Nature, oh how strange and wonderful

Barrelling down the highway in what is essentially a bus can at time allow you a better view of nature, up close and squashed. Prior to entering Echo, OR we gassed up our motorhome Rex, washed the windshield, and headed for the RV park for the night. Just as we entered the city limits a swarm of grasshoppers smacked the windshield! Dick didn't know at first what had happened and reacted by swerving to the  opposite direction of the swarm. I was, on the other hand, upset that all the work I did to get the windshield clean was for not. Soon after parking we noticed ants crawling on the windshield eating the remains and soon they were joined by yellow jackets. By morning most of the goo was gone. This cleanup act was to be repeated most nights. Cannibals, lol. Looking at the front of our motorhome most mornings I am surprised that the EPA hasn't required us to register Rex as a pesticide as the insect collection is vast. This also reminds me of a book by Roger M. Knutson: Flattened Fauna, Revised: A Field Guide to Common Animals of Roads, Streets, and Highways.

But on a happier note here are some photos of living wildlife seen from our current travels.

Longhorn beetle visiting Rex 

Grey Jay -Adult Taiga

Young Grizzly looking for food 

Pelicans at Blue Lake

Merganser family at Blue Lake

Stone sheep eating salt from roadway

Wood Bison - not as shaggy as the American Bison

Bald eagles at W.A,C. Bennett Dam on the Peace River

Why here when the route is through Canada

I am using this blog as most of this trip will be in Canada, a Commonwealth of the UK, thus somewhat European, lol. The northern route in the US will go through CA, OR, WA, and ID northward and will be mostly on Hwy 395. Not much really to see going this way but it is a good route if you are planning to camp, see frontier towns, and see the scenic byways.

I am amused when we take off in the morning and through out the day that the motorhomes, fifth wheels, and other camping vehicles are a bunch of dinosaurs lumbering down the highways as if they are in some sort of migration. Considering the price of gas that the amount of gas it takes to move these vehicles they are very much like migrating dinosaurs

Northeastern California and Eastern Oregon are not as lush as the western parts of each state but there are lots of rolling hills some with rim rock enclosing small valleys which now are either used for hay or cattle grazing. Some of the native grasslands are being saved but much has been under the plow. We spent one night in a small town called Echo where the Oregon Trail (wagon train) crossed the Umatilla River. Not much left of  Fort Henrietta as the soldiers were told to burn the fort after the Native American uprising was "squashed”.  At the river crossing site there is a small park with a very small museum and an RV park. The museum includes the original water pumper wagon used for firefighting and two wooden buildings. One is a reconstructed blockhouse from the original fort and the other is the original provincial jailhouse that was turned later into a smokehouse. Not certain where this town obtained its funds but next to the park was a skate park and much of the old original town was undergoing a facelift!!. I was a little concerned what the noise level from the skating park was going to be but the skaters were obedient and left by 8 pm. The train rolling through town was noisier than the skaters.

Well more tales from the road shortly.

The Sistine Chapel...absolutely amazing !

Don't really know if the following is true but the link to the Sistine Chapel is amazing

Here is an amazing bit of technology that you would never see in person, as you would NEVER be alone in the room. It is ALWAYS VERY CROWDED and of course you can't see Michelangelo's artwork close up as you can here. This is especially spectacular if you have a large high-definition screen! Too many details to view on an iPhone.

 

TO VIEW EVERY PART OF THE MICHELANGELO'S MASTERPIECE, JUST CLICK AND DRAG YOUR ARROW IN THE DIRECTION YOU WISH TO SEE. In the lower left, click on the plus (+) to move closer, on the minus (-) to move away. Choir is provided free. MOVE THE ARROW AND YOU CAN SEE EVERY PART OF THE CHAPEL.

This virtual tour of the Sistine Chapel is incredible. Apparently done by Villanova at the request of the Vatican .

http://www.vatican.va/various/cappelle/sistina_vr/index.html

A separate side note for those who may follow this blog or my other Asian focused blog "Fan with Soy" we will be departing on a two month trip in our motorhome to the Arctic and no we are not going to Alaska but will be driving through BC, Yukon, Alberta, and the Northwest Territories. Though this trip is being done in North America I will use this blog to post our travel adventure updates and continue to post on Asian related topics in my other blog. I am also looking into getting my blogs readable on smartphones for those who don't want to use a PC or tablet.


Happy travels

As promised -PHOTOS

I have modified this blog to have additional pages that I have used to post more photos of the Amsterdam area and other places I visited in the Netherlands. So click on the tabs to see some photos of my adventure.

There will be more photos posted here as I 'improve' them and include some captions.

The same sort of format will be used for the 'Fan with Soy' blog.

Enjoy!

Farewell and Hello

Well the time has come to post my final entry for my 6 months in Amsterdam, my adventures, and my travels. There are a number of people who befriended me during my stay, other expats and some Dutch, who I will miss and hope to keep in touch with. And I must give a big thanks to those who came to my rescue and who were a great help navigating the Dutch healthcare system for my emergency hospital stay. The Dutch must be tolerant as they had to put up with me and I haven't heard any complaints, well maybe the one flower merchant.

