Big Red's last Hurrah

Affectionately known as
 Big Red

I can't tell you how many trips we have taken in Big Red, our 1996 Tahoe (30 years old) but,  I can tell you she has a big mechanical heart... or as many mechanics would say, "they just don't make them like this anymore." How true- right down to her last adventure on the last stretch of another 4,000 mile camping trip, in 103 degree heat in Yuma at 10:00 am, and while taking the off-ramp, she shuttered violently... I think she was saying, "pay attention... this could be it"... as we glided into the service station......... 

ONE

When we started the trip, July of 2025, all my friends, and mechanic said I was crazy driving her around the Western mountain ranges which have roads up to 12,000', and screaming hot deserts in-between, but I figured if she passed along the way we would just saddle up and find a rental and wander back home. We started big --right through the Mojave desert to Las Vegas to go see the Michael Jackson's, "One" (show) playing at the Mandalay Hotel on the strip. 

There is Hot and then there is HOTTER... but we made good time through the desert, and made it there by 1pm, a good start. After playing in the so called wave pool (over crowded with baby waves which were disappointing), we headed off to dinner at the Superfrico restaurant at the Cosmopolitan Hotel. After dinner, we took a fun walk down the strip back to the Mandalay Bay. We were all set for the show...3rd row seats, didn't want to miss anything. 

"The One"

Missed my calling

From the get go this was one of the most phenomenal shows I have ever seen, put on by Cirque de Soleil with a twist of chinese acrobats performing breaking bone defying feats. The music perfectly coordinated told a story of his incredible life, from his days with the Jackson 5 all the way to: "This is it" a documentary, capturing his final performances getting ready for 50 straight sold out performances in London, prior to his earthly departure. This album produced one of his most iconic songs: "The Earth Song,"still played by symphonies around the world. The high flying acrobats flew high over our heads on wires, and then free fell (no wires) bouncing and twisting up the sides of 3 a story scaffolding from the                                                       embedded trampolines on the stage. 

My current favorite song was performed, (most people are not familiar with it), "They don't care about us." The song is about hatred and apathy.. which is so true in our society today where states, families and acquaintances, are "Divided," not "United." More to the point, we are more like the "UN-UNITED STATES."  In one of the final acts MJ seems to appear out of electronic thin air (hologram), firing sparks through his fingertips and singing, "Wanna be Startin' Somethin,"how they do that??. Full of musical wonder, we drifted to the 43rd floor of the Mandalay Bay for a drink at the Foundation Room to commemorate the first day of the beginning of a new adventure. Peering down at the lighted colorful city, we thought about all the hidden stories behind the saying, "What happens in Vegas, stays in Vegas."

Secluded beach

Heading off to Wyoming to see the Grand Tetons; we found it lived up to its name from the get go. We decided to camp for an entire week at the Colter Bay campground recommended by my friend, Mark Embree. The first night we hiked 300 feet down to Jackson lake below, bushwhacking along the way. We ran into a couple of young men who said they got freaked out and turned around. But as quasi experienced hikers, we said what the heck and forged on. Near the bottom of the forest, and after a 8 foot drop we found the perfect secluded beach. Scampering down, we were rewarded with a buff swim and the grandeur of the Tertons in front of us. 

boat ride to Elk island

The Grand Tetons are the youngest of the major mountain ranges in the US. They formed around 10 million years ago by fault shifting (compared to 400 mya for the Appalachians). There is of course glacial loss, just like everywhere else. There are 5 glaciers that flank Mt. Moran. These glaciers formed during the a cooling period called the "little ice age" that ended around 1850 AD. Over the past 40 years they have shrunk around 20% with our changing climate. 

Mt. Moran with shrinking 
glaciers

One of the highlights while staying there, was the all inclusive dinner package boat ride across Jackson Lake onto Elk island. On the boat ride over, we had a wonderful tour guide who told us some interesting facts about the Teton range. The Grand Teton peak is the centerpiece of the teton range, at 13,600' (Mt. Moran is 12,500'). The fastest time climbing it was 2 hours and 54 min. (are they crazy or what). Normally, it requires a guided trip 5 to 6 days to summit. Not to mention, is habituated by grizzly bears who can eat 10,000 berries in one day, and being omnivores, they love left over caribou, and dig for roots. 

Grand Teton peak and Cascade
valley on the left

Time to do some hiking, and as you can see from this topo map there are lots of trails following the various canyons. 

