Odds and ends

Yesterday afternoon went up in smoke. I went out at lunchtime to do errands, and the guy at the Costco gas station pointed out I had a nail in a tire. Since my tires are from Costco, I pulled around to the tire shop, where they said I had nails in both of my rear tires. They fixed one for free, but Costco claims they can't get the rims off of my passenger-side tires (a legacy of the inept dealership back in Indy), so I had to head across town to the Kia dealership. They charged, but it was only $18 - the bigger problem was the time that evaporated out of my day.

In the evening I took a gamble and machine-washed my daypack. I still haven't bought a new one yet, due to lack of funds, and my old one smelled pretty funky. I figured that there wasn't much to ruin if it didn't work out. (Packs aren't supposed to be washed.) I stopped short of machine-drying it, though. It came out just fine - and it smells much better.

The good news is, I do have work lined up for July, so I'll be financially sound this summer.

Hiking across SCRA

Watermelon
Originally uploaded by TheTurducken

Yesterday was my birthday, and to celebrate I organized a hike across the three gulfs that make up the South Cumberland Recreation Area. It's a 14.1-mile hike with trailheads that are a one-hour drive apart, so we ran this hike as a key swap. Our group started at Stone Door, hiked across the Connector Trail past Collins Gulf, down the South Rim Trail to Savage Gulf. The other group reversed this route. In the middle of the hike, the our groups met and swapped car keys.

It's a beautiful area, so the scenery was lovely, but the weather was brutal - about 90 with 90% humidity. A couple of hikers had the brilliant idea to bring a couple of watermelons on ice for after. This photo is of our group enjoying a post-hike treat.

Chugging along

PPI went off well last week, and now I'm diving back into analyzing gubernatorial election data, revising a manuscript, and chasing down institutions for participation in my dissertation. Right now I'm working at a coffeeshop - yes, I'm kind of broke, but a cup of coffee costs only twice what gas to campus does, and I get much better people-watching. The office has a sad, deserted feel in the summer.

North Chickamauga hike

Mountain man
Originally uploaded by TheTurducken

Yesterday we did a fabulous hike in scorching heat - the high was close to 100 degrees. The hike is pretty, but the real reason to do it is the swimming.

This segment of the Cumberland Trail follows a creek that has several swimming holes along the way. Locals tend to prefer the spots closest to the parking lot. The upside (and downside) of these spots is that anyone can get there. We out-of-towners instead head four miles to Green Hole, which we then have pretty much to ourselves. The water is refreshing, and there is an excellent rope swing. (Note: There is a hornet nest on a tree right at the nexus of the trail and the water. So don't go grabbing or disturbing the tree!) We spent quite a while swinging, floating, and generally frolicking.

This time we weren't quite alone; a local trail runner showed up and we co-opted him. He proved handy later, as we shall see.

After swimming, a small group of us headed .5 miles farther to the Stevenson Branch campsite. It is a very nice campsite, but the trail is really just a series of blazes and not worth hiking to just to hike. It took much longer than one would anticipate. As we went along, we found the smoldering remains of a campfire. Geniuses had tried to burn plastic and then not put their fire out completely. That's sheer laziness; the water was only 25 feet away. Our new friend showed proved his worth by getting water and smothering the remains.

What with the swimming and the extra bit, not to mention post-hike pizza, it was quite a long day. I would suggest, if you do this hike, not going to Stevenson Branch, and instead using that time to hop into one of the local's swimming holes as you near the end of the hike.

Jobs

Central Michigan University: Assistant Professor in Educational Administration.