Photo of the moon w/ new camera.

Camera, Beehive Collective, and other things.

I'd like to start with a video I found from this past summer. I believe it was taken the morning after the thunderstorm video/twilight video were taken in this post.


Well, what's on my mind the most right now is my aunt. She has cancer, and recently got another dose of radiation to the brain. She is now not responding to people. This terrifies me. It sucks to think that it's a problem that seems uncontrollable. So I just want to plea to the human race to get over their greed and solve the controllable problems so we can focus on ones like this. Please.

Anyhow... The other day (tuesday and wednesday), I went to a talk/activist workshop with an awesome artist/environmentalist group called the Beehive Collective. On Tuesday, they were presenting a huge mural that represented the coal industry in Appalachia and its effects. The mural is read like a time-line from left to right, starting with the indigenous peoples of America, moving on into colonialism, and then into the whole current problematic system of exploitation (of both workers and the world) that is the coal industry. Then it goes to see a healed future where we progress to clean energy and return to more land-based living.



I absolutely love how the Bees traveled around talking to people, thus coming to the realization that social justice and economic inequality are so very closely tied to environmentalism. I also like how they focused on the importance of a deep connection to the land that our ancestors once had, and how that is part of the solution to live on a sustainable planet.

All of their artwork is Anti-Copyright, meaning it is for non-commercial use. Anyone can use it to raise awareness, add to their artwork, etc. so long as its free and public. That's how the land has to be.

Anyway, I have been reading this book Greed to Green by Charles Derber, and it is pretty great so far. It talks a lot about the intertwining aspects of the economy and the environment. One thing that struck me as unusual, though, was that at one point Derber talks about the problem of suburban sprawl, and how people need to curb their desire to have more open land and just live in cities, where housing is compact.

I get his point, but the problem is not the desire for land, the problem is the reification and privatization of the land. If we could have open, natural land that was available for all to use responsibly and respectfully, then that would by far outdo any sort of city living.

Derber sees more leisure as the solution to becoming less consumptive in our current "work more, consume more, enjoy less" society. But I see nature being the key. I have had free time in the city. I still consume. Granted, I am not near my family in the city, but neither are millions who live in them. Nature is the key.

Nature is one of two fundamental desires (other than needs like food, sleep, etc.), the other being a genuine communal social life.

I like that Beehive Collective understands the importance of returning to a more land-based lifestyle.

Finally, I (and I realize the hypocrisy given what I just said about consumption) recently got a Canon sx30is camera. I am looking forward to capturing nature with it to share. I became an RA for a new dorm here at college, which is why my parents got it. I just hope I can put it to good use to share the beauty and importance of nature.

Peace.

Plans for a Great Smoky adventure

I hope for one of my next camping trips to be a week-long backpacking trip in Great Smoky Mountains National Park.



One of the things I look most forward to is just being out there for so long and adapting to a less consumptive, less time-wasting lifestyle. Without trivialities to your time, the day feels so much fuller as well as fulfilling.

The scenery will be beautiful, though some might not think it compares to the west. Yet there's something about a plain forest that I've grown fond of ever since Shenandoah. So simple, yet so beautiful. So seclusive, or perhaps inclusive. The canopy of leaves so serene and protective, yet so inviting to danger and exploration, adventure and mystery...


Abram Falls

In order to stay plenty transcendental, I aim to stick to my vegetarianism during this trip, and ration the food to only as much as I need each day. That way, I only eat when my stomach growls, and stop when it's full. The long hikes with a backpack will also be a sort of enjoyable labor that will make the day seem so much less wasteful.

Here is a tentative camping supply list:

FOOD

• Water bottle

• Supercat Alcohol Stove

• Alcohol Fuel

• Cooking Pot

• Utensils

• Ramen Packs

• Oatmeal packs

• Hot coco packs

• powdered soup/dehydrated veggies?

• Dried fruit

• GORP/trailmix

• Beans

• Potatoes?

• Bag of Flour/salt

• Oil?

• Block of cheese?

EQUIPMENT

• Tent, stakes, poles

• Lantern/Flashlight

• Backpack

• Rope

• Matches

• Flint & Steel

• Sleeping Bag

• Knife

• Binoculars?

