Local travels--Granada theater

After our return from the UK we had tickets for an English Beat show at the Granada Theater last night.  This was our second time seeing them at the Granada, and they were again fantastic.  The show was sold-out, and at the close of the concert Dave Wakefield stuck around to meet fans at the stage.

Best song of the night was a toss-up between Save it for Later and Ranking Full Stop.

Other fantastic shows at the Granada--OMD (2011--best actual songs from the show here and here), and Adam Ant (Sep 2012 music from the show--Rich and I are on the far righthand side in the crowd, pic below of the marquee is mine, and of AA from the Granada site),

UK holiday 2012

Another UK holiday--this time to parts of Scotland and northern England.  Sites include Pitlochry, Scotland were we spent Christmas, Northumberland for the New Year holiday with Richard's friends, and points of interest along the drive.  Not as many pictures, but worthwhile hikes through mountains, along beaches and in and the Cheviot hills.

Entries are as follows  1) Mixed Pics, 2) Bamburgh and Lindisfarne, 3) Northumbria and the Cheviots, 4) Siccar Point and Hutton's Unconformity, 5) Schiehallion and Pitlochry.

As always, click on the pictures for bigger views!  For background, consider the Scottish sounds of Big Country, the Proclaimers, or Teribus.

UK 2012 Misc sites of interest

A mixed bag of remaining pictures--

The Angel of the North, in Gateshead (me at the foot of it).

The Forth Rail Bridge, crossing the Firth of Forth.

Durham Cathedral, near Durham University where Richard did his master's in geophysics.

UK 2012 Bamburgh and Lindisfarne

On the coast were several great places, including Bamburgh Castle and Holy Island/Lindisfarne. 

Bamburgh Castle is currently in private hands, but open on weekends to the public and worth the visit.  The interiors are exquisite, filled with great collections of china and armory.  From the castle you can walk the beach for miles.

Lindisfarne is only accessible when the tides permit driving across the causeway, though walking the island requires that you keep track of when the causeway will close again.  We walked the island with Josie and Viunce and tried to spot some of the geological/historic highlights including the shingle beach, lime kilns and priory. 

Though it was winter birds were abundant, including Northern Fulmar, curlew, oystercatcher and several owl species including Barn Owl and Short-eared Owl.

UK 2012 Northumbria and the Cheviots

We spent the time around New Year with Richard's Cambridge friends in a cottage just outside of Wooler on the England/Scotland border in Northumberland.  The region is known for rolling hills, castles, as well as the remnants of Roman forts and iron age settlements.

We were joined by three other couples with a tradition of meeting up regularly for a new year trip.  Josie and Vince are currently living in Duxford, Cambridgeshire, where Josie works in the bursar's office at Newnham College and Vince works as a mechanical engineer.  They travel a lot and participate as redcoats in historical reenactments of the Napoleonic era (they plan to be there for the 200th anniversary of Waterloo, and have done the Waterloo reenactment several times before).  Matt and Charlotte are currently living in Kazakhstan where Matt works as an accountant for a mining company and Charlotte works for their HR department.  They've set a wedding date for May, and will finally be moving back to the UK.  Dickie and Rasa both work for the Royal Mail in Chester--Dickie was with Richard at Durham for graduate school, and Rasa recently came to the UK from Lithuania.

Matt and Vince brought their Land Rovers--the roads were wet and sometimes flooded and they seemed to enjoy fording various streams and ravines.

The Roman fort in the photo above appears now as just a square on the hillside, but along with some remaining Roman roads and walls is all that remains of Roman Britain.

The Cheviots are beautiful--even in rain and cloud there were great views.

On one of our walks we could also see old terraces left over from medieval farms, now covered by sheep folds.

The Scottish borders also have several remaining castles, including some that date to the history of conflict between Scotland and England.  Two castles--Ford and Etal--are associated with the Battle of Flodden.  Etal was the only one open to visitors.

Our first day in Northumberland we walked to Flodden Hill (where the Scottish troops camped prior to the battle) and to the battlefield at Flodden with Josie and Vince.

