For the incredulous, we present Ludwig and Fang Fang in their Winter clothes, 11 June 08.
June 11, 2008
June 10, 2008
May 26, 2008
Memorial Day drive
Since Mitch's abdomen isn't yet up to snuff, instead of camping we did some scouting in Fang Fang up toward Idaho on US 12. And if we can't take the monkey camping, we figure day trips are the next best thing.
This part of Montana is moose country, though we've yet to see one. Hopefully the first one we see won't be in the middle of the road. Or charging at us through the bush. People in the know know that moose are to be feared more than are bears.
We went to the top (Lolo Pass) and checked out the visitor's center on the MDT/PDT line. Mitch explained to Esmé about time zones, and he thinks she understood well enough (though of course she was upset about the inanity of daylight savings time).
The nature trail behind the building was still under a few feet of snow, so we couldn't take a hike.
On the way back down we stopped at some National Forest campgrounds to reconnoiter for future easy camping trips. There were plenty of good spots nestled in trees like these, and there are some good trails through the woods for walking with the bay-bay strapped to us.
Spring is here, and Melissa couldn't resist taking pictures of the flora.
It looks like we'll need to check out a book from the library to figure out what these are, and whether or not we can feed them to the baby.
This part of Montana is moose country, though we've yet to see one. Hopefully the first one we see won't be in the middle of the road. Or charging at us through the bush. People in the know know that moose are to be feared more than are bears.
We went to the top (Lolo Pass) and checked out the visitor's center on the MDT/PDT line. Mitch explained to Esmé about time zones, and he thinks she understood well enough (though of course she was upset about the inanity of daylight savings time). 
The nature trail behind the building was still under a few feet of snow, so we couldn't take a hike.
On the way back down we stopped at some National Forest campgrounds to reconnoiter for future easy camping trips. There were plenty of good spots nestled in trees like these, and there are some good trails through the woods for walking with the bay-bay strapped to us.Spring is here, and Melissa couldn't resist taking pictures of the flora.
It looks like we'll need to check out a book from the library to figure out what these are, and whether or not we can feed them to the baby.
May 19, 2008
Girl's First Camping Trip, Interrupted
ID proponents have a lot of 'splaining to do when it comes to the veriform appendix. But I'm getting ahead of myself....
We were promised gorgeous (if a little warm) weather this last weekend in Western Montana, and decided it would be the perfect weekend to introduce Tater Tot to camping. We thought Beavertail Hill State Park, about twenty-five miles East of us, fit the bill perfectly. It is right along the upper Clark Fork, has a nice level nature trail, and offers fishing in a spring-fed pond. Plus, in the event of disaster, it's just half an hour back to home.
Seeing how this was TT's first drive in the VW ex utero, we decided it would be best for one of us to sit in the back with her during the maiden voyage. I forgot how much nicer it is to ride in the back of Ludwig than other vehicles especially during days of perfect weather, such as it was.
Breezy
Clearly, TT was pretty comfortable riding in Ludwig too.
During the drive, I became increasingly aware of a pain in my guts. Figuring it was just something that I ate (as it usually is), we went on (with no mention of his growing discomfort) and set up camp around 1pm.
While I tried to sleep in Ludwig's upper bunk, Melissa and TT did some very successful passive birdwatching, including two types of duck and a bald eagle. In fact, we saw:
The pain didn't go away, nor did it move (suggesting that it wouldn't, ah, pass) for hours. It actually was getting worse. By 4:30 I couldn't barely stand it so I regretfully asked Melissa to drive us back home. Not long into the return trip I realized I'd better be going to the hospital, not home.
At the St. Patrick Hospital ER I was given a 50-50 chance of appendicitis, based on the description of my state (and a higher than typical level of white blood cells). A CAT scan confirmed it, and just after midnight I was laparoscopically relieved of my appendix by one Dr. Pickhardt (or Dr. "Teva"* as I'll remember him). Interestingly, Dr. "Carhartt" said that it was a good thing that the appendicitis was confirmed by a CAT scan since it revealed his appendix was located in an unusual location (a few inches higher than normal) which is why a physical exam and his symptoms didn't diagnose his ailment immediately.