• Camera

• Phone (emergency) – satellite phone/gps?

CLOTHING

• 3 pairs clean socks

• Boots

• 3 pairs underwear

• 1-2 pairs pants

• 1-2 pairs cargo shorts

• 1-2 T-shirts

• 1 longsleeve shirt

• WINTER: jackets, scarf, hat, gloves, etc. etc.

FIRST AID/SURVIVAL

• Band-aids

• Neosporin

• Gauze Pads

• Iodine

• Alcohol Swabs

• Q-tips

• Medical Tape

• Wet-ones

• Tylenol/headache medicine

• Sewing kit

• Orange garbage bag?

HYGIENE

• Dr. Bronner's 18 in 1 soap

• Hand Sanitizer

• Grass clippings for toilet paper (also collect while hiking)

• Emergency TP

• Wet-ones (emergency use)

• Trash bag (try keeping trash to a minimum)

• Water bottle for cleaning

• Floss?

• Toothbrush

• Trowel

And here is the tentative trail we would take:

Great Smoky Mountains Backpacking Trip

Drive to Cades Cove Loop Road.

Day One – August 31^st

• Hike Abram Falls Tr. (4.2 mi)

• Left on Hannah Mountain Trail (1.9 mi)

• Continue to Backcountry Campsite (B.C.) 14 (~3 mi)

• Total: 9.1 miles

Day Two – September 1^st

• Hike Hannah Mountain Trail (~4.6 mi)

• Hike Gregory Bald Trail (4.1 mi)

• Right on Wolf Ridge Trail to B.C. 95 (~4.2mi)

  • Note: Take a left for about .4mi to reach Gregory Bald

• Total: 12.9 mi

Day Three – September 2^nd

• Hike Wolf Ridge Trail (2.1 mi)

• Left at Twentymile Trail (3.5 mi)

• Continue on Lost Cove Trail to B.C. 91 (~1.3 mi)

• Total: 6.9 mi

Day Four – September 3^rd

• Explore Hazel Creek Trail, Bone Valley Trail, etc.

• Stay at Backcountry Campsite 91

Day Five – September 4^th

• Hike the rest of Lost Cove Trail (1.4 mi)

• Keep left onto Eagle Creek Trail until reaching B.C. 97 (~5.8 mi)

• Total: 7.2 mi

Day Six – September 5^th

• Hike Eagle Creek Trail (2.9 mi)

• Continue on Bote Mtn Trail (1.7 mi)

• Left at Anthony Creek Trail (3.5 mi)

• Arrive at the Cades Code loop road

Here's a map of the hike, going from light to dark green:


Click to enlarge!
Click here for the full PDF Map!

So hopefully my friends will be able/willing to go and go backpacking as well. Oh, I forgot to mention another thing: No toilet paper.

I don't want to bury toilet paper, because it leaves behind disgusting litter and harms the environment. But I sure as hell don't want to pack out my used toilet paper in some bag right next to my clothes and food. So I did some research and found an article about using natural toilet paper, like smooth river rocks with a slight narrow point, or clumps of snow, moss, or grass.



Considering Thomas's dad always mows the lawn and has him sweep the grass clippings into a pile (SO white upper-middle class suburban), I figure I'll just take this natural fertilizer and instead of having them throw it away, use it to wipe my own natural fertilizer.

Of course, something tells me Thomas would be hesitant to let me do this, even though he would lose nothing. Haha.


Gregory Bald

Other places I would like to go backpacking include: Sleeping Bear Sanddunes/North Manitou Island, and anywhere in the West.

Winter and Summer

I just thought I'd do a comparison between...

Winter...





(Winter 2004 Family Gathering; Christmas Weekend 2010 Santa and Krampus; Christmas Day 2010 Breakfast; Pre-Mohican Highbanks Park hike 2010)

And Summer...




(Torch Lake, 2006 Heading to town; Torch Lake, 2006 Bedtime; July 18th Robby Visit Arby's and Mario Kart; Summer Break Airsoft 2010)

Here you are!

