We had to go on a road trip this weekend to celebrate the 100,000 mile of our Toyota Sienna. I didn't want such a momentous occasion being spent on a mere trip to the commissary or taking the kids to school. We started the trip around 999,912 and we took a trip out to Grants, NM about 100 miles away. Right as the odometer flipped we all got our to 
dance around and commemorate the occasion with a 100 Grand candy bar.
Out in Grants they have a unique area where they had a volcano thousands of years ago. From the volcano there are several interesting formations such as lava flows, cinder cones, and twisty trees. One of the most interesting is a at the bottom of the volcano a cave formed. The porous nature of the cave combine with the altitude and insulation make the cave frozen year round. Inside the cave was a lake of ice and ice all over the walls. It was really kind of wild. The hike was great for the family because it wasn't too long, about 1.5 miles total. The trail was covered in minced lava rock and lined with curious looking twisted Douglas fir trees. 
This made the landscape look like a scene out of a B-rate sci-fi film. Also, this trip marked Tennyson's first hike! He really enjoyed it which is good because in this family you don't get much choice.
We end the day of hiking with a refreshing trip to the pool and a greased watermelon relay. Everyone knows it's not really Memorial Day without a greased watermelon relay.
Monday, May 29, 2006
The Land of Fire and Ice
My life...A bizarre rock video
Sometimes it seems like my life is some kind of crazy European rock video. The kind where there are multiple seemingly unconnected weird people and events. For example, at 2:17pm yesterday I was sitting in the living room while the kids were playing in the other room. All of a sudden Chlöe comes into the room with a hand towel around her waist, a brown paper shopping bag over her shoulders, and her face painted like a cat. Then a couple of minutes later Tally comes into the room bouncing a huge 2ft red ball with nothing on but orange and black striped underwear. Next Chewie comes into the room, screams out one indiscernible cacophony of sounds and then walks out. I was trippin the rest of the day trying to figure out what that all meant.
Leia Mais…Saturday, May 27, 2006
How high up are we?
We had to make an expeditious return from the F&S camp because I was due to go TDY that afternoon to White Sands (WSMR). This TDY was going to be the capstone of our SDB GPS jamming work but there was a downside. We had to spool out 3km of cable to use in the test. When I say we had to spool out the cable I don't mean we had to walk behind a machine that lay the cable for us I mean we had to put on gloves that would soon be shreds of fabric and roll the 500lb spool hand-over-hand for 3km. Not a fun job.
When we got to WSMR Maj Hebert said he wanted me to take a few people and set up an smaller site. This was a good deal for several reasons; first and foremost I would not have to deal with that bloody 3km cable. Another cool thing was that I would be in charge of a group and we were essentially hanging out in the mountains all day. The downside was that it was a 3 hour drive each way to the top of the mountain where the site would be located. This meant leaving 3 hours before everybody and getting home a couple hours later, but as long as I didn't have to roll the wheel of torture I was still coming out on top.
A couple of interesting events that transpired during the week. On the fourth night we started down off the 9700ft peak around 8pm. I don't know if it was the dusk hours of the night or some conspiracy that the animals had cooked up but there was a veritable safari out there. It was like someone opened up Noah's Ark on top of the mountain and several species scattered all over. We saw a bunch of deer, one of the largest elk I have ever seen, rattlesnakes, a thousand 
rabbits, and of course a ton of oryx. Oryx are large antelope that were transplanted from Africa to WSMR about 25 years ago. Without any natural predators they have absolutely flourished, which is amazing because they are not smart animals. They are as dumb as a deer but weigh 3x as much. When you are driving at night and the headlights shine on there red eyes, black faces and long pointy horns, it appears like the devil himself has just jumped in front of your car. On this evening driving home there were a couple dozen oryx that had a tremendous amount of anxiety that made them have to cross the road right now! A least it kept me awake after working 14 hours that day.
