A letter to the President

Last Christmas my friend Jean, a teacher in a local school, requested contributions of various things that her children had a need for in the upcoming year. I don’t remember all the things she asked for but I do remember there were things like crayons, pencils, gloves. I opted for pencil sharpeners – they seemed practical. Now buying 40 pencil sharpeners was not an easy task, it seemed like all the big box stationary stores didn’t quite stock that many of the same kind. However in this internet age we have www.discountschoolsupplies.com who will gladly furnish you with any number of pencil sharpeners and deliver them to your door.

So I donated 40 pencil sharpeners and thought no more of it. After Christmas I got 40 cards from all the students thanking me for the nice present. It was all quite touching. Anyway I got over it and I again thought no more of it until the other week Jean gave me a copy of a letter that one of her children had written to President Obama. The point of the letter was a response to President Obama’s request for everyone to pitch in and work harder towards the common good (or something similar) and all her class had written to the President.

One of the children – Destiny is her name – mentioned me in her letter. How cool is that, she wrote to President Obama and mentioned Mr Steve who donated pensil shaprenrs (sic) to her class. Take a look at her letter below. Apparently Ms. Destiny doesn’t use her pensil shapenr for sharpening pencils but for saving laddy bugs (ladybirds).


Now before you readers in the UK get all critical about the spelling and the dire state of English Language instruction in American Schools just be aware that Ms. Destiny is quite young and in a “special needs” class so she deserves some slack. While you (can I still say we) can rightfully decry what the Americans have done to the English Language this should not be taken as a good example of that.

Wentworth Springs

I did a little camping trip this last weekend. Alvaro and his 4-wheeling friends were going to play on the Rubicon Trail so I decided to take my motorcycle out for a spin and join them at their campsite at the start of the trail in Wentworth Springs.

On the map the road to camp looked reasonable, and the word was that there was just a little bit of water to cross - no big deal. It was a great motorcycle road - well maintained, with great views of the Crystal Basin Wilderness area - absolutely spectacular. Alas when I arrived at the water crossing it looked a little more intimidating than I had expected. Had I been on my own, I would have turned around and returned home, but with an audience and a bit of egging on I decided to give it a try. Of course not being experienced in crossing streams on my motorcycle, I made it half way across and promptly fell over into the water. No harm done, just my pride and my iPhone which was in my pocket on my wet side.

The bike is too heavy for me to pick up on a flat pavement never mind a flowing stream so a bit of assistance was required - thanks guys for dragging me out of the water. Of course they took me over the stream so there was no point in turning back at that point so I pressed on to the camp, gaining a lot of experience with water and rough road on the way. Way more water than I was expecting.


The Rubicon Trail is an old trail through the Sierras that has become the domain of the 4-Wheel community. Hikers and back packers leave it well alone and seek solitude elsewhere. For the 4-Wheelers it is quite a challenging trail (as you can perhaps see from the photos) and it becomes a slow and technical crawl over bolders and slabs of granite. You can truly hike it faster than they can drive it.

A good time was had by all, and on the way out I nailed the stream crossing - it didn't look quite as intimidating on the way out, as you can see below.

Cuisine on the Trail

The food on our four wheeling trip to Utah was certainly worth a mention. We ate very well indeed. As I mentioned in the prior post, we were 9 vehicles so storage space was not an issue. Most vehicles had refrigerators so keeping food cool and fresh was also not a problem. We had a variety of cooking utensils from Dutch Ovens to pressure cookers up to seriously large grills so we had no limitations there.

The Chefs at work.

Of course, we also had the best of cooking implement of them all - the engine itself.

I had heard of cooking food on the manifold before, but had never tried it (not that it is appropriate for my daily drive car). The whole thing just sounds so unpredictable and it is perhaps not the most hygienic of conditions for food preparation. However, that proved not to be the case, and we had many several engine prepared meals. We wrapped pork ribs in foil and placed them around the engine in the morning and by the end of the day they were perfectly cooked. Tamales wrapped in moist paper towels and then in foil were ready by lunchtime. It was also great for warming things like burritos and the grilled cheese sandwiches were superb.

Careful placement is what it's all about.

Googling the topic of engine cooking when I got home shows that it is not that unusual – there are even books on the topic with cooking times measured in miles rather than minutes.

