Aching to be On The Road Again – Point Bonita

SUMMARY: Point Bonita Lighthouse.

These photos from visit in October 2015.

During the COVID-19 Pandemic Shelter In Place/Lockdown/Quarantine — I’ve not been able to go anywhere since early January, first because of knee surgery, and then the virus moved in. Antsy to just go everywhere. So, thinking back to places I’ve been that I’d like to visit again.

I’ve been to Point Bonita Lighthouse twice, and I’m ready to go back and get more, more, more pix!

Just north of San Francisco. After crossing my beauty Golden Gate on the Golden Gate Bridge, take the first exit after the viewpoint and find your way west. Oh–sure–Modern Times–fine, just use your cell phone or other technological wonder of your choice.

If you’d never heard of it and had never been there and suddenly you saw a photo like this in a magazine, wouldn’t you want to go and check it out?! I did! So I did!

This is the 2nd or 3rd bridge generation of the bridge.
Originally you could just walk to it. See that space in the middle underneath? One day a lot of that rock just fell away.
These cliffs are, after all, battered by mighty waves 24/7/365. No waiting, immediate service.
Current bridge is up to par with current engineering practices.
The base of that arch wayyyy down there is 124 feet below the base of the lighthouse.
I would not try to kayak through there if I were you.

After you’re out at the lighthouse, you can look back at the bridge and the cliffs and the amazing green water and pounding waves.

Really zoomed in. And enhanced a bit. I love this photo but not everyone does.

Its Fresnel (“fray-NELL”) lens is still active. Fresnels are gorgeous bits of art and engineering.

From there, you can see parts of San Francisco (including the TransAmerica Tower pyramid)
and the entire Golden Gate Bridge. This photo just shows part of it.
I struggle to get the colors of water and sky and everything correct.

So many smaller and bigger things to see on or from the trail down to the lighthouse. And the lighthouse has a small museum about its history and operation. I have so many photos! But never enough time to sit and work on them. You’ll just have to go yourself.

You know what I hate about the lighthouse? Two things:

1. Your viewing options of it are limited unless you’re on the water outside the Gate (pretty rough, and lots of mongo commercial traffic) or over on the San Francisco side with a reasonable zoom lens.
2. Access to it is very limited. Only a few hours on only a few days of the week and not at all if it’s very windy or wet or foggy and never during the hours when you might be able to see the sunset behind it! No way to see the sunset behind it, really. If you google “point bonita lighthouse sunset”, there are a few, but not many–must be cliff climbers or park staff or photogs by special arrangement… Sigh.
P.S. No dogs allowed. Really, it would not be a safe trip for them.

But it is still worth multiple visits.

Tour de Clothing

SUMMARY: Can’t actually go anywhere. Thanks, COVID-19.

But I WANT to! I wanna I wanna I wanna! But I can’t.

So, instead, I took my own long trip to places I’ve been before, down a dark desert highway and all the rest. On my Tour de Clothing (Shirts) May 2020 during COVID Lockdown! Revisiting places for which I have shirts. Only those places … Well, maybe I digress on occasion. But mostly that’s the rule: No shirt, no service.

You’re welcome to join me. Condensed version, by video, for those inclined. (Also I did take photos of each individually. But I’m out of energy to process and post, now, anyway. This, a sudden whim, has taken me hours and hours.) Otherwise: Here are photos and a whole lot of details that ran through my head as I drove. In my head.

WORDS IN ALL CAPS for things that match a shirt. And off you go. Take a clean hanky, clean underwear, and some healthy snack bars–no time to stop.
And a camera, because I know you’re going to stop anyway. Tsk.

First strip: Read left to right.

MARTIAL COTTLE PARK, SAN JOSE
We start our long, long journey of the Tour de Clothing at the nearly 300-acre agricultural historic park with modern visitor center, picnic areas, sprawling lawns, and much about the agricultural background of the Santa Clara Valley. Donated by a family who could’ve likely gotten multiple millions of dollars for the property. Opened in 2014. Very close to Ellen’s home.

South down US-101 about 20 minutes to MORGAN HILL, where USDAA held one of its annual National/World Championship Cynosports events. Ellen volunteered and took photos.

Another 20 minutes south to PRUNEDALE at the privately owned Manzanita Park recreation park where The Bay Team and SMART have each held many USDAA competitions over the years, including the USDAA Western Regional Championship over a couple of decades and ongoing. Competed with all of my dogs there SO many times.

From Prunedale, cut through the hills out to the coast to CA Route 1 and north to Santa Cruz, 30-40 minutes away, at the northern tip of Monterey Bay. Way back when, for many years, Ellen held season subscriptions to SHAKESPEARE SANTA CRUZ at UCSC. There’s much else there in SC—you know, beaches, boardwalks, like that. Ice cream. Eclectic building codes.

Just south of Santa Cruz, cut back into the Forest of Nicene Marks State Park, where you can hike into the hills to the side of Loma Prieta peak above the epicenter of the GREAT LOMA PRIETA QUAKE OF 1989. Because of our backtracking, this is only about 10 miles as a sober crow flies south of where we started.

Follow back down Hwy 1 around Monterey Bay to the southern tip of the Bay, about 90 minutes of driving, to Monterey and the fabulous MONTEREY BAY AQUARIUM on Cannery Row (yes, that Cannery Row). They focus on the amazingly rich life in the amazingly deep Monterey Bay. One giant tank replicates a forest of Giant Kelp with all of its denizens; another more giagantic tank with a 90’ window replicates the open sea and often features sea turtles, sharks, and many more. They also do scads of research and training. I can easily spend a day there if I can handle being on my feet that long, maybe with a break for lunch. Many restaurants right there.

Then we make a crazy break, driving for four hours across the coast range, passing 101, then pas I-5, way east into the Central Valley and then north to Turlock on CA-99. Many agility events have been held there at the fairgrounds (or nearby private field), including CLEAN RUN POWER PAWS CAMP, an amazing week (or very long weekend?) of agility learning with excellent instructions from around the world. Jake and Remington and I attended once or twice there. (Didn’t include shirts from a couple of other locations we attended in other years.)

We leave agility for a little while and cruise down 99 for 2 hours to Visalia, where my BROTHER-IN-LAW’S BIRTHDAY PARTY (“VICON”) was held every August for 20? 30? years, camping in the back yard by the swimming pool. Wonderful warm gathering of close friends and relatives.

We bid a sad farewell to VICON, now several years in the past, and go straight southwest for an hour and a half back to US-101, not far from the coast, in San Luis Obispo (site of Cal Poly), to the kitschy MADONNA INN, where every room is different and crazily creative. Maybe get lunch in the cafe, shop in the intriguing gift shops, and wander through all the amazingly pink public areas. We opt not to go to nearby Hearst Castle, with more square footage in rooms than national parks have in square miles, because I don’t have a t-shirt for it. Don’t linger too long, because we are now on our way to—

ANAHEIM! And you know what that means. Down 101 along the gorgeous CA coast all the way to Los Angeles, then take I-5 south to DISNEYLAND, 3 1/2 to 6 hours depending on the horrid traffic.

Second strip, read right to left.

