Branson, MO – 2012
We spent 3 nights at Branson, MO and enjoying a nice variety of shows. We saw the Pressleys’ Country Jubilee, New Shanghai Circus (Acrobats of China), and Kirby Vanburch, the world’s largest magic show. Unfortunately, you’re not allowed to take photos during any of those performances so the photo album of our visit to Branson, MO consists of our lunch cruise on the Showboat Branson Belle, some sightseeing, and a brief tour of the area on one of those Duck cruises.
Petrified Forest National Park – 2012
Visited the Petrified Forest National Park after we left the Grand Canyon National Park.
Petrified Forest was set aside as a national monument in 1906 to preserve and protect the petrified wood for its scientific value. It is recognized today for having so much more, including a broad representation of the Late Triassic paleo-ecosystem, significant human history, clear night skies, fragile grasslands ecosystem, and unspoiled scenic vistas.
Petrified wood at Petrified Forest National Park is almost solid quartz, weighing in at 168 pounds per cubic foot. It’s so hard, you can only cut it with a diamond tipped saw!
Grand Canyon National Park visit 2012
We woke up at the Grand Canyon to a wonderful surprise … 4 inches of snow!
When we arrived it was cold and windy but there was nothing on the ground. We even saw a couple of elk feeding on the side of the road. But in the morning Mother Nature greeted us with a blanket of pure white. Click on RV Park link to see.
After checking the weather report we decided to enter the park to experience some wonderful scenery. We’ve visited the Grand Canyon in the past but nothing like this. Here’s a link to our Grand Canyon visit.
First Dolly Vardens
No, I didn’t say Dolly Parton … I said Dolly Varden !!
Young Dolly Varden have eight to ten, wide, oval blotches or parr marks contrasting with the mottled olive-brown color of their body. The sea-run fish are silvery with an olive-green to brown color on the dorsal surface and numerous red to orange spots on their sides. As spawning season approaches, the mature males become brilliant red on the lower body surface, and the lower fins become reddish-black with a white leading edge. Mature females are similar, but are less brightly colored. Males develop an extended lower jaw called a kype, which hooks upward and fits into a groove in the upper jaw. A kype also forms in the females, but is considerably less developed.
Dolly Varden belong to a group of trout-like fish called char (Salvelinus sp). The primary visual distinction between char and trout and salmon are that char have light spots on their dark body sides while trout and salmon usually have black spots on their light colored sides.
Dolly Varden have a dark history in Alaska that lasted from 1921 through 1939. During this time it was believed that Dolly Varden preyed heavily on commercially important and valuable young salmon. A bounty ranging from 2 to 5 cents was paid for each Dolly Varden tail turned into officials. It was thought that by eliminating Dolly Varden as a species the survival of juvenile salmon populations would greatly increase. It is now known this idea was totally erroneous as Dolly Varden are not highly predatory and were never responsible for any decline in salmon populations. However, 6 million tails were turned in for payment before the program ended in 1939, when 20,000 of the tails submitted for payment turned out to be mostly from Coho salmon.
Alaska Baseball League
Just got home at 11:30 PM local time here in Kenai, Alaska from watching a double header between the Kenai Peninsula Oilers and the Matsu Valley Miners. The game ended at 11:15 PM after 13 innings in the second game. When they play a double header they start the first game at 5 PM and only play 7 innings. The first game lasted 9 innings and the second lasted 13 innings. There are no lights at the fields but it was still light enough outside to play ball at 11 PM. It’s great.
The level of play in this league is top notch. They’re all first rate players from Universities and Colleges across the nation. Many of the players just got finished playing in the College World Series and are invited to play in the league. The Kenai Oilers for example have won 3 National Baseball Conference (NBC) World Series. There are multitudes of players in the majors, past and present, that have played in the Alaska Baseball League. These young men can play baseball !!
Yesterday we were treated to a 7 inning no hitter. It was the second game of a scheduled 7 inning double header. The Oiler pitcher had a perfect game going for 6 1/3 innings before he walked a batter. He wound up walking 2 men while going on to pitch the 7 inning no hitter.
Our friends in Kenai, AK host one of the ball players, Ryan Gebhart who plays for the University of Missouri, and their son Dennis Machado coaches the Kenai Peninsula Oilers. Dennis is the coach right now at California State Bakersfield. Gotten used to watching first class baseball at low prices. The box seats are $6, bleachers seats are $4, and the beer garden is $2. Having sat in the box seats I think I like the $2 beer garden seats. The seats are on the 3rd base side right after the visiting dugout. It’s great seats and you’re right on top of the action. The great beer on tap is from a local micro brewery and only costs $5 for 16 oz. And the weather? Well back home in Ripon, CA it was around 100 degrees … here it was in the low 60s.