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It is only Saturday evening and the weekend seems long already. Eric an I are taking the BSA Climbing Instructor class. It started Friday evening at 7:00 and we went home after 10:00 Today we met at the base of Mt Rubidoux at 8:00 in the morning. We put into practice what we leaned, setting up anchors for climbing or rappelling.
After several setups and tests, we had to do the rappelling rescue. Eric rappelled down one set of ropes and tied off like he was stuck. Clothing and hair has been known to stop ones decent. I repelled down next to him, tied off, hooked him to my rig and disconnected him from his. we then began our descent back to the ground floor. Eric had to do the same for me and he did it well.
The day was hot and by 2:00 in the afternoon we had consumed 3 liters of water and a little more sun that we needed. It is nice to get home an relax where it is cooler.
 Taking a break on Mt Rubidoux
It is amazing that time has passed so quickly. Tomorrow is Emily’s 21st birthday. She has grown so much in many ways. She is just plain old growing up. We celebrated her birthday tonight. We went out to diner and then came back home for presents and ice cream. She received two cookbooks, my favorite, The Joy of Cooking and Janet’s favorite, The Fannie Farmer Cookbook. As for dinner, it was some great pizza.
 Emily and her almost 21 party
It was another work day in the life of Eric’s Eagle Project. Eric and I put together one table over this past week so that the scouts could begin sanding on it when they arrived. As the buzz of sanders shattered through the one hundred plus degrees of heat, the rest of us put tables together.
 The buzzing of sanders was in the air and on the tables We put all four together and the sanders continued to buzz. They had sanded some of the parts before we put the tables together so we all finished about the same time. We had some pizza and broke in the new tables. After lunch, the young men grabbed their sanders and looked for the last few rough spots to conquer before the went home.
 Final touches for the day
Jacob has joined the Beaumont High School Cross Country Team. In one way it is difficult to believe that Jacob is in High School. Well, he is and he is having fun. Today they ran against Hemet out by Diamond Valley Lake. Jacob did well and the team won best overall.
 Beaumont High School Cross Country Team
It was a fast weekend again at Powder Horn, a high adventure skills resource course or the Boy Scouts of America. The course is a six day course over two weekends and this was the second weekend. This weekend was at the Irvine Ranch Orange Education Center (OEC) we covered several more elements of the Venturing Ranger Award. Friday started with a trip to Irvine Regional Park to ride some watercraft. We then went geocaching in the park and picked up a couple of geocaches. It was then back to the OEC for lunch and then a SCUBA experience. It took a little mental work to remember to relax breath under water. It was a fun experience. Then we had first aid presentations as well some on caving, backpacking and a few others areas of outdoor activity. During a little free time a member of our crew and I took a trip to a peak in the area and signed the log book.
Saturday had a great presentation on ecology with a nature hike. We also leaned about Leave No Trace (LNT) principles and had another outdoor activity to learn about LNT. There was time for another quick hike before more classes and our preparations for our “Backpacking Adventure.” To begin our adventure we were asked to go on a hike with our backpacks and come back to camp and prepare our backpacking meals. We set off and found a garden which contained basil, marjoram, thyme, oregano, rosemary and a couple of small tomatoes. As we made out way back to camp we trekked through the dining area and pick up a container of Tapatio. We returned to camp to boil water for our backpacking meals. We were the first ones back and had four stoves to heat water. as we poured the water into the meals, which included lasagna, chicken Alfredo, chicken and rice and vegetarian lasagna we added the fresh herbs. We waited the time and ate well. The herbs made a big difference. For desert we had chocolate pudding and a raspberry cheesecake mixture, which tasted great over the chocolate pudding. Good stuff.
Today we had an interfaith service and did a couple of activities lick archery, COPE and riding down the zip line. There were more classes and presentations. Ultimately, the day ended when we got our bling.
 Powder Horn Bling
Another day passes and I have clocked another year on the planet. Thanks to the many who have wished me a Happy Birthday. There was also a special dinner for yours truly. Janet for getting date, time an place set up. Also thanks the the sly Walter and Emily that picked up the tab before I knew they had even thought about bringing the check to the table. A great improvement over last year when the check came to me. Now for the pictures . . .
Eric had ribs the day before his braces were put on. He has had then off a couple of weeks and he has patiently waited to have ribs again.
 The rib eater Emily and Walter, the pizza eating duo.