Cedar Falls, Hocking Hills. Summer 2010; January 2011.



Rock House. Hocking Hills January 2011; Hocking Hills Summer 2010.



Conkle's Hollow. Hocking Hills 2007; Winter Dayhike 2010.



Conkle's Hollow. Winter Dayhike 2010; Hocking Hills Summer 2010.


Pleasant Hill Dam, Mohican State Park. Summer 2010; January 2010.



Mohican State Park. Summer 2010; January 2010.

Tales, Thoughts, and Tidbits

First, I would like to post about two pseudo camping trips I had in November of 2010. I had participated in a protest to support the labor workers of Sodexo, a multi-national corporation that abuses workers everywhere. It's headquarters are in Paris, and it threatens workers trying to form a union/cuts the wages of those who already are in them. It gives unfair hours and poverty wages in America. There is rampant racial, gender, and age discrimination. In other places, like Columbia, a pregnancy test is required before women are hired. In Africa, they still have segregated cafeterias for the workers! The previous year, actor Danny Glover participated in a civil disobedience demonstration in our very own Columbus, Ohio. There was another CD event this year, but I was unable to make it. Anyway, I slept in a tent on campus for the entire week (monday night till friday, I had missed sunday night though). And you know, it was better sleep than what I had gotten in the dorms, even with the artificial lights.

We were given bagels for breakfast all the time. It was nice getting to know everybody in the cold weather, and I'm now good friends with a lot of them.

After this event, I went with some friends (who were also involved) from an environmentalist/social justice group known as Free The Planet to Hocking Hills. I just remember the absolute relief I felt when we arrived. Peeing and staring at the starry, clear, open night, taking in the silence and fresh air... We camped on the property of someone they knew (who was apparently trying to turn the big field into an eco-community). We had a great night, eating pasta and cold salsa, drinking wine from a jug, and talking by the fire. But due to the wine and perhaps some herbs, I got really weird during the night, and felt terrible the next day. Vomiting, awkward bowel movement, etc. The mere smell of the campfire smoke sickened me. So I stayed in the car while they hiked Old Man's Cave. It was a good bonding moment though!

Anyways...

I just have two nature-related thoughts. One: My cousin Robby once told me that it is natural (or at least this happens when camping a lot) to wake up frequently throughout the night. And indeed, this certainly happens when it is cold. I wonder if first, this is true. And if it is, I wonder if it is a way for the body to appreciate sleep in the present moment. That might be too metaphysical/philosophical for some, but all I know is living in the present is good, and when you are aware of how precious that sleep is, it helps you do that.

This is especially relevant to my next post about an impromptu camping trip we took to Hocking Hills on January 15th, 2011. That will come later.

Another thought I had came to me last year as I looked over a paper I had written during the Spring Quarter of my freshman year at college. It was for an Environment and Natural Resources/Landscape Architecture writing course, and was about a place we valued in our heart. Mine was Shenandoah National Park, and I talked about how at first, I was underwhelmed by the constant, seemingly unchanging forest environment. Compared to the Sierras of the west, it at first seemed slightly boring.

But I realized just how connected this environment made me to the landscape and to nature. I found beauty in it anyway, not only in its aesthetics, but also the values it taught me of simplicity, freedom, and more.

What I realized was that too often, we objectify nature.

Think about it. Take Sarah Palin's show on TLC for example. The very same politician who's motto during the election was "Drill, baby, drill!" and who does not support the poor and oppressed said of the Alaskan wilderness: "Why can't everybody enjoy this tranquility?"

The extreme hypocrisy bothers me. She wants to drill for oil, and calls any policy to help the poor (who don't get nearly enough exposure to nature, especially wild nature) "socialism," yet she wonders why every American cannot enjoy the absolute privilege she has of being in the wilderness?

This comes from this objectifying mentality. A congressman once made the argument in support of drilling in ANWR because it looked like a blank, white piece of paper he held up. Not only is this a complete misrepresentation of the land's beauty, but it misses the point entirely.