Cascade Canyon hike

We headed out across a lake Jenny on a ferry boat and then started hiking up Cascade Canyon following the valley toward the Grand Teton peak. You really can't see the peak until the very end, but the valley walls along the way our show stoppers. Seeing some moose up close (come to find out moose inflict more injuries than grizzlies-mostly because there are more mossees) and following the river made for a scenic and invigorating hike. 

Bull moose sighting

Yellowstone National Park, Grand Teton NP, and the National Elk Reserve all combined, form the largest intact temperate-zone ecosystem on the planet  (close to 20 million acres). The perfect combination of wildlife corridors and mountains; with the cooperation of 2 different states- Wyoming and Montana to protect our larger animals: like the grizzly bears, moose, elk and wolves.

Greater Yellowstone
Ecosystem

Jackson Hole, once the quiet little western town is now congested with overtourism. It was a sleepy cool little town back in the 1980s during my first visit. This time, we decided to pay tribute to the Million Dollar Bar where they have saddles for bar seats. We went in and stood by the bar for a good 15 min... no service so we walked out, what a disappointment, and we were really thirsty too!

Elk horn arch in Jackson Hole

They still have the great Elk horn arch located in the center of the city. The Elks shed their  horns every year, which are collected and sold to support the Boy Scouts.

Next, we ventured for today's version of the"wild west ride," seeking the thrills of the Cowboy Coaster. Always a rush soaring down the mountain while trying not to use the breaks. 

Cowboy Coaster

Well, it was time to leave the Jackson Hole area and Big Red was getting an itch for some off-roading. We ventured to the so called "short cut" near Dubois, over Union Pass, at about 9,000 + feet. (if you look on a typical map this road doesn't exist). We quickly got lost since there were no signs and it was supposed to be a 40 mile dirt road that would shave off a few hours of transit to Pinedale, that passed through the Wind River Range. We were standing in the middle of nowhere and scratching our heads, and looking at a disorienting BLM sign, when up drives our savior. A semi-old codger (probably living out of truck) with a camper on top and his dog, Butch. Loraine sprinted over to his truck and explained that we were lost and asked if any of these roads go towards Pinedale, WY. He said "yep, just follow that one dirt road there for about 3 more hours and you will come across a T turn, turn right and go another 1 hour or so. Turns out, this "short cut" added about 4 hours to our drive! It was nothing but washboard, giant boulders, trenches and potholes. I figured at any minute Big Red was going down for good, but somehow she held it together to our amazement. But there was a bright spot along the way. We stopped for lunch at the top of picturesque expansive pass along a creek which seemed to come out of the sky, since we thought we were already at the highest spot. 

The tippy top of Union Pass,
9,000' +

Sacred Rim trail 
lookout

Turns out it was all worth the 30 minute lunch break in this breathtaking scenery. After finally reaching Pinedale, we cleaned up at the local Best Western and did some wash. The following day, we took what was supposed to be a 5 star Sacred Rim hike along the Wind Range in the Bridger Wilderness area. Turned out, we got lost again and ended up mostly climbing over fallen logs, and dodging branches covered with mushy mosses. But the means was worth the end, the billowing clouds began to drip rain on us as we came to the lookout point and discovered another epic view. I would give it about a 2 stars for the trail and 5 stars for the final view, worth the drive up.

6 Million Dollar Band

STEAMBOAT SPRINGS: On our way to Aspen,  I thought Loraine would really enjoy a spa day at the rock laden Strawberry natural hot springs in Steamboat Springs. I had visited the rock laden pools while skiing many years ago, but it was all in the dark and snowing (quite the experience). So we stopped there for a couple of days, and did some bike riding and heard a great band called the 6 Million Dollar Band at the local ski resort. We forgot to make reservations for the Strawberry Hot Springs which proved to be a BIG mistake!  So, "no way Jose!" Of course, if you wanted to grease the teenage kids who sold the tickets, and bring them dinner, cookies (suggested by the receptionist at the hot springs), they would probably find a way to let you in. We decided to take a pass, since we didn't want to support that kind of a business practise. 

Yampa river creek  
bike ride

Rafters along the Yampa river

Aspen, Colorado: Never been there, and have heard of it forever, mostly from a skiing point of view. It was the home to one of the US National championships in 1941, and hosted the first alpine ski racing outside of Europe in 1950. 

