History Lesson- The CCC

You probably haven't heard of the Civilian Conservation Corps before, but they've done a lot of work for the interior of America. Commissioned by President Roosevelt during the depression round about '33 to '42, it was intended to put some relief on unemployed men during hard times. Limited to young men around 18 years of age to their mid 20's, the CCC was organized military style. Enrolled boys were usually uneducated and even malnourished going in. It was a tremendous offer for these men, even African Americans were welcome; while segregated from the whites and native Americans they were given equal pay and benefits. The CCC was a step in the right direction, a program dedicated to conserving the greater outdoors through construction and teaching job skills at the same time. It was an economic relief program that we could probably learn from during our current situation.

The CCC planted nearly 3 billion trees, pioneered new methods of forest fire prevention and supression, constructed forest roads and cabins for tourists to enjoy the outdoors, and reintroduced wildlife to areas where they had been depleted. These are just a few of their efforts.

Sadly the Corps did not last. It was never a permanent part of the New Deal and came to an abrupt halt in 1942 due to the bombing of Pearl Harbor causing most of the Corpsmen to be drafted. War efforts turned the focus from improving America's economy, interior and standard of living to supporting soldiers, Marines and sailors. While the war did improve America's situation in the end, we did lose something unique in the CCC. There are organizations today attempting to ressurect the success of the Corps; these groups are much smaller and receive less federal support.

Gear Time.

If there's one thing I hate, it's this topic of conversation that goes, "So what kind of pack are you using? What brand tent you sleeping in?" Ugh. I love to discuss the merits of bringing certain types of equipment, or even good solid name products, but sometimes people get into the topic of fashion or gimmick equipment.

Here's a case for you to examine. Two survivor specialists: Les Stroud- a Canadian who knows his stuff but comes off as boring, and Bear Grylls- a former British SAS commando who has explored Mt Everest and so forth and has a really exciting way of presenting information. Each has a TV show demonstrating techniques for survival in a variety of situations. Bear tends to be very adventurous, he can afford to be, his camera crew is right there with support. Les tends to show us how the everyman would deal with situations. He is by himself, and his show is less exciting but no less adventurous, just slower paced. Les gives us lots of educational advice that you can actually use. Bear does too, but usually his advice is meant to give a shock factor to his show. Where Les would dig a hole into the water table for a drink, Bear would squeeze bear crap for a sip. I bring up these two for a reason- their gear.

Knives are the first outdoor pack item every person should have. Let's see what these guys carry. Les Stroud uses a Buck 119 Special.

It costs $49 retail. It's widely available. Sturdy and practical.

Bear Grylls uses a special made Bayley Knife blade with his signature attached to it.

After converting pounds to dollars you come up with a cool $580. Can you tell the difference?

A knife is important. It can be a useful tool as well as a weapon for defense. It's essential to any outdoorsman. It's important to find a knife that works for you and your situation, not a knife that is pretty and has someone's name stamped on it. This is why I hate it when people start talking about why they think their gear is so great based on who made it-

"I have a North Face tent. What do you have?"

"I have an Marmot. I like it because it gets the job done for short range hikes and is light weight. It's fairly inexpensive so I don't mind putting it to some rugged use. What do you like about yours?"

"It's a North Face."

I'm all for talking about gear with someone who can actually give you the pro's and con's. If you want to talk about fashion find someone else.

It's gear talk right now though, and here's a cool little item I was just looking at. Survival rifles are meant to be compact, lightweight and dependable. It's meant to be there for you when you need it. Usually they come in .22 caliber and are meant for defending yourself and taking small game for food. Henry Repeating Arms makes a convenient little package that covers all these options for a good price.

I'm planning on picking one up, I'll have a review for you soon.

A nifty little survival item you may have seen on TV used by our two favorite survivalists is the Swedish FireSteel. I picked one up at Dicks and I have to say I'm impressed. With a little practice you can learn to start a fire very easily with this spark striker. It has a metal key and a large red thumb handle on a rope, is very lightweight and lights in the wind, rain, snow or whatever. It doubles as a signal device. The bright white shower of sparks can be seen for a good distance. It's definitly worth the price and can make a great back up to a book of matchs or BIC lighter.

