Where to Go?

Next year will be the first year that I get five weeks of vacation. I'm trying to figure out what our big family trip will be. Carole wants to go to visit some first magnitude springs that we haven't seen in Florida. That would be about a week-long trip and would be tons of fun. We always have a blast snorkeling and kayaking the big freshwater springs in Florida.

But I was thinking more of hitting a National Park or two that we've never seen. We've long wanted to see Crater Lake National Park, and I dearly want to see the big redwoods and sequoias in California. The deal with a western trip is that they're really expensive, so we have to plan them carefully.

At any rate, I'll have a whole 'nother week to play around with in 2014.

I think this was taken at Manatee Springs State Park.

Blue Springs Run at Blue Springs State Park.

Big alligator at Wakulla Springs State Park.

A friendly osprey on the Chassahowitzka River.

Kayaking down the Ichetucknee River in Ichetucknee Springs State Park.

And then there's the allure of those big California peaks. I took this shot near Joshua Tree National Park in 2010.

Philip K. Dick Influence on Kirby?

I've written before about the two-story arc in FANTASTIC FOUR 66-67. I won't go into how Kirby's story was all but ruined by the shenanigans played by his editor. But the issues are still intriguing and some of Kirby's writing still shines through, of course, just based on the power of his artwork and the strength of his sequential storytelling.

One thing that I have always been curious about was whether there was any influence on the character of HIM from outside sources. Particularly from the short story "The Golden Man" by Philip K. Dick. Anyone reading the story by Dick will understand that the lead character in that 11K-word tale bears a striking physical resemblance to HIM (later known as Warlock/Magus as written by Jim Starlin). PK Dick's character is statuesque, physically perfect, seemingly cast from gold, and aloof...all but separated from any contact with the world of Man.

Kirby's character spends most of the story slowly forming within a gigantic cocoon, bred by scientists to be the perfect and ultimate being. And when he finally does emerge from that cocoon, he looks pretty much as Dick described his own ubermann--perfectly formed, as if carved from golden marble, and caring not one whit for the humans who had created him.

I do know that Kirby read widely in science and in science-fiction, so he certainly must have read Dick's work. But did "The Golden Man" in part serve as an inspiration for HIM? It's something I would like to have asked Jack Kirby.

Philip K. Dick's "Golden Man".

Kirby's HIM.

Draw of Yellowstone

In 2010 I realized a life-long dream and visited Yellowstone National Park. Even when I was a kid in grade school I would beg my parents to take me there. But they were self-employed, could not leave the family business, and it was a very long way from Georgia. And later, situation and poverty prevented me from seeing the Park, crown jewel of our entire National Park System.

But in 2010 I finally got the chance to go. We spent the better part of two weeks in Yellowstone, staying in Park lodges and spending the days hiking, touring, rafting. I couldn't get over it, of course. It was everything I had hoped it would be. Hell...it exceeded my expectations.

Three years later and I want terribly to go back there. So do my wife and son. We had our greatest family vacation there and we missed seeing so many things. Maybe we can do it again in a year or two.

A Yarn for Later.

There's one hilarious story that I'd love to tell. But it will have to wait until I retire.

Whomp 'em up! 'Side the head!

Private Property

My dad instilled in me an almost total respect for private property. If I see a property boundary and I know it's privately owned, I will do whatever it takes not to cross over that line. When I was younger I thought that this was something peculiar to my father, but I later learned through various reading that it is a cultural phenomenon widespread in the area from which he hailed--the southern Georgia, north Florida border. When those poor white folk told you to stay off of their fucking property, they by God meant it. Violating such borders could result in injury or death, and the Law would generally side with the property owner.

These days when I'm hiking in National Forest land I will sometimes come to the boundaries of private property, often with "Keep Out" and "No Trespassing" warnings. When I used to hike with my Yankee pals, they would scoff at my perceived paranoia in avoiding crossing over onto private property. Apparently such things are not an issue where they were raised.

And often I will happen upon some areas that I can see from public property that are absolutely heart-stopping gorgeous, but which lie on privately owned lands. I will do my best to admire such places from a distance, but I will never trespass to see them. Many times I have seen fantastic waterfalls that are on privately owned real estate and wished that I could get a closer look. At such times I wonder why eminent domain has not been declared to put such places into public hands where everyone can enjoy them.