View from the top of 
the Gondola

This mountain city sits at 8,000,' and is nestled in-between some staggering mountain peaks. We took a gondola ride straight up from the middle of town to the 11,212' mid-station of the ski area for a scenic ride to have lunch, and you can hike around a bit to take in the views. We  decided instead to play cornhole and shuffle board by the lodge.  The town of Aspen, lives up to its ritzy billing. With expensive boutique shops and quaint little 5 star Michelin restaurants lining the streets. Not for us, however, they have a great ice cream place, Paradise Bakery, which kind of made up for the presumptuousness. 

Big Red enjoying the 
Aspen city flowers

In the summer the place to go in Aspen is Maroon Bells Wilderness area. This time I was prepared. Since, I had heard about it's popularity before we left,  and low and behold, just to park up anywhere near the trailheads, you had to reserve a parking permit ahead of time, and that is what we did. Although you can pay $15 each, at any time, and take a shuttle up there. Even with a permit, you have to enter the park before 7am to get a spot....easier to take the shuttle. Maroon Bells is worth all the hype with spectacular scenery around a free flowing creek, bordered with bridges and little waterfalls. What makes this place unique, is the 14,000' Mountain Ridges draping down on all the sides of the valley with the 2 Maroon Bells peaks gracing the sky and at the end of the canyon.

Maroon Bells peaks at 
the end of the valley

 

Beaver doing his dam work

 In the future, the epitome would be to hike this trail along the ridge on a 11 day mile hike across the ridges to Creste de Butte, and then shuttle back around the mountain range. We enjoyed the short hike around the base of the valley, spotting some a deer buck with a 7 point rack, and seeing enormous  beaver den in a pond, and watching the never ending work of a beaver doing his work along the creek. 

At our campsite, we packed up and then headed out of Aspen. Along the way, there is another intriguing side track, the Slot canyons of the Grotto. 

They were formed at the base of the glaciers when they existed here 1000s of years ago, and as the ice melted, the rocky water formed deep slots along the bedrock. (see diagram). It is another special place to stop and have a picnic including a short walk through the sculptured slots. 

The Grottos

Picnic spot along the grottos

After the grottos we headed up the mountain pass, climbing fast. Once again crossing my fingers, and giving Big Red an extra pat on the dash, we went from 8,000' to over 12,000' to escape the valley and marveled at the gaping views, but no time to stop, as we descending into the vast plains below. As it turns out, on highway 82, you travel over Independence Pass, at 12, 095', which is one of the the highest paved road crossing  the the continental divide. Our trusty steed, Big Red did it again!

Durango, Colorado: 
When you pull into the Vallecitos community, you feel like you are returning to the mountains within your soul. The cabin stands large and is about 100 feet to the Los Pinos river. It feels like a pillar of the local community, and is often warmly referred to as the "Taj Mahal" and is as solid as it gets. The giant smooth granite boulders form the foundation that was dug up and tractored by Loraine's grandfather. Loraine's brother Len, and grandfather wrapped the boulders around the cabin and held them in place while and her mom, Rita (Bon Bon), added the water to the cement mixer. 
Waking up at the crack of dawn, I scurried down to the river to get the early bitters. Loraine followed a little later with a delicious cup of hot coffee. Fishing was great once again, landing some good size 18" or so Browns and Rainbows: and only catching enough for dinner each day. 

Fishing the Los Pinos

Big Red guarding the cabin

very important to find a good
hammock spot amidst
 the Ponderosa Pines

Loraine enjoying Ed's bench
across the river

Rainbow on top 
Brown on the bottom

We spent the next week or so exploring the Durango area with hikes along the Vallectios River and the Pine Valley area. Both areas bring out the best of the mountain aura: streaming waterfalls, pools filled with crystal clear water, and fresh air filled with the subtle lingering scent of pine, vanilla and maple from the ponderosa pines. I am guessing, by following steams you could go forever though the mountain passes, and stretching your imagination along the way.

