful park, instead of being sequestered on the Schooner Head Path like all the rest of the crew. She was a welcome addition, and a true asset as my right-hand man . . . uh, girl . . . uh, person. She was a huge help, however you want to say it.


A little later on in this hike, we came to the Sky Bridge (my name for it), which always reminds me of something you might find in Venezuela or somewhere like that. It has a very tropical feel to it, doesn't it? A very odd little bridge, but it was the easiest way to traverse the gully and make it up to where the trail picks up.


This is a curious little plant. While assessing the Ocean Path, Kaitlin and I ran across this peculiar plant with what appears to be berries on stalks. I need to go back and see if these ever flowered out, or if that's it. I've never seen this kind of plant before. Huh.

One of the last trails we assessed together, before she had to leave to finish up college, was Hadlock Brook Trail, which terminates at this beautiful waterfall. As we'd gotten rain the whole day the day before, the waterfall was in full bloom so we stopped for a bit and took a few photos. Kaitlin said that when she and her dad hiked the trail the week before, there wasn't much going on, so I grabbed some shots of it -- and with her in front of it -- so she could show him what it's supposed to look like. Nice place.

Well, I guess that's about all I've got for right now. Take heart, though, as I've got my first -- and probably only -- trip out to Isle au Haut coming up on Labor Day Weekend. You can bet there'll be another blog entry from that little trip, as well as a photo gallery, as there always is. I can't wait! Thanks for checking in and I'll try my best to get back a little sooner in the future. So long for now!

I'm A Retouching Fool

So, what's Doug been up to lately? Well, when not out on the trails finding new homes for rocks, I've been holed up here in the house learning how to retouch some old photographs to remove unsightly blemishes. I'm not sure how it really came about, but I'm so glad it did as there are a few of my older photos I really wanted to clean up, such as this one of Lometa, Texas. I spent a lot of time here as a youngster and this is the only photo I possess of the place, before it started getting spruced up. I hated that the sky had all that gunk in it, but I just didn't have the tools or talent to fix it. But now, thanks to some happy accident, I found the proper tools and techniques in dear ol' Photoshop and I spent all last weekend playing around with them.


And here we have the finished product. What a difference, huh? I still have to work to get the brightness and contrast down to my liking, but this is a huge step. And so, with that little bag of tricks under my belt, I moved on to yet another favorite photo of mine -- my first airplane flight.


Now is this a candidate for retouching, or what? First and easiest of all, it had to be cropped to get all that dead space out of the foreground and sky. No problem there, But look at all the stains, spots, cracks and other crap going on. (You may have to click on the image to enlarge it enough to see them.) What a mess! So, I put on the coffee, loaded five CDs in the Home Theater System, and set to work. I fussed and fumed and just about broke my back bending over squinting at the computer screen (I have to get a big monitor someday!) and here's what came out FIVE HOURS later:


How's that? I still to go back every now and then just to look at the differences between the two and give myself a pat on the back. It's really an easy process to do, it just takes a long time sometimes, depending on the amount of damage involved. There are still a few things I'd like to learn how to do -- such as how to effectively remove staining -- but I'm very pleased with the results so far. It may have taken up an entire weekend learning the techniques and practicing on all those photos, but it was time well spent in my book. (Oh, and there was no way to remedy the tilt of the plane without causing me, the Ercoupe behind us, and all the buildings in the background to tilt to the left. It's the wind under the plane's right wing that's causing it.)

Trails Update

Hi again! I just thought I'd pop and give you a quick update on goings-on around here. Not much in the way of excitement, but Vincent and I did finish up the section of trail we were working on in the last post. Here's a view of it as we're just about to put the finishing touches on it, which is kind of nice as it shows the three stages of the work --- the "just wall" phase, the "crush" (or blown ledge filler) phase, and the final product with carriage road mix laid down. As I was running into obstacles attempting to find rocks of the right size and shape to finish off my section (requiring yet another run to the quarry), Vince was hard at it lugging blown ledge and carriage road mix to top off his portion. Some folks hiked by as we were doing this and commented on just how little they knew about what goes into a trail, and that's pretty much true. If we do our work well, it blends right in with its surroundings to the point where it's not apparent work was ever done. That's okay, as long as Mother Nature doesn't throw a hissie fit and rake up a section of trail like this one and show it off. Then it's back to work.


And here's the finished product, all cleaned up and ready for business. Now all it needs is a little rain -- which we've recently gotten -- to wash down all the dirt into the gravel to give it a more natural look and it'll be like we were never there. The tread (trail surface) has been raised up eight inches in hopes of stemming any further scouring action by the brook during run-off, but we'll just have to wait till next Spring for that. Wish us luck.

Hey, I'm Back!!!

