Published in Senior Scene Magazine, July 2016, Page 22
U.S. Space Walk of Fame
Titusville, FL
GPS: 28.613792o, -80.804177o
Only a few steps separate the Apollo Walk of Fame and the Shuttle Walk of Fame. We hardly noticed passing from one to the other.
The Space Shuttle Program, officially The Space Transportation System (STS), ran from 1972 to 2011. The goal: "crewed orbital launch and reentry". The shuttle usually carried four to seven astronauts (though crews as small as two and as large as eight are recorded) and up to 50,000 pounds of payload. A total of 355 people representing sixteen countries traveled on the shuttle on 134 missions. There were two disasters in the program – Challenger (28 Jan 1986) and Columbia (01 Feb 2003).
The Space Shuttle Walk of Fame
There is a lot of heavy technical information here. One should not be in a hurry when visiting.
The Space Shuttle Monument was dedicated on Nov 1, 2014
We ended our day at the US Space Walk of Fame Museum, about a block away, at 308 Pine Street. There we saw America's history in space exploration on display by hundreds of artifacts, including photos, hardware, flight suits, shuttle tiles, space patches and pins, and other memorabilia from personal collections of space workers. The museum also features launch consoles from Launch Complex 36.
U.S. Space Walk of Fame Museum –308 Pine St, Titusville, FL
U.S. Space Walk of Fame Museum – Test Director’s Console Exhibit
U.S. Space Walk of Fame Museum – Early Space Suit Exhibit
Andrew went home with happy memories of his week in Florida. Now we are waiting to repeat the adventure this summer with his younger brother Joshua.
“Going Once! … Going Twice! … Sold! … Lot #35 for $3,300”.
Today, 02 April 2016, I spent most of the day in Titusville, attending the U.S. Space Walk of Fame Museum Charity Space Memorabilia Fund Raising Auction.
U.S. Space Walk of Fame Museum
Charity Space Memorabilia Fund Raising Auction
The Lunar Roll of Honor Capsule, an inscribed aluminum capsule intended to stay on the moon after the first landing, became Lot #35. Removed from the manifest after the Apollo I fire, it never made it onto another manifest. Eventually recovered from a scrap pile, today it sold for $3,300.
There were 200 lots of memorabilia — records, manuals, badges, patches – even a real Russian Space Helmet. On site were about a dozen bidders. Bidding over the internet were many more. The auction lasted from noon to early in the evening and raised a lot of money for the museum’s Space Walk Academy. The museum staff is planning more fund raising auctions in the future. There will be some item of space memorabilia just right for you or your grandchildren. Watch for the next auction.
Andrew is ten. John Glenn, the last surviving member of the original seven, still lives, and commercial space travel is in its infancy but very real. In my tenth year, Orville Wright was still alive, and commercial air travel was a fledgling industry with commercial jet powered airliners still more than a decade away (October 1958 with Pan American World Airways). I wonder if Andrew might find his way back here with his ten year old grandson. What will space travel be like then … and will this little park still be here?
Click here to see part 1
Click here to see part 2
Learn more at US Space Walk of Fame
Black Hills Wild Horse Sanctuary
Hot Springs, SD
GPS: 43.3129333o, -103.6058833o
Article published in Workamper News, July/August 2016, page 27
We are Bob and Michelle Hazlett of Titusville, FL. We have been workamping / volunteering for six years. Campground jobs are plentiful, and we have had a few of those. But what excites us is finding an unusual situation with interesting work and a flexible commitment – that usually means volunteering. This was one of the best and it was in South Dakota.
The Black Hills Wild Horse Sanctuary (BHWHS), an 11,000 acre sanctuary for rescued Mustangs, is just outside Hot Springs, SD on the southern edge of the Black Hills. The herd is over 500 horses rescued from many places, most from Bureau of Land Management land.
