This section functions as a catch all for crazy or interesting things I’ve done that don’t fall neatly into other categories. You know, miscellaneous.
- Lybrook Badlands, New Mexico, May 2019: Lands that are bad. Very bad. But in a good way.
- Off to New Mexico, June 2018: Whatever you think New Mexico is, you’re probably wrong.
- Europe in Training, October 2017: Europe. Trains. Screwing around. Pretty much sums it up.
- GPS on Benchmarks program: And now for something completely different, working for the Feds, for free.
- Alaska, September 2017: Where we go as far north as we can go without getting into the (cold!) water.
- Australia, May 2017: No, we went not for the Vegemite, but in spite of it. Nasty stuff!
- Hong Kong, March 2017: Let’s try yet another version of westbound. Sorta like being on an alien planet.
- Tokyo, January 2017: OK, we’ve been to the east and the south. Lets try going west. Ooooh, a different flavor of jetlag!
- New Year’s Eve 2016 in Paris (and a little bit of Spain): Ok, ok…Three trips to Paris in a single year is enough. But it was New Year’s…..
- The Loire Valley and Paris, November 2016: We wanted cold and we got it. And then some. Oh, and cheese, lots of cheese.
- Wandering around Iceland, September 2016: So we got tired of hot, tropical weather and did this.
- Quito, Ecuador, July 2016: Air temperature drops as elevation increases. So why is this place so cool again? Can you spell H-y-p-o-x-i-a?
- Rio de Janeiro, June 2016: Hey, it sounds like an exotic and adult thing to do! Lots of fun, actually, and surprisingly, not sweaty.
- Costa Rica, February 2016: Another vacation to a place that makes me sweat. I really should try the arctic…..
- The most interesting wildlife guzzler I’ve ever seen in Joshua Tree, February 2016. Yes, guzzlers CAN be interesting!
- Paris, January 2016: Adventures in pastry eating.
- Panama City, December 2015: More semi-normal tourist stuff. But they do have a good canal….
- Joshua Tree – The Blue Cut and N1586W, April 9, 2015: I spend too much time looking for things that aren’t there.
- Florence, Italy, 2014: The sort of semi-normal things I do when not doing really dodgy crap to fill this web site.
- Mountain Biking on Santa Catalina Island. A whole new round of stupid, this time on two wheels.
- The Avalon Circle of Death Ride, 4/29/2014, What, you think the title is overly dramatic? Well you weren’t there.
- Two Harbors to Parsons Landing Ride, 5/21/2014, Hmmmm, How does one undo a Circle of Death Ride?
- The Airport In The Sky to Avalon Ride, 9/25/2014, Sometimes it’s so easy, it’s hard. But not this time.
- Two Harbors, Catalina, 11/10 – 11/12/ 2014 – It always seems like a good idea at the time (but often isn’t).
- Two Harbors, Catalina, April 12-14, 2015 – Hey, hiking?? Maybe it’s better on foot than on wheels. Or not.
- A hike to the Ruby Lee Mine in Joshua Tree National Park, 3/6/2014. “The more obscure the better!”, says I. “Stupid!!”, says everyone else. So this would be ultra-stupid?
- Allison Mine hike, circa 1973: What, you think that date’s a typo? Hell no….I’m old! But why would something from 1973 (Nixon’s the one!) be worth writing up? Read it and see.
- Stubbe Spring Loop hike, Joshua Tree NP, 3/13/2013: Another pointless Patrick idea. See a pattern here? But will I learn? Unlikely.
- Cary’s Castle in JTNP, 11/13/2012: Weird and well off the beaten path. I’m fairly certain this hike was Patrick’s idea, but concede that my involvement just made it worse.
- Trinity Site – Socorro UFO Landing Site trip, 4/7/2012: Weird crap in New Mexico. Would you expect anything less?
- JTNP Cessna crash site, 7/15/2011: A visit to the site of a Cessna crash in Joshua Tree National Park.
- Jinks Mine hike, 2/13/2011: Patrick had the stupid idea of visiting one of the more remote and obscure mines in Joshua Tree National Park. So this isn’t my fault, but I am an enabler.
- Orange County Grand Jury service: I served on the OC Grand Jury for one year from July 2010 through June 2011. It certainly counts as an adventure and I wanted to describe what’s involved in Grand Jury service, the pitfalls and high points.