On The Fly

I awoke to the steady patter of rain on my tent in the black velvet darkness of our cozy mountain camp. Wrapped in my sleeping bag, I sat up and listened, there it was again, some strange sound. Anxiously, I reached for my watch and clicked the Indiglo light. It was just after 1:00 a.m. and sleep eluded me. What was that sound? Was it a Bear? The skies were ominous that night. The steady rain began at dusk, we had retired early camped near Chickenfoot Lake , in the Inyo National Forest, elevation 10,789 feet, in the Sierra Mountains just northwest of Bishop, California. This was the second night of our annual wilderness backpacking trek. Our evening conversation always centered on BIG , ferocious bears. It wasn’t that long ago campers simply hung their food in trees. Not anymore, the bears had wised up to that old trick. Proper precaution requires every scrap of paper, food, trash, toothpaste - anything that has a smell gets packed into the bear proof canister for the nig...

Over the course of a career teaching gemology, students have asked me many questions that gemologists tend to take for granted. This hit home recently at a writers group meeting when I casually used the term refractive index in one of my fictional works and the question immediately came up, “What is refractive index?” This brief column is devoted to you, the curious student. It is an opportunity to ask anything you ever wanted to know about gemology (within reason) but were afraid to ask. So let’s begin. What does refractive index (R.I.) mean? Gem-A Refractometer The amount to which a gem slows light is called its refractive index (R.I.). R.I. is calculated by the ratio of the speed of light in air to its speed in a gem. It is one of the measurable properties that gemologists use to assist with a gemstone’s identification.  For example, using your smartphone or computer, go to the computational database WolframAlpha . Type in “What is the speed of light in air?...

Summer on my calendar has officially arrived. The fourth of July celebrations have already come and gone and Le Tour de France is underway! This morning the sun peeked over the horizon in California at 5:45 a.m., a comfortable 60 degrees, the skies were turquoise blue, the winds calm, bird’s singing quietly in the background, and the fresh smell of the trees filled the air. Well, not exactly, you see today’s chore was to empty and completely scrub the cats litter box. As you might imagine the smells were not exactly that of a floral bouquet. Anyway . . .  For me, summer continues to build the anticipation of this year’s annual high Sierra adventure. This will be my fourth consecutive year wildness backpacking near Bishop, CA. It’s less than two weeks away and my motivation for training increases daily as the trip approaches. My challenge is to not overdo it, maintain a balance between workout and proper rest. As a devoted cyclist and French compatriot, anticipation al...

Little Lakes Valley “ Merde ! It’s only been five miles. My legs are dog-tired from carrying this backpack.” was the comment I mumbled inaudibly while hiking yesterday to begin the full regiment of training for this year's Sierra adventure.  Lori led the way for my first full backpack training exercise, “We need to get you out more these next few weeks; your trip is less than one month away.” “Wow, you’re right. How is it that all that work I’ve done, bicycling and hiking, is not enough? This getting older is a bitch!” We were hiking the Calavera Hills Nature Preserve in Carlsbad. I wanted to climb close to home to try out the new backpack. Granted, the 513-ft. Mount Calavera is not really a mountain at all but rather a 22 million-year-old volcanic plug—a mass of volcanic rock that solidified in its vent and feeding system millions of years ago. It is an excellent training area. This year, our intrepid team will explore  Little Lakes Valley,  nestled i...

Raise your hand if you’ve heard of or remember the futuristic design of the 1950s dubbed the Googie architecture movement? Stay with me; you may be surprised. Entering Las Vegas, Nevada, from California on Arrowhead Highway/Highway 91, now called “the Strip,” you can still find remnants of roadside America from its motoring past. One of the not-so-ubiquitous treasures is the Diamond Inn Motel ,  built in 1940. While visiting Las Vegas at  Mandalay  Bay, I was delighted to discover two historic landmarks, “The Sign” and the Diamond Inn Motel. Well, to be honest, only the sign is designated as a historic landmark. But they are both worth a look just to get a glimpse of Las Vegas’s history. You can discover this quaint roadside business if you have the pluck to make your way from your room through the modern monolith hotel/casino maze and can actually get outside for an early morning walk.  Admittedly, I’m an early bird; I was out the door by 5:15 ...

True Blue Dodger fans cheered as team Koufax and team Lasorda battled (well, not exactly a battle - more of a friendly romp in the park) to a 3-3 tie on Saturday afternoon at Dodger Stadium in the Old-Timers’ Game . When asked in the pre-game interview, “How is team Koufax going to approach this game?” Cy Young winner and starting pitcher Orel Hershiser said, “We just want to get through two innings without an injury.” Among the Dodger greats in attendance were Ron Cey, Fernando Valenzuela, Don Newcomb, Tommy Davis, Dusty Baker, Davey Lopes, Eric Karros, Steve Yaeger, and Shawn Green were announced representing members of the World Series Champion Dodgers from 1955 and beyond. With sharp line drives former MLB short stop, Nomar Garciaparra, and center fielder, Steve Finley, for team Koufax recorded base hits and drove in two runs. And after the first inning were in the lead 3-2. The crowd roared with laughter in the bottom of the first when manager Tommy Lasorda stom...

They were one of the biggest-selling groups of the 1970s. “No fewer than ten of their singles went on to become million-sellers, and by 2005 combined worldwide sales of albums and singles well exceeded 100 million units.” This musical duo was the Carpenters, from 1969-1982 the rich full melodic voice of Karen Carpenter filled the radio airwaves. Recently a post on FaceBook inspired me to dig out my old vinyl LP record collection. Little did I realize that the pure joy of music would reignite a spark in my soul of innocent delight that comes from quietly listening and watching a record spin on a turntable. After purchasing a new turntable with a USB connection, and reconnecting my old Harman Kardon amplifier I played a record for the first time in over 25 years, it was Superstar written by Bonnie Bramlett and Leon Russell. This Richard Carpenter arrangement became the duo's third No. 2 single on the Billboard Hot 100. Like a warm, gentle rain in the springtime cascading...

“Captain Fantastic raised and regimented hardly a hero, just someone his mother might know.” - Bernie Taupin. In this episode - Captain Fantastic . . .   1975 was my first full year of college; like most teens, music was my world. The ideals of our small midwestern town of Cuba, Illinois, were being reshaped by a record, at least for me. For those who don't remember, 1975 was the year the album  Captain Fantastic and the Brown Dirt Cowboy  was released; music by Elton John and lyrics by Bernie Taupin. Hundreds, maybe thousands of hours were spent with that album spinning on turntables while studying that grotesque album cover. During the 1970s, many records spun on home stereo systems and radio stations throughout the world that brought artists like Elton John to your town. LP Record albums with flashy covers were the delivery vehicle for music, lyrics, album art, and what parents considered wild ideas in the minds of the baby-boomer generation. In hindsight, music had...