 Emily and Walter And of course, me and my sweatheart.
Thanks to everyone for a great day
Today is a new day. A day to venture out, to explorer and to learn something new. After reviewing several photos by Trey Ratcliff, I could not help share his photo titled “Morning. Coffee. Yellowstone. Fog.” His website is www.stuckincustoms.com. Go look and discover the world of HDR (High Dynamic Range) Photography. Click on the photo below to enlarge it. Or click here to see the photo with all the details around taking the photo. Now go explore and learn something new.
 Morning. Coffee. Yellowstone. Fog. by Trey Ratcliff
I took time today to think about nine years ago on September 11. The disbelief at what I was seeing and hearing because it seemed all to horrible. The somber reality that what was happening was real and many people perished. May we never forget and be vigilant in the future to protect our County, our families and ourselves.
Tonight the table and bench edges were routed. We then assembled the table tops by drilling pilot holes with a counter sink and screwing in the stainless steel screws. Of course, before the holes could be drilled there was a lot of squaring up of the table top and the supports that go underneath. The legs will bolt onto the supports and if they are not in the right position the tables will not go together easily.
Next will be the sanding process. Eric is inviting people over to sand tomorrow. We will see how that goes. As for the project, it has left the Alexander home and is nicely packed in the back of the truck. Before we left, Eric thanked Mr. Alexander profusely for his help. As we drove off he stated that he was thankful and learned a lot from Mr. Alexander. The project is all about showing leadership and learning new things.
 Table tops built and bench tops ready to go
Today was the beginning of Eric’s Eagle Project. Time is flying towards his 18th birthday, so the work must go on. He had his project approved a couple of months ago. He wanted to do two picnic tables for his school lunch area. After meeting with the approval committee, he was doing four.
Today was the day to get it going. Eric had an offer from one of the Crew 6 parents that had a wood shop in his garage that he could not refuse. The offer of, I am available Monday with my shop. We started the day at Home Depot picking up lumber. Eric began by determining what needed to be cut first. The 90 degree cuts were made first. With that done the legs could be cut. While all that was happening I was quietly putting together a jig for drilling the holes through the legs into the cross members.
 The making of a jig Once the legs were cut it was time to fit one into the jig with the cross members so that the placement of the holes in the legs could be determined. It was time for Eric to make another decision and give some direction.
 Where of where sould the holes be drilled? Once the location of the holes in the legs was determined, another jig was created to mark the hole placement on all the legs. The legs were then drilled on a drill press so that they were good and straight. Upon completion of drilling the legs, they were placed in the jig and the leg holes were used to drill the cross members.
 Loaded jig with holes drilled in cross members As the holes were drilled, more lumber was cut for the seats and tops. Even with the store purchased lumber, everything was measured and cut to size so that everything fits and looks good. Words for the day, measure twice and cut once. Also, do not forget the word jig. Just some using of a router on the edges, some paint and assembly is left. We will have to see how that goes.
As I read a post by Brigid, The Cabin, Lessons in Goodbye this morning, I reflected back in time on memories of times past. It seems that so often we are focused on where we are and where we are going that we fail to realize where we have been. Those past experiences are the ones that build the very foundation of who we are today. The time we have had with our parents and grandparents, some or many who have departed this earth. There are the places we visit as we grow up which have left an impression in our lives. There are the lessons that we have learned and the feelings that we have had in our youth that also build upon that foundation.
 Looking forward out of the past
Our past experiences are all part of the foundation that makes us who we are. Even if the physical nature of the place or person upon which we have memories has been altered by time, they seem so tangible in our minds. I am just thankful that as I look back, there are happy and positive things that outweigh any of those learning experiences in which pain was a primary part. Yes, remembering my Father and the positive time I spent with him outweighs the time I crashed the car. Both are long gone, but I am thankful for the opportunity to learn.
 Time, the stream and children move on
As time passes along the water in a steam continues to flows by. In that picture are our children, our parents or other that we know. Time continues to move on. Things are always changing. What we can look back on, or reflect on is the things that we have learned. We can reflect on the things in life that have helped us to grow. Hopefully, those experiences help all of us. For me, hopefully they help me to be a better teacher for my children so that some day in the distant future they can reflect on the happy positive things of the past to help them stand firm when life is not so easy.
