Back in the Field!

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I've been back on assignment with MSF for the past three weeks. I am currently in Swaziland performing an assessment of their mechanic, automotive workshop space, and vehicle fleet management. It's a short mission of only six weeks, after which I will travel to South Sudan to fill in as workshop manager (the same job I did there last year) for 3.5 months or so.

It's great to be back to work! Swaziland is quite nice. The security is pretty relaxed, which allows for freedom to travel on the weekends. The first weekend I was here I went with a group to visit a couple of game parks. We were practically promised there would be plenty of rhinoceroses (rhinoceri?), but we were unlucky enough to see not a single one. It was still a lot of fun.

Last weekend three of us just went for a short day hike at nearby Mahamba Gorge, which is quite beautiful.

Aaaaaaaaaand this weekend four of us returned to one of the game parks to hike Execution Rock. It was a beautiful day and a great hike. The views from the top are very nice, and as a bonus it is possible to spot impala, wildebeest, and zebra from some of the trails. We even saw some vervet monkeys playing in the trees!

I'm really looking forward to the last weekend of May, when a lot of us will be attending the Bushfire Music Festival. I don't know any of the acts, but it promises to be a good time!

My days are spent working with the mechanic and various members of the logistics team. They close up shop around 4:30, which makes for a lot of afternoon/evening downtime. I've been trying to work on my French and to exercise as much as possible (yoga, running, and some P90X).

The daytime weather is typically sunny and warm, with sometimes a cool breeze to mix things up (winter is approaching here). Nights are typically cool, but definitely not as cold as the locals (and even some of the expats, including two from Canada) would lead you to believe. Certainly it will get colder as autumn advances, but for the most part I find it quite comfortable. It's quite a contrast to the heat I will find in South Sudan in a few weeks.

Immediately before leaving the US, I traveled to Saint Louis to see my former robotics team (the one I mentored in Connecticut) compete in the national championships! It was a lot of fun and so great to see the mentors and students.

Before that I was in Denver for three weeks visiting some of my favorite people.

And before that. . . well just go check out my photos to see what I was up to.

How I Spent My Summer. . .

. . . and Part of My Fall, or "Hey I'm still alive and I have some photos to share". It's a long-winded post, but considering how long it's been since I've written, I think my average blog-words/day ratio is still pretty low.

My previous post is now six months old and collecting dust. In addition to the fact that I have never been a prolific blogger by any stretch of the imagination, MSF asks us to be careful about what we post. I took this as a good reason to ignore the blog for a while. Having returned to the U.S. a month and a half ago, I figured it was time to catch up a bit.

My time in South Sudan was amazing. I learned a lot about cars (mostly Toyota Land Cruisers), about how MSF operates, about managing people, and about myself. I worked a lot and tried to play as much as possible. It was fun, and challenging, and frustrating, and too long, and too short, and too hot. Not quite Texas summer hot, but not far from it. Of course, I was there at the coolest time of year. Come February, they often see temperatures approaching 50 degrees centigrade (120+ degrees fahrenheit!).

A lot of people ask about the living conditions and food. Most of the time I was in a really nice guest house in Juba. I had my own room. Yes, there was electricity. Each room even had its own AC unit, but we were discouraged from using them because the generator couldn't handle the load. Yes, there was running water. No hot running water, but who needs that when it's broiling outside? On one field visit I stayed in a large tent for a few nights, but otherwise I was always in a permanent structure of some kind.

As previously noted, meals were prepared for us most of the time. A lot of rice and beans. A lot of chicken. Some beef and fish and goat. Tomatoes, cucumbers, and cabbage were common, and sometimes there was some corn mixed in for variety. The most consistent vegetable was some kind of leafy green, shredded and boiled into a mush. One day at lunch, the cook kindly prepared fried termites. I couldn't NOT try them, and can honestly say the flavor is not conducive to my making them a regular part of my diet. On the weekends we frequented a few restaurants, usually Indian or Thai food. Overall the food really was quite good and there was plenty of it. Though I was never hungry for extended periods, I still managed to lose a few pounds. They're creeping back, so I think that rules out an intestinal parasite as the cause of the weight loss.

