Labor Day with the Crayola Posse

I was moving pretty slowly after my long run on Sunday. Getting together with the folks to find a new mystery letter box was just the right idea for my Labor Day. We could put our thinking caps on, explore some ideas in the field and see what we could turn up as we visited and enjoying a sunny drive south.

We started in Mifflin County to check out how Toolman Luke was doing with the 1967 Corvair he has been polishing up since... well it feels like 1968 but I know it was really more like 1978. It is really coming together! Look for him and Maga11 at the Car Show in Carlisle at the end of the month!

Maga treated us to some beautiful muscadine and scupadine grapes to fortify us until we found a place that was open for lunch. Holiday weekend are more difficult but we wanted to leave our dining options open to what ever Juniata County through our way.

We drove south but no eagles were seen on our trip along the Juniata this time. We loved seeing our ancestor's grave stones in Thompsontown, Center and obscure places not mentioned on maps but know as locals as Texas Hollow and Up the Pinnacle and Muskrat Springs.

We stopped in Mexico for a break at the Mexico Market. Their hand dipped ice cream can't be beat. The "small" is a huge cone of multiple quality dips and the price is an amazing $1.00. Toolman Luke started off with a cone of raspberry and we had some sandwiches before our dessert.

We drove a short way to a Juniata River access near Buttonwood Campground. One of our old mystery letterbox was at this location but we removed it because it was totally water logged, a hole got ripped in the logbook baggy. It is so much fun to see the names who had puzzled out where it was since the logbook had been replaced in 2006. Last finders were exactly a year ago.

We enjoyed seeing white herons fly low on the river and look at the map with a lot of the Juniata access points, State Game Lands areas and camping areas. I saw the section of Lower Trail I had run the day before. I showed the folks where I ran from Alexandria/Water Street access past the Mt Etna access and back. A lovely 1/2 marathon along the dear Juniata.

Time for dessert, we went back to Mexico Market and were greeted by a bunch of chickens in the parking lot. They wandered around looking right at home. I found them to be a little intimidating.

We each chose a different flavor of ice cream. I got Cherry Vanilla, RGBisMe got Vanilla, Maga got Butter Pecan and Toolman got Chocolate this time. It was warm enough that driving anywhere with our melting treats would not be a good idea so we found some nearby picnic tables. It happened to be where the chickens had settled and they got all excited as we walked toward them.

RGBisMe got it into his head that the one chicken was asking for a lick off of his cone and bent down to offer it some. That chicken took such an agressive bite of icecream that his thumb cracked right through the cone with the force he had to use o hang onto it. Crazy man, crazy chickens.
We did have success with the letterbox. Toolman's knowledge of the surrounding area aced us a first find on a cute local letterbox. All of the pleasant conversation, mellow activity and good times allowed me to feel good enough this morning to take on a 4 mile recovery run. Thanks for the great Labor Day, Crayola Posse!

December Dancin' (part 2)

Bringing Ravenboy and Asrai into our home for a week was a great part of our holiday break. We all decorated the Yule Tree that took up a large portion of our living room. It was special this year sharing stories of some of the ornaments with Asrai as we put them on the tree.

Although most of the holiday music we have is specifically Christmas music, we have fond memories of it from over the years. One album by the Ray Charles Singers is our favorite and is all songs about Winter. We listened to good old songs like "Button up your Overcoat", "June in January", and our all time favorite "When Winter Comes a Calling."

The tree was completely decorated by the time RGBisMe pulled out the brand new CD with my special song on it. As I wrote in December Dancin' (part 1), I had altered the digital recording by singing over the part of the song where I am expected to dance. The quality of the recording of the beginning of the CD was very poor because the 6 minutes leading up to my dance were also recorded with Audacity but were supposed to sound like the original album. Ravenboy picked up on it right away.

