FROM ORCAS TO BEND VIA BELLINGHAM AND SEATTLE

POST # 178

CLUNK!!!!! Now that wasn't normal.  I was sitting on board a 737 at Bellingham airport just a couple of days ago.  We had just pushed back from the gate in preparation for our short twenty three minute flight to Seattle, when the clunk sound happened which sent a shudder through the aircraft.  We sat there, not moving, and I for one was wondering just what was going to happen next?  I was relieved when the captain announced over the intercom what had caused this sound.  Apparently, the tug that pushes the aircraft back from the gate, had detached itself from the front nose gear in a rather abrupt manner, and that's what caused the  "clunk" that we all heard.  We would now have to go back to the gate, so they could assess any damage to the landing gear.  It wouldn't be a good thing to land at Seattle and have the front wheel collapse.

Unfortunately, there was no mechanic available so we had to wait for a while until they could find someone to check out the landing gear.  Now, because of this delay, we  missed out on the arrival slot that had been designated for us in Seattle.  Eventually a mechanic did arrive, and it appeared that the gear was ok, however now, there was going to be another hour delay (getting slotted back in at Seattle) before we could take off.  When it looked like we were about ready to go, another message from the captain told us that there was a complete shut down of all flights arriving or departing Seattle.  No reason was given for this, and in all the years of flying, I have never had this experience.  So our delay continued.  Finally at 10:30pm we departed Bellingham, a mere three hours and fifteen minutes behind schedule.  Unfortunately for me, and many other passengers, we would be arriving too late, to make our connecting flights, so I would spend the night in a hotel room courtesy of Alaska Airlines, and continue my journey the next day. See below.

This is a major upgrade from my normal accommodation at Sea Tac airport.  See below.

I had a few hours to hang around Seattle airport waiting for my next flight, and while there, I would be subjected to the regular boarding announcements as time went on.
For each flight there would be the pre boarding announcement, which included people with babies  and military personnel and, included in the announcement after mentioning military personnel, were the words, "we thank you for your service."  For some reason this began to bother me, because I don't think the person making the announcement even gave the words a second thought.  It was just part of the script.  Perhaps a more appropriate set of words might go something like this:
"We thank you for being brainwashed enough to join the military in the first place, in order to go kill innocent people in a foreign land all under the guise of freedom and democracy", or something to that effect.  Perhaps words like that might cause a few people in the crowd to begin to question why on earth the US needs to have any military going anywhere overseas.  But this is a question that rarely gets asked.

Eventually it was time for my flight, and I was happy to be on board and away from Seattle en route to my final destination of Bend, Oregon.
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In other news, I see that the Arctic sea ice continues to decline, and each day we get closer to September we get closer to a time when there will be no ice in the Arctic.  When that happens, it won't be long afterwards that the methane escape which has been going on for quite some time now,  really ramps up and the potential 50 gigaton "burp" of methane takes place.

http://arctic-news.blogspot.com/2015/08/arctic-sea-ice-collapse-threatens-update-3.html

Things on the climate front are already chaotic, and this is only just the beginning.  Once that ice is gone, I can't imagine that we as a species are too far behind.  At some future point in time, even the military machine will be irrelevant.  At least that, would be a positive outcome.

Happy Trails,
Paul
The Thoughtful Wanderer

PS: Another tree goes extinct on Orcas Island. :-(

DROUGHT AND A WISE PASSIVENESS

POST # 177

An unusual event happened this past week here on Orcas Island.  IT RAINED!!!!  Normally, rain wouldn't be unusual here in the Pacific Northwest, however,  the drought seems to have a firm grip on the entire west coast, from California right through to British Columbia, and there doesn't appear to be an end in sight, at least for now.  You know it has to be dry, when even Vancouver is under water restrictions.
Here is a photo looking outside from the back deck of the house I am currently at.  This blue sky has become the normal view this summer.

There is no telling how long the drought will last, and of course most people think that it's great weather for their summer vacation, without giving a thought to the larger picture.  It will be interesting to see how the rest of the year goes, what with a super El Nino brewing off the coast.  It appears that the Pacific is going to be pumping out plenty of heat later this year, and that should have some interesting effects, none of which can be considered good at this point.