This workamping experience will go down as an "adventure of our lifetime". Ranching and horses was a different life for us. We had never done anything like it before. We found the horses, though wild, to be curious, playful, and friendly (at a distance). The ranch hands were hardworking and friendly with a great sense of humor. We city folks provided lots of material for their humor and we enjoyed the laughs too.
Our duties were primarily feeding and watering the horses. Bob also participated in ranch “fix-it” chores and Michelle worked in the Visitor Center Gift Shop and helped with bulk mailings. Feeding was done from a feed truck. We drove along a predetermined route through the mountains surrounding the ranch and deposited piles of feed at various locations. Watering was a similar task. Water troughs holding 400 gallons of water are situated at various locations in the mountains. We refilled them using a 300 gallon tank mounted on a pickup truck. In the heat of the summer, that became an almost continuing chore.
The ranch has a couple rental cabins. One was available for the long Labor Day weekend. So our son, his wife, and three boys joined us for a long weekend vacation. We took them out with us on the feed truck and let them interact with the horses. They still talk about that several years later. In the afternoon, we went a short distance to the Cascade Falls Swimming Hole for a refreshing dip in a real swimming hole. Be sure to check that out if you go there.
Mr. Dayton O. Hyde is the owner of the sanctuary. He recently celebrated his 95th birthday and has a long history as a rancher, rodeo cowboy, author, and conservation activist. Listening to his stories was an absolute delight and his sharp humor would often sneak up and grab you long after the joke was over. I love that.
Challenges came from the world of cyberspace. We had no problems with TV because we subscribe to Dish Network and my Tailgater antenna easily brought in the signal. Cell phone and internet were a different matter.
Our cell phones showed no bars at the ranch so we looked for a high spot. While making our rounds with the feed truck, I kept my cell phone on and watched the screen for some bars. Finally we found a spot on a hilltop where I got four bars. It was a beautiful location. We could see all the way to Wyoming. I named it "Four Bar Hill". From then on we stopped there every day to catch up on phone calls and voice mail.
For internet connection, we would go once a week into Hot Springs and spend most of the day in the library. Spending a day there was a pleasant respite from the ranch routine.
South Dakota is an expansive, sparsely populated midwestern state where rolling prairies give way to the dramatic Black Hills region in the western part of the state. The Missouri River flows south through the middle of the state. Dominant cities are Sioux Falls in the east and Rapid City in the west.
The Black Hills is home to two historical monuments carved right into towering granite peaks: Mt. Rushmore, the iconic depiction of four U.S. presidents, and Crazy Horse Memorial, a tribute to the legendary Native American tribal leader. And there is much more to see and do in the Black Hills region. This story is about workamping not touring so I can't do justice to any of these places in this short article. Let me just reel off some names. You can 'google' them on your own: Sturgis, Custer SP, Custer City, Wind Cave NP, Badlands NP, Wall Drug, Spearfish Canyon, Mammoth Site, Angostura Recreation Area (Cheyenne River), Cascade Falls Swimming Hole (43.319459, -103.563667).
Workamping isn’t just about working. It’s also about making memories. We made many that summer at the Black Hills Wild Horse Sanctuary.
Loading the feed truck with grandson
Black Hills Wild Horse Sanctuary entrance
Water Truck Holding 300 gallons
Workamper FHU RV site
Michelle bucket feeding horses with grandson Andrew
Cascade Falls swimming hole
Published in Senior Scene Magazine, June 2016, Page 22
U.S. Space Walk of Fame
Titusville, FL
GPS: 28.613792o, -80.804177o
Having spent a good bit of time in the Mercury section, we needed to move on to see the whole park before dark. A small lagoon separates Mercury and Gemini. Andrew and I walked the short distance around the lagoon to the Gemini Walk of Fame. Artistically, I like Gemini best. The only approach looks squarely up the walk with the Gemini Monument standing tall at the end against an unobstructed sky. The afternoon sun let the small markers cast shadows that made the walk seem even longer. The mission insignia atop the monument reflected the sunlight like a flashbulb.
