Tepee Time Gal II

A second installment with more pictures. I finally located my soft copy of dad's crew picture. I have also found a few more pictures of Tepee Time Gal.

Dad's Crew

Back Row (L to R): Donald J. Anderton (Dad), Harold Syverson, William Hulen, Everet Gustafson

Front Row (L to R): Gordon Webber, Virgil Froussard, Donald Shores, Gabriel Lahiere, Herb Simon, John Sims

Tepee Time Gal undergoing some heavy maintenance. Late winter 1945

Tepee Time Gal doing her thing

The starboard side of Tepee Time Gal.

Tepee Time early in her career

Earthrise at Christmas!

As a young boy, I was captivated by the Apollo program and the quest to put a man on the moon. Forty years ago this Christmas, a turbulent world looked to the heavens for a unique view of our home planet. This photo of "Earthrise" over the lunar horizon was taken by the Apollo 8 crew in December 1968, showing Earth for the first time as it appears from deep space. Astronauts Frank Borman, Jim Lovell and William Anders had become the first humans to leave Earth orbit, entering lunar orbit on Christmas Eve. In a historic live broadcast that night, the crew took turns reading from the Book of Genesis, closing with a holiday wish from Commander Borman: "We close with good night, good luck, a Merry Christmas, and God bless all of you -- all of you on the good Earth."

Follow the link below to read a nice article about this event:

http://www.guardian.co.uk/science/2008/nov/30/apollo-8-mission/print


Merry Christmas to all!

We are not alone!

A few weeks ago a pretty significant event happened in the "world" of astronomy. For the past few years, scientists have detected the presence of planets orbiting distant stars. This was achieved by using different techniques such as variation of the stars brightness as a planet passes in front of the star or a slight wobble of a star as planets tug at its star because of the laws of gravity.

The "significant event"! An actual picture of one of those planets orbiting a neighboring star......

All I can say is we are not alone!!!

Here is the star Formalhaut with its planet

The planet has an orbital period of about 650 years. The ring you see in the picture is a ring of dust rock and other debris similar to what you would find between Mars and Jupiter. Formalhaut is blocked out by a filter.

Follow this link for a little more information:

http://www.associatedcontent.com/article/1208707/planet_formalhaut_b_imaged_by_hubble.html?cat=15

Spectacular Conjunction

On November 30th and December 1, 2008, one of the best "visible" conjunctions of the year took place.

On November 30th a 10% crescent Moon joined Venus and Jupiter in the western sky.

December 1st was the best night of all. The now-15% crescent Moon moves in closer to form an isosceles triangle with Venus and Jupiter as opposing vertices (See Dec 1 sky chart below). The three brightest objects in the night sky will be gathered so tightly together, you can hide them all behind your thumb held at arm's length.

I had been waiting for quite some time for this event and was eager to try my hand and some astrophotograpy. I didn't have very good cooperation from the weather. It was cloudy and the wind making it difficult to keep the camera steady longer exposure times (> 1 sec) .

Sky Chart for November 30th.

November 30th with Venus and Jupiter. The Moon is just setting behind the clouds on the bottom. I didn't have any time to capture the moon before it set due to the clouds. You may have to enlarge the picture to see detail.

Interesting picture of Venus and Jupiter taken the night of November 30th. The clouds on top were over Pocatello with the sky glow reflecting on the clouds. The clouds on the bottom where hanging over the hills west of Pocatello. If you look real close, you can see the blur of the star trails due to a 15 second exposure.

The sky chart for December 30th

December 1, 2008. You will probably need to enlarge the photo to see Venus and Jupiter.

Just to give a perspective on how close they were together. As pointed out earlier, you could cover all three with your thumb at arms length. Photo was over exposed to better see the planets.

Idaho Sunset with Venus and Jupiter

Kennedy decided she wanted to try photography for this years "reflections contest" at school. She decided on trying a sunset. I suggested a sunset shot with Venus and Jupiter in the shot. I think it worked out pretty well and she was excited about the results.

Kennedy's shot with Venus (brightest near horizon) and Jupiter (a little dimmer above and left)

The last few months, I have been thinking about getting into Astro-photography. I was hoping this would be in addition to my "casual" observing with my telescope. I was going to start with some early evening scenes, constellations and then some startrails. When I get that down, I will try to do some shots through the telescope and get into the "deep sky" shots...... I purchased a tripod and remote trigger for the camera to get things started. Here are some initial results.

Marilyn pointing Venus out to me! This was about an 8 second exposure and I told Marilyn to point at Venus and hold still. I thought this turned out pretty well.

A little longer exposure of about 13 seconds. I think the city glow on the hills is pretty cool. If you look close to the left of Venus you will see the stars that make up the 'Teapot of Sagittarius". The teapot is pointing down and the four starts just to the left make up the handle.

