Discovery Launch

I am still at Canaveral. I had the great good fortune to be able to stay long enough to see a shuttle launch. At 7:43 last night, Discovery's engines were lit and she lifted off the pad.


The initial climb was in the evening twilight. The flare from the engines made the sky look black, though it was not.


As she rose, she flew into the sunset, then later into bright sun.





The plume of her exhaust became a milti-colored ribbon rippling into the sky as it passed from twilight to sunset to daylight.


She hurtled on, reaching separation from the solid rocket boosters.











The shuttle and her SRB's took separate paths, one to orbit and two to the sea far below.













It seemed like seconds before all that was left was the dispersing cloud of her passing.

Kennedy Space Center

Wow. My first day was the typical tour. That was neat, but the second day, I took the NASA Up Close tour. That was remarkable.

The Saturn and Apollo program happened while I was in college. I knew, on an intellectual level, that the Saturn V was big. I know now that it is BIG. Sequoias are the biggest trees on earth. They get to be 325 feet tall. The Saturn V is 363 feet. The biggest Sequoia, the General Sherman Tree, is 33 feet in diameter. The Saturn V first and second stages are 36 feet. Wow.



The Up Close tour was just that – we were up close to the launch pads. Pad 2 is currently empty. We were literally at the ramp at the base of the pad. Pad 1 has the Shuttle on it. We were 5000 feet from it. While the shuttle itself was hidden by the gantry and protection system, the fuel tank and SRB’s were very visible.



On Friday, I saw my first launch. The Kepler observatory went up at 10:49 PM. At first, watching from about 8 or 9 miles away in my campground, I wondered where I should aim my camera. It turns out that was NOT a concern. The lights around the pad made it REALLY clear where the pad was.



At liftoff, all other lights faded to insignificance compared to the rocket.




It rose, more and more quickly, into the night sky.




At separation of the SRB’s the six separated and looked like remnant sparks from a fireworks show, except that they were so high that they just seemed to just hang in the sky, red-orange sparks marking the passage of the larger spark that continued to leave Earth behind.

After, there was just the vapor trail.



I have my fingers crossed that I will see a shuttle launch before the 13th.

Farewell to a friend

Recently my uncle passed away. He was a friend and one who taught me by example, not words. I loved the wilderness; he taught me to respect it. I loved wildlife; he taught me to balance use of nature with preservation of nature. Without his teachings, I would not be living the life I now lead. He taught that one can be strong without using the strength to hurt. He taught patience, respect, tolerance, and the value of listening. Most of all, he taught love.

He had perhaps the best marriage, to a wonderful woman, that I have seen. From it came a son, a daughter who is one of my best friends, three grandchildren and two great-grandchildren.

Lonnie was deeply religious without imposing his religion on others. It was simply there, in his actions and the way he related to others. The Dalai Llama said "I like your Christ, but not your Christians. They are so unlike your Christ." I think His Holiness the Dalai Llama would have liked Uncle Lonnie.

So, from a distance, I say farewell to my uncle, a friend and a deeply loved one.

Wandering about...

It was time to leave the Everglades, so I took a few parting shots


and moved on. A brief stop in Jupiter, and it was on to Hillsborough River State Park. This was probably the prettiest of my stops to date, at least in terms of my mental image of Florida (dense vegetation, flowing rivers) but it did have one surprise - white water (rapids). They describe this spot as being Class II rapids. Well... maybe in Florida...

The river winds through the forest and provided some remarkable views as well as a hiking trail system that I could (mostly) use my bike upon.


After leaving Hillsborough River, it was on to the Ocala National Forest. I stayed at the Alexander Springs Recreational area. I finally needed to use my generator. The combination of heavy shade and no hookups meant that my solar panels could not keep up with the electrical demand.

The Springs come from limestone formations similar in formation and volume to the ones I saw in Missouri. Here, however, the water is 72 to 73 degrees. Had the days been warmer, I might have tried a bit of snorkeling, to see if I still could.

The trails in the Alexander Springs area were mostly foot-only, so I had limited access to them, but they took you through beautiful densely vegetated areas.


My campsite in Alexander Springs placed my right rear window right next to a bush. A pair of birds considered that bush their territory. They kept seeing their reflections in my window and for a whole week, they would look, fluff, peck at the glass, flutter against the glass, and in general try to chase away those intruders that matched their every move!











I left Ocala National Forest on February 26th and checked in at the Jetty Park campground at Cape Canaveral. I am right on the water

as this view from my back window shows. I expect to be here until March 14th. With the shuttle now scheduled to go on March 12th, and being about 12 miles away, I should have a good view. Keep your fingers crossed for me!

The Everglades – of Birds and Gators

I have spent the past week in the Everglades. As I had no internet access, updating my blog had to wait.
The Everglades are primarily grassland that is at or near water level. There is little elevation change.
Those areas that have been or have become higher form “hammocks”, or islands in the sea of grass that are more heavily vegetated.
On my second morning, I was up before the sun and took a short drive to a small pond. There, I found an incredible density of various water birds. They were untroubled by the presence of photographers like myself, and just went about their business as long as we weren’t too quick to move or too noisy.





It created an opportunity for some nice pics.






























































I was watching one bird in particular. It would freeze, and hold there without moving. Then, in an eyeblink, it would strike. and he has his breakfast - definitely a better fisherman than I.



Later in my stay I drove north to Big Cypress Preserve,
a wonderful gator habitat.

And now I think it is time for me to go.....

Southern Missouri

November 21, 2008
Today’s drive consisted of 3 hours of classic minor roads in Missouri to Alley Spring. It has changed since Mary and I were here in the early 70’s. Back then, we stayed literally at the spring. Today, I am on the other side of the Jacks Fork River and across 106 from the spring. Still, there is lots more room and I have the place to myself.



November 22, 2008
Today we toured Alley Spring, Big Spring, Blue Spring (1/2 mile hike in) and Round Spring.



I had been of the belief based on information from many years ago that the water in the springs was thousands of years old. They have now identified many of the sources. Infiltration in karst topography feeds to the ground water system, which emerges at the springs. Time in the ground can be as little as 17 days, and can be from 40 miles away. Therefore, the springs cannot be relied upon as pure, because they are dependent upon the inflow water quality. The water moves too fast for in-ground filtration and purification.
Oh well…
We camped first at Alley Spring, then at Round Spring.

The thing about this area that impresses me most is the number of, and size of, the springs. I visited five - Alley Spring, Big Spring, Blue Spring, Maramec Spring and Round Spring. Each have something unique about them.
ROUND SPRING
Round Spring is the least volume of the five. It seems to emerge from the base of a cliff with a small overhang.


The overhang is actually an arch or bridge. Just beyond it is a sinkhole that lets you look straight down into the spring and is round, thus the name.



Both Alley Spring and Blue Spring ruun at about 87 million gallons per day. At Alley Spring, that flow was used to run a mill.



BLUE SPRING
I had to hike half a mile to get to this one. I have been paying for it with ankle pain since, but it was worth it. Blue Spring gets its deep blue color from its depth (over 300 feet) and the clarity of the water. It is said to be the most beautiful of the Ozark springs. Within my experience, I would agree. I remember seeing it as kid, summer, with the sun overhead and shining deep into the pool, not hiding behind the cliff like in these photos. It was spectacular.



















Big Spring boils out of the ground at a rate of up to 840 million gallons per day. It is a river. The violence of the upwelling is a bit intimidating as one stands at the edge.