Originally, my mission was expected to be about three months total. It was extended a bit to account for the actual arrival date of my replacement, and then extended again so I could visit some field sites on behalf of the workshop. In the end, it was five months from when I left NYC to when I returned. I spent most of October travelling to four different projects around South Sudan. This was great because it allowed me to see how field projects really operate while also letting me see very different parts of the country. I visited the Jamam refugee camp in the northeast, Wau and Raja in the west, Agok in the central north, and Yambio in the south. While much of the geography I saw was scrubby grassland, Yambio was exceptional in that it is much rainforesty and the climate is significantly cooler. They have HUGE trees there. I did not get a picture of one, but I found one on Flickr here.

In general, we were discouraged from taking pictures too freely in public, and never around government buildings. At two field sites, I was told photos were simply forbidden outside the MSF compounds. Nevertheless, I managed to snap several hundred photos during my 4.5 months in the country. I narrowed these down to 165 "favorites", which you can view here.

After leaving South Sudan, I had to pass through Geneva for debriefing. Not wanting to waste a trip to Europe, I spent a few days in Switzerland visiting my friends Martin and Hanna, a couple of days in Milan visiting an MSF friend, and a couple of days in London at Mollie and James' flat.

When I finally made it back to the U.S., I visited friends in New York and Connecticut for several days before driving to North Carolina for Thanksgiving with family in Black Mountain (outside of Asheville). I then drove back to Dallas in time for Joe Paradise's 2nd birthday, and a week later went to an ice sculpture exhibit with my sister and her fam. Otherwise I've been laying low in Big D, visiting with friends and family, going to yoga or fitting in a run or bike ride, catching up on sleep and TV, and trying to keep myself busy when I feel up for it.

I already heard from MSF that they may have another mission in the works for me, but I won't know any more until after the holidays have passed. I have no idea when or where I will go, but I am looking forward to another adventure!

How I ended up in Africa, Part 2

Alternative Title: A brief summary of perhaps the most random month of my life

I drafted the timeline below (spanning exactly one month) on my second day in Juba, but for one reason or another waited two weeks to put it up.

16/5/12: Driving south from Deadhorse, Alaska. I spend a second night at the Arctic Circle pull-off.

20/5/12: On a train from Fairbanks to Anchorage to catch my flight out of Alaska. Cloudy views of the partial annular solar eclipse and periodically great views of Denali. Photos of my Alaska trip are posted here.

21/5/12: Arrive in Denver, CO.

23/5/12: Denver to Colorado Springs. I have dinner with family and stay the night.

24/5/12: Drive to Dallas. I spend some good time with family and old friends.

30/5/12: Depart Dallas, by car, for Connecticut. The goal: Brad and Rachel’s wedding on the 2nd. After that, I plan to drive to North Carolina to spend the summer with family outside of Asheville.

31/5/12: Thursday. I receive an email from MSF-USA. They may have an assignment in South Sudan: "Workshop Manager". We will have to move quickly to make it happen. After reading through some documents they send me, I accept the position via email that night.

1/6/12: Arrive in Connecticut and immediately go out for drinks.

2/6/12: Goodman-Bogue wedding. A friend posted photos here.

4/6/12: Monday. Confirmed for South Sudan. I am needed in NYC two days later.

5/6/12: Train to NYC. I immediately take a taxi to the Joyce Theater to see a performance by Monica Bill Barnes and Company.

6/6/12: After several quick briefings at MSF-USA and eight vaccinations at a travel clinic, I catch a plane to Geneva via London, where I unwittingly leave my camera sitting in a chair.

7/6/12: Thursday (one week since the email). Arrive in Geneva and catch a train and a tram to the MSF-Swiss offices. Afternoon briefings. Tram and bus to hotel, where I realize I’ve lost my camera. Begin daily malaria meds.

8/6/12: More briefings at MSF office. Back to hotel.

9/6/12: Morning flight to Entebbe, Uganda, via Brussels and Kigali, Rwanda. Arrive at MSF guesthouse in Kampala around 11PM.

10/6/12: I sleep until 1:30PM. I meet my mentor for the week, Dominique Tournier, and discuss the workshop and what a Workshop Manager does.