So, my apologies go to Melissa and especially little Tater Tot for ruining what was shaping up to be a very nice campout. Hopefully my tonsils won't start bugging me come Memorial Day weekend.
*The ER doctor that diagnosed Mitch had a big ol' handle-bar mustache and was wearing tan Carhartts. He looked like he just came in from ranching, or maybe hunting. Mitch's surgeon explained the operation and its complications in shorts and Teva sandals. I thought maybe he was called off his fishing trip and had just tied the canoe to his car before coming in to the hospital. Neither of them looked at all clean-cut, just the sort of working-folks you'd trust to cut open your husband and remove infected visceral matter.
We were promised gorgeous (if a little warm) weather this last weekend in Western Montana, and decided it would be the perfect weekend to introduce Tater Tot to camping. We thought Beavertail Hill State Park, about twenty-five miles East of us, fit the bill perfectly. It is right along the upper Clark Fork, has a nice level nature trail, and offers fishing in a spring-fed pond. Plus, in the event of disaster, it's just half an hour back to home.
Seeing how this was TT's first drive in the VW ex utero, we decided it would be best for one of us to sit in the back with her during the maiden voyage. I forgot how much nicer it is to ride in the back of Ludwig than other vehicles especially during days of perfect weather, such as it was.
BreezyClearly, TT was pretty comfortable riding in Ludwig too.
During the drive, I became increasingly aware of a pain in my guts. Figuring it was just something that I ate (as it usually is), we went on (with no mention of his growing discomfort) and set up camp around 1pm.
Our campsite, no. 22, along the river
While I tried to sleep in Ludwig's upper bunk, Melissa and TT did some very successful passive birdwatching, including two types of duck and a bald eagle. In fact, we saw:
- a pair of red-tailed hawks courting,
- a lost-looking Canada goose flying and honking up and down the river,
- about 100 cliff swallows,
- a couple of robins patrolling our campsite,
- at least 2 species of male and female ducks (which I'm not yet as adept as identifying as Mitch),
- a woodpecker or sapsucker that was just enough out of view to identify,
- a bald eagle (which made the hawks look small), and
- a Black-chinned Hummingbird that came within 3 inches of Esmé and me and hovered for a couple of seconds before flying away. (I haven't had that happen since we lived in California. But those California hummingbirds were fearless and dive-bombed me on a regular basis in the garden.)
Birding, baby style
The pain didn't go away, nor did it move (suggesting that it wouldn't, ah, pass) for hours. It actually was getting worse. By 4:30 I couldn't barely stand it so I regretfully asked Melissa to drive us back home. Not long into the return trip I realized I'd better be going to the hospital, not home.
At the St. Patrick Hospital ER I was given a 50-50 chance of appendicitis, based on the description of my state (and a higher than typical level of white blood cells). A CAT scan confirmed it, and just after midnight I was laparoscopically relieved of my appendix by one Dr. Pickhardt (or Dr. "Teva"* as I'll remember him). Interestingly, Dr. "Carhartt" said that it was a good thing that the appendicitis was confirmed by a CAT scan since it revealed his appendix was located in an unusual location (a few inches higher than normal) which is why a physical exam and his symptoms didn't diagnose his ailment immediately.
So, my apologies go to Melissa and especially little Tater Tot for ruining what was shaping up to be a very nice campout. Hopefully my tonsils won't start bugging me come Memorial Day weekend.
*The ER doctor that diagnosed Mitch had a big ol' handle-bar mustache and was wearing tan Carhartts. He looked like he just came in from ranching, or maybe hunting. Mitch's surgeon explained the operation and its complications in shorts and Teva sandals. I thought maybe he was called off his fishing trip and had just tied the canoe to his car before coming in to the hospital. Neither of them looked at all clean-cut, just the sort of working-folks you'd trust to cut open your husband and remove infected visceral matter.
April 10, 2008
Back to the Flatlands
Sorry about the lack of posts; it turns out that a newborn can really be a big drain on your time.
We've been in Nebraska (and South Dakota) for a couple weeks attending a wedding, showing off the baby, and generally seeing people, but now we're back in the Treasure State and trying to settle into a more permanent routine.