We cannot only preserve those areas that are undoubtedly and obviously beautiful. We cannot let the simple forests of the midwest, or snowy, rocky tundras, or any other generally aesthetically "unappealing" wilderness go to waste and become developed. These areas have their own beauty, and they teach the important values of simplicity, true happiness, etc., that are so lacking in society.

There is an eco-feminist movement, and though I don't know if they have talked about the objectification of nature, I do know that the idea is that mother nature is, to the male gender role mentality, a feminine object meant to be destroyed and controlled. Masculinity as defined by society as tough, strong, uncaring, ends up not only harming women, but also raping the environment. I think there is certainly truth to this sociological perspective.

This overtly masculine, socially constructed mindset can result in the objectification of nature, where landscapes that are extremely beautiful are held in esteem, but for all the wrong reasons. Like a supermodel on the cover of a magazine, Yosemite or Yellowstone are reduced to non-living objects, to be viewed at a distance from the roadside.

Landscapes that do not meet the social standard of natural beauty are undervalued, and thus mountaintops are removed for coalmining. Who would do this in the rockies? Perhaps these lands, being undervalued, are seen as "vulnerable" and therefore people "rape" them.

Well, all I know is that I've grown extremely fond of the plain old forests of Shenandoah. I hope soon to go backpacking in the Great Smoky Mountains, which I imagine have a similar landscape.

Oh, I have a few more things to write about: Just before winter break, there was at one point a very snowy storm that went on while the red sun was setting. It was one of the most beautiful, alluring, mysterious things I had seen. The video does not do it justice. It was a chaotic flurry of snowflakes everywhere, and in the distance, they blended into a crimson haze. The sunlight seemed to diffuse through the cold haziness, making the air glitter and glow.



Also, check out these pictures/video of a hawk eating a cold squirrel on campus that I photographed recently:







And now, a couple obligatory sky pictures and a video:


"Burn the land and boil the sea; you can't take the sky from me." - firefly



Oh, one more thing: I've been reading this great environment-related book called Greed to Green by Charles Derber. It takes a sociological look at the global warming issue, illustrating how denial is still produced with corporate green washing, and how global warming may be far more catastrophic than people say. Also, it often hits on how the environment is related to social justice and inequality, which is extremely important considering the white, upper-middle class air a lot of outdoors/nature activities have.

Nature is for all.

Supercat Alcohol Stove

So I've made my own Supercat backpacking stove!

I had been reading a lot about home-made stoves on the internet, from things like soda can stoves, penny stoves, etc. But it all seemed really complicated to me. One day I stumbled upon a website about a stove made from an aluminum can called the Super Cat, and read up.

Turns out, it's super easy to make and get working. All you need is a can of food, a hole puncher, and some de-natured alcohol. You take the can of food, empty it out and clean it, measure out holes, and punch them out. Use some pliers and maybe a file to clean things up.

Check this out:

http://zenstoves.net/Stoves.htm

Also:

http://jasonklass.webs.com/

So I finally got it working, and it worked almost too well! It cooked eggs in no time, and boiled in about 5 minutes too. There was plenty of fuel with one thing of alcohol (a "thing" being the amount of alcohol in the can from the bottom to just below the holes).

So here's the video I made of me using the stove for the first time. Enjoy!

Cool videos, and some thoughts.

So for way too long, I feel I've been living vicariously through internet pictures and videos and blogs (like this one) about camping, adventure, and nature. I recently stumbled upon (using stumbleupon.com) this link: http://perpetualweekend.com/wordpress/?p=333

I read through this, and my god, what an epic adventure that must have been. If you go to the home page, there are more trips talked about. Man, the part about that trip that would scare me is walking across those glaciers. But I long for the mountains and the valleys.

One of my friends, Ben, recently went to Montana, and hiked around in Glacier National Park. It makes me wonder why I'm here at the computer, and not in the Sierras.

I mean, look at that. I would go off that trail and, treading lightly, explore that entire freaking valley. I'd love to just set up a tent out there behind some trees and camp. To live that simple, rugged life, just for a week or so.

Seriously, what am I doing? What is everybody doing, not being out there just living the life? Why do I work at a restaurant as a retail person? Why do we concern ourselves with trying to earn so much money, going to great lengths, sacrificing our own (and often times others') well being to do so? Why, when no money is needed for the greatest riches that earth provides?

