The Dodo Bird

Buck Rock - Fire Lookout 8-11-2011

2011-08-11T06:11:00.000-07:00

Dirt road to the Fire lookout.

At the Base of the Lookout.

The stairs to the top.

Redwood Canyon and a planned burn.

Boole Tree Trail

2011-07-16T16:23:00.001-07:00

Took the kids on the whole loop, and they did fine with a little bit of nagging.
Vista towards the Kings River Canyon.

Here we are at the Boole Tree.

Rashard Mendenhall

2011-05-04T20:12:00.000-07:00

Rashard Medenhall spoke his mind in responce to Bin Laden's death, and he felt the firestorm.

"What kind of person celebrates death? It's amazing how people can HATE a man they have never even heard speak. We've only heard one side..."

"We'll never know what really happened. I just have a hard time believing a plane could take a skyscraper down demolition style."

Adolf Hitler said, "All propaganda has to be popular and has to accommodate itself to the comprehension of the least intelligent of those whom it seeks to reach."

Range Day

2011-04-04T15:38:00.000-07:00

.223 AR-15 with SS Barnes Frag round. Started from right to left at 100 yards. Dialed In.

Medieval times

2010-12-24T08:29:00.000-08:00

My uncle Tommy took us to Medieval times for my Wifes birthday. We had a good time and so did the Kids. Here are a few pictures of the event.

Grant Grove & Cedar Grove Trip

2010-11-11T17:24:00.000-08:00

The kids and I took a day trip to Kings Canyon NP on Veterans day.

Lunch in the trunk.

It was so cold out that I had the kids eat in the sun to keep them warm.

Here is Roaring River Falls. Landon was scared of it as you can tell.

Hiking along the boardwalk portion of the Zumwalt Meadows trail.

Grant Grove area had just enough snow on the ground to let the kids out and make snow balls.

Assult Rifle Fun

2010-11-08T05:45:00.000-08:00

Instead of doing trick or treating for Halloween this year, my father took me up to a co-workers home in the foot hills to do a little target practice.

Shooting a Steyr AUG clone made by MSAR, a very good gun. Down range about 250 yards is a steel target about the body mass size of an adult male. I was able to hit the target 95% of the time.

Here we are with the AUG clone and a POF AR-10 showing off for the camera.

Cathedral Lake 10-02-2010

2010-10-04T17:24:00.001-07:00

It was raining on the hike, good thing we brought our rain coats with us.

Here is Cathedral Lake.

This is the bowl behind the west end of the lake.

Cathedral Peak in the back ground coverd in fog.

Big Stump

2010-09-22T17:07:00.000-07:00

The Nation Park has moved the entrance pay station from the main road to the Big Stump parking lot. Now you can no longer use that area for parking at all. If you want to tour the area you have to park off the side of the road and kind of already know about the area to enjoy it.

Police State 2010 To serve and protect

2010-05-07T12:51:00.000-07:00

The only difference I can see is the color of the uniforms. The same M16 Machine guns with red dot scopes, silencers, and night vision that are used to kill people in wars over seas are used to kill AMERICANs back here in america.

Americans have long maintained that a man's home is his castle and that he has the right to defend it from unlawful intruders. Unfortunately, that right may be disappearing. Over the last 25 years, America has seen a disturbing militarization of its civilian law enforcement, along with a dramatic and unsettling rise in the use of paramilitary police units (most commonly called Special Weapons and Tactics, or SWAT) for routine police work. The most common use of SWAT teams today is to serve narcotics warrants, usually with forced, unannounced entry into the home.
These increasingly frequent raids, 40,000 per year by one estimate, are needlessly subjecting nonviolent drug offenders, bystanders, and wrongly targeted civilians to the terror of having their homes invaded while they're sleeping, usually by teams of heavily armed paramilitary units dressed not as police officers but as soldiers. These raids bring unnecessary violence and provocation to nonviolent drug offenders, many of whom were guilty of only misdemeanors. The raids terrorize innocents when police mistakenly target the wrong residence. And they have resulted in dozens of needless deaths and injuries, not only of drug offenders, but also of police officers, children, bystanders, and innocent suspects.
This paper presents a history and overview of the issue of paramilitary drug raids, provides an extensive catalogue of abuses and mistaken raids, and offers recommendations for reform.