In Disneyland, so many things to do and see. I do NOT have t-shirts for all of them, but here are favorites: MAIN STREET PHOTO SUPPLY, where you can get any film that you nee…. oh, well, maybe not any more. Veer right into Tomorrowland for a while, then shoot back past Main Street, through Adventureland, and into New Orleans Square to visit favorite rides PIRATES OF THE CARIBBEAN and HAUNTED MANSION (where there is only one way in… and one way out…). I’ve been dozens of times. Never get tired of it. Except maybe late on the 4th day… Then, alas, we run out of money and must go…

…spend more money going to another one of USDAA’S 2000 AND 2001 NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP events at Del Mar this time: An hour and a quarter south on I-5, along the coast through San Clemente, past Camp Pendleton South, to Del Mar not far north of San Diego. Held there 2 years, qualified for and competed with Remington and Jake both years.

And because we haven’t spent enough money YET on dog agility Cynosports World Championships, we head due east on I-8, the southernmost route here, skimming the border of Mexico, thru Yuma, slight jog north until six hours later when we arrive in Phoenix, or more specifically, the ginormous Westworld Horsepark, nearly 400 acres of horsie paradise for CYNOSPORTS IN SCOTTSDALE. Swanky town, pricey. I competed 4 different years there with Jake, Boost, and Tika, or some combo thereof. If you stick around after it’s done, you can tour Frank Lloyd Wright’s Taliesen West, his “summer camp” for architects (no t-shirt, just interesting). Not as fancy as Hearst’s “summer camp” back near San Luis Obispo, but still…

NOW we’re done done done with agility for this trip. So, backtrack west a little, then north up the long spur road to GRAND CANYON Village on the south rim. From there, you can see the North Rim, just about 10 miles across the canyon. You can opt to hike there—one vertical mile down, several miles across, and more than a mile up again. In the desert. Or you can wait until later into our Tour de Clothing.

3rd strip, read left to right

A road goes along the rim in both directions from the Village, but the RimTrail is also available for walking, depending on your energy level and the heat. Can get very hot. And it’s over 8 miles going west to HERMIT’S ROOST, with a squillion different viewpoints along the way. Or you can take the free shuttle between viewpoints. At some times during the year, you can drive it, but not often. Hermit’s rest has the best-tasting refreshments… or is that just because I just walked 3 miles? The walk is stunning. You see things you don’t see from the shuttle, including, well into the summer, desert wildflowers popping up everywhere, if you look.

Ready for a 3.5-hour drive, if you don’t stop in Winslow Arizona to check out the girl my lord in a flatbed ford or the guy standing on the corner… back all the way south on the road from GC Village east to PETRIFIED FOREST NATIONAL PARK. Amazing colors, amazing petrified wood and history there. (No comment about how much has been stolen through the decades. Sigh.)

Another couple of hours north to CANYON DE CHELLY, in which many ancient cliff dwellings remain, most that you can’t get into, but you can see them with a native Navajo in a tour, riding in an Indiana Jones Ride style vehicle that outdoes the ride by a factor of 3 in terms of comfort. Well—ok, actually thinking of my neck, it’s tamer than the ride, but you get a tour through history and through Navajo country where people still farm and herd as they have for centuries. You can also hike in some places.

Next, you head west for about 6 hours (because it’s a twisty windy road to the NORTH RIM OF THE GRAND CANYON. And, you turn south onto a long long spur road to get there, because, like the Haunted Mansion—other than the hike we mentioned earlier,—, there is only one way in… and one way out… The view is completely different from here; on the south rim, all you see is Canyon. On the north rim, you’re looking down at the south rim across the way, so you can actually see much of the wild land spread out south of the canyon. Grand Canyon has two scrumptious early-1900s lodges at the south rim and one at the North Rim. Check them out. Go for a little hike to get the different views.

Now—back out that long spur and straight north for just over 3 hours to BRYCE CANYON with its world-famous, hard-to-believe-until-you-see-them-up-close hoodoos and wind-eroded mini-canyons. Photographers love this place; sometimes the orange rock seems to glow from within. Seriously. Go there.

And, since I have no shirts from any of the other strong cluster of amazing national parks and monuments in the same area, we simply blast straight north for almost the whole 8 hours, thru Salt Lake City, and then on north through beautiful winding roads to the small town of Victor in Idaho, just across the Tetons from Jackson Hole Wyoming. I’m sure you’ve heard of the latter. We stayed in VICTOR FOR THE TOTAL SOLAR ECLIPSE a couple of years back and I fell in love with the area. Of course, it was August, weather was perfect. Haven’t tried going back to sit through a blizzard or two.

Then we bip across said Grand Tetons and, crossing the border into Wyoming, we’re in Grand Teton National Park, amazing mountains and other scenery, which blends, as we turn north, directly into YELLOWSTONE NATIONAL PARK. The place is huge. Huge. At roughly 3,600 square miles (9325 square km), it’s bigger than the states of Delaware and Rhode Island combined. OK, admittedly they’re really tiny states… But then, considering that Wyoming is the 9th largest of the US states at 97,000 square miles, I guess it’s… um… small? But it is the 8th largest park in the U.S. Given that 6 of the other 7 are in Alaska, which has room to spare, it’s still pretty darn big. So many things to see. An amazing place. Cannot begin to say how often I’d say, “wow, really? This is real?!”

4th strip, read right to left

By the time you leave Yellowstone crossing the border north into Montana (assuming that you haven’t stopped along the way, jeez), you’ve driven 5 hours from Victor. After crossing that border, drive a mere additional 8.5 hours northwest along I-90 and then a sudden drop south to MOSCOW, IDAHO. It might claim to be an interstate, but it travels through some pretty rough country, as in, mountains all the way. And you know what mountain roads are like.

BUT I digress. Back in the early ‘90s, I drove with a friend from San Jose to Moscow for a fabulous one-week SCIENCE FICTION/FANTASY WRITING WORKSHOP given by the late great amazing Algys Budrys. I loved every minute of the long long long long long long LONG trip (easier with a friend, isn’t it!) and the workshop and meeting the people. Including prolific author Nina Kiriki Hoffman.

But there’s no workshop there at the moment, so we leave , return north to I-90 and blast our way allllll the way west across the state of Washington for 9 hours without stopping even as we bypass Seattle (yep, no t-shirts, so that’s that), take a ferry for about 2 hours, and while we’re on the water, we cross Canada, ending up in VICTORIA on Vancouver Island. A beautiful city on the Strait of Juan de Fuca. And also host to BUTCHART GARDENS, which was a huge ginormous eyesore of a former quarry until the quarry owner’s wife turned it into 22 ha (55 acres) of peaceful, colorful, delightful gardens of various themes. It’s lit spectacularly in the evening, and since it’s far enough north, in June, twilight doesn’t end until after 10 PM.

Now, sadly, we must take that lonnnnng 2-hr ferry ride back across the Canadian border to Washington, drive another 5 hours south after that on I-5, which we last saw near the Mexican border, 1050 miles (1690 kilometers) south from Victoria. See how this is wrapping up kinda neatly?

Our next Tour de Clothing stop is down in Oregon on the side of the kinda dormant volcano Mount Hood. That is, it is “a potentially active stratovolcano in the Cascade Volcanic Arc”, and if you want to know what a stratovolcano in the Cascades does when it decides to become active, look up before and after photos of Mount St. Helens’s 1980 eruption, “the deadliest and most economically destructive volcanic event in U.S. history”. Well, yes, “U.S.” history. U.S. Isn’t that old. Actually. But still. Everyone here on the west coast who was old enough to be aware, was in fact aware of it. That was all the conversation at the wedding reception I was attending that day. Sorry, Joe & Lois. And that was before we knew the half of it.

Um, yes, anyway, it has another lovely craftsman style lodge, TIMBERLINE LODGE, there on its side, hoping that Hood minds his manners. Yes, that’s the lodge where Jack Nicholson — yes, that movie.

