Pour Me Another

A few posts back (Ribbit!), I displayed my first dirty pour acrylic painting.  

Here are my latest experiments.

Two small river rocks above.

8" by 10" canvas below.

Part of the attraction of this technique is the mystery element.  Although you have a specific 'look' in mind, it seldom (never?) turns out that way.  Another attraction is the short lead time, only takes about 45 minutes to prep the surface, mix the paints, pour, move the paint around by tilting the canvas - or rock.  That's it, all done except for adding clear topcoat after two days drying time.

Willow Beach, AZ

Willow Beach Campground with a sliver of the Colorado River showing in upper right.

Pictures above and below were taken 180 degrees from each other.  I climbed up to and onto the outcropping to take the shot above.  The outcropping on which I was standing is the narrow mesa-like finger in the center of the picture below.  The steps in the foreground, below, lead up to tent camping sites.



We were here 2 years ago at Christmas time with David and Elaine.  This time, Tom & Louise joined the group.  They all kayaked while I went to Costco and Total Wine in Henderson.  Next day we rented a boat and headed upriver as far as we could.  Was hoping to get views of Hoover Dam but that wasn't possible: hazardous waters and security barriers pulled us up a few miles short.

Just short of mile marker 60 (number of miles upriver from Davis Dam) we went ashore to see the hot springs.  David and I hiked up a narrow slot canyon to view the springs but didn't get very far.  The stream of warm water flowing from the springs came down through a sharp vee carved into the rock.  Needed waterproof boots to continue.

Below is where we had to stop, no place to walk except in the stream itself.

Third Bash

Two years ago, while on our annual summer RV trek, our neighbor called to inform us that someone had demolished our stucco mailbox.  She had a friend take the picture below.

Our mail was being forwarded to a private mail handling service so immediate replacement of the box was not an issue.  We had a handyman haul off the remains.  Shortly after we returned home, the mail carrier stopped by, told us she did it, gave us a claim form.  The USPS honored the claim, paid enough to replace the box in kind.

We decided to do a gabion column instead of stucco.  I took a jackhammer to the remains of the stucco box, and ordered the gabion parts, a locking mailbox and a set of metal house numbers.  Assembly was fairly easy but hauling the rocks was another matter.  We made numerous trips to a local rock place, hand picking the rocks and hauling them home in 5-gallon buckets.  Over a ton of rocks!

When the project was completed, we congratulated ourselves, and I said, "If they hit that, they'll know they really hit something!"

Sure enough, 3 weeks ago, it got bashed again.  Ruined.  And yes, whoever did the dirty deed bloody well knew it.  Couldn't prove it, but given the angle and height of impact, we're 99% sure it was the mail carrier.  Again.  The local post office 'investigated' but the alleged perp didn't confess (had already done a hit and run, so no surprise) and the vehicle's heavy duty rubber bumper appeared to be undamaged.  As they say in Russia, tough shit-ski.

I ordered new gabion parts and we built it all over again, much quicker this time cuz the rocks were already there.  I positioned the new box further back from the road, hopefully making it less vulnerable to dipstick mail carriers and demolition derby wannabees. 

That covers the 2 most recent bashes.  The first bash occurred several years ago.  Neighbor lady hit the old stucco box, causing cosmetic damage.  She paid for the repair. 

Wanna place a bet on how long it will be before it gets bashed again?  Given the history, I'm not betting.

Ribbit!

Ribbit!

Dirty Pour Acrylic Collage

12" Clay Pot

This is my first 'dirty pour' and first use of metallic acrylics.  When 2 or more colors are placed in the same container and then poured onto canvas, board, paper, whatever, it's called a dirty pour.  I used 4 colors on this flower pot.  A dirty pour is a total crapshoot.  The paint is in control rather than the painter.

Did it come out the way I wanted?  Uh, uh!  Not even close, much darker than I intended.  I like it though.  The frog was an afterthought, was on the cover of an old National Geographic sitting on the corner of my work table.  Froggie had been staring at me for 2 years: okay, froggie, got a whole new gig for you.  The green-dominant surface seemed a likely frog habitat.

It was a fun project, will definitely do more pours.

Many thanks to my good - and very creative - friend Lisa for giving me the idea.

