Following the Path!

This trip to "Ketelsen East" is winding down. Last night Melinda's niece and her boyfriend stopped by for a barbeque dinner. They evidently "collect" labyrinths, which I did not know was a thing! They search out, visit and walk these patterned paths. They had found one near me in St Charles, so went there to visit before our dinner.

They labyrinth at the St Charles Episcopal Church is of the Chartres Cathedral design, shown at right. It has a single path that meanders to the center and the same path is followed to exit. Those who walk it use it for spiritual centering, meditation or prayer. It is in a nice quiet location adjacent to the parking lot of the church, surrounded on 3 sides by nature. The 22-year old labyrinth has a nice dedication stone as shown at left.



Given the complexity of the design, the paths are narrow and don't allow side-by-side walking or even passing each other without stepping off the path, but it was an interesting amble around the path. I've never meditated, nor am particularly spiritual, but can see the parallel to life as a spiritual journey, and also the parallels to the Tohono O'odham "Man in the Maze" journey through life (shown at left) in the American Southwest.



It was a pleasant enough excursion - nice temps in an early-evening outing, investigating something new. The entire labyrinth is shown in the panorama at left, with Kathy and Jonathan at far right.  In the right hand image, you can see the brickwork in its construction as well as the near exact copy of the Chartres Labyrinth above.





On our way out, we noticed the pine tree adjacent to the labyrinth - I've never seen pine cones oozing sap as prolifically as this one was. Seemed each cone had "icicles" of sap oozing out of it! Interesting...

We returned to the country estate of "Ketelsen East" and finished prepping for dinner and started the grill and cooking. The menu has become a staple of mine - a protein of choice, more and more pork chops, or more likely, pork loin on the grill. Accompanying that dish, are bacon-wrapped, cream-cheese filled jalapenos, and a mix of assorted vegetables, here green beans, finger potatoes, broccoli and cauliflower, with shredded cheese atop.  And to wrap it up, while not really lo-carb, are barbequed beans... My guests enjoyed BBQ sauce and a beer, though wasn't on my allowed list!

We finished late into the sunset and decided to risk biting insects in going out to the Fox River to enjoy the "big picture"! From the nearby boat dock (about 100 yards from my door) we took in the late sunset colors and a nice panorama of the water, last light of the day and the far shore.

Always nice to enjoy the evening with family, cooking outdoors and taking in an exploration of some sort while the weather is nice. I'm glad we could all get together in this little part of our lifetime journey...

Keeping Up With Buddies!

I'm about halfway through this trip to "Ketelsen East" in the far western suburbs of Chicago. I've been in a "decluttering" mode, and one of the items I don't use any more is a recumbent bicycle given to be by RAGBRAI buddy Carl. A decade ago I hadn't been riding much after my pair of open-heart surgeries, and he passed on the recumbent that someone had given him. It was a unique piece of gear, and totally different to ride than a "normal" bike. The riding position was very comfortable, but the under-seat steering took a little getting used to! Also, after stopping, starting up again was surprisingly difficult, and usually included wobbling across the lane of traffic and aborted starts on many occasions! So I mostly did not ride it in traffic, and mostly rode laps around the mile-long path in a local park. Oh, and in going uphill, it had difficulty getting out of its own way! And there are plenty of hills near the river where I live! After I got a new hybrid bike here (which I love), the recumbent was abandoned so thought I'd pass it back to Carl to pass on to someone else! That's me on an early ride at left...


So THAT gave me an excuse to take a day trip to Iowa and cross paths with Carl. Back in 1993 when I did my first cross-state ride, he was one of the riders in the dozen or so crazies from the Toddville area that soon became my fast friends. He now is their intrepid leader, motivating them to train and keep on going year after year. He figures he's been on 29 of the 500 mile long rides across Iowa! Lately he and his wife Terri spend their winters in the Phoenix area near where one of their daughters live. While we crossed paths once this last winter in AZ, we didn't get a ride in, but since he is in "training", we did one earlier in the week when I visited. That is us at left, post-ride when I was pretty sweat-soaked, but it was a great, if warm and steamy day!


We met about 9am. Interestingly, I live next to a river, so have to climb a hill to leave the house. He lives atop a hill, so coast down to leave. Unfortunately, that means you climb that hill as you finish! He took me on a route that finished out at 20+ miles, and included 700+ feet of climbing - both records for me since restarting riding! A good part of it was over a rails-to-trails bike path - the Cedar Valley Nature Trail, which travels all the way from Cedar Rapids to Waterloo, over 60 miles, paved a good part of the way! I was surprised how busy it was - we would pass bikes or groups of bikes every minute or two! We stopped in a shady spot for a drink (at right), and Carl immediately found someone to talk to. The stop also included a latrine in the background, so a nice rest stop on a warm humid day.


