Building a set of Atticus-proof sauna benches is no simple matter. He's small, but he understands leverage. The supply list called for 28 red cedar 2x4s (12-foot), a few cedar fence boards, and 2 boxes of 3" exterior screws. I began by establishing a rigid, level ledger on three walls. It consists of doubled-up 2x4s fastened to the wall studs. I then constructed two 22" wide x 10' long benches by sandwiching fence board spacers (1/2" x 3-1/2" x 5") between the 2x4s, placed on edge. Each row was screwed to the previous one. A third, shorter bench (55" x 22") forms the other leg of the L. The goal was a clean look. I tried to keep the support structure off the floor and hidden from view. I wan
Soft sediment deformation features in the Touchet Beds of WA, OR, ID (that are not clastic dikes). I took all of these photos. Wallula bluffs, Walla Walla Valley. Wallula bluffs, Walla Walla Valley. Willow Creek, Umatilla Basin. Starbuck or Sand Pit Rd. Starbuck, Tucannon River Valley. A gravel-filled, teardrop-shaped intrusion/collapse feature (left) and "sand filled cavity formed by melting of ice lens" from Ralph L. Lupher (1944, Fig. 2F). Maybe so, Ralph (if that is in fact your real name). Check out this gelatin hydrofracture video (start at time 13:00): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Jsf0Wa0U1tc Or this jello hydrofracture video (start at time 2:00): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2U
Clastic dikes in the Columbia Basin are wedge-shaped bodies composed of silt, sand and gravel. The character of the dike-filling sediment at any given location is governed by what surficial material was present when glacial outburst floods swept across the landscape. There are hundreds of thousands of these features to be found throughout this vast region. The dikes cut various sedimentary units, including the Ringold, Snipes Mountain, and Ellensburg/Latah Formations. Dikes also penetrate sediments of the Dalles Group, nodular caliche/loess/calcrete layers in the Palouse Loess, "pre-Late Wisconsin" flood-related deposits, the Touchet Fm, hillslope and debris flow deposits with stage I-II cal
The boat dropped us off on the spit and we hiked around for the afternoon. Next time we'll bring sea kayaks and stay for a week. Check out the lagoon and oyster farm. Dryas on the terminal moraine. Lake in front of the Grewingk Glacier. We hear gulls and dripping water. Icebergs and Twix bars. Plenty of fresh bear sign on the trail today. You want a remote getaway? Try this place. We passed this sign a few miles in. We made the easy hike over to Saddle Trailhead to meet the boat. Waiting out the rain in a cave on the beach. Alaska taxis are more fun.
Perched boardwalks greet you upon arrival to Halibut Cove. They accommodate 23' tides. The entire cove is a very quiet place except for that one phone. He answers simply, "Tillion." The Man and his trike. The old canneries are galleries, or storage barns, or homes now. Flowers at the Covelight Cafe. School starts next week. This sculpin just couldn't handle it. Breakfast is the usual fare at the Covelight. Good and cheap. Dinner at the Saltry is above average when you include the dockside setting and the harbor view. Fish, chowder, oysters, scallops, no steak. The cove is equal parts Wyeth watercolor, midcoast Maine, and the San Juan Islands. The Bay Roamers water taxi returning to its dock.
Our trip to Halibut Cove started with a night on the beach at the Homer Spit. With the morning tide came breakfast choices... Breakfast Option #1: Crepes at the new place next to the Bunnell Gallery in Old Town Homer. We liked Mara's breakfast better (she used to run the place), but it looks like the new folks are doing well. Breakfast Option #2: Tallboys at the Salty Dawg on the Spit, which means waiting until 10am for the doors to open. See what I mean? Tough choices. Homer harbor. Homer hippies. Homer boardwalk. A tour group gathers on the dock. The Danny J, a traditional wooden boat built in the '40s, runs back and forth across Kachemak Bay several times a week. We didn't need to take it
Most geologists are familiar with the Touchet Beds of the Walla Walla Valley and Pasco Basin that formed upstream of Wallula Gap in slackwater Lake Lewis. This video provides a quick look at one roadcut along Hwy 74 near Cecil, OR. Here, Touchet-equivalent deposits were laid down in a similar slackwater setting, but in Lake Condon which formed upstream of a constriction near The Dalles. Missoula flood rhythmites are exposed in roadcuts for several miles along the rural, two-lane Heppner Highway. About 15 sand-silt beds that host the dikes are exposed in the Willow Creek area. The location is 55 miles southwest (downstream) of Wallula Gap and 12 miles as-the-crow-flies from the Columbia River
A clear example of structural bridging (a transfer zone) in a late Pleistocene composite clastic dike in Touchet bed-equivalent rhythmites in Willow Creek Valley near Cecil, Oregon (State Hwy 74).
Lots of daisies popped up this week. Endless summer afternoons - unquestionably the best time of year in Alaska. 8:30pm here. A little yellow bird flew into my bedroom this morning. I set him out on the railing to reconsider his flight plan. Waves of different birds are coming through the valley this time of year. Arctic Warbler? Little table finds a new home in Atticus's zombie escape fort across the road. Alaskan peonies. We've got tons of them this week. Joan says Day Lily. Lucy assumes the usual late afternoon position. Excavator by day, Artist by night. There are times when a man needs to escape to the driveway, fabricate a blue marlin from cardboard, and paint it up right. Perfect pair
Check it out! Watercolors and pastels for sale. All works come matted, in custom walnut or Alaskan cedar frames. also have several more smaller works and more of the large pastel fish on the way. Sizes are approximate. Email me. CRABBY Watercolor 15" x 18" $500 SUN VALLEY Watercolor 16" x 22" $500 STEELY Watercolor 18" x 9" $400 FISH HEAD Oil pastel 16" x 15" $500 TARPON Oil pastel 16" x 10" $500 CHUGACH Oil pastel 21" x 16" $500 TROUTS Watercolor 12" x 10" $300 YELLOW FISH Oil pastel 21" x 15" $500 FISH FACE Oil pastel 21" x 16" $500 LAKE CASTING Watercolor 14" x 9" $500 LARAMIE STUDY Watercolor 19" x 7" $200 LARAMIE Watercolor 20" x 8" Sold TWO DOT RANCH Watercolor 12" x 10" $500 SOCKEYE W
Last week, Adam Carolla (comedian) and Ben Shapiro (political commentator) testified in front of Congress on free speech, white privilege, and "safe spaces" on college campuses. Both provided articulate, humorous, and illuminating answers to lawmakers' questions. Carolla and Shapiro, as always, are right on the money. Refreshing. Watch Carolla's answers: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iYW0eHPeg5I Watch Shapiro's answers: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ai8B5oK0mCQ
