“iFotoGuide” has released the first and only iPhone app & digital guide to on-location nature photography. It is available through the Apple App Store.

“iFotoGuide: Arches” is the first in a series of digital guides for the iPhone providing nature photographers with a comprehensive resource for planning every aspect of a photography trip.  Use “iFotoguide: Arches” to locate the nearest airport, find lodging and a rental car, and determine what weather to expect during your visit.  Users of “iFotoGuide: Arches” can learn about park entrance fees, permits, flora and fauna, safety considerations and best times to visit for fall colors or wildflower blooms.

“iFotoGuide: Arches” goes beyond the ordinary photo guidebook by providing three innovative ways for iPhone users to find a dynamic location for photography.  An interactive park map allows users to zoom, pan and select photography locations by name.  Images in the photo gallery serve to inspire and are also interactive – one touch provides detailed instructions for getting to and photographing each location.  “iFotoGuide: Arches” even allows users to search for locations to photograph at sunrise, sunset or in mid-day light.

Unlike guidebooks and newsletters which may be several years out of date, “iFotoGuide: Arches” is easily updated to ensure accurate and fresh content.  “iFotoGuide: Arches” sells for $4.99 in the Apple App Store.  Updates will include additional locations within Arches National Park and will be available at no cost to “iFotoGuide: Arches” users.

Created by photographers for photographers “iFotoGuide: Arches” is designed to provide users with all the tools necessary for a successful and productive photo trip.  The developers of “iFotoGuide: Arches” are expanding park coverage, with Canyonlands and Yosemite National Parks available on iTunes in the first quarter of 2010.

“iFotoGuide” was founded in 2009 by photographers Dan Baumbach and Bret Edge to provide the only digital photo guides available on the Apple iPhone.

iFotoGuide: Arches National Park is now available in the Apple App Store.

Daniel Suelo and his cave outside Moab, Utah

Daniel Suelo believes he has found the key to happiness.  Live without possessions or money.  His spartan life in Moab, Utah fills his soul and he doesn’t even think of returning to the life most of us lead.  “We use all our energy to maintain our possessions and it becomes an ugly cycle,” he says.  So he lives in a cave, gets his possessions from dumpsters and doesn’t look to money to bring him contentment.  Could you do this?  

http://www.denverpost.com/ci_13843274

For more information on Vicky Collins visit http://teletrendstv.com.

Janine had the camera today and exactly twice I heard her yell, “Stop!”

And so I did, and these were her two takes. One classic Moab scene and one funky fun. Both, this week’s Photo of the Week – to make up for missing last week.

Nice November entry for bicycling in Moab. Capturing the sweet side of Moab and Moab’s appeal to the adventurers. The images are Moab Art in essence.

Todd Caudle and I wrapped up our Autumn Arches and Canyons workshop in Moab on Sunday.  We hosted the coolest group of photographers any workshop leaders could have asked for.  It was an absolute delight to meet and photograph with everyone, and I sincerely hope our paths will cross again.  Jim and Jillian arrived from Canmore and nearby Banff NP and Louise came all the way from Hazelton, Canada.  Arno and his sister Dottie represented the south as they left Florida and Arkansas to join us out west.  Kathryn from Boise, ID had the shortest commute, which isn’t all that short at roughly 8 hours.

Those who think of Moab as all blue skies, sunshine and warm weather might be a bit shocked after one look at the photos we all produced this weekend.  Dramatic skies, storm light and snow all combined to create the rare conditions coveted by nature photographers.  Our workshop participants awoke early for sunrises in Canyonlands where the temperature hovered in the teens.  After sunrise each morning we headed into town for breakfast at a local diner, the favorite of which was the Love Muffin.  Mmmmm…huevos rancheros!  Afternoons were spent photographing in Arches or Canyonlands, dodging intermittent rain showers and another large workshop group that seemed to be shadowing our every move.  Todd and I had a much more fun group of folks than those guys who were way too serious.  Someone needs to tell them that photography is fun!

On Saturday we spent several hours doing image critiques and discussing some basic digital darkroom techniques.  Without question, this was one of the most enjoyable aspects of the workshop for all of us.  I was humbled by the wealth of talent within our group.  We each showed several images and the group discussed each photo in depth; what works, what doesn’t and why.  Simply an awesome experience and I was truly inspired by all the amazing work that was shared.

I’d like to extend a heartfelt thank you to Arno, Dottie, Kathryn, Louise, Jim and Jillian for joining Todd and me in Moab.  I had a blast with all of you!

Here’s a view of the White Rim from Green River Overlook at sunset on Friday, Nov. 13, 2009.