POF-USA

2010-02-21T08:38:00.000-08:00

Libertarians respond to State of the Union address

2010-01-30T20:37:00.000-08:00

WASHINGTON - Libertarian Party (LP) Chairman William Redpath issued the following statement today in response to President Barack Obama's State of the Union address:
"Tonight's speech was a reminder that, for decades, the policies of Republicans and Democrats alike have failed. Libertarians are asking people to take matters into their own hands. Instead of just complaining, we're encouraging ordinary Americans to step up and run for Congress on the Libertarian Party ballot line.
"I can say exactly the same thing about President Obama's speech tonight that I said about George W. Bush's State of the Union speech in January 2008: 'Tonight's State of the Union address went much as expected. Instead of calling for a more limited role of the federal government in American society, the President laid out plans that would only increase the government's intervention into the realm of economics, health care, education and foreign policy.'
"I am weary of the President's unspoken premise that only government--indeed, only the federal government--can accomplish good in our society.
"President Obama seems to be totally blind to the concept that government can cause problems rather than solve them. His speech was filled with 'More': more handouts, more spending, more programs, more bailouts, more regulations. We Libertarians want less government, not more.
"Not to be outmatched by the Democrats, the Republican Party conveyed its lack of seriousness in addressing this nation's government spending problems by having Bob McDonnell, Virginia Governor for eleven (11) days, deliver its rebuttal to the President. If they were really serious about addressing the dire fiscal circumstances of this nation, they would have had Paul Ryan, a six-term congressman from Wisconsin, who has proposed the most serious plan of anyone in the two older parties to keep us from going off a fiscal cliff.
"Last week, Alan Auerbach, Professor of Economics and Law at UC Berkeley and US government fiscal policy expert, said that the Democratic and Republican parties are in a 'death embrace' with their government spending. The only political party that is rationally and forthrightly addressing the need to cut government spending and end our culture of ever expanding entitlements is the Libertarian Party.
"As Americans lose hope in Obama, we Libertarians are warning voters against running back to the Republicans who got us into such big messes in the first place. Republicans started the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. Republicans made the false intellectual case for bailing out banks and car companies. Republicans argued that deficits don't matter. Republicans gave us the giant Medicare expansion bill.
"The President's suggestion of a 'spending freeze' was especially ludicrous and insulting to the intelligence of Americans. The amounts involved are minuscule, and Congress won't accept them anyway. Will Obama sign the spending bills that ignore his 'freeze'? You bet he will. Instead, the President should demand across-the-board cuts in all areas, including entitlements.
"The President talked a lot about jobs. Unfortunately, the policies he supports are responsible for most of the unemployment we see today. High taxes, minimum wage laws, hiring regulations, firing regulations, mandatory unemployment benefits, and other government interference make it much more difficult for businesses to hire and keep employees. As expected, the President's prescription is to increase the dosage of this government poison.
"While our nation is declining dangerously right now, a turnaround could be straightforward and simple with steps like these: 1. Bring our troops home from Iraq and Afghanistan; 2. Stop rewarding failed companies with bailouts; 3. Cut taxes and spending and let the free market work.
"Finally, on the matter of political rhetoric, I call upon the two older parties to stop spoon feeding politics to the American people as if we are a bunch of overgrown children. These are difficult times that call for more than rhetorical flourish or positioning a group of diverse people around a politician. Older party politicians need to be specific about their proposed policies, as Libertarians are.
"And, I know I'm probably just wasting electrons, but can't we go back to the days in which the President sent a copy of his speech to Congress and left it at that. The speech last night took 1/7000th of an entire year. I think the vast majority of the American people would agree that we have better ways to spend our time."

Styer AUG clone

2010-01-28T18:33:00.001-08:00

MSAR STG-556

This is my dream gun a clone of the Styer AUG.

California is a SLAVE state if you didn't know. The people here like the Government telling them what to do, how to do it, and when they can do it. It's a horrible place to live if you're looking for Freedom, but sad to say this is where I work and my family is here as well.

California has banned what the State calls Assault Weapons and the Styer AUG is on that list. But California is a typical Government, and they can't do anything right, so we can own Assault Weapons if they have a tooled magazine release, and are not named. So here it is my dream. STYER AUG clone.

Simplex Training St. Louis, MO

2009-11-15T06:40:00.000-08:00

Simplex installed a new Fire Alarm panel for FUSD at out main downtown office. As apart of the contract Simplex has to send 2 FUSD employees for training on thier panel. Simplex's main training office was in St. Louis, MO so that's where I went for 11 days.

The Arch on the Mississippi river.

View of St. Louis from on top of the Arch.

Took a little trip out of Missiouri and into Illnoi to see some mounds that a 1000 year old Indian civilization had built.

Franklin Lakes revisited 08-29-2009

2009-09-17T20:43:00.000-07:00

Well I made it back to Franklin Lakes and this time around I completed the hike. I just couldn't let the hike beat me down anylonger.

If only I had my rifle, wow this was an amazing buck.

Taken from on top of the Dam at Franklin Lakes, tree just caught my eye.

Here is the lake with Florance in the distance.

National X-mas Tree & Hume Lake

2009-08-08T20:35:00.000-07:00

Took a trip up to Kings Canyon NP to get out of the house. Pretty nice and we got there early enough to miss the mass swarms of people.

Here I am with the kids. Very rare that I am in a picture on here since I'm the one taking the pics.

Laura and the kids, they sure got sick of that stroller fast.

Took a little loop back home and stopped by Hume Lake.

Elizabeth lake 07-25-2009

2009-07-25T21:18:00.000-07:00

This was a short hike more used as a reason to drive around the Sierra's than anything. Elizabeth lake is located in Yosemite right off the Tuolumne meadows camp ground. The 2.3 miles each way was not hard at all and a good trip.

Elizabeth Lake

Mt. Dana on the left and Gibbs on the right.

Same Job; New Future

2009-07-06T11:13:00.000-07:00

Well I was picked up full time by FUSD. I interviewed for the Electronics Service Specialist job position and got it. Now I have all the perks that come along with the title. New work van, paid vacation, paid sick leave, instant tenure. In my job field here in the central valley you pretty much don't get any better than this.

Franklin Lakes May 23, 2009

2009-05-24T12:10:00.001-07:00

Well this was the 1st ever trip that I had to turn around with out getting to the destination. Within a mile of the lakes the trail was overcome with snow, and with time in mind it would have taken to long plowing a path. So now I'll have to make a return trip later this summer to complete this hike, but here are some pictures anyways.

Diran on the ledge taking a lunch.