We’re running low on t-shirts; pass through all the rest of Oregon (not even Crater Lake, sorry) continuing on I-5 for about 10 hours well into California and then another hour and a half west out to the rugged northern California coast and POINT ARENA, which has a lovely tall thin lighthouse, one of many up and down the west coast. And places to hike. And eat. And, like, sleep. Well worth a visit to that area, including Fort Bragg, originally built by the Russians back in fur-trading days.

Annnnnd then take the stunningly scenic Hwy 1 down along the side of a cliff along rugged, rugged coast, and believe me you won’t want to take in the stunning scenery because of your death grip on the steering wheel as you slow to 25 around curves to avoid plunging hundreds of feet into the Pacific. It’s delightful, really it is. Fortunately you can cut inland after about 2 hours, back to US 101 continuing south across the Golden Gate Bridge (also really beautiful and you *can* take glimpses at it without fearing for your very life) to San Francisco, and the giant Moscone Convention Center, where there have a been a couple of WORLD SCIENCE FICTION CONVENTIONS that I attended. So many authors and artists! And books! And art of so many kinds! And the dealer’s room! (not…not … that kind of dealer) Hope you brought your wallet.

Then, finally, a leisurely hour continuing south on 101 down the Peninsula to home in San Jose.

Final strip, read right to left

Where you quickly hop onto an airplane and fly for some godforsaken number of hours* northeast across the U. S. of A., back into Canada, still going northeast, cross the tip of Greenland, and suddenly plunk down in LONDON. For a truly wonderful, history-filled, art-filled, photo op filled, four days in London with just your camera as your companion and you couldn’t be happier! Especially after you bought a shirt for your Tour de Clothing!

* Probably only 14-17. Not including arriving at the airport 2 hours in advance, etc.

When done there, hop again back across the Atlantic to Orlando, Florida* , and find your way to WALT DISNEY WORLD. Which contains within its borders the entire Epcot Center, which is quite large and surrounds a big lake; a whole ‘nother Disneyland except much more spread out than the one in Anaheim; an Animal Kingdom of many many many acres of actual animals running loose or tastefully fenced in; and more. Huge. You need a vehicle to get from park to park therein. You probably need a vehicle to get from the far side of the parking lot at the transportation center to the train (“monorail”) which is the only way to get to its Disneyland (“Magic Kingdom”. I am not making this up. I had never been there until 2015. Now have been thrice. That’s not enough.

*Probably only another 14-16 hours. Hey, how come we end up all the way across north america from where we started, but the flights are the same length? No, no, please don’t go into geometries and jet streams and like that with me at this time of day.

Then ANOTHER little joyride of a plane trip (merely 12 hours now) to the middle of the Pacific (weren’t we just on the far side of the Atlantic?) to Honolulu, on the island of Oahu in the state of HAWAII. The island of Hawaii is also in Hawaii but it is a major, major change of scenery. Can you say lava, both ancient and currently red hot? Have been to the state twice and would love to go back.

THEN back across the water to San Jose (5-6 hours), and home.

Whew! Time for a nap! Fortunately I did not add up all those miles or I’d want a really really long nap.

Have I Been To All The National Parks?

SUMMARY: A question posed by a friend who knows I get around.

My answer: Not by a long shot! But–how many have I been to?

At the moment, the U.S. has 62 National Parks. Wikipedia says, “29 states [including Alaska and Hawaii] have national parks, as do the territories of American Samoa and the U.S. Virgin Islands.” I’ve never been to Alaska, American Samoa, or the U.S. Virgin Islands. So there’s that.

We also have 128 National Monuments, which are also worth visiting, and some of which eventually may become National Parks.

AND we have all of these: 30 National Memorials (e.g., Mount Rushmore), 5 Affiliated National Memorials, and 19 independent locations that Congress designated as national memorials but that aren’t managed by the Park Service.

But on one site I found that there are “419 National Park Units as of 2019”! Whaaaa?!

Got that?

I’m not even going to mention State Parks!

TIP:

If you haven’t been to many, or want inspirational photos to help you choose where to go, QT Luong is a local photographer who created his own project to photograph all 61…62… whatever… US National Parks. The resulting photos have appeared in National Geographic among other places. And he made a stunning book, Treasured Lands: A Photographic Odyssey through America’s National Parks, Second Expanded Edition. He presented some of his recent and detailed experiences to my photo club a couple of years ago, too. You can order the book or read his blog or see more photos or more at his site, https://www.terragalleria.com/. (Or come visit me and you can see my copy.)

Here’s the full Kitchen Sink list of parks, monuments, and so on. Ones I’ve been to are in THIS COLOR — and I might have been to more with my family in the many years we traveled together through my early and college years– [Copied this list from this handy site]:

ALABAMA NATIONAL PARKS
Birmingham Civil Rights National Monument
Freedom Riders National Monument
Horseshoe Bend National Military Park
Little River Canyon National Preserve
Russell Cave National Monument
Tuskegee Airmen National Historic Site
Tuskegee Institute National Historic Site
Little River Canyon National Preserve

ALASKA NATIONAL PARKS
Alagnak Wild River
Aniakchak National Monument +
Aniakchak National Preserve
Bering Land Bridge National Preserve
Cape Krusenstern National Monument
Denali National Park +
Denali National Preserve
Gates of the Arctic National Park +
Gates of the Arctic National Preserve
Glacier Bay National Park +
Glacier Bay National Preserve
Katmai National Park +
Katmai National Preserve
Kenai Fjords National Park
Klondike Gold Rush National Historical Park (also WA)
Kobuk Valley National Park
Lake Clark National Park +
Lake Clark National Preserve
Noatak National Preserve
Sitka National Historical Park
Wrangell-St. Elias National Park +
Wrangell-St. Elias National Preserve
Yukon-Charley Rivers National Preserve

ARIZONA NATIONAL PARKS

(TMH sez: Have possibly done more of these incidentally)

Canyon De Chelly National Monument
Casa Grande Ruins National Monument
Chiricahua National Monument
Coronado National Memorial
Fort Bowie National Historic Site
Glen Canyon National Recreation Area (also UT)
Grand Canyon National Park
Hohokam Pima National Monument (“There is no public access to the Hohokam Pima National Monument.”)
Hubbel Trading Post National Historic Site
Montezuma Castle National Monument
Navajo National Monument (incl Betatakin tour)
Organ Pipe Cactus National Monument
Petrified Forest National Park
Pipe Spring National Monument
Saguaro National Park
Sunset Crater Volcano National Monument
Tonto National Monument
Tumacacori National Historical Park
Tuzigoot National Monument
Walnut Canyon National Monument
Wupatki National Monument

ARKANSAS NATIONAL PARKS
Arkansas Post National Memorial
Buffalo National River
Fort Smith National Historic Site
Hot Springs National Park
Little Rock Central High School National Historic Site
Pea Ridge National Military Park
President William Jefferson Clinton Birthplace Home National Historic Site

CALIFORNIA NATIONAL PARKS
Cabrillo National Monument
Castle Mountains National Monument
César E. Chávez National Monument
Channel Islands National Park
Death Valley National Park (also NV)
Devils Postpile National Monument
Eugene O’Neill National Historic Site
Fort Point National Historic Site
Golden Gate National Recreational Area (includes Alcatraz Island)
John Muir National Historic Site
Joshua Tree National Park
Kings Canyon National Park
Lassen Volcanic National Park
Lava Beds National Monument
Manzanar National Historic Site
Mojave National Preserve
Muir Woods National Monument
Pinnacles National Park
Point Reyes National Seashore
Port Chicago Naval Magazine National Memorial
Redwood National Park
Rosie the Riveter World War II Home Front National Historic Park
San Francisco Maritime National Historical Park
Santa Monica Mountains National Recreation Area
Sequoia National Park
Tule Lake National Monument
Whiskeytown-Shasta-Trinity National Recreation Area
Yosemite National Park