Gemini Walk of Fame
Project Gemini, named for the twins in the constellation Gemini (Castor and Pollux), carried a crew of two and had several goals: Long-duration (14 days) spaceflight; space rendezvous and docking; extra-vehicular activity; targeted re-entry and landing. Over the life of the project (1961 – 1966), they flew two unmanned, and ten two-man missions, flown by sixteen astronauts – some from Mercury and others who would become famous in the Apollo program. Gemini was a busy project. While Mercury gets much of the glamor, Gemini did most of the work of teaching us how to work in space.
The Gemini Monument was dedicated on November 7, 1997
Simply cross Indian River Road to move from Gemini to Apollo. The Apollo Walk itself is comparatively short, with the monuments being four sided etched marble with some pretty detailed narrative on each face. The main monument sits at the center of the walk.
Project Apollo was the US program to land a man on the moon and return him safely. During the project (1961 – 1972), there were three unmanned, one tragedy (Apollo 1), and fourteen manned missions – including one near tragedy (Apollo 13). Nine missions traveled to the moon. Three astronauts crewed each. Thirty-two astronauts made up the pool assigned to the program.
We cannot capture the story of Project Apollo in a paragraph or two. “Land a man on the moon and return him safely.” Say that very slowly and try to grasp the magnitude of that simple sentence.
At 4:18 p.m. on July 20, 1969, I stood in front of my television and cried like a baby when I heard Neil Armstrong's voice say simply, "the Eagle has landed." With those words, Apollo 11 achieved the dream of our nation – expressed by President Kennedy in 1961 – to put humans on the Moon by the end of the decade. Some events are just so big; you can’t wrap words around them.
While Apollo 11 qualifies as a great event, Apollo 13 proved to be NASA’s finest hour. Riding on a wave of success, NASA suddenly faced a mission gone terribly wrong. Bringing Lovell, Swigert, and Haise back alive makes a story of heroism worth telling to every young person for many years to come.
The Apollo Walk of Fame
Groundbreaking for the Apollo Monument was held on July 16, 1999
at precisely 9:32 a.m. ET, exactly 30 years after the lift-off of Apollo 11
Neil Armstrong Handprints
I choked up recounting the Apollo stories to Andrew. I’m sure he didn’t understand, and we had the Shuttle section and the Museum yet to go.
Click here to see part 1
Click here to see part 3
Learn more at US Space Walk of Fame
Check out Senior Scene Magazine
Published in Senior Scene Magazine, May 2016, Page 22
U.S. Space Walk of Fame
Titusville, FL
GPS: 28.613792o, -80.804177o
"Who is John Glenn?” Andrew asked.
Sitting on a park bench looking out over the Indian River, the warm breeze brought us the smell of the brackish river water. Boat traffic plied the river and the Vehicle Assembly Building at Launch Complex 39 dominated the horizon on the far side. Even at nine and a half miles away, it is impressive.
"John Glenn was one of the first seven American astronauts. He was the first one to orbit the earth", I replied. NO! That's not enough – not nearly enough.
"Andrew, I am still alive!" I realized this great adventure is slipping into the history books. The space program was the most significant exploration since Lewis & Clark, and it happened in my lifetime, in my country. Those early days, beginning with Project Mercury were very real to me. A lot of bad stuff was going on in the US in the sixties, but the space program united us, and I was so proud to be an American.
Andrew, my ten-year-old grandson lives in Denver, CO, and was spending his spring break with us. On this day, we visited the US Space Walk of Fame in Titusville, FL.
The US Space Walk of Fame is an outdoor plaza in Titusville, FL honoring the astronauts and the NASA and contractor personnel who made American manned space exploration possible. It is the first and only Walk in the nation to pay tribute to the men and women behind the scenes as well as the astronauts.
No rockets or space capsules here. This understated park remembers the people. There are monuments and plaques; bronze handprints and marble pavement inserts. Well-placed benches invite visitors to pause, to rest, and to reflect on what is recorded here.