1.7 miles left to Franklin lakes.

Canyon cut into the mountian from the snow melt at farwell gap.

More of the canyon, but looking toward the start of the hike.

Mineral King Valley

Pinnacles National Monument

2009-04-10T20:32:00.000-07:00

Really different looking compared to my usual trips in the Sequoia area, but well worth it.

This part made me think of Half Dome, but a whole lot less stress and way easier.

Well I forgot my camera and infact it didn't even cross my mind to bring it, so these are pics taken by my brother so go figure.

Games

2009-03-15T10:38:00.000-07:00

Well in my Temp time off I played so many video games and beat so many I don't even know where to begin, but here is the list as I remember it.

Tour of California

2009-02-19T16:18:00.000-08:00

The pack of riders reach thier crest.

Coworker of mine Chris hands a news paper to a rider for warmth on the downhill portion ahead.
And last but not least a glimpse of Lance.

Same old Habits 2

2009-02-13T07:57:00.001-08:00

Just a sliver of what I've been reading.

The Mission

2009-01-30T08:53:00.000-08:00

The Mission has to be one of my favorite movies. It’s a very Sad, Honest, and Truthful story of Myths. Born with in a Christian society these principles are hard to stay clear of. If only everyone could see this movie I think we would be better off as a people. Every time I watch The Mission I can’t help but see that there is no God.

“Insanity in individuals is something rare - but in groups, parties, nations and epochs, it is the rule.”
Friedrich Nietzsche

Getty Center

2009-01-14T20:25:00.000-08:00

Jean-François Millet - French - 1860

Claude Monet - French - 1891

Grant Grove, Sequoia NP

2009-01-10T13:16:00.000-08:00

Rifle

2008-12-15T16:48:00.001-08:00

My new Savage Center Rifle 270 WSM

Convict Lake

2008-11-15T08:36:00.000-08:00

Convict Lake is Bishop,CA, and was used as a filming location in Star Trek TNG movie The Insurrection.

Aspens line the creek exiting the lake. Lots of fishers all over the place.

Just a last view of the lake, with some boats tied up to a dock.

Halloween 2008

2008-11-01T10:25:00.000-07:00

Baba's 1st B-Day

2008-10-28T17:59:00.000-07:00

FUSD random work at John Burroughs Elem

2008-10-16T21:08:00.000-07:00

This 1/2 inch conduit has been bent to bridge the gap between the 2 buildings. The bend to do this is called a 4 bend saddle.

Here you can see I needed to get a 3/4 inch conduit between 2 different boxes on the same building. The bend on the far right is called a Goose Neck where it hooks into the box.

This is what we call a FUSD special. This is a one of a kind never seen before Chaseable LB. Or it can be simply called a conduit connector.

And this Old Old Old American Standard system clock is Electric Mech, and runs clocks and also the bell systems at a school, just recently replaced.

A little bit of History

2008-10-01T16:54:00.001-07:00

I remember back in 1990 a Japanese friend of mine had a Japanese Nintendo called a Famicom. He was really into RPG's, and the Dragon Quest Series to boot. He had them all up to that point. Here in the USA the series had a different name, it was called Dragon Warrior. With the games renamed and set with different release dates. It would take 2 addition years until this game came out state side. In the time being the Super Nintendo came and made the old NES obsolete. And here I am in 2008 playing a remake of a game I never go to play as a child, I guess it's a little bit of Nostalgia.

Dragon Quest IV

White Mt. 09-06-2008

2008-09-15T18:42:00.000-07:00

Trail Head where we left the Van. 11,600ft 7.5 miles each direction.

Bancroft Research Facility 2 miles into the hike.

First view of White Mt. 3miles into hike, picture taken from 12,600ft

View from the top of White Mt. 14,246ft looking into Nevada.

From the summit looking west towards the back side of the Sierras, with the city of Bishop, Ca below. There was a fire burning on the other side of the mountians causing all the haze in the back ground.

Bristle Cone Pines 09-05-2008

2008-09-08T17:45:00.000-07:00

3000 plus year old fallen Bristle Cone pine

The Trial with a fallen tree

Looking over the Road and back at the Sierras

Old Ghosts

Moon Rise

I HATE the Olympics

2008-08-22T21:38:00.001-07:00

I hate the Olympics, and so should you... Everyone is always taking about how the Olympics are about bringing the worlds nations together, etc.... Blah Blah Blah. Yeah right, the Olympics stand for the best in all of us, Cheating, Corruption, Scandal, and Bribes.

Is China the next Soviet Union, doing whatever it takes to win? Is Usain Bolt injecting Barry Bonds blood?. Are you sure Michael Phelps isn't using the slightest of the newest designer steroid? Are Judges in cahoots to award falsities for truths? What to believe?

Nikon D80 with 18-200mm Nikkor Lens

2008-08-12T13:59:00.001-07:00

Well I bought a new Digital Camera a little over and month and a half ago, I just haven't gotten around to posting about it so at last here it is. My Nikon D80 with 18-200mm Nikkor lens. All I have to say is Amazing. Oh and go get yourself one today.

Fresno Grizzlies Baseball

2008-08-04T05:55:00.000-07:00

James and Deborah Lyons

2008-07-27T10:25:00.000-07:00

Bride and Groom

Prepping for photos

Sunset

The Brothers Karamazov

Dinkey Lakes, Wilderness 07-20-2008

2008-07-20T22:02:00.000-07:00

Entrance to the Wilderness area.
Flower over looking 1st Dinkey Lake.