Green Yuk

Cilantro.  Am I the only person in the world that absolutely hates the stuff?  Where the devil did it come from anyway*?  Never even heard of it until a few years ago.  Now, it's everywhere: salsa, salad dressing, coffee, tea, every other entree on restaurant menus.  It's even in some ales!  Now, that's going too far, a crime against humanity if ever there was one.

And then there's arugula, not quite as repulsive as cilantro but a very close second .  Would rather wash my mouth out with soap.  The aftertaste would certainly be better.  Less long-lasting, too.  It's been a while since I've indulged in mouth soaping, but the memory remains.  This will come as no surprise to those who know me: I was a wise ass kid, got the soap 'cure' several times.  Sadly - or gladly, depending on your point of view - the cure didn't take.

Now, don't get me wrong, I love salads!  Chef's salads especially.  Happily, Trish makes fantastic salads, both delicious and attractive ("First you eat with your eyes," she says).  Never, ever do they include the two maggot-gaggers named above.  There are lots of other edible salad makings.

Roughage.  That's what Mom called salads, a true roughage believer.  Ahead of her time, actually.  Never hear the term roughage anymore.  Now it's fiber.  A comedian on one of the SeriusXM channels has a routine about fiber.  He complains that his daughter, a nurse, is always pushing him to eat more fiber.  "Eat fiber, Daddy, lots and lots of fiber."  He goes on, "Fiber, fiber, fiber!  Twigs and leaves and bran!  Ate so much fiber I started passing wicker furniture."

*Cilantro has been in use for 5000 years or more, probably originated in India, thought to be an aphrodisiac, especially in Asia.  What's with the Asians and their weird aphrodisiacs?  Can't get it up?  There are more people of the Asian persuasion than any other ethnic group, so getting it up doesn't seem to be a major issue.

Ancients Among Us

Crocodiles and alligators.  Somehow these critters crawled into our dinner conversation.  We both knew they'd been around a long time, no idea how long of course.  I commented that cockroaches had been around a long time, too.  Trish isn't the least bit fond of roaches, doesn't even want to talk about 'em.  Can't say I'm a fan, either, but some folks like 'em.  Chinese folks especially; they have roach farms where they raise millions of 'em for food, cosmetics and medicines; $20 a pound.



Curiosity aroused, I googled it.  And the winner is...roaches!  Would you believe 350 million years?  Crocs and their cousins: 200 million years.  No contest.  Roaches survived while dinosaurs came and went, their window was 65-230 million years ago.

Still curious, I wondered what other ancient critters are still around.  And if roaches were the overall title holder.  Nope.  Several sea creatures are older (in millions of years): horseshoe crab 445; nautilus 500; jellyfish 550; sponge 580.  Are sponges critters?  Sure.  What the heck.

Nautilus

And now the moment you've all been waiting for, the overall winner, the longest living thing on earth.  Soup!  Well, it looks like soup.  Decidedly unappetizing soup.

Cyanobacteria, 2.8 billion years old

Although I see little resemblance to anyone in my family tree, these little fellas may be our common ancestor, the common ancestor of everything for that matter.  They were the first ever microbes to produce oxygen via photosynthesis.

Windex?

Shortly after entering western Idaho on I-84 this summer, we saw a solar power farm, then another one some time later.  Passing by the second one, it occurred to me that the panels need periodic cleaning and I asked Trish, "How do you suppose they clean those things?"  She, of course, was as clueless as I.  I followed up with, "There's probably a guy with a BIG bottle of Windex that does the cleaning.  It's his life's work.  Probably takes a year to clean them all, and by then the first one is dirty again.  Talk about job security."

The largest solar plant in the US is Solar Star in Rosamond, CA: 3200 acres, 1.7 million panels, 20.9 SF per panel.  That adds up to 35+ million SF of panel surface!   Rosamond is in the Mohave Desert, same desert I'm sitting in right now.  The Mohave is dusty.  And there are lots of birds, birds that haven't been toilet trained.  

No, Windex, paper towels and dozens of spray-and-wipe workers aren't gonna get the job done any time soon.  Besides, Windex and paper towels do a lousy job.  Home brew* and a squeegee are the way to go.

Here are some non-Windex devices:



A drone view of another method.

https://boingboing.net/2018/05/25/drones-eye-view-of-how-solar.html

There are several types of robotic devices similar to the one above, and some of these are fully automated, like this one: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S8b6mE6meIM

*Home brew for cleaning windows - and residential solar panels?
1/3 cup cleaning ammonia
1 cup isopropyl (rubbing) alcohol
1squirt Dawn liquid dish soap
1 gallon water

*

Golden Spike, cont.