11/6/12: The first of four days at the workshop shadowing Dominique.

12/6/12: My first Land Cruiser job. Check front and rear brakes and wheel bearings. Re-pack rear bearings.

15/6/12: Afternoon flight from Entebbe to Juba, South Sudan. Arrive at MSF guest house around 6:30PM. Dinner with new friends, followed by drinks at a nearby bar.

So that was my random month. What have I been doing for the first two weeks in Juba? My weekdays and part of Saturdays are spent at the workshop. Sundays are for relaxing.

During week one there were fifteen or so mechanics undergoing training at the workshop, so I didn't get much "handover" time with my predecessor. Saturday was the end of training and there was a party afterwards. Week two involved real handover time for the first three days and then my first two days managing the shop on my own! I have a small team of mechanics that I manage, though they don't generally need much managing. Most of my time is spent liaising with the different MSF operating sections (all five) in town, arranging for spare parts for their vehicles and generators to be collected and, if we don't have them in stock, purchased. We also have some small contractor jobs ongoing at the workshop, because it is only two years old and we are still finishing it out. Much of my job is paperwork, though I make a point of getting out of the office and into the real workings of the shop whenever possible. I generally work from a bit before 8am until around 6:30pm, with a one-hour break for lunch.

Breakfast foods are available at the guest house. Lunch is prepared for us Monday to Saturday, as is dinner Monday to Friday. For Saturday dinner and all day Sunday we are on our own. We are free to walk or to have an MSF driver take us to almost anywhere in town during the day. At night we have to use the drivers unless our destination is very close and we move in pairs or larger groups. There are enclosed markets and open-air markets. There are several good restaurants and bars a short walk or a short drive from the guest house. I've been on a couple of runs with other expats, and I've gotten one workout in this past week. I've not yet settled into a routine that involves regular exercise, but I'm working on it.

It's hot and humid here, and periodically rains in brief but intense spurts. The people I have met, both expat and local, are really friendly and generally hard-working. I'm sleeping under a mosquito net for the first time away from summer camp. Malaria is common here, and knowing how much mosquitoes love me I expect to get it at some point. The prophylaxis only reduces the odds of getting it, and if it fails it at least lessens the severity of the symptoms. If I go out at night I usually wear long pants and sometimes long sleeves if it's not too warm. Application of repellent is becoming a ritual. It has DEET in it, but smells considerably less poisonous than the stuff we use in The States.

I get the feeling that some of my family and friends think I'm simply off on another fun adventure, but this is not a vacation by any stretch of the imagination. MSF specializes in providing emergency humanitarian medical care where and when it's needed, and that rarely involves lots of beach time and walks in the woods. I'm working hard and relaxing when I can. It's an amazing experience, but it's difficult at times. This is exactly what I want to be doing right now (maybe not the paperwork part, but definitely the supporting-the-greater-good part), and I know I will experience and learn a lot in the coming months. It's a different kind of adventure than those of my previous 18 months, and one that I am immensely glad to be on.

How I ended up in Africa

Back in October, shortly after returning to Dallas to lay low for a bit to relax from all my travels (tough life, I know), I applied for a job with Doctors Without Borders (known worldwide as Medecins Sans Frontieres, or MSF). Yes, I am aware that I'm not a doctor, but they didn't know that.

Okay, actually they did. They hire lots of non-medical types to do all the stuff that supports their medical work in the field. This includes engineers, who are often hired to work as logisticians or coordinators. Travel for work? Use my engineering background for the good of mankind? Seems like a good deal to me!

I was invited for an interview at the U.S. headquarters in New York City in December (first cut in the recruitment process). It went pretty well, I thought, though I was a bit skeptical of how I'd performed during the technical test I had to take so they could see if I had any idea of what I was doing.

Turns out I did know what I was doing, at least enough to make that cut (the second). After they dug a bit deeper into my background, I was invited (third cut) to their "Info Days" in March, which is a three-day meet-and-greet, get-to-know-each-other-better, informational workshop with a bunch of other candidates, both medical and otherwise.