3º EIV-SP em Áreas de Reforma Agrária e Atingidas por Barragens
10 de janeiro a 3 de fevereiro de 2010

Olá, estudante!
Temos o prazer de informá-lo que as inscrições para o 3º Estágio Interdisciplinar de Vivência de São Paulo (EIV-SP) em Áreas de Reforma Agrária e Atingidas por Barragens estarão abertas entre os dias 1º de novembro e 4 de dezembro de 2009.

O EIV é uma ferramenta construída conjuntamente pelo movimento estudantil e movimentos sociais populares, em que estudantes de diversas localidades do estado de São Paulo, do Brasil e até de outros países da América Latina se propõem a um exercício de formação e vivência nas comunidades de movimentos sociais do campo.

O Estágio de 2010 acontecerá entre os dias 10 de janeiro e 3 de fevereiro de 2010, sendo estruturado em 3 etapas:
1. Preparação: Nessa primeira fase (seis ou sete dias) os estagiários ficam no mesmo local e participam de espaços de formação política através de oficinas, seminários e grupos de discussão sobre economia política, questão agrária no Brasil, histórico e o papel atual dos movimentos sociais, etc.

2. Vivência: Após a preparação, os estagiários se separam e vão para a convivência com as famílias organizadas nos movimentos camponeses (MST e MAB), em diversas localidades do estado de São Paulo, realizando junto a estas as atividades do dia-dia e conhecendo a realidade das pessoas e da organização dos movimentos sociais (cerca de 10 dias).
3. Avaliação: Os estagiários voltam a se encontrar para compartilhar as experiências das vivências e avaliar o estágio como um todo (cinco a sete dias). Também são realizados nesta etapa mais espaços de formação e apontamentos da continuidade do trabalho iniciado no EIV.
Para se inscrever, preencha ficha de inscrição anexa neste email e a envie para eivsaopaulo@gmail.com. Até o dia 8 de dezembro divulgaremos a primeira lista dos selecionados.

A preparação e a avaliação do Estágio acontecerão na Escola de Agroecologia Laudenor de Souza, do MST, em Itapeva.

Mais informações: http://eivsp.wordpress.com/

Entidades e coletivos interessados em oficinas do EIV-SP na região da Baixada Santista, entrar em contato em: rodrigovegano@gmail.com e elenagalvanese@gmail.com, ou acompanhar através de: www.blogdoces.org as oficinas marcadas nas universidades da região.

“Quem não se movimenta não sente as correntes que o prendem” (Rosa Luxemburgo)

Organização:

ABEF (Associação Brasileira dos Estudantes de Filosofia)
ABEEF (Associação Brasileira dos Estudantes de Engenharia Florestal)
CES (Centro dos Estudantes de Santos)
Coletivo Universidade Popular – Campinas
ENEBio (Entidade Nacional dos Estudantes de Biologia)
ExNEEF (Executiva Nacional dos Estudantes de Educação Física)
ExNETO (Executiva Nacional dos Estudantes de Terapia Ocupacional)
FEAB (Federação dos Estudantes de Agronomia do Brasil)
MAB (Movimento dos Atingidos por Barragens)
MST (Movimento dos Trabalhadores Rurais Sem Terra)

Who says you can’t teach an old dog new tricks? Meaning me, of course.

I had read about clicker training several months ago but I was skeptical. Venus doesn’t always come when she’s called even with the promise of Pupperoni. The notion of her responding to a clicking sound made me laugh. And Zeus? With all his noise issues, it would be just my luck the clicker sound would scare the crap out of him. Or he might be insulted. I dismissed the clicker as not for us.

Two months ago I bought a copy of Aggression in Dogs: Practical Management, Prevention & Behavior Modification by Brenda Aloff. It is the bible on dog aggression. I highly recommend it. Aloff covers all types of dog aggression, how to recognize it and how to deal with it. She has lived with dog aggression and handled all kinds of dog aggression training situations, therefore she writes from true life experience.

I have been skipping around in the book as I’ve been reading it. I started with Chapter 53: “Aggression Directed Toward a Canine Housemate” – of course – because that’s the kind we’re dealing with. According to Aloff, it is the most difficult to deal with. Tell me about it. In the case of housemates, the aggressive dog has plenty of opportunities to make life miserable for the other dog in ways we humans have no way of deciphering because we don’t live in the dog world and we don’t know how they communicate unless we constantly observe their behavior, which is impossible. That’s why housemate aggression is such a challenge. That’s why life with Venus is like a roller coaster ride.

Because we’re about a year into our housemate aggression, I found this chapter a validation more than anything, which is important. It’s the same reason we have become Dog Whisperer addicts. Tod and I have been on our own through this. In part because CCD is still being studied so we lack good information beyond the advice of Drs. Pearce and Langegger. We have looked to Cesar Millan and authors such as Jon Katz and Brenda Aloff for advice on behavioral issues. We have also chosen not to marry ourselves to any one training method but rather to expose ourselves and our dogs to several different methods to see what works best for all of us. We rely quite a lot on our own instincts, which is why validation from expert resources is so important.