Survival kits

Ever since I earned my wilderness survival merit badge way back in my Boy Scout days I've been obsessed with survival techniques. If you spend time away from civilization it's a good idea to familiarize yourself with some of these concepts. Even if you aren't a hiker you can find yourself in a bad situation if involved in a car accident in the back country, caught in a blizzard, or even stuck at home without provisions during a hurricane or other disaster (case in point- New Orleans during Katrina). Remember two things-

1. The Scout motto- Be Prepared.

2. It's printed on the cover to the Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy- DON'T PANIC!

The first thing you have to do is realize that you are lost and accept it. In most situations you will be better served to set up a camp where you are as rescuers will find you faster this way. Don't panic, irrational decisions lead to deadly situations. Perhaps the best thing you can do is be prepared; make sure you have a survival kit.

Survival kits are available for every situation from a variety of dealers but are rarely useful. They are usually assembled from cheap products are often have a novelty feel to them. An example of this is the sardine survival can. Take a look through it's contents and you'll see a kit made from cheap equipment. You'll likely lose that one fishing hook it comes with, and if it does hook one the line it is attached to will probably break. A better option is to build your own kit. For ideas you can check this Field and Stream article. The benefit of putting together your own kit is you can specialize it to your needs for the environment you will be in. You can also put duplicate items in just in case of breaks or loss.

Your small survival kit isn't the only useful item you can have. While it's perfect for your pack you may want to put a kit in your car. This kit will be less limited in weight and volume. You should include a spade, hatchet, absorbent grains (for spills and for traction in case you hit mud or snow), bottled drinking water, extra engine fluids, a portable battery, first aid kit, flashlight, some non perishable foods and water ever else you think may come in useful. People used to stock flares, but many advise using reflective signals instead since they can be used indefinitely.

I feel the same way about first aid kits as I do the survival kit; it's better to make your own. Kits usually have cheap band aids and crappy gauze instead of decent medical supplies. Stock your own from good sterile products and plan ahead for what type of emergencies you may encounter.

An ounce of prevention equals a pound of cure as they say.

How to?

Here's an interesting site chock full of tips, tricks and lists. It can teach you where to go, how to go and what to take. Use it as a reference guide, don't go running out in the woods without educating yourself from multiple sources and taking some trips with someone who's used to doing a little camping. Start out with places don't require any camp skills, and build your way up. You'll be surprised on the kind of stuff you'll forget to pack your first few times out. It's better to learn in a place that is forgiving.

Enjoy Reading!

Everybody loves a list

And this is a cool one. Hit the jump to read it, or just check it out here.

The 50 Most Inspiring Travel Quotes Of All Time

1. “Travel is fatal to prejudice, bigotry, and narrow-mindedness.” - Mark Twain

2. “The world is a book and those who do not travel read only one page.” - St. Augustine

3. “There are no foreign lands. It is the traveler only who is foreign.” - Robert Louis Stevenson

4. “The use of traveling is to regulate imagination by reality, and instead of thinking how things may be, to see them as they are.” - Samuel Johnson

5. “All the pathos and irony of leaving one’s youth behind is thus implicit in every joyous moment of travel: one knows that the first joy can never be recovered, and the wise traveler learns not to repeat successes but tries new places all the time.” - Paul Fussell

6. “Our battered suitcases were piled on the sidewalk again; we had longer ways to go. But no matter, the road is life.” - Jack Kerouac

7. “He who does not travel does not know the value of men.” - Moorish proverb

8. “People travel to faraway places to watch, in fascination, the kind of people they ignore at home.” - Dagobert D. Runes

9. “A journey is like marriage. The certain way to be wrong is to think you control it.” - John Steinbeck

10. “No one realizes how beautiful it is to travel until he comes home and rests his head on his old, familiar pillow.” - Lin Yutang

11. “Your true traveler finds boredom rather agreeable than painful. It is the symbol of his liberty-his excessive freedom. He accepts his boredom, when it comes, not merely philosophically, but almost with pleasure.” - Aldous Huxley

12. “All travel has its advantages. If the passenger visits better countries, he may learn to improve his own. And if fortune carries him to worse, he may learn to enjoy it.” - Samuel Johnson

13. “For my part, I travel not to go anywhere, but to go. I travel for travel’s sake. The great affair is to move.” - Robert Louis Stevenson

“One’s destination is never a place, but a new way of seeing things.” - Henry Miller

