Archive | November, 2010
BRADFORD ANGIER
Known in the seventies by some as “Mr. Outdoors”, Bradford Angier along with his wife Vena authored and illustrated more than 35 books on topics ranging from foraging wild foods to several how-to’s on building your home in the woods. The couple left their home in the city in 1947 in search of a life reflecting Thoreau’s Walden-pond vision, and eventually restored an old prospector’s cabin with salvaged materials in Hudson’s Hope, BC. You can grab most any of their books at your local bookstore for next to nothing. Those covers on the old paperbacks are golden.
BLUE BLAZES
Snaking through America’s north woods, the North Country Trail will eventually stretch from Eastern New York State westward to North Dakota for more than 4,600 miles. Almost 3,200 of these miles are currently certified by the NCTA. As many as 10 thru-hikes have been recognized since it’s plan began in 1978. Due to the trail’s length, location, and orientation, it is necessary for thru-hikers to endure a good chunk of the northern state’s harsh, winter conditions. While just a baby in the shadow of the AT, this blue-blazed trail will eventually become the longest trail in the National Trails System. Nimblewill Nomad completed his thru-hike in 2009, nearing the end of his quest to hike all 11 National Scenic Trails.
Edward Abbey’s Car For Sale On Ebay
If you frequent this rag, you’ll know that there are two things that I post about rather often: Edward Abbey and the Grateful Dead. So when I found out that Edward Abbey’s 1975 Cadillac Eldorado convertible is being auctioned off on eBay and then saw that there was a Grateful Dead sticker on the back of the car, I was rather excited. It seems as though the car has seen a few owners (one of them being foolish enough to think that the license plate should read E ABBEY) and a few face lifts since Mr. Abbey passed, so who knows if the sticker was put on there by Ed himself. I highly doubt it, but holy hell would that have been cool.
More info:
Ed purchased this car on March 8, 1984 just after his 61st birthday and owned it through the end of his life. After sitting for a while, Ernie Bulow, a book collector and author purchased the car from Abbey’s widow and put on the New Mexico vanity plates “Hayduke”. In 1995, another book dealer, Tony Delcavo purchased the caddie and began to restore it including the present day vanity plates “E. Abbey” from the state of Colorado. Since 2008 the car has resided in Moab, UT and is being sold by Andy Nettell, book dealer and owner of Back of Beyond Books, a store dedicated to Ed’s memory.
Purchaser will also receive numerous original signed documents (including the original signed application for title from the state of Arizona) relating to this car. Included is also the 8-track tape player that Ed purchased for the car, but alas it no longer works and has been replaced with a slightly newer radio.
Proceeds from this sale will go to Confluence: A Celebration of Reading and Writing in Moab, now in its third year. See moabconfluence.org for more information on this festival whose first year was dedicated to Edward Abbey. We think Ed would appreciate his car funding a writers festival.
Edward Abbey’s 1975 Red Cadillac Eldorado Convertible can be yours! This 8 cylinder beast runs well and is sold as is. It has a new paint job and the previous owner replaced the ragtop and reupholstered the interior. New hood hinges are needed and various smaller items need some love, i.e. glove box knob has fallen off, interior aluminum strip is loose and back window is sticky. An issue in the electrical system sometimes drains the battery. The odomotor no longer works and the sun visors need attention. The top raises and lowers splendidly and I’ve had a hoot driving around Arches National Park with the top down. I’m sure Ed threw a few beer cans out while cruising.
MP3: Ed Abbey – Excerpt from “Freedom and Wilderness, Wilderness and Freedom”
Land Of The Free
“Here’s to the hearts of that cold, lonesome track,
To the life of the wanderlust … free.
To all who have gone and have never come back,
Here’s a tribute to you and to me.
With our feet in the dirt we’re the grit of the earth,
Heads a-ridin’ the heavens o’erhead.
And they won’t find a nickel of value or worth,
When our fortunes are tallied and read.
But no richer clan has there ever been known,
Since the times of all ruin and wrack;
Than those of us lost to the dust outward blown,
Who have gone and have never come back.”
Hacked
As many of you know, I’ve been hacked over the last couple of weeks and my posts in Google Reader are coming up as penis enlargement pill advertisements (!) and all that fun stuff. I’m not so wonderful at these kind of technical computer things, so myself and the Cold Splinters backend guru, Tim, are doing our best to get the problem fixed. Thanks for the emails and concerns, friends. Wish us (Tim) luck.
Take Pride In America
Take Pride In America is a 1987 video that seeks the American people’s help in reducing litter, vandalism, etc., in and around the national parks and public lands. Even more interesting is the video’s narrator, Lou Gossett Jr., who seems legitimately angry about the “bad people” who were, at the time, killing our bald eagles and filling our mountains with Diet Pepsi bottles. Watch it here.
Lesser Long-Nosed Bats
Although Organ Pipe Cactus has its share of insect-eating bats, it is the nectar-eating bats that are the true heroes of the night sky and the Sonoran Desert. They are the primary night pollinators of the saguaro and organ pipe cactus, which makes them very valuable to the Sonoran Desert Ecosystem.
When the night-blooming saguaro and organ pipe flowers first open, they emit a sweet, musky perfume. The bats seek out the source of this highly attractive odor. They poke their long noses deep into the tubular cactus flower reaching for the sweet nectar. Their long tongues lick up the syrup. When the bats emerge from the flowers, their heads are covered with pollen. As these feeding bats fly from flower to flower, they also pollinate the flowers. After the bats have their fill, they often seek a night roost, a place where they can rest, digest their meal and groom themselves. Throughout the night, the bats will leave these night roosting spots to feed again and again, often returning to the colony to check up on their “pups.”
You’re Sick Of Hanging Around And You’d Like To Travel
It’s a shame that Robert Hunter is so annoying to look at and listen to.
CHOUINARD EQUIPMENT FOR ALPINISTS
If anyone is willing to give a $550 “contribution” to Cold Splinters, let me know. Or if you’d like it for yourself, I suppose that’d be okay too. Good luck.
MP3: Muddy Waters and The Rolling Stones – I Can’t Be Satisfied