Our drive to the wedding in South Dakota took us through the Sand Hills oasis of Alliance, home of Carhenge. Given our society's continued ugly slide into the morass of post-modernism, one day Carhenge will likely be a more recognizable Nebraska landmark than its capitol building (which, as I've said before and will say again, is without peer amongst the capitols of the several states).
I've always thought the Gremlin (car at top) was an unjustly maligned car. Then again, unlike my uncle, I never drove one.
There is other art at Carhenge, including this sea (sand?) monster with a lower jaw that looks suspiciously like a late Beetle decklid.
The impetus for our trip was Melissa's cousin Patricia's wedding in Lead ("Leed") South Dakota. This rrrrusty '74 we spotted there near our hotel looks as though it's happy to still be someone's dependable ride. That surfboard has to be a lark, as Lead is less than 150miles from the North American pole of inaccessibility.
On the trip up we'd noticed this VW graveyard/shop just North of the Niobrara River on US 385. On the way back we stopped to take a few pictures and ended up talking to the owner for a while.
The full name of the garage is blurred on this photo because I don't want the guy getting in trouble for using the logo of a certain car manufacturer that has, except when it's convenient for nostalgia's sake, completely severed its ties with its rich history.
The owner was really friendly, and, similar to other guys like him I've known, said some kind of bizarre (though completely understandable) things, like that he "hates working on cars". It's a testimony to his skill that he can maintain a business working on these steadily-getting-rarer cars just East of the Middle of Nowhere. His shop was awesome.
This photo was taken during our time in Lincoln: two nice avocado Westies bookending two Splitties. The black one, which is a single cab, is known to me from when we lived in Lincoln actually. In August of 2001 I was borrowing 02McDonald's 1960 VW single cab to move me and Melissa in to an apartment together. During a run, this black single cab pulled up next to me and asked me to pull over. It turned out he was interested in buying the doors. How often do things like that happen to non-ACVW drivers?
The baby was a real gem on the trip, taking lengthy car and airplane rides with good nature and aplomb. We hope that she'll do as well in Ludwig.
We've been in Nebraska (and South Dakota) for a couple weeks attending a wedding, showing off the baby, and generally seeing people, but now we're back in the Treasure State and trying to settle into a more permanent routine.
Our drive to the wedding in South Dakota took us through the Sand Hills oasis of Alliance, home of Carhenge. Given our society's continued ugly slide into the morass of post-modernism, one day Carhenge will likely be a more recognizable Nebraska landmark than its capitol building (which, as I've said before and will say again, is without peer amongst the capitols of the several states).I've always thought the Gremlin (car at top) was an unjustly maligned car. Then again, unlike my uncle, I never drove one.
There is other art at Carhenge, including this sea (sand?) monster with a lower jaw that looks suspiciously like a late Beetle decklid.
The impetus for our trip was Melissa's cousin Patricia's wedding in Lead ("Leed") South Dakota. This rrrrusty '74 we spotted there near our hotel looks as though it's happy to still be someone's dependable ride. That surfboard has to be a lark, as Lead is less than 150miles from the North American pole of inaccessibility.
On the trip up we'd noticed this VW graveyard/shop just North of the Niobrara River on US 385. On the way back we stopped to take a few pictures and ended up talking to the owner for a while.
The full name of the garage is blurred on this photo because I don't want the guy getting in trouble for using the logo of a certain car manufacturer that has, except when it's convenient for nostalgia's sake, completely severed its ties with its rich history.
The owner was really friendly, and, similar to other guys like him I've known, said some kind of bizarre (though completely understandable) things, like that he "hates working on cars". It's a testimony to his skill that he can maintain a business working on these steadily-getting-rarer cars just East of the Middle of Nowhere. His shop was awesome.
This photo was taken during our time in Lincoln: two nice avocado Westies bookending two Splitties. The black one, which is a single cab, is known to me from when we lived in Lincoln actually. In August of 2001 I was borrowing 02McDonald's 1960 VW single cab to move me and Melissa in to an apartment together. During a run, this black single cab pulled up next to me and asked me to pull over. It turned out he was interested in buying the doors. How often do things like that happen to non-ACVW drivers?The baby was a real gem on the trip, taking lengthy car and airplane rides with good nature and aplomb. We hope that she'll do as well in Ludwig.
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