About a week later, I got the email welcoming me into their "active pool of candidates"
(fourth cut!). Basically, since their needs in the field are always changing, they maintain a pool of personnel they can draw from as needed. Then it becomes a waiting game for your first assignment. The wait can be very short if they immediately have a need that you match with better than anyone else, or it can be quite long if they have a lot of people with similar qualifications. Speaking French is a great qualification, because a lot of the countries they work in are French-speaking. I, for better or worse, do not speak French. Thus, I settle in for a long wait.

Skip ahead a couple of months. After my trip to Alaska (see previous post), I drove back to Dallas to spend some brief family time before driving up to Connecticut for an early June wedding and then down to North Carolina to stay with extended family for the summer. On day two of the drive, Thursday May 31st, I check my email to find that MSF may have a brief (three months as opposed to the typical nine to twelve months) assignment for me in Juba, South Sudan. The catch? They need someone who can leave very, very soon. We talk on the phone and I say something along the lines of "you couldn't have possibly called a more suitable candidate." I can barely contain my excitement, but I have to remind myself that it may not work out. They still need to confirm the match with the office in Geneva.

So I spend the weekend hanging with long lost friends in Connecticut, getting tipsy and telling everybody who asks "what's new?" all about it.

It takes until Monday the 4th to get final confirmation, and on Tuesday the 5th I pick my buddy Kevin Hawk up from work. We drive to the train station, and he takes my car back to his place for storage during my absence. Several meetings at the New York office, eight vaccinations (and three follow-up doses in a tiny cooler), and only 6.5 days after learning of such a possibility, I find myself on a flight to Geneva, Switzerland for more briefings.

Geneva is nice, but expensive as hell and I'm busy in meetings and more exhausted than I can ever remember being without running 26.2 and it's raining off and on. I spend my little down time resting and getting my affairs in order. Part of my time is also spent lamenting the loss of my camera, which I left in a chair at Heathrow Airport the previous day and only realized the mistake once at my hotel in Geneva. But not all is lost! Heathrow has an online lost and found database, and tonight (the 10th) I found a camera matching the description of mine that was reportedly lost two days after I was there. I'm keeping my fingers crossed on that one, but in the meantime (meaning until I return to the States), my phone will have to fill in unless I find a replacement locally.

6:30am Saturday June 9th, I leave my hotel for the airport. A short stop in Brussels and I'm on my way to Africa! It only took twelve freaking years!

I was supposed to go to Zimbabwe in the summer of 2000 to work on a school project, but the trip was cancelled due to a swelling in political unrest. We had been preparing for weeks, had already gotten vaccinations and had even written the first drafts of our initial project reports. "Utterly devastated beyond my ability to comprehend" would not be an overstatement of my feelings at the time, nor those of the twenty or so others who were also scheduled to go. A consolation trip to Namibia the next year was cancelled due to some less tumultuous inconvenience. "Bummer." A South Africa trip for World Cup 2010 was cancelled because my friends, who I had been telling for 3+ years to save up money so we could all go, and who more or less assured me it wouldn't be an issue, said they couldn't afford it. "Strike three!"

It's currently 10:35pm on Sunday June 10th, and I am in the MSF guesthouse in Kampala, Uganda. Tomorrow morning I meet up with my "mentor" to start a week of training before I fly to my three-month assignment in Juba. Once there, I will have a few days with my predecessor before I am left to serve solo as manager of an MSF automotive workshop. It will be immensely challenging, often frustrating, sometimes frightening, and 100% amazing.

Back from Alaska!

I made it back safely from Alaska, despite our attempts to kill ourselves through excessive drinking and excessive driving (but not excessive drinking and driving). It was an amazing trip. Unforgettable.

My only regret is that it happened early enough in the year that a lot of places were still closed for the long winter. Things were starting to pick up while I was there, and the official start to the high season came on May 15th, but still some roads and trails were closed due to snow.

Nevertheless, I had a ton of fun both with Kana and without. I was on my own for four days while she started work. In classic Wandering Jimmy style, I decided to go for a long drive. What started as a goal to sleep above the Arctic Circle morphed into a trip to Deadhorse, Alaska, the northernmost point one can drive to in Alaska.