COLORADO NATIONAL PARKS
Bent’s Old Fort National Historic Site
Black Canyon of the Gunnison National Park (I think so, anyway)
Colorado National Monument
Currecanti National Recreation Area
Dinosaur National Monument (also UT)
Florissant Fossil Beds National Monument
Great Sand Dunes National Park
Great Sand Dunes National Preserve
Hovenweep National Monument (also UT)
Mesa Verde National Park
Rocky Mountain National Park
Sand Creek Massacre National Historic Site
Yucca House National Monument

CONNECTICUT NATIONAL PARKS
Weir Farm National Historic Site

DELAWARE NATIONAL PARKS
First State National Historical Park (also PA)

FLORIDA NATIONAL PARKS
Big Cypress National Preserve
Biscayne National Park
Canaveral National Seashore
Castillo de San Marcos National Monument
De Soto National Memorial
Dry Tortugas National Park
Everglades National Park
Fort Caroline National Memorial
Fort Matanzas National Monument
Gulf Islands National Seashore (also MS)
Timucuan Ecological and Historic Preserve

GEORGIA NATIONAL PARKS
Andersonville National Historic Site
Chattahoochee River National Recreation Area
Chickamauga and Chattanooga National Military Park (also TN)
Cumberland Island National Seashore
Fort Frederica National Monument
Fort Pulaski National Monument
Jimmy Carter National Historic Site
Kennesaw Mountain National Battlefield Park
Martin Luther King Jr National Historic Site
Ocmulgee National Monument

HAWAII NATIONAL PARKS
Haleakala National Park
Hawai’i Volcanoes National Park
Honouliuli National Monument (not open to the public yet)
Kalaupapa National Historical Park
Kaloko-Honokohau National Historical Park
Pearl Harbor National Memorial (formerly World War II Valor in the Pacific National Monument, also in AK and CA)
Pu’uhonua O Honaunau National Historical Park
Pu’ukohola Heiau National Historic Site

IDAHO
City of Rocks National Reserve
Craters of the Moon National Monument +
Craters of the Moon National Preserve
Hagerman Fossil Beds National Monument
Minidoka National Historic Site
Nez Perce National Historical Park

ILLINOIS
Lincoln Home National Historic Site
Pullman National Monument

INDIANA
George Rogers Clark National Historical Park
Indiana Dunes National Park (formerly Indiana Dunes National Lakeshore)
Lincoln Boyhood National Memorial

IOWA
Effigy Mounds National Monument
Herbert Hoover National Historic Site

KANSAS
Brown vs. Board of Education National Historic Site
Fort Larned National Historic Site
Fort Scott National Historic Site
Nicodemus National Historic Site
Tallgrass Prairie National Preserve

KENTUCKY
Abraham Lincoln Birthplace National Historical Park
Camp Nelson Heritage National Monument
Cumberland Gap National Historical Park (also TN and VA)
Mammoth Cave National Park

LOUISIANA
Cane River Creole National Historical Park
Jean Lafitte National Historical Park and Preserve
New Orleans Jazz National Historical Park
Poverty Point National Monument

MAINE
Acadia National Park
Appalachian National Scenic Trail (Maine to Georgia)
Katahdin Woods and Waters National Monument
Saint Croix Island International Historic Site

MARYLAND
Antietam National Battlefield
Assateague Island National Seashore (also VA)
Catoctin Mountain Park
C & O Canal National Historical Park (also DC)
Clara Barton National Historic Site
Fort McHenry National Monument and Historic Shrine
Fort Washington Park
Greenbelt Park
Hampton National Historic Site
Harriet Tubman Underground Railroad National Historical Park
Monocacy National Battlefield
Piscataway Park
Potomac Heritage National Scenic Trail (also PA)
Thomas Stone National Historic Site

MASSACHUSETTS
Adams National Historical Park
Boston African American National Historic Site
Boston Harbor Islands National Recreation Area
Boston National Historical Park
Cape Cod National Seashore
Frederick Law Olmsted National Historic Site
John F. Kennedy National Historic Site
Longfellow House-Washington’s Headquarters National Historic Site
Lowell National Historical Park
Minute Man National Historical Park
New Bedford Whaling National Historical Park
Salem Maritime National Historic Site
Saugus Iron Works National Historic Site
Springfield Armory National Historic Site

MICHIGAN
Isle Royale National Park
Keweenaw National Historical Park
Pictured Rocks National Lakeshore
River Raisin National Battlefield Park
Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore

MINNESOTA
Grand Portage National Monument
Mississippi National River and Recreation Area
Pipestone National Monument
Voyageurs National Park

MISSISSIPPI
Brices Cross Roads National Battlefield Site
Natchez National Historical Park
Natchez Trace Parkway (also AL, TN)
Natchez Trace National Trail (also AL, TN)
Tupelo National Battlefield
Vicksburg National Military Park (also LA)

MISSOURI
Gateway Arch National Park (formerly Jefferson National Expansion Memorial)
George Washington Carver National Monument
Harry S Truman National Historic Site
Ozark National Scenic Riverways
Ulysses S. Grant National Historic Site
Wilson’s Creek National Battlefield

MONTANA
Big Hole National Battlefield
Bighorn Canyon National Recreation Area
Glacier National Park
Grant-Kohrs Ranch National Historic Site
Little Bighorn Battlefield National Monument

NEBRASKA
Agate Fossil Beds National Monument
Homestead National Monument of America
Missouri National Recreational River (also SD)
Niobrara National Scenic River
Scotts Bluff National Monument

NEVADA
Great Basin National Park
Lake Mead National Recreation Area (also AZ)
Tule Springs Fossil Beds National Monument

NEW HAMPSHIRE
Saint-Gaudens National Historic Site

NEW JERSEY
Delaware Water Gap National Recreation Area (also PA)
Great Egg Harbor Scenic and Recreational River
Morristown National Historical Park
Paterson Great Falls National Historial Park
Thomas Edison National Historial Park

NEW MEXICO
Aztec Ruins National Monument
Bandelier National Monument
Capulin Volcano National Monument
Carlsbad Caverns National Park
Chaco Culture National Historical Park
El Malpais National Monument
El Morro National Monument
Fort Union National Monument
Gila Cliff Dwellings National Monument
Manhattan Project National Historical Park (also TN, WA)
Pecos National Historical Park
Petroglyph National Monument
Salinas Pueblo Missions National Monument
Valles Caldera National Preserve
White Sands National Park
White Sands National Monument in New Mexico

NEW YORK
African Burial Ground National Monument
Castle Clinton National Monument
Eleanor Roosevelt National Historic Site
Federal Hall National Memorial
Fire Island National Seashore
Fort Stanwix National Monument
Gateway National Recreation Area (also NJ)
General Grant National Memorial
Governors Island National Monument
Hamilton Grange National Memorial
Harriet Tubman National Historical Park
Home of Franklin D. Roosevelt National Historic Site
Martin Van Buren National Historic Site
Saint Paul’s Church National Historic Site
Sagamore Hill National Historic Site
Saratoga National Historical Park
Statue of Liberty National Monument (also NJ)
Stonewall National Monument
Theodore Roosevelt Birthplace National Historic Site
Theodore Roosevelt Inaugural National Historic Site
Vanderbilt Mansion National Historic Site
Women’s Rights National Historical Park

