StringGrrl sees the World

  Rocky Shoreline along the Licking River StringGrrl 5.0 & 4.3 On occasion, when work needs me someplace other than home or local office a road trio is necessary. Generally, any distance i can drive in 5 hours is just as convenient to drive to as it is to fly. Flying requires following someone else's timetable, getting to the airport, getting from airport to customer site, dealing with "airport people" (who are the worst), and is generally a soul-sucking endevor.  Driving is my preference with driving early or late enough that camping on the way just makes sense. A visit to Toyota in KY opened up the opportunity for some dispersed camping in the Daniel Boone National Forest. phone photography fails to capture just how magic the sky actually appeared Pulling into the riverside dispersed campsite by headlamp is pretty awesome After dropping of critical and delicate equipment with my host at Toyota, I drove about an hour east from Georgetown to Morehead Kentucky, where I...

Early Access to Camp for Volunteers, makes set-up easy peasy Back in the late 1900's I attended my first Blissfest. I was coming down from MTU where i was near completing my BS in Mechanical Engineering. My friends convinced me to stop in Bliss, MI for a multi-day music festival. And since it was end of term, i have most of my worldly possessions with me, so camping was pretty easy.  Chilling in the free standing hammock from Republic of Durable goods and a beer from Ascension Fast forward 28 years and I returned to Blissfest for the first time in 2022. I learned that Volunteering gets you in for nearly free. And since my neurospicy brain likes music festivals, but FREE Music festivals even more, i signed up to volunteer for 2 4 hour shifts to get the 3 day festival ticket for $170, with $160 coming back after i finish my shifts. Headliners the Wood Brothers take the stage Blissfest Stage 1    The line up Saturday to return to Bliss Stretching far behind, guess i should n...

 Woke up in the tent on Sunday, last day of Blissfest, to the panic inducing knowledge that StringGrrl was not in the tent, not on my campsite, nowhere to be found.  tl;dr  Fortunately, someone found her and dropped her off on a sign near the camp entrance.  StringGrrl waiting for me to come back to the Camp Entrance  As some may know, this is not the "First Avatar" of StringGrrl and unlikely to be the last. StringGrrl 1.0 was the first incarnation and was made of very thin wood and was prone to broken and lost limbs.  StringGrrl 1.0 enroute to Japan summer 2008 StringGrrl 1.0 in Zurich StringGrrl 1.2 a new outfit and less one arm StringGrrl 2.0 (Amber is SG's travel companion) and StringGirl 1.2  The last known pics of StringGirl 1.2 and 2.0 before they ran away I was a wreck that morning when I arrived in Dusseldorf after a flight from Zurich. It was an early morning flight too early for breakfast in the lounge and instead hit Sprungli Cafe in the te...

Netstal marked the beginning of the Wanderweg Woodpile art it apparently a thing here No, we will not be hiking that, the route we take will over 13.8 km only ascend 500m or so  https://wegwandern.ch/listing/uferwanderung-am-kloentalersee/ Bridge over the River Loentsch Cascades nearby the Cholhlgruebli  Panorama map of the Kloentalersee and neighboring peaks Almost got a decent panorama From the Deck of the Gasthaus at the lakeshore (beer to the rescue) Here comes the sun No railings, the Swiss are metal Shady forest keeping it cool A few waterfalls along the walk Another waterfall Nothing more Swiss, than fresh springwater (yes, potable) emerging from hose, drilled into rock, spouting from a hollow log Did we mention there was SNOW in July Hardcore stream coming directly from this crack in the cliff At the end of the hike   Even the train ride home is ridiculously photogenic