The Skull Cave

 For those interested in volcanoes or caves, Lava Beds National Monument is well worth the trip. During the drive you will enjoy the spacious vistas for which the West is famous. Once in the national park you will have more caves than you can visit in a day. Despite the total absence of built-in lighting, Skull Cave is a beginner's cave. There are hand rails and metal stairs, but you must provide your own flashlight. Without it, a mistep could send you plunging into the dark.

What is a Venus Transit anyway?

Back on June 5 the song King of Pain, by the Police, was running through my mind along with thousands of other Californians. I was fortunate to be near the Auburn Dam Overlook as I wrapped up my business for the day. I joined a crowd of hundreds to enjoy safe viewing of the event organized by Don Maccholz and a band of dedicated amateur astronomers. To see an excellent write up of the event, visit  Venus Transit.

Traveling with Pets in California National Forests

I'm going to break one of my rules and share the names of my traveling companions in this blog. Angus gave me permission to photograph him for this article. I asked him to spread his wings, and this beautiful Macaw graciously obliged.

I was most surprised to meet such a handsome fellow in an unlikely place named Likely, CA. This Mackaw travels in a spacious room in an enormous motor home with a mated pair of humans. He converses with them during their travels and gives his opinion on the DVDs the humans provide for his entertainment. His neighbors in the upstairs flat are much smaller, but equally beautiful representatives of the avian family.

Buddy the Wonder Dog was at the top of his game on the Big Foot search. As the 5 day migration of humans into non-urban territory was wrapping up, he became quite animated as he tried to alert another mated pair of humans that a small, furry hitch hiker had stowed away on the undercarriage of their truck. They graciously accepted his warning, but chose to drive on to their urban territory without verifying Buddy's report.

Bixbie the Wonder Weiner showed the group that it is not the length of your legs, but the size of your spirit that matters in a wilderness hike. He accompanied the mated pair of humans who provide his ecosphere on a mile and a half hike up the Soup Springs trail in the Modoc National Forest. Brave little Bixbie hiked up and down an altitude change of 700 feet during the mile and a half hike.

Sadie the sweetheart accompanied her male human as he motored around the 6900 yard golf course. Thanks to this white German Shepard's expert coaching, her human male was able shoot an 84 on an incredibly windy day.

Aztec Pyramid of the Moon - Beware these 2 tricks

Traveling in Mexico would not have been my first choice, but I go where the clients need me. Luckily for me, a quick web search showed that there are some pretty cool sites to see in Mexico City. If you have a chance, take the time to spend a day climbing the Pyramid of the Sun and the Pyramid of the moon. But beware! Even my spanish-speaking companion was tricked by the following.

1. Everyone who acts friendly is NOT a park ranger with your best interests in mind. The friendly fellow with a handful of flyers is NOT an employee of the park, he is a hawker for the vendors at the park. His job is to make sure you park near a gift store and buy something.

2. Don't be fooled by the people whistling or pointing at you, then motioning you to park in front of them. These are NOT park rangers, they are vendors trying to get you to park in front of their restaurant. This restaurant is probably a very long way from the entrance to the park.

The park is BIG, so be prepared before you go and know the layout, where the parking is, and where the entry points into the park are. If you want to try one of the restaurants at the park, please indulge and enjoy. But don't be mislead into parking, then finding out you are not at the park entrance.

One other word of advice: It is quicker and closer to park near the first pyramid, then walk to the second pyramid. Don't go back to your car and drive around the park to the second pyramid. It is a much longer walk and the gift shops are much more expensive.

Close Encounters of the Smithsonian Kind

Our family vacation included a stop at the Smithsonian Air and Space Museum. They've reworked the exhibits since the last time we visited and the layout is an excellent showcase of the U.S. exploration of space. We saw Mercury and Apollo capsules, the lunar lander, the Apollo-Soyuz space station, the Space Shuttle, Space Ship 1 and other experimental aircraft, satellites galore, and lunar rovers. It was a space lover's dream.

As we wandered away from the beaten track, we found this odd little out-of-the-way display. A quick question was asked:
"What is this?"
Without even thinking twice, I said
"The mother ship from Close Encounters of the Third Kind."
"Right the first try!" I was told.

I was suspicious, and walked around the display case until I found the placard on the exhibit. Yes, I was, in fact, correct. This is the very model that Steven Spielberg's crew used when filming that famous scene. Wow, now I've seen everything!

Scars On Broadway in Dallas?

While on my way to Argentina, I had a rather extended layover in Dallas Fort-Worth airport. Although I've been to this airport before, this terminal was new to me. This sculpture looks like a cross between the Emerald City and a surrealistic vision of On Broadway. 

Women Freedom Fighters - WWII Style

During World War II, Japan launched a war of aggression against China, killing an estimated 10 to 35 million Chinese, followed by the brutal and unwarranted attack on Pearl Harbor. The Japanese began to fear an invasion and prepared their people to fight house by house if necessary. This photo was on exhibit at the National Marine Museum and shows how Japanese housewives were being trained to fight tanks and machine guns with pointed sticks. This exhibit saddened me greatly.

Unlike the Japanese, the U.S.'s goal was simply to end the war, not murder millions of innocent Japanese. We would not have attacked Japan had it not been for Pearl Harbor. And when we did attack, we only attacked 2 cities, though it was with overwhelming force. Our goal was to end the war with the lowest possible casualties. We succeeded.