Copasetic Flow

What it is A number of campsites sprinkled along Pass Creek as it winds through Blue Jay Canyon paralleled by National Forest Road 122 off of US 93, with an occasional pit toilet restroom. Pass Creek is accessible from each of the campsites. Tall canyon walls shatter the ground, rising above the creek on either side of the road. Last Visited:   June of 2022. Last Reviewed: June of 2022 Getting there: As you travel along US 93, turn north onto National Forest Road 122 aka Pass Creek Rd. Drive about six and a half miles to reach the canyon itself, although you’ll find campsites dispersed along the road beginning as soon as you enter Salmon Challis National Forest . Review: The campsites sit along Pass Creek as it winds through the canyon. One of the campsites we passed was across the road from a pit toilet. The other six or so campsites which were a few tenths of a mile away from each other would require a walk back along the graveled road to reach the facilities, (or you coul...

Having the kids able to help out with our everyday lives has been one of the huge perks of unschooling.  Rather than being off somewhere discussing life skills, or practicing life skills, or doing homework on life skills, the unschooling kid s here are out using their life skills as they develop them.  Lately, as the gang have been out and about, living their lives, they've also been able to help me out.  The 8, 6, and 4 year-old here have learned how to do shopping without me.  We started out with them collecting items in the same grocery store I was in to save time.  Now, we’re splitting up to hit different stores, and then meeting back at the bus stop.  The latest advantage I received from unschooling though had to do with my airport commute in LA.  First, I was surprised to find out public transit works in LA!  I"d heard the rumors that LA is a driving-only town, but they're just not true.  There aren’t as many routes as there are i...

Life skill testing?  Sounds like a bad idea, because, well, it is.  If you’re wondering what on Earth I’m talking about, it came up in yesterday’s post when I wondered if perhaps unschooling kids could hang out with vetted Directors of Tactical Ops, (DTOs aka nannies),  while traveling with their parents on work trips.  As a brief recap, I reasoned/hoped that kids could travel with their parents on business trips, hang out with local DTOs, and then explore the area with their parent over the weekend.  It’s not quite what’s known as World Schooling, where families travel the world freely instead of going to school.  It’s a middle ground.  From the kid’s point of view: Mom or Dad are travelling, there’s stuff I could experience, I’m going with them.  There were two issues though, one was vetting DTOs.  The other one, the one that led me to thoughts of life-skill testing was vetting kids, in order to qualify them to wander around towns with D...

Unschooling, travel, and work.  They’re three things that don’t always go together, but they should.  When I travel for work, I frequently find myself in places where there’s tremendously wonderful stuff for kids to experience.  Meanwhile, the gang isn’t with me, they’re at home, because work.  Even if we could stay the weekend—frequently, we actually could—to check everything out, where would the gang hang out while I’m at work?  Since the kids here are unschooled, and have been raised free-range, the obvious answer at first blush would be that they should go see the sights without me.  But how?  Many museums--at least in San Francisco—don’t allow kids to free-range below the age of 12, and that’s only the tip of the iceberg. The gang here is 7, 5, and 3 years old.  They know how to ride public transit, they know how to behave in museums.  They know how to socialize with other kids in markets, and with adults for that matter.  What ...

I'm attending SPESIF 2012 this week at the University of Maryland. I'm learning a few tricks for getting around the area easily since I'm using solely public transportation on this trip. Getting from the Airport to the University: The B30 metro bus leaves the airport every 40 minutes or so [pdf]. It costs $6 and you have to have exact change. It will take you directly to the Greenbelt Metro station. From there, you can ride one stop on the metro train to the College Park Metro station. University of Maryland College Park Shuttle System: From here on out, you can get a remarkable number of places on the UMD shuttle bus system. Make sure to check the complete schedule and maps [really big pdf[ to see if where you're headed is on a route. You can also use the excellent NextBus application on your phone. Just click on the NextBus logo in the upper right corner of the UMD transit web page . To get from the College Park Metro Station to campus, hop on the 1...

This little, (kinda big actually), guy was hanging out at the gas station today.

Why is Boulder, CO cast in the part of Washington D.C. in Scarecrow and Mrs. King, Season 3, Episode 19, "The Boy Who Could Be King"? 11:32 into the episode a panning shot that is supposed to be in downtown DC is actually the Pearl St. mall, in Boulder, CO. Here's the shot from the episode, (scroll down for the same view of the Pearl St. mall in Google Earth): Here's the view of the Pearl St. mall in Google Earth. Google Earth is a bit strange, you may have to reload the page to get the correct picture, (or click the 'View Larger Map' link below: View Larger Map Later at 23:14 an assay report is shown from the Stagler Mining Co. of Bolder Colorado. Anybody know if there was any rhyme or reason to all this?