South Lake

Diran and Matt taking a break.

A huge Mushroom growing on a fallen tree.

Oso de Oro Park

2008-07-06T12:35:00.000-07:00

Kaiser Wilderness, Twin Lakes & George Lake 06-15-2008

2008-06-15T21:50:00.000-07:00

Upper Twin Lake with amazing reflection.

George Lake with Kaiser Ridge above.

Simpson Meadow with Ritter and Banner Peaks beyond

Robin on Potter Pass the entrance to Kaiser Wilderness

Disneyland

2008-05-18T19:21:00.000-07:00

Oh yes Star Tours is still the same ride it was 20 plus years ago.

Here we are after riding the Matterhorn.

Mr. Toads Wild Ride is still cheesy good.

The Classic Castle seems a lot smaller as an adult and even different in some way.

Starting Over

2008-05-13T20:20:00.001-07:00

My new Job with FUSD

Mooney Grove Park

2008-03-30T15:03:00.000-07:00

Our second trip to the annual Mooney Grove Japanese Picnic.

Spruce

Baba

Walking in the RIGHT footsteps

2008-02-18T12:22:00.001-08:00

You don't want to know!

Madness

2008-01-12T08:12:00.000-08:00

When my daughter was born I took time off as Family Leave. During that time I needed something to do to keep me busy and make the time pass other than just bouncing her. So here is an example of what I was doing in those long 4 1/2 months.

This one was 1000 pieces and Laura did a lot of it.

This one was 750 pieces and Laura helped.

This one was 500 pieces.
This one was 750 pieces
I don't remember the count on this one, but the shapes were irregular.
This one was 750 pieces.

Calvin Crest 2007

2008-01-01T14:22:00.001-08:00

Since Diran and I've made so many trips to Calvin Crest during the winter time I thought I'd take some pictures that are a little different. We did spice it up this year just like last. We tried something different and set out to make the hike to California Creek, but we gave up due to ice on the uphill sections of the trail. The Ice made it just way to hard. So here are some pics around the Calvin Crest area.

The rail up to the top of the water slide.

The water slide it's self. Every time I see it I think of the time I sent Bolo on a ride (poor dog).

Moss on an old giant Sequoia tree stump.

HD Heaven

2007-12-22T23:00:00.001-08:00

Well it's been a good year at the Speechly house hold, so we spent some real cash and bought the latest and greatest TV. Look at it in all it's glory. Kind of feels like it's my idol. Haven't started praying to it yet, but we'll see.

It was the Worst of Times.

2007-12-02T12:51:00.000-08:00

Ok my Nintendo Wii has been acting funky, displaying weird little dots all over the screen at random times. I've shipped it into Nintendo's repair service, but it could take awhile to get it back, and this leaves me out in the cold wanting to play video games.

So I snapped and went a little crazy and picked up an Xbox 360 to fill in my video game void.

It was the Best of Times.

Jackass Lakes, Ansel Adams Wilderness 11-09-2007

2007-11-10T09:15:00.000-08:00

My Brother at lower Jackass Lake.

Upper Jackass Lake

Little unnamed lake below Lake 9117T, with Madera Peak in the Distance.

Fish at the mouth of this unnamed lake.

Lake 9117T even bigger than lower Jackass Lake.

At Long Last

2007-11-07T13:40:00.000-08:00

Landon Kenzo Speechly

Born: October 23rd 2007

Weight: 7lbs 15oz

Length: 19 1/4 inches

Monkey Monkey

2007-10-29T20:42:00.000-07:00

mmmmmmm, so tasty dada

Mt. Dana, Yosemite NP 09-29-2007

2007-09-29T21:28:00.000-07:00

View From the Summit of Mt.Dana looking towards Tioga Pass.

U.S.G.S. Mt. Dana Summit Marker 13,061ft

Here I am on the Summit with Mono Lake is the background.

The White Mountians way off.

Diran on the Dana Plateau with the Mountian behind.

Kaiser Peak, Kaiser Wilderness 9-15-07

2007-09-15T18:04:00.001-07:00

Kaiser Peak is in the distance beyond this false summit.

Jewel Lake in the foreground and Campfire Lake behind as seen from the ridge.

Sign post telling you the Summit Elevation of Kaiser Peak, 10310 ft.

On top of Kaiser Peak, with a view along the Southern Boundary Yosemite NP.

Looking East at Lake Edison you can see just how little rain we had this year

Views of Bobby Lakes and Bonnie Lake in the distance.

Dan falling behind, taking picture breaks along the way home.

Mt. Hoffman, Yosemite NP 8-31-07

2007-09-01T12:50:00.000-07:00

Looking back along the trail with a view of May Lake in the distance.

Trail through a nice meadow along the way.

Summit Plateau with false summits.

Over looking May Lake Below.

On the Summit along with the Raido Tower 10850 feet.

Eagle Lake, Mineral King 6-02-07

2007-07-24T16:10:00.000-07:00

Man Made Eagle Lake, with Dam in the background.

Diran checking out the surrounding mountians.

This is the View we saw of Mineral Peak, and Sawtooth in the distance.

Huge Granite slabs along the path to the Lake.

Amazing view down into the heart of the Valley where we started our trip.

The Finsh and the Starting point of the Hike to Eagle Lake from Mineral King.

