• 16Jul

    Hiking Bear Butte

    Fun Stuff, History, Images, Travel 2 Comments

    Panorama view from summit of Bear Butte - looking toward the Black Hills

    Bear Butte

    Mato Paha or "Bear Mountain" is the Lakota name given to this site. To the Cheyenne, it is "Noahvose." This geological formation is one of several intrusions of igneous rock in the Black Hills that formed millions of years ago. The mountain is sacred to many American Indian tribes who come here to hold religious ceremonies.

    A Sacred Mountain

    Many American Indians see Bear Butte as a place where the creator has chosen to communicate with them through visions and prayer. During our visit, we saw many colorful pieces of cloth and small bundles or pouches hanging from the trees. These prayer cloths and tobacco ties represent prayers offered by individuals during their worship.  While no one was actively offering prayers during our climb, we admired the ones we saw from a distance and did not disturb these sacred offerings.

    The Trail

    The trail is a 1.8 mile one-way excursion up this laccolith that rises 1,253.5 feet above the surrounding plains.  The family and I started out on a partly cloudy morning and encountered steep steps, a rocky path and places where you could not tell the trail from the rocky skree on the slopes.  The hike to the top was warm and challenging but once at the top, it was totally worth the effort.  I had hiked Bear Butte before and was glad that the family and I got to go up to the summit together.  Once at the top, you can see why native peoples held Bear Butte in reverence.

    Panorama image from the summit of Bear Butte - looking from the North to East


  • 27Aug

    AirVenture 2011

    General, History, Images, Travel 1 Comment

    At the end of July every year, one of the greatest shows in aviation starts in Oshkosh, Wisconsin – EAA's AirVenture.  This year I was hoping to have my dad along in tow, but that just didn't work out.  Instead, I went up by myself for "Warbird Friday."  The weather had been somewhat cloudy and rainy f=during the week, but Friday was a gloriously beautiful day with very few clouds in the sky, bright sunshine and unlimited visibility.  A great day to head to an airshow.

    Since I was going on Warbird Friday, you can assume that I'm there primarily for the classic military aviation planes.  You'd be right, and my favorites are the WWII aircraft.  It is always a treat to see the B-25s, P-51 Mustangs, and all the other aircraft, but the excitement is seeing them fly.  As part of this year's show, the only flying B-29 in the world would be at this year AirVenture.  FiFi (which I had seen the previous week at DuPage Airport would be flying in the Friday afternoon airshow.  That was something I wanted to see, but little did I know I would have further surprises in store for me.

    In addition to the old warbirds, there are plenty of other aircraft to take a look at – commercial, current military, homebuilt, experimental, and other aircraft types.  This year another star attraction besides FiFi was Boeing's new 787 Dreamliner aircraft.

    I spent the day looking around at the aricraft, admiring the detail that the planes carries, many of them looking like they just fly a WWII sortie.  I was awestruck by the attention that is given to these aircraft – not from a maintenance perspective because that's a given – but from a reverence to pay homage to the machine and the men who flew them in combat.  The further surprise came later in the day when I got to witness not only FiFi fly, but also an F4 Corsair and a P-38 Lightning.  These planes had been at other AirVentures I have been to, but I never got to see either of these aircraft types fly before.  It was an additional treat for the day.

    Overall, I had a great day, as evidenced by the pictures below.  If you have a chance to visit EAA's AirVenture in the future, I would highly recommend it.  Even if you don't fly or have no interest in flying yourself, but have interest as an "aviation enthusiast" you will have a great day (or days as AirVenture is a week long event).

    Enjoy the images below.


     


  • 26Jun

    New and old

    General, History, Images, Travel No Comments

    So a friend of mine recently asked if I had any pictures from San Juan, and I answered – Yes, I do.  However, I've just been too lazy or busy to put them up.  Well, I'm trying to rectify that now, so here are some images from those few short days on that very pretty island.

    I went down to Puerto Rico to help with an iPad deployment, and I was busy for much of the working hours.  Now while I did not have lots of time after work, I would have been able to see some sights in the evenings before the sun went down, however, it was an unusually stormy few days with lightning and thunder that reminded me of home.  Thankfully, the last full day in country I was about to visit Castillo de San Cristobal – a Spanish fort built in the 1600s to defend the landward approaches to San Juan city.  The harbor of San Juan was recognized by the Spanish as a very important anchorage for their merchant ships, so defense was needed.  This massive fort complemented the older fort protecting San Juan harbor – El Morro (built in the 1500s).  The images below show shots of both forts and some shots of old San Juan.  Hope you enjoy.


  • 25Aug

    Flying in a WWII Bomber

    Fun Stuff, History, Images No Comments

    B-24 bomber from WWII

    The deep thrum of the four engines, the cramped, tight spaces, walking across the bomb bay on a 10 inch metal strip, sticking your hand out the window at the waist gunner position – these were experiences I had on my flight aboard “Witchcraft” a WWII B-24 Liberator bomber.  I was able to experience this thrilling flight when the Collings Foundation brought the Wings of Freedom tour to Chicago Executive airport in July.

    I had always wanted to fly on one of these vintage aircraft, and I’m glad I got the chance.  Witchcraft is the only flying B-24 in the world, and the flight made me appreciate the sacrifice that the airmen made during WWII.  In many places within the aircraft, there was literally no place to turn around.  And you had to watch were you stepped – the nose wheel doors and the bomb bay are designed to give-way to weight – not a nice thing to happen if you’re a few thousand feet up.

    B-24s over Polesti

    I was able to move along the length of the plane in flight – from the tail gunner’s position to the nose gunner’s turret.  This was not your normal flight experience – I mean there was a three to four inch gap between the fuselage and the retracted ball turret – looking down I could see houses, roads and trees passing below.  When you get to the waist gunner’s positions – with the 50 caliber machine guns still in place – you get a feeling for what it might have been like fighting for your life and your crew mates as you fended off Axis fighters.  These planes weren’t pressurized – crewmen had to wear special suits and needed oxygen masks to survive the frigid temperatures at altitude.

    The ride on Witchcraft was a once-in-a-lifetime experience that I won’t soon forget.  Who knows how long this plane will keep flying – it did see actual service in China and Burma with the RAF, and spare parts and expertise are dwindling away.  Enjoy the pictures below or check out the Flying in a B-24 video page.


  • 21Jun

    Absolute Power . . .

    General, History No Comments
    From guardian.co.uk

    From guardian.co.uk

    . . . corrupts absolutely.

    As I read about the unrest in Iran, I just have to look at the irony of it all.  I remember back in 1979 when the current regime came to power.  They said that they were overcoming oppression from the Shah.  They said they represented the people.  They said a lot of things, but over time, they have proved to be just the same as the Shah’s corrupt administration that they replaced – maybe even worse.

    The mullahs came to power because they said they were persecuted and used religion as the opiate to get the masses on their side.  Once in power, they started to crack down and enforce rules and laws that they thought were best, not necessarily what the people wanted.  They used terrorist methods and supported terrorist causes to further their agenda and to build power.  Over time, this arrogance and desire for power led to the unrest we’ve seen lately.

    It’s tragic to see that these religious rulers who run Iran are so power hungry that they can murder their own people in order to maintain their power.  They accuse their own people of using terrorism (when they did so openly and with pride when they came to power) in protesting against what they feel is wrong.  They send armed forces out against unarmed civilians.  And I’m sure they’ll find some passage from the Koran that could be perverted to back their power play here – they’ve been perverting it for years.

    This regime has to go.  The people must be heard.


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