Coast to Coast: More Photos From The "Vault" and a Brief Update...

Put on some travel music cause I have a little vicarious coast to coast jaunt lined up for "the faithful." The above Lighthouse photo was taken in Michigan, Tawas Point State park on Lake Huron.

Bears came out of hibernation a few weeks ago—a mite too early, I might add. Winter seems reluctant to take leave of our mountain Crevice this year; another rain-changing-to-snow storm is currently blowing in for the weekend, which will force us indoors to write and paint, or vice-versa. 

But back to the "bears:" Yes, they wake up hungry after a long winter's snooze and are currently on the prowl for food. This year a heavy snowpack has lingered beyond its welcome and bears, being lazy "opportunistic" feeders, are flooding into town to raid trashcans, dog food bowls, and bird feeders…not to mention the occasional small pet. 

We have a "Bear-proof" trashcan—if fact, it's so Bear-proof that I can't even get it open. It requires three hands and the double jointed-ness of a rubber band man circus performer to work the latch. Bears knock it over, jump up and down on it, swat the hell out of it, and it's never failed…until this year. It seems hunger is the "mother" of persistence, and our latest intruder somehow got his big fat claws into the tiniest gap and was able to pop the top—just snapped hinges off like they were toothpicks. 

A recent hike up Oak Creek Trail had us following the largest bear tracks we've ever seen outside of Glacier. Twas no Griz, but certainly big enough to make a meal out of the slowest person in our group…say, some big guy with a hernia. And, speaking of "hernia," I just had surgery to remove a malfunctioning para thyroid gland. It's ok, we have four of them so no big deal…other than the hospital experience. 

I'm not fond of hospitals (a colossal understatement)—with their dignity-reducing check-out-my-butt gowns and blood-thirsty "Chicks with Pricks" that wake you at all hours to inflict pain...and Tylenol that costs 20 bucks per pill. I abhor the whole medical merry-go-round, but the older one gets the fewer choices they have. Just climb on the big medicine wheel, give'er a spin and see where you land.  I'm home now, recuperating from the breathing tube insertion. I swear they must use a mallet to drive that puppy in…a procedure that has, evidently, claimed my voice box as collateral damage. I sound like Mickey Mouse (more dignity reduction).

And the fun part of all this is, I get to do it all over a week from wednesday when I'm scheduled for a hernia repair. 
That's the news from Lake Woe-is-Me.
mark    

Following a big bear up Oak Creek Trail

A small Zion watercolor sketch done "on location Plein Air

A near castle in Doylestown, Pa.

Snow Canyon, Utah

Fall harvest in Pennsylvania 

The power of a short skirt...

Nephew Darin

On the campus of Princeton…beautiful architecture 

Utah is sexy

Reading the "Times" in New England

New England fall

Fiery Canyon Walk

Monoliths near the Wildlife Refuge south of Quartzite, Az.

Our Backyard

New England backyard

Bar Harbor, Maine

Oregon Beach Sketch

Coastal Maine, Fall

Chesapeake Bay Harbor

Classic Air Stream…Highly polished

Old Fishing Boats, Chesapeake Bay

Gulls

Rust never sleeps...