Mary Lee is back ...

Mary Lee being tagged, 17 September 2012, off Cape Cod. Photo by OCEARCH.

 
Yesterday at 4:00 PM Mary Lee was inside, in Pamlico Sound, paddling around the entrance to Ocracoke harbor. Just like the big white in Jaws. INSIDE!!!

Then she went back out through the inlet, and 90 minutes later was moving quickly down the oceanside of the island.

When she was down in Florida, at one point she was within 200 yards, perhaps closer, of the beach. She seems to like to poke around inlets and estuaries.

Ocracoke is one of the places we visit. We wade around in the ocean on the beach side.

Is this too cool, or what?

You can track Mary Lee here:

OCEARCH shark tracking

More on Mary Lee:

Mary Lee - a legendary shark


Update: Mary Lee is further out to sea this morning, moving more than fifty miles in less than 24 hours. At 1:00 AM ET on 23 January she was near the 50 fathom line, northeast of Hatteras, which is where the continental shelf begins its rapid drop off into the depths of the Atlantic. She is out of the warm Gulf Stream and into the southern reaches of the Labrador current.

Praise God from whom all blessings flow ...

The singing of the Doxology, at the 37th Rocky Mountain Mennonite Relief Sale, 10.20.2012:



and a gallery of images from the sale:

37th RMMS 10.20.2012

"Ooooooh!"

Leece got this one in last evening's 8th grade basketball game, Swink Lions v. Fowler Grizzlies, at Swink:

She was shooting the players, who went down just as she shot. The young ladies in the background stole the focus - almost; it's little soft - making for a pretty good shot.

WritingPlaces.com

Indifferent ...

And in the meanwhile, there are some in this world who are completely indifferent to the foolishness around them ... such as this honeybee, busy at the sage by the front door, stocking up for the winter.

Picket Wire guided tours

The U.S. Forest Service will offer guided auto tours of Picket Wire Canyonlands south of La Junta on the Comanche National Grassland.

These primitive canyons are home to the largest dinosaur track site in North America and many historic and archaeological features.

Fall tours are scheduled every Saturday beginning this weekend through Oct. 20. Tours run from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m.

Due to rough roads, visitors will need their own four-wheel drive vehicle and any supplies such as water and food.

For more information or to make reservations, call 719-384-2181 or visit the USFS website.

Pike National Forest and Pikes Peak

This past Sunday we took a day trip up to Pike National Forest, where we did a bit of hiking, and then took the toll road up to the peak of Pikes Peak.

We have a gallery of 147 shots up on WritingPlaces.com's galleries page,  under RoadTrips 2012.

The road is paved all the way now, and has been for some  years now. That was the result of a suit by the Sierra Club, who protested all that gravel - thousands and thousands of tons of it - washing down the slopes and into the forest and watercourses below. Every year. Hats off to the Sierra Club on that one.

There are even some guard rails now, and from the look of a few of them, not a moment too soon.

We packed a picnic lunch, which we enjoyed at the Halfway picnic grounds. We aren't sure if those are maintained by the Forest Service - it isn't shown in the listing of Pike National Forest picnic areas - or by the City of Colorado Springs. Whoever does it, is doing a pretty good job of it.

However ... avoid the commercial 'gift' shops, which are well-stocked with Hechoed in China junk, including the establishment at the summit. Also be prepared for some pretty grungy bathrooms in all of the commercial establishments. You would think with the money they rake in they'd keep the places from looking like something from the Third World.

OTOH, the Pikes Peak donuts were reportedly pretty good. SteveO woofed one down in short order.

Other than the disappointing commercial establishments, the trip was a most outstanding experience. And we didn't go for the junk shops anyway.

We thought about a weekender to New York City, but decided to skip it. We don't think we could pass their health attitude requirements.

Cheyenne Mountain State Park 07.07.2012

We took a trip to Colorado Springs yesterday, to pick up Michael and Froggy at the airport, on their return from 'Zarona.

Then we went to CheyenneMountain State Park for a picnic lunch and a short hike on one of the many trails throughout the park. It was mid afternoon. Leece and I saw plenty of dragonflies and lizards, but no larger critters. The kids had walked ahead and saw a couple of deer - a doe and a half-grown fawn - on the trail ahead.

Though there were a few cyclists on the trail, and fewer hikers, the park was not crowded. Some of the hikers were quite noisy and could heard several hundred yards up and down the trail. Otherwise, it was quiet enough to hear your heart pound.

A good time was had by all.

We have a gallery on WritingPlaces.com under "Road Trips 2012".