14. “Traveling is a brutality. It forces you to trust strangers and to lose sight of all that familiar comfort of home and friends. You are constantly off balance. Nothing is yours except the essential things - air, sleep, dreams, the sea, the sky - all things tending towards the eternal or what we imagine of it.” - Cesare Pavese

15. “One’s destination is never a place, but a new way of seeing things.” - Henry Miller

16″A traveler without observation is a bird without wings.” - Moslih Eddin Saadi

17. “When we get out of the glass bottle of our ego and when we escape like the squirrels in the cage of our personality and get into the forest again, we shall shiver with cold and fright. But things will happen to us so that we don’t know ourselves. Cool, unlying life will rush in.” - D. H. Lawrence

18. “To awaken quite alone in a strange town is one of the pleasantest sensations in the world.” - Freya Stark

19. “Twenty years from now you will be more disappointed by the things you didn’t do than by the ones you did do. So throw off the bowlines, sail away from the safe harbor. Catch the trade winds in your sails. Explore. Dream. Discover.” - Mark Twain

20. “Travel is more than the seeing of sights; it is a change that goes on, deep and permanent, in the ideas of living.” - Miriam Beard

21. “All journeys have secret destinations of which the traveler is unaware.” - Martin Buber

22. “We live in a wonderful world that is full of beauty, charm and adventure. There is no end to the adventures we can have if only we seek them with our eyes open.” - Jawaharial Nehru

23. “Tourists don’t know where they’ve been, travelers don’t know where they’re going.” - Paul Theroux

24. “To my mind, the greatest reward and luxury of travel is to be able to experience everyday things as if for the first time, to be in a position in which almost nothing is so familiar it is taken for granted.” - Bill Bryson

25. “Do not follow where the path may lead. Go instead where there is no path and leave a trail” - Ralph Waldo Emerson

26. “Two roads diverged in a wood and I - I took the one less traveled by.” - Robert Frost

27. “A journey of a thousand miles must begin with a single step.” - Lao Tzu

28. “There is no moment of delight in any pilgrimage like the beginning of it.” - Charles Dudley Warner

29. “A good traveler has no fixed plans and is not intent on arriving.” - Lao Tzu

30. “If you reject the food, ignore the customs, fear the religion and avoid the people, you might better stay at home.” - James Michener

31. “The journey not the arrival matters.” - T. S. Eliot

32. “A journey is best measured in friends, rather than miles.” - Tim Cahill

33. “I have found out that there ain’t no surer way to find out whether you like people or hate them than to travel with them.” - Mark Twain

34. “Once you have traveled, the voyage never ends, but is played out over and over again in the quiestest chambers. The mind can never break off from the journey.” - Pat Conroy

“A journey of a thousand miles must begin with a single step.” - Lao Tzu

35. “Not all those who wander are lost.” - J. R. R. Tolkien

36. “Like all great travelers, I have seen more than I remember, and remember more than I have seen.” - Benjamin Disraeli

37. “Perhaps travel cannot prevent bigotry, but by demonstrating that all peoples cry, laugh, eat, worry, and die, it can introduce the idea that if we try and understand each other, we may even become friends.” - Maya Angelou

38. “Too often travel, instead of broadening the mind, merely lengthens the conversation.” - Elizabeth Drew

39. “Wandering re-establishes the original harmony which once existed between man and the universe”……Anatole France

40. “Travel and change of place impart new vigor to the mind.” - Seneca

41. “What you’ve done becomes the judge of what you’re going to do - especially in other people’s minds. When you’re traveling, you are what you are right there and then. People don’t have your past to hold against you. No yesterdays on the road.” - William Least Heat Moon

42. “I soon realized that no journey carries one far unless, as it extends into the world around us, it goes an equal distance into the world within.” - Lillian Smith

43. “To travel is to discover that everyone is wrong about other countries.” - Aldous Huxley

44. “Travel does what good novelists also do to the life of everyday, placing it like a picture in a frame or a gem in its setting, so that the intrinsic qualities are made more clear. Travel does this with the very stuff that everyday life is made of, giving to it the sharp contour and meaning of art.” - Freya Stark

45. “The first condition of understanding a foreign country is to smell it.” - Rudyard Kipling