Two words that come to mind in describing Alaska: Vast (this coming from a Texas boy) and beautiful. It was truly a great experience, and I was really bummed when it came to an end.

All my photos from the trip (actually, only about 10%) can be found here.

I also uploaded a bunch of pics from my time in Denver pror to leaving for Alaska. They can be found here.

It's only been seven months. . .

. . . since I last posted. I'd like to say I've been busy, but for most of that time I've been laying low in Dallas. Hanging with family and friends, helping with various around-the-house type projects, learning French. The usual.

I suppose there is quite a bit to catch you up on, so here goes.

After returning from Europe last September (see previous post), I made my way back to Dallas. Upon arrival in Dallas, I calculated I had driven approximately 22,000 miles over the course of about 4 months. At one point, I racked up 10,000 miles in six weeks. Yowza! I crossed the country completely three times and half-way four times. I also drove up and down large portions of California at least three times.

On the way to Dallas, I stopped through Oklahoma City for a night to see Jason Rossi. Before heading out of town, I stopped by the memorial for the Oklahoma City bombing of April 19th, 1995. Pictures of the memorial are here.

I was in town only a few days before I flew to New England for a wedding. Two good friends, Becca Graves and Erik Costello, decided for some reason it would be a good idea to get married. Not one to miss such an event, I made the long trek (via airplane this time) back to Connecticut for the ceremony. Photos here.

Back to Dallas very briefly, then off to Utah to go rafting in celebration of another wedding (Chans Rich and Emily Donelson). Good times were had, both on and off the water. A lot of photos were taken too. I put mine online here, and also collected a lot of others and put them into a video here. Enjoy!

It's mid-October at this point in time, and it looks like I'll be staying in Dallas for a while. A lot of time is spent getting used to the fact that I don't have much to do, but I try to find ways to keep busy and help out friends and family whenever possible. One way I can do this is to help my buddies Jack and Kelly Paradise build a giant boathouse at their lakehouse on Lake Limestone. Step one is to remove the old, tiny dock that is being replaced. This is easy because the lakebed is bone dry after the 2011 drought. Photos of step one (including a time-lapse video that condenses the bulk of the work) are posted here.

It wasn't long (early November) before I got whisked away to help Jason Rossi move some of his parents' belongings from Dallas to Denver. Naturally, I turned it into a week of visiting with friends in Colorado. Photos of that week are here.

Back to the lakehouse in mid/late-November, this time to obtain and stage all the lumber we would need to set the posts for the boathouse into the dry lakebed. It was a hell of a process involving two trips to Houston to pick up timber, several issues with the second-hand trailer Jack bought on craigslist, the hammering of a nail into a tire to stop it from leaking, a tire guy we decided was named Pedro and whom we miss to this day, and a lot of laughing about how poorly we went about most of this process. The parts I remembered to photograph are documented here.

A couple of weeks later we returned to the lake for a weekend of raising "Beers and Piers". This required digging a lot of holes with a gas-powered auger, building a rig to tilt the posts into a vertical position, and then using said rig to accomplish said tilting and to drop the posts into the holes. It was a ridiculous amount of work and it is documented here in a few photos and here in a video that shows the whole process.

In early December I returned to the northeast, this time to attend an interview with Doctors Without Borders in New York! First, I visited some friends in Connecticut and Massachusetts (photos here), and then I got to spend a few days in NYC (photos here). I felt good about the interview, though not as good about the test I had to take after the interview.

Back to Lake Limestone once again, but this time to work only a bit on the boathouse. The focus would otherwise be on having a good time for New Years. And good times were indeed had. Check them out.

In late January a test unit for NASA's next manned space vehicle (Orion) passed through Dallas. We went to see it and here are some pictures. It was pretty cool to see it up close.

In early March, I returned to New York for an "Info Days" workshop with Doctors Without Borders, which is the final step in the recruitment process. It was an informative three days, during which I got to meet a lot of people that work in the New York office as well as a couple dozen other potential field workers going through the same recruitment process. Of course, I turned the three days into a week in the city. I didn't take a lot of photos, which is unusual for me, but the ones I did take are shared here.

