• Lil’ friend

    Lil’ friend — Piney Creek Wilderness, Missouri. Copyright © 2024 Gary Allman, all rights reserved.

    Unlike all the other Harvestmen in the area who were busy doing their harvestman things, this one chose to come and sit by me for an hour while we watched the rain fall.

    Lil’ friend — Unlike all the other Harvestmen in the area who were busy doing their harvestman things, this one chose to come and sit by me for an hour while we watched the rain fall. Piney Creek Wilderness, Missouri. Copyright © 2024 Gary Allman, all rights reserved.
  • Cue the ‘Twilight Zone’ music…

    Now how did this get here? Piney Creek Wilderness, Missouri. Copyright © 2024 Gary Allman, all rights reserved.

    Last night, stumbling around in the dark, my headlamp picked out a glint in the rocks that make up the campfire surround. When I went to investigate, I found a Pilot pencil, just like the one I lost in February some 2½ miles away near the stock pond on the Lake Trail.

    Cue the Twilight Zone music.

    The only reasonable explanation is that someone who read this blog found it and very kindly put it here.

    Thank you! It was a bit spooky finding it in the dark like that. Send me a message if you read this!

    It case you’re thinking, ‘Nah, he just dropped it there.’ Nope. I was writing notes in my trail journal on the way out, and the last entry was for reaching the stock pond:

    1549 @Stock Pond

    With an extra note (added later):

    — Lost my mechanical Pencil — it wasn’t in my journal when I got to the TH.

    Now I’ve got to work out how to get the dent out of it where someone — probably me — maybe trod on it where I dropped it on the trail.

  • The view from my hammock. Piney Creek Wilderness, Missouri

    The view from my hammock. Piney Creek Wilderness, Missouri. Copyright © 2024 Gary Allman, all rights reserved.
  • Rainbow at sunset. Piney Creek Wilderness, Missouri

    Rainbow at sunset. Piney Creek Wilderness, Missouri. Copyright © 2024 Gary Allman, all rights reserved.
  • Sunset at Piney Creek Wilderness, September 2024

    Sunset at Piney Creek Wilderness. Copyright © 2024 Gary Allman, all rights reserved.
  • Back at my Lakeside Retreat

    Back at my Lakeside Retreat. Piney Creek Wilderness, Missouri. Copyright © 2024 Gary Allman, all rights reserved.

    We arrived home on a Tuesday from our UK trip jet-lagged and bone-tired after a busy month away. That Thursday, we had a house full of visitors to feed and entertain, and then catching up with work, both domestic and business. Lanie had done a great job house-sitting, which made life easier. Except, maybe, that one time she forgot to disarm the alarm, resulting in my phone going into panic mode at 3 a.m. in the UK. We’ll write that off as a successful test of the alarm and the monitoring company.

    By the time we’d been back for a week, Ginger was insisting on “At least five days on my own.” and I was ready for some lakeside R&R. Nothing for it but to head out on the trails then!

    I planned to leave on Thursday, spend five nights camped at my favorite spot by Table Rock Lake, and come home in time for dinner on the following Tuesday. The forecast was a bit variable, with, shock, some light rain in the forecast Friday and Saturday. Checking the lake level online, it was about one foot higher than when I was last there in February, so that’s fine. The only puzzle I had was how to cram five-and-a-half days’ worth of food into my pack, especially as since I’ve been exercising regularly, I’ve been eating like a teenager!

    And so it was, that after a morning spent cramming food into my food sack, I left for the drive down to the Pine View Tower Trailhead at Piney Creek Wilderness. I arrived at the Trailhead at one-forty-five, and by three-fifteen I was at the campsite, feeling quite hot. The portion of the ‘Farm Track Trail’ I refer to as ‘Shelobs Lair’ lived up to its name. I was covered in strands of spider webs.

    I met one other person on the way in. He was camped on the lake shore near the tree line at the western end. When I checked the next day he had moved on. And that was the only person I saw the entire trip (bar a couple of people fishing out in the middle of the lake).

    I have a very strange expression in the above picture. And yes, that’s another new hat I’m wearing (the inexpensive Outback hat I bought in 2020 couldn’t keep its shape, so I bought a better one).

    My expression reminded me of something, and yes, after a bit of research, it seems very reminiscent of me when I was 4-5 years old, way back in the last century. Someone give that kid an Outback hat!

    Gary — A cheeky chappie sometime back in the (very) early sixties.
  • Welcome to Eastney Beach (and some trip stats)

    Day Thirty-two

    Welcome to Eastney Beach. Copyright © 2024 Gary Allman, all rights reserved.

    No trip back home to Portsmouth would be complete without a visit to the beach at Eastney — Ginger was getting her nails done, and I spent an hour on the beach and even went for a swim.

    It’s a shame the sign was so highly reflective. I could probably edit the reflection out, but it is not worth the effort.

    Our time here is winding down, earlier today we returned the rental car, and we fly back to the US in three days. It seems I didn’t take any pictures of our trip to Edinburg or Glasgow (I did take a lots of our event in Glasgow, but I’m not putting those here). So, this is the last picture I have apart from some family pictures, which again, I’ll not be publishing.

    Some Stats

    • Spent lots of time with family.
    • Held three business events.
    • Drove over 2,000 miles.
    • Walked over 75 miles (including over 40 miles in two days in Edinburg & Glasgow).
    • Watched a show on the Edinburg Fringe.
    • I swam in the sea (makes a change from Table Rock Lake).
    • Spent more nights in hotels (17) than we originally budgeted.
    • Blowing my own horn, I ran 34 miles over 13 runs — the shortest 2.32 miles at RSPB Fairburn Ings (Selby), and longest, 2.92 miles at Folkstone.