Vallecitos River

Entry sign to Pine River valley

Pine Valley

And then it's 
straight up

Starts off slow enough

We took a day and drove over to Purgatory mountain resort to challenge ourselves on the mountain coaster and fly through the forest at 25 mph + hoping you stay on the track. All I know is you have to do these things while you can.. so why not, I can reset my back when I get back to the cabin! Heading out to Sedona, AZ in the morning is always a sad farewell leaving the extraordinary beauty of the cabin setting. Loraine has so many childhood memories here, but it wasn't until she met me she caught her first trout on the Los Pinos River and now she's hooked! As a farewell gift at our neighborhood party, wise old Ed Swere, gave me his book called the "Age of Wonder," 

           the second Science Renaissance revolution in Europe . 

A great read on the 
2nd Renaissance

Friends around the cabin valley
Ed's  behind the umbrella

Striking

Sedona, Az: If you haven't been there... go. There is no place in the Southwest that captures the light on the red rock monoliths like there.  I wish I could say I took this striking picture, but it kind of sums up powerful scenery in one shot. Often regarded as the center of "wellbeing," and "vortex center" of the country. It is a must do on one's list. I did take the picture of the sunset though, and with a Cadillac Margarita in hand it was the perfect way to end the day. We did a couple days of hiking the area and swimming in the Oak creek river which runs through the center of town. 

Cadillac Margarita

Sunset at the local cafe

Oak Creek swimming
hole

Big Red's final hurrah: We made it to Yuma, AZ and the thermometer was pushing 103 degrees by 10:00 AM. We had already stopped to get our Date shake, and Loraine was driving this leg, I dozed off and  upon awakening I mentioned we needed to get gas.... and then it happened! As we took the exit and stopped at the stop sign, she lurch forward as we rounded the corner, then again as she stepped on the gas pedal once more, yikes, what was that!! We limped into the gas station and started our sleuth work to determine the cause... oil ok, no radiator problems, no new engine lights, except for the one which appeared out of Las Vegas, on the 2nd day.. check engine! Maybe we should have paid attention, but that light turned out to be for the emission control, so we ignored it. Back to the problem, probably something to do with transmission -- who knows, the transmission fluid cap was frozen shut, so we couldn't check it. And since it was Saturday, no mechanic shops were open, except Pep Boys... right, they didn't have a clue. We let her cool off for about a 1/2 hour and then came decision time... what to do... it was now 105 degrees, and we're stuck in Yuma. And, if that wasn't enough, Loraine's awful toothache had decided to resurface with a flare after the date shake. 

I decided try to get on the highway and if there was no problems, we would go for it... all we have to do is no shifting once we got into 4th gear.  Oh yeah, I forgot to mention, we have to go over the El Centro Pass at 4,000'. We made it on the highway, good job Big Red.. I patted her on the dash and said if any stead could get us home she could. I think she heard me! We cruised by one town after another and now the ominous mountain pass loomed ahead.. I thought if we can just keep her at higher speed of 45 mph plus, she wouldn't try shifting. Turns out going 45 mph around mountain curves with other cars and trucks is quite the challenge.  We kept seeing, pull outs for overheating on many of the turns. But finally, we somehow reached the summit at 4,181'. All downhill now... nope... not that easy,  road construction ahead, so we had to stop and go for another 10 miles, damn! Now what do we do? I finally decided we would just coast in neutral, and use the brakes-- no shifting, and as chance would have it there was just enough grade to do so. One last obstacle,  I didn't want to exit from highway to highway in San Diego and slow down, this rules out highway 67, which would save some time... but since Loraine was rolling around in the front seat with her splitting toothache..time was of the essence... so the next best thing was to take Hwy 805 north and maintain a speed so Red wouldn't shift, another fun curve, but she did it. Now what about the stop and go traffic in Del Mar...oh right it's Saturday, yeah, no stopping the whole way. We got off on our exit at Manchester Ave. with just one more hill to climb, to be home... I did a double pat on the dash to assure her she could meet one more challenge and she responded. Into the driveway we went, Loraine jumped out of Red, and into her car and headed off to the emergency room, which thank goodness helped with the pain. Ends up that Loraine had an infection from a previous root canal surgery that now required a tooth removal.

So Big Red had lived up to her reputation as the Trusty Stead. She powered through vast deserts of 100 plus heat, up 12,000'  mountain grades and even did some off-roading along the way.  According to my mechanic, when transmissions get overheated they like to slip gears. So being a beach girl, once back to cool Encinitas she did fine around town. We finally decided to sell her in November after 30 years of good times and buy something built in this century. Teary eyed, but satisfied, we sold her to a nice you man from Alpine who is taking up surfing. And, just the other day my trainer, Randy, saw her cruising the streets of                                                                Encinitas, enjoying the beach life of Southern California!

