After the holiday stress.

I took a month off the blog. Coinciding with some distressing times and the holidays. Subdued and depressing for multiple reasons and nothing I'll look back on fondly. Here is hoping the 2019 year is calm, and unwaveringly fair.

In the days of Christmas and New Years to take my mind off all the sadness and depression I surfed the nets for something to find joy in and stumbled onto a few things...

I had been on one of the humor information sites... cant remember which now and that does not much matter... What I ran into was a funny guy doing video blogs of the London underground. he would scamper here and there racing to get from place to place while pointing out things everyday tube riders would never look up and see. This led him to more expansive things and more access when the companies noted his antics and started allowing him more access as this was great advertising for them as well. This led to many many many videos on anything from visiting EVERY rail station in England and Scotland to the least used stations to the shortest runs and all sorts of strange things.

He would go on to assess every stations access ramps and amenities from if they had trash receptacles to dot matrix screens to assist/help calling boxes. It was novel for me as I knew of the Tube and had been on it numerous times to see his take of it all.

It has changed a lot since I was last on it or even on any train there. So much very has changed.

Noted changes... Not everything is under British Rail. Many small companies run all sorts of different versions of Underground, Overground, Shuttles in and around London. They are still trying to sort out the best way to inform you of what train you need and its still a total mess. They are trying to get the locations where there are tons of commuters spread out or changed... and those stations that have no one of few adjusted. Its pretty crazy.

The maps they have and those available on line are in constant flux as well as private people are creating their own and there is even one chap.. A professor who creates some impressive maps of underground networks everywhere... His are the best but even he says that it is becoming impossible to keep it informative without being completely confusing.

Really its all confusing... but I digress...

Geoff and his friend Vicki traverse and get silly and miss trains and get upset and get funny and tell you things you would never have known if you didn't live at some of these places... To me in the desert Southwest of the States its novel. They go small distances and in convoluted ways and we can just catch the I-40 for 200 miles and still not get to the border of the state. No tube stations here also..just silly tries at mass transit that are too ill thought through or not thought through at all.

This is their web site.. and you can access all their videos from there... Its well worth the time.

http://www.allthestations.co.uk/

So many great links from them.. here are some of the things I downloaded from their running about..

A bit of tile work in a closed off section just opened that I plan on recreating.. I really like it flow. I screen shotted it because its only on video.

Didnt know this and in the design of a tube map...

Also didn't know that a lot of tube trains and stations have no air conditioning... It gets hot underground.

The latest very congested map.

Some of the strange ideas out there to show more info in less space... not real helpful.

So much more to go explore.... I have been binge watching and then slipped off the rails and fell in a canal...

Hense the canal boat as the blog banner.

One of the first videos of Geoff's I watched was him meandering about London and the canal system there... so I was bingeing the underground videos and hit one on canal life and then I found one with a single guy and his travels.. He was a newsperson and chucked it all in ..sold everything and bought a narrow boat and set out Vblogging his runs.

Like Geoff and Vicki he is very easy to listen to. Guys name is Dave.. here is the link to his site...

https://www.youtube.com/redirect?redir_token=aOt-CMc04RNzFVC7HvGQKij35qt8MTU0Njg4MDc2NkAxNTQ2Nzk0MzY2&event=video_description&v=rEvs65HiDQ0&q=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.CruisingTheCut.co.uk

and you can find his videos on youtube following this....

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rEvs65HiDQ0

He runs commentary as he goes along the canals.

The canals ...

So what Ive learned from him so far..

Doing this by yourself is hard work as most locks are not manned and you have to pull up, tie off, walk to the lock, clear it, set it, walk back to your boat, run it in, tie off, climb up and close the gates, then fill or empty the lock then open the other gates then get on the boat again then pull it out and retie it to the bank and reset the lock... YEESH!!!

Unless a previous boat has set the lock in your favor or there is a volunteer gate person.. called "Lockys" you are working up a good sweat.

Taken easily it probably isn't too bad. Its a very slow life.

Other things I have learned.. There are narrow canals and wide canals and rivers and all of it links to each other. There are guides to let you know which is which and what is what.. there are even parts of the network that you can be no taller than 6 feet to pass very low slung tunnels!!! Crazy.

So narrow boats are usually around 6 foot10 inches wide and from any length to max of 72 feet. There are wide version that go out to 10 feet and some wider...but I believe they can only stay on the rivers or wide canals ( cant get ten foot wide boats into a 7 foot wide lock.. just aint happening ). Some of the videos... what they consider a canal wide enough for two narrow boats to pass is not really. Some of the maneuvers this guy has to do are very novel.

Watch and see.

There are many sites on the web for everything you might need for boating the canals.. from guides to map planners to where to hook up and get services.. I consider it RVing in the water. Though much much slower. Most speeds around about 4 to 5 mph.