UK 2012 Siccar Point and Hutton's Unconformity

Between Pitlochry and Northumbria we stopped in at Siccar Point, on the North Sea coast.  The site is one of several places in Scotland where Hutton's Unconformity can be seen.

The unconformity marks the boundary between rocks from the lower Silurian (known as greywackie) that were produced about 425 million years ago, and overlaid by rock of upper Devonian sandstone.  The disjunct between the two different rock strata were predicted by Scottish geologist James Hutton as part of his theory of rock formations.  Hutton and several others approached the specific unconformity at Siccar Point by sea--it can be difficult to approach from the land due to the steepness of the slope and the strong tide.

The unconformity helped to cement the idea of an Earth that was very old--tremendous amounts of time were required to produce such a disjunct between an initial layer of of sedimentary rock, followed by an uplift and additional sedimentary rock formation.  The scientist John Playfair who accompanied Hutton said of the site "The mind seemed to grow giddy by looking so far back into the abyss of time".

Richard had seen the unconformity previously while in other parts of Scotland, but this was his first visit to Siccar.  Though we tried to reach it from the land, we had to give up a little higher and see it more from above.

Siccar Point also allowed a great view of the coast!

UK 2012 Schiehallion and Pitlochry, Christmas

For Christmas we stayed in Pitlochry at Scotlands Hotel with Richard's parents and his brother David's girlfriend's family for a somewhat different Christmas tradition.  Our time in Pitlochry included a tour and whisky tasting at Edradour Distillery, the smallest distillery in Scotland, short walks through the town and a Boxing Day hike up Schiehallion.

We climbed Schiehallion from the Brae of Foss car park, and the day was clear and bright and ideal for hiking.

 The mountain is one of the Munros, which include all of the mountains in Scotland greater than 3,000 feet.  The view from the parking lot showed the mountain covered at least halfway up by snow.  Through the day we only encountered seven other groups that decided to walk the mountain that day, making it for a relatively quiet walk. 

The snow was older, and the icier top made for occasional chances to walk on top of the snow instead of sinking down. Unfortunately some of the ice also made for easier slipping/falling, which Richard did twice and Marcy did once (the fewer falls only due to reliance on poles...).

Ptarmigan were common on the walk up to the summit--they frequently crossed our path or could be heard making small chucking sounds behind the rocks.

We hit the summit at about midday, and by then the weather was starting to close in from the east and snow began to fall.  The wind was fairly sharp and we were happy to make our way to the lee side so that we could stay a bit warmer.  But the view was worth the walk--

On the Ipod

Two songs from the trip--

Weather With You, by Crowded House reminds me of punting, Wales (the misty summits), and generally traveling with Richard.

Jenny Says, by Cowboy Mouth was in my head much of the time I was hiking, and I couldn't get rid of it.

Flickr stream

The Flickr stream is at this link if you really want to see lots of Richard's steam train photos, pics of interesting geology and some great views of the Lake District.

More pics

Some pics that I actually like that include me in them as well--


At the memorial for Adam Sedgwick at his birthplace in Dent.


Me at Hetchell Wood near Richard's parents' in Leeds (I didn't know this photo was being taken--I wasn't intentionally being pensive).


And at Caernarfon Castle (the wall in the background). Really, it's just a wall--it could be anywhere, but trust me, we were at Caernarfon.

Relaxed Richard

A final picture from the UK trip--Richard at the prow of our punt, enjoying an apple and doing his Byron impression on the River Cam. With utterly giant feet, apparently,

England and Wales Summer 2011

It has been too long since we've had a holiday, but we enjoyed a great time in England and Wales this summer, allowing us to escape the Texas heat and visit some friends and family. We took a lot of great pictures to share with friends and family. All of the pics are clickable (opening up a larger image).

Our itinerary took us some great places--our first stop was Beddgelert, Wales and Snowdonia National Park. Enroute we connected with Richard's friend Richard Lodge (aka Dickie) who picked us up from the train in Chester and did the driving to Beddgelert. Dickie and Richard had both done geology at Cambridge for their undergraduate, and wound up together at Durham for their master's program.