Tioga Pass, Yosemite NP 5-27-07

2007-06-17T15:08:00.000-07:00

On the 27th of last month my Step-Father inlaw and I headed to Mono lake via Tioga Pass for a whole day car trip. It was a long day over 12 hours, but it was well worth the trip. Oh and don't forget that the National Parks rasied their year pass fee to 80 from 50 dollars this year, Ouch!

Olmsted Point

Lee Vining Canyon

Mono Lake Visitor Center with a huge chunk of Obsidian

Tufa Towers

Rock Climbers near Tenaya Lake

Ben Vs. James Round: 1

2007-05-25T21:32:00.000-07:00

I, Benjamin Speechly, From now on will devot my entire BLOG to James Lyons, and it will stay this way until these two conditions are resolved.

1.) That he will respond to E-mails that I write him from this day forward.

2.) Give me good reason why he will not, and does not write me back.

You can track my postings here on my page and follow the link to James Lyons page and see how I will post a comment to each posting of his dealing with this manner in full detail.

Hang around and have fun... I know I am.

CHAMP!!!

2007-05-16T19:42:00.000-07:00

To make a long story short, I am the CHAMP, and here in the loot that I won for being the CHAMP of the I.B.E.W.

WOW

2007-03-25T22:18:00.000-07:00

Looks like I missed a whole month of blogging, and I was working on missing this month as well.

So I'll start by saying I bought a new video game called God of War 2. I played it like crazy and beat it in 3 days, and that's with a day off inbetween.

I watched Blood Diamond this past weekend and loved it. 2 thumbs ups

Here is the latest picture of my daughter Mika. I guess I should post one, since I haven't kept you folks up to date.

Hope that can keep ya clear on what I've been doing. More posts about hiking will start up soon, so watch for them, and I'll see you next month, Ben.

Up to Old Habits

2007-01-30T19:33:00.000-08:00

It's been some time since I've read anything religiously, but now I'm at it once again. I've read five books in pretty much one weeks time. Here they are in no decernable order.

The Snows of Kilimanjaro - Ernest Hemingway

Fahrenheit 451 - Ray Bradbury

Slaughterhouse Five - Kurt Vonnegut

The Purgatorio - Dante Alighieti

State of Fear - Michael Crichton

Calvin Crest

2006-12-23T15:20:00.000-08:00

For the past few years Diran and myself have been making a Christmas time trip to Calvin Crest. We missed last year due to family, and living in different parts of the country, but we made a return trip this year.

Sequoia Stump

California Creek

San Joaquin Valley covered in fog

Me hidding in the Bushes

Old Oak Tree in the foot hills

Alta Peak Revisited 10-29-2006

2006-11-20T19:12:00.000-08:00

It's been a year since James Lyons and I did this same trek, so I thought I'd do it agian since I liked it so much, just with a different hiking buddy. This time I took my friend Robin with me. The weather was the same as last years. Sunny and cool, but we where hot from the climb, took 5 hours up and 3 down, and I think it was harder on me this year than last. So I really need to get some more running into my work outs. Here are 2 pictures so all can see.

Ps. I have a video I took from the summit send me an E-mail if ya wanna see it and I'll mail it over. 7mb mpeg

Stranger

2006-11-04T22:33:00.000-08:00

In the past few day's I've happened upon some funny if not weird web sites. I took pictures of them just to show whoever is interested.

This was taken from AOL news page, about a Professor that really studies Bigfoot, and I do mean really. What's even stranger is the poll that AOL did and can you believe the results?

Just look at the greal deal this site is offering. WOW!!!

Jennie Lake, Shell Mt. & Weaver Lake 10-08-2006

2006-10-26T21:55:00.000-07:00

This was an ambitious day hike that myself and hiking buddy Dan busted. This will also be the first time I am leaving a topographical image of my hike so that you can see where I went. I thought it would add to the over all posting.

2 lakes, both with their own unique beauty, some uphill cross county mixed in with a ruff down hill slop class 2/3, and a summit to Shell Mountain all in one day. Left both of us tired but wanting more.

View from Poop out Pass looking toward Mitchell Peak.

Jennie Lake with a view of a nice ridge behind.
Me ontop of Shell Mt. 9600ft looking down on Weaver lake 1000ft below.
Weaver lake with Shell Mt. behind in the back ground.

My hikind buddy Dan.

Dusk on the San Joaquin

2006-10-20T21:45:00.000-07:00

Recently I’ve been walking to Woodward Park in the morning and then in the evenings running along the banks of the bluffs. I decided to take my camera this evening and take some pictures of this million dollar view.

What anyone can see by taking a short walk, some people enjoy as their back yards. Thankfully someone at city hall had it in their right mind to keep a portion of this view open to public for all to enjoy and not just the millionaires.

Death and Stuff

2006-10-06T22:13:00.000-07:00

Former Negro Leaguer baseball player Buck O’Neil died today at the age of 94. He was a true ambassador to the game, a legend in his out right, and a great man. He will be sorely missed by thousands, and myself.

To read an artical about Mr. O'Neil click on the link below.

http://sports.espn.go.com/espn/columns/story?columnist=thompson_wright&id=2608378

The true Jackie Robinson

Ostrander Lake 07-07-2006

2006-09-24T14:40:00.000-07:00

If you haven’t figured this out already, I take all my pictures from the end of my hike back to my starting point, and then I post them in order as if I was starting the hike and then reaching my destination. It’s like a Mirror image of my experience in essence. The reason I take pictures in this order all boils down to time management. This way I’ll know how long it will take me to get back, and I can take a more leisurely pace. Besides that I don’t want to get caught out in the woods at night.

