Snowed In

We went up to the Shak last weekend and it was so sunny and warm I decided to stay on for a few days. I split a bunch of wood, went for long walks, and read a couple books. On Tuesday it rained, then it got chilly. The rain turned to slush and ice. On Wednesday it snowed.




I went for a walk in the snow. It was falling in big chunks, like a billion white moths coming in for landing. An eagle was perched above the meadow. It startled as I walked by and flew off in the snow bobbing and weaving trying not to get hit. A half dozen blue herons were standing ankle-deep in the bay, hunkered down trying to keep their feet warm.

By mid-day Thursday the snow melted into a thick layer of slush on the roads and the runway. The Flying Fish dropped in to rescue me. We flew out into thick cold calm air. 10 miles south it was 10 degrees warmer. The San Juans were still covered with snow but on the mainland the only white in the fields were flocks of snow geese and swans.

Really bad report card.

Report cards were a pretty big deal in our house growing up. A's were expected, B's caused issues. You know, like no Mork & Mindy for a couple weeks. C's were unthinkable - the Atari get's unplugged and no more Pac-Man until those grades improve. Even now, I don't remember if any of us came back with C's on anything other than handwriting (where the only excuse was a broken bone, a plaster cast and a sling). If there were any other C's I'm sure to have blocked them out along with any repercussions that went along with the event...

Which is all to say that I've never seen a report card as bad as the one issued by the American Society of Civil Engineers last month. This would be the 2009 Report Card for America's Infrastructure. I would not want to be on the same block when my mom got a look at these grades. Let's just say that the highest grade is in Solid Waste: C+. In Brief: Aviation: D Bridges: C Dams: D Drinking Water: D- Energy: D+ Roads: D- Solid Waste: C+ Wastewater: D-

Now, granted, just about every civil and structural engineer I've ever worked with used an overdesign factor of 50-100% so, I'd expect the grading to be harsh. But the fact is, we really haven't spent much energy on upgrading large-scale infrastructure projects in a long time. Most of us in the construction world have been building houses, offices, hotels... There aren't too many folks in the private sector with large scale infrastructure construction experience. At least not here in the US. All the cool jobs have been happening in Asia lately.

This isn't to say we don't have the ability or the manpower to get the work done. But there hasn't been the motivation, the focus and the discipline it takes to get funding for non-sexy projects like bridges and roads and power transmission stations and water treatment facilities. Especially when we can build condos, casinos and shopping centers. Kinda like, who wants to do homework?

Next Adventure

It's been awhile since I've spent any amount of time wandering around the other coast. Since I've got some time on my hands and I can't think of any reason not to go look up some old friends out there, I've started planning a little bike ride for the month of April. Springtime along the Atlantic.

If you're anywhere along the route below and will be around in April, drop me a line. I'd love to see you and catch up.


View Larger Map

If you've got a bicycle, a sleeping bag, some rain gear and some free time and you'd like to join in on a little springtime ride along the Atlantic - an hour, a day, a week... hey, why not? there's no time like the present - just get in touch.

the last 6 months

When I got back from Alaska I started a cool new job managing the design and construction of new resorts and hotels for a national resort hotel company. I started working with the design teams on new resort on the Oregon coast, a new downtown resort in Portland while new deals were getting underway in Mazatlan, Puerta Vallarta, and Alaska. I got to travel alot up and down the west coast. It was awesome.

And then the credit market crashed and the new deals got cancelled. Then the projects under design were put on hold. And then construction stopped on works underway. Between October and December going to work got a lot less interesting and ultimately began to resemble a long stint of in-school suspension. Yawn. At the end of December our office was closed and I am now officially relieved from the Rat Race.

The good news is, I made my financial goal for the year which will allow me to slack off for a while and plan my next adventure.

Happy New Year!

Alaska Gallery

It took a little while, but we've managed to sort through all our photos from Alaska. The best of them are are now posted on our Alaska Gallery site.

Enjoy!

A moment of contrast

There are moments in life when opportunities come up and the only thing to do is say Yes.

Just a few days after we returned from Alaska we turned and headed east for France. The occasion was a very special birthday party at the Louvre which we wouldn't miss for the world.
So, bonjour from Paris.

I cannot begin to describe what it is like to go from the vast landscape of The North to the thrum of Le Cite. Up there it was all about the earth. Here it is all about the people. There is no question in my mind which I prefer, where I feel more comfortable just to be.

Yet somehow, without this little experience as a bookend to our most recent adventure, the essence of the northern territories would not have become so evident, so distilled, so quickly.

Home from Alaska

The Flying Fish installed the mag on Monday, cast a last goodbye to the fish in Watson Lake, broke camp and headed south solo for home. The last two days of flying were challenging - mountains, weather, and no copilot/navigator - but 322MX flew true and he made it home last night.

We have thousands of photos to cull. When we're done, there'll be an expanded journal on this blog, and a link to the trip gallery.