Snow is already coming down all over Colorado! In fact, they opened a few of the ski runs today! I traveled up to Diamond Lake via the Fourth of July trailhead yesterday where there's just a little bit of snow in the shady spots. The hike is beautiful, it crosses two very nice waterfalls and Boulder Creek on the way up. I ran into three other groups making the trek on a Tuesday afternoon. For more information on the trail and the Forest Service regulations for the area check: Diamond Lake [pdf] Pictures Back down the valley toward Eldora. Middle Boulder Creek Campsites available! Diamond Lake Stats Trail: Diamond Lake Trail #975 from Fourth of July Trailhead Forest Service description and regulations [pdf] Roundtrip distance on trail: 5.2 miles Transit time from Boulder to trailhead: 55 minutes Hike time to lake: 2 hours Hike time back: 1 hour Map View Larger Map Amazon.com Widgets

While wondering around Stockholm, I found a building that had what appeared to be Scottish Rite symbols on its entrance. It is the home of the Tempel Riddare Ordens in Stockholm. Of course, wikipedia had the anwer . It turns out that this is an organization that probably has Masonic roots and was founded in the United States in 1845 as part of the temperance movement. It was originally known as the "Marshall Temperance Fraternity" and promoted complete abstinence from alchoholic beverages. It now exists only in Scandanavia and is know as Tempel Riddare Ordens. Another Masonic tie: From the Charge of the Entered Apprentice Degree: "... and [a duty] to yourself, in avoiding all irregularity and intemperance, which may impair your faculties, or debase the dignity of your profession. ..."

Day 1 Day 2 The third day in Samothraki, I took off on a tour around the Eastern edge of the island. The variety of sights within a small space is stunning. I visited an ancient temple site overlooking the ocean, hiked in the mountains to an idyllic, deserted waterfall, and wondered around a black pebbled beach! I've written previously about the The Temple of the Great Gods , so I won't add too much. The site is amazingly well preserved considering that Alexander the Great's parents met here. The statue of 'Winged Victory' that is now on display at the Louvre was found here. By the way, France and England, the folks in Greece would like their stuff back. A short ride from the temple and into the hills behind Θερμα, brings you into a dense forest on the mountainside. You can hike back in to a series of waterfalls. I only went up to the first one. In the off-season, the area was completely deserted except for a few goats. A ride east and then south along the ea...

Back on Samothraki: Notes on the slide show are included below. The pictures shown were taken in early September. The island is beautiful then. Most of the tourists have gone home and there's just a slight chill to the air in the mornings. Day two starts in Kamariotissa. The picture shows the main street of the little port town. At Mike's car and bike rentals you can rent a scooter, a motorcycle, a car, or sometimes even a house. I lucked out and got everything I needed in one stop! There's a great internet cafe next to a coffee shop if you need to send messages home, or upload photos. The cafe is shown in the lower right-hand corner of this photo. This is all you need to get around to get around Samothraki! There's not a whole lot of traffic on the roads. Even on the rougher roads in the country, a scooter does just fine. Make sure you learn how to use the kick starter as well as the electronic ignition, the knowledge will come in handy. Also, keep in mind t...

The panoramic view from Dakota Ridge during Boulder's Valentine's snowfall.

It snowed in Boulder on Valentine's creating a beautiful white landscape in town and up on Sanitas Ridge. Dakota Ridge Sanitas Valley Dakota Ridge Spruce St. http://copaseticflow.blogspot.com/2008/02/boulder-valentines-snow.html

Wednesday morning from the top of Dakota Ridge

Last Autumn I visited the small island of Samothraki, Greece in the northeastern Aegean Sea. The island is beautiful with rocky beaches, mountains, dense forests, and natural waterfalls all packed into a small space. View Larger Map But, what initially drew my attention to it was the Sanctuary of the Great Gods . Alexander the Great's mother and father met there during a initiation. I wanted to find out if there were any links between modern-day Masonic ceremonies and the ritual initiations performed there. The site is beautiful! The layout doesn't fit with the east-west layout of today's lodges. Almost every building on the site was situated north-south. Of course, with the gorgeous views of the sea to the north, who could blame them! This site of temples and meeting halls is also where the "Winged Victory" statue was found. The statue "Winged Victory", which now resides in the Louvre was found on Samothraki and recently featured in the movie Ange...

A few foxes have wondered into town lately. This one was just hanging out in Sanitas Valley this morning watching the world go by.

The Sanitas Valley/Dakota Ridge Series, Boulder, Colorado Part I Part II Part III Part IV Sanitas Valley has almost completely cleared up after the recent snow storm. Only a few errant clouds are hanging around.

The Sanitas Valley/Dakota Ridge Series, Boulder, Colorado Part I Part II Part III Part IV After yesterday's snow and falling temperatures over night, this morning's sunrise was incredible!

The Sanitas Valley/Dakota Ridge Series, Boulder, Colorado Part I Part II Part III Part IV Cloud Forming From the top of Dakota Ridge in Boulder, Colorado on Tuesday morning: What initially looked like a rain storm dumping on a lake turned out to be exactly the opposite! This picture at sunrise shows a cloud being formed over a small lake east of Boulder, Colorado. The picture was taken from the top of Dakota Ridge. Detail View There's an interesting article on cloud formation at Wikipedia . It makes me wonder if the cloud formation was accelerated by particulate matter from the nearby smokestack. Video View

The Sanitas Valley/Dakota Ridge Series, Boulder, Colorado Part I Part II Part III Part IV It's snowing in Boulder, Colorado this morning! All the trees were flocked along Dakota Ridge and Sanitas Valley. A black fox was making his way along the side of the valley in the snow.