For example in Chapter 53, Aloff emphasizes how important it is to separate the dogs after an altercation, then bring them back together gradually under strict supervision. Even though that’s what we did, and that’s what Dr. Pearce agreed was best, it was validating to know we did the right thing.

Aloff also issues a stern reminder that housemate aggression rarely goes away. “You need to be ever watchful,” she warns. “Resist complacency when the dogs have ‘been good’ for a month or a year. This problem is not one that you can put to bed. You can manage, minimize, modify. But you can never [italic] rest on your laurels!” I’m a happy, clappy person. I tend to cling to the best possible outcome. Aloff’s warning has helped me adjust my thinking. Instead of directing all my energy toward believing that Venus’s aggression will go away, I simply believe that we can handle the challenge of maintaining a peaceful coexistence. While at the same time silently appealing to her better angels to make her a good girl.

The next chapter that grabbed me was Chapter 35: “Establishing a Communication System – The RM/NRM and Release Cue”. I am all about learning how to better communicate with my dogs. According to Aloff this method is useful because it teaches the dog to understand “that a RM/NRM (Reward Mark/No Reward Mark) gives him information. The dog understands when he is on ‘your time’ and working vs. ‘on his own time’.” The purpose of an RM is to serve as a memory aid, “Remembering to do a certain behavior at a certain time or on a particular cue.”

All of that spoke to me. Even though we take Venus out and let her run wild inevitably there is a point at which we want or need her to come back under our control.

Aloff recommends, “Clickers make an excellent Reward Mark. Because the Clicker is a unique sound in the dog’s environment, it is very salient for the dog.”

I thought about the problems she had with her sense of smell at Trappers Lake. Suddenly the clicker seemed like the perfect “cue” to distract her and remind her to come back from her wanderings. 

Tod found them for less than $2.00 at Petco, so he bought two.

Aloff recommends that you not ask for any particular behavior when you install – or introduce – the dog to the clicker. And using treats is optional. We tried out the clicker the next day at Dogland. I forgot about not asking for a behavior and I didn’t use treats. I jumped right into it. When Venus disappeared, I took out the clicker. “Well this will either work or it won’t work,” I told Tod.

Zeus was walking with us. I figured if he didn’t like the sound he’d let me know. I clicked it several times. He didn’t mind the clicking sound at all. He was curious and I showed it to him. The real surprise was that Venus showed up, also curious about the clicker. In short, they loved it. And it has been working out very well ever since. They really do like the clicking sound. They both come running to us when they hear it.

I had forgotten to bring the clicker for our hike on the West Elk trail when Venus herded the sheep. After that we hooked one to our day pack so we can’t forget it. When rifle hunting season began we took them hiking at Sunlight Mountain to avoid any possibility of meeting up with hunters. I used the clicker to get them to stop chasing a deer that crossed our path. Zeus stopped immediately, Venus stopped about a half minute later. The more we use the clicker the more they like it and the quicker they respond. So far we only use it when they are off-leash because we’re training them that the clicker means “come back”.

I’m always amazed when the dogs teach me a new trick. I am humbled by the ways in which they show me that no matter how well I know them they are still eager to surprise me and try something new.

Sometimes I wonder if I expect too much from my dogs. Then something like this happens and I realize that I probably don’t expect enough from them.

“You don’t have to train a dog as much as you have to train a human.”
– Cesar Millan

Zeus spent his 9th birthday camping near Moab. Happy Birthday, Zeus!

Read the Crazy Bitch series. Or click on the handy links provided on the left.

Click here to add From the Styx to your RSS reader.   

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Contact: Hilary Hutcheson, PR Director

hilary@outsidemedia.com

Leadville 100 Champ to Make Special Guest Appearance

At Encore Showing of “Race Across the Sky”

 
Rebecca Rusch will be featured at the Boise screening of the highly-anticipated documentary 
 

Boise, ID – November 5, 2009 Rebecca Rusch, three-time reining 24-Hour Solo Mountain Biking World Champion, will attend an encore presentation in Boise of Race Across The Sky, the new documentary about one of the most intense endurance mountain bike races of all time, the Leadville Trail 100.  The Leadville Trail 100 mountain bike race covers 100 miles of challenging terrain, climbing 9,000 feet in elevation and dipping into the valleys in Leadville, Colorado.  Rebecca won this year’s Leadville event, sharing the podium with Lance Armstrong.