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On the last day of testing we were in a bind because there were not enough vehicles for everyone to get to there sites. Since we had all of our equipment set up already we just caught a ride with someone else. This worked great until we had to go home that night. We had to bring back all of our stuff but we didn't have a vehicle to transport it. One of the guys at a nearby site said he had enough room to grab us on his way back. When he picked us up he said he wanted to take all of the equipment that belonged to WSMR not just our stuff. This made for a very tight fit with four large boxes of electronics, tripods and mounting gear, some car batteries, three generators, and three 5gal cans of gasoline in the back of his truck with a shell on the back. Since we didn't have any other way back down and it was about 90deg out there on desert and we were tired, we all piled in.
About 1.5 miles down the mountain on a very tight logging road with sheer cliff sides that when 
about 2500ft down on both sides we heard something drop in the back. Since I was in the back seat of the king cab truck, I looked back but I didn't see anything. I said if we stopped I would run back and look to see if everything was alright. When I got to the back of the truck I noticed that the sound wasn't that of something falling but the sound of something combusting. Apparently it is not good for gasoline to be stored in airtight containers that start to compress when you loose several thousand feet in elevation driving down the mountain. Also it seems that when gas in these conditions is stored in a semi-airtight camper shell whose temperature has risen to about 150deg is suddenly given a blast of cool mountain oxygen it turns into what can only be described as a Molotov tornado.
After I made one of the dumbest decisions ever to open the back of the truck shell, I went running back to the front to tell everyone to get out because of the fire. The guy driving responed so quickly that he forgot that the car was still in drive and sent the car careening toward the cliff in front of us. The person in the passenger seat jumped in head first to put the car in park. I grabbed the fire extinguisher in the back seat (you know, all government vehicles must have them..."Safety First"). I ran back and drenched the back of the truck with billowy foam. After we had suppressed all of the flames, we inspected the back of the truck to find about 1/32 plastic left on the caps on the cans holding the 15 gallons of gasoline. I can't imagine we had much more than a 10-15 seconds before one of the containers went up in flames. After we got back to base everyone said, "Don't you know when your car starts on fire you just get the hell away from it." Let's see...we loaded 15 gals of gas in the back of a hot car with generators and car batteries...I am thinking nobody was a real safety wiz.
The Final Frustration
This one is entitled the "Final Frustration" because after planning and executing a poorly attended Fathers and Sons campout, I made a lengthy addition to the blog. I got up to get a drink of water and when I got back everything was gone. I don't know if it refreshed itself or if one of the kids clear it or what but instead of a detailed description you get two pictures of the camp and the hike to Tent Rocks. Good-bye
Sunday, May 14, 2006
The Genesis
I am creating this log to chronicle the travels, trials and triumphs of the family. This will be a way of sharing some of the interesting events in the family and allow for comment to those. Hopefully, the additions and edits will be something that is perpetual and enjoyed by those who read it.
The first thing I wanted talk about was the trip to Papa's farm that Truman and I got to go on last weekend, 5 May. It is fitting that this entry goes along with the title of "The Genesis" because this is where our family began as well. Truman and I went down to help Papa shoot some video of different locations on the farm that has some special meaning. We had a great time but somewhat bittersweet because of the imminent selling of the farm. It made me feel as if we were selling a bit of our own history. I say "we" but it really has nothing to do with me. I realize everybody loves the farm but from a practical perspective it doesn't make sense to keep it if nobody really has the time to give it the care it deserves. It is almost like the farm is a dying relative, who is full of history and stories, but at some point you just have to let go. I am probably not the best person to judge on issues like this either...I still have my high school library card in my closet because it reminds me of books I read back then.
One of the highlights of the trip was the fishing excursion we took at the end of the day. We went fishing in the pond behind the farm with some poles we found in the old barn. On the first cast of his life Truman pulled out a huge 14" large mouth bass. He now holds a stat that I don't think any Harris, Carrico, or Buckley could beat...1 fish/ever 30 seconds of fishing in his life.