Here is one...

https://canalrivertrust.org.uk/enjoy-the-waterways/canal-and-river-network

The link below this is one narrow boat I would not mind at all... though its sold..even the name is nice...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iOgzBUXTaHQ

This was fun because it was a cross between a RV and house sale video...

Other items from the canals...  Where to tie up for the night and where not to... how much is taken care of by the national trust and what other services are out there. Some canals are owned and some are open. How crowded it gets during holidays and the peek summer times.

Ending of all that...

I could see a canal boat being a nice base of operations for a couple of months a year and head from there on forays to shoot the areas stopping near after retiring... Cheaper than a hotel for two months and ability to move alternately than the roads.

Something to think about...

As England gets more packed with people the roads are going to get worse to try and get anywhere on. Hopefully the rail owners wont raise their prices anymore or they will have a revolt on their hands. London I believe is restricted who and when you can drive into it... where else will that happen as there are more people trying to get places they are not....

So now when Geoff and Vicki are too fast for me I watch Dave and then I go back and forth... When I get caught up ill probably watch their daily links to see what they are up to... If ... slash that.. when I get back over Ill see if I can look them up and chat about their plans for the future...

Is it time to video blog ballooning? Perhaps it is....

Gotta move this blog first though!!

So now lastly on this lengthy blog are some shots I took at the office and home after the last large snowfall we had. Still some snow here and there and far too cold to do much of anything outside.

I have to go back and redo my narrow boat design. I saw an error in my layout.

Mind distracted.

Also.. I seem to have lost the keys to my balloon. I plan on going out next weekend to Unser and Westside to look for them...if its dry enough.

Thanksgiving ballooning and the post family deflation

When my Granddaughter is home and not here its quiet and non-energized in the house. This is a BAD thing! When she is here...she wants to sit with you and wants to play hide and seek and chase her and she loves those silly videos where people play with slime and other antics and paw patrol and all the other strange stuff. She only has to say.. Papa can we watch eggs, and I have this little girl sittin on my lap, legs crossed at the ankle and hands folded watching the television while this stuff goes on. Its mind numbing but worth it to spend time with her. She likes someone to watch with her and she will be 21 before we blink. I am storing memories everywhere I can.

Now she is home, napping, preparing to play with her toys and chase the dogs around.. or vice versa.

The house is .. BORING!!!!!

Now we have to wait for a few months before we can go out to California and visit. We will miss Christmas with her.. but we had a mini Christmas just for her after Thanksgiving and her birthday also but it cant be helped. Luckily technology allows us to see her every day or visit with her via video chat.

Still not as good as the real hugs.

Oh well...

Also during that time we went out to see a balloon return to its owner and him and his son fly it again after a long time away. Balloons name is I Dont Know... which leads to all sorts of Abbott and Costello comments.

Its a nicely maintained Aerostar with a center pull parachute top and scoop. It has a lay down 20 and a stand up 15 gallon propane tanks. Makes for some interesting standing positions. She looked to fly very nicely and I had a 360 video camera on her for the flight.

Below you will see some clips from the cam in 360 mode. I have not stripped it to pano or split pano yet. I will be doing that right after I finish this blog post.

Check these out.

Checking the 360 down position prior to launch. It was very cold.

Off they go. Almost missed it as I was shooting other balloons while waiting. Boom.. they were airborne.

Mo checking something out .. probably the crown and the red lines.

Into a local arroyo followed closely by the dead cat or 8Down1ToGo...and more as it was a follow the leader kind of day.

Father Son meet up before switching out. The only way to be in an arroyo..

Up and over Unser heading East with the air flow down the arroyo. Just above it was moving at about 8 mph South and higher it was going West from East.

Splitting the lanes at 50 feet and ascending.

Higher still to get that Southerly wind.

Coming low again over Unser, South of Paradise and a wave off of a landing.

Now its someone elses turn to fly and ground track. Hard thing to do in a HAB... stay level with the ground just above it and not hit it.

Checking for where the hand is going when reaching up to burn. Smart!

Switching again for a quick landing over big rock piles.. no mistakes would be good here.

But a text book landing and a nice re-inflation to stand up after.... taxi to the right and call it a day.

Down and resting. Envelope smells good, basket is in good shape.. impressive.

That was Thanksgiving morning.

There was supposed to be a flight Friday afternoon but the winds were iffy so it was called off though some did fly and did have fun doing it. I dont much care for the iffy nature of afternoon flights. But you could say mornings are as bad.

Here are a few standard shots of the day...

Let me state here that the day was bleak. no light and washed out color. I had to adjust these to see anything.

Lovely fan design viewed from the crown.

Getting it hot and ready to launch. Zone 5 burners.

 And its follow me follow you. Everyone came down in the arroyo then turned East. One guy came from elsewhere and dropped right in front of the others....

Lining up for whatever fun could be had.

Follow how my hand is... go this way then go that way... Ha ha ha. Look closely at the picture.

Sandias in the background look like the Smokies.

Not too hard of a pack up though she didn't want to go back in her bag after.

A fun day.