Recently I stumbled upon just such a spot. I won't say where it is, respecting the owner's right to privacy and their right to have their property and not be unduly bothered. But this waterfall was amazing. Probably close to 100 feet in height, it lies completely on private land and is not accessible to public viewing. I got these shots because I paused very briefly along a gravel road just long enough to try to get a usable image. And I was reminded of my past frustration at wanting to see places like this, wishing the government could exercise eminent domain so that we could all spend time admiring this amazing waterfall.

But, at the same time, I wish I had the funds and opportunity to own it myself.

So it goes.

House, staircase, viewing platform. All on private property.

The photo does not do this waterfall true justice. I would estimate the total height of this amazing falls to be about 100 feet.

Omission...

A few years ago (2008) I loaded up my backpack and headed to Linville Gorge to go into the wilderness alone. It was in the winter and, as I recall, the middle of the week. I had a couple of days off so I figured I'd have the place to myself. For part of the time the weather was really chilly and everything was coated in ice. Because of that, I did seem to have the entire Gorge to myself.

I took the Pinch-In Trail down to the bottom of the Gorge and then took the main trail along the river until I found a campsite that I liked. Because it was so lonely down there, I ended up building a nice campfire, which is something I almost never do in a wilderness area. But the fire kept me company and created a sense of security for me. There was already a well-established fire ring, so I didn't feel as guilty about making a fire.

The thing that gets me when I look back at the photos I took on that trip is that I don't seem to have taken any photos of my campsite! Very strange, really, considering that I had a pretty cool spot. Oh, well.

My truck was the only vehicle at the trailhead.

I really did need that scarf when I started the hike. The glaze of ice was just then melting from the ground and rocks.

Yes, that's the trail. It pretty much just goes straight down. The Gorge was then still beginning to recover from the second of the two horrible forest fires that had ravaged the area during the long droughts of the early 2000s.

At the bottom of the Gorge looking up at the rim.

Finding firewood was really easy along the river. Tons of dry wood washed up on the rocks.

The following morning I hiked up into the clouds.

It wasn't raining, but everything was drenched in dew.

Last December

I'm continuing to work on my latest fiction projects. I may have to ultimately cut back on the Internet just to get the work done. Or switch completely over to photo-blogging. All options on the table.

Almost a year ago since our trip to Carver's Gap and my brief hike to Grassy Bald in frigid temperatures and bone-chilling wind. Sometimes you have to drive a bit to see Old Man Winter here in the South.

Looking at Roan Mountain. The Appalachian Trail is buried under all of the snow and ice somewhere. Some have mentioned the possibility of bringing the bison back to this area. They would have to be cordoned off in some way, at least initially. Returning such a large animal to this part of the East could be problematic.

Some of the deep snow had been scoured away by howling wind. This was on the Appalachian Trail.

Most of the mountaintop is made up of grassy fields. But here and there are small groves of spruce trees.

A little winter magic.

Sale!

One of my publishers, Severed Press, is offering a sales special on a couple of my novels. Here's yer chance to nab 'em now!

THE NEW ECOLOGY OF DEATH!

WITHERING.

What it was...

We had fun at the football game. It was my first visit to the Panthers stadium, and I was impressed with it. Damned thing holds over 70,000 human beings. They say it was almost at capacity. They run an efficient place, because we were out in quick order.

The game was good, unless you were an Atlanta Falcons fan. They got stomped, but good.

Sometimes a guy would kick the ball!

Then one guy would give the ball to another guy and he'd run really fast with it!

Then this other guy would throw the football!

And one guy would catch it and some other fellow would knock him down!

What it was, was football!

Football??!!

Today we're going to a professional football game. I have not been to a pro football game in decades. Once upon a time I was an avid sports fan...Atlanta Falcons football and Atlanta Braves baseball. But as the years went by I lost interest in pro sports. All sports, really. I even stopped watching the Olympics.

But Carole got the chance to get two tickets to the home game between the Carolina Panthers and the Atlanta Falcons. So we're going.

A far cry from what I normally do on my weekly day off.

Cattail Peak, 6,600 feet above sea level, far from the madding crowds.

Today's experience will be much different from this kind of silence and solitude. I hope the game will be a good one.