After way too much seafood, we are done and about to fly back home.

Watchin jazz tonight at DBA and The Spotted Cat...

You need to get to New Orleans.

The Mardi Gras Indians danced at Armstrong park today. For a "brief" history of these dancers check out: www.mardigrasdigest.com/Sec_mgind/history.htm

Lishka and the Biker Rebel Brass Band.

We're sitting here drinking Miller High Life (the thing to drink down here), resting our sore butts after a long day of bike riding around New Orleans. It was an excellent view of the city and a great way to recover from drinks last night and po'boys at 3am. I got to meet one of my long-lost cousins who grew up here. We met at the R Bar and it was strange waiting and looking around for a relative who I had never seen before. Turns out he was calling me on his cell while standing right next to me.

The city itself seems like a very laid back place (aside from the French Quarter). Majestic homes built in the late 1700's line the streets alongside oaks that are more majestic still. Streetcars rumble up and down the boulevard, full of tourists who only sometimes wave back at you. There are still signs of Katrina. Abandoned homes scattered around the neighborhood where we are staying (the house we are in was itself flooded). A house or two still have the spray paint markings put up by inspectors who went through each home after the flooding. A large white "X", the date of inspection, and the number of bodies found. Still, signs of recovery are everywhere: Construction crews fixing houses, for rent signs, fresh cement being laid down. However, we didn't pass through the really bad areas, where apparently whole neighborhoods still sit in ruins or have been bulldozed over.

Tonight we head over to watch some roller derby. Our first ever match! Tomorrow, perhaps some live jazz or zydeco. Need to catch a brass band too. A lovely stroll through some swamp is also on our agenda. And more great food. So much to do!

Through the Quarter.

We've been checking out NOLA on some cruisers and ended up at an elementary school fundraiser. Good jambalaya and BBQ oysters.

Lishka and Lars looking for the elusive Green Kingfisher.

Hey ya!

Austin has been all about the music for us. So far we've managed to purchase 8 cd's. 7 from a local music shop that our friend Lars showed us. One from the show we went to last night which was great: Thao and the Get Down Stay Downs! The lead singer is from SF so it was no wonder it felt like home listening to them. Awesome band.

We also caught some of the opening band, the Portland Cello Project. 4 cellos playing things like Pantera's "Mouth for War" (sweet), and Outkast's "Hey Ya". They had everyone singing out loud to the last one in a contest to see which city is the loudest. Austin, of course, has the best score so far. We blew everyone else away with a 9.5. Houston got a 7 just the night before. Go Austin!

Caves to Cowboyland

After a 9 hour drive from Carlsbad Caverns, NM, we made it to Austin Texas baby! Yeeehaaawww!!! Dennis found a hidden gem, the Super 8 by the airport and it's really living up to its reputation. We were greeted by a pleasantly fragrant aroma (floral?), a Ganesha shrine, a friendly desk clerk and even a welcome goody bag! The bag had fun snacks like a Reese's peanut butter cup and whoppers as well as a bottle of water.

We've only got one day here in Austin, so we're gonna try to pack it all in tomorrow. We're planning to start the day with a little early morning birding at Hornsby Bend, then explore the town, and maybe some music in the nighttime. Check back to find out!

Carlsbad Caverns were amazing by the way. It's a freaky, crazy, wonder of nature and chemistry down there! Pictures will hopefully be posted soon. It's like Small World on mushrooms. I know, crazy b/c Small World already seems like it's trippin, right? One of the many things we learned at CC was the difference between and definition of stalactites and stalagmites.

Stalactite: icicle-like mineral formations that hang from the ceiling. The word has a "c" in it for "ceiling" and "tite" because they hang tightly from the ceiling.
Stalagmite: pokey-uppy mineral formations that are attached to the ground. The word has a "g" in it for "ground" and "mite" because you might trip over them! (yes, I know, dorky, but these things help me!)

Both of these are formed by dripping water carrying and depositing minerals over time.... lots of time. Little 1" stalactites that we saw were 70 years old! That means that the 20 foot honkers were a lot older.

Ok, ciao for now. Gotta hit the sack so I can catch the birdies manana. More pics soon... we promise.