Earth Day Magic 2025 + 50501

Two Trillion, yes I said 2 Trillion and that is not the budget deficit. On a recent trip to New Zealand we visited Mt. Cook, which is regarded as a Dark Sky (UNESCO) site. This means there is no artificial light sources nearby yielding a glare, otherwise the stars pop like flaming lights.  At Mt. Cook we went to a planetarium show at the Hermitage hotel and had a very knowledgeable narrator, who made some very interesting comments. He said: "since the Hubble telescope was launched in 1990, the latest estimate for the number of galaxies in the universe is somewhere around 2 Trillion galaxies" 

"We are in the Milky Way galaxy and it contains an estimated 100 billion stars." Ok, feeling a little small now. And the chance of life out there seems quite plausible, so why has there been no contact you ask.  To begin with the universe is an incredibly vast. Light  travels at the speed of 186,000 miles per second, (if I snapped my fingers a light ray would travel 7 times around the planet earth). And the nearest star Proxima Centauri, is 4.25 light years away, otherwise a loooong ways. So unless there are wormholes of some sort, or string theories, or parallel universes, travel as we know it (a spacecraft can travel up to @ 430,000 mph=Parker Solar Probe on 12/24, and a spacecraft carrying humans can only go 17,500 mph) would take many, many lifetimes for any contact even to the nearest star. Of course on the other side of the coin, who knows maybe there is the Prime Directive (Star Trek stuff) with a no interference clause. So the point I'm trying to make is, The EARTH is a very special place--we shouldn't be forced to go to Mars to settle in the future. How about we just take care of our home, Gaia in a sustainable fashion. 

* Tidbit 1: Did you know: For every 1°C rise in temperature, the atmosphere holds 7% more water. (Phys.org). The majority of the earth's warming has occurred since 1975 at a rate roughly .15°C to .20°C per decade.Earth observatory- NASA  Hmm maybe that's why in October 2024, 35 countries experienced major floods. 

Braided Sweetgrass: Braided Sweetgrass on Amazon This book will open your eyes to importance of plants and our roles as humans in this world. The author: Robin Wall Kimmerer is a decorated professor at SUNY State University, and a member of Citizen Potawatomi Nation. This book has changed the way I look at the natural world. She has this innate ability to make a connection between indigenous wisdom and scientific knowledge.                    

AI computing: Who doesn't like the speed of AI for answering any question we have. Of course with speed comes a tremendous amount of Energy and Water use.  This helps to explain the locations for recent investments by Microsoft, Oracle, Nvidia, Open AI. They are involved in an eye popping 500 billion dollar data center project, code name "Stargate," approved by Trump. In 2022 AI accounted for 4.5% of the energy demand in the US. By 2030 that figure is predicted to be 17%, due in large part to generative AI. (Bloomberg analysis) So where are they going to get the energy to run these magnanimous data centers? What is being suggested in the various articles I have read, indicates the building of more Nuclear Power Plants (including the old Three Mile island-site of the worst nuclear accident in US history), and more fossil fuel (clean coal--ha) plants, near areas with a large body of accessible water. One such center is being built in Abilene, Texas and interesting enough the city of Abilene has struck a deal to pump water out of the Edwards- Trinity aquifer which provide a water source to many cities during times of drought.  I know some of the energy will be derived from renewable energy such as solar and wind, but the bottom line is that providing this much energy, in a short time frame, will take us in the opposite direction of a sustainable future. So we need to support organizations which will be the watchdogs for these projects: the Sierra Club, Nature Conservancy etc. On the positive side AI will be used to save lives in medicine, predict weather etc.. and a process called machine learning is now being used to solve climate change problems.... the definition of machine learning is when AI applies algorithms to learn from data and make predictions without specific programming...maybe it will figure out what birds are singing about someday. 

*Tidbit 2: A 100 word email using ChatGPT takes .14 kilowatt hours (kWh). which is the equivalent of running 14 LED bulbs for 1 hour. That same email uses 519 millimeters of water (1/2 a standard bottle of water) to cool the machines. Wowzer, not good!