The railroad route, Central Pacific in blue, Union Pacific in red.

Our visit to the Golden Spike Historic Site was greatly enhanced by our viewing of Hell on Wheels, a TV series that ran 6 seasons.  The main character, Anson Mount, pictured below, was fictional.  Colm Meany played Thomas Durant, a real person - also a robber baron and a nasty, despicable, sumbitch with the morals and ethics of a goat.  Baaaad goat.  The series can be streamed via Netflix.  Here's an overview: https://www.imdb.com/title/tt1699748/




Hell on Wheels was the name given to the tent towns that sprang up every place the Union Pacific builders set up camp.  It was a rowdy, bawdy bunch: gamblers, whores, purveyors of rotgut booze and so on.



There's a whole trainload of mind boggling facts about the building of the TCRR.  One that really impressed me was the 1750' tunnel in the Sierra Nevada mountains built through solid granite at the rate of one foot per day.  The per-day rate increased to a whopping 1.8' per day when they started using nitroglycerin.

I suppose any civil engineer worth his/her salt knows how to build a tunnel, have that tunnel take the shortest route possible, and finally, come out at exactly the right spot.  I'm not a civil engineer, have no idea how it's done.  Seems a miracle.

Historic Trails

50 years ago, congress passed the National Historic Trails Act.  Now, the National Park Service manages and administers 19 historic trails.  Most folks know about the Oregon Trail, arguably the most famous of the bunch.  That said, southwestern folks might disagree, claim it's the Santa Fe trail.

I was unaware of the Trails before visiting Golden Spike National Historic Site this summer.  Being a collector of NPS brochures, I gleefully liberated 4 Trails brochures there.  My collection now  numbers 92, including a few duplicates.

The California Trail is the longest at 5600 miles, followed closely by the Trail of Tears, 5045.  Selma-Montgomery is the shortest: 54 miles.  The oldest is the El Camino Real de Tierra Adentro, which dates back to the 16th century; it stretches from northern Mexico to New Mexico.

Several east-west trails share the same routing through the Great Plains, starting from the Missouri River between Omaha and Kansas City; Independence and St Joseph seem to have been the most popular.  The trails then follow the Platte River to various branching off points.

Learn more about the Trails at:
 https://www.nps.gov/subjects/nationaltrailssystem/national-historic-trails.htm

2018 Summary

Above and below, views of Monument Valley from our campground.

Here it is, the good, bad and ugly of our summer adventures.

1.  Left LHC May 29th, returned September 12th; 107 days on the road.

2.  Towed the RV 3358 miles.

3.  States visited, in order: CA, OR, ID, UT, CO, UT, AZ.

4.  Upgrades:
     A.  2nd A/C unit.  Now we're ready for the hot Midwest next summer.
     B.  Top of the line toilet, old one leaked.
     C.  TPMS (tire pressure monitoring system).

5.  Casualties:
     A.  One RV tire.
     B.  One microwave fuse.
     C.  One converter?  Jury still out.
     D.  Two RV batteries?  Ditto.

6.  Biggest oops: not checking the surge protector lights when plugging into friends 30 amp outlet.  The outlet had reversed polarity which blew the microwave fuse and may have toasted the converter and the two house batteries.

7.  Biggest challenge: moving in the 3 slides, and raising the jacks and landing gear when the RV batteries were totally discharged at the North Rim.  Problem solved by plugging the RV pigtail into the truck with truck idling and s-l-o-w-l-y moving slides in.  Then had to wait 30 minutes for batteries to recharge enough to raise landing gear.

Frisco, CO

We drove around Dillon Reservoir this AM, then had lunch at the Frisco marina.

Lots of kayaks and canoes are stored outside at the marina.

Dillon Reservoir

The pix below were taken at the Frisco Historic Park and Museum.  Several authentic log cabins and other structures were moved here from various locations and stocked with period goodies.  Nice.

Oh boy: young, tender Indian lad for lunch!

Breckenridge, CO

Originally a gold mining town, now an upscale recreation/vacation area, Breck is cool.  Literally.  43 degrees this AM, but that's to be expected at 9600' elevation.  But daily highs are in the low 70s and afternoons are quite pleasant.  It's a nice change from having the A/C on every day for the last 2 months.  Also a nice change: no smoke from wildfires as there was in OR, ID, and UT.