Along the way we stopped in Great Orme and visited the Bronze Age copper mine at Llanduno. We went through the mine, which required donning hard hats and withstanding the occasional bump.
The mine still had malachite here and there that hadn't been removed from the mine, and occasional water dripping from the ceiling. What was most amazing is realizing that the ores had mainly been removed with fairly simple bone and stone tools and the loose rock moved by hand. Some places had even the remnants of fingerprints in some of the soft rock that had been left by the miners 4,000 years ago.

At Great Orme we walked down for some fabulous fish and chips at Fish Tram Chips, located right next to the Great Orme Tramway. We took the tramway back up the hill to the top, and it offered a fabulous view of Great Orme. Although for me I guess I also mainly got views of the back of Richard and Dickie.
The highlight of the short drive through Great Orme toward Beddgelert also allowed us to go through some of Richard's mapping area from his work at Cambridge. It was hard to believe that he had actually mapped a huge square of this area for several weeks, hiking across the hills and climbing the crags.

In Beddgelert we stayed at Plas Tan y Graig Guest House, which we found comfortable and inviting, and provided a nice central place for us to be able to hit some of the great parts of the valley. Our first hike of Snowdonia was up Mount Snowdon itself, the tallest mountain in Wales (3,500+ feet) and offering some great views of the valley. The mountain had been used in the past to train climbers planning to go up Mount Everest, and was an incredibly popular location for most of the tourists in the area. We took the Rhyd Ddu Path going up and a slight deviation from it on the way back, but the overall walk was beautiful.


















The summit was pretty busy--a lot of people had come out that day and gone up the Pyg path, but so we ran into a traffic jam at the top. Still, we managed to actually pass the trig point, and got a misty photo together.
















After a long hike that day we took it a bit easier the next day, doing a valley hike from Beddgelert that took us along a few rivers and gave great views of the mountain lakes. It also allowed us to visit Sygun, another copper mine but that had been in operations that were more modern, and had more open underground caverns.

Richard at Sygun mine just after our tour through the caverns.

A lovely Welsh mountain lake.


Richard still behind walking up the path to the ridge above the valley.

Toward the bottom of the river on the River Glaslyn.

At the end we found some time to lie in the sun on a shingle beach alongside the river, where we dozed a little and rested our tired feet.

Our last big hike was up Moel Hebog, which was opposite our experience from Snowdon. though we weren't the first ones on the mountain we were certainly the first on the summit and it's likely that only one other group made it up there in the end. Attaining the summit wasn't easy--there are some significant piles of scree to manage, requiring full attention and our hands and feet in some places. The only unfortunate part of it was the cloud--it persisted the entire day, preventing us from getting a complete look at the valley below. Still, it was worth it!


The view of Beddgelert from the slope of Moel Hebog.

Richard in the cloud at the trig point marking the summit. There were several false slopes leading to the summit, and the top was almost spookily quiet. The top was dotted with cairns we had to follow to get to the summit point, and we hoped not to get separated from each other with the limited view.

Me resting in the shelter of a wall at the top having lunch--it was somewhat windy and cold, but we spent a little while trying to refuel before working to find our way back down the scree. The trekking poles are indispensable on a walk like this one both on the way up and the way down.

After our big hikes we had some additional adventures in Wales with Richard's parents--taking the Welsh Highland Railway to Caernarfon Castle, and driving to Portmeirion the next day to enjoy the architecture and the history (which includes being the site for filming the TV series The Prisoner).

Once we finished in Wales we briefly went back via Leeds (enjoying a great anniversary dinner at Sam's Chop House in Leeds), and on a wonderful tour of the Lake District with Richard's parents. We stayed at the charming Drunken Duck Inn in Ambleside, taking a great walk down the mountain on a rainy day. The next day was incredibly clear and perfect for a ride on the Mountain Goat, which wound its way through the mountains and valleys of the lakes to some beautiful vistas and on the coast to the World Owl Sanctuary in Muncaster. It was a really great day--the goat made it possible to see a large amount of the lakes, and our guide was fantastic. Unfortunately most of the pictures in the lakes were taken by Richard! But he has them all up on his Flickr site and is a way better photographer than I am. My favorite is of the wastwater scree--an incredible 1,800 foot high fall of rock leading into the lake.