"What was that noise?" he asked when there was a big thud in the middle of the recording. RGBisMe was a little shocked too but he attributed it to perhaps being one of the cats bumping the turn table as he had made the recording. Unfortunately it was not the only noise and as I prepared to dance all three spectators became increasingly curious and confused as to what was going on. Ravenboy picked out every little additional noise and even skipped back on the CD to listen to the noises again and again. I assured them this I was pretty sure that this was the song even though RGBisMe thought that he remembered my dance at the beginning of the song. It is curious what we remember and forget from year to year and my noisy recording was making us all confused.

Finally, the music that was right before my entrance assured me that I better get to my place in the wing. I am not in as good shape these past couple of years and had tried to warm up just a little to prepare. I braced myself for the change in song and switch over to my bizarre singing version.

My dance was the same as every other year (with the usual tiny variations in style and energy level) but the music was replaced with my "lalalas", "dododos", and "rumpa-pum-papums". Pops, raspberries, grunts and squeals took the place of the well know holiday song; my voice tried to singularly take on the whole orchestra. The clever orchestration of "Jingle Bells" would have been pretty much unrecognized if it hadn't been heard by us many times before.

My family received this year's variation first with scepticism then with pleasure to see the dance was intact and finally they joined in the singing where my limited vocal version needed gaps filled in. From my goofy bouree entrance to my final breathless fall to the floor, my good audience was all smiles and cheers.

There was even an encore performance because, it was rationalized, I hadn't really done it to the real song at all this year. Even with the smaller stage and twisted ankle, it too was well received.

There is a inverse correlation between the technology to record this annual display and the quality of the performance itself. Thus, I will direct you to The true indigo Trust to remind all that no bootleg movies should make it on to Youtube this year.

December Dancin' (part 1)

The end of our holiday vacation is winding down. I realize that I don't post as much detail as I used. I was thinking that anybody who has cared to read about my personal life has pretty much been directly involved in what has been going on. Conversely, I see that this blog still gets hits from outside of my family. If you comment that you enjoy a certain topic I have touched on, I can certainly elaborate.

Seeing that my annual shenanigans of trying to avoid performing my holiday shindy has been a popular mid-workday reading, I will share my demi-success this year. RGBisMe was able to make some awesome gifts for our family this year by taking the old holiday LPs and making digital recordings of them. This complicated exactly how I was going to avoid my dance.

The song itself is the last song in a medley of holiday songs. It is an 8 minute track that, when it was on a tape, I could easily tape over. I have not mastered the application of Garage Band yet and found myself with less that 4 hours to come up with something. I Googled something like how to cut into part of an MP3 and someone had thrown out the idea of the application of Audacity.

I was familiar with Audacity, I had used it to make a little recording of some Morse Code for a one of the From Where I Stand letterboxes if I am remembering correctly. I then got the idea to not just cut off the end of the song but to plug the headphones in and sing over it.

I was resigned to the fact that I would end up doing my dance but knew it would be delayed. Not only would it not matter what tape the song was on (there are not tapes any longer) but I had a good feeling that only RGBisMe knew what actual album it was on. I was counting on this distraction to make them believe that nothing else would get in the way.

The most humorous aspect was that while I was recording the medley that preceded my frenetic snippet of Jingle Bells our one cat decided that something particularly interesting was outside the window near the computer. His ramming around, up and down off of the desk was being picked up on the recording. There was little I could do. I had taken advantage of RGBisMe running out for a frozen pizza and was hoping it might take him about the 10 minutes I would need to get the altered recording. It was the only window of time I had and the cat jumps and bumps would have to stay.

As I got to the moment when I plugged the earphones in, cutting off the music that was being recorded, I had an odd thought. What if RGBisMe can home as I was singing my goofy, Spike Jones inspired, new version of the song? I had but a second to just inhale and go with it. If I was caught in the act, I would just have to explain.

I made it to the end, clicked the button to stop the recording and checked to see if RGBisMe had pulled in. All was clear. I gave a quick listen to the recording and exported it as an MP3 before he got home. I knew I had to make a full playlist of the album and burn it to a CD but he came home before I had the chance.

Angrist & feralgyrl came over to help us celebrate our anniversary and the holidays. It got dark so early that the four of us said our goodbyes just as many night loving folks were probably just getting started. I was glad RGBisMe went straight to bed and I told him that I would join him very shortly.