As far as the drinks went, not only could we keep the beers cold in the fridges, Andy made great Gin and Tonics at the end of the day. When Dan caught up with us (he had mechanical problems before the trip) he brought along an excellent espresso machine that made the most wonderful cappuccinos and espressos for our early morning caffeine fix. Check out the nice layered cappuccino below.

Mine was a double-shot cappucino with 2% milk

The Off-Road Trip to Utah

Last week I had the opportunity to do something that I never thought I would do – I went on an Off Road trip in Utah and drove all over the wilderness in a four wheel drive vehicle.

As somewhat of an environmentalist, I had never contemplated doing this, but when the opportunity came along (courtesy of my friend Alvaro), I though why not give it a try and see what it is all about. Now, after spending a week in Southern Utah, I have modified my feelings towards off-roading somewhat and I don’t see it in quite the same light as I did before. A four wheel drive vehicle enabled me to see places that I wouldn’t normally get the chance to explore since it can took me beyond the range of any normal bicycle or hiking trip, and, yes, it can be done responsibly (more or less). But of course the big factor in all this was that it was really a lot of fun – serious fun.


There were 9 vehicles on our trip (a mix of Toyota Land Cruisers and Land Rover Discoverys), originating from as far afield as Chicago, Albuquerque and Northern California. Of the nine vehicles I was the only ‘passenger’ – so there were 10 people in 9 vehicles – not the most economical way or efficient way to travel. However, I soon realized why that was - while sitting in the passenger seat is certainly enjoyable, actually driving the vehicle on the trail takes it to a whole different level.

We set off by driving some 1000 odd miles from Sacramento to Grand Junction Colorado – a nice 2 day drive across the “loneliest road in the US” (Highway 50 through Nevada) and, in a remarkable piece of timing, people from Chicago, California, Albuquerque and all arrived within 30 minutes of each other in Grand Junction.

The next day we set off to do Kokopelli’s Trail – a 140 mile trail from Loma, Colorado to Moab, Utah. It is actually a multi-use trail with four wheelers, mountain bikers and hikers sharing parts of the same trail. The start of the trail was quite congested with mountain bikers and the occasional trail runner, but as we got further along all but the hardiest of bikers fell away.

Kokopelli’s trail was a nice mixture of different trail conditions from spells on country roads, to stretches of dirt washboard, to relatively technical sections. It gave me a nice introduction to the sport/pastime. Thanks to Alvaro, I did get to try my hand behind the wheel of his Land Cruiser and had a great time negotiating the various obstacles. Actually, for the most part it seemed like the real skill was in ‘spotting’ someone through the more difficult areas – that is, from outside the vehicle, guiding the driver where to place the wheels. As a driver in those sections, I simply put my faith in the ‘spotter’ and obeyed his instructions and drove slowly….. very slowly.

All went well and we had no real incidents. Just the breakage of a drive shaft on one of the Land Cruisers half way up a hill. It didn’t seem to faze anyone, in fact they relished the challenge and the resourceful group had it replaced in a little over 30 mins.

Towards the end of Kokopelli’s Trail we entered the area around Moab, famous for its slick rock terrain. Here the trail followed a course over the bare rock and there was no well defined trail, except for the rubber tire marks on the rock (sorry about that). The Moab area seems to be the mountain bike/4-wheel capital of the world and it is covered with hundreds of trails. We took a fun little excursion on a trail called Fins and Things up and down some amazingly steep hills. I would not have imagined a vehicle could handle such steep inclines without tipping over. Check out these videos on U Tube of this trail to get a feel for the experience (1) (2).


After resupplying in Moab we took off again on another trail – an old Mormon Trail called the Hole in the Rock Trail. This trail ran from just outside Blanding, Utah to the Colorado River and was quite challenging in places. To think that it was crossed initially by a group of Mormon settlers in the latter part of the 19th Century with wagons and cattle and horses, albeit taking 6 months to our 2 days. They were certainly tougher in those days.

Here are some photos from the trip.

The Crooked Spire

The nearest sizable town to where I grew up in the UK, is Chesterfield. Most noted for a mediocre 4th Division Football Club (at least in my day) and a construction project gone slightly wrong. The construction project gone wrong was the spire on the church, St Mary's and All Saints, but better known as the Crooked Spire.


