Wyoming and Idaho

-
Image
We are back from a quick vacation. I managed to score three (actually several more) bucket list items in 4 days. 1.) Long Snowmobile Trip. 2.) Yellowstone Park and 3.) Wyoming. I reached my 50th State --Wyoming! And we took a 90 mile snowmobile trip in Yellowstone National Park. We went to the "Craters of the Moon--National Monument and Preserve" in Idaho and also stopped at Idaho National Laboratory (INL) where I got to see (with my own eyes) the very cool nuclear powered twin turbojet engine. It was a successful experiment in the 1950s and 1960s. https://whatisnuclear.com/safety-minutes/htre-3-meltdown.html Of course, I had my Radiacode scintillation detector with me and yes, the apparatus is "Hot". The screenshot of the readings from my three walk-arounds the artifact. I swear you could smell the radiation. There was a very un-natural burnt smell something reminiscent of burned bakelite. Although, I am quite certain the emitted radition was not the source...
Post a Comment
-

We are back from vacation. We took an extended time (for us) in Peru and Bolivia (10 days). It was very thrilling, interesting, intense, reinvigorating and exhausting. All at the same time. After flying to and from Lima, Peru we had 4 air segments (not including time in a 172), 4 bus trips, 2 train rides, 6 different hotels and numerous Uber and taxi rides. We spent time in the following Peru cities: Lima (Miraflores & Center), Nazca, Cuzco, Machu Picchu. Also we spent time in Bolivia in La Paz and Tiwanaku.

We hired a Cessna 172 to take us over the Nazca lines, rode the Teleferico (cable cars) in La Paz and spent a lot of time at big-name pre-Inkan archaeological sites in Peru and Bolivia. Of note, we visited Tiwanaku, Puma Punku as well as Saksaywaman and Machu Picchu.

The high altitude was a concern in the Andes. We took Diamox as a precaution, but there is a lot of mystery around what causes altitude sickness (besides altitude). So Diamox is no real assurance of protection. Even packing becomes difficult at over 13k feet. The La Paz airport is one of the highest in the world. After they start the engines on the plane you can subtlety feel the air pressure building while we are still on the runway. The "in effect" hyperbaric airplane ride provides a couple hours of relief after you land at another high altitude. As a pilot, I cannot legally fly at these altitudes for longer that 30 minutes without using oxygen. My Cessna will not fly at these altitudes.

Nazca


The breakfast bar at a hotel.


From our Restaurant table in La Paz.


Supply chain management for bus freight and baggage. We found ours after a prolonged personal search in the belly of the bus well after dark.


Front row in the upper deck of the coolest bus in the world. Although we had a three axle bus, not the coolest 4 axle machine.



El Alto, La Paz.


Bus Station in Nazca, Peru.


Cusco, Peru


Hotel terrace in Cusco (San Blas)


Machu Picchu


Saksaywaman


Alpaca in Peru.


The big stone at Saksaywaman.


The Ponce Stella at Tiwanaku.


Our plane in Nazca.


Nazca "Star".


Cats in Parque Kennedy in Lima.


Puma Punku

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

-
Image
I took the plane out yesterday for a while. Being alone in the air is really quite an experience. After I landed I hung out with the mechanic. I always learn more about the aircraft and he encourages pilots to come by and learn more about the planes. I guess they call it hanger flying. I start my new job in Duluth on the 21st. It is pretty exciting. I won't be doing much travel until after the 4th of July. There is too much to do before I start the job to realistically get much of it done, so I move forward the best I can. Sunday is canoe trip day. Hopefully the weather cooperates.
Read more
-
Image
QRZ.COM The N2TYQ report: The hamfest was a lot of fun yesterday. Duane (KB0VIW) picked up a nice Kenwood 2 meter radio for 25 bucks. It was good to meet up with Jim Hastings (W2RFM) and Kevin Carey (WB2QMY). Everyone agreed it was a great hamfest, good attendance and interest. I sold a few things and paid for the expenses.
Read more
-
There must be a term surrounding the concept of analying but not understanding. I mean the alpha llama Professor can stare at me and a match, watch me strike it and light the heater so close, right next to my face with all his might and sadly will never figure out how to make his herd-friends warm when he wants. This is a fact of which I am certain. The same condition applies to watching something like the Nightly Business Report. You can talk about all sorts of stuff and show all sorts of graphs, how do you communicate what took you a lifetime to figure out to another individual? The llamas got their rabies shots the other day. In NY we have to have a licenced vet administer a rabies shot. Jim the vet said, you have to watch out, your llamas may give llamas a good name. It took about 15 minutes for Dr. Jim to get them all. He agreed, our llamas are well trained.
Read more
-
Image
It is Sunday. The day off. I slept in to 7:30 AM this morning. I usually get up at 5:00. I had coffee in the galley and talked about the International Trans-Antarctica Scientific Expedition (ITASE) traverse with the crew supervisor. He is an interesting guy with 35 years experience in the arctic. Most of the equipment is buried in the snow (from over the winter) at Taylor dome. They are going to take more equipmnet out in a Herc (LC-130) including a Piston Bully equipped with ice radar on a boom out front. We talked about radio and what they are using for frequencies for the aviation services. The aviation support is provided by a mix of miltary and private contractors. It is good to see that kind of cooperation. This is a "Delta". This particular unit is configured for cargo. Others have a passenger (PAX) compartment. They have grafitti and stickers on the inside of the PAX compartment. They are McMurdo's equivilent to an urban train. If you squint your eyes while rid...
Read more