For my Judi

What else can I say?

Las Vegas 2010

When I was young I heard Mere Image from Mannheim Steamroller and was touched like no other song had touched me before. I liked music but never liked a song enough to buy an album until then. I became a die hard fan. This guys could do no wrong. They did after Fresh Aire 7. Now Chip Davis seems to only do "Holidays music". 

The song in this video (Con te partiro) has nothing to do with Las Vegas except it touched me the same way Mere Image did, so I had to do something about it. :-)  Since it seems there is not that much more I like from Andrea Bocell.

Clear Lake

 Judi and I went kayaking at Clear Lake not long ago. It was a beautiful day and the drive was panoramic. The water is extremely cold so a nice place to paddle but not to swim. There is diving photos and more info at the link. I hope you enjoy the film.

The Willamette River 2010 (part II)

Since the movie was too long I had to split in two parts. These part of the movie was filmed during days three and four or the last 50 miles of the trip. At this point I was tired with aching shoulders, running out of wine, and sore from sleeping on compacted sand banks. My Therma Rest did little to soften my bedding. When I went to bed it was warm so I lay on top of the sleeping bag for cushion, at about midnight the temperature dropped into the 50's so I had to get into the sleeping bag to get warm cutting the cushion factor by half. I also will most definitively upgrade the cushion on the Dolphin. Long days sitting on the Dolphin makes for hard days on the gluteus maximus muscles.

Breaks were longer but not as often. During breaks I was more willing to set the camera on the tripod and set the timer to take photos of me. I was also getting tired of photographing the Dolphin. After all, I should be part of the movie too. :-)

This has been quite an ordeal. First I thought I had the video issue resolved to find out I had no sound. I had to re-format the video to upload this freaking movie. The quality had to be sacrificed. Sorry, but there was no way around that. I am still struggling with the first part of the movie.

Edit:

Problem solved: Please enjoy the movies. :-)

Willamette River 2010

On Sunday August 15. 2010 I launched off Artimage park in Eugene, OR toward Wallace park in Salem, OR. According to the map I followed it was 101 miles but I have seen estimates of 94 and 96 miles in two other reference books I researched while preparing for the trip. All I can say it was a challenge and a better cushion on the kayak would have made a world of difference. The backpacking camp chair also needs upgrade. 

The trip lasted 4 days and three nights or 75 awesome hours of kayaking wilderness. I paddle 25 miles on day one. The current was swift and strong so it was an easy and fun paddle. Day two was 26 miles with currents slowing down and battling the over exposure to the sun. I did not feel how much sun damage I got from the prior day . Day three was a grueling 30 miles of relative flat water. It could be that I had already paddle 51 miles and had two not so comfy nights in the woods; and I was running out of wine which was demoralizing. God bless the kayak was also two days lighter on supplies. The last 20 miles went like they always do, not seen as part of the journey but as the last hump.

I documented as much as possible and tried hard not to be tiresome with the film. It was an excellent trip and one I hope to repeat next year. I hope you enjoy the movie.

Edit:

Technical difficulties: "There is an error uploading your video". I wonder if the file is too big.I guess I will edit this version a bit and save a lesser quality copy. Sorry. :-(

Edit:

Problem not solved:  A smaller file did not worked either; I believe it is a problem with Java script and Mozilla. I tried to post a scan of the river map but it was grotesque and It is after all about silly movies and not complete silliness. :-)

Edit:

Eureka !!!

I uploaded the film on "you tube". There was a way. :-)

Edit:

Eureka nothing: The file uploaded on "you tube" was too big and THEY deleted it. I am posting half the movie now and will work on the second part soon... before I loose interest in this movie or learn to hate it. :-) I hope you enjoy the changes.

Never mind it did not upload... Back to the drawing board. :-(

Edit:

I had to get a You Tube player in order to get it to work. It is working now so I hope you enjoy it.

Edit:

Never mind it did not work either. One way or another I am gonna get this video uploaded. :-) I am reformating from avi to mov. This will greatly diminish the size and quality of the film but I am hoping it will allow me to publish it.

Kayaking at Detroit Lake

Judi an I bought a tandem Necky Cruiser II kayak to paddle Mobile bay and its surrounding areas. While paddling the Mobile delta we had to watch for alligators watching Sizing us. While paddling at the gulf we had to watch for bull shark or dolphins. Here in Oregon all we need to worry about is hypothermia since the water is colder than I am used too. :-)

On 07/24/10 Judi and I drove an hour to reach this isolated (full of boats) lake. The paddle was uneventful. We kept near the shore to avoid high speed boats and their wakes. Besides near the shore we could appreciate the shore's beauty up close. The water was inviting and the sun was relentless. We pack a healthy and tasty lunch and kill the day basking in the sun. I hope you enjoy the film as much as we enjoyed the day.

Father's day 2010

I took this video the day before Father's day. I was in a silly mood and realized that time was passing fast and the herd was quickly getting old. Suave and Chester are now 7 years old while Morena and Campeon are 6 years old; Within the next 10 years we may have lost them all. Sad but a reality we must face. So in order to document Campeon's favorite activity we went to the park to shoot some film and take some pics. Couple of hours later, viola, the film was posted on FB (Facebook). I am not pleased with it but based on the amount of effort I put in it and capturing the herd in action, as they do so often, it is a worth to display movie.