Our last stop on the trip was in Cambridge. We stayed at Churchill College in one of the student rooms which happened to be just below Richard's room from his third year at college.

The highlight of Cambridge (other than the Fitzwilliam Museum) was a reunion of Richard's group of the Cambridge University Astronomical Society. The entire group--about 20 people--boarded five punts to go punting on the River Cam. All of us in the punts brought in plenty of food and drinks (Pimm's was a definite favorite), and the guys at the back used poles to push off the bottom and propel the boats along the river.


Here Richard keeps us going while his friends James and Emma enjoy the cool weather and a drink.

And in the photo above Richard finds time to get in a drink while the others push the group along (fortunately drinking and punting is not illegal!).


Although as in the photo, alcohol and punting can sometimes lead you into a tree on the riverside to the consternation of the passengers.



And finally, the view from the punt that makes the day worthwhile--the river is calm, the colleges rise in the background, and the trees make some inviting shade for a riverside picnic.

Flickr photos

There's a Flickr photoset of Rich's photos (much better than mine) available at for more looks at some of the scenery from New Mexico.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/9448935@N08/sets/72157622992903339/

Music for the journey--final

See the World/Gomez

Love, love, love this video and song

Trip summary

As we were trying to get to sleep last night, we reflected on the trip, and came up with the following:


Length of trip: 12 days
Total distance traveled: 2276 miles
Longest day of travel: 660 miles (Alamogordo to Dallas)
Average gas mileage in our Prius for the whole trip: 45.6 mpg
Best gas mileage for a day of travel: 56.5 mpg (in 242 miles, Marcy driving....)
Different interstates: I-10, I-20, I-30, I-40, I-25, I-27, I-35
Different state highways: Too many to count

Number of speeding tickets: 0
Number of car accidents: 0
Number of injuries: 1 (Rich's fall on the stairs)

Total hotels/motels/cabins: 7
Best overnight stay: Tres Piedras, NM
Worst overnight stay: Gallup, NM (terrible hotel)

Parks/national forests/national grasslands visited:
Palo Duro Canyon State Park (TX), Capulin Volcano State Park (NM), Rita Blanca National Grassland (TX), Kiowa Grasslands (TX/NM), Carson National Forest (NM), Aztec National Monument (NM), Four Corners National Monument (NM, AZ, CO, UT, Navajo nation), Red Rock State Park (NM), Cibola National Forest (NM), Aldo Leopold Wilderness Area (AZ), Gila National Forest (NM), White Sands National Monument (NM), Lincoln National Forest (NM), City of Rocks State Park (NM), Monahans Sandhills State Park (TX)

Mammals seen:
Pronghorn antelope, coyote, jackrabbit, cottontail rabbit, skunk, javelina, porcupine, lots of cows and one African gemsbok (seen in the White Sands area--it was weird, but both of us saw it grazing just off the highway)

Mammals we wished we'd seen but didn't: elk, bear, kit fox, buffalo

Birds seen: 85 species (see 12/26 post for list)

Places we'd like to visit for the next trip to New Mexico: Cloudcroft NM, Trinity Site (location of first nuclear test), Very Large Array, Gila National Monument (didn't get there due to snow)

Music for the journey 12/31

This song definitely came to mind as we crossed the state line, and got closer to the end of our travels:

Texas/Chris Rea

Getting home

Alamagordo proved to be much nicer than expected, and on the morning of our departure was cold in the lowland areas, and with snow on the passes. We knew that the travel would be a bit difficult, but set off anyway. The passes were indeed very snowy, and the snowplows had only made it through just before we did. Originally we had planned to try to do some hiking in an area near Cloudcroft, at a park that includes a hike over an old railroad trestle. But with the snow there was no real way for us to go up the road to the park, so we just kept going. The road was pretty quiet, and we managed to see some interesting wildlife, including a porcupine that we had to stop for as he made his leisurely way across the highway.