I quickly burnt a replacement CD and swapped it with the one everyone would be expecting to find. I was excited for how the rest of the plan might unfold but first we had a trip to New York City and back.

Saturnalia Cactus

Many modern holiday cactus cultivars are hybrids between Schlumbergera truncata and S. russelliana, first bred about 150 years ago in England. Ours is well over 100 years old and bloomed on Saturnalia this year.

Flash Mob Wedding!

November 22, 2009 at the Metropolitan Museum of Art. We are to meet in Astor Court at 11:11 AM and the ceromy should be completed at 11:22 AM.

Groom and Bride bought the group rate and handed out passes before we casually made our way to Astor Court.

We trickle into Astor Court from different angles.

The ceremony begins.

Note the guard in the back. He was more concerned that no flash photography was being used. We were all very careful to keep our flashes off.

Vows and rings quietly and reverently exchanged.

A quick but emotional kiss.

We retired to another room for the witnesses to sign the papers and for some group photos.

A successful flash mob wedding! Congratulations Arron & Amy!!

Victory!

Thanks to Janila, RGBisMe and I were able to find our 1,000th letterbox.

I was really exhausted when I posted this blog entry. I want to come back to add that Janila was such a gracious hostess. When it was rainy, she was up to having breakfast first. As the skies cleared, she took us to a few excellent grab-n-go boxes of which she had printed the clues out for us. She was flexible about letting us choose which boxes to go for in Nolde Forest and when we wanted to give up on a trail or lead, she didn't complain and shared stories of her enjoyable times in the same park. She gave so much of herself and then she planted a surprise for us as we were seeking our 999th box. Just as RGBisMe found it, she told me of a set of WOM clues. I followed them and there was our 1,000th box along with a bubbly treat!

We did go on to find a few more boxes, one had been giving her a few problems. That 1,0001st box was just as sweet because we could all share the victory. We laughed and chatted all day. As the skies finally cleared to a patchy blue, the temperature had dropped. I started to get tired from the hiking and excitement and I was the one to say I was all in.

As she would say, we are on our way to 2,000. What I like is looking back on the various planters who made it possible. We look forward to all of the new experiences that greet us along the way.

She planted a special Celebration letterbox just for our 1,000th find and packed a bottle of bubbly so we could pop the cork on the trail! YUM! Thanks Jan, it was a great day and we are both exhausted.

Mid February Ramble

It's been a winter that hasn't allowed me to get outside a lot. My hands and feet get so cold that I don't want to step outside at all. It's wonderful to see the length of the day increasing and with better spirits RGBisMe and I ventured out to find a few letterboxes.

We hiked about 3 miles and enjoyed the views and park we were exploring. A fresh layer of about 3" of snow had fallen the night before but there were already foot prints on the trails we were on. It was easy to camouflage any time we found a letterbox because they were hidden so closely to the trails. The exception was when we dropped our signature stamp in the snow. The ink just kept spreading and every time we tried to kick more snow to cover it the color seemed to spread even more.

Walking and talking and enjoying the day was the theme. We had a lot to talk about thinking of Ravenboy starting to tour again and Asrai's mom having surgery. Our pace was slow not only because of talking so much but because a lot of areas had much more snow from the season that had not melted. I ended up wet to my knees in the end because of some marshy areas and shuffling through the snow. This was fine because our car was parked centrally and we warmed up on the way home.

A Peek Behind the Curtain

For those of you that have met RGBisMe, you probably perceive him as a quiet and gracious man and that he is. He downplays his talents and expertise and has become known, in the best of letterboxing circles, as "The Man Behind the Curtain." He is that and so much more.

In the mundane world of professions and bringing home the soy-bacon, RGBisMe is the same type of person. Although he is revered as a wealth of talent and knowledge, he much prefers share his knowledge to empower others rather than be put upon a pedestal. His care and guidance allows his coworkers to make the best of their own talents while he directs them with a gentle hand.