NORTH CAROLINA
Blue Ridge Parkway (also VA)
Cape Hatteras National Seashore
Cape Lookout National Seashore
Carl Sandburg Home National Historic Site
Fort Raleigh National Historic Site
Guilford Courthouse National Military Park
Moores Creek National Battlefield
Wright Brothers National Memorial

NORTH DAKOTA
Fort Union Trading Post National Historic Site (also MT)
Knife River Indian Villages National Historic Site
Theodore Roosevelt National Park

OHIO
Charles Young Buffalo Soldiers National Monument
Cuyahoga Valley National Park
Dayton Aviation Heritage National Historical Park
First Ladies National Historic Site
Hopewell Culture National Historical Park
James A. Garfield National Historic Site
Perry’s Victory and International Peace Memorial
William Howard Taft National Historic Site

OKLAHOMA
Chickasaw National Recreation Area
Washita Battlefield National Historic Site

OREGON
Crater Lake National Park
Lewis and Clark National Historical Park (also WA)
John Day Fossil Beds National Monument
Oregon Caves National Monument and Preserve

PENNSYLVANIA
Allegheny Portage Railroad National Historic Site
Edgar Allan Poe National Historic Site
Eisenhower National Historic Site
Flight 93 National Memorial
Fort Necessity National Battlefield
Friendship Hill National Historic Site
Gettysburg National Military Park
Hopewell Furnace National Historic Site
Independence National Historical Park
Johnstown Flood National Memorial
Middle Delaware National Scenic River
Steamtown National Historic Site
Thaddeus Kosciuszko National Memorial
Upper Delaware Scenic and Recreational River
Valley Forge National Historical Park

RHODE ISLAND
Blackstone River Valley National Historical Park (also MA)
Roger Williams National Memorial

SOUTH CAROLINA
Charles Pinckney National Historic Site
Congaree National Park
Cowpens National Battlefield
Fort Sumter National Monument
Kings Mountain National Military Park
Ninety Six National Historic Site
Reconstruction Era National Monument

SOUTH DAKOTA
Badlands National Park
Jewel Cave National Monument
Minuteman Missile National Historic Site
Mount Rushmore National Memorial
Wind Cave National Park

TENNESSEE
Andrew Johnson National Historic Site
Big South Fork National River and Recreation Area (also KY)
Fort Donelson National Battlefield (also KY)
Great Smoky Mountains National Park (also NC)
Obed Wild and Scenic River
Shiloh National Military Park (also MS)
Stones River National Battlefield

TEXAS
Alibates Flint Quarries National Monument
Amistad National Recreation Area
Big Bend National Park
Big Thicket National Preserve
Chamizal National Memorial
Fort Davis National Historic Site
Guadalupe Mountains National Park
Lake Meredith National Recreation Area
Lyndon B. Johnson National Historical Park
Padre Island National Seashore
Palo Alto Battlefield National Historical Park
Rio Grande Wild and Scenic River
San Antonio Missions National Historical Park
Waco Mammoth National Monument

UTAH
Arches National Park
Bryce Canyon National Park
Canyonlands National Park
Capitol Reef National Park
Cedar Breaks National Monument
Golden Spike National Historic Site
Natural Bridges National Monument
Rainbow Bridge National Monument (by boat only)
Timpanogos Cave National Monument
Zion National Park

VERMONT
Marsh-Billings-Rockefeller National Historical Park

VIRGINIA
Appomattox Court House National Historical Park
Arlington House, The Robert E. Lee Memorial
Booker T. Washington National Monument
Cedar Creek and Belle Grove National Historical Park
Colonial National Historical Park
Fort Monroe National Monument
Fredericksburg and Spotsylvania National Military Park
George Washington Birthplace National Monument
George Washington Memorial Parkway (also MD, DC)
Maggie L. Walker National Historic Site
Manassas National Battlefield Park
Petersburg National Battlefield Park
Prince William Forest Park
Richmond National Battlefield Park
Shenandoah National Park
Wolf Trap National Park for the Performing Arts

Mount Vernon — is a National Historic Site but not a park per se. Geez, there are a million of these in the U.S.!

WASHINGTON
Ebey’s Landing National Historical Reserve
Fort Vancouver National Historic Site (also OR)
Lake Chelan National Recreation Area
Lake Roosevelt National Recreation Area
Mount Rainier National Park (“The park contains 42 locations designated on the National Register of Historic Places, including four National Historic Landmarks.” I’ve been to some.)
North Cascades National Park
Olympic National Park
Ross Lake National Recreation Area
San Juan Island National Historical Park
Whitman Mission National Historic Site
Hall of Mosses in Olympic National Park

WASHINGTON DC
Belmont-Paul Women’s Equality National Monument
Carter G. Woodson Home National Historic Site
Constitution Gardens
Ford’s Theatre National Historic Site
Franklin D. Roosevelt Memorial
Frederick Douglass National Historic Site
Korean War Veterans Memorial
Lincoln Memorial
Lyndon Baines Johnson Memorial Grove on the Potomac
Martin Luther King, Jr. Memorial
Mary McLeod Bethune Council House National Historic Site
National Capital Parks (This includes many individual sites in D.C….)
National Mall
Pennsylvania Avenue National Historic Site
Rock Creek Park
Theodore Roosevelt Island
Thomas Jefferson Memorial
Vietnam Veterans Memorial
Washington Monument
White House and President’s Park
World War I Memorial
World War II Memorial

WEST VIRGINIA
Bluestone National Scenic River
Gauley River National Recreation Area
Harpers Ferry National Historical Park
New River Gorge National River

WISCONSIN
Apostle Islands National Lakeshore
Saint Croix National Scenic Riverway (also MN)

WYOMING
Devils Tower National Monument
Fort Laramie National Historic Site
Fossil Butte National Monument
Grand Teton National Park
John D. Rockefeller Memorial Parkway
Yellowstone National Park (also ID, MT)

VIRGIN ISLANDS
Buck Island Reef National Monument
Christiansted National Historic Site
Salt River Bay National Historical Park and Ecological Preserve
Virgin Islands Coral Reef National Monument
Virgin Islands National Park

US TERRITORIES
National Park of American Samoa, American Samoa
San Juan National Historic Site, Puerto Rico
War in the Pacific National Historical Park, Guam

Florida Day 1

SUMMARY: Travel from CA

Backfill: Nov 17

See the post of the days preceding the trip, with a trip summary.

Friday

…Up at 5 AM, dress, grab carry-on bag and jump into house/dogsitter Sis#4’s car to Sis#2’s house, then she takes Sis#2, me, and Sis#2’s good friend who’s from Australia (call her Mallory, because that’s her Facebook handle) the 45 minutes to the San Francisco airport. We’ve all done Disneyland together a couple of times, and it’s fun. After automated check-in, we have plenty of time to get healthyish snacks at the airport shops and snack bars near our gate.

In SFO. Golden Gate Bridge plus Halloween spiderweb.

In the air again…

Flying the friendly skies from SFO

We fly to Orlando.

Although I keep nodding off momentarily, I’ve never been able to sleep except in a window seat where I have a corner for my head. No, those little neck pillows (demonstrated by Mr Fox No.12) don’t help much.

Free snacks are Stroopwafel (tasty cookie) or pretzels. I have water as my free drink; already had caffeine at SFO.

I love flying in an exit row–plenty of room to stretch out legs onto my carryon beneath the seat in front of me.