Insanity...

As I write this blog, I know that I have to go to work later today, and to a dentist's appointment. But even just looking at pictures of nature calms my soul and gives me hope. It's as if those pictures tell me, one day, I will be out there again. One day, I'll be the one hiking through fields and up mountains. That is the life I long for. One with a connection to nature, including my fellow people.

Well, anyway, I've been doing some reading. I actually finished Sand County Almanac pretty quickly, though I didn't read it with as much attention to detail as I did Walden, or the last book I read. But I still got a lot of goodness from its pages. I dog-eared many pages for future reference.

I loved when Leopold talked about the high-tech gear, and how it's only good in a balanced amount. He talks about the difference between using a modern gun to hunt and using a trailer or something to go camping.

One great thing Leopold talks about his how people often try to justify protecting the environment in economic terms. For example, scientists said we had to conserve endangered animals, because without them the food chain would be thrown off and we ourselves would be at risk.

This is not unlike today, where our primary motive in environmentalism is to prevent global warming so that coastal cities don't become flooded, crops don't die, etc. etc. It's like how the oil spill primarily brought up ideas of how the fishing and tourist industries were potentially ruined.

People know something is wrong when they see trash or black oil in our otherwise pristine forests and seas, but it seems too many are motivated to even consider environmentalism purely for economic reasons.

I am now reading a new book, Last Child in the Woods, by Richard Louv (a great book so far, by the way). He had a fantastic point: "Today, kids are aware of the global threats to the environment - but their physical contact, their intimacy with nature, is fading."

This is so true. I see so many in the urban setting of my campus concerned about animal rights, environmentalism, etc., but it seems that not nearly enough of them have experienced nature. Everyone in an organization I am in at college, for example, is concerned about the environment and global warming. But when I bring up the idea of backpacking for a week, they seem to cringe at the idea of not bathing for that long.

But this is exactly what people MUST do! People need to recondition themselves away from all these creature comforts of our consumerist society. Take your shoes off! Dig your toes into the mud! Feel your sweat evaporate in the summer breeze! Cover your hands in bark as you climb up a tree, and drink and eat when your throat is dry and your stomach empty.

It's only then people will learn to live simply, as Thoreau so advocated a century and a half ago. You see, when one is immersed in nature, they realize that there is NO economic value to life whatsoever. There is only life.

That is one of the primary reasons I love backpack camping so much. Because it lets me live that simple lifestyle, if not just for a temporary while. The riches nature offers to my life via its streams and lakes and mountains and trees are far greater than any riches offered by coins and paper bills.

The views I get atop a mountain peak or amidst a valley field are more high-definition and more enticing than any nature documentary on Blu-ray. Even BBC's Earth documentaries (which I love).

I wish I could stop living vicariously so often. I wish it were easier for me to just travel to wilderness, but there are so few wild areas close to where I live. Hocking Hills is the best place that is nearby. But true wilderness is at least a 6 hour drive away in any direction.

Anyway, hopefully I'll be able to get a backpacking trip in before summer's end, or at least go to San Fransisco for the Power to the Peaceful festival!

Below I've posted two videos: One I took during a heavy thunderstorm. I stood butt naked on my porch and watched as the rain fell and the lightning lit up the entire face of the earth, like a flickering sun. I edited together the best footage of the lightning. Beautiful.

I also took a video of one beautiful summer evening, just at dusk. The porch was illuminated in a magical, ethereal orange glow, and the sky was absolutely beautiful. More so than it appears on camera. Enjoy!

Day Hike at Conkle's Hollow, Books, and Thoughts.

So at college, my roomate Max told me and our suitemate Tape (we were the three that enjoyed the outdoors) about a day hike hosted by the Parks & Recreation society. It was awesome. We all got into a car with some other people (a driver, a girl I think, and two hippies).