The film will show nationwide on Thursday November 12^th.  Rebecca will be on hand for the screening in her home state of Idaho at the Edwards Boise Stadium 22 & IMAX, 7701 W. Overland Road. Showtime is 9pm, and Rebecca will be at the door to greet attendees of the show, sign posters and hand out free gear from her sponsors, including Specialized, Red Bull and KT Tape.  She’ll also mingle with riders and fans at a special pre-party for the documentary beginning at 7pm at George’s Cycle & Fitness G Fit Studio,1414 W. Grove Street in Boise.

This one-night encore screening of Race Across the Sky will be shown concurrently across the county.  The documentary, depicting the 2009 Leadville Trail 100 bike race, features candid conversations with elite and amateur riders, including Rebecca, as they compete in one of the most high-profile mountain biking races in the sport.  Rebecca was in New York City last month for the film’s premiere.  The first screening was intended to be a “one time only” showing, but this special encore presentation of Race Across the Sky was added after fans packed theaters and demanded another shot at seeing this incredible film.

“I’m so excited to be a part of this documentary,” Rusch said. “The race itself was amazing. But to be able to share the experience through this film is going to be awesome for racing enthusiasts. The premiere showings sold out so quickly, I’m glad they’ve added a second screening for all the people who couldn’t make it or missed out on tickets the first time around.”

Rebecca is available for interviews.  Contact hilary@outsidemedia.com if you’d like to meet her.  Tickets for Race Across The Sky are available at individual theaters or online.  Check the Fathom website for locations and ticket information.

Adventure racing calls for a deep well of skills: paddling, rock climbing, biking, navigating, skiing, and more. Since turning pro in 2001, Rebecca Rusch has proven to the world she has what it takes to execute any of the above even after going beyond her limits in far flung places like Kyrgyzstan and Tibet. After winning adventure races became routine, she added 24 Hour Solo Mountain Bike racing to her résumé and proceeded to dominate the sport, and is currently three-time World Champion. Rusch blogs daily about her adventures and training and her thoughts can be found here at http://rebeccarusch.wordpress.com/.

www.rebeccarusch.com.

Moab — On Oct. 24, a bunch of volunteers assembled behind the Archway Inn in Moab. The team was armed with shovels, water buckets and a lot of determination.

Their mission? Plant more than 2,000 native plants at the Scott M. Matheson Wetlands Preserve, which was ravaged by fire last fall.

The team focused its efforts on the north side of the preserve.

A successful day
The group’s determination and hard work paid off. Workers, both young and old, successfully planted 2,022 native plants. The plants included trees, shrubs and grasses.

The shovel brigade included a bunch of students from Kelly Wilson’s science class from Grand County Middle School. The students were especially helpful. The work party also included residents of Moab, personnel from The Nature Conservancy and the Division of Wildlife Resources, and people from towns as far away as Park City and Grand Junction.

Another planting project is scheduled for this Saturday, Nov. 7. This project will focus on the south side of the preserve. The Nature Conservancy hopes to attract scout groups, church groups and environmentally-minded people who care about the preserve and want to help rehabilitate it.

If you’d like to help, meet at the TNC parking lot on Kane Creek Boulevard in Moab at 9 a.m.

Fire
On Oct. 21 and 22, 2008, a fire charred more than 400 acres at the Matheson Wetlands Preserve. In addition to destroying vegetation, the fire destroyed trail systems, boardwalks and the preserve’s wildlife-viewing blind.

Formerly known as the Moab Sloughs, the preserve was established in 1990. It encompasses more than 895 acres. This unique system represents the largest intact wetlands on the Colorado River in Utah. The preserve is home to more than 200 species of birds, amphibians and mammals.

For more information, contact Linda Whitham with The Nature Conservancy at (435) 259-4629 or lwhitham@tnc.org   .

Moab — On Oct. 24, a bunch of volunteers assembled behind the Archway Inn in Moab. The team was armed with shovels, water buckets and a lot of determination.

Their mission? Plant more than 2,000 native plants at the Scott M. Matheson Wetlands Preserve, which was ravaged by fire last fall.

The team focused its efforts on the north side of the preserve.

A successful day
The group’s determination and hard work paid off. Workers, both young and old, successfully planted 2,022 native plants. The plants included trees, shrubs and grasses.

The shovel brigade included a bunch of students from Kelly Wilson’s science class from Grand County Middle School. The students were especially helpful. The work party also included residents of Moab, personnel from The Nature Conservancy and the Division of Wildlife Resources, and people from towns as far away as Park City and Grand Junction.

Another planting project is scheduled for this Saturday, Nov. 7. This project will focus on the south side of the preserve. The Nature Conservancy hopes to attract scout groups, church groups and environmentally-minded people who care about the preserve and want to help rehabilitate it.