After traversing sometimes busy roads to get there, it was a relief to not battle car and truck traffic, and it was nice to ride side-by-side for miles to chat and tell stories. Shown at left is a shot I took as I slowed to record what it was like as we biked along the very nice path.


We got back to Carl's and wondered if they wanted to go into town to Culver's for lunch. They were blessed to have their granddaughter Harper staying with them - she is a cutie, though seems pre-occupied with games and apps on her cell phone. She was plenty friendly and tolerated well my teasing her and attempting to steal her rapidly melting custard out at a table. See how photogenic she is at right?

I left the trio at the Cedar Rapids Culvers and headed south to Iowa City to make a pilgrimage to "Prairie Lights", my favorite book store, then on east to have dinner with sister Kathy, her husband Rich, and friends in Wheatland. Leaving them all for the 2.5 hour trip home in St Charles, I got in about 10:30. A long, but very fun day!

My Travels with Lillian!

Who the heck is Lillian, you ask?! Well, there is a story involved, of course! I met Lillian back last July at my nephew Mitchell's wedding in July. That is him with his beautiful bride Anna there on the left. Though you can't see it in the photo, evidently she has a green thumb and as gifts to each guest, she sprouted succulents and had a variety at each table to choose from, all growing in white milk-glass containers... Succulents are easy to grow, I hear, and here we are 7 months later and mine is still alive - I've named her Lillian!

After the wedding, wanting to keep her in Illinois, I left her care and feeding with a girlfriend in Chicago, not sure if Lillian would survive if she was abandoned for a month or two at a time until I returned to "Ketelsen East". Girlfriend and I have since parted company, so I regained custody this last trip to Illinois, and 3 weeks ago as I transitioned back to AZ, Lillian came along! That is a close-up her at right.

For the first time in a decade, I had driven up to the Midwest in the big van. There were a number of things to haul, and some to haul back. Since we'd parked the Toyota Highlander there, it is so much more simple to fly and catch a ride to a waiting car - it has been great! Driving it makes you realize why we do it that way! 1,700 miles in 26 hours of driving translates to a good 2.5 days on the road, and certainly with the van, you still can't beat the price of half a round-trip ticket. But I justified it with the hauling I needed to do. So as my visit ended, and a winter storm approaching, I left with relatively short notice for the return. Did the laundry, secured the house... Lillian's vase didn't fit in the cup holders, so she rode shotgun, with seat belt fastened, packed with my gloves and a newspaper to make sure she was secure...

Travel conditions were perfect - cool temps, about 40 degrees, and perfect blue skies. Quickly transited Iowa - little scenery with the crops all in... There was a brief scenic event as I passed Brooklyn (yes, there is a Brooklyn, Iowa), where there were a previously unnoticed windmill farm next to Interstate 80!

We made it to Wichita that first evening, and it was supposed to be below freezing, so brought Lillian into the motel and tucked her into bed as I unwound with a little TV...

Overnight the rain moved in, but it was supposed to be snow and ice the next day, so headed west. Drove through rain all day. Very nearly ran out of gas hoping to find cheaper gasoline in Liberal Kansas - engine died 50 yards from pumps. Fortunately, waiting a minute it started again to get enough momentum to coast up to refill... Rain lessened across Oklahoma and Texas, and mostly stopped by the time I got to Tucumcari. We stayed on highway 54 that bisects south across New Mexico, and as sunset approached, the clouds turned intermittent and made for some scenic driving! At right are some small mountains or hills from what must be the previous storm that had gone through...

As we continued to drive south towards Alamagordo, the second night's stop, the skies almost cleared, and had a beautiful sunset! With the destination in sight though, I only stopped once for the post-sunset lone cloud shown at left with some virga (rain that evaporates before hitting the ground) and beautiful colors against a clear sky.

Even before checking in to the Motel 6, I found a Chinese restaurant for dinner, then relaxed before the final push into Tucson the next day.

I was hoping to pause at White Sands National Monument the next morning - thought Lillian would look good with her milk-glass vase against the white sands, but alas, the government shutdown had resulted in locked gates blocking access! A bit later we did get an impressive view of the Organ Mountains (so named because of their resemblance to a pipe organ, I believe), as we approached the pass to cross them to Las Cruces, NM...

