I think that they're worried about idiots. There are a fair number of national parks in the US that have closed off trails and campsites due to untrained people going out there, running out of water, and requiring medevac. They had a lot of issues with that in Arizona. Yuppies go to REI, buy a bunch of camping stuff, and think they're good anywhere. In contrast, my dad and his friend went to Nepal and hiked around there. Completely different; the attitude was, "If you're here, we assume that you know what you're doing. If you don't, that's on you."
Back in the States after a 10 day European trip. Gonna miss it for sure, but its good to be home and have normal cell service again. Also, absolutely LOVE my family, but 6 of us together for a week had us at each other's throats. Really want to go back soon to have a bit more "party" trip. It was fun drinking with my younger sisters (18 & 20) for the first time really, but neither them or my 25 year old sister wanted to go out in Paris or Florence. Ugh, but still a great trip. -My obsession with Mediterranean woman just grows. Every other Spanish tourist or Italian local in Florence was attractive, and given that we were all baking under summer Tuscan sun, just bronzed goddesses all around. -Venice wasn't as dirty as I anticipated, but way too touristy as I mentioned in a prior post. One visit was cool, never feel the need to go back. Average 300K people on the island on a given day, and only 60K are residents, oy. We flew back to London for our return flight from Pisa so we saw the tower. Pretty blah little city after 3 days in Florence, but surprisingly stumbled on two AMAZING restaurants for lunch and dinner. The Pisa airport can burn in hell though, what a miserable piece of shit. -Florence is incredible. Beyond beautiful and such a perfect mix of historical architecture and culture and modern vibe. Food was amazing. Did a pair of winery tours in the country which was awesome, and the city is perfectly walkable. Also hilarious to think of the Jersey Shore idiots in that city. Fun town with good nightlife for sure, but definitely conservative in alot of ways, no wonder they weren't well received. -Paris is breathtaking from an architeture perspective. Didn't find myself as in love with the whole Parisian vibe as some people, but the setting aesthetically is awesome. Definitely look forward to going back to Italy, but Barcelona/Ibiza/Gibraltar and Croatia are certainly ahead of it on the list and under consideration for next summer.
I tend to walk at a faster pace than most other people, but I'm very much a stop and take in the view, smell the roses kind of hiker. I went out with a girl a few times last year who bragged about how fast she could hike the Old Rag trail in Shenandoah NP. It's a challenging trail, but it also one of the most scenic trails within the park. I want to say it's about 9 miles which she said she has completed it in 2hrs. (most take 5-6hrs) I can understand if you hiked the trail often wanting to see how fast you could, but aside from some of the technical points of the trail itself, she knew very little about the scenery or anything else along the trail. In my opinion, she's missing the point of the trail.
That was kind of the attitude I saw in Europe. You could easily find guides to take you around (and they're generally of a really high standard), but if you didn't, the only thing stopping you from venturing out alone was... well, there wasn't anything. I think at one point there was a sign saying "Caution! Mountaineers only" but that was it. I'm thinking that in Kilimanjaro the main reason they require you to take guides is that it generates more tourist dollars. It provides jobs for all the various guides / porters / cooks / etc. that go with you, and the higher climbing success rates mean that more people are willing to go. Personally, I'd prefer to try the Haute Route from Chamonix to Zermatt, or if I had enough time, the Tour de Mont Blanc (which is usually 2 weeks). The Haute Route I could just sign up with a guide company very easily, but the Tour I'd need to have a good travel buddy.
One of my dogs barks at I think the wind. And whenever she barks, my son cries. And when he cries, she barks more. So I got a bark collar for her since I can't put a bark collar on the kid. But because I'm not a dick to animals, I tried the collar out on myself first. I don't recommend trying out a bark collar on yourself.
I used a shock collar on Duke last year to deter him from attacking cats. I shocked him with it once before testing it on myself. It had settings 0-10, I was using 0 on him. I decided - because he sounded like he was dying when I hit him with the 0 - to check it on the back of my calf. 0 = tolerable, but definitely a heads up that what ever is happening needs to stop. 1 = ouch goddamn. 2 = I would never touch my dog with that thing on the 2 setting. Jesus.
I can't be the only one who loves an afternoon nap in the sunlight after I've had lunch. Especially after I've had a beer or two.
Well, with the cooler weather and rain and dropped winds, it seems that the fire scare is, for the most part, over. The evacuation orders have been rescinded (although evacuation alerts are still in effect), and now just about everyone can head back into their homes. The only real downside is that the airshow has come to an end.
Yep, I tried a shock collar for my lab puppy. He was unhappy with it, so I tried it on my own neck. I didn't realize that static electricity could make your muscles contract. Not fun in the slightest. My girlfriend thought it was hilarious, though.
Duke is SUPER cat aggressive - only cat, nothing else - and we HAD to do something so he would stop going crazy when he came inside. I would never use that thing as a regular part of his training, but damned if it didn't make a difference in his behavior to the cat. He can at least be on a leash and not be a foaming at the mouth mad dog when the cat is out in the house. Before we used it on him, the pinch collars/prong collars/etc. were simply not effective. We are back and forth on buying one so we have it to continue training him to avoid the cat, but we haven't committed yet. yikes.
Someone's making fun of your movements and you're making fun of my age. Damn, we need some new material.
It took me a whole 2 minutes that you were talking about my pooping habits. "Movements"...how polite of you.
My job now involves looking at very tiny wires and transistors in an electron microscope. I can't stop saying "Enhance" and giggling whenever I zoom in on something small and then focus it. It's a good thing I work in my own little compartment, because otherwise my coworkers would hate me.
My neighbors are having a pool party and blaring Luke Bryan. This is why I'm always tempted to throw dog shit over the fence into their sparkling new pool.
Hikers - if you are ever near Sequoia Nat'l Park (Nat'l Forest?), get thee to Mineral King. 25 or so miles of the twistiest road you ever saw (sports car or sport bike highly recommended for max fun - assuming your SO isn't a barfer) leading to a small camp ground with a trout stream running through it (our nearest neighbors caught 25+ while we set up camp! And gave us a half dozen to grill- yummy!). Camp ground is above 10,000 feet and you can hike up to three mountain lakes, each one at a higher elevation. Thanks for not asking, yes, I was a bit younger. Oh, and there be bears, so food discipline is a must. Our neighbors on the other side had the back of their pickup camper torn off by a hungry bear. Great fun. My GF insisted I accompany her on potty trips after that. No, no pictures, you perverts. p.s. - Thanks to those self-testing the bark collars so I won't have to. Our GSD/mix barks for all occasions and while he loves the cats (which affection is definitely not returned), he seems to want to eat any dogs we encounter whilst out walking. So a bark collar is in his future.