Easter weekend I went back to Lake Limestone with Jack and Kelly. Another weekend of getting some work done but also relaxing. We made progress on the walkway, completing the decking required to get to the actual dock area of the boathouse. Photos here.

That's it for photos I have to share. Assuming you made it this far into this long-winded post, I'm happy to share with you the fact that I got the gig with Doctors Without Borders! I am officially entered into the pool of field workers, and now I wait (and wait and wait) for my first assignment. It could take several months to get assigned. In the short-term meantime, I am driving with my friend Kana from Colorado to Alaska in early May:


View Larger Map

She got a job at Denali National Park for the summer, and needs to get her truck up there. Naturally, I gladly accepted her invite to come along on the road trip. More to come as that adventure progresses.

Another Quick Update

I made it back from Europe! Survived the month and a half abroad, despite my own worst efforts to the contrary. I'm in LA for a couple of days before I head east towards Dallas. I've finished uploading my Europe photos to Picasa. Links are as follows (in reverse chronological order):

• Scotland
• London
• Brussels
• The Hague
• Amsterdam
• Berlin

And those posted when I was in Berlin (see previous post of 8/21/11):

• Dublin
• Portugal
• Switzerland

I'll try to fill in some blanks with various tales of my travels soon. I will try, mind you. If you've been following this pseudo-blog at all, you know not to expect much.

Quick Update

I uploaded a ton of photos tonight. Just go to picasaweb.google.com/jimmythecook and look at anything that appears new (start at top left if you're unsure).

Having a blast in Europe. Switzerland was fun and beautiful. Portugal was those things too, plus very hot. Dublin was delicious. Now I'm in Berlin, drowning in history.

Will I get around to posting a more thorough update here? Who knows?

Photo for You

This is a photo of me with my friend Martin in Appenzeller. Prost!

Better Late Than Never?

Wow. It's been almost a month since I last posted. I guess you get what you pay for on this internet thing, especially when it comes to blogs.

I posted some photos almost two weeks ago, but didn't get around to sending this post until now. I know I promised to be more forthcoming with stories and such related to posted photos, but that will have to wait. Photos I uploaded recently are at:

California Road Trip with Davis Family
Yellowstone
Steamboat-to-Yellowstone
and
Strawberry Hot Springs

I wanted to upload more photos tonight, but the card reader is not working. I am staying with a friend outside of Wald (near Zurich), Switzerland. Having a blast and getting to see some of this beautiful country. Monday was their independence day (from August 1, 1291. . . no kidding), and we celebrated with dinner and a bonfire, while many others set off fireworks all over the valley below us. Tuesday we hiked to the top of Grosser Mythen, a local mountain. Wednesday we went to Zurich to see a museum and explore the city a little. Tomorrow we head east for the day to Appenzell, a place where stuff like this really happens:

That is all for now. I hope your adventures are also going well.

Colorado is Fun

I've been in Colorado since Saturday (today is Wednesday). I spent several days hiking and biking with my friend Kana, who is currently working for the National Park Service at Black Canyon of the Gunnison National Park. It's a beautiful place, as most places in Colorado are.

Right now I'm in Denver with the Rossi clan. Friday we head up to Steamboat Springs for a couple of nights, then on to Yellowstone for some camping and backpacking! I'm pretty excited about seeing Yellowstone for the first time.

Photos I posted are linked to in the headings below.

Enjoy!

Curecanti Creek Hike

Kana drives a Volkswagen Cabrio that has seen some pretty rough times but has somehow managed to survive several (almost) cross-country trips in the past few years. I took this photo from the back seat because the front passenger seat is in her bedroom. The seat was removed to make room for her mountain bike, which is named Roland. Roland is the older brother of our good friend Jeremy.

Everywhere we went for two days, I sat in the backseat. It's the closest I've ever come to feeling like I had a personal chauffeur. I'm not sure I can go back to driving myself around again. It just seems so. . . lowbrow.

Oh and we went for a nice hike.