As we crossed southern New Mexico, still 50 miles east of the AZ border, I noticed something white far to the west! This was still 25 miles east of Lordsburg, and I was confused for a bit what it might be - then it dawned on me! It was the snow-covered, nearly 11,000 foot tall mountain Mount Graham! I did manage to grab a snapshot of it at full zoom. I calculate it was still just over 90 miles away! Note the slight orange cast due to the long path-length absorbing or scattering more blue light...

Less than an hour later and we approached Arizona! Lillian offered to drive for a bit and after 2 full days, I was glad to let her take the wheel! I did manage to capture the moment we passed the border!

Just over 2 hours later and we pulled into Tucson, arriving about 2pm. It was nice to get out from behind the wheel and to be where it was a good 20 degrees warmer than "Ketelsen East"! Oh, and the day we arrived in Tucson, central Kansas and Missouri DID get nearly a foot of snow, so I got through it with a day to spare! I think it will be a while till I drive again... It was nice to set your own schedule though - not be dependent on reservations made perhaps 2 months in advance! Lillian seems happy and cats seem to ignore her, so all is well!

South Carolina State Museum (SCSM)!

The highlight of nearly any trip to Columbia, South Carolina has got to be a stop at the State Museum. My first time there in 1990, it was a newly-opened facility, open 2 years (1988) in a converted century-old textile mill. It is an amazing place, covering all aspects of SC history, the sciences, and one of my main interests, a new observatory with a century-old telescope! One of my last trips there, they had a major part of the museum under construction building the observatory seen above the roofline at left.

Immediately seen as you enter the building is the tripod upon which the telescope sits up on the 4th floor. Shown at right, most likely don't know what it is, but note that the tripod that insulates the telescopes from building vibrations is even incorporated into the new emblem of the SCSM - note the embroidered patch and name tag on the inset!

Just past the ticket desk is a store that sells everything South Carolina! Being that it was just before Christmas for my visit, there was lots of cutsie gifts for those that have everything - like the kitchen towels that say Jingle y'all and the like (Left).

There is lots of symbolism in the SC flag and it appears on most everything from flip flops to glasses, including the silver bowl shown at right... Carolinians take their history seriously and there is quite the history section in their books for sale. They continue to relive the "War of Northern Aggression", and the second largest section is likely cooking books! I asked one of the young sales clerks what I couldn't live without (I just wanted to hear her delightful southern-belle accent), and she steered me towards the chocolate-covered caramel popcorn. But while her accent was adorable, was able to turn down the treats!

Just across from the store in the entryway
was the "Palmetto Gate", featuring the craft of Philip Simmons, a blacksmith-turned-artist in the Charleston area. Wrought iron work like this is very popular, adding to the allure of older neighborhoods in that city. This work was custom designed for the museum by Simmons. It shows incredible craftsmanship and details in the gate highlights - details shown at right...




There were a couple of commissioned artworks from local artists - using some unusual media! Shown at left is the detail of a portrait by Molly B. Right - in bottle caps on wood! Only when you back up and see the whole piece do you see it is the scientist Albert Einstein!  This was made for a 2014 exhibit "Building a Universe".







With a rotating set of exhibits, there is always something new to see. In fact, on one out-of-the-way hallway, there was a wall filled with posters of the various exhibits over the 30 years of the museum. I think it was in that same hallway that I found some new displays using old photos showing the transformation to century-old textile mill to state-of-art museum...





But the main reason I was there was that it was a Tuesday, and on Tuesdays (weather permitting) the observatory was open for public viewing! It isn't often one gets to observe through a century-old 12" telescope from the classic Alvan Clark and Sons manufacturers! And unlike Lowell Observatory and their classic 24", where I asked to focus a fuzzy image and told "NO", these guys not only told me to focus, and gave me the controller to "drive around" the moon! At left our telescope operator lines up on a gibbous moon as twilight approaches.

A little later as it got darker, we all gravitated to an outer deck where an additional Dobsonian could be set up, as well as spot city lights of Columbia a couple miles to the east. Also as part of the observatory expansion was increased display area for the Bob Ariail antique Telescope collection. I alternated with touring the collection of Clark and other manufacturers from the 1700s and 1800s, with walking out into the dome for fine views of the moon and tiny disk of Mars at 400X.

Finally I got my fill, and I had family to visit on my first night in Columbia, so headed out. Interestingly I saw that you could rent the museum and even the telescope for private events! I loved that they had a photo of a bride fondling the nearly century-old Clark telescope! It makes such a wonderful groom!

Finally out in the parking lot, I looked back at the observatory and could barely make out the shape of the telescope and observers inside the dome, so was worth trying to get a photo from outside. Shown at right the ghostly scope can be seen thru the windows out to the patio,

In short, if you get to Columbia, in fact, anywhere in the state, it is worth your while to head down to spend the better part of a day at the State Museum. It will likely always be a destination when I'm in town!

