Been a busy couple
weeks and I was disconnected for part of that time. On August 12 Molly and I
went to a Flogging Molly concert. Celtic punk is the best description of
Flogging Molly. Two hours of pure energy and the audience sings most of the
songs along with the band. Then they end each concert playing a tape of Monty
Python”s “Always Look On the Bright Side of Life” from “The Life of Brian”. And
the audience joins in this one too. Since this was the last gig of the tour all
the warm up acts and the stage crew came out waltzed around the stage. Pretty
amusing scene with the entire audience singing for them.
Flogging Molly
concert pictures.
The next morning I
woke up and drove to my sister Lynn’s place in upstate Pennsylvania. In
Michigan everyone goes “up north.” In Pennsylvania it’s “upstate.” Same idea, a
place to go for rest and recreation.
Obligatory hour long
accident delay on I-80.
Lynn’s upstate place
is a few miles north of Lock Haven, on the Susquehanna River. It’s a nice area,
on the Allegheny Plateau, almost centered in what is called the Pennsylvania
Wilds. A lot of people think every northeastern state looks like the I-95
corridor from Washington DC to Boston. I would stack those northcentral
Pennsylvania counties up against any place in the Midwest, including the
Michigan Upper Peninsula. I love the U.P., and there are some elements that
can’t be replicated anywhere. Like the Great Lakes shorelines and the vistas
over the lakes. But the Allegheny Plateau has relief that just doesn’t exist in
the Midwest.
The Allegheny Plateau
may not have the Great Lakes, but it does have real rivers. If I were to fault
Michigan for anything it would be the rather liberal use of the term river for
any trickle of flowing water. I love being on Sand River at Joanna’s cabin near
Marquette. But the Sand River would be a creek anywhere in Pennsylvania.
Looking south down
the Susquehanna River from Hyner Mountain. Lynn lives downstream a mile or so.
The terrain of the
Allegheny Plateau does make cell phones pretty much a waste of money. I was
unconnected from the internet, cellular service and telephone for about five
days. Fives days without hearing about Clinton’s email or Trump’s stupidity was
kind of nice. One evening I wanted to call Lise so I went driving around
looking for cell service. At one point I was standing in a church parking lot
under a cell tower and couldn’t get reception. I could go up the road a couple
miles to a bar and get reception. So what’s the message here? God doesn’t use
Verizon? Satan likes cell phones? Cell phones are for sinners? My cellphone is
possessed by demons so this may explain a lot.
The holy cell tower.
No connectivity for sinners.
I went to help Lynn
do things around her place but I got some play time too. Spent a little wading
time in the Susquehanna doing odenate photography. Lynn’s deck had about ten
hummingbirds constantly flitting around that made some easy subjects. And I got
an eastern screech owl from her deck, species number 299 for the year.
Ruby-throated
hummingbirds.
Damselflies I haven’t
keyed out yet.
Lynn and I went to
the Pine Creek Gorge, AKA the Grand Canyon of Pennsylvania. Notice it’s Pine
Creek, not Pine River. We did a family trip there when I was maybe 14 or 15. I
recognized the rocks on the lip of the gorge I was standing on when we learned
my mother was terrified of heights. And her children standing at the unprotected
precipice of heights.
Pine Creek Gorge
Pine Creek
One of the waterfalls
hiking from the top down to Pine Creek.
So now I’m back in
Michigan, getting ready to teach for another semester. Ya gotta do what ya
gotta do.
Ed's and Lise's Biggish Years 