(A NOAA comparison shows the 1997-1998 El Nino at peak heat during November of 1997 [left frame]. The right frame image shows the 2014-2016 El Nino during its mid July ramp-up. Note the hot blob of water off the US West Coast in the July 2015 image. Heat in this region tends to drive an atmospheric feedback that continues to push more warm water into the Eastern and Central Equatorial Pacific. Note that, due to this and other factors, the 2014-2016 will likely also hit a peak intensity during October or November. An intensity that could exceed the monster 1997-1998 El Nino event. Image source: NOAA Environmental Visualization Laboratory.)

  In fact, all that extra heat might just be the thing that tips the balance in the Arctic, and causes the sea ice to disappear this September.  We'll see.

TUESDAY, JULY 28, 2015

Storms Over Arctic Ocean

The image below shows sea surface temperature anomalies over the Arctic on July 27, 2015.

The extra sunshine has had an impact on the local fruit as well.  I picked this apple a couple of days ago, and I'm no expert on apples, however, July seems to be somewhat early for apples to be ripening on the trees.  In addition to the apples, I've been eating blackberries for quite some time now, and I seem to recall that they are usually ripe in late August or early September.

My first time house sitting here on Orcas was in the month of October, back in 2011. I was picking apples like this off of the trees then, which is the month that one might expect to be apple picking, not July.  Nothing is normal any longer.

Even the furballs seem to be struggling with the heat.  Here we see the youngest of the tribe, trying to stay cool in the bedroom window.

ZIGGY AT REST

Not to be outdone by his older brother.

OSCAR CHILLING OUT

In fact, all of the animals at this house (including the author) have been feeling pretty relaxed of late.  I think I'll blame it on the heat.

And finally, I came across some words written a long time ago by none other than William Wordsworth. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/William_Wordsworth

The eye it cannot chose but see;
We cannot bid the ear be still;
Our bodies feel where'er they be,
Against or with our will.

Nor less I deem that there are powers,
Which of themselves our minds impress;
That we can feed this mind of ours,
In a wise passiveness.

Perhaps in this world of texts, tweets, Facebook and Smart phones, it might be beneficial to go sit on a beach, or under a tree, and spend some precious time in wise passiveness.  
I'm just sayin'.

Happy trails,
Paul
The Thoughtful Wanderer

FURBALLS, FOREST AND BEACH

POST # 176

I've had a week of relaxation here on Orcas.  No need to write about it, when I can post a few photos instead.

ZIGGY, OSCAR AND FELIX RELAXING AFTER THE EVENING MEAL

ON MY DAILY RIDE THROUGH THE VERY DRY FOREST

THE BEACH AT THE NORTH END OF ORCAS WITH MT. BAKER IN THE DISTANCE

A DAILY RITUAL-HANGING OUT AT THE BEACH IN EARLY EVENING


Perhaps by this time next week, I will have a few more words to write.

Happy trails,

Paul
The Thoughtful Wanderer

HEADING BACK TO ORCAS AGAIN

POST # 175

Exactly a year ago yesterday, I was driving from Bend Oregon to Washington State.  And yesterday I was doing the same thing once more.  What are the odds??

The journey was via a new route on the east side of the mountains, and via Yakima, a place I had been too only once before, and a very long time ago indeed.  I think I was probably 19 at the time.

This year, instead of being enroute to my regular housesit in Vancouver, I am returning to Orcas island for a fifth time, to take care of the three furballs, Felix, Oscar, and Ziggy.
Orcas is becoming somewhat of a second home to me.

Not sure what I will be doing after the Orcas sit, but I'm pretty confident that things will work out one way or the other.

Also, something unique happened the other day while out for a walk with my friend Mary, in Bend.  We came across this deer, and it was happy to let me walk right up to it. It was a precious moment indeed.