Road Trip!

No sooner did I arrive at "Ketelsen East" that things fell in place for me to hit the road again for road trip to the east coast! Last Spring I visited Betty, my mother-in-law in South Carolina, and another friend in Virginia. This time, I ordered some telescope parts from a manufacturer in North Carolina, and shipping was going to be $320 to Arizona! That would pay for a lot of gas, so repeated last Spring's trip with a side stop near Raleigh, NC. The call from Raleigh came right after landing in Illinois, so pretty much hit the road 2 days later!


First up was a visit with Betty - at 94 you want to take every opportunity to visit, but I'm convinced that she is going to outlive us all! She is doing a daily exercise class! Not that she NEEDS to exercise, but seems more of a social thing for her and to get her out of the house as a friend picks her up. At left she is shown in front of her Christmas tree. I ended up staying 3 nights, visiting, doing a little shopping and generally hanging out!

On Tuesday, the afternoon I arrived, I happened to check to see what nights the State Museum was open for telescope viewing. Turns out it was Tuesday, and it was clear enough that they were going to be open! Centerpiece of the Bob Ariel antique telescope collection is the observatory built around the Clark 12 3/8" refractor telescope. Shown at right, it is a very nice facility - shown here is a young astronomer on the step ladder with dad behind him, observing the planet Mars. Look here in a few days for a post about the State Museum...


Eventually I pointed the car north and headed towards North Carolina. Interestingly, most of the central - to south sides of both the Carolinas are pretty flat, but rarely do you get a view out from the interstate system! They have trees growing along both sides and between the roads too! You can get a peek when in the northern areas where it is hillier or downright mountainous, but strange they have planted trees along hundreds of miles of roads, assumingly to minimize road noise for locals...




Thanks to my maps app on my iPhone, navigation was easy and I followed directions to the home of the head of Parallax Instruments, Joe Nastasi, outside of Raleigh. He had rolled an aluminum tube out of sheet, then welded it, and painted the interior black. While you can get commercial tubing to 12", I needed 16" tubing for this project! He then made the rings that hold the tube firmly to the telescope mounting. It was the high price of shipping the bulky tube that motivated the trip. I wished I'd had a chance to see his main shop, but wasn't possible that day. Shown here is Joe carrying the tube to my car at left and besides the rings at right. The tube is for a new project - a 14.25" mirror that also made up the trip from Tucson with me and is getting coated while I'm here to bring back. It will go on my AP 1200 mount and mostly anticipated to do astronomical imaging with a focal length of 1300mm and a speed of F/3.6.


After visiting Joe's place briefly, the goal was to find my way to friend Elaine's place in Virginia before dark! On the last weekday before Christmas, the roads got busier and more crowded as the weather turned worse as well. Heading up the mountains of northern North Carolina and Virginia the cold rain started, and literally it turned to snow just a few miles from Elaine's!

I seem to have known Elaine forever - she started coming to the Grand Canyon Star Party last century, and she was a friendly smile there for many years. Her beloved husband Tommy died a couple years ago, and she has been staying closer to home in recent years. In the Spring she was recovering from a broken leg in a wheelchair - she looks much more normal moving about afoot! One of our excursions took us to Tommy's gravesite where there was a pretty view of snow-or-frost covered trees to the north, shown at right.

Mostly we hung out at their beautiful home located in the foothills or rolling hills near local mountains. She organized a pasta dinner for me to meet some of the local amateur astronomers to eat and talk shop, and also gave the chance to sing carols around her Christmas tree! And of course, out there in the country we also watched for the local white tail deer population and see who came to the bird feeders. The photos at left and right show a panorama of late afternoon light at left, and a bit later, some nice colors as sunset came... Some of the highest mountains in the state are just a few miles to the south shown here. Also, below at left is a view of the mountains just north of Elaine's house showing the snow/frost covered trees from her front yard.


Finally Sunday arrived and it was time to transition back to "Ketelsen East" again. At 650 miles from Elaine's it is a long, but doable drive in one day. For some reason, the maps app took me on a northerly route and for the first time that I know of got to travel in West Virginia! Mostly interstate all the way, there were still surprising vistas of multi-lane highways going thru tunnels in mountains, and the wide valley of the Ohio River. Finally through north central Indiana I crossed a huge windmill farm (hundreds!) just before sunset. Even after stopping at the store for groceries, I was home before 9pm. It was nice to get out from behind the wheel! More soon, I promise!