It was funny, the ride down was a huge bonding moment for my roommate and I. Me being a societally conditioned introvert who was adverse to partying (and still is not a big one), I wasn't too close to many people in my suite. But on the ride down, one of us brought up the idea that Conkle's Hollow was named after an old man living in a hollow (whatever that is). We started using a deep old man voice, saying creepy things like "Why don't you come into my hollow here and sit 'cho self down on this hea' rock?" The voice eventually became a high voice like the creepy old man from Family Guy.

We were howlin' so hard!

Above: Inside the cabin, and the most bizarre multiple choice question ever.

We got there and went in a log cabin (looked like a great place to stay). We talked to a few people. A tour guide came in and showed us maps of Ohio's soil and other things. It was sort of interesting... sort of. Max, Tape and I were all starting to fall asleep, and we were laughing so hard (like when the guy said, 'this is interesting stuff,' we all tried to stifle our laughing).

We set out on the hike finally, and the tour guide kept stopping at every tree to talk about something, which made us laugh more. I asked why they called it Conkle's Hollow, and he said it was because an old man named Conkle came and lived here for a while, to which I looked at Max and said, "So the legends are true..." Hahaha.

One cool thing that the tour guide did point out was that there was a plant called Cherry Wood (I think that's what he called it) that smelled just like root beer (but it wasn't sarsaparilla). He broke off some branches and let us chew on it, and it tasted like root beer too.

He also said Conkle's Hollow was a nature preserve rather than part of the park, so we shouldn't go off the trail.

We did anyway. Hey, we treaded softly, and nature is meant to be interactive. The only reason we're so careful with it is because we have so little of it now. It was fun to go off the trail, and we all fell behind the tour guide a lot.

We especially wandered off once we reached Conkle's Hollow.

Max and Tape

Tape posing epically

Beautiful frozen waterfall (it was a huge column)

More frozen falls.

Up in some rocks.

Well, another thing I wanted to talk about was books. Particularily, good nature books. Walden (and other writings by Thoreau, like his Walking essay) is a wonderful book for any nature lover.

I haven't read this yet, but I really want to read My First Summer in the Sierra by John Muir. I've recently picked up Aldo Leopold's Sand County Almanac, and Return to Wild America by Scott Weidensaul.

Works by Rachel Carson are also suggested. I haven't gotten around to reading any of these yet, though, as I am finishing up another book at the time (No Contest: The Case Against Competition by Alfie Kohn... I recommend it). I am, regrettably, a pathetically slow reader.

So anyway, I've been thinking a lot recently (as I always do), and I realized that all of my ideas are connected. My thoughts on simple living, on more economic equality... I believe it is so unjust that people like BP or Massey (the coal mining company) can ignore safety warnings and regulations, resulting in dead workers (11 and 25, respectively), and disastrous ecological catastrophes, just so the CEOs can try and make more money on top of the millions of dollars they earn annually.

On top of that, people are so disconnected from each other. This greed found in CEOs is the cause and effect of a deep materialistic and consumerist culture in America. I won't go too deep in this issue on this blog, but what I do know is that our desire for materialistic things is just a way for us to try and fill, in vain, a void caused by a disconnect of people. Neighbors don't know each other. People in New York don't talk to each other on the subways. People on the buses at campus don't talk.

What I realize now is that nature shows us so much about this. In nature, you live simply. Nature shows us how to be connected to nature (including the part of nature that is other human beings). In nature, you live to live. You support each other and other human beings. You have a deeply connected community. Nature reminds me of a nostalgic childhood where it seemed like that was how the world worked. But now I see nature can bring that communal, loving life to reality.

Go out in nature. Take your shoes off. Eat when you're hungry, drink when you're thirsty. Connect with the trees, the sky, the animals, and the people. Love.

The Negative Side of the Imagination

Just a quick thought...

I was thinking about how I really would like to go on a solo camping trip some day, but the only problem is that I would probably get really scared at night. There's monsters and shit, you know? Seriously though, it'd be scary to have to get out of the tent at night and pee in the woods.

Isn't it interesting, though? The only thing that would stop me from an amazing experience is what's in my mind. Monsters conjured up by me, by my consciousness.

Kind of like society. All that prevents us from being open and talking with other people as ourselves is this idea in our head that they'll think we're annoying or weird and judge us. But when we try to be something else, it only makes us more annoying.