If you’d like to help, meet at the TNC parking lot on Kane Creek Boulevard in Moab at 9 a.m.

Fire
On Oct. 21 and 22, 2008, a fire charred more than 400 acres at the Matheson Wetlands Preserve. In addition to destroying vegetation, the fire destroyed trail systems, boardwalks and the preserve’s wildlife-viewing blind.

Formerly known as the Moab Sloughs, the preserve was established in 1990. It encompasses more than 895 acres. This unique system represents the largest intact wetlands on the Colorado River in Utah. The preserve is home to more than 200 species of birds, amphibians and mammals.

For more information, contact Linda Whitham with The Nature Conservancy at (435) 259-4629 or lwhitham@tnc.org   .

Morning,

This week has been hectic.  The three-week boot camp that my coach Matthew concocted is under way in hopes of pulling one last mini peak out of my body for the last race of the year.  I head to Ecuador in a couple of weeks for an awesome 2 day stage race around Cotopaxi volcano.  Since Moab, I’ve had a bit of downtime, but the party’s over right now.  The next two weeks are hard workouts every other day.  Monday started with two 20 minute lactate threshold intervals.  Today will be four 8 minute hard efforts.  The intervals get shorter and more intense as the race approaches.  I’m enjoying the structure, but the fall mountain weather is making it tricky to get out and motivate. Some days, the weather is majestic with a little frost in the morning to keep the trails firm and temperatures warming into the 60’s.  These days, I am on cloud 9 and loving the fall leaves, the sun, the dusting of snow on the peaks.  Other days, it’s bitter cold, gray, icy with temperatures in the low 40’s.  These days, my teeth chatter and my hands are numb and the workouts creep by much more slowly.  The neoprene booties, wool socks, knickers, hats, jackets are all right at the front door and ready.  Rain is in the forecast in the next couple of days, so it could make these already hard workouts even more character building.

I did miss my planned long workout over the weekend, but for very good reason.  All of the Wood River Valley fire and medical resources were stretched thin when a call for a multiple car accident with numerous patients was paged out.   Ambulances, air ambulances, fire engines with extrication equipment and emergency medical personnel were all called to action.  Less than an hour later, a page went out for a house fire in the rural district.  This meant more engines, more people and more resources.  Our department is a combination of full time and on call staff.  At any given time, we could be paged out and most emergencies cannot be handled by the full time staff alone. It’s up to the on call staff, like me, to drop everything and go help.   I ended up on standby for the motor vehicle accident because at least one ambulance had to remain within city limits in case of a third emergency.  After the first motor vehicle accident was cleared, my crew was released to go out and assist with the house fire.  The fire was extinguished by the time I arrived, but there were still hours of work doing overhaul and clean up.  Much of the roof had to be removed to be sure the fire was not still smoldering within parts of the building.  There were also hours of cleaning hoses, equipment and getting the engines back in order for the next call.  Although I missed a cycling workout, it was still a huge physical and emotional effort.

On a happier note and related to my other job, Race Across the Sky, the Leadville 100 movie will be showing for an encore in about 50 different theaters around the US on Thursday November 12.  The first showing was so well received that they’re showing it again!  For those of you who missed it the first time, check out

http://www.ncm.com/Fathom/Sports/RaceAcrossTheSky.aspx

for tickets, show locations and to watch the trailer. I am not shown in the trailer, but I promise you’ll see me in the film.  It’s a great movie and a very dramatic portrayal of endurance mountain bike racing.  If this film does not motivate you to ride, I don’t know what will!

Cheers

Reba

I wrote a total of 4798748670876 blog entries in various airports this weekend…however, due to actually having to return home…in place of writing them all up, I  instead must tend to “real life”. {not that the argument could not be made that blogging is in fact a portrayal  of “real life”,  since this morning I wanted to tell my Advisor that yes, I am in fact seeing a therapist…and her name happens to be My. Blog}.

Luckily, I have a massive deadline looming in two weeks…plenty of time for procrastinative blogging.

Photo by Glen
Location: Moab, UT
In the tree: Blue and gold macaw “Merlin”

I’ve gotten a few questions about why I have quite the collection of “birds in trees” photos and a few people started to catch on that they are all Moab trees!

The reason is, your freeflight bird is bound to try a tree out whether it’s on accident, out of breath and desperately needing a spot to land or just curious among other reasons. The bummer about them landing in a lot of the trees in Moab is that they have juniper berries in them and the birds soon find out that they LOVE them! The good thing about them, is that they give your bird really great breath, haha.

They won’t harm your bird and they are safe for your bird to eat, so there are no concerns there. Just make sure you have a strong enough recall (with a good enough treat) to get your bird back out of the tree!