The park exists in five sections; Mercury, Gemini, Apollo, Shuttle, Museum. Andrew and I started our exploration where it all began – Project Mercury
Project Mercury Walk of Fame
We strolled along the walk, pausing at each of the marble pavers to recount the excitement the nation felt as we watched the missions unfold. Friendship 7 was special. Does anyone old enough not remember that day?
Marble Pavement Marker commemorating the first American orbital flight
I had a lump in my throat and a tear in my eye when astronaut Scott Carpenter gave Friendship 7 the sendoff "Godspeed, John Glenn" on Feb 20, 1962. Every engineer and technician across the nation prayed their part would perform flawlessly. It was as if we could wish John Glenn into orbit.
John Glenn Handprints
The Mercury Monument and mission plaques, with cast bronze hand prints
of six of the original seven astronauts, were dedicated on May 12, 1995.
The Mercury mission insignia was unveiled on May 23, 1997
As we left the Mercury section of the park, I asked “Andrew, do you now know who John Glenn is?” He smiled and nodded. “Let’s see what we can learn about the Gemini Project?”
Click here to see part 2
Click here to see part 3
Learn more at US Space Walk of Fame
Check out Senior Scene Magazine
Highlands Ranch, CO
Belt or Suspenders? Age old question. My answer is "both". Not at the same time, of course. I wear a belt with dress and casual pants, and I almost always wear suspenders with work jeans. They give me more freedom of movement and help avoid "plumber's butt".
During our Christmas visit with my son and his family, my youngest grandson Ben (oops, not anymore, he now has a younger brother, Daniel, age eight weeks) became fascinated with my suspenders that he called overalls. We had a discussion about the difference between suspenders, overalls, and coveralls. Having gotten that straight, Ben protested vehemently that he would NEVER wear suspenders!!! This protest repeated several times over the next few days. Finally, the challenge was on; "Me thinks thou dost protest too much". I got together with his two older brothers, and we hatched a plan. I would buy suspenders for all of them and then we would all wear them to church on Sunday. We would shame Ben into wearing them.
Shopping for boy's suspenders on the Saturday after a Friday New Year's Day was an unintended adventure. All the usual places had them available on–line, not so in the stores. At Wal–Mart, Target, JCPenney; the clerks looked at me like I was crazy. At Wal–Mart, I checked out adult suspenders, hoping they might be adjusted small enough to fit the boys. That idea didn't work.
I was being drawn in a direction I didn't want to go ... a shopping mall. I hate them and everything they represent, but occasionally a man must rise above his principles. Today was that kind of day. I soon found myself in Park Meadows Center, an upscale mall with all the overpriced department stores packed with their kind of people (those who pay extra to get torn jeans). I struck out at the anchor stores: Macy's, Nordstrom, Dillards. However a clerk at Macy's suggested I try the kid's store "Janie and Jack". I never heard of it but that means nothing. Of course, it was at the far end of the mall, and I was already a million miles away from my car. But this had become a quest, and I refused to quit.
At Janie and Jack, my query was rewarded with "Yes, what size?". What size??? Suspenders don't have sizes; they are adjustable! I was so happy to hear yes, I didn't care about the rest. So I bought one size 8-10, and two size 6-8.
I followed my trail of breadcrumbs back to my car and headed home. By now it was almost dark and my quick errand had turned into a full afternoon shopping expedition. When I got home, Ben was still away at a friend's house, but Andrew and Josh were home and eager to get on with this game. They had fun trying on their suspenders while waiting for Ben to return.
Ben was surprised and disappointed that I had gotten the suspenders. He thought I was joking. Protesting resumed but this time his brothers were wearing their suspenders and got all over him about being a wuss.
This morning we all got dressed for church wearing our suspenders. Sunday church dress is pretty casual here. I only had the one pair I brought from home. Adam wore a good looking pair that have been decorating the back of his dresser drawer for several years. Andrew and Joshua looked great in their new suspenders. So did Ben, but he fussed a lot.
The boys got the best of me, however. They attend Sunday school classes and do not accompany adults to church service. Being out of sight and out of reach, they just kept their jackets on.