    And that’s it for our 2024 UK visit.

  • Selby Abbey – North Transept window

    Selby Abbey – North Transept window. Selby, North Yorkshire. Copyright © 2024 Gary Allman, all rights reserved.
  • Rood screen detail — Selby Abbey

    Rood screen detail — Selby Abbey. Selby, North Yorkshire. Copyright © 2024 Gary Allman, all rights reserved.
  • Selby Abbey with visiting German choir

    Selby Abbey with visiting German choir — Being here took me back to my days working for The Diocese of West Missouri. Copyright © 2024 Gary Allman, all rights reserved.

    Having been taking pictures inside churches for a long time now, I’m no longer surprised at how ‘un-straight’ and misaligned things often are. Sometimes, it’s just the Altar Guild not ensuring the cross is centered, but often, major installations — such as the altar itself — are a few inches out or the whole building, the chancel in Christ Episcopal Church, Springfield, is a great example — the chancel was built separately and is six or more inches out of line with the nave).

    Why do I bring this up? Well, if you look up in Selby Abbey, there’s a clear misalignment with the chancel doglegging to the south (right) of the picture relative to the nave. At first, when I noticed it in the picture, I thought it was lens distortion, but, I checked with my own eyes. Sure, enough I couldn’t get things to line up.

    For the picture I aligned the top of the cross on the rood screen with the center line of the chancel roof. Notice how I am way off to the left of the aisle from my vantage point near the back of the nave.

  • Selby Abbey, stained glass window

    Selby Abbey — is a former Benedictine abbey and current Anglican parish church in Selby, North Yorkshire. . Copyright © 2024 Gary Allman, all rights reserved.
  • Selby Abbey, South Transept window. Selby, North Yorkshire

    Selby Abbey, South Transept window. Selby, North Yorkshire. Copyright © 2024 Gary Allman, all rights reserved.
  • Selby Abbey, North Transept

    Day Thirty

    Selby Abbey, North Transept — is a former Benedictine abbey and current Anglican parish church in Selby, North Yorkshire. Copyright © 2024 Gary Allman, all rights reserved.

    Selby Abbey is a former Benedictine abbey and current Anglican parish church in Selby, North Yorkshire.

    Yesterday, we drove down from Glasgow to Selby, taking a route across the Pennines that we had not taken before. The scenery was wonderful, but we didn’t stop for pictures, we just enjoyed the view as we drove through.

    Today we met up with another of Ginger’s community members, and while they chatted I took some pictures of Selby Abbey. Well, actually, they chatted the day through, and I left them to it, went back to the hotel, and went out for a run at RSPB Fairburn Ings. 🙂 Tomorrow, we head back to Portsmouth.

  • Curtain — Netherwood Hotel & Spa

    Curtain — taken for no other reason than I liked the texture and the light. Copyright © 2024 Gary Allman, all rights reserved.
  • Lounge — Netherwood Hotel & Spa

    Lounge — Netherwood Hotel & Spa, Grange-over-Sands, Cumbria. Copyright © 2024 Gary Allman, all rights reserved.

    I liked the light, colors, and ambiance of this room.

  • Lounge — Netherwood Hotel & Spa

    Lounge — Netherwood Hotel & Spa, Grange-over-Sands, Cumbria. Copyright © 2024 Gary Allman, all rights reserved.

    I liked the light, colors, and ambiance in this room.

  • Heysham Nuclear Power Station

    Heysham Nuclear Power Station. Quite blurry, but it is eleven miles away. I’ve spent a lot of time there. Copyright © 2024 Gary Allman, all rights reserved.

    I had to laugh when I saw this on the horizon from our room. This seems to be the trip of the nuclear power stations Gary has worked for/visited. And yes, I spent quite a lot of time there, and at its sister station south of Hartlepool on the East Coast.

    Heysham Nuclear Power Station. Quite blurry, but it is eleven miles away. I’ve spent a lot of time there. Copyright © 2024 Gary Allman, all rights reserved.
  • Morning run at Grange-over-Sands — the return leg

    Morning run at Grange-over-Sands — the return leg, with the railway station caught in a shaft of sunlight. Copyright © 2024 Gary Allman, all rights reserved.

  • Morning run at Grange-over-Sands

    Day Twenty-five

    Morning run at Grange-over-Sands. Copyright © 2024 Gary Allman, all rights reserved.

    From the Netherwood Hotel along the entire length of the promenade and back was just over two and a half miles. Just right for my morning run.

    Of my various morning runs, in order I enjoyed Folkestone, Grange-over-Sands, and Southsea seafronts the most. Brighton seafront was very run down, which became obvious once I reached Hove, where there seemed to be some significant investment in sprucing up the promenade.

    My Farlington runs were in suburban streets, so not a lot to write home about. My only other run was at the RSPB Fairburn Ings (near Selby, Yorkshire). It was densely wooded with limited views, and it was just a bit meh. I didn’t go for a run in Glasgow — it was always raining, and anyway, we walked over forty miles while we were there, so I think I’m excused.

    Morning run at Grange-over-Sands. Copyright © 2024 Gary Allman, all rights reserved.
  • Netherwood Hotel & Spa, Grange-over-Sands, Cumbria

    Day Twenty-four

    Netherwood Hotel & Spa, Grange-over-Sands, Cumbria. Copyright © 2024 Gary Allman, all rights reserved.

    We are here for a couple of well-earned rest days before heading to Glasgow, and our final business event.

    The weather cleared up over the course of the morning. Ginger spent most of the day writing, and in the evening, we went up into Grange-over-Sands to seek a real seaside fish and chip shop. Mission accomplished, we ate our fish and chips sitting on the promenade, getting back to the hotel just as it started raining again.