If your interested, keep an eye to the west as December approaches. Venus and Jupiter will slowly come together and on Dec 2nd, the new moon will be dancing nearby. It only takes a second to look! Just like they say in Hockey, keep your head up! (you may be amazed!!!)

Tepee Time Gal

My dad flew B-24's in WWII. He flew in the European theater flying in the 15th Air Force, 455th BG Heavy, 743rd Squadron. I have a picture of dad's crew in front of "Tepee Time Gal" (I need to upload it). Dad's crew flew their first combat mission together in Dec, 1944. Note: They all few a few mission on other crews to gain experience before going out on their own.

The best explanation I can come up with is THIS plane (shown in the picture below) was used on their first mission together as a crew. Tepee Time Gal was also a famous plane in the squadron because of the number of missions this plane completed during the war.

I found this picture on the Internet. I was probably taken near the end of the war. The picture I have of dad shows about 40 less missions (Dec 44) than pictured here. The picture above shows "Tepee Time Gal" completing 120 missions! In the picture with Dad's crew, the number of missions lines up with a Dec 44 timeline which would be consistent with it being their first mission together.

Great Alaska Adventure

On July 25th through August 1st, our family took a quick trip to Alaska. A few months prior we decided to surprise the kids and take them on a cruise (they are growing up fast). Our kids were unaware of the plan until we pulled up to the dock in Seattle. Madison couldn't believe and thought we were teasing her, Reagan was screaming for joy and Kennedy just thought she had been given a death sentence. Kennedy believed we were going to "capsize from a rouge wave" (Can you say Poseidon Adventure??).

Our trip started in Seattle (day 1) and we spent a day at sea (day 2) arriving in Jeanau (day 3) a day later. Next was Glacier Bay National Park (day 4), Sitka (day 5), Ketchican (day 6) and Victoria BC (day 7). Overall it was a great time with a few memories to last a lifetime.

The Amsterdam leaving Seattle on a nice day!

Our table for the week with a great view out the back of the ship!

Day 1 at sea. Kennedy spent the whole day in the pool and was the only one NOT sick! I think she thought it was natural that the waves in the pool were 3 feet!

Boise LIVE!

On August 28-30 marked our 2nd annual "Boise Live Draft" for the Inlaw & Outlaw Fantasy Football League. This year our fantasy draft was held at the Red Lion in Boise, Idaho. Boise seems to be a nice meeting place for the Washington and Utah Managers. This year, Brady (Texas), Jeff (Colorado) and Brett (Ohio) each made a special effort to make the trip to Boise. Only Mark (Family) and Marty (BYU football game ?????? $^#%&#^# Northern Iowa???) did not make the trip. We excused Ric who left on a humanitarian trip to Guatemala. Its tough to blame Ric for missing out, besides he doesn't manage a team anyway. I think Ric's boys only invite him for his credit card!!! :>)

Weekend activities included dinner (Goodwood and Fudruckers), a movie, the flag football game, wiffle ball, THE DRAFT. a game of Risk and a good time catching up on things.

Top: Ben, Jim, Jared, Trevor, Eric Brett, Mike Tom, Me (Rod)

Bottom: Brady, Jon, Matt, Jeff, Mike, Ryan

What a crew......

One of the theme's was 70's throwback. Jared's stash won hands down with Ben a close second.....


My brother Mike (the old man with the grey hair in back) traditionally buys lunch for the draft. This year it was a "Prime Rib Sandwich". Thanks Mike....... Eric ate his in 3 bites. Mike also announces the first round selections and then heckles.......


Complete concentration in the draft room! (Is Matt catching a peak at Jim and Ben's draft Q???)

Holding the "Secret" Vulgar Vulture Draft Book!

After three fantasy football drafts in six days, I think I'm burned out. I haven't even completed the first week of the season!!! This can only mean I will come home from church, check the scores and be grumpy the rest of the day because I didn't start the right guys!!! AAAAAGGGHHHHH, why do I play!

Boston and Bon Jovi with a little Red Sox

I'm a little behind on posting. This is from a trip we took in July.

This year is our 20th anniversary and we (Marilyn and I) decided to celebrate by taking a little trip.

Over the years I have traveled many times to the Boston area for business, but never took the time to do anything other than catch a few Red Sox games. Last year Marilyn was suppose to tour Boston during the American Heritage Tour with Madison, but never made it out of NY due to illness. I promised I would someday take her back to New England for a visit. Marilyn found some tickets to Bon Jovi at the Garden (Fleet Center) in Boston. The rest is history.

We managed to visit four states over six days. Vermont (Joseph Smith's