the great affair

"i travel not to go anywhere, but to go. i travel for travel's sake. the great affair is to move." -- robert louis stevenson

a beautiful late summer night w/ a waning moon allowed us a record 2.75 hr. run from elk rock to the dam and back. the lake is at permanent pool and i made my first trip through the sea cave tunnel along the cliffs. with days headed to winter taking advantage of cool nights is a luxury once again.

access 16

a warm early morning at hickory ridge brought g'son jordan and me to the newly signed water trail access 16. although needing more poles and lines removed the wilderness camp is shaping up to be a great destination for paddlers. unfortunately the access was under a foot of mud left from flood level waters and the dnr didn't heed advice on a straight in ramp. at least it is now "properly marked."

great artists

"No great artist ever sees things as they really are. If he did, he would cease to be an artist." Oscar Wilde

colour

i still miss my old kodachrome slides -- they had such nice bright colors, but mama they took my kodachrome away..
"the purest and most thoughtful minds are those which love colour the most." -- john ruskin, "the stones of venice"

weather or not

there is really no such thing as "bad weather," only different kinds of "good weather." -- John Ruskin

the heat during the balloon fest last weekend has continued this week, but is simply called "weather". with so many wonderful experiences possible it doesn't really matter if it is rain or shine....

different directions

sometimes when you are floating along it's hard to know which direction to go.... focus, must focus..."you can't depend on your eyes when your imagination is out of focus." -- Mark Twain

up, up, and away

with unusual summer heat it was refreshing to take to the skies, even if it was next to a propane burner.

copiloting a hot air balloon has always been on my bucket list so last weekend i was able to check off another wish. the offer to ride along on the "clair skies" at the red rock balloon fest was a dream come true. rising up from a farmer's hayfield early in the morning with hazy skies was a bit surreal, but a third place finish out of 23 brought us back to reality. i'm ready to go again, but still found time to kayak to painted rocks last night with a slight breeze and calm water.