46. “Travel is glamorous only in retrospect.” - Paul Theroux

47. “The whole object of travel is not to set foot on foreign land; it is at last to set foot on one’s own country as a foreign land.” - G. K. Chesterton

48. “When you travel, remember that a foreign country is not designed to make you comfortable. It is designed to make its own people comfortable.” - Clifton Fadiman

49. “A wise traveler never despises his own country.” - Carlo Goldoni

50. “Adventure is a path. Real adventure - self-determined, self-motivated, often risky - forces you to have firsthand encounters with the world. The world the way it is, not the way you imagine it. Your body will collide with the earth and you will bear witness. In this way you will be compelled to grapple with the limitless kindness and bottomless cruelty of humankind - and perhaps realize that you yourself are capable of both. This will change you. Nothing will ever again be black-and-white.” - Mark Jenkins

SCUBA Adventure Partner!

I've recruited a fellow adventurer to learn how to dive! Ashely Hollis will be joining me in PC for the SCUBA class. If anyone else wants to wrangle up some free time to come explore the floor of the Gulf let me know! You can hang out at my campsite and I'll rustle up a tent for ya or you can get a hotel room like a pansy. Your choice.

Bill Bryson

A favored book of mine recounts the journey of Bill Bryson and his unusual friend Katz as they undertake a portion of the Appalachian Trail with little experience and middle age angst. A Walk in the Woods is only one of several travel books Bryson has written, but it's the only one I've read so far. From the very beginning Bryson keeps us entertained with a whimsical style of storytelling that makes you really want to discover his little adventure with him. He draws you in with his descriptions of the trail. Bryson is terribly afraid of bears, a little bit of humor is spread throughout the book about his imaginary bear encounters. What Bryson does not do is romanticize the trail, he calls everything the way it is. He adds a lot of history of the regions and trail being built in the book, and somewhere along the way it really made me start to question the way we treat the Appalachians, along with all our nations monumental forests and mountains. He tells us about government institutions real purpose, such as the US Forestry service's main function- to build roads. Even when he tells us a harrowing story he does so in a way that makes us laugh a little and yet makes you think.

One of the most interesting things he does is paint a picture of the different personality types you encounter on the trail. There's people of all types, some arrogant, some friendly, sometimes annoying. Reading this book makes one crave the same type of experience, a journey that changes your perspective on life and people, on everything.

That really is what it's all about. Adventure is for discovery. The things that you discover aren't always the lands, creeks, and waterfalls you encounter. Sometimes you learn about you, your self image changes and your friendship with others can be strengthened. Katz and Bryson are a rather odd coupling for a buddy adventure, but Bryson comes to understand quite a bit about his friend by the end of the adventure. This is why you sometimes see business' sponsoring "team building" trips outdoors. Send a group of people river rafting and they will not only learn to work on a team to keep their butts dry but they will form bonds that will last far longer than anything you get standing around a water cooler.

Something to keep in mind when you wonder, "why go into the wilderness?" I say why not?

Alabama Hiking Trail Resource

Descriptions, pictures, even GPS waypoints one Alabama's hiking trails and more can be found on Alatrails.com. I've been reading this site all day and can't get enough of the knowledge and dedication that's been poured into it. A great tool for anyone interested in finding the out of the way features Alabama has to offer.

Scuba Class

The weekend of July 18th I'll be taking some time off for a scuba diving class. I'm pretty psyched about it, it's something I've always wanted to do and just never got around to. The basic dive course gets you everything you need to get started in one weekend, gear rental is included in the price ($285). The course is in Panama City.

I'll be using the tent instead of a hotel room for this go round. Saving cash. I'm planning on carrying the bike on down to get some riding in after class hours.

If anyone would like to come along let me know, you're welcome to share a tent or you could wuss out and grab a cozy hotel room, your choice.

Gone on a Walkabout.

The film "Australia" featuring Hugh Jackman and Nicole Kidman gives us a look at Aboriginal culture and the clashing of Aboriginal people with European settlers in Australia. The film focuses on the internal conflict of a man who is half Aboriginal and half "whitefella." After Nicole Kidman's husband is murdered and his estate left in her hands she puts together a team of misfit individuals under the lead of the cattle drover, played by Jackman, to drive her cows to auction across the desert. Throughout the trip they are fighting disaster as a competitor cattle baron attempts to stampede the herd. This group includes a young boy who's mother died keeping him hidden from the authorities to avoid his being taken to a Christian mission. Half white children are taken so the "savage" could be eventually bred out of them and their culture replaced. Sadly this practice did not end until the 1970's, though the Australian government has issued a formal apology for irreparable damage that was done.

