Happy Halloween - The Road to Recovery

The Traveling Chemist has been home for about nine (9) days with what turned out to be a 'bacterial infection'. At first I thought it was the 'flu' but I had my suspicions. One clue: the "Tamiflu" anti-viral drug I was prescribed had no effect. By the time the doctor considered using an antibiotic, the 'bug' was - thankfully - all gone. (I just hope it stays away!!!)

Anyway, I finally recovered and returned to work last Monday. Today (Friday, October 30) has ushered in some excellent Fall weather here in Houston (temps in the mid-60's F; ca. 18 - 19 deg C). Finally, the heat and humidity have gone and I can roll down my car windows, open my apartment windows and let the fresh air in.

>>>>>>>> HAPPY HALLOWEEN!!!

One Day in Covington, Louisiana

I had the pleasure of taking a short (one-day) trip to Covington, Louisiana - a small, upscale community located about 30 miles north of New Orleans on what is termed the 'North Shore' of Lake Pontchartrain (see photo above) I have been to New Orleans many, many times but have never ventured outside its main metropolitan area and thus this visit allowed me an opportunity to experience a new part of Louisiana.

Our one-hour flight to Houston was relatively pleasant (despite the 40-minute delay). And I flew out of Hobby airport - something I haven't done in recent memory. (FYI: Hobby handles mainly local commuter flights to/from Houston - most of which are of short duration. Also, there are no international flights out of Hobby to my knowledge.) We rented a car and my colleague volunteered to drive the one-hour trip from the New Orleans Airport, along the 20+ mile causeway that connects the south and north shores of Lake Pontchartrain into Covington.

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Unlike the central, main business district of New Orleans - which often seems to me to be rather shabby in appearance - Covington has a much more pleasing 'eye appeal'. Nice, upscale homes and several excellent local restaurants - two in which I had the pleasure of dining. We had a lot of business to conduct and thus I have relatively few photos to share of this one-day trip.

Copeland's restaurant in Covington. This restaurant was directly across the street from the Courtyard by Marriott hotel where we stayed. Excellent food!! The following day I had lunch at Zea, another fine restaurant which I can heartily recommend!!

A local goose who got a bit disturbed when I approached him!

The flight home on Southwest Airlines was smooth and ON TIME!

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Replies to Comments:

John: The menu at either Copeland's or Zea's is quite varied and as is usually the case with many restaurants nowadays, you can access their menu on-line. Zea's menu and locations can be found at: Zearestaurants.com Enjoy!!

Final Day in Wyoming - and the Trip Home!

Monday, September 21 was my last day in Rock Springs. Since my presentation was set for 6 pm, I chose to remain close to town and visited the Rock Springs Historical Museum. And am I glad I did ... this place is a true gem of a museum. Mind you, it's a small museum, the displays are nice enough but the museum coordinator - Bob Nelson - was a font of information about local history! I learned about facts such as: (a) "Butch Cassidy" was not killed in South America but allegedly lived after the famous shoot-out and returned to Wyoming; in fact his grandson still lives!; (b) Rock Springs supposedly got its start thanks to coal (see above sign!) but actually it was the railroad that started building a town there to provide a temporary place for the workers to live.

If you are ever in the area, please take an hour to visit this museum -- you will not regret your decision!

The Rock Springs Historical Museum in downtown Rock Springs, Wyoming.

Butch Cassidy, the Sundance Kid and three other 'outlaws' in a classic photo taken after they robbed a bank of about $32,000 USD.

A display on how Robert Parker picked up the name Butch Cassidy.

The museum has a small library containing a wealth of local historical records (newspaper clippings, photos, etc.) and information.

Mr. Bob Nelson - the museum coordinator. He can talk at length about the local history. He is very knowledgeable and very easy to talk to and will gladly answer all your questions.