At long Last, and I do my long last. I went on this hike back in early July and finally got around to posting it almost 3 months later. This was a good hike and my first in Yosemite in years. My destination was Ostrander Lake. It was a good change to hike to a lake, and I did some cross country travel on the way back to see some great views along a high ridge. All in all a great time and well worth the sweating.

The trail head starts off of my Glacier Point road in Yosemite NP. It’s not a hard hike but a little long at 6 plus miles each way. The start is very easy considering the first 2 miles are relatively flat, and here is the picture to prove it.

About half way into the hike you come across a section of forest that has recently been burned by a lighting strike. There was a warning sign at the trail head at warned of this section, and that they knew about the fire, and not to report any smoldering embers to the park service, not that I saw any.

Me on top of a little rock crop looking out into the back country of Yosemite. This picture was taken from my little cross country route to the top of the ridge. Other wise this view isn’t seen from the trail or the lake, a lovely detour.

Working my way back towards the lake I came across a bunch of little seasonal tarns. Considering how much rain we had this year, no wonder I found handfuls of these little ponds, and billions of BUGS to boot.

At long last the Lake. Pretty site with a little ski hut right off the trail and a great ridge behind. I had the trail all to myself on the way up and only a few backpackers crossing my path heading down from spending the night. Next time I’ll have to sleep here to.

LMAO, You just have to watch

2006-09-13T21:27:00.000-07:00

THE MASTERS!

http://www.wayofthemaster.com/

In short this is crazy TV show where 2 guys go around interrogating people on the street about if they are going to Hell or not. Using Attacks on them, to massive Red Herrings. This has to be one of the best shows ever made. In a nut shell it shows the TRUE hate of religious people and their God.

http://www.wayofthemaster.com/watchepisodes.shtml

Time only Knows!

2006-08-23T22:59:00.000-07:00

Time only Knows!

If you have no clue about the existence of the Prince of Persia video game trilogy i feel for you. These games have to be some of the best put togeather stories that compare with some of the greatest novels of all time (1001 Arabian Nights). Amazing gameplay, story line and video cut scenes make this a must have, and maybe even a must FOAM. Considering I played played all 3 in a row. Go out and get them now before it's to late. I have.

Games are listed in their order of release, 1, 2, 3.

Mika Claire Speechly

2006-08-15T11:53:00.000-07:00

At long last she is here. Born on August 1st and weighing in at 7lbs 10oz, she is a sleeping baby.

Glacier Pass Trail

2006-07-15T19:37:00.000-07:00

A few pictures of a trip to Glacier Pass that was interrupted by Thunder Storms. Once again Sawtooth Peak was not reached. Maybe next year I'll finally be able to summit the peak on my 3rd attempt. Good Luck.

The Trail Head

River in Mineral King Valley

Sawtooth Peak

Talus/Rock wall to Glacier Pass

Hiking along the lost trail

Chef Tony

2006-07-05T19:59:00.000-07:00

You just can't ask for more.

Mitchell Peak

2006-06-29T08:27:00.000-07:00

Mitchell Peak is well worth the hard hike to it's summit. The views are good, and it's great to see all the broken trail markers along the way. Lots of Bugs, and even Bee's on the summit. Strange place, but well worth the hike, not to forget the tons of snow we had to navigate.

1 Mile in and you come to the Broken entrance to the Jennie Lakes Wilderness.

2 Miles in and you come to the Broken Mitchell Peak trail head.

3.6 Miles and you're on top of te Broken old foundation of Mitchell Peak Look out.

Above is me on top of the Peak and above me is my brother on top of the peak.

The evidence of our hard and difficult summit.

Road's End

2006-06-04T17:03:00.000-07:00

Last Sunday James Lyons and I went on a hike in Kings Canyon NP. From roads end on Highway 180 until we reached Paradise Valley 6.7 miles in, and then back. Cold at the start of the hike and warm when we finished the hike, nothing could beat the Soda and Ice Cream sandwiches we had at Cedar Lodge. Here are a few pictures I took to document the trip.

Start of the Hike at Roads End.

Half Way and a view down to Kings Canyon and the Sphinx atop.

Mist Falls sure was cold and Misty, but it felt good on the way back down.

James way up high on the Trail above the Valley Floor.

At long last Paradise Valley, looking back towards our starting point 6.7 miles away.

The Oddest thing is the PeaCock we saw in Squaw Valley. It was just walking on down the road doing it's own things. Pretty strange and I'm glad I got to see some interesting wild life on this trip. Maybe next time I'll stop off at the Cat Heaven.

I can drive?

2006-06-01T18:13:00.000-07:00

If you guys didn’t know my Wife and I bought a new car. This has been a long time coming, considering I couldn’t drive our last car because it had a stick. Thank god our new vehicle has an automatic, and at long last we come to the car.
A brand new 2006 Toyota Matrix all ready to go for our up and coming addition to the Speechly Family. Mika Claire Speechly.

Hetch Hetchy

2006-05-29T06:26:00.000-07:00

Good Old Hetch Hetchy

May 7, 2006

Lots of Fun, Lots of Heat, and Lots of Water.

Kaweah

2006-05-10T08:44:00.000-07:00

This is a little late coming. An X-coworker and I went on the first hike of the season. It was a good starter trip totaling 6 miles round trip, and a great view of the middle for of the Kaweah river from the Buckeye Flat trail.