It was a good movie, but it got me interested in Australian tribal culture. There's a warning at the begining of the film saying that the movie may contain images and voices of dead Aborigine. I searched the internet a little and discovered that while Aborigine don't say the name of the dead, they also must not show pictures of them. Proper respect for the dead says that you must wait a certain period of time before displaying a photo as the soul may be kept bound to it otherwise. The warning is an attempt for the whitefella to comply with this culture's tradition as there have been problems in past films not warning Aborigine that a deceased member was in it.

The term walkabout is used alot in the film and is described as a certain rite of passage into manhood. I wanted to know more about it but there's conflicting literature as to it's true purpose. All are agreed that a walkabout is a period of time in which you leave normal life and explore the wild, living only with the bare necessities for survival. Some say it's a time for you to get back to the root of life by getting away from everyday activity and work. Later on in the past century there started to rise an idea that there was a spiritual quest to it, a search almost where a man who is in conflict with himself will wander until he "meets" his other self. He will converse with his other self and eventually reach a resolution where the two are joined and become whole. He is then able to return from walkabout.

It's a neat culture and worth looking into, and they definitely had the right idea about getting away from everybody every now and then for a little walkabout in the wild.

Waking Every Day

It's hard, I know, but sleeping in rarely pays off. I've made it a habit to never sleep in past 9. Usually I'm up by 7:30 on my days off and ready to go.

You may remember a post I did in Blog 1.0 about sleeping in and how to get back on track. Follow it and you will discover that you can be twice as productive that day. I promise you this, you will be more successful in whatever you're doing. Ben Franklin wasn't kidding when he quipped, "Early to bed early to rise makes a man healthy, wealthy and wise."

Still need help? I found a useful page. Jump to it now.

I Love Lists

And this is a good one from the Chicago Tribune. Original can be found here.

50 things I've learned in 50 years, a partial list in no particular order

1. It’s better to sing off key than not to sing at all.

2. Promptness shows respect.

3. You can’t avoid offending people from time to time. When you don’t mean it, apologize. When you do mean it, accept the consequences.

4. The first person to use the expression “Get a life!” in any dispute is the loser.

5. The medium is not the message. Those who issue blanket condemnations of any form of communication—be it TV, tabloids, text messages or blogs—simply aren’t paying attention.

6. The most valuable thing to have is a good reputation, and it’s neither hard nor expensive to acquire one: Be fair. Be honest. Be trustworthy. Be generous. Respect others.

7. Prejudice and bigotry is hard-wired into us. You can’t overcome it until you acknowledge it.

8. Don’t be bothered when people don’t share your tastes in music, sports, literature, food and fashion. Be glad. You’d never get tickets to anything otherwise.

9. Cough syrup doesn’t work.

10. Empathy is the greatest virtue. From it, all virtues flow. Without it, all virtues are an act.

11. The Golden Rule is the greatest moral truth. If you don’t believe in it, at least try to fake it.

12. Keeping perspective is the greatest key to happiness. From a distance, even a bumpy road looks smooth.

13. You can’t win arguing with police officers or referees, but every so often you can fight City Hall.

14. It’s not “political correctness” that dictates that we try not to insult others’ beliefs and identities. It’s common decency.

15. It may not feel like it, but it’s good luck when you have people at home and at work who aren’t afraid to tell you when you’re wrong.

16. It’s 10 times easier to fall in love than to stay in love. And no matter what the sad songs say about romance, broken hearts do mend.

17. Don’t waste your breath proclaiming what’s really important to you. How you spend your time says it all.

18. Keeping an open mind is as big a challenge as you get older as keeping a consistent waistline.

19. It’s never a shame when you admit you don’t know something, and often a shame when you assume that you do.

20. Wounds heal faster under bandages than they do in the open air.

21. Fear of failure is a ticket to mediocrity. If you’re not failing from time to time, you’re not pushing yourself. And if you’re not pushing yourself, you’re coasting.

