The Eclectic Traveler

We just returned from a 14-day cruise, leaving from Liverpool, UK, and visiting Portugal (Lisbon and Oporto), the Azores and Madeira. We were on the Black Watch, a Fred Olsen ship and were the only Yanks on board an otherwise-nearly-all-British cruise. (A handful of Australians plus a few assorted other EU citizens made up the difference.) Two more pins in the map for Marcia, bringing her total to 166; three more for me, bringing my total to 154.

The photo album is online.

Back in January, we spent a week touring Cuba. We had already booked the trip when the U.S. government started opening up relations with Cuba, so it was a good time to go, before the invading hordes of U.S. tourists arrive once the process of getting tour permissions is eased.

Sorry that it took a while to finish selecting and editing photos but the photo album is posted for your viewing pleasure.

We just returned from a cruise through the Indian Ocean. Starting in Sri Lanka, we visited the Maldives, Seychelles and Mauritius. Marcia’s country count is now 163. Alan’s is 150. The photo album is posted for your viewing pleasure.

The Highpointers Club maintains a memorial to Jack “Guru Jakk” Longacre, the founder of the Club, in a glade on the slopes of Russell Mountain. The glade has a view up to the top of Taum Sauk Mountain, the Missouri highpoint. In the glade are two telephone poles with arrows pointing to the various state highpoints. I’m in charge of maintaining the signposts, so developed a web page with an inventory of the arrows, their conditions, names of the highpoints with elevation, distance and bearing from the Glade. Right now, a couple need replacing because of weathering plus there are four states missing: Maine, Tennessee, Texas and Wisconsin. Hopefully, some of the folks from the Club will volunteer to make these arrows so I can install them the next time I’m down to Taum Sauk.

In August, we set out once again to attempt to scale Kings Peak, the Utah state highpoint.  This would be my fourth attempt, having been stymied by weather or altitude issues on earlier tries.  We picked a good weather window and succeeded in getting to the top in good order this time.

The illustrated trip report is posted for your reading pleasure. Note that the topo map with GPS track is a big file when viewed at full resolution, 4000 x 5000 pixels and about 17 meg. Also, the Java version of the summit panorama has a full-screen option so you can use all your available display real estate to view that.

We took a cruise from Kiel, Germany up to Iceland, Svalbard and Norway (with a stop in the Shetland Islands of Scotland along the way). The full photo album is online for your viewing pleasure.

In January, 2014, we spent two weeks touring India and Nepal. In addition to the traditional tourist sites like the Taj Mahal in Agra, we visited several other cities in India and several locations in and around Kathmandu, Nepal. The photo album is posted for your perusal.

I am experimenting with a different “skin” for my photo albums. If you right click on the link and tell your browser to open it in a new window, then maximize the window, images will be displayed larger on your monitor.  The “play” icon in the upper right will run the album as a slide show, 4-second interval.  (You may change that if you wish)  Also, when navigating manually through the larger images, the right/left arrow keys on you keyboard will move to the next/previous image in the album.

A new pipe organ, Opus 3898, built by Casavant Freres in Canada, is being installed at First Presbyterian Church.  The physical installation is complete and the final voicing and tuning will begin the first week of November.  I have compiled a photo album of the installation.  The instrument replaces a 1957 Wicks organ that was installed when the Sanctuary was built.  That organ has been donated to the Cathedral in Apia, Samoa and should be installed and ready there sometime in the spring of 2014.

The Casavant organ has 4,357 pipes and is installed in the existing pipe chambers in the Chancel, with two antiphonal chests and pipes installed on the rear wall of the Sanctuary.  The initial use of the organ in worship will occur on Christmas Eve of this year.

The photo album from our British Isles cruise is now online for your viewing pleasure.

My 2013 highpointing trip took me to Borah Peak, Idaho and Kings Peak, Utah, both for the third time.  Borah is one of the toughest climbs among the 50 state highpoints but we succeeded in getting past the aptly-named Chicken-Out Ridge and on up to the summit.  Contrariwise, the weather didn’t cooperate with our plans for Kings Peak a few days later.  Fortunately, Kings is up a beautiful valley and a pleasant hike to the base camp near Dollar Lake so having to return for a better weather window isn’t too bad.  For more details, please read my illustrated trip report.