Day 1194: Leave No Trace

The Silver Creek and Brocton gals enjoyed our potty stories.  We've tried to ease their fears about "going" outside with humorous anecdotes.  Steve talked about a couple experiences in Vietnam when he got caught with his pants down.  Once, when a helicopter was coming in to land, it turned to an angle so the wash would blow him over into the mud.  The door gunner laughed so hard he fell out of the copter.  Then another time, after a fire fight, the tracks took off and left him while he was going.  He ran after them, with his pants in one hand and his M16 in the other.

I shared stories of traveling across the Kyzyl Kum Desert in Uzbekistan.  There were no rest stops, so the bus simply pulled over to the side of the road.  The men went behind the dunes on the left side of the road and the women went to the right side.  Of course, it's very difficult to dig a hole in sand.

Our whole point, of course, is to reduce their anxiety and to emphasize the importance of following proper leave no trace principles to safeguard the environment.

It's been so grim and grey that I haven't taken any new photos.  A huge heat wave is hitting the south while violent storms stretch across the midsection of the country where the two fronts meet.  Violent storms are hitting the major cities where our family lives: Tulsa, Louisville and Columbus.  For us, thick fogs, heavy rain, chilling cold and grey clouds.

Buttermilk chicken burger with pineapple relish and carrot wasabi slaw at Bare Burger

Justin and Kaoru

Resting in Central Park on Easter Sunday