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The next day I flew to Williston, North Dakota. Turned out to be a terrible flight on Great Lakes Airlines (aka Great Mistakes Airlines). I was delayed 5 hours in Denver and barely made it to Williston in time for my 7 pm presentation! Thankfully, my flights home on Wednesday (9/23) were both ON TIME and I walked into my Houston apartment at 10:35 pm and collapsed into bed about an hour later!

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Replies to Comments:

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Hindsfeet: Thanks for visiting my blog! I may try to add more Alaska photos - once I get the time! And that is a major problem lately! I have a cranky customer in Kuwait who wants what he wants when he wants it! I simply MUST take care of his request this week ... so maybe later .....

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John: Thanks, as always, for stopping by my blog! Always nice to know someone is looking in here from time to time!! Have a great Friday!!

Weekend in Western WYOMING

I have the entire weekend to rest up and prepare for the final two presentations in my lecture tour next week. As I mentioned in my last posting, my previous visit to Wyoming was about 30 years ago and so I chose to spend Saturday revisiting those locations where I took my first field trip for my current employer: Big Piney and La Barge, Wyoming. By themselves, these locations are not "special" places. Neither town has any spectacular scenery or tourist sites to brag about, it's just that each place holds a lot of memories for me.

My day started at 8:45 am. I drove along Highway 352 to 191 and arrived at La Barge - my first stop - at 10:30 am. La Barge is the location of the oil field where my colleagues and I conducted a major field trial in the summer of 1978. Not much has changed in town although there are a few new stores, restaurants and a gas station!

Next stop: Big Piney. This is the town (population 404) where we stayed at the Big Piney Motel. Surprisingly the motel is still there!! Along with several new buildings which have popped up in the last three decades: a new elementary, middle and high school and even a Big Piney Fine Arts Center! And now there is the Big Piney Museum!! Add to this a new grocery store and a few new businesses (gas stations, restaurants, etc.) and you'd think there must be a lot more people living here nowadays. Surprisingly, however, the town's population has not changed much over the last 30 years!

The sign at the edge of Big Piney, Wyoming! This same sign was here in 1978!!

La Barge, Wyoming .... not much has changed in the last three decades.

An abandoned gas station .....

The same cafe in La Barge that we ate at 30 some years ago. Sadly it is closed!

Next, lunch in Pinedale. I ate at Stockman's Restaurant, after which I took a few more pictures of the surrounding area and then began the 165 mile journey returning to Rock Springs. I drove a total of 340 miles today in eight hours.

Dinner on Saturday was at the White Mountain Mining Company Restaurant. A nice local restaurant with good food.

On Sunday (September 20) I ventured south of Rock Springs and took in more of the Flaming Gorge reservoir and the surrounding areas.

So many unique rock formations .....

Never a dull moment when touring Wyoming!

Every time I turned a corner, there was another one of those "Wow" moments. So many truly amazing sights!

PS: One final word .... Coffee addicts, especially fellow bloggers, Madame Lefty and Ms. Cheryl, may be pleased to note that Rock Springs, Wyoming now has a STARBUCKS in town! The presence (or absence) of a chain coffee shop such as Starbucks in a town/city is one of my indicators of the presence (or absence) of 'civilization'!

Day 5 - Driving to WYOMING!

Well, I have completed four of the six presentations scheduled for this first lecture tour! Turnout has been great - with the exception of the meeting in Vernal where only a small 'crowd' of eight folks showed up. I had about 100 people listening to me speak in Anchorage, 37 in Bakersfield and 62 in Denver. Thankfully, the next presentation on this lecture trip won't be until Monday (Sept. 21) and thus I have the entire weekend off to rest and recuperate. Instead of flying to my next stop, a colleague offered to drive me to Rock Springs, Wyoming. The drive from Vernal, Utah covered 110 miles and usually takes about two hours but took us about three hours as I wanted to stop frequently and take pictures along the way. This offer of a ride allowed me to cancel the flight (fright) on Great Lakes Airlines and simply drive to my next destination ... which is here in Rock Springs. It has been almost 30 years since my last visit to this wonderful state so I am looking forward to spending the weekend here and reconnecting with some of the same locations I first visited in 1978!