Originally we had planned to stay in Pecos, but pulled in there at about 2. The prospect of dragging our stuff into one more motel, plus the (relative) proximity to home made it seem a better idea to just move on and make it a long day, but sleep in our own bed that night. With a little more caffeine and trading off more often we managed the last leg into Dallas, a total of just over 660 miles from Alamogordo. The road was a bit long getting through the oil fields (and now wind turbine fields) of Midland and Odessa. In the end, though, the drive was almost at its worst/most dangerous as we got into the Hurst/Euless area and into Irving, since it was just around 10PM and the crazy New Year's eve drivers were all out.

We finally pulled into our driveway and Smith was pretty excited when he realized where we were. The unpacking was relatively quick, and in the end we managed to re-set ourselves relatively quickly to home life. Smith had a great time inspecting the yard again to see what he'd missed out on, and then ultimately disappeared to bed. In fact, that's where all three of us found ourselves as the clock turned over past midnight, and we were sound asleep as 2010 rolled in. Smith's still recovering from his hard work on the long drive, and dreaming of snow, javelina, and car rides.

Music for the journey 12/30

Good desert music:

Theme from Lawrence of Arabia/Maurice Jarre

To the desert

We began our trip back into more Texas-like landscape by driving this morning from Pinos Altos to Alamogordo, NM. Unfortunately we had a bit of a rocky start. While I was making breakfast I heard a big thump, and turned around and saw that Richard had fallen on the stairs from the loft bedroom. The stairs were carpeted, so I guess he must have just caught the edge of it as he was walking down and his feet went out from under him, and then he fell on his back and on the back of his head. I was fairly worried, and he was feeling definitely bruised and a bit faint, but felt better after some juice and a quick lie down. He didn't want to go see someone about it, so I drove and kept an eye on him, but I think overall in spite of some remaining pain he's doing better. It's our first accident of the trip, but we're fortunate it wasn't a really bad one.

The drive took us mostly eastward, putting the wind at the back of our car and giving us some extra boost and some pretty good time traveling. We were able to stop at City of Rocks State Park for a while, and make our way through the really surprising rock formations, shaped initially as a result of volcanic activity, and later modified by the action of winds. The land in this area is part of the Chihuahuan Desert, and so in addition to the rocks there was a great collection of plants (including some unique agave and cacti) and some new birds to add to the list. Rich spent much of his time there taking some great photographs of the formations, both for himself and also for his later geology unit that he teaches for my Darwin course. Although this was a quick and somewhat spontaneous stop on the trip, it's definitely a place that we would come back to if we traveled this way again.

One of the places I most anticipated seeing was White Sands National Monument, which we visited just prior to getting in to Alamogordo. You first see the basin where White Sands lies after going over the pass just after Las Cruces. Once you hit the pass and then go through it, you look down on the desert below, and start entering the missile range. We were fortunate on this trip that there was no missile testing, so we were able to just take 70 and go straight through. There was a brief stop for Border Patrol, and then we got to White Sands. The parking lot was packed, so we thought it better to hit some of the side trails that were less populated, since a lot of the park visitors were bringing sleds and plastic disks for kids to slide down the sand. Although that might seem a bit wintery, there was in fact a thin layer of snow on the sand from the snowfall that had hit us in Pinos Altos, and it was an odd combination of the dry desert with what we'd experience at the high altitudes.


It's amazing to see the dunes, and then to pick up a handful of the gypsum that they're made of and look at the finer structure. Smith had a great time walking around and sniffing, and we occasionally just went running down the individual dunes and he really loved that part. The interpretive signage is great, and they do a good job of showing some of the major natural features of the site for anyone whose willing to take the time. Richard got some great photos of the plants and scenery, along with some close-ups of cross bedding. We'd seen it on rocks in Palo Duro canyon, and then could compare it to the active sand movement that is occurring at White Sands.

We're resting up a bit for two long days of travel, broken up in a segment from here to Pecos, TX, and then another big jump from Pecos to home. Smith is completely exhausted, and Richard is getting a soak in the tub to help his back feel better.