Hallelujah, brothers and sisters! I'm online once again and furiously attempting to catch the hell up after being offline for almost two weeks. Yep, here I am back in dear old Maine, working out on the trails one more time. Here we see a shot of Long Pond -- my current worksite -- taken Thursday (my Friday) after a rather typical and grueling first week on the job. As usual, all the old aches and pains are right where I remember them, with a few extra thrown in for good measure. But more whining later; let's catch up a little first, what say?


The last time we chatted, so long ago, I was staring in mock disbelief at the conflagration that was my 57th Birthday cake. After the guys in the Forest Service fire tankers showed up and dumped a couple of planeloads of fire retardant on the place, we decided to get cleaned up and get ourselves a little fresh air. The Stagers decided to take the opportunity to help me ease back into the swing of trail work by doing the annual spring cleanup on their path to the brook down below the house. Here are John, Susan, Kevin, and Lisa getting tools and such gathered up before heading down the hill.


The rigors of trail work took their toll on poor Kevin, who decided to cool off his footsies in the brook, so Lisa volunteered to help him out and to insure only the boots got wet. (There may have been an ulterior motive in that decision, but I'm not sure.)


Clea and Ally chipped in with the cleanup detail, too, and offered up their services in the disposal of dead deer parts, something that was actually on the list of things to do. How dogs know this stuff is beyond me.


With all the trail fun done for this year, morning came and once more it was time for Pepe and me to push on toward Maine, rolling our way through the awakening Vermont countryside. Keeping Pepe in check on this leg of the journey is always a bit problematic, and more than once I had to point out the various members of the Law Enforcement community communicating with those sufffering from the same affliction. As always, he didn't listen to a thing I said, but at least he was discreet enough to at least slow down some on occasion -- and always just in the nick of time. How he knows this is also beyond me.


Well, we all knew it was coming, didn't we? It just wouldn't be a Travels With Doug travelogue without the obligatory bridge shot -- especially this particular bridge spanning the mighty Piscataqua River, serving as the New Hampshire/Maine state line. At any rate, we are here once again, back in the Pine Tree State (a.k.a. the Blackfly State from May to June).


And once more Pepe backs himself up to Apartment C's door and says, "Get all this stuff to hell off me!" Actually, he was very well-behaved the entire way and never once complained or balked, taking his rather heavy load in great good humor. It's amazing how attached people get to their vehicles, isn't it?


And so the waiting began -- not only for work to start (it turned out I got in a week early) but for my phone and internet service to materialize, which took a full week. So what did I do during that time, you may ask? (As indeed my sister already did.) I built a Lego plane. This particular one is based on the Handley Page H.P.42 series that Imperial Airways was so very famous for -- the Heracles, Hannibal, and others. I call it the Hesperus (after The Wreck of the Hesperus by Longfellow) because it completely wrecked an entire day, taking a full nine hours to complete thanks to numerous re-thinkings and modifications. Still, despite all the time and trouble it took, I was delighted with the outcome and consider it one of my best and truest efforts yet.


But soon it was time to stop loafing around and get out and do some actual work, which brings us back to Long Pond and the Cold Brook portion of the trail. This is the side wall Vincent (in the yellow hard hat) and I are building in hopes of preventing Cold Brook from jumping over the side and scouring out all our work we did a couple of years back, like it did this Spring thaw. This is four days' worth of work and we should be through in a couple of more.


And with that, we come to . . . well, The End. (I really do have to start a Fun With Trucks series.) I'm so sorry there were so many lapses in communications on this trip, but it was just one of those times in cyberspace when stuff just didn't happen as I'd hoped, especially the quirky wireless connections that kept kicking me off or moving so-o-o slowly. But now I'm back and hardwired up again for positive connection, so things should roll along a lot more smoothly and efficiently. One can only hope. So stay tuned for more blurbs from the Land Of Lobster, and look forward to a full photo gallery coming soon to an Inbox near you. Adios for now!

Down On The Ranch(o)

Howdy once agan, everyone! I'm coming to you from the great state of Vermont, home of Rancho Descansamos ("We Rest") and the Stager/Velasquez families. Pepe and I managed to wend our way through Vermont's winding roads to arrive here around lunchtime Wednesday -- perfect timing, huh? -- and have spent the time catching up with Lisa and her folks, as well as reuniting her with all her childhood photo albums, held in my care for over 10 years unbeknownst to me (but knownst to her).


And here are Lisa and her mother and Lisa's son Kevin looking over old times while I struggle and strive to unload Pepe for my stay. ("Hey, that's okay, folks. Don't mind me.") I didn't realize it, but one of the albums were Lisa's first one with her first camera she got as a child. What a reunion that must have been for her.


Of course, one of the things that is a must here on the rancho is an afternoon walk of the dogs down to the pond for a look-see into what's in store for this summer. So far, there will be plenty of salamanders, and at least one frog, as one popped up for air right in front of us.


Of course, the dogs, Clea and Ally, lost no time in tormenting the local amphibians with romps through the water. Here's Clea getting in only as far as her tummy (she's a sled dog, not a swimmer), while Ally didn't mind at all just jumping right in, being part Lab and all.