I’m on the aisle seat, so I can’t really see the scenery most of the time… but sometimes. Flight is uneventful.

San Francisco is not sliding off into the Pacific; plane is rising steeply.

Hello, Rocky Mountains!

Look–now we’re in Florida! (Green and water and clouds and stuff.)

Arrive in Orlando around dinnertime. Plan was for bro-in-law #2 to drive back to the airport in the rental car to pick us up, but google traffic says traffic is a mess from his direction. So I request a Uber driver and he’s there in 6 minutes. Trip to the hotel is less than half an hour; driver answers some of our questions about the parks, the traffic, and the hotels. (We’ve not stayed at the Swan before.)

We are here!! Yayyy!!!

We four have dinner in a cafe at the Disney Dolphin hotel (staying at its partner, the Disney Swan, the first night because … reasons). And all are very tired, so not too late to bed. Mallory and I share a room.

I try to eat healthy (love salmon! plus veggies!)

Walkway from the Dolphin to the Swan

Swan Hotel

Dolphin Hotel

Walkway from the Dolphin to the Swan at dusk — lighting on the trees keeps changing!

Dolphin Hotel across the lagoon.

Nowwwww —- see tomorrow’s post.

What’s With This Mr Fox No.12 Thing Anyway?

SUMMARY: A little actual explanation.

Updated at various times after the original post–scroll down to the end for the breaking news.

Two or three or four years ago, posts between Sidney Thompson and various friends started popping up in my Facebook feed. They were witty, clever, entertaining, educated… sometimes made me laugh out loud. As I learned more, I discovered that Sidney is a Kromfohrländer, an uncommon dog breed that makes for cute and energetic photos, who lives in Cornwall, England, and performs uncommon activities (for a dog. Actually for a person, too).

Sidney in a contemplative moment.

And Sidney rules the world. I mean, not just like an ordinary pet would: He is fabulously wealthy (owns estates, islands, and possibly entire countries), fabulously talented (I believe that he once won both Wimbledon and the Tour de France on the same weekend), fabulously successful (he has run for Prime Minister on several occasions), deeply generous (he allows his Assistants to sleep in the cubby under the stairwell despite their frequent pathetic activities).

And about the Assistants–poor, abused, ignorant slaves that they are–they post for him on FB (he’s likely too busy to bother) and he dispenses wisdom through them. It’s always clear when he’s being quoted:

Sidney says it’s his 7th birthday today and let’s face it, with all the doomsters, purveyors of misery and general negative thinking out there, he’s sure his friends will join him in celebrating a true global community and positive force for good. For those that can’t handle colour in their lives, here he is in black and white (as a pup) he says.

or such snapshots of his life:

Sidney says autumn is officially here and the grand fireplace has been brought back into use. It’s a rainy night so he’s sent his assistants outside to chop wood, he says.

Somewhere along the line, Sidney and Mr Fox (who eventually became No.1) met up and formed a partnership. Mr Fox No.1 traveled a bit and posted photos of himself doing fun things. Fans of Sidney started clamoring for Mr Fox to visit *them*, too, so they could take Mr Fox to fun places and do fun things. Lo, it was discovered that Mr Fox was just one in a litter of some as-yet undefined huge number of Mr Foxes– first about 7, then maybe 10, then about 16 by 2017 as reported in Vogue…

…then by Sept 2018 even more…

Sept 2018: Sidney says as well as being his birthday today, not that he’s making big deal of it or anything, it is also the birthday of all of the Mr Foxes. It was a rather large brood (as well as being a big lass their mother was a real vixen). Below is a list of all the Mr Foxes. Sidney would be grateful if they could be pampered for the rest of the day, he says:

Mr Fox no.1: Top Fox. @ Sidney HQ.
Mr Fox no.2: Breaking Bad fox @ Sidney HQ
Mr Fox no.3: Roxy Foxy, in Sidney’s limousine @ Sidney HQ
Mr Fox no.4: Mr Typically Tropical (f.k.a. Ultrafox). Worldwide traveller. Currently having a rest @ Sidney HQ
Mr Fox no.5: a.k.a Twiggy. Living the dream with Auntie Chris (HAG, AA) and Auntie Cynthia in Salt Lake City, USA
Mr Fox no.6: a.k.a. Trevr. Living with Auntie Gail (SHAG, AA) in Colorado, USA.
Mr Fox no.7 & Mr Fox no.9: the original Australian foxes. Currently resting @ Sidney HQ
Mr Fox no.8: Arctic Fox. Living with Auntie Virva (SHAG) and Bruce the Moose in Oulu, Finland.
Mr Fox no.10: a.k.a Mr fox no.10 from no.10. Living with Auntie Catherine (SHAG SAG SNOG) at Cotterill Towers, Stafford.
Mr Fox no.11: a.k.a. Brendan Foxter. London Marathon runner. Living with Uncle Andy (MUG) in Cheshire, also his running partner and personal trainer.
Mr Fox no.12: California Fox. Living a hippy lifestyle with Auntie Ellen (AA, HAG) in San Jose.
Mr Fox no.13: Lady Vixen a.k.a. Dark Fox. f.k.a. Lucky Fox. Shacked up with Sidney’s nemesis Sparkle the Cat, NTAL and Auntie Judith (HAG) at Beamer’s Castle in Porthleven, Cornwall.
Mr Fox no.14: Mr Chelan Fox. Living with Auntie Gailanne (HAG, AA) next to Lake Chelan, Washington State, USA.
Mr Fox no.15: Living with Cousins Elsa and Will and Auntie Karin (AA) in Peoria, Illinois.
Mr Fox no.16: OzFox resting in Perth, Western Australia with Uncle Rob (MUG) & Auntie Ellie having completed a 20,000km circumnavigation of Australia on a motorbike and then crossed it again just to visit IKEA in Brisbane.
Mr Fox no.17: Baltic Fox or Konsta’s Fox. With Cousin Konsta and Milla in Savonlinna, Finland.
Mr Fox no.18: The new Ultrafox. Living with Auntie Sylvia and Uncle Wolfgang near Vienna / Wien.
Mr Fox no.19: Hendricks Pinkman or ‘HP Fox’, a.k.a Neville’s Fox. Living with little bro’ Neville, Auntie Carol (SNOG) and Uncle Paul (MUG) in Reading, UK.
Mr Fox no.20: Living with Auntie Susann in Hannover.
Mr Fox no.21: Tamar Fox, living with Auntie Sally in the Tamar Valley.
Mrs Fox no.22: Brigit Bordeaux. Living with Auntie Ozzy & Cousin Mes in Frankfurt.
Mr Fox no.23: Wire Terrier Fox (WTF). Living with cousin Bertie Pickle, Auntie Tracey (SNOG) and Uncle Neil in the Hundred Acre Wood, Narnia.
Mr Fox no.24: Retro Fox, Living with Uncle Paul Jones (MUG) in Essex.
Mr Fox no.25: Africa Fox, living with Auntie Fiona Cameron (SHAG SNOG) in London.
Mr Fox no.26: a.k.a. Huron Valley Fox, living with Auntie Mary Dixon (AA) in Michigan, USA.
Mr Fox no.27: Living with Auntie Brydie (SHAG SAG) in Staffordshire
Mr Fox no.28: Wees Fox, living with Auntie Jan (AA) at Wees Farm, New Jersey.
Mr Fox no.29: living with Auntie-in-Chief Oma Carla, Staffordshire
Mr Fox no.30: Blaze’s Fox, with Uncle Paul in north Essex.