Certainly, like being afraid of the dark, being afraid in society has its roots. Predators that lurk around at night, the brain preparing to sprint in case of an attack. People (including myself) making fun of each other, talking behind each other's backs and judging.

But it's mostly all in the head. Maybe one day we can overcome that.

-Andrew

Food Recipe - Flat bread

This is a super-easy way to eat something a little fancier than bagged and canned foods in the back-country without having to bring anything that will go bad or be too bulky.

What you'll need is a plastic bag filled with:

Flour

Some salt and/or sugar for flavor.

You may want an extra bag with some extra flour.

Wow, that was easy! All you need to do is take some water (you won't even have to boil or filter it if the water is from a fresh, running source, since you'll be cooking it anyway) and pour it in the bag. Close the bag and start mashing it until it becomes doughy.

Next, take the extra bag with flour in it and put it in whenever and wherever you need to help keep the dough unstuck.

Now, what you can do is use something like canned herrings or whatever to add some oil. This will add flavor and keep the dough from sticking to your pot. After that you can plop that dough in the pan, flatten it out and flip it till its done.

Depending on how wide your pot is, you might need to make several smaller things of flat bread. Heck, you could try using a heated rock to cook this if you wanted.

Anyhow, after that you can dabble on some canned jam, or maybe some herrings or grilled spam and enjoy it! You'd be surprised how good plain flat bread can taste.

-Andrew

Teton Plans

So Thomas kinda crapped out on our plans to go to the Grand Tetons. We aren't really backpacking anymore (although I'm still carrying all I need in my backpack). Instead, we're staying at Jenny Lake in the Grand Teton portion of it.

Ah well, I'm over it. The rest of us will be exploring it up regardless. So then we ran into the problem of car rental - fees were racking up cause no one is 25 (although Bryan and Robby would both be 24), and my mom wanted full insurance.

But now my parents are driving in earlier, giving us their car when we get there and renting one themselves, so it's a lot cheaper. About $770 give or take for each of us.

I'm just relieved that its all done and we are definitely set to go. It's going to be an amazing trip.

Spring 2009 Pictures! (Plus a video and thoughts)

Isn't it weird that people mow lawns?

I thought this one day as I was walking up my driveway. The sun was shining, illuminating this really tall, uncut grass. There were patches of moss and wildflowers and dandelions all over, and vegetation growing among the trees.

Why would I want anything else? Let alone a clean cut, perfectly straight lawn? That would just be, as Alan Watts says, us trying to control the wiggles with a net. But why? So our lawns can be less beautiful and less soft? And some go so far as to not allow anyone to tread on the lawn, and even put poisonous fertilizer in it. Then you can't sit in it or walk in it barefoot or enjoy it at all except from afar. But I guarentee the view won't be as nice as it could've been.


A lone, purple Iris growing in my front yard


I was walking home from my neighbor's house when I looked up and saw this beautiful rainbow (or circumhorizontal arc?) going all the way around the sun. Breathtaking.


When I realized my camera could have 15 second night exposure, I took a flurry of starry night sky pictures. Can't wait to try it out with Milky Way Galaxy...


Some nice bluebell flowers. I'm just guessing that that's the name. Bluebell the troll, terrified throughout the nine kingdoms!


Pine tree in my front yard against the brilliant blue sky


Cool feather I found on the side of the road.


A Japanese-esque flowering tree had dropped lots of its petals. Almost looked like snow!


A pointy-nosed turtle Thomas and I found in Highbanks Metro Park in Ohio. Looks like it has a kinda leathery shell.


The really tall grass that gets lots of water from the ditches. It grew even taller later! (But it got cut recently, and now it's just short, brown, ugly patches) I love walking through grass barefoot, it's so soft!


Thomas against a sunset. It probably didn't look THAT brilliantly orange, I had it on sunset setting.


Beautifully radiant, neon-green tulip leaves. They didn't bloom this year, though. Which is funny, cause it's the only year the deer didn't eat them either.


A pretty wildflower growing in my backyard. Why cut this?