My favorite North American mountain ranges

Sutter Buttes – Source: sacredland.org

A minimum of 2,000 foot elevation was required for consideration. Some of these listed below are part of larger mountain ranges. Enjoy!

• Cascade Range (California, Oregon, Washington and British Columbia)
• Blue Ridge (North Carolina, Virginia, Maryland, and Pennsylvania)
• Grand Tetons (Wyoming)
• Big Horn Mountains (Wyoming)
• Sutter Buttes (North Central California near Yuba City- known as the world’s smallest mountain range)
• Black Hills (Western USA and Canada)
• Canadian Rockies (Alberta and British Columbia)
• Sierra Nevada (California and Nevada)
• Wrangell Mountains (Alaska)
• Sierra Madre Oriental (Mexico)
• Appalachian Mountains (USA Eastern States)
• Pacific Coast Ranges (California, Oregon, Washington, and British Columbia)
• Great Smoky (Tennessee and North Carolina)
• Adirondacks (New York)
• White (New Hampshire)
• Ozarks (Arkansas, Missouri, and Oklahoma)

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Wackadoodle airport codes outside the USA

• BRA (Barrieras, Brazil)
• EGO (Belgorod, Russia)
• BEG (Belgrade, Serbia)
• BOG (Bogota, Colombia) – don’t get bogged down there.
• CIA (Rome, Italy – Ciampino) – got cha!
• CUM (Cumana, Venuzuela) – please wash your mouth out with soap.
• CUZ (Cuzco, Peru) – cuz I said so
• DAD (Da Nang, Vietnam)
• DOG (Dongola, Sudan)
• DUM (Dumai, Indonesia) – hey, I didn’t name it.
• DUD (Dunedin, New Zealand) – must be really exciting there.
• FUK (Fukuaka, Japan) – careful
• IZO (Izumo, Japan) – should call the lounge the Izone. If you aren’t from the USA, you may not get the joke.
• MAD (Madrid, Spain) – don’t get mad, get even.
• PEE (Perm, Russia) – wonder if they are pissed about the code they were assigned?
• PEX (Pechore, Russia) – flex those pex.
• POT (Port Antonio, Jamaica) – pure Karma that this code should go to an airport in Jamaica – LOL
• SIN (Singapore- Changi) – sort of surprised they accepted this code.
• STD (Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic) – be careful what you catch here – make sure it is just a flight.

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Funny, cute, and silly airport codes in the USA

• BET (Bethel, AK) – Seems this should have been the one for Las Vegas or Reno.
• BFL (Bakersfield, CA) – I am “baffled” why this is so funny.
• BUF (Buffalo, NY) – Hopefully, you do not have to arrive in the buff.
• BUR (Burbank,, CA) – This code would be good for someplace cold.
• FAT (Fresno, CA) – I realize this stands for Fresno Air Terminal, but talk about bad public relations.
• GGG (Longview, TX) – You’d get better internet service if it was 4Gs.
• IRK (Kirksville, MO) – I would be “irked” too if I had to fly there.
• KOA ( Kona, HA) – Who want to fly into a campground?
• LAX (Los Angeles, CA) – I hope this does not signify their attention to details. It also sounds like the abbreviation for Laxative International Airport.
• MOB (Mobile, AL) – self-explanatory.
• PIE (St. Petersburg-Clearwater, FL) – I have no idea why it is PIE.
• PUB (Pueblo, CO) – Now this is my kind of airport! Beer for everyone.
• ROW (Roswell, NM) – I hope we don’t have to – flap maybe, but not row.
• RUT (Rutland, VT) – No one wants to be in one, particularly in an airplane.
• SUX (Sioux City, IA) – If I were the Sioux City Chamber of Commerce or Tourism Bureau, I would ask for a new code designation and fast!
• UTO (Utopia Creek, AK) – Who wants to hear anything remotely close to “uh-oh” or “ut-oh” when flying?

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Things you never (or rarely) find in hotels anymore

Source: colonialrot.com

During our current two-week West Coast trip, I have noticed a number of things that are no longer (or rarely) found in hotel/motel rooms any longer. Certainly, other items have been added to make one’s stay more pleasant such as hair dryers, internet, and coffee makers.

Please feel free to send your additions to my list – I am sure I am forgetting some things.

• A telephone book
• A picture postcard of the hotel/motel
• Full-size writing paper with the logo/name of the hotel/motel
• Ashtray – no smoking, no ashtray. Good for health!
• Matchbooks – ditto
• A Bible – to me, this is a good thing as I think it is rather presumptuous in a diverse society to provide only the Holy book of one religion.
• A hotel/motel directory listing the locations – as the internet rules, so these have gone by the wayside.

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Images from Yosemite National Park

Below are photos from our visit today (Monday, 8/13/12) to Yosemite National Park. Unfortunately, because of the extreme heat Yosemite Falls was dry as a bone and Bridal Veil Falls was nearly so. The park was still impressive, as were the efforts to reduce traffic congestion. Even so, portions of the park must be near gridlock on weekends.