“I’ve lived in this state for all of my 65 years, and I can’t believe I never came here before this.”

So said my dad while experiencing Moab this past weekend for the first time ever.  Hub and I took my parents on some ATV trails and hiking in Arches National Park.  They wished we were staying longer than just a weekend.

Here are a few images from our Moab excursion over Halloween weekend:

Colorado River

Hub walking out for a "Photo Op."

Dad taking a picture of Delicate Arch

Hiking back down after seeing Delicate Arch.

Moonrise

Isn’t it amazing how we sometimes don’t appreciate what is in our own backyard?

–Moab, UT~ The two time pumpkin chuckin’ world record holders–the ‘Big 10 Inch’ air cannon team– have traveled across the country from the Delaware River Valley to attempt to break the Guinness World Record at the Youth Garden Project’s Pumpkin Chuckin’ Festival this Saturday October 31st in Moab, Utah at the Old Airport Runway, just south of town.

Ralph Eschborn II, spokesperson for the ‘Big 10 Inch’ team is confident that with favorable weather his team has an excellent chance of grabbing the Guinness Record in Moab on Halloween.  They’ve achieved their previous farthest distance of 4,211 feet twice, in 2005 and 2007, both times at sea level.  The Guinness World Record currently stands only slightly farther,  at 4,491 feet.

“We looked at Moab in part for the elevation, because we think we can shoot farther in the thinner air, and Moab’s event is a perfect tune up for us since it is just a week before the World Championships in Delaware,” said Eschborn.  “Being the first to pass 5000 feet is the second big milestone to shoot for, along with being the first to chuck a mile,” he added.

But Eschborn and the ‘Big 10 Inch’ crew chose Moab not just for the elevation, but also out of appreciation for the Youth Garden Project of Moab, the nonprofit group sponsoring the event.

“Our team was excited by the community service aspect of the Youth Garden Project, and wanted to support their organization, and they’ve been great to work with,” Eschborn said.

The addition of this Guinness World Record bid tops off an already packed program, full of creativity and hometown splendor.  Fashioned in the spirit of an old time fair, the event features pumpkin pie eating and seed spitting contests, costumed Wiener dog races, a straw-bale maze for kids and other games and activities for children.

In medieval times, catapults and trebuchets launched projectiles into enemy territory. With the advent of gunpowder, they were quickly cast aside in favor of more powerful artillery, but the allure of flinging objects through the air never faded.  The lost art of making inanimate objects soar will be rediscovered this fall as the Youth Garden Project presents the fourth annual Moab Pumpkin Chuckin’ Festival.

This fall harvest festival includes contests for people of all ages, live music and entertainment, vendor booths, and a wide range of characters roaming the festival grounds. The festival’s main event, the Pumpkin Chuckin’ Contest, is open to anyone craving a challenging experience that requires creativity, ingenuity, and a love of launching stuff. Entrants compete in one of four divisions: catapults, trebuchets, air cannons, and sling shots with a special youth category in each division.

No knowledge of physics or math is required to watch the launching competition or to enjoy live bluegrass music by Cosy Sheridan and T.R. Ritchie in the morning and the Metamoocil Mountain Boys in the afternoon.  A variety of talented local and regional artists will have their work available for sale.

The event brings together community organizations, local farmers, artisans, and musicians with members of the community to celebrate the harvest – and is a perfect way to enjoy the crisp Utah fall weather amidst the towering LaSal Mountains and red rock mesas. Proceeds from the event support the Youth Garden Project, a non-profit in Moab that grows food, kids and community.

–Moab, UT~ The two time pumpkin chuckin’ world record holders–the ‘Big 10 Inch’ air cannon team– have traveled across the country from the Delaware River Valley to attempt to break the Guinness World Record at the Youth Garden Project’s Pumpkin Chuckin’ Festival this Saturday October 31st in Moab, Utah at the Old Airport Runway, just south of town.

Ralph Eschborn II, spokesperson for the ‘Big 10 Inch’ team is confident that with favorable weather his team has an excellent chance of grabbing the Guinness Record in Moab on Halloween.  They’ve achieved their previous farthest distance of 4,211 feet twice, in 2005 and 2007, both times at sea level.  The Guinness World Record currently stands only slightly farther,  at 4,491 feet.

“We looked at Moab in part for the elevation, because we think we can shoot farther in the thinner air, and Moab’s event is a perfect tune up for us since it is just a week before the World Championships in Delaware,” said Eschborn.  “Being the first to pass 5000 feet is the second big milestone to shoot for, along with being the first to chuck a mile,” he added.

But Eschborn and the ‘Big 10 Inch’ crew chose Moab not just for the elevation, but also out of appreciation for the Youth Garden Project of Moab, the nonprofit group sponsoring the event.

