Monday, December 30, 2013

Mt . Jefferson from the Air

I thought I'd try posting from my new mobile device, using a photo I snapped the day before Xmas while en route between Reno and Seattle. I see I'm going to have to go online with my computer to check the draft and maybe make changes, because I don't like the Blogger app's method of determining my location -- I can't seem to enter the actual location of the phone, I'm only able to choose from nearby places. Also, I can't tell where the photo will end up in the post.

Mt. Jefferson from the air.
So, it turns out that the photo ends up being too large for the blog space, and it was crammed up against the text, which I normally might prefer having below the photo. Possibly I can use the online webpage to create a draft or post, rather than the Blogger app.

Thursday, December 19, 2013

Road Song: Hot Rod Lincoln

I've finally taken a hint from an earlier comment by Dan McShane, and am playing "the original" (to me) Hot Rod Lincoln - though it's not by Commander Cody. And this is the way I remember it:

Johnny Bond: Hot Rod Lincoln (lyrics)
Album: Hot Rod Lincoln, 1964

And for good measure, the Commander Cody version, which I also remember quite well, and is a 70s classic:

Commander Cody: Hot Rod Lincoln (lyrics)
Album: Lost in the Ozone, 1973

Friday, December 13, 2013

Things You Find in the Field: Speed Traps

Yes, you can find them everywhere, not just in small towns and not just while wandering here and there while out in your field area, but here's a sign, warning you of a particular danger!
Speed Trap Ahead sign in Austin, NV
This hand-painted warning sign is located on the east end of the small, mountainous, central Nevada town of Austin, a place where many field geologists have hung out or passed through over the years. The sign is on the outside edge of the last major turn just past the hairpin turn coming off the west side of Austin Summit, just where you might expect to speed up a bit while rolling downhill through town. In fact, if you don't shift down or break heavily or at least steadily, you will speed up past this sign just in time to blow past the sherriff's office, not that he or his deputies will necessarily be out trying to catch you speeding (but I can't personally recommend taking the risk).

I'm not sure who put up this visible, ever present sign (I remember it as always being there, way back into the 70s), but in my experience, the time to really watch out for speed traps is when cresting the hill over Mt. Airy Summit when about to drop into Reese River Valley while approaching Austin from the west.

Oh, and anywhere near and in Eureka, NV.

Tuesday, December 10, 2013

Road Song: On the Road Again

Willie Nelson: On the Road Again
Album: Honeysuckle Rose, 1980

This is an obvious Road Song, one for which, possibly, the category was named. In fact, the song was *on* one of the first road song tapes — surprise, surprise! Another of the first road song tapes can be played or perused  here.

On the Road Again is from the early 80s (barely 80s), when we were all on the road. It reminds me of roads, Highway 50, central Nevada, geologists, driving late at night to get home, driving anywhere to get out into the field, geological heroes, and much, much more. Today, it's dedicated to my Dad. My mom, a child of the 30s and 40s, was inspired to play this song (among many others) at his memorial service. The associated, perhaps fortuitous, metaphor, just stuns me.