Upcoming Movie: Villeneuve adapts Clark's "Rendezvous With Rama"

You can dig around for more and more recent links, but here's The Hollywood Reporter's take from last December.

Villeneuve does good adaptations of good sci-fi.  As always, there's a big "wait and see" on this one too, but  hey, given the job he did with Arrival, Dune, and several others, there is reasonable hope.

One More One More

As with last week's re-hike of the High Bluff Trail, made one more pre-summer hike of the Gap Point Trail.  No pics today, didn't want to slow down and give the yellow flies more time to bite.  Still, when the winds were right to keep the bugs off, it was pretty pleasant.  Saw a little wildlife (leopard frog, garter snake, lots of springtime birds), and just.... walked.

Will be back there next fall, probably not before.

Happy Erf Day!

Just go read last year's post.  It still applies.

Or here, go look at today's Far Side.  It should be up for a couple of days.

*sigh*  I've got a bike to go ride.

OK, Just One More

One more hike on the High Bluff Trail today.  Said "that's it for this spring" almost three weeks ago, but pfft, one more cool front and one new hiker ready to go, and it was off to the woods again.  No pics needed, just another morning in the woods.

I swear, it's like eating potato chips.  You know, the ones with bbq flavoring.  With cold beers.

Farewell to The Bay

I'm just back from a visit  to Bay St. Louis, my home for 30 years.  Mostly, it was a three day whirlwind of parties and meet-ups with old friends, but I still had enough time to tour around the town, take in the sights, and even to spend a pleasant hour or so reading under the Washington Street beach pavilion.  The old house is virtually unchanged, but some of the woods out back have been leveled for development.  That's a common complaint all over in small towns these days.  The Mockingbird is doing well, now eschewing the night life and having settled into a relaxed breakfast and lunch place groove.  Ran into several of the regulars there, which was lucky happening.  The rest of town looked the best it has in years, having largely re-opened and recovered after covid and Hurricane Zeta.

Here's a 180 degree pano-wrap from the Washington Street pavilion.

Not my cruiser bike, not my kid-hauler.

This trip was a nice coda after having lived there so long.  Thing hadn't changed, much, in this little bit of time.  I'm sure that by the next time I'm through the area the changes will have begun to stack up and become more noticeable.

Is Nuclear Power Green?

The question is considered over at last Saturday's Backreaction.  Definitely worth your 20 minutes' time.

Once more: Either we get serious about building out nuclear power now, or we get serious about plow mules and horses in ten years.  This oil and natgas gravy train won't last much longer.

The "still here and functioning" light reassuringly goes *blink*

Still here.  Busy with boring, detail-oriented nonsense.  Adventures await.  So does laundry.  It'll probably be a few days – weeks perhaps? – before there's something post-worthy.  In the meantime, this blog is not dead yet.

Once More Before Hot Weather: High Bluff Trail

Fast hike on the High Bluff Trail on Friday, spanning lunchtime.  Started in the mid-60's, ended up in the mid-70's.  Just clicking out a favorite local trail once more before the spring weather heats up.  Here, have two pics.

Foreground: sand pit.  Midground: Apalachicola Bay.  Background: East end of St. George Island.

Mid-point on the south side trail.

Other than perhaps following an unexpected cool front and a sudden dash to something a little more distant, this is likely the last real hiking for this half to the year.  Onward to more biking.  It's easier to outrun the bugs that way.

Hiking the Garden of Eden Trail

Last Sunday I went biking in hell, so this Wednesday I went hiking in the (alleged) Garden of Eden.  Here's Atlas Obsucra's take on the matter, including handy directions to get to the trailhead.  The history of this place is eccentric to say the least, but here in the early 21st Century the zeal has mellowed a bit and now it's just a hiking trail.  A really cool hiking trail.

Panoramic view from the Apalachicola River bluff.  No actual gravitational singularities were involved in producing this degree of curvature, it's just a camera trick.

The key thing I have to add to all the other online reviews is that this trail, while not difficult, is far more challenging than the casual hike most sites imply.  Take a look at the map on this trail brochure and you'll see two ravines to climb down into and back out of on the way to the main river loop.  They have wooden steps in places, and things get steep here and there.  Not hard for the fit among us, yet not a stroll in the park either.  Once you get out to where the trail forks into the river loop, the right fork is the easy option to the bluff, while the left fork will take you into the most challenging part of the trail.  This will eventually lead you around to the bluff, after you pass through another ravine and some beautiful lowlands.  Either way of course it makes a loop, but know that taking the right fork, seeing the view from the main bluff, then turning back is an option for those who are close to reaching their fun limit for the day.

Be sure to take along a trail brochure, either from the link in the previous paragraph, or just pick one up at the trailhead.  There are 19 numbered trail markers pointing out things of interest along the way.  I neglected this, and regretted doing so about two markers in.  Probably missed a lot, so I'll have to go back and re-hike soon.  (Darn.)  Also, you can follow your progress toward the bluff, which is a morale booster.

Figure on 2 to 3 hours total hike if you're doing the whole trail.  A quart or so of water and maybe a snack or even a picnic lunch will keep things happy.  Decent trail shoes and a hiking pole will help too.

Finally, there is a Nature Conservancy donation drop box near the trailhead.  Be sure you have a few small bills to slip in there, because they do a great job acquiring and maintaining sites like this one.

Here's one more view from the bluff, over on the "easy" side:

No serpents nor unusual fruit trees spotted.  Still worth the hike.