Those of you who find the concept of competition to be a healthy and natural human characteristic might find RGBisMe's demure deference to be annoying and infuriating. It is my firm opinion that those characteristics are what make him so approachable, believable and genuine. An artist in the purest sense, allow me to share with you his new blog that will focus on graphic design related topics, After Image.

Bushwacker

public access to a trail near Bushwacker

We had a major hike recently that I am just getting around to posting. It was to place a bonus box, Bushwacker, off of our second in the PA Women Series. Here are some photos of our day on the trail... and off.


on a lovely trail about a mile and a half away from Bushwacker


a bear paw print on the way to Bushwacker


an old iron furnace about 10 miles from Bushwacker

Father's Day

A wonderful day out in the woods with my favorite folks. We celebrated Father's Day with a picnic and a little hike to check on our Story letterbox. Although Ravenboy could not be with us, he had a great day himself, see below.


Toolman Luke modles his Grandafather shirt


taking liberties on his special day, Toolman Luke carves his initials in a pavilion... NOT


Red Spotted Purples


a frog

R2: RUBBERMADE ROAD RALLY REDUX

CRAYOLA POSSE IN TRAINING FOR RUBBERMADE ROAD RALLY
Maga11 building endurance.


Maga11 adding the insentive of a Hitch Hiker


Maga11 goes the extra mile gladly for Douggerware®


RGBisMe pressing 100 lbs of Douggerware®


Toolman Luke searching the horizon for SPOR


Toolman Luke realizing the rock he was on was pretty suspicious


true indigo increasing her flexibility


true indigo with her eyes on the prize


As last year's first place team in the Rubbermade Road Rally, the Crayloa Posse urges you to sponsor them in supporting LBMA Giving Dogs Wings.

Your sponsorship of our posse (or any contribution) will help this couple focus on healing. Consider sponsoring us by the mile (average ~24 miles) by how many boxes we find (~10 boxes or more) or a flat contribution (link will be added as soon as possible).

Back our winning team, The Crayola Posse, and together we can support Dog's With Wings.

Spritz!

The weekend was looking like a bummer. True Indigo's nasty cold nixed any chance of making a surprise appearance at any of the local CITO's in the chilly and blustery weather. They were stuck inside, no geocaching, no letterboxing, no fun.

If they could, they typically would try to get far out of town during any of the big Penn State football events. This morning found them in the heart of Happy Valley with the excitement of the Blue & White game buzzing all around them and clogging the roadways. To top off the grumpy morning, they were out of milk for their morning tea and that would require braving the bustling tail-gaters doing last minute shopping.

RGBisMe opened the front door to brave the elements and masses as Spritz smiled up at him, "Wha...?" True indigo heard RGBisMe exclaim along with what she assumed was the sound of rain splattering into their flower garden. Spritz shook off a last few drops and asked, "Well, are you going to invite me in?"

"Where did you come from feller?" asked RGBisMe as he helped Sprtiz into the house, "Are you wearing True Indigo's bandana? Did she drop it on the trail last week?"

"No, mine is still in my backpack, his looks just like it. Isn't that strange!" exclaimed True Indigo. "Where are you from and what are you doing in our area?"

"Oh, just pissin' around," remarked Spritz as he refueled with water from the turtle tank. "I am hoping to make my mark in Happy Valley. Could you give me a lift to the Nittany Lion Shrine?"

The day wasn't nearly as glum for them anymore. Grabbing a box of Kleenex, a camera, and Spritz, the posse battled the pig-skin obsessed crowds across campus. They introduced Spritz to the Nittany Lion and hooked a little souvenir of the day onto his collar.

"Where would you like to go next buddy?" asked RGBisMe.

Ten Mile Weekend

Over the weekend, we covered about 10 miles of steep, rocky terrain. It was through a series of different hikes. Finding and planting letterboxes, mystery and otherwise.

Maga11 and Toolman Luke joined us for some of the miles and brought some sandwiches for all to enjoy. It got too chilly to picnic so we ate in the car. Maga11 took some photos so we have something to show for our sore quads.