Today we had Riverside Community Sailing Program regatta at the lake. Sailing went well. Jacob came in second and I finished fourth out of eight. It was fun to get out and sail. As I finished up, lo and behold there was a new geocache published and it was in the lake. Lady of the Lake – CG2EJHN
J.A.P. was still in his sailboat. I hopped in a sailboat and flew to ground zero. We both looked and could not see anything. However, when sailing at “Ground Zero” (GZ) we would hit something in the lake or something would hit us. Of course, you cannot keep a sailboat still very easily, so we needed a different “Tool of the Trade” (TOTT). We left a buoy at GZ and sailed back to the dock and retrieved the rowboat and a couple of anchors.
 Lady of the Lake The full Team JIG was there for the return. Eric was at the oars. We looked and looked and finally Eric stood in the rowboat and felt like he was being looked at – the Lady of the Lake was staring him in the eyes. We made the grab, signed the log and sent the Lady of the Lake back into the lake.
 Back to the dock after the find
Just after 9 PM tonight a new cache was published – Gone Green – GC2EHRT. The cache has a difficulty of four out of five. It also had a terrain rating of four out of five. Jacob, Eric and I rushed out of the house prepared for a First To Find (FTF). We arrived at Ground Zero (GZ) and it was quiet and peaceful. We began to look for the geocache that was placed by Team-Evil. The coordinates showed that the cache was to be located somewhere on a large solar panel structure.
 Where could that little cache be? We were on site for about 15 minutes when another cacher pulled up. We all kept looking. Yes, four people staring at the bottom side of a large structure shining flashlights up. The other geocacher made a phone call. The word was that the cache was in a particularly difficult place to get to that matched the spot that the coordinates were pointing to. Somewhat in disbelief, we picked Jacob up and had him stand on our shoulders to verify the location of the cache. The answer was, it looks like there is something there. Yes this cache placement was indeed evil.
As we were equipment challenged to address the difficulty of this particular cache, we went home for a bigger truck and a “Tool of the Trade” (TOTT). We returned, positioned the truck and TOTT in the proper position and made the grab. The container was a mini Altoids tin painted white. The cache lived up to its difficulty and terrain rating.
This was the first find for Team JIG consisting of geocachers J.A.P (Jacob), ikicracker (Eric) and myself (gdpalmer) and a FTF for Team JIG for the cache Gone Green. We are looking forward to the next cache placed by Team-Evil.
It was a fast weekend at Powder Horn, a high adventure skills resource course or the Boy Scouts of America. The course is a six day course over two weekends. This weekend we covered several elements of the Venturing Ranger Award. Friday started with Outdoor Living History elective. From there is it was off to the rifle range and then to Equestrian element. Unfortunately the horses were not there. In the evening we had a great ride down to the lake. The ride back to camp was a little bit more of a challenge as it was up hill. Even with the extra work in peddling, it was a fun ride.
Saturday brought more fun. The day started out with shotguns and handguns along with map and compass with some cooking GPS and navigation by the stars. Of course one of my favorites Saturday was climbing. It was the furthest walk we had to make as we walked all over to the different elements. Once upon the scene and gearing up, it was up the rock. I was doing well the first half and then I started to get tired. I continued to climb and made it to the top proving that I could do it as well as providing food for thought – I am not in as good of shape as I should be. I also left a little skin and blood on the rock. It is just one of the hazards of having fun.
 Climbing up Of course what goes up must come down.
 Rapelling down We continued the weekend with winter camping, wilderness survival where we ate grasshoppers. There was a presentation on communications with a radio demonstration as well as a service project to round out Sunday. The food was good as well as the information. I look forward to the second weekend of Powder Horn.
 USS Stockdale At 3:30 AM today Eric and I were driving to the local military base so Eric could join several other Sea Cadets for a day trip. For some invigorating morning conversation I stated, “It was just 12 hours ago and you were in handcuffs.” He said back, “I know, I still cannot believe that I was the only one in handcuffs.” As there was not much traffic we were to the base quickly.
Eric returned at 9:00 tonight. He had a fun day. It was family day aboard the USS Stockdale, an Arleigh Burke-class guided missile destroyer in the United States Navy. It fired some of it’s guns and raced around the ocean. However, it did not send up any of it’s Tomahawk missiles. For a big boat, the Stockdale could get up and move. As a whole, the day was good for Eric. We made it home where Eric prepared for Saturday and Sunday. It is the weekend he spends at the base marching, doing PT and the other things a Sea Cadet does.
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