Middle Fork Kaweah River

Dan at Panther Falls

Cesium 133

2006-04-17T18:05:00.000-07:00

My latest toy is this new Atomic controlled Wall Clock. This little bad boy does just about anything you would want a clock to do, beside tell fortunes. It tells the exact time based on the Atomic Cesium 133 radioactive decay rate broad cast out of Boulder Colorado. It has inside and out side temperature, so you can plan your day accordingly, and the best feature of all, it has an indoor humidity sensor. So now I can keep on top of that Arlington Cemetery stickiness. I feel like a GOD.

A New Life

2006-03-29T10:45:00.000-08:00

Well my wife Laura and I are unpacked and moved into our new place. It's a damn good feeling to be out of the Father In-Laws place and into our own. The only bad thing is, now it's on our own nickel. OUCH!!! Check it out.

Life

2006-03-21T07:38:00.000-08:00

Well all it is a Girl. Kuniko Speechly

About Schmidt

2006-02-14T07:37:00.000-08:00

3 pictures of 3 different events taken over 2 days in the great city of LA. 1 day was full of smog and 1 day was clear. 1 day was long and the other was short, but in the end the trip with numbers crunched. 1 + 2 + 3 = Good times from the Speechly Clan.

3 picture’s of Grandpa on a motorcycle some number of years ago. 1 picture of Grandpa just a few years age. 3 picture’s all of Grandpa having good times.

3 brown bags of Oranges picked. 1 plastic bag of Oranges picked. 1 bag kept, and 3 given away. All Oranges where picked from a total of 2 trees.

4 Family members in frame. 1 member out of Frame. 5 people and 1 dog all having an excellent time. Down in 1 of the many cities that make up the Great LA.

Father In-Law

2006-01-18T17:21:00.000-08:00

My Father In-Law has this weird habit of giving his Daughter and me the oddest out of the blue gifts you can think of. Here is one of the latest examples of his generosity. Take a guess on how much these Air Purifiers cost, I bet you’ll be amazed to find out the real cost. OUCH!!!

Back into the Swing

2006-01-07T21:11:00.000-08:00

Back from Montana, and now back to work. Here are a few pictures of the trip, and some of the balmy weather we faced. Good times

Here I am on the day we arrived. It was -9 outside and the icicles on the house prove it.

Check out the Pad all covered in snow, Wow.
We had the fireplace going the whole time, and I was chopping the wood to fuel the fire.

About half was through our stay in Montana the neighbors house caught on fire. Not sure what casued it, but we ended up calling 911, and as can see it was a pretty big fire. It even climbed into one of the trees.

I got the perfect present from Laura. It's my brand new Pineapple opener/slicer. I love it, even though I only got to use it once. It's still in the mail though it should be here any day now.

Back in our Honeymoon suite. This is the same exact room at we had last year. We even got the same dinner. Veggie Pizzia, mmmmmmmmmm.

Take from 25,000 feet over Spokane Washington. We had a good X-mas in Montana, and a great break from our everyday lifes. Can't wait for our next vaction.

Fear

2005-11-26T11:20:00.000-08:00

"White people scare the crap out of me. … I have never been attacked by a black person, never been evicted by a black person, never had my security deposit ripped off by a black landlord, never had a black landlord … never been pulled over by a black cop, never been sold a lemon by a black car salesman, never seen a black car salesman, never had a black person deny me a bank loan, never had a black person bury my movie, and I’ve never heard a black person say, 'We’re going to eliminate ten thousand jobs here — have a nice day!'”

Simulacrum

2005-11-24T17:15:00.000-08:00

I was having Thanksgiving dinner tonight, eating my real turkey dinner while my brother in-law was grubbing on some creation called, Tofurkey. This totally brings Baudrillard to mind.

“The simulacrum is never that which conceals the truth--it is the truth which conceals that there is none.”

Going for Broke

2005-11-18T17:00:00.000-08:00

The other night I spent 49.55 on Taco Bell for 6 people on our crew. I’d never for thought I’d ever spend that much money at a fast food restaurant. Well Ben think again and here is the evidence to prove the fact. GAWD DAMN!

Thus He Spake!

2005-11-11T18:00:00.000-08:00

I’ve been really snapping as of late. It all started with my last posting on the latest book I had read. It all spawned a new spree of trying to understand The Man.

1.) Linguistics

2.) Marxism

3.) Baudrillard

Get all of them NOW, but stay away from Baudrillard. He has been proven not important by the all knowing Dr. Watsonious. Thus he spake.

CHOMP-SKI

2005-10-23T09:53:00.000-07:00

I recently picked up a book called Noam Chomsky for Beginners. Over the years I’ve managed to read a few of his selected works here and there, but nothing with an over all collection of his ideas. If you’re looking for an insightful opinion into how Democracy is a farce and how the media is also a constructed lie supporting the Democracy, definitely buy this book. Chomsky doesn’t single out the Left of the Right, he equally picks on both sides, and shows how they both control us regardless if we see it or believe it. I rate this book 4 out of 4 stars. Go out and buy it ASAP.

Warm while Cool

2005-10-16T14:19:00.000-07:00

It’s here! My brand new Mountain Hardware Wind Stopper Jacket. It retails for 185 dollars, but I got it at a discount of 15% off, and free shipping. Now all I have to do is take it to Montana this Christmas and try it out. I’ll be drooling the whole way there.

