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It has been (to a first approximation) forever, since I posted anything. I could cite a number of factors contributing to this dearth, but the over riding one is simple inertia. Grandmasweb experienced a virus attack, and after several weeks of fretting over it, I downloaded all the files into a 16 gb USB drive, deleted everything off of grandmasweb except currentletters, and went to see Braxton. He uttered some digital incantations, cast some expurgatory spells, and currentletters is again functional (at least I think it is). I have been reluctant to reinstall the other files that comprised grandmasweb, fearing that they might be contaminated with the original virus. That plus the fact that the download took hours and the upload will be slower. In addition, my copy of fetch (a file transfer protocol [FTP] for Mac) seems to have problems and often requires multiple attempts to upload a single image. Eventually I'll get to it...

Lacking any witty verbiage to go with them, here are some random images of our last campout. I haven't posted anything since before then so this seems like a reasonable starting point.

I have a rather intense dislike of blurry photos, so I entrusted my camera to various attendees with the instruction, "Go take 35 pictures." Some of the results were "interesting" but most were surprisingly good.

The introduction of a hammock was an interesting twist this year. When I was in Brasil, sleeping in a hammock was common. They didn't lay from point to point, nor 90°to that, but rather about halfway between. That angle created a surprisingly level surface to rest on.

AJ has assumed the role as dutch-oven cook, and has become quit proficient at it. I don't recall seeing any burned food this year.

Some of us brought our work with us...

But most of us just came to play.

Delegating photography duties to multiple people left me without knowledge of to whom I was indebted for which image...

but these semi-candid face shots...

probably exceeded my meager skill in creating digital documentation.

Or maybe not...

Dave Elliott, who postponed his mission start date in order to accompany us on our Thunder River hike, entered the mission home one week after this campout. BettyAnn has been sending updates form the Philippines. I have planned to post her images and text, but haven't yet. Her last letter said they were in the eye of a typhoon, and she didn't even realize it until hearing it on the news.

Again there was a superabundance food at the campout. That doesn't seem to bother anyone but me. When I broach the subject, the common mantra seems to be, "Better too much than too little." That clashes slightly with my mantra of, "Waste not, want not."

Perhaps I actually did adsorb some of my mother's stories about the starving children in Africa.

The activity for this campout was a walk through the lava tubes, aka ice caves.

I did not attempt this exercise, but the report was that there were wall to wall people. My brother, Mark, says there are several lava tubes in the area around Flagstaff and that sounds a bit like an adventure waiting to happen...

Perhaps some people did sleep in the hammock but my guess is that this image was posed.

Mark brought corn from his garden. As always, it was enjoyed.

Karren also came. We missed Jim this year.

As is traditional, it rained again this year. Fortunately, the amount was just sufficient to induce angst in those who are so inclined.

Did I mention that most of us enjoyed the corn?

Nathen and AJ made salsa. ALH3 offered his help. The traditionalists, citing previously established protocol, declined it (multiple times).

We missed Fred and Laura (and especially their ice cream maker), though Jim and Jessica were there to represent them. All things considered, I thought it was a successful outing. Maybe we should do it again next year...

Our neighbors (the Higerras) moved to Oregon, and their house has stayed empty for the dozen or so years since then. Kurt passed away recently and Donna wanted to sell the house. We volunteered to help dispose of their unwanted stuff, and ended up with more than we bargained for. Among these treasures was an aluminum boat (that supposedly leaks). I offered it to Wyatt in exchange for some car work. Being a bit obsessive-compulsive, I tied the boat to the top of the car 27 different ways. I stopped multiple times to check, but it stayed firmly anchored. At Symantha's house, she and I removed all but one tie down, hoping to get a comment from AJ (who was at Ameilias house and was going to help unload the boat there). But my deviousness was for naught. AJ untied the boat, but remained totally oblivious to the fact that it was secured by a single piece of parachute cord. Alas!

Barbara complained that her car smelled of a dead mouse and Wyatt confirmed that postulate.

It was also obvious why the fan sounded off balance and moved very little air. A little cleaning and some pinesol restored everything to working order.

The third weekend in October, Nathen, AJ, and Brittney visited us with the aim of replacing the asphalt shingles on the north sloping roof of our house.

A number of years ago I realigned several of the rooms in our house and, based on that experience, deduced and delineated three laws of the physical universe that govern remodeling. For those not acquainted therewith, I reproduce them here:

1. It is impossible to successfully complete only the original project. Factors, unforeseen at the outset, will inevitably force the scope of the undertaking to be widened, such that before completion, it will include at least two major additional areas, each equal in complexity to that of the original. 2.. Any time the original builder had a choice of more than one way to accomplish a task, he will have chosen the option that makes it most difficult for the remodeler. This may be the only known instance where events in the past are controlled by events in the present. 3. Regardless of the amount of time and money available at the projects start, both will become limiting before its completion. This, coupled with the first law, makes it entirely impossible to calculate a completion date. It does, however, give the remodelers some feeling for the concept of eternity (we should live so long).

You will be pleased to know that we found these laws to be still valid. This was to be a simple, nail down a few shingles, project. In fact, we considered simply adding a second layer without removing the old shingles (the local building code allows up to three layers of these asphalt umbrellas). After opting against that simple approach, the project quickly morphed into replacing sheets of roofing and fascia boards, installing a new skylight and endeavoring to make it water proof, and replacing the over-the-stove exhaust hood with one less entombed in grease (and rerouting the electric power to it).

And, of course, this entailed more more sheetrock work. My favorite!

We viewed a couple of internet sites that purported to have information on installing a leak proof skylight and, on their recommendation, installed a sheet of metal flashing up hill from the skylight (It seemed like a good idea at the time...).

We ended up needing just a few more feet of roofing felt (aka tar paper). Fortunately I had a partial roll in the shed that was perfectly good, except for a small insect infestation...

Nathen, AJ, and Brittney did the actual nail pounding while I stayed on the ground. I wasn't particularly happy with that arraignment, but it is what it is, an immutable circumstance...

We spent considerable time and thought as to how we were going to get the old shingles in the trailer without getting the old nails the trailer's tires. As is evident in this image, the best laid plans of mice and men often go awry. The kind souls at the refuse transfer station weighed our load at circa 2200 pounds. It now costs almost as much to get rid of used construction materials as it does to purchase new ones.

It was a long and arduous process, but we finished with the setting of the sun. the roof looks good, but the real test won't come until the next torrential down pour. Any bets? (AJ is reputably offering odds...)

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