Gramps, Joshua, Andrew, Ben, Adam
So here is the question. Why are suspenders plural?
Vail, CO
Did you ever notice that all mountain towns are long and skinny? Funny how that happens. Whenever we visit our son in Denver, we always have some kind of adventure into the Rocky Mountains. This time it was a weekend soccer tournament in Vail, Colorado.
I think of "Vail" as the umbrella name for the world famous winter ski area that encompasses several towns strung along I-70 in the Arapaho National Forest about 100 miles west of Denver, CO. These include Vail, Frisco, Silverthorne, Keystone, and Dillon to name a few. This was our first visit to the area. It is beautiful now in the summer and I can imagine what it must look like in the snow of winter. Our home for this weekend was a condo in Keystone graciously provided by long time friends Gail McGovney and Jodi and Tyler Sewell. Our special thanks to them for their hospitality.
In 1978, I bought a soccer ball for my kids. I had no idea what I was starting. Both my kids played the game. Amy (our daughter–in–law) played the game through college. My three grandsons (10,8,6) play the game. There are more soccer balls around their house than I can count. They are season ticket holders for the Colorado Rapids MLS team. They watch every game and the three boys know all the players and their stats. The word "fan" comes from the word "fanatic". These folks put the "atic" back in the word. It blows me away.
When Adam graduated high school in 1995, Michelle and I broke lock with soccer and watched it develop from a distance with only mild interest. That was 20 years ago and my how the sport has changed in those years. I doubt there are any kids reading this blog, so it will probably stretch your mind as it did mine.
This weekend I thought I was on a different planet. First off, this sport has become a fashion industry. No more white and black pentagon soccer balls. Now the colors and patterns are wild beyond imagination. As are the shoes, socks, and uniforms. I thought about the movie Back to the Future and mused about what it would be like for my grandson to go back 20 years and walk onto the field where his Mom and Dad played dressed in today's soccer garb. Would the reaction be stunned silence or would he be laughed off the field?
Then I was introduced to "Kick It 3v3" – an organization (and game) celebrating their 25th anniversary. Andrew and Joshua, our two oldest grandsons, played this weekend in the World Championships in Vail, CO. They each played multiple games on Friday, Saturday, and Sunday.
I'll describe this the best I can by blatantly stealing from their promotional material and referring you to their website.
Kick It is celebrating 25 years as the largest national grassroots soccer tour in the U.S., providing over 5 million kids and families with a fun, safe, healthy, experience. The game concept for 3v3 is: no goalies, high-scoring, fast movement, each player touches the ball constantly and learns the 3-player game. This concept helps each player move to the full-sided 11v11 game with confidence and skill. Using a small field and maximizing player touches, 3v3 teaches players the game of soccer within the game of soccer. Players leave each 3v3 session with a passion to learn more and play more.
Small teams—3-6 players per team, no certified coach necessary, families welcome, no club affiliation needed, quick starts with kick-ins, quick substitutions, lots of playing time. 3v3 soccer will create more touches per player, learn spacing / supporting shape, win 1v1 battles using support & balance from teammates, develop more confidence in attacking & defending, increase ball possession & build confidence in controlling the ball in tight spaces, enhance players’ speed of play, field vision, and field awareness. Games are 25 minutes long (two 12.5 minute halves) Kick It 3v3
This tournament was held at Ford Field in Vail (GPS: 39.640418, -106.365466) which is part of Ford Park. While searching Google for pictures of Ford field, I found a lot of Lacrosse photos. I guess the field is a favorite for Lacrosse tournaments as well.
Ford Park is home to Betty Ford Alpine Gardens (GPS: 39.639774, -106.364822) a botanical center with a wide variety of flowers and plants plus docent tours and children's programs.
The Betty Ford Alpine Gardens are the world's highest botanical garden, located in Vail, Colorado, USA, at an 8,200 feet altitude in the Rocky Mountains. The Gardens are open to the public daily from Memorial Day to Labor Day.
