Skeezix

What old school guitarist's guitarist was nicknamed "The Snake?" Internet or wikipedia is cheating. For extra credit, what was the name of the band he played in with fiddler Sugarcane?

Don't watch it... it will just make you depressed. If you've already watched it, and you're like me, you probably wish you could toss that sick fuck marine into a gully and let him see how it feels.

Obama skis AT...

Routes and Rocks in the Mt. Challenger Quadrangle, by Tabor & Crowder

I like the photography. Nice job snappin' pix.

No... You're not stupid.

Cheaters never prosper.

I'm voting for Ron Paul. Return to the gold standard! Yeah,that's what's important. What a freak. A friend of my wife told her this past weekend that she likes Ron Paul. Uncomfortable silence... And we thought we knew her!

Yeah...that's pretty good. I checked the satelite photo of my house and you can zoom in to where you can pick out the apple trees in my back yard. Sweet.

Flea can spank that plank.

I take it you didn't end up on stage?

Laphroig. Straight up.

"You new in town?" "Naw, I'm the same. Town's new."

Kids pick it up really fast ...but they have to be ready. There can be some false starts, so if they get cold, scared, or aren't having fun, be ready to bail quick. My two boys learned at Hurricane Ridge. My best strategy for getting them under control was to ski down backwards wedging in front of them while bending over and holding their ski tips together with my hands. It made all the blood rush to my head, but they picked it up pretty quick. But then, my kid's a badass:

The soundtrack to my summer road trip was the Avett Brothers.

Conn's West 5.2, Seneca Rocks, W.VA., Summer 1974 (After graduating from high school.

Director of Technology and Athletics ...because footballs and computers go so well together. Port Angeles School District.

Nice job, Blake. I appreciate you giving props to Bob. Some time I'd like to hook up for a beer at the River Resort with you and Bob. Sit down by the bank of the river and swap some tales.

I once received a citation in Shenandoah National Park for building an illegal campfire. It was right after I got out of high school and was just learning about backpacking and rockclimbing. I was backpacking on the Whiteoak Canyon Trail with two buddies and lit a tiny little fire by our tent. We were quite a ways off the trail, but an intrepid ranger was hiking through just after twilight and spotted our fire. He came into our camp and wrote me up. I totally deserved it --mailed in my fine. When I started working for the NPS in the North Cascades and realized that writing citations for code violations was part of the job, it helped to know what it feels like to get ticketed. I certainly can't vouch for every individual that dons an NPS Ranger uniform, I'm sure there's some jerks out there. In fact, I worked with one a few years back in Death Valley. I definitely take umbrage, however, at a sweeping generalization of all rangers as "tools". Those of you that want to label every ranger that way will be singing a different tune if you ever get into a tight spot and need a ranger's help.

It may be true that several long-term rangers have left, but Kelly Bush is still the Wilderness District Ranger. She's been there longer than dirt! Since...like...the fifties or something! She's grown roots into the rock of North Cascades National Park. When you meet a climbing ranger in the backcountry, that person works for Kelly, and Kelly is giving them their marching orders. Kelly Bush runs the show up there, and I guarantee you... Kelly Bush is nobody's tool.

I can't resist weighing in here... First of all, I detect nothing in Blake's original post blaming the ranger for the outcome of his case. Blake's anger and surprise were in response to the action of the judge. Secondly, the seasonal NPS ranger you run into in the backcountry in NCNP is nobody's tool. I was fortunate enough to work as a mountaineering ranger there for 10 years, 1983-92. Over those ten years, I think I wrote fewer than 20 citations. Our enforcement priority was to gain voluntary compliance and to educate visitors. Here's a few things that rangers do: Rangers study human impact on the landscape. In some cases they mitigate that impact by making repairs. Rangers manage visitation, to provide for enjoyment of the park by visitors, and to protect the resource for future generations. Rangers collect and dispense information about backcountry conditions. Rangers save people's asses when they get in a fix. Rangers teach minumum-impact camping and travel techniques to climbers and backpackers. There are a lot of other important things that rangers do. Rangers are nobody's tools.

My condolences to the family. I be double hugging my boys tonight...

Is that a coyote humping that guy?