I've got a poorly-lit and very mildly out-of-focus photo of a woman I met in a bar down there on Key West for the Sun-Down craziness, or whatever it's called, which they used to do at the west end of the Key.

Went deep-sea fishing on that trip, too. Had better luck.

So I'm out in the boonies of the Everglades taking pictures on one knee that are destined to redefine the art of photography when I look down and casually notice a coiled-up rattlesnake about two inches from said knee.

It ended up being an action shot of the horizon tilted at 35 degrees or so.

I think it was Ghirlandaio. He was Michelangelo's first mentor of frescoe in Florence. Early teens, I think.

There's a little sort of nondescript church in Florence that has his very first frescoes that Ghirlandaio let him do. They are faded and chipped and damaged by mold and such.

I have never before or since swooned. Not because those frescoes were so inspirational by themselves. But rather becaues I knew I was to soon behold stupendous greatness by a man's hands and mind.

Michelangelo aside, I pulled into the Kitty-Kat lounge in Jacksonville Florida once.

And only once.

I've told this story here before but I don't care.

Some babes from the northeast pulled up next to to our van situated on Daytona beach with their big-a$$ motor-home and climbed up on the roof in all their glorious milky bikini whiteness on their way to Key West.

By the look of their hues, three, four hours later they were in the ER. Guaranteed. They were fried in a different way than were we.

Keep em coming. I look forward to your Epic Journey

I'll try, bi.

Thanks.

Shake-down run appears successful.

Two things:

Shoes. What to do with and where to put them.

Housekeeping. There's lots of it.http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1505403978.jpg

Do you remember what church/chapel? I think he was about 13 when he started under Ghirlandaio... would love to know. Thanks.

Overwinter when I reorganize the art history portion of my library I'll keep an eye out for the name in question, t. And as I think of it, it may have been a chapel of a monastery owned by a super-rich guy.

Considering his stature, there is remarkably little that survives from his life's work such that some have opined that everything he attempted was virtuoso. Very few sketches, crude drawings, etc. For an outright genius who created for the most part uninterruptedly from his toddler years to his death 90-something years later, Michelangelo never seems to have needed to practice anything.

His father was a stone mason from whom Michelangelo learned to love stone. The smart people around him immediately recognized his genius.

That is the primary difference between he and I.

Have you ever been to Joshua Tree NP? It's in the eastern Mojave, and just the place to have such a sit!

Dare I say it, and Death Valley (believe it or not), have a certain spiritual quality to them. And a unique beauty - if you seek it.

Trailer needs graphics....
Joe Bob?

Have fun with that little trailer this winter! I have had a few adventures in my old Starcraft pop up camper for the back of my truck.

I missed that camper so much that I bought another so my son and I could get out and do a few road trips and weekends.

http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1505478635.JPG
Here is the "new" camper.
2007 Adventurer 8'. About 1700 lbs wet.

Balloon fest in Albuquerque in the fall. Sedona and Santa Fe are great.

Personal favorite is Roswell and the Alien Museum

http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1505480705.jpg

In other news, my sudden concern is bears. Not rare but not quite common either, bear encounters here have suddenly spooked me.

The fridge is full of food. Do I need to go empty it out and hang the groceries from some tree limb or whatever?http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1506984759.jpg

Doubtful that a bear would get into your hard-sided trailer.

That's what I was thinking. About 10 years ago a coworker and his wife got trapped in their tent when a bear got between them and their brand new Subaru. The animal pulled out a rear window, climbed in and totally trashed the interior going after goldfish crackers.

Made the regional news.

Maybe it was 20 years ago. They were in the Smokies, though. I'm in Michigan and hoping that matters.

Bears get into cars and trailers all the time. If they're hungry, they're going to get in. In our town in Montana, we have bears breaking into cars and houses every summer.

Bears in the wild will typically not do this, though. If you're worried about it, stash the food in your vehicle every evening and sleep easy.

Thank you, sir.

I'm a risk it. They can't be that hungry hanging out at a campground. Yogi and BooBoo seemed to be though.

If something happens, I'll post it.