Just some food for thought, but did you know that Montana means Mountain in Latin?

Alta Peak

2005-10-11T19:56:00.000-07:00

This past Sunday James Lyons and I went on a 14 mile round trip hike to the top of Alta Peak. We got in some good conversations, and had a ton of fun pushing our bodies to their breaking points. It was well worth the pain, and totally refreshing.

James picking me up at my place, and we both left my house at 6am while it was still dark out. Heading up highway 180 to Sequoia NP, we arrived at our trail head (Wolverton Meadows) around 8am. We packed out bags, suited up, and took our first steps on our adventure.
With a brisk pace we hit our first of a few forks along the trail in no time at all. The brisk pace was a necessity to beat the near freezing temperatures, not to mention that James was wearing shorts. We turned right at the fork and headed away from the Lakes Train, for the Panther Gap, a total of 2.7 miles from the trail head. What a view awaited us.

From Panther Gap you turn left towards the High Sierra/Alta Peak/Meadow trail. You end up walking along the ridge of the mountain top for a little while, and then hiking along side the ever increasing heights of the ridge. In total gaining somewhere around 1500 feet in only a few miles time.

Time passes and you traverse another few forks, and at last you come to the final fork. Right towards Alta Peak, and left towards Alta Meadow. We headed left and started our summit attempt. From here you ascend a torrent of switchbacks at a step climb, but after 2 more hours of rigorous climbing we hit the top, and the view was well worth the trip.

We ate a good lunch on top of the world, with an amazing view. James took a quick nap, and about 30 minutes later we started our decent. It took a little over 3 hours and we were back at the car.

5 hours up and 3 hours down, totaling 8 hours total, and in the end it was well worth the pain. I can’t wait for the next one.

Mountain Man

2005-10-04T15:30:00.000-07:00

It’s been going on for 3 weeks now. Laura doesn’t like it, and I’m getting to the point where I think it’s time to hack it off as well. Maybe after this weekends hike I’ll shave it off. Parting such sweet swarrow.

By the way, If you haven’t guessed I’m not Armeninian. LMAO… If I was then my bread would be down to the ground by now.

The Beginning of the End

2005-09-26T17:08:00.000-07:00

Just last week Laura finally became a Naturalized Citizen of the United States. It’s been over a 10 year process and one blunder after another. 500 dollars and some major headaches, and not to forget a line that wrapped around the ceremony building, and it’s all done.

Now comes the other side of the story. Laura can change her last name, but now we have to go to Social Security office and the countless other places. The story continues.

Keep watching for more information and updates to this long saga.

Addendum to a Hike

2005-09-09T16:04:00.000-07:00

Well now that a week has come and gone since the Sawtooth trip, let’s take a look at the aftermath. This is what will happen to you if you don’t break in your brand-new hiking shoes. OUCH!!!

Sawtooth

2005-09-07T15:59:00.000-07:00

Sawtooth is a strange name for a post, but it's well suited title since it's the name of a hike my buddy Robin and I went on this past weekend. We couldn’t have imagined how hard it was going to be, but with all the back breaking work aside it was well worth the trip.

Sawtooth pass is on the Monarch Lake trail out of Mineral King Valley, CA. Mineral King is just as intense an experience to get to as Sawtooth is. From Fresno you head south on highway 99 to Visalia, then you take 198 east towards Sequoia NP. The turn off to Mineral King looks like an abandoned road, but once you're on the 1 lane road (for over 25 miles of hair bending turns) you arrive at Mineral King Valley, the southern most extreme part of Sequoia NP at 7800 feet. WOW!!!

Robin my hiking buddy and I located the trail head with out much problem. We ate a quick lunch, and took off for Monarch Lake. For the first mile of the trail you proceed up some low grade switch backs that lay on the side of a beautiful grassy hillside.

Eventually you come to a fork in the trial with a sign post. The sing points towards Sawtooth pass, but the other trail is unmarked. Later on I find out this is an abandoned trail leading to Glacier Pass. Following the trail towards Sawtooth pass you enter a high alpine forest of 8500 ft. We spent about an hour climb the numerous switchbacks, and eventually we hit a second Fork on the trail.

This second Fork is marked on both sides this time. One way leading to Monarch Lake, and the other towards Crystal Lake. We take a Left and turn towards Monarch Lake. Here we rise above the trees and enter into a large broken rock scattered field. The grade here way extremely level and we progressed easily towards our destination.

4.1 miles and 2,200 feet higher we came to out destination, Monarch Lake. The view of the lake was impressive, and well worth the trip. It didn’t lake much time for us to decide we hadn’t had enough pain for the day, we where still in good shape, and not the least bit tired, so we decide to try out luck and make an attempt of Sawtooth pass.

Sawtooth pass is over 1000 feet higher in elevation from the lake and you climb all this height in a little under a mile. All the while you’re fighting the Sandy slopes. It ends up taking 2 steps to get 1, and an hour later we weren’t even at the top of the pass. Switchback after Switchback tired and dejected only a few hundred vertical feet from the summit we turned left and headed to the easier Glacier pass with out a problem.

Glacier pass isn’t marked on any maps, but it’s almost as grand a view as Sawtooth pass. From Glacier Pass you get an almost 360 degree view of the high Sierra's. After taking tons of pictures the decent begins. In a little more than 2 hours we where back at the car in lovely Mineral King Valley. Beat and tired from the hike we make it back to Fresno, and pass out. I’m already looking for the next hike.