Lishka

I Heart Tucson

Tucson, AZ
11/09/09-11/10/09

I love Tucson almost as much as I love my wonderful friend Mal who lives there. It’s easy to find your way around, the people are friendly and hip and artsy in an unpretentious kind of way, there’s always fun things to do at night, the drinks are hella cheap, the music and food is good, and the nature/wildlife is phenomenal. There is definitely something about the desert that feeds the soul in a special and unique way.

So what were we able to squeeze in during our 21 hour visit? A satisfyingly good amount. Highlights included:
♣ singing and dancing to Beck’s “Debra” blasting from the rental Hyundai in the street in front of Mal’s sweet pad
♣ trying on Mal’s green, beaded, sequened burlesque outfit… and seeing Dennis don it too
♣ eating delicious udon noodle soup at Yoshi Matsu’s
♣ having a martini at Plush
♣ dancing some booty off at Hotel Congress’ 80’s night and getting a high 5 from a stranger in appreciation of rockin the dance floor
♣ spending $24 total all night for drinks for 3 people!
♣ Eating a delicious breakfast back at Hotel Congress—omelets and home fries for Mal and I and spicy pork with eggs and polenta for Dennis
♣ Guitar, accordion, violin jam at Mal’s pad

Lowlights included:
♣ getting kicked out of Yoshi Matsu’s (although this was understandable because we kept them 45 min after closing, but still…)
♣ getting kicked out of the outside sitting are at Hotel Congress
As you can see not many lowlights and they really became kind of funny. We kept wondering where we were going to get kicked out of next.

Thanks Mal and Tucson for showing us a good time, time and again!

Grandeur

Grand Canyon, AZ
11/08/09-11/09/09

Grand crevice in earth

Carved out, eroded, uplifted

Earth movement

Change over millions of years

Grandiose

Multi-earthen-colors

Barrier of space

Colorado rushing below

Sunset light, morning light, afternoon light

Your are different in each moment of light

You are still slow, constant, grand change

A reminder of the moment

A reminder of how small and new we are

The knife edge hike to the top of Angels Landing. Slow going and don't look down.

Zion canyon left us speechless. Dare I say it might surpass Yosemite in sheer awesomeness....?

Death Valley is all about geology. And geology is proof that the earth itself is still alive. We took a short hike up the Golden Canyon which was formed by water cutting a scar across the Amargosas. The picture below shows Lishka staring at Cathedral rock at the end of that hike. We also clambered up some sand dunes later in the day and have some awesome shots of us catching air as we jumped off the edge of the dunes. Gnarley!

Standing in the middle of the Death Valley you are surrounded by evidence that it is still shaping itself. The Panamint and Amargosas tower on either side shooting up 11,000 feet. At their base is proof that these mountains once stood much higher. Rain and erosion scrape and slide down sending rocks and dirt to the foot of the mountains where they collect and form alluvial fans. The mountains are in effect burying themselves as they wear away (see pic above).

In a park brochure we found out that the valley is in fact a graben. Now this is the part that is totally incredible. The theory is that the Farallon plate sunk beneath the North American plate. The Farallon plate is still beneath us now and as it sinks it melts and heats up the North American plate above it causes it to actually spread apart and get thinner. Besides spreading, the North American plate also breaks apart along fault lines. Parts of the plate may sink down creating a so called graben like Death Valley. This sinking is what created the lowest point in the western hemisphere, where we stood the other day 282 feet below sea level.

Looking up at Cathedral rock at the end of the Golden Canyon trail in Death Valley. If it was the wet season, I think I would be standing under a waterfall!

We just haven't had the time to write about Death Valley. We were distracted by a little town called Las Vegas.

Chilaquiles at Bernardino's in Inyokern

Well! We're officially on the road, people. We picked up a sweet rental car in Santa Rosa -- a pearly white, XM radio-equipped Hyundai Sonata (Laday! Step inside my Hyundai...)-- and cruised it about 200 miles to the magical town of... Fresno! Aaaah, Fresno, how I've missed you. Not! Well, I do feel a strange comforting familiarity. We're enjoying some cable at the Ramada Inn tonight and plan to rise early and head for the desert. Next stop Death Valley.