2019 birthday update:

Sidney says Auntie Virva just reminded him of this comprehensive list of his Mr Foxes. He’s aware that a year ago his assistants should have sent Mr Fox no.31 to Auntie Georgette and there are a couple more homes that deserve a Mr Fox as well. Please bear in mind that his assistants are of a very limited ability and barking at them doesn’t have any effect. Believe him he’s tried, he says.

April 2020 updates to list: See end of this post.

The original plan, when only a few Fox brethren had been discovered, was that each fox would stay with someone a while and then that someone would mail it on to the next person on the list. Well, somehow, some Mr Foxes started being assigned permanent positions. Right now, it’s not entirely clear to me which of our Mr Foxes really should be moving along to new assignments.

Sidney also has the most astounding team of creatures who surround him; Mysterious Sue who speaks only in morse code, knows all and sees all and, I believe, can see the future, for example. (If one sees photos of them all, they look like your regular stuffed toys, but wow what an unusual collection with the creative names that always give me a smile.)

And, it also turns out, Sidney bestows titles on some of his followers. I started commenting on Sidney’s posts and then posting posts to Sidney’s page after he accepted my friend request, and it continued giving me fun. Suddenly, during one of the annual award ceremonies, I was promoted to… OMG I don’t remember (Sidney is quite sad about my memory)… special reporting correspondent or such. Pretty exciting for me! But I was not yet an Auntie. Auntiehood and Unclehood are bestowed only on those who go above and beyond some level of something that only Sidney and possibly Mysterious Sue understand.

And a year or so after that, to my surprise, I earned the basic Auntie title (AA), and then another year later, Auntie HAG ( where the HAG stands for something and again I’ve lost the post where it’s all explained).

And also somewhere in there, Sidney sent Mr Fox No.12 to keep an eye on me!

Mr Fox No.12 (“Cal”) at Morro Rock in Morro Bay.
Apparently not pleased with the scenery or the photographer.

So– Mr. Fox No.12 came and we’ve done many many things together and I’ve barely posted a few of his photos anywhere–here or Facebook or my photo page. But, for reference, here are the Taj MuttHall posts that, so far, mention Mr. Fox, describe his arrival, or include photos of him (you might want to start with the oldest first).

And here are some photos that I don’t believe have been posted anywhere yet…

Cal relaxing in the nifty old travel trailer that he rented one weekend via AirBNB.
The experience was delightful and full of flamingos, he says.

Cal found a taste of Europe here in California. He’s not sure how authentically Danish it is,
but there were windmills and pastries, so he was happy.

Here’s my question: Which of my friends originally befriended Sidney, and how, and when? Because currently many, many of my friends are also his friends. Maybe I should ask Mysterious Sue.

Update several hours after the preceding post:

Sidney says this is very comprehensive assessment, sufficiently fawning without stretching to sycophancy. He says AA stands for American Auntie and HAG is Holy Auntie Group. Auntie Ellen thoroughly deserves her Auntie status, he says.

And Gailanne M., a friend from agility for quite a few years who now cohabits with Mr Chelan Fox in Washington state, lays claim in a thoroughly credible way to being Auntie Ellen AA HAG’s introduction to Sidney’s Little World of Happiness and Tennis Balls^TM

Updates to the list April 5, 2020:

Mr Fox no.5: a.k.a Twiggy. Living the dream with Auntie Chris (SHAG) and Auntie Cynthia in Salt Lake City, USA.
Mr Fox no.4: Mr FujiFox, (f.k.a Mr Typically Tropical, f.k.a. Ultrafox). Worldwide traveller. Currently having a rest @ Sidney HQ.
Mr Fox no.6: a.k.a. Trevr. Living with Auntie Gail (CoW, SHAG, BAA, AA) in Colorado, USA.
Mr Fox no.8: Arctic Fox. Living with Auntie Virva (CoW, SHAG) and Bruce the Moose in Oulu, Finland.
Mr Fox no.10: a.k.a Mr fox no.10 from no.10. Living with Auntie Catherine (CoW SHAG SAG SNOG) at Cotterill Towers, Stafford.
Mr Fox no.11: a.k.a. Brendan Foxter. London Marathon runner. Living with Uncle Andy (SMUG) in Cheshire, also his running partner and personal trainer.
Mr Fox no.12: California “Cal” Fox. Living a hippy lifestyle with Auntie Ellen (AA, HAG) in Silicon Valley, CA.
Mr Fox no.13: Lady Vixen a.k.a. Dark Fox. f.k.a. Lucky Fox. Shacked up with Sidney’s nemesis Sparkle the Cat, NTAL aka Auntie Judith (HAG) at Beamer’s Castle in Porthleven, Cornwall.
Mr Fox no.16: OzFox resting in Perth, Western Australia with Uncle Rob (SMUG) & Auntie Ellie having completed a 20,000km circumnavigation of Australia on a motorbike and then crossed it again just to visit IKEA in Brisbane.
Mr Fox no.19: Hendricks Pinkman or ‘HP Fox’, a.k.a Neville’s Fox. Living with little bro’ Neville, Auntie Carol (SNOG) and Uncle Paul (SMUG) in Reading, UK.
Mr Fox no.23: Private Fox. ~~Wire Terrier Fox (WTF)~~. Living with cousin Bertie Pickle, Auntie Tracey (SNOG) and Uncle Neil in the Hundred Acre Wood, Narnia.
Mr Fox no.24: Retro Fox, Living with Uncle Paul Jones (SMUG) in Essex.
Mr Fox no.25: Africa Fox, living with Auntie Fiona Cameron (CoW SHAG SNOG) in London.
Mr Fox no.27: Living with Auntie Brydie (CoW SHAG SAG) in Staffordshire
Mrs Fox no.31: Foxy Loxy. with the Wicklands and Hamish in Perth, Australia
Mr Fox no.32: Longlevens Fox. With Auntie Gwen in Gloucester
Mr Fox no.33: Kupe Fox, with Sally Newhook in Hastings, New Zealand
Mr Fox no.34: Mr Wolf (Shaun’s Fox), with Georgette in Surrey
Mr Fox no.35: Fox Redwood, with Auntie Crystal in Chisholm, Minnesota, USA
Mr Fox no.36(?): name TBD, with Auntie Molly Marie and housemate Rocket in [location TBD]

Other Mr Foxes not originating from Sidney HQ:

McFox, with Carol Neill in sunny Carnoustie, Scotland
Fellover Fox with Janet on Bodmin Moor.
Basil, with Auntie Carol (SNOG) in Silkmore Crescent, Staffordshire

OTHERS WITHOUT FOXES:

? any?

ABOUT ALL THOSE DELIGHTFUL ACRONYMS:

May 31, 2018: Sidney says: (Updated 4/5/20 by Auntie Ellen from assorted FB posts)

SHAG is ‘Super Holy Auntie Group’ the creme de la creme of Aunties, of which there are only five. These witches of Eastwick are Auntie Gail, Auntie Virva, Auntie Brydie, Auntie Fiona (who has many additional titles) and not least Auntie Catherine, he says.
Below that is the Holy Auntie Group (HAGs)
and below that simply Auntie, of which there are maybe thirty or so dotted around the world,
and a dozen or do Uncles
and four MUGs (Mighty Uncle Group).
(AA is Aunties in America)
(SMUG is Super MUG)
(BAA ?)
(CoW?)
(SNOG: Sidney’s Nurses Official Group)

He hopes this clarifies things, he says.

Dogs. And Agility.