30 by 30 project (30 x 30) : Is a worldwide initiative adopted by 190 countries at the UN Biodiversity Conference (CBD-COP 15) in Montreal  2022 (Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework). The goal is to have governments set aside and protect 30% of their land and 30% of their bordering oceans by the year 2030. These refuge areas will help prevent mass extinction and ensure biodiversity for future generations-- we have great examples to pull from, like: Yosemite, San Diego Bay National Wildlife Refuge (San Diego Bay National Wildlife Refuge), and Swamis Marine Reserve. Globally there is @ 8% of the ocean in protective reserves and @17% of the land is protected according to the United Nations. This framework was supported under the Biden administration and unfortunately scraped by Trump- another step backwards. 

Local Swamis Beach
in Encinitas,CA

Tidbit 3: Decarbonizing is a big buzzword these days, otherwise eliminating pollutants like Carbon from the atmosphere. A really cool article featured in Sierra Magazine Fall 2024 was on how diesel engines, which power our trucking industry, are changing. The WattEv company, has built a solar powered plant in Bakersfield, with the first megawatt charger in the country. Their goal is to outfit diesel trucks with battery packs with a 300 mile range. This is a tremendous leap, since heavy duty diesel trucks are responsible for 1/4 of 400 metric tons of carbon emissions from the US. There is still no truck that can currently use it, but it is on the horizon. 

Politics, not as usual: Which brings me to my next point, with the obvious shift in political climate, we are now in the role of playing watchdog so things don't tilt out of balance too far.

What can we do: If you haven't already joined an environmental organization or belong to a group  involved in these recent protests, this is the time to do so. Here are a few ideas:

1. Join the Sierra Club and help block Trump's agenda: stop Trump

2. Join 50501 Movement. 50 protest, 50 states, 1 message. I don't know if you saw this on the news coverage, but there were massive protests all over the country on April 19th representing this movement. It is a grassroots campaign that organizes peaceful protests in all 50 states on specific dates, to oppose anti-democratic and illegal actions of the Trump organization. It's free, just your time to make your voice heard and it is important. 50501 movement I recently joined this movement. 

3. Keep buying alternative energy merchandise: starting with electric cars, let's keep this positive change going. On the horizon there are a multitude of new technology batteries which will replace the Lithium car batteries. This will change any problems with battery degradation and disposal that we have now. New battery technology

4. Read the Braided Sweetgrass book it will reconnect you to the natural world. 

5. For me personally, I have eliminated my Facebook and Instagram accounts which are both associated with Meta, owned by Zuckerberg who just recently made a 1 million dollar contribution to Trump's campaign and these sites will more than likely be used by our government to monitor freedom of speech as we know it. By the way What's App is owned by Meta too. 

6. Keep on the path, I have to tell myself not to be lazy, keep on recycling, shop with my own bags, use refillable drinking bottles, ride bikes, buses, and trains etc. Pick your news channels carefully, yes Fox News is as far to the right as you can get, with no fact checking to speak of. Speaking of which, if you question a story you hear, take the time and run a quick fact check: FactCheck.org  a project of the Annenberg Public policy Center. 

7. Everything we do makes a difference and a statement. If you have children they will follow your example, if you see some trash on the ground and pick it up this is setting the tone, we love our special home.   

So let's Bring back the magic in our lives: 

There was wonderful article in the Encinitas Advocate on 4/4/25 called Bringing back the magic to our lives. In this article by Marsha Sutton, she states, "Awe... for awesome has been denigrated". Oh my kid kicked a goal in soccer...awesome. Her idea is to remind us to re-ignite the "awe" in our lives. 

Flannel Plant Sweetwater
Reserve

The kind of thing which lights you up inside and out... like a roar of a lion near your campsite, or riding a 6' wave deep in the pocket. Or an amazing moment like seeing the total eclipse from a special place. So let us try to recapture the "awe-ful" moments in our lives. Maybe it's as simple as going to the desert or mountains on a clear night and gazing at the Milky Way and pondering its vastness (along with the other 2,000,000,000 000 galaxies) or really listening to the birds when they are singing. Being in Nature will remind us there is no individual self, but a oneness of all living things. We just have to slow down and take the time to observe. Otherwise, stop once in-awhile, sit on a rock or under a tree, and enjoy the peace.  May you find Wabi Sabi and Happy Earth Day 2025. Jerry

Tidbit #4: If you listen to a humpback whale song sped up 4x times or more, it sounds like a bird call. You'll find these songs on Youtube-pretty amazing when you think about it.