22. Anyone who judges you by the kind of car you drive or shoes you wear isn’t someone worth impressing.

23. Grudges are poison. The only antidote is to let them go.

24. If you’re in a conversation and you’re not asking questions, then it’s not a conversation, it’s a monologue.

25. In everyday life, most “talent” is simply hard work in disguise.

26. Great parents can have rotten kids and rotten parents can have great kids. But even though biology plays a huge role in destiny, that’s no excuse to give up or stop trying.

27. Four things that most people think are lame but really are a lot of fun: barn dancing, charades, volleyball and sing-alongs.

28. Two cheap, easy self-improvement projects: Develop a strong handshake and start smiling when you answer the phone.

29. When something that costs less than $200 breaks and it’s not under warranty and you can’t fix it yourself in half an hour, it’s almost certainly more cost-effective to throw it out.

30. Most folk remedies are nonsense, but zinc really does zap colds.

31. Physical attraction is nice, but shared values and a shared sense of humor are the real keys to lasting love.

32. To keep dental visits regular, schedule your next appointment on your way out from your last appointment.

33. The 10-minute jump start is the best way to get going on a big task you’ve been avoiding. Set a timer and begin, promising yourself that you’ll quit after 10 minutes and do something else. The momentum will carry you forward.

34. Laundry day is much easier when all your socks are the same and you don’t have to sort them.

35. Candor is overrated. It’s hard to unsay what you’ve said in anger and almost impossible to take back what you’ve written.

36. Goals that you keep to yourself are just castles on the beach. If you’re determined to achieve something, tell people about it and ask them to help you stick with it.

37. Mental illness is as real as diabetes, arthritis or any other disease, and no more disgraceful. It’s the stigma that’s disgraceful.

38. In crisis or conflict, always think and act strategically. Take time to figure out what the “winning” outcome is for you, then work toward it.

39. All the stuff you have lying around that you’ll never want, need, wear or look at again? It just makes it harder to find what you do want, need or intend to wear. File it, donate it or throw it out.

40. Exercise does not take time. Exercise creates time.

41. Almost no one stretches, flosses or gives compliments often enough.

42. It pays to keep handy a list that includes a trusted plumber, electrician, locksmith, appliance repair specialist and heating contractor. When you really need one is no time to start looking.

43. The store-brand jelly, cereal, paper goods, baking supplies and pharmacy products are good enough.

44. When you mess up, ’fess up. It’s the fastest way, if there is one, to forgiveness.

45. When you’re not the worst-dressed person at a social event, you have nothing to worry about.

46. Be truthful or be quiet. Lies are hard to keep track of.

47. Your education isn’t complete until you’ve learned to take a hint.

48. There’s a good reason to be secretive about your age. People tend to assume things when they know how old you are. “Oh, he’s turning 50,” they might say, for example, “probably full of cranky self-lacerating aphorisms that he thinks qualify as wisdom.” (See "Bored, Tubby, Mild," an animated editorial cartoon along these lines)

49. Whatever your passion, pursue it as though your days were numbered. Because they are.

50. Readers love lists. You got to the bottom of this one, didn’t you?

Another Day Another Dollar

Don Don and I rode back out to the Jungle thingy. The water bowls were filled today and the cage floors were clean of droppings. I reckon they are taking decent care of the animals save for the small quarters. These guys are based out of Florida where they have a petting zoo, I hope they give these big cats alot of room to roam in when they aren't on the road.

Stuck here at Station 1 today. Not a whole lot of action going on. I'm thinking we may have a quiet weekend with Bama Jam going on one county south. I figure that's where all the action will be. Maybe a crack house will burn up later and we can pack out for a change. Here's hoping.

It's time to start planning the next big wilderness excursion. Talladega national forest is next on my list. Cheaha state park specifically. There's plenty of hiking and scenic views out there. I'm looking for volunteers to join my party! If you want to get out there with me let me know. I can hook you up with most of the necessary gear. I'm planning this visit for around September. This ain't the backyard camping your mom and dad used to set you up with, we go out into the deep woods. Don't worry though; Bear Deano is on your side, leading you the whole way. Drop me a line in the comment box and let me know!

Cheaha State Park, the view from Pulpit Rock. You can be there too!

