Got to take advantage of a little internet in Del Rio. Still no Verizon network, but the local Subway has wifi. Sorry to all for my lack of communication. Not sure how the network will be going towards El Paso.
Something I noticed about both the Blanco and Guadalupe Rivers was that they often seem to have a decidedly green hue to them. The same color that Muncho Lake along the Alaska Highway had (I don't remember exactly where along the trek Munco was... Ralph, Mom?)
Anyway, Muncho Lake's color was due to the compostion of the lakebottom minerals (what would it be, copper, magnesium??).
I mentioned this to the managers of one of the motels I stayed at in the Hill Country. They looked at me like I had three eyes. Said they never thought of the river as being green. And noone else had ever mentioned it to them. I took several photos trying to capture this effect, but I can't really tell on my screen if it shows up. I'll include one of the Guadalupe near the motel below. Looks green to me, but then... maybe it's my three eyes.
I thought I drove a lot for my job, but I met a guy in the hills in Leakey, TX. He was pulled over along the roadside taking a break. He told me his job was to wear out tires. He works for a Texas company that tests tires for the major manufacturers. He has to drive 500 miles per day, mostly over the rough roads in the hill country. Five days a week, he hits the road. He was driving a beat up Ford Ranger, but he asked me if I had seen the yellow Mustang convertible that just went by. I had, and he told me that was another of their drivers. I'm very glad he told me that, because the Mustang passed me no less than 6 times that day, and I probably would have started getting goosey about it. Apparently, his little company has 50 drivers on the road at a time.
Muncho Lake, huh? I can't remember exacltly where, but it is in Cananda (ok... I just looked it up and it's in British Columbia). I read a long time ago that the water is green because of the copper deposits. With that in mind, I'd hate to think what deposits make water brown! How are you holding up? Think you're gonna do the northern route in June? Enjoy the rest of your ride... and don't get too philosophical. - Ralph
ReplyDeleteWell good to hear from you pops..I was starting to wonder if you got trampled by a band of wild ranch-Zebras
ReplyDeleteWelcome back to...communication. Glad to hear someone was willing to feed you. Seems like everytime you're in an impossible situation, someone comes along looking to help. It's kinda inspirational. Just when I was starting the think the world might of gone bad.
ReplyDeleteYou didn't happen to ask the tire-wearer-outer if they were looking for more help did you? Sounds like a job I could do.
Ralph, you're right. Green rivers, tire testing... a little to heady for me. I need to stick to more practical topics like... what's to eat!
ReplyDeleteMark, I didn't ask the tire guy if they needed more help. I noticed that his cohort driving the new Mustang vert had the top up even though it was sunny and in the high 60s. I guess at 500 miles/day the wind through your hair gets to be an annoyance.
No Zebras Jo, but I did get a pretty good look at a grey fox in the campground last night (that's cool to us yankees who are north of their range).
I must have 3 eyes, too, because the Guadelupe looked green to me when I tubed down it back in the 90's. Also had a lot of 2-3' tall submerged vegetation where we where. Doesn't copper sulfate/sulphate cause that greenish/blue color when you sprinkle it into the fire? I always loved to do that.
ReplyDeleteI wonder if the tire-wearer-outer works for Consumer Reports? I figured they tested them on a machine or something, but it's hard to replicate a pothole.
Glad you're back in communication and safe and sound.
We expected that you would be out of touch for awhile. We've experienced the same lack of signal in the general area you were going through.
ReplyDeleteAs you saw, the Blanco is especially Green, and the Guadelupe can be too. We've heard different theories, and the most authoritative answer that it's "from the limestone" was not very satisfying. I can't find anything about it online either. At one time I thought the color might be from the reflection of the green of the cypress trees arching over the river, but then I realized that it's green year-round - like right now when the cypress are bare and during the fall when they turn a beautiful russet color. Guess we'll just have enjoy it in ignorance until we stumble acrosds someone who knows.
Glad you saw the grey fox. They are really beautiful. We were fortunate to have a den with two kits on the hillside, about 100 yards from our front door a couple of years ago. This year we had a female (we assume) that used to bark at us in the mornings when we went up the hill for the paper. It was really interesting because she would stop when we headed up the hill, the resume when we came back down, sitting and waiting on the neighbor's yard. I started barking back and we'd get quite a back-and-forth going.