I departed Vernal, Utah at 9:30 am and headed north on Highway 191. We passed over the Flaming Gorge Dam (located in the northeastern corner of Utah - just below the border with Wyoming) and took in some truly wonderful scenery. I managed to snap a few pictures and you can see them here. Enjoy!

Wyoming reminds me of Alaska - a true frontier state with few people and a LOT of wide open land and wide open spaces. For someone like me who lives in a big city, this place is a welcome change in venue.

Day 4 of my Lecture Tour - VERNAL, UTAH

Greetings from Vernal, Utah! Thankfully, my presentation today in Denver went extremely well and was attended by 62 people. Then came the fun part ---- a flight on Great Lakes Airlines flight #5125 from Denver to Vernal. Oh boy .. what an experience! A very small plane (seats only about 14 people; no toilet and no flight attendant!). Seemed as though most of the Great Lakes flights this afternoon were being delayed for maintenance reasons. Our flight was no exception. We departed Denver 35 minutes late and arrived into Vernal at about 8:38 pm Mountain time. A colleague picked me up and I checked in to a simple room at the Weston Plaza motel. Trust me, this place is nothing fancy! I walked across the street to a Walmart for some food and now it's time for bed to get some badly needed rest. Tomorrow I give my presentation yet again. The 'crowd' here in Vernal is supposedly going to be a LOT smaller than the crowds I had in Anchorage and Denver - they expect about a dozen people to show up at best! Ah well, c'est le vie! I'll give it my best no matter how many people show up!!

Thankfully, after tomorrow's presentation, I am allowed to rest up the weekend and I'll give two more presentations (in two other locations) next week before returning home to Houston. Sorry for not posting any photos but I have simply been so pressed for time!

More later ....
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UPDATE (Thursday, Sept. 17): I managed a reasonably decent night's sleep although I could have used a few more hours of rest. Still, the "show must go on" and my presentation is scheduled for tonight (Thursday) at 6:00 pm local time. By now, my nerves are settled and I have my lines fairly well rehearsed so that the flow of the actual presentation is quite smooth - if I say so myself!
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UPDATE (Thursday, Sept. 18): There were only eight (8) attendees present for my lecture. Apparently the Uintah section of the professional society to whom I was lecturing is so small that it is normally hard to coax members to show up for these monthly seciton meetings.

The weather today is excellent!! Sunny skies. Not a cloud around. Sadly, however, I have no rental car and hence must remain here at the motel (the 'Bates Motel' ??). I may walk outdoors a while just to get some fresh mountain air.
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Replies to Comments:
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Searching Soul: Thanks for sharing your concern about small planes! I wish I had a picture of the twin-engine propeller Beechcraft. This was a night flight and when one passenger turned off her reading light, the ENTIRE cabin became so dark that the star light outside the plane was brighter than the inside of our cabin!! At least the flight to Vernal from Denver was smooth. Mountain flights can be BUMPY. A colleague here in Vernal has given Great Lakes Airlines the nickname: "Great Mistakes Airlines"!! Or just "Great Frights"!! Care to book a flight?!
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Al: Indeed I will get some rest!! Keep up the woodworking!!

Day 3 of my Lecture Tour - DENVER, Colorado

Here it sit preparing myself for my third presentation of this lecture tour. Today I am in Denver, Colorado. I flew in last night at 9:45 pm and after a 40 min taxi ride, I arrived at my hotel room (the Crowne Plaza Hotel in downtown Denver) at shortly after 11 pm. I managed to nod off to sleep OK and now - after a pleasant breakfast buffet - I am getting ready to walk over to the building next door where I must summon up enough energy and mental concentration to deliver my presentation (and answer all the questions thrown out after the talk) in a way that all the attendees can appreciate and enjoy. Sadly, there is not time to snap pictures and hence no picture to share with my postings. Perhaps I will catch up on my picture taking efforts sometime during this weekend!!

Update (Sept. 18th): A total of 62 section members showed up for my presentation!