Happy trails,
Paul
The Thoughtful Wanderer

THINGS ARE HEATING UP, AND MY JOURNEY FROM THE MUD HUT BACK TO BEND

POST # 174

Well, things are really heating up now.  It seems like everywhere is on fire from California, right on through to Alaska.  British Columbia and Alberta are no exceptions, and the summer has only just begun.  In Europe there is another heat wave, and the Arctic is continuing to get hotter by the week.
I for one will be surprised if the Arctic ice cap DOESN'T melt this summer/fall.  Things seem to be pointing in that direction at least. ( in one 24 hr period last month, the Arctic ice extent declined a whopping 340,000 sq. km)  And once the ice is gone, then the methane which is already escaping in copious quantities, will probably be off to the races.  Looks like we're all in for a long hot summer.

Last Friday I had to say so long to my  friends Guy and Sheila, after spending a delightful week at the Mud Hut in New Mexico.  We were up early for the drive to Tucson, and I made sure to take a photo of them prior to a final hug goodbye.

From Tucson, it was a short 21 minute flight to Phoenix where I had to hang out for a few hours waiting for my next flight to Portland.

Arriving in the early evening in Portland, I was greeted by my dear friend Mary, and from there we drove back to Bend, arriving quite late.  It had been a very long day and I was ready for some sleep.

And on a final note, here is a recent article from my friend Dahr Jamail after he recently interviewed Guy.

http://www.truth-out.org/news/item/31661-mass-extinction-it-s-the-end-of-the-world-as-we-know-it

I think the title pretty much sums it up.

Happy trails,

Paul

The Thoughtful Wanderer

NBL WEST COAST TOUR COMPLETE AND ARRIVAL AT THE MUD HUT

POST # 173

It's over.  The NBL tour that is, and it has been a wonderful journey with my friend Guy, travelling the west coast from Vancouver BC through to our final whistle stop in Portland Oregon.  I find it hard to believe how fast the time has gone by, and that might be partly a result of my age, but I think a bigger part is the fact that we had fun on this journey, and that makes all the difference in the world.
At least I had fun, but I can't speak for Guy.  However, he seemed to be laughing a lot along the way so I think he had a good time.  Or perhaps it was the volume of ice cream that was made available that made the trip so easy.

We had a pretty decent sized crowd when Guy presented in Olympia at Traditions café.

However, the largest crowd by far was in Eugene, with an audience of about 150 people.

We had many hosts along the way, and one of my favourite places to stay was on the outskirts of Eugene at Patty and Deb's place in the woods.

I was very lucky to have the wwoofer's shack for a couple of nights here.

Included in the shack at no extra charge was "Sugar" the furball.

 

As well as doing presentations in front of crowds, Guy had the opportunity to do the occasional interview on radio as well, like here in Portland at K-BOO radio.

 

Portland was the last stop on the tour, and I had an unusual place to sleep compared to the other locations.  Fortunately for me, it was the coolest place to be as the temperature in Portland was 100 degrees F. on the last day.

 

 

 

 

 

We had a free day, and with the temperature so high, we hightailed it to Cannon Beach which is about an hour and a half west of Portland, and about 30 or more degrees cooler.

There was time to take a stroll along the beach.

 

 

And because the lecture tour was over, Guy finally had the chance to relax.

We left Portland the next morning very early with our scheduled flight to Phoenix at 5:20am, however it was late departing, and then it was a scramble to get to our gate in Phoenix for the short flight to Tucson.  However, due to a light bulb malfunction on the emergency exit sign, that flight was also delayed.
We arrived at Tucson about two hours later than expected, picked up Guy's car there and drove the final distance to the Mud Hut, arriving about 5pm local time. 
Arriving on a Sunday, meant that it was potluck dinner at the land trust about a mile up the road.  Guy, Sheila, Mike and Karen and Mike's parents Mike and Lynn and I walked over and spent a lovely evening with good food and wonderful people.

It had been a very long day, so by the time we were back at the Mud Hut, we had a little more time to visit, before heading off to bed.
And so ends the NBL west coast tour.  It has been such a wonderful experience, and I count myself very fortunate indeed to have had the opportunity to go along for the ride and help out my friend Guy.

Happy Trails,
Paul
The Thoughtful Wanderer

IN TRANSIT

POST# 172
I am in transit today with Guy from Portland Oregon to the Mud Hut in New Mexico so I may not be able to do a regular post for a day or two.
Happy trails
Paul
The Thoughtful Wanderer