Tomichi Route Hike

There are several "routes" (not trails, which are maintained, marked and generally considered safe) to the Gunnison River at the bottom of Black Canyon. We, not surprisingly, decided it would be a good idea to hike the Tomichi Route, about which we were adequately warned by Ranger Tom and which is described thusly by the NPS:

"This route is considered the steepest South Rim route and is very difficult. The entire length is loose rock and receives full sun exposure. Use extra caution while descending."

Extra caution entailed stopping every half hour or so to evaluate whether it was foolish of us to continue. Kana even noted that the steep, loose terrain was "testing her tolerance". If you know Kana, that's saying a lot. However, knowing that neither of us would let the other hear the end of it if we turned back (and Ranger Tom would give us hell), we continued onward. The prescribed descent time is 1.5 hours. It took us two hours. The prescribed ascent time is "triple the descent time", which would have taken us six hours. It took us two hours.

Part of the ascent was spent trying to figure out if we were following the same route. The picture above, which was taken on the descent for this very purpose, pointed us into the proper drainage when we got a bit mixed up. We emerged at the canyon rim looking like we'd been through hell and making comments about how the nature trail along the rim is a lot rougher than it appears.

Leadville

I had read about Leadville, CO in the context of several grueling long-distance runs and mountain bike rides that have brought some tourism to the once booming but now bust mining town. They're currently mining Molybdenum nearby, which is assigned atomic number 42 on the periodic table. Sadly, I don't have anything else to say about Leadville.

Grays-Torrey Hike

Colorado has 53 (58 on some lists) mountains with a summit elevation of 14,000 feet or higher ("Fourteeners" in the local parlance). We camped near the trailhead and hit the trail around 7:15am for a nine-mile roundtrip over Grays Peak and Torreys Peak. My first two fourteeners! I like this picture because of what it says and because of what it omits.

What it says: "Jimmy and Kana are the only people dumb enough to bring snowshoes on this hike." Also, "Why is Jimmy, who is from Texas and who skipped last winter entirely by spending it in Hawaii, in shorts and short sleeves while the locals are layered like a lasagna?"

What it doesn't say: "Jimmy's lungs have almost completely evaporated because he is not acclimated to the elevation."

While living in New England I hiked all 48 of the 4,000-foot mountains in New Hampshire. I may have found a new obsession.

Westward Once Again

The last time I posted, two weeks ago, I was in California. I've been in Connecticut all weekend visiting friends and having a great time at Dermottfest. I also picked up my kayak, which remained at Brad's house (my final place of residence in CT) when I evacuated last November. Tomorrow morning, Monday the 27th of June, I head west again. Dallas, to drop of the kayak. Denver, to meet up with some friends. Yellowstone National Park, to go backpacking with some of those friends. San Francisco, to take a road trip down the California coast with my sister, brother in law and nephew. Racking up those miles!

I've posted more photos, some earlier this week and some just this evening. I'm going to try (really!) to provide more substance in these blog posts. My strategy for this is to tell a story related to the single photo from each Picasa album I've been (usually) including in my posts. Here goes.

Matt Svrcek's Commencement Weekend

Pictured here are various relatives of Matt and his wife Annie. I have no idea what they're looking at, but I thought it made for a funny photo. The gentleman second from the right is Annie's dad Lee. Lee is the proud owner of a Nissan Leaf (all electric vehicle). Being a car geek, amateur tree hugger, and general mischief hound, I humbly requested, somewhere around our second or third glass of wine, an opportunity to take it for a spin. Being a generous host and a truly kind person, Lee foolishly agreed. 

I gently roll the Leaf from the driveway to the road and then punch it to see what it could do. I was pleasantly surprised by the acceleration, though I should have expected it because that's a great thing about electric vehicles. Lee was clearly surprised, as indicated by his involuntary exclamations at various points in the drive, by my willingness to run his new car through its paces while simultaneously asking him a thousand questions about it, but he remained relatively calm. Perhaps the wine helped in that respect.

The Drive from California to Colorado

Despite the fact that my back seat was already quite full, due in part to the presence of my mountain bike, I picked up an Irishman named James who was cycling cross-country with his compatriot Jon. The two had pushed pretty hard crossing the Sierra Nevadas, and James needed a recovery day. I agreed to drive James to their next stop in Eureka, NV while Jon would pedal the seventy miles so they would not lose a day on their itinerary. The photo shows James' red bike frame piled atop my various belongings.

