Misty Mountain Hop

It was raining today so I went for a hike.  Those who know me well know why I prefer to hike in the rain.  It was beautiful today.  Started out drizzling, then let up to a sprinkle, then mist, and finally it was just cloudy.

I hiked the Flume Trail from the Sheridan Lake trailhead.  The trail follows the path of the old flume constructed in 1880 in order to get water down to Rockerville for placer gold mining.

The flume itself is long gone- the trail is set on the old flume bed.  It makes for a nearly level gradual decent of 1100 feet over 11 miles from the water source down to wear the placer mines were.  It's an impressive engineering feat.

I did a short 3 mile loop today and explored a couple of rock mounds.  I'd like to walk the whole thing down to Rockerville.

Horsethief

I spent a lot of time in the Horsethief Lake area this weekend.  The lake itself is just a little tarn, so it's of little interest.  But it's located halfway between Mt. Rushmore and Harney Peak right in the middle of some spectacular surface geology.

I hiked the area- on and off trails- Friday, Saturday, and Sunday and got a real good feel for it.  There are several small caves in the rock walls and I think a hike-in camp trip is in order.  I found a way up to the top of a couple of the spires and the view on the top is... uh... nice.

It rained all day Saturday.  I love hiking in the rain.  A lot of the things on this planet are at their best when they're soaking wet.

Carl the Audiophile

I backed off the 2 thousand dollar sound system.  It would've been completely fantastic but in a bow to sensibility I visited craigslist this morning and found that Carl in Newell had a few items to sell.

Having now met Carl, if I was filthy rich and I was building some dream estate in some exotic place, I'd hire Carl to come build my sound system.  Dude is truly an audiophile.

I rode 89 from Alkali this morning and then called Carl and woke him up at 1:30. He said he was hung over as hell but to come on by and he'd show me what he had.

Long story short... and IT IS a long story... I got a quadraphonic system from Carl for 1/10 of what I was going to spend.

(Pre-Carl:  Who needs it?!)

(Post-Carl:  YES!!)

Klipsch

When I left KC, I stuffed everything I could into a U-haul trailer and the rest I gave away, left behind, or threw away.  One of the things that wouldn't fit was my stereo system.  It was aging anyway and clothes and bikes took priority.  So, I've been getting by with a old laptop, an even older Pioneer reciever with only half a channel (only one speaker works) and a small radio shack shelf speaker.

Enough.  I am literally surrounded by dogs in my neighborhood that bark incessantly.  I've tried to talk to the owners (b/c it's an owner problem, not a dog problem) but no satisfaction.  So today I went to the Sound Pro stereo store and explained to Eddie my problem.

Oh sweet Jesus in Heaven have mercy upon me b/c if I'd have been wearing clothes in there the system he showed me would've blown them off!  Yamaha amp, Klipsch 4ft. towers, and a big ass sub box.  He said, " two grand".  I said, "sold".  Problem solved.

I don't poke, I pound.

"Back of the Pack"

This nugget appeared in the Des Moines Register newspaper one day in July a few years ago.  Thanks to the Yella Dog for digging it up.

That was one solid chapter.

Crack - A -Nooooooooon!!

Colin Furze

I really like this guy.  He may not be Woody Woodpecker, but he's certainly got the spirit.

Shadow Bombing

What a crazy couple of months it's been living up here in the Hills.  I can't believe I'm leaving this place already but I got a job offer in Canada and I'm going!

April Fool's!  Haha.  Actually, it got up to 80 here the other day and I was thinking that's getting a little warm for my blood.  But I wouldn't entertain any offers to leave this place.

A girl at work sent me this photo.  I always park my bike in the same spot and she comes to work about an hour after me when the sun is up and she said she sees this cool shadow image every morning.

Nice photo, I think.  That's the ol' Blue Bomber.  Still doing it and doing it hard!

BTW, I can't get enough of Arctic Monkeys just now.  And speaking of great music... Hairball is playing the Mountain Grand in Deadwood on Friday the 13th in November.  If you're reading this, consider it an invitation to join me.