Another happening around here was the belated celebration of my birthday, complete with what looks like as many candles as each of my 57 years. The rather bemused look on my face is actually staged, as I was trying to recreate a photo that just surfaced of my grandfather and a similar-looking birthday cake of his own. It was as if he couldn't decide whether he should blow it our or ring up the Volunteer Fire Department. Whatever the case, we had to hurry up and do the shots, as the conflagration was threatening to melt the icing on my German Chocolate Cake -- my very favorite.

Well, I guess that'll have to do it for now, as I've got to get ready to hit the road for Acadia today and wind this little tour up once and for all. Thanks for checking in from time to time and urging Pepe and me on with well wishes and desires of your own to be out on the road. I'll check in again from Bar Harbor. Till then . . .

The Pennsylvania Fly-by

Wait a minute -- that's not Pennsylvania! No, it isn't; it's Dallas, Texas very early in the morning way back on the 19th as I was leaving town to begin my journey in earnest. Luckily, it was a Saturday -- thanks to the monster thunderstorm delaying my departure -- so traffic was fairly light, for Dallas. Still, that didn't stop what few drivers there were from being typical morons, but Pepe and I escaped town none the worse for wear.


Two days later found me in Frankfort, Indiana and at the home of Bill, Susan, Jack, and Anna, who we see here -- only without Bill, who was on his way to Wichita at this time. Why or how I ended up without a picture of Bill is a total mystery to me, as he was riding his ride-a-mower when I pulled up. What an idiot I am!


After my stay in Frankfort, I fired up Pepe and off we went to the Wright-Patterson USAF Museum to re-capture some of the planes I took photos of on my 2000/2001 Big Trip -- one of which was this beautiful Lockheed B-58 Hustler all shined up and lit like something out of a sci-fi movie. The Wright-Patterson people got really creative with their lighting, but unfortunately it doesn't help photographers out much. The "Cold War" exhibit seen here is totally dark except for the spot lighting, which is really tricky at best. Lots of long exposures and blurred images.


The same thing -- and more -- went for this Convair B-36 Peacemaker, one of the most important bombers of the Cold War era. As I complained about in my last entry, the cramming of aircraft into such a small space makes for a frustrating photo shoot, but at least they had a balcony I was able to take advantage of to get the entire plane in the shot, even though the foreshortening effect makes the wing HUGE. Hopefully, there'll be an example of this magnificent aircraft outside so I can get a shot to do it justice.


Stepping back a few years -- like all the way back to WWII -- I came across this fine example of a Junkers Ju52, one of Germany's most important transport craft ever. And, no, this isn't an Air Force airplane, but they probably test flew it here after the war, as they did several other Axis aircraft. I failed to read the placard, I'm afraid, so I don't know for sure.


So as not to bore you all with all of the 388 aircraft photos (can you believe that?!), Pepe and I pushed on to Zanesville, Ohio where I reacquainted myself with their Denny's Diner, missed on the Doug's Diner Dash back in the Fall. After four hours of walking through all those hangars, I was more than a little beat, and Denny's country-fried steak, mashed potatoes, and fresh mixed vegetables hit the spot big time. Man, was that good!


Then, morning broke very early, but it wasn't without its benefits. As I popped out of one of the four tunnels in Pennsylvania (I'll save the photos for the gallery), I popped out and saw this phenomenon -- a cloud in the shape of a giant brain floating in the sky. Have any of you ever seen the 1950s sci-fi movie The Brain from Planet Arous? Well, this looks just like the real deal, let me tell you. By the way, I own the movie, if you're ever interested in checking it out.


Now, here's an interesting yet disturbing image. Can you imagine what a person, strung out from miles and miles of road and severe lack of sleep, would think seeing this upon awakening from a momentary nod-off? Holy SHIT! Eerrrhhhh! CRASH!!! Actually, it was the last in a train of semi tractors being towed to their new destination, wherever that may be. I just couldn't resist taking the shot. (Shades of T-Rex from last time, huh?)


And here I am, in my snazzy office-away-from-office in New Paltz, New York. (Okay, technically, I'm not in the picture, but you get the general idea. What a great office, huh?) I was hoping to stay in Newburgh, a little further to the south, which was the longest-serving headquarters of our very own George Washington -- our esteemed country's original George W. It may have been from Newburgh where George and his men bravely traversed the nearby Delaware River in a flimsy little rowboat so historically during the Revolutionary War, probably due to I-84 being inaccessible thanks to it being covered in snow and ice. (This was way before the invention of the snowplow/sander that we rely on so heavily these days, I'm sure.) Anyway . . . here I am for now, and tomorrow I'll head up the New York Thruway and over to the little town of Wells, Vermont and Rancho Descansamos. After that, it's pack it up one last time and head on up to Acadia for the summer. Don't touch that dial!