Caged Animal

There's a little traveling petting zoo that stopped off in Troy at the Village. Upon entering you will notice two things-

1. These folks are carnies. Carnies are scary.

2. These cages are extremely small. And bare. And without water. Animals like water right? Even Tigers?

They have goats, a llama, monkeys, lemurs, a kangaroo, a tiger cub, a white tiger, a regular tiger, a lion cub, a camel, a burmese python, a leopard and some sort of little cow thing that was kinda funny. What they didn't have were decent accommodations for these animals. The tigers were in metal cages with less than 6x4 feet of room to move. The big cats just lay sleeping (I hope, they seemed to be breathing.) It's always exhilirating to see big cats, but it's kind of a drag to seem them imprisoned like that. I can't imagine these animals being anything more than miserable.

Usually animals love attention. Not these though, unless you had some food they shied away from being petted. It's kind of sad. In fact it kind of depressed me. When you go a zoos these days they usually have huge environments for the animals to roam around in. I'd say don't go give these carnies your money, but I'm afraid what would happen to these animals if the cash flow dried up. The tigers could be sold, but I think they'd be hard pressed to find a home for the goats, and being a herp enthusiast I know snakes are extremely hard to get rid of. Zoos won't accept them, they already have so many.

Poor little fella. I wish I could steal him and raise him on the farm in Zion Chapel. It's hard to hide a tiger I bet.



Joe camel here had about six feet of room to walk around in.

Pensacola Air Museum

I was dieing to go back to the Pensacola Air Museum on the naval base ever since I went a few years ago. This time I took pictures. My father and brother drove down and met me there after the Border Bash. I highly recommend it!

MS Border Bash

Well, it was one month ago. I blogged it already, but here's a recap complete with a new slide show! Some of you pitched in and managed to get 535 dollars raised for the MS Society. The Border Bash is a ride in Orange Beach Alabama, an event that lasts two days. Pro riders can make it through over 150 miles of agonizing bicycling through Orange Beach into Foley and even into Florida. Doing about 80 miles a day, they crank out the distance in 6 hours. That of course is the pros.

As for your boy Deano, well, he's just a beginner. Fortunately they have a beginner route for those of who are not quite at the level of Armstrong. It was just over 50 miles. I kept pace most of the way with a young lady soldier whom I kept just ahead of me. You say I'm a pervert, I say I was drafting off her wind. Her butt was kind of motivating though. Actually, she's in the army and took up cycling after tearing a tendon in her leg while running. She decided it would be cool to ride the event and see Orange Beach from the saddle. Poor girl was on a mountain bike. A Walmart brand MTB too. I have to give her major props, riding on that bike must have been hell. I was glad to have some company out there that wasn't interested in beating everyone else to the finish line and she proved a very interesting companion. Like an idiot, I forgot to grab her email so I will probably never have the oppurtunity to talk to her again.

Also met a racer from Germany. Seems he had been reading my blog over at the MS web site and was quite amused. He told me he was proud of the progress I was making and offered up some tips. He was a pretty cool guy! I think he made the 80 mile trip in just over 5 hours.

All in all, it was a fantastic ride; it really showed me where I was and how far I've yet to go in my riding. I'm planning on cranking out a metric century (62 mi) next October for the Make a Wish Foundation. I'll be purchasing a much better bike for that ride. If you see me out training give me a honk! By all means, if you want to join me, let me know!

Blog 1.0

Well, there it is. If you've read this far and just can't get enough then you're in luck. I've got my old blog linked right here.

The Ancient Myspace Blog!

Remember, those 120 posts of slightly demented musings date back all the way to 2006. That blog is no longer updated and links will eventually disappear. So sorry! This is Blog 2.0 baby! I can't be looking back in the past all nostalgic! I have to press forward boldly.

Unleashing Upon the World....My New Blog!

To all my faithful readers I present my new blog! I wanted it to be independent of myspace and facebook so it would be easier to keep. The format is the same, with a few little changes. I'm putting more of my little adventures into the journal along with pictures and reflections. I assure you it will prove to be an interesting read if you're stuck in your station with nothing to do, or having a slow night in dispatch, or if you're just plain bored. I'm going to go backwards a few months at first, and write about some of the things I've been doing.

I learn something new every time I venture out and I hope I can bring this experience to you! I want to include my friends in this, so if you can come up with a new adventure for us to embark on and you want to chronicle it in photo and print give me a call!

That's it for now, I'll be working diligently to start porting over some old blogs and writing new stories about my trips in the past few months.