Many downtown buildings date from the mid 1800s and are on the historical register, including the one below where we had a nice lunch.

Although the population is only 5K, there are thousands of condos and other lodgings and hundreds more under construction.

The Blue River runs through downtown and continues northward, through our RV park.  The downtown River Walk area is nicely done, with lots of flowers and sculptures, including this guy.  The pix below were all taken along the the River Walk.

During WW ll, the 10th Mountain Division trained in the Aspen/Vail areas, also Mt Ranier in WA and other areas.  After the war, vets from the 10th are credited with launching the skiing industry, and were involved in the development and management of 62 different ski areas in the US.  Read more about these tough soldiers at: https://snowbrains.com/10th-mountain-division-history-fire-mountain/

Once a gold dredge, now a restaurant.  Saw some of these in Fairbanks and Nome, Alaska, but none this pretty.  None had cute dogs in front, either.

The Blue River in Breck.

Tiger Run Resort

Tiger Run Resort is a gated community of RV lots and 300-900 SF park models about 4 miles north of Breckenridge, CO - aka 'Breck'.  We're spending a week here, our first time in one of the popular CO ski areas.

Folks who aren't RVers are scratching their heads now, wondering what the devil is a park model?  It's a factory-built, mini-house that can be transported via road to its permanent location.  The size is limited by highway width/height/length regs so the basic shape is a boxcar.  Older units have all the architectural appeal of, well ........ a boxcar.  In recent years, they've become much more attractive.

Once on site, covered decks are usually added, sometimes a lean-to addition also.  Decks are typically covered with sharply-peaked roofs, side additions with nearly flat roofs.  End result: 3 different roof lines which, in my humble opinion, look like crap.

Popular ski-area dwellings aren't cheap.  Breck is only 90 minutes from Denver, area population 3.2 million, so it's a handy getaway, especially if you're into outdoor sports, winter and/or summer.  A 878 SF park model costs a mere $795K here.  Such a deal!  Or, you can buy an RV lot for just $550 K.   But - it does includesa nice picnic table.  And, as the proud owner of either a dwelling or a lot, you get to pay $350/month HOA dues.  So what's not to like? 

On the plus side, this is the nicest RV park in the area, well managed and maintained.  And, quite attractive.  If you don't mind architectural nightmares.

Fruita, CO

Dinosaurs and bicycles are Fruita's twin themes.  

Lots of dinosaur remains were found in the area in the early 1900s.

There is no evidence whatsoever that dinosaurs actually rode bikes.

The bike shop owner said these high tech mountain bikes go for $2-6K.  $6000 for bike?  Holy crap!

Big bike.  Little dog.

Here's a well done tribute to Vietnam vets, with names of western Colorado KIAs.  The bronze figures: a soldier being greeted by his parents, titled Welcome Home.  Welcome home, Bro!  That's what Nam vets say to each other these days.  And it feels damn good, both to say it and to hear it.

I, like thousands of other returning vets didn't get a 'welcome home' back in the day.  No ticker tape parade.  No brass band.  No acknowledgement of our sacrifice, of putting our lives on the line.  Instead, we were spat upon, called 'baby killers.' bad-mouthed and villianized by the masses and the media, unfit to associate with the public.  It hurt.

The Huey helicopter was the workhorse of the war, and I logged lots of hours.  I love the sound of choppers to this day.  Hearing one approach over the jungle was always good: resupply, medevacs, gun ships, reinforcements, getting hauled back to base.

Canyonlands National Park

The Green River joins the Colorado River here and both rivers have carved out fantastic cliffs, arches, canyons and hoodoos.  The lookout points are at an elevation of 6000'.

The 3 pix below were taken at Mesa Arch.  

The rest of these were taken at several different overlooks.

The first one is the Green River area.

These are Colorado River sculpted.  The canyon bottom is about 2000' below the lookout points.

Dead Horse Point State Park, UT

Dead Horse Point is a finger of land that pokes into Canyonlands National Park.  In the 1800s, cowboys herded horses to the end of the finger and built a brush corral to keep them there.  The unwanted horses were left behind and died there.  NSPCA was not around at the time.

View of potash ponds and part of the visitor center.

That's the Colorado River down there, in my opinion the best sculptor in the world.