The spire was built in 1362 so it's quite old, but as you can see, something went a bit wrong and the spires timbers warped and it has a pronounced twist. The reason given is poor design and lack of craftsmen as a result of the Black Death and the use of green oak. To this day it remains the most memorable thing about this market town in the middle of England.

The Workhouse and Cathedral in Southwell

In the town of Southwell not far from where my mum lives there is a fine example of a Victorian Workhouse. Apparently one of the only ones remaining untouched from its original form. Built in 1836 it provided housing, food, work and education for the local poor.


In its original incarnation, the Workhouse had some interesting and quite harsh methods, including the seqregation of the poor into the 'blameless' poor (the aged and disabled) and the 'undeserving' poor (the able-bodied who it was deemed were quite capable of working and earning a living). The residents were further separated into male and female and children with the result thar a family would be separated during their stay at the Workhouse.

When today in my home town of Sacramento we have a sizable tent city of homeless people squatting by the river, you realize we still, some two centuries later, have some of the same issues that the Victorians were dealing with in this workhouse.

Southwell is a beautiful town with more than just a Workhouse. It has a wonderful Cathedral in the middle of town. A spectacular and dramatic building.



A few more photos are to be found here.

Mum's 90th Birthday

Yesterday was my mum's 90th Birthday. We celbrated with lunch at one of my mum's favorite spots - the Robin Hood in Elkesley. Good food and good company, it all went very well.

Here is my mum with her younger brother Geoff. Both looking good for their age.


A great opportunity to get the all sides of the family together for a happy occasion (as opposed to the other way folks get together now - funerals). Back at the house we have an over abundance of cards and flowers we are trying to accommodate. Here are some more photos.

A swarm of bees

I came home this lunchtime and just happened to take a look out back where the bee hives are and, lo and behold, a swarm of bees were hanging outside one of my hives.

This last winter has been disastrous for my bees. In the fall I had three healthy and productive hives and then slowly through the winter, one by one, they died off. I am not sure of the cause, but it wasn't like the prior years where hives just disappeared without a trace, this time there were lots of dead bees left over. Anyway, I cleaned up the hives and left them outside through the winter and then a couple of weeks ago I noticed some bees had occupied one of the hives. My good luck I thought, but now today, even more good luck, and we have another swarm outside one of the other hives.


I just checked this evening and they are still there - though they are now inside the hive where they should be. Perhaps I won't even need the 2 packages of bees I had ordered earlier in the spring. We will see if they stick around.

A New Camera

I just got a new camera - a nice new Nikon D90 with an 18-105mm lens.

I suppose I didn't really need another camera. I have a perfectly reasonable camera already but that one's only a point and shoot - I now have a single lens reflex - very cool. It is a great piece of equipment, but pretty complicated with so many controls and buttons. It will take me a long time to become comfortable with it.


Anyway, I took it out on the streets of Sacramneto this afternoon just to get a feel for it. The results never quite to live up to my expectations, but here's a link to the photos.

Pirates Cove 30K

Yesterdy was my birthday, so I thought I would celebrate it in relative obscurity by going out of town to run a trail run in the Marin Headlands. Alas it seemed like everyone knew it was my birthday (I blame Facebook) and so the event did not pass with the intended obscurity. I had birthday presents and birthday cup cakes before the race and a chorus of Happy Birthday as I crossed the finish line. Nevertheless it was a great day out and thanks to everyone for the birthday wishes.

Pam,Dianne and your truly

Pacific Coast Trail Runs are a group that put on excellent runs around the Bay Area. Pretty low key, but well marked courses and great aid stations. The Marin Headlands north of San Francisco are absolutely wonderful. Spectacular scenery with views of the Pacific Ocean, the San Francisco Bay, the Golden Gate and the city itself. Most of the time you feel like you are in the wilderness and then you pop over a ridge to see San Francisco, or Tiburon and you know you are pretty close to a major urban area. However, there’s not much flat ground around there, so the run was pretty arduous. We were either going up or going down; there was not much easy going.

It was an overcast day that was perfect for running, and the rain held off until after I finished. Here are some photos from the event.