So what have I learned during my stay? Cheese is a separate food group from diary, be careful of the type of soy sauce you buy, shop the Turkish markets for produce and grains, and that the Dutch can be very blunt about their opinions but not in a hurtful way. I have confirmed that I enjoy living in Europe and can adapt to my environment. The one thing I do wish that I could take back is cycling culture. Yeah back home Davis is a cycling community and it is very flat here but still it is a great alternative transportation mode. As are the trams, buses, and trains which Americans once had but have now moved to the automobile culture.

So here are a few final photos:

Yes, there are windmills in the Netherlands 

Bench at Zorgvlied

Globe made from recycled plastic drinking bottles

Entrance to the Hermitage in Amsterdam

Blauwburg

Low bridge just high enough for canal tour boat

Merchant sign in Amsterdam Nord

The EYE film museum

Tulips anyone?

Little elf at the local cake shop

For those of you in the US I will be home soon and hope to be able to say hello to everyone shortly but first there is my son's wedding to attend. So what will the next adventure be? Not certain yet but I am sure it involves travelling to a far off location so stay tuned.

Could some on please explain to me how I gained so much stuff while here?!? But I didn't lose any socks, hmmm very interesting ;-)

Valkenburg

When I traveled to Maastricht I was unable to book a hotel there as there was a Petanque tournament taking placee in the main square so I went to Valkenburg aan de Geul. This area is what the Dutch refer to as hilly, well not to our standards.

Train station in Valkenburg

View from Valkenburg castle to the nearby hills

Part of the old cemetery 

Grotestraat where many pubs and restaurants are found

Grotestraat 

It's a trap! No just indicating stairs to the campground.

Cows in the Queen's orchard along one of the many hiking trails in the area

See it is hilly here. Another hiking trail.

Apples and pony in a pasture.

Coal Mine

Coal train

Old city gate

Garden near the old city center.

A quiet Sunday in Valkenburg

Ruins of Valkenburg castle

While I was touring the castle I was able to watch a Falcon show

Falcon and Handler

Aisha the Falcon and handler

Aisha after "capturing" the prey

US Army memorial 

Travels to Maastricht

A few weeks ago  I traveled to Maastricht in the province of Limburg. Maastricht is very un-Dutch like in architecture and the dialect is also very different. Here are some photos of the historic city on Maas or Meuse River.

Train station at Maastricht

Grand Hotel across the street from the train station

Mariamonument  
One of many Catholic statues found in Maastricht

Mariamonument depicts Mary with the infant Jesus in her arms. The statue rests on a 9-meter-high column. The four bishops of the city, Servatius, Lambert, Monulphus and Hubert, recognizable by their badges, stand on the corners. The monument was created by Albert Termote.

Looking toward Maastricht from Ceramique. The Meuse or Maas is in the foreground 

Looking South at Maastricht on St. Servatius bridge

St. Servatius

Meuse with boats moored.

More swans looking for a handout

Minckeleers, Jan Pieter
Maastricht 1748 - 1824. Scientist

Jan Pieter Minckeleers was a Maastricht Jesuit who in 1771 became professor of Science at the Belgian university of Louvain. He discovered how to use coal gas for gas lamps and air balloons. In 1789 he had to return to his birth city for political reasons. He worked in Maastricht as a pharmaceutical chemist. He was also interested in meteorology, geology and paleontology. He wrote down a description of the Mosasaurus fossil that had been found in Mount St Pieter.

In Maastricht, Minckeleers’ statue stands at the Market side of the Boschstraat since 1904. The statue holds a gas pipe out of which burns an eternal flame. 

A bicycle with knitted coverings in front of yarn shop.

Stadhuis

Looking down Grote Gracht opposite of the Stadhuis 

Boats moored in the Bassin

The Basin is an ancient inland port in Maastricht that once housed warehouses but in the 90s , the port was completely refurbished now has restaurants, wine cellars and private yachts. 

Selexyz Dominican

This is the entrance to a bookstore that is located in a 700 year old Dominican church

Inside Selexyz bookstore

Inside Selexyz bookstore looking at the remains of the painted ceiling of the church

Vrihthof Square behind the Basilica of Saint Servatius and St. Jan (red tower)

Hawt Uuch Vas Fountain is located at Maastricht's central square, Vrijthof. It is related to Carnival and symbolizes community and spirit, fun and charity. The sculpture depicts five carnival figures, two men, two women and a child, in masks, dancing hand in hand around the fountain. 

One of many old walls.

The musketeer Charles de Batz-Castelmore, better known as d’Artagnan. He perished in 1673 during the siege of Maastricht by the armies of the French king Louis XIV. The inscription at the base is the famous saying "One for all, all for one." 

The Jekerkwartier is a neighbourhood in the old city center of Maastricht. The Jeker flows through the neighborhood before it enters the Maas. There is restoration work going on to allow fish to swim up stream.

Portal through the old city wall.

Not every where used windmills and in Maastricht there are several water powered mills still in use.

This is the watermill Leeuwenmolen and is located next to a private house

Here at the watermill Bisshopsmolen grain is still milled for the bakery next door. Free samples of the local bread were being handed out

The Basilica of Our Lady

The present-day church is not the first church that was built on this site. Since no archeological research has ever been carried out inside the present building, nothing certain can be said about this. The church's site, inside the Roman castrum and adjacent to a religious shrine dedicated to the god Jupiter, suggests that the site was once occupied by a Roman temple.

Our Lady, Star of the Sea chapel

Cafe next to the Onze-Lieve Vrouwplein