Saturday Mo flew but I didn't go out as I was going to be going out Sunday to shoot another balloon only for that to fall apart due to high winds.. so it was called off at the field and I got to go home without any shots.

Some outtake shots.....

An edit for Thanksgiving of the morning sky. Sweet colors and clouds but too much junk in the air to get a clean shot.

Catz Eyez.

A colorful view on a dark morning.

Trading out passengers is good. Blocking the sidewalk..... who cares.. no one was walking there but us.. too darn cold.

Keep that Cat away from the volcano!!! Or at least Mike. Bird beauty mark.

The raven that came flying past.. he was farther off and I had to track and shoot like mad. I had the focus set wrong.

Diamond Weave fabric is strong. Look at that pattern!!!

I am still gathering up ballooning etiquette comments for the blog when I have lots of them. I have received many so far and they will all be posted anonymously when I do... so think about it.

Time to close this up and get ready for tomorrow.

Red Rock Balloon Rally is this Friday the 30th of November and then Sat the 1st and Sun the 2nd of December in Gallup!!! Its going to be interesting!!!

Ballooning etiquette and the rules.

Down weekend for me. I was hoping to go out and shoot some of the flights on Sunday but the winds were gusting at about 60 or 70 feet and that makes you pause. Sitting on the ground and watching a ride balloon descend into it and sweep South quickly just showed us that it was there...and that I didn't want to be there...they landed around 10 mph.. kinda fast.

It was completely flyable if you wanted to play with that wind level. Since we live in New Mexico and there will always be next weekend or the afternoon.. so everyone in the area sat on the ground or went to breakfast.

What rules do we have.. written and unwritten?

My favorites are.

Get to the launch field early or don't block people who have picked a launch spot already.

Do not ever bump fabric to fabric unless the Pilot in the other balloon know you are going to or its impossible to not bump..especially if you are at low levels.

There are more.. do you have one or two.. or more?

Since it was a quiet no fly weekend for me... I took a few shots with my phone cam to fill the void.


An old instrument panel in a Balloon Works balloon triangle basket. A very pretty basket too.

Three corners.. three tanks...one central burner.

Even has a glove compartment...

Amazing wicker work on this.

Me personally... cant deal with the low sides.. freaks me out a lot.

My Sons balloon bottom has Thunder and Colt tanks and burners. The fuel lines go into the tank vertically. His basket is a Lindstrand and its very nice. a little wider than mine but that few extra inches count for passenger comfort. my basket.. with three people... well you gotta love the people you are with.

His burners are classy and smooth. Nice blue whisper toggles with above squeezer mains. He even has an adjustable burner frame so if you are a little shorter you can simply adjust it on the fly down.

The stinker went off and flew this afternoon.... ohhhh.... yeah... because he could!



There is a plan to fly Thanksgiving morning. Friends bought their old balloon back... so they are flying it for the first time in a long while. I am going out with the cameras to record the event.. maybe try and sneak a video camera on it too...

Then the day after Thanksgiving they are going to do the annual after turkey day afternoon flight... I will go out but I dont care for afternoon flights... They launch is always brisk and its a dice roll for the landing... Meh.. I'm a fair weather flyer ... I wanna have fun.. not stress the flight. I can if I have to... I choose not to... Again.. Its New Mexico.. there is always next weekend!

It looks like the next time I will fly is at the Gallup Red Rock Rally on the 30th of November and December 1st and 2nd. High hopes for good weather. Its an awesome and super fun rally.

Other than those exciting balloon things I have been moving picture files. I was into the last 500 gig of an 8 TB drive so I had to make room. I pulled two old 4 TB drives out and wiped them then moved all my photographs from 2000 to 2014 to those drives ( one primary & one backup ). Took ages but its done now. Now I have almost 4 TB back open for future shots.

I've also been hunting more music down. There are a lot of remasters for Jethro Tull and Tangerine Dream and a bunch of other favorite artists...

Then on Youtube there are some songs I've found I want but hunting those down is harder. So much fun...

Now hunting a good price for an Xbox one X. Not to be mistaken by its slower and more dumbed down Xbox one S cousin. Still good but less powerful processor and no 4K. if that means things to you.

What else to do... I have a scratch in my clean photo ball thingy. How that happened I dont know. I also burned my finger again with the sun passing through it. Sheesh!

I dont think it will be noticeable but if it is I can get another for around 20 bucks on Amazon. The scratch not the burn.

I had a nice conversion about using a ball in photographs this morning. It was in my pocket surprisingly.. My brain ran like this. Using a ball to enhance a shot is good as long as its not the ball as the center of attention. If it causes an effect that is the attention I am all for it. Does that make sense?

Okay.. I have to do lots of research and finding of things that do not want to be found.. plus.. some type of food item for dinner.


Enjoy! Happy Thanksgiving all in the States... All those not in the States.. make a Thanksgiving up for yourself! We dont care if you enjoy any American holiday... All the more fun!!!!!