The Gardens were founded by Vail and Denver horticulturists in 1985, with subsequent planting of the Alpine Display Garden (1987), Mountain Perennial Garden (1989), Mountain Meditation Garden (1991), and the Alpine Rock Garden (1999) with its stunning 120-foot waterfall. Other gardens include the Children's Garden and Schoolhouse Garden. Together these gardens contain about 2,000 varieties of plants, including over 500 different varieties of wildflowers and alpine plants. Wikipedia
Several pictures of
The Betty Ford Alpine Gardens
Amy, Andrew, and Joshua went to Vail on Friday morning because the boys had Friday games. Michelle, Adam, Benjamin, and I made the trip at a more leisure pace on Saturday morning. A short distance out of Denver we were in the mountains and the views were spectacular for most of the drive.
We got there in time to see all four games (two each – Andrew and Joshua).
This is what a Kick It 3v3 Soccer Tournament looks like
I have an App on my phone that shows Munzees in the area. (What has that got to do with anything!!). The app showed a Munzee located in the Betty Ford Alpine Garden. So during a lull between games Joshua and I went on a Munzee search. No luck. The recorded coordinates were way off. We did get to walk through the garden which didn't interest Josh at all. So much for that attempt at bonding.
Bright sun and high altitude took their toll and by the end of the day we were whipped. But not so whipped that we couldn't stop for a great dinner at Dillon Dam Brewery in Dillon, CO (GPS: 39.627561, -106.060349).
We headed back to the condo. Adults wanted to go to bed but the boys were recharged by their dinner so some time in the pool was needed to wind them down again.
Sunday was bright and clear. Another great day for soccer at Ford Park. Both boys played in two more games. The final result was that Andrew's team finished third in his age group and Joshua's team finished fourth in his. A good time was had by all.
Most people piled into their cars and headed back to Denver creating the typical Sunday evening traffic jam. We elected to stay another night and travel on Monday morning. So we had time for another excellent dinner – this time at Ollie's Pub & Grub in Frisco.
A good dinner, more pool time, a good night's sleep, and head home Monday morning. Another adventure in the books.
Adam's Home
Highlands Ranch, CO
GPS: 39.557037, -104.950639
Travel Day 12 – Raton, NM to Highlands Ranch, CO
Yesterday and today were different than most of our travel days. Tricia and Ava were with us on the road with the Cougar. Yesterday they were apprehensive about the sleeping arrangements. I think we assuaged their concerns because they slept well.
We can accommodate two people overnight.
Any more – get a hotel
Travel today was a simple straight distance of 210 miles – through the Raton Pass then flat land to Denver with the landscape of the Rocky Mountains on the left all the way. It should have been less that four hours.
As we made our way north, we received several phone calls from Adam inquiring about our progress and telling us that the boys were participating in a soccer tournament in the afternoon and that he had tickets for all of us to attend a Colorado Rapids professional soccer game in the evening. So instead of heading to his house, which is south of Denver, we traveled to the tournament being held north of Denver.
We joined up in Broomfield after winding our way through downtown Denver on a Saturday afternoon. Lots of hugs and kisses as Ava and the boys got reacquainted having not seen each other in several years.
Ava and Joshua get reaquainted
Andrew played
Joshua played
Ben got involved whenever, wherever with anyone who would kick a ball with him
When they weren't playing, they were watching
Josh's team won third place.
Adam treated us to a nice dinner, then we headed to east Denver to Dick's Sporting Goods Park for an evening of professional soccer with the Colorado Rapids. Remember that we were still dragging the Cougar behind us, so I considered us still on the road.
Dick's Sporting Goods Park, Denver, CO
Major League Soccer is still a family thing
Finally, we did the last twenty–five miles back to Adam's house, arriving about 10 PM, and called this day "done". Our day, which was supposed to be 210 miles and four hours, turned out to be 277 miles and fifteen hours. I don't think anyone realized how tired Grandma and Gramps were. I don't remember going to bed.