Bridal Veil Falls

Yosemite Falls

El Capitan

Entering the Yosemite Valley from Route 41

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Images of Lassen Volcanic National Park

Lassen Peak (volcano)

Brokeoff Mtn (volcano) in the background

Lake Helen

Sulphur mud pots

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Ten banes of a recreational bicyclist

This blog post is a follow-up to my previously one on the ten banes of a bicycle commuter post, but from the viewpoint of a recreational bicyclist. It was so popular, that I thought I would prepare a sequel – if Hollywood can do it, so can I. Just wait for the prequel – Ten Banes of a Tricycle Rider. : )

Since I am not a BMX or mountain biker, this list is from the point of view of a street or hybrid bike rider.

Here we go:

1. Lack of adequate bathroom facilities (particularly for #2 and for women) – this is more important the older you get.
2. Road shoulders that are missing, in disrepair, gravelly, or crumbled.
3. Dogs
4. Loose and uncompacted surfaces
5. Stupid and/or nasty drivers
6. Lack of directional signage
7. Flat tires
8. Vehicles that kick up stones
9. Unmaintained/rutted trails
10. Other trail users, including cyclists that wander aimlessly from side to side on the trail.

Please feel free to submit your banes as well and we will compare notes.

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My most scenic interstate highway segments

Typically, interstate highways are not thought of as being scenic, but there are a number of segments that pass through some amazing scenery and which are occasionally designed to minimize the impacts on the landscape. While I have not traveled every portion of the system, here is my own list of the 25 most scenic segments of interstate highway in the United States that I have either  driven or ridden upon. Segments are presented north to south and west to east.

1. I-70 from Grand Junction to Denver, Colorado
   

   I-70 in Colorado

2. I-84 from Portland to I-82 in Oregon
3. I-90 from Seattle to Ellensburg, Washington
4. I-68 from Morgantown, West Virginia to Hancock, Maryland
5. I-89 from Burlington, Vermont to Concord, New Hampshire
6. I-90 from Spokane, Washington to Missoula, Montana
7. I-90 from the Montana border to Buffalo, Wyoming
8. I-75 from West Branch to St. Ignace, Michigan
9. I-76 from New Stanton to Harrisburg, Pennsylvania
10. I-90 from the Wyoming border to Rapid City, South Dakota
11. I-81 from Winchester to Bristol, Virginia
12. I-40 from Newport, Tennessee to Hickory, North Carolina
13. I-95 from New Brunswick, Canada to Bangor, Maine
14. I-77 from Charleston, West Virginia to Mt. Airy, North Carolina
15. I-17 from Flagstaff to New River, Arizona
16. I-80 from Sacramento, California to Reno, Nevada
17. I-99 from State College to Bedford, Pennsylvania
18. I-64 from Beckley, West Virginia to Charlottesville, Virginia
19. I-75 from Murfreesboro to Chattanooga, Tennessee
20. I-530 from Fayetteville to Fort Smith, Arkansas
21. I-26 from Johnson City, Tennessee to I-85 in South Carolina
22. I-90 from Albany, New York to Holyoke, Massachusetts
23. I-15 from Pocatello, Idaho to Logan, Utah
24. I-91 from White River Junction to Brattleboro, Vermont
25. I-87 from Glens Falls to Albany, New York

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Our odd behavior

While packing my things for a quick weekend trip to my step-niece’s wedding, I realized that at the same time I was cleaning and straightening my apartment. The more I thought about it, I realized that I have been doing this for years, as my parents did before me.

What possesses us to clean and straighten up our abode (or nest) before leaving town and not while we are there?

• So any potential robbers will be impressed by how neat and clean we are?
• To make the furniture content?
• To assure it looks acceptable to the dog sitter?

Heck if I know for sure. My best guess is we do it because we are sorting things anyway to pack and who wants to be faced with an untidy home when we walk in the door after a long trip. It also probably stems from not wanting to come home and find little pests have discovered your untidiness and have decided to through a party.

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Stop the road warriors from running amok

The definition of “transportation” from merriam-webster.com:

“An act, process, or instance of transporting or being transported; means of conveyance or travel one place to another.”

No where in this or any other definition of transportation have I ever seen the term “transportation” limited to cars only, except…..by some GOP morons in Congress who want funding in the transportation bill limited to highways and are proposing a bullshit piece of legislation called HR 7, The American Energy and Infrastructure Jobs Act. The title sounds nice, but it is deceptive. The legislation might have well been written by Big Oil.

Help stop these road warriors from runnimg amok and shifting our nation into reverse. This legislation is not progress, it’s regress!

Please contact your senators and your representative and let them know that you think people matter too. Funding should be restored and/or increased for transportation projects designed to accommodate pedestrians, cyclists, safe routes to school, and mass transit.

p.s. What kind of sorry souls would be opposed to funding something like safe routes to school?

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