James and I decided to have a beer in Eureka to celebrate the survival of the treacherous one-hour drive (any reason will do, really). Five or so hours, several beers, and dozens of wide-ranging conversational topics later, I crash on one of the beds in their motel room across the street. Jon arrives shortly thereafter and James accompanies him back to the bar so Jon can eat. When they return to the room, much snoring ensues.

In the morning I join them for breakfast and am quite easily convinced to transport James to their next destination: Ely, NV. We discuss various things, including my upcoming trip to Europe, which may now include a leg in Ireland to visit my two new friends.

Visiting Friends in Denver, CO

I love Colorado. Mountains. Sunshine. Lots of outdoorsy people doing outdoorsy activities. Sarah, who previously lived in New York City, and I went for a hike at Golden Gate Canyon State Park. Her dog Meisje (Dutch for "little girl") came with us and took every opportunity to soak in whatever body of water she could find, no matter how small. 

The Center of it All

Well, not really "it all", but when they surveyed the U.S. in 1907 or so they determined that the geographic center of the U.S. was somewhere in Kansas. I stumbled upon this highly irrelevant fact as I was crossing Kansas, my goal being to spend as little time there as possible. But of course I had to stop and check out the center. What kind of road trip would it be if I didn't stop for such obscurities? There was a small park at the junction of two small roads outside a small town called Lebanon. According to the sign in the photo, Lebanon is the place to go for all your "Center of the USA" souvenirs. Who knew?

Dermottfest

I like this picture because I don't remember what we were eating, but we were very enthusiastic about it and somebody thought it was worth documenting photographically. I gladly obliged. Dermottfest is amazing, and pictures like this remind me of the fact that the great friends I made during my years in New England are the one thing I will always miss.

Made it to California!

Been a little while since I posted, but you're accustomed to that by now. Sitting on a couch with Matt Svrcek, who is getting hooded today as "Dr. Svrcek".

I uploaded a ton of photos yesterday. Check them out at https://picasaweb.google.com/jimmythecook .   Everything from "2011-05-28 Carlsbad Caverns" and newer was just added. I won't bore you with the little details of each leg of my trip since leaving Alabama, but I've been having a blast and seeing a lot. Hopefully the pictures will tell the story.

Monday or (more likely) Tuesday I hit the road again, heading east this time. Plenty of adventures still to be had!

Heading West

I'm in a cheap motel room in Biloxi, Mississippi, hoping to get a solid night's sleep after a long party weekend at the Hangout Festival in Gulf Shores, Alabama. In the morning I continue heading west, en route to California.

I've uploaded some new photos to catch you up on my wanderings. Some miscellaneous photos of my travels can be found here.

After the launch I drove to Sarasota, Florida to see the Ringling Museum. It was cool, but I think I was expecting something more. . . over the top. Photos here.

After that I worked my way towards Pensacola. I stayed at Gulf Islands National Seashore near Pensacola Beach. Nearby was Fort Pickens, which was built in 1359 or something. Okay maybe not that old. I watched sunset from atop the fort. Photos here.

And then there was the Hangout Music Festival in Gulf Shores, Alabama. A three-day festival on the beach. Five stages. Fifty thousand or so people. Lots of good times. I could have done better at planning out my festival time to see more of the bands that were on my wish list, but I still had a good time. And of course, there was an unhealthy amount of partying. Photos here.

Liftoff!

After two previously failed attempts to see a space shuttle launch, I drove back to Florida from Dallas Saturday and Sunday. I arrived at my pre-determined viewing area around 11pm Sunday for the 9am Monday launch. And it happened!!!

It was cloudy at launch time (though clearer about 20 minutes before and after), so I only got about 20 seconds of video. No stills because I was forced to scramble into a new position at T minus 30 seconds. Thus I only grabbed video because at least stills can be captured from that. However, due to the rushed shooting the view and clarity aren't so great. But I saw it live, and that's the important thing.

YouTube video is here.