SUMMARY: Pix and Ponderings about dogs, agility, nonagility, travel, activities…

This started as a blog about me and my dogs in agility. And it pretty much continued that way for over a decade, with forays into random realms.

But I hardly ever post here any more. Mean to, really I do. Because the secondary purpose was to be my diary, since I suck at keeping a written one, plus can’t click to insert photos into paper!

And then when I do post, it’s hardly ever about dogs. So, here’s a dog. Waiting for the neighbor’s dog to come to the fence so they can bark ferociously at each other. What passes for entertainment in the dog world.

Not too many weekends ago, I went to my club’s agility trial about 50-60 minutes from here. Nice freeway drive through less urbanified areas. At least, early in the morning. I worked. Took a few photos. My heart wasn’t into either one. I think what finally did it for me was that there was a snooker course with an element in it that is one of the spectacular Ellen-and-Boost-fail-to-get-a-Super-Q near misses that just broke my heart. I let too many things break my heart in agility, I think, but even telling myself here and now that that didn’t matter and I’d do anything to have my little blue border collie back, it just kept hitting me.

And I’m not that interested in the courses now–I’m nowhere near competition ready in that I have no agility dogs, even if I were completely physically fit. (Actually feeling pretty good these days, but quite out of condition.)

Agility people are still wonderful. Lots of friends there. Chatted with several. And then they’d need to go run their dogs, or walk their dogs, or take their dogs to the doggie masseuse (really, she’s wonderful; Tika loved her). More and more people running, every time I go to a trial, whom I don’t know from Adam. More and more known people with new dogs I’ve never met and know nothing about So many of the people I became friends with–and dogs, too– by being in classes and seminars with them for long periods.

I haven’t done agility trials or classes or seminars now for over 3 years, except for a very few small attempts at class with each of the dogs. I know that Zorro would love it and would be very good at it. I just can’t spark my own interest in working on it. Doesn’t he look like he’s ready for something new and more exciting?

And then, with that last trial, I just didn’t even want to go to the next couple in the same location, and now there’s one right here locally this weekend and I’m not going there, either. Can’t exactly say why; I had planned on it. But didn’t.

Meanwhile, I’ve been going more and more places and doing more and more things as I get physically better and better– all the interesting and different kinds of places and things that I used to do a lot of before I started agility–

Las Vegas and Grand Canyon in November, for a photo seminar and much more. (I’ve posted almost none of the photos, but here are a couple.)
Yosemite in March, and lucked out in having snow fall on us, something I’ve wanted to happen for many many years but haven’t had the spare weekends also for many years. (Almost no photos posted, but here are a couple.)
Walt Disney World in Florida in April. (almost nothing posted yet, but here are a couple of shots.)
Arizona in May (even though it was for a memorial, still we got around and did things.)
Later this summer, I’m going to Reno for the balloon races, something I’ve wanted to do since I first learned about them many many years ago.
Later still, in the fall, I’ll be going to Ouray, Colorado, for a photo workshop on fall colors in the Rockies, something I’ve almost done several times and then didn’t for one reason or another.
Tomorrow it’s Big Sur: my sis and bro-in-law and I are going on an adventure–Driving there, taking the shuttle to the closed part of Highway 1, hiking over the brand-new trail around the damaged highway, then shuttle on the other side to Nepenthe, a restaurant that we like perched above the cliffs on the ocean, before it’s too late and they finally replace the destroyed Pfeiffer Canyon Bridge and the shuttle will no longer run and Big Sur will no longer be isolated from the rest of the world (at least, from the North–who knows how long until they find the missing Pacific Coast Highway south of there). Until the next Highway 1 disaster.

Had I been doing agility, I likely wouldn’t have done any of these. So, it’s tradeoffs. Always.

And the dogs have stayed home through everything. So, it’s a different life.

I still mostly think of myself as an agility person. Hard not to, with 20 years of classes and competitions and seminars and trips and parties and clubs and all. And yet–I feel that I’m slowly going back to being just a Boring Pet Dog Owner. And yet–I’m still not ready to let the Agility go.

And then–Retirement is looking more and more like it could actually happen. Sooner rather than later. How cool would that be? But what would it mean for what and where and when and how and who? Thought for EVER so long that I’d travel around, hiking, doing agility, and like that. But–now–who knows!

The future is wide open.

Guess Who’s Here From Across The Pond!

SUMMARY: Welcome, Mr Fox No.12

Human Mom has a package! A royal package!

From On Corn Walum, as the ancients say– What could it be — or WHO?!

Everyone sniffs. Border Collie is ready to herd anything that might emerge.

Everyone sniffs. Chip iz sayz: “Oh! Oh! Iz cud bes Mistur Fox?!”

Me Zorro like fox.
Human Mom is not sure what he means by that.

It is He!
Mr Fox No.12 says that he has never before had such a rough and tightly-packed crossing…

…and would some Assistant-type please bring a comb?

Ahhhhh! Feels so much better! Perhaps a little wine for relaxation?

Mr Fox notes that he noticed a note of note in his vehicle of transport, but asks that perhaps the Human Mom would please read it quietly to herself, as he was offered no in-flight movie or magazine and thus was forced to read it several hundred times to himself as his only source of entertainment.

Mr Fox No.12 contemplates whether, after such an arduous journey, he is ready at this time to get to know Mr. Zorro better.

He is glad to see that other household members show the appropriate respect due his rank.

However, for the nonce, Mr Fox No.12 believes that he shall take a bit of a rest with his newest friend, who also shows appropriate respect, and he shall give everyone an update when he has recovered from his travel ordeal. And suggests that the Human Mom thank Sidney for allowing him this opportunity to mingle with the Colonists to better understand them and report back to Sidney HQ.

Thanks, Sidney!

– Human Mom

Trying out a dog

SUMMARY: That’s a lot of driving for a cute face.

Saturday Chip and I drove about 4 hours up to the Sierra foothills (Google maps says 2 hrs 45 minutes. Maybe if someone cleared all the traffic with a bulldozer). Today I drove about 4 hours back. Maybe longer. I did stop 3 or 4 times on the way home.

Anyway, Luke came home with us to try us out.

Very tired. Have many photos for a long and entertaining story. Or, at least, long.

Chip and Luke are still trying to decide about each other.

Photographing Uncooperative Dogs

SUMMARY: Tika is not helpful.

Backstory:

Usually my dogs travel in their crates. However, when just making a quick local trip, like over to the park, I might leave them loose in the car. In the old days, in this situation, Tika would put her front feet up on the storage box between the front seats to keep an eye on the world.

I haven’t gone a lot of places in recent months at all. When I have taken them somewhere here, Tika mostly just lies on the floor behind the front seats, as her stability isn’t all that great recently.

However, while dashing over to the park late in the day today, after I hoisted Tika into MUTT MVR in an undignified manner such that she had sprawled ungracefully on the floor, I realized to my delight that she had assumed her old position, up on her hind legs, her front legs on that storage box! Yet again she surprises and delights me with being healthier than expected.

So I stopped, determined to take a quick photo of her doing that thing, since i’m guessing that that’s not likely to be happening for a lot longer.

I had to hold the camera sort of as for a selfie, that is, out at arm’s length and guessing at the angle to get her face and the box on which she was standing. However, every time I cut off the front of her face and so moved my arm over to try to not do that, she’s move her head over, so again her face would be cut off–repeat, repeat, repeat. So pretty soon I was reaching and leaning as far as I possibly could and she had turned her head and body alllll the way over so that I still couldn’t get it!

Attempt 31–oops, she’s too far to the right.