“Our team was excited by the community service aspect of the Youth Garden Project, and wanted to support their organization, and they’ve been great to work with,” Eschborn said.

The addition of this Guinness World Record bid tops off an already packed program, full of creativity and hometown splendor.  Fashioned in the spirit of an old time fair, the event features pumpkin pie eating and seed spitting contests, costumed Wiener dog races, a straw-bale maze for kids and other games and activities for children.

In medieval times, catapults and trebuchets launched projectiles into enemy territory. With the advent of gunpowder, they were quickly cast aside in favor of more powerful artillery, but the allure of flinging objects through the air never faded.  The lost art of making inanimate objects soar will be rediscovered this fall as the Youth Garden Project presents the fourth annual Moab Pumpkin Chuckin’ Festival.

This fall harvest festival includes contests for people of all ages, live music and entertainment, vendor booths, and a wide range of characters roaming the festival grounds. The festival’s main event, the Pumpkin Chuckin’ Contest, is open to anyone craving a challenging experience that requires creativity, ingenuity, and a love of launching stuff. Entrants compete in one of four divisions: catapults, trebuchets, air cannons, and sling shots with a special youth category in each division.

No knowledge of physics or math is required to watch the launching competition or to enjoy live bluegrass music by Cosy Sheridan and T.R. Ritchie in the morning and the Metamoocil Mountain Boys in the afternoon.  A variety of talented local and regional artists will have their work available for sale.

The event brings together community organizations, local farmers, artisans, and musicians with members of the community to celebrate the harvest – and is a perfect way to enjoy the crisp Utah fall weather amidst the towering LaSal Mountains and red rock mesas. Proceeds from the event support the Youth Garden Project, a non-profit in Moab that grows food, kids and community.

Any time you write fantasy or science fiction, the question of setting comes up. It’s pretty easy to make purple trees and pink people, but there are times when a little reality is nice. And there are places on earth that are more weird and fantastic than any fantasy world.

I’ll do a couple of posts, and get some guest posts in here, but for now… Some from a trip I took a long time ago, a cluster of parks that simply overwhelm the senses.

Zion National Park is where I want to die, so I can haunt it for eternity. No, seriously. It is that breathtaking. I went here about six years ago, and I’ll love this place till the day I die. Maybe beyond.

This is the place that most directly influences Inherent’s Jastu. The paga and baltza are lifted straight from Zion’s peaks and valleys.

Places of note: Angel’s Landing. 4000 feet high, Angel’s Crest is a monolith that you can climb. But it’s not for the faint of heart, because part of the trail is so narrow that you can look down on either side of you to see the valley, 4000 feet below.

There really isn’t a picture that does Bryce National Park justice. I went there during the early spring, when there was still a lot of snow on the ground. The white against the sunset-red rocks, the evergreens, the sky…the colors are almost painful. The natural formations are dizzying, and on such a grand scale that it’s impossible not to feel tiny.

Places of Note: Sunset Point is one of the places we went, a natural outlook over the canyon. Show up in time to catch sunrise or sunset, but be sure to bring a coat: it’s cold even in June.

Speaking of stone and color, Arches National Park is as spectacular as anywhere you can find. It’s much more open than Bryce or Zion, vast distances broken by the most unearthly of natural sculptures.

Anywhere in Moab, Utah. My uncle is an avid mountain biker, so I got exposed to lots of places from the viewpoint of someone who knows them well. Moab is a beautiful, lonely, desolate drive.

Speaking of Utah… I’ll probably never find images of it. But there’s a point where you leave the highlands of the western part of the state and descend down onto the flat lands. It’s absolutely breathtaking: an absolutely flat plain hundreds of feet beneath you, broken with little towers of eroded rock here and there. And the only way down is on a dirt switch-back. Never, EVER, do this in a motorhome. There’s a reason I have gray hair… Utah friends, help me out here with where this would be?

One of the things I found since I started going to PDN’s PhotoPlus Expo is that each year, there are less vendors and very little free givaways other then their advertising POP sales packets. Very few paper companies are giving out samples. Which was a good way for a photographer to test one brand’s matte against another. Of course you can buy sample packets which include papers I would probably not use (like gloss or pearl). The vendors (Museo) who did have samples on Thursday were out towards the end of Friday. Traditionally Thursday and Friday’s are days that the professional photographers etc go. Saturday is field trip day for some local schools and they get to be razzled, dazzled by all the new & improved that’s out there. These are the kids that read up on what’s coming and understand all the workings of the programs before they hit the stores. Jene also can be counted among this knowledgable group but was still caught off guard when his Canon Mark II, 5 D video capacity was so quickly outmoded when the 7D came out. Jene did speak to a Canon rep because he heard rumbles that they were updating the in-camera software so that the video would be on par with the new 7D (which cost about $1000 less than the 5D) I’m sure Jene will blog about that http://fuzzypictures.wordpress.com/ in the next few days. It is amazing how quickly your equipment or programs become obsolete. I don’t run with the crowd of beta-testers nor does Canon ever give me a camera to test and report on. But I’m not a fashion photographer and my work is not splashed all over magazines so how would they ever know I exist.

Should a cyclist vote for a political candidate simply because he or she is a fellow cyclist?

Obviously the answer is no. Otherwise we would have voted for George Bush, an avid and by most accounts fairly adept mountain biker. The problem was, as much as he loved to ride, Bush did virtually nothing to promote, promulgate or even support cycling while he was in office. In some cases he was outright anti-mountain biking, as when he tried to railroad through drilling rights in Moab’s majestic outlands.

It’s been one of fate’s cruelest twists that all our adult life we wished for a mountain biking president, and when we finally got one, it was George W. Bush.

That said, in the case of Seattle mayoral candidate Mike McGinn, we think cyclists voting for a cyclist makes eminently good sense. McGinn is not only a committed rider, he’s a cyclist with a track record of civic commitment, an progressive with an acute understanding of how cities work, and a leader with a vision for a better Seattle.

The case for McGinn is even easier given the utter fecklessness of his rival, Joe Mallahan. Mallahan has not only shown no interest in Seattle governance previous to this race, he has a voting record spotty as an August windshield. We’d rather vote for the nearest sock puppet than Mallahan. Come to think of it, there isn’t much difference between the two.

Kind of lost in the election shuffle this year, because he’s pretty popular and has only token opposition, is bike commuter and incumbent city council member Richard Conlin. I’ve been at civic events where Richard shows up on his bike, wearing biking togs, and delivers his speech/performs his duties as though he were in pinstripes and tie. I like that about him, because it helps to normalize the image of a cyclist as an executive and dignitary. In other words, a helmet and shorts can be just as much of a statement as blazer and slacks.

Although not the cycling fiends that McGinn and Conlin are, Mike O’Brien for Seattle city council and Dow Constantine for King County executive also have proven supportive of bike causes. Like McGinn, they’re endorsed by Seattle’s Cascade Bicycle Club.

We’re excited to have cycling proponents like these running for office in Seattle/King County. The prospect of having elected leaders who not only understand and appreciate bikes but will go out of their way to further cycling causes is a luxury we’ve never had in Seattle, nor in few U.S. communities anywhere outside of Davis CA and Portland OR. If these guys get elected, get ready to rock ‘n roll … especially roll!

SeattleLikesBikes likes McGinn. Unlikes Mallahan.

Jeff Reifman rips Mallahan a new one (also see Jeff’s amazing report on Microsoft’s $1 billion Washington State tax dodge).

Apparently, we live in a town where people come to visit and vacation.  The people that come are called tourists and there are a lot of them.  They come to visit Moab and the two National Parks here, Arches and Canyonlands.  I haven’t been to Canyonlands yet.  Wonder when Mom and Dad will take me?  There is a popular place in Arches that lots of people like to go and see.  It is called Delicate Arch.  Mom and Dad wanted to show it to me, so the other day we hiked up there.  I got to ride in my throne again and that was fun.  It is kind of a steep hike but mom did really good carrying me.  She didn’t have to stop once.  The hike was really windy but once we got to Delicate Arch it was worth it.

I'm here!

Now I know what an arch is and I couldn’t believe how big it was.  You have to be very careful walking around the arch.  There are a lot of places that are steep and you could fall and get really hurt or die.  We didn’t get close to any of those spots thank goodness.  That would have scared me.  I can see why people like to hike to Delicate Arch.  There were a lot of those tourists up there.  Dad told me that is where he asked mom to marry him and she said yes.  That was pretty cool. While we were up there some guy started making fun of my monkey hat, saying that mom was embarrassing me.  I just don’t think the old man knows style.  My monkey hat is cool and he was just probably jealous that he didn’t have one.  He was one of those tourist people.  We didn’t hang out long at the arch because of the wind and it was getting dark.  Dad didn’t want us to hike back in the dark.  Silly mom forgot her headlamp.  On the hike back it was much easier for mom but still windy.  I hope the next time we go up to Delicate Arch we can stay a little longer.

Moab Utah, October 2009

From my journal: “At the grocery store in Moab at 10:25 tonight, I bought the following: a loaf of Italian style bread, a can of veggie soup, a kit kat bar, toothpaste, Blue Machine Naked Juice, Nyquil and crayons. It came to $12.62. A bargain if you ask me. All the necessities: food, health, art supplies, clean teeth and sleep.”