Cold Splinters

MP3: Joan Baez – Farewell, Angelina

Cold Splinters turned two a few weeks ago and this very post marks the 800th time I’ve gone looking for a somber, washed out old photo. Two years and 800 dedications to the great outdoors seems like a hell of a lot to me, so thanks in advance to anyone who makes me some lemon or peanut butter cookies to celebrate. Or if you’d like, you could make a replica of the campfire cake above, but I’m not much of a cake type of guy. Pick your poison.

Thanks for being around. And the theme song…

MP3: Allen Toussaint – Out of the City (Into Country Life)

Y’all, I’ve gotten several emails in the past couple of days asking where your Cold Splinters stickers are. Many apologies for the delayed shipping on these. The sticker company I used is run by a bunch of SUPER nice idiots who love to either send me poor quality stickers or send said poor quality stickers to the wrong address. Add that to a week long trip I just got back from and you have yourselves some pretty poor excuses on my part.

Anyway, they’ll be there soon. Mid-next week. I promise. And if you still want to order one or two or three, you can send $3 to coldsplinters@gmail.com on Paypal.

MP3: Roy Orbison – Only The Lonley

If you haven’t stopped by Old Chum today, this week, or ever, you should do that asap. And if you’re in Vancouver, go poke your head in Mr. Old Chum’s new store, The Old Faithful Shop.

That forest ranger with her dog just about kills me.

Over the past few years, the cross on Sunrise Rock in Mojave National Preserve has been at the center of a rather ridiculous lawsuit. The ACLU has been trying to get the cross taken down citing the ol’ separation of church and state. On April 28, the Supreme Court ruled the cross did not violate the constitutional separation of church and state.

Unfortunately, the 7-foot-tall metal structure was stolen Sunday night from Sunrise Rock. The Liberty Institute is now offering a $25,000 reward for information leading to the arrest and conviction in the case, and the National Park Service has established a tip hotline seeking information leading to the recovery of the cross. Anyone with information is asked to contact the Park Service at (760) 252-6120.

The Latin cross was first erected in 1934 by a local Veterans of Foreign War unit. It has been rebuilt several times over the years, and Easter services are held annually at the remote desert site.

More info at FOX News.

MP3: Carl Perkins – Gone Gone Gone

Biologists have recently stumbled upon an enormous beaver dam, over a half mile long, in a remote region of Wood Buffalo National Park in Alberta, Canada. The biologists believe it may have taken 20 years to complete, with several beaver families all helping to pile its wood, mud, and stone. It dwarfs a 1,956 foot dam in Montana previously thought to be the largest. The dam was able to reach such a massive size because multiple beaver families contributed to its construction, which required thousands of trees to produce. More info at Treehugger.

MP3: Hot Tuna – How Long Blues

When talking about Glacier (see below), it’s impossible not to mention the Blackfoot. The Blackfoot had a territory that stretched from the North Saskatchewan River along what is now Edmonton, Alberta in Canada, to the Yellowstone River of Montana in the United States, and from the Rocky Mountains and along the South Saskatchewan River, east past the Cypress Hills.

Fast forward a little bit…In 1896, the Blackfoot sold a large portion of their land to the American government with hopes of finding gold or copper, but found nothing. In 1910, the land they sold officially became known as Glacier National Park. Today, many of the Blackfoot live on reserves in Canada. About 8,500 live on the 1,500,000 acre Montana reservation.

Way more information here.

MP3: Young Grey Horse Society – Grass Dance Song*

When I made a sheet of eight “Good Ol’ Cold Splinters” stickers a few weeks ago, I certainly didn’t think that anyone would want one. But when I mentioned that I had put one on the back of my car, I got a lot of emails asking for one. After debating whether or not I should actually offer them up (making a sticker that says the name of your blog is a little, well, ya know….) I’ve decided to make a few 3″ round stickers if you really want one. Which I’m sure you do…

Send $3.00 on PayPal to coldsplinters@gmail.com and I’ll get one out to you. Enjoy it. Send me a picture if you actually stick it somewhere.

MP3: The Black Crowes – Sometimes Salvation

In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth. And the earth was without form, and void; and darkness was upon the face of the deep. And the Spirit of God moved upon the face of the waters.

And God said, Let there be light: and there was light. And God saw the light, that it was good: and God divided the light from the darkness. And God called the light Day, and the darkness he called Night. And the evening and the morning were the first day.

And God said, Let there be a firmament in the midst of the waters, and let it divide the waters from the waters. And God made the firmament, and divided the waters which were under the firmament from the waters which were above the firmament: and it was so. And God called the firmament Heaven. And the evening and the morning were the second day.

And God said, Let the waters under the heaven be gathered together unto one place, and let the dry land appear: and it was so. And God called the dry land Earth; and the gathering together of the waters called he Seas: and God saw that it was good. And God said, Let the earth bring forth grass, the herb yielding seed, and the fruit tree yielding fruit after his kind, whose seed is in itself, upon the earth: and it was so. And the earth brought forth grass, and herb yielding seed after his kind, and the tree yielding fruit, whose seed was in itself, after his kind: and God saw that it was good. And the evening and the morning were the third day.

And God said, Let there be lights in the firmament of the heaven to divide the day from the night; and let them be for signs, and for seasons, and for days, and years: And let them be for lights in the firmament of the heaven to give light upon the earth: and it was so. And God made two great lights; the greater light to rule the day, and the lesser light to rule the night: he made the stars also. And God set them in the firmament of the heaven to give light upon the earth, And to rule over the day and over the night, and to divide the light from the darkness: and God saw that it was good. And the evening and the morning were the fourth day.

And God said, Let the waters bring forth abundantly the moving creature that hath life, and fowl that may fly above the earth in the open firmament of heaven. And God created great whales, and every living creature that moveth, which the waters brought forth abundantly, after their kind, and every winged fowl after his kind: and God saw that it was good. And God blessed them, saying, Be fruitful, and multiply, and fill the waters in the seas, and let fowl multiply in the earth. And the evening and the morning were the fifth day.

And God said, Let the earth bring forth the living creature after his kind, cattle, and creeping thing, and beast of the earth after his kind: and it was so. And God made the beast of the earth after his kind, and cattle after their kind, and every thing that creepeth upon the earth after his kind: and God saw that it was good. *

Above: My Earth Day pin from 1990.

I have looked through a lot of old books about camping, the outdoors, etc., and I have yet to find any that are as good looking as the Time-Life: American Wilderness series. Pictures and writing are both wonderful. (Ed Abbey edited the “Cactus Country” edition.) The best part about these book is that they’re not too hard to find at your local thrift/used book shop, but if you’re not near one of those, go on over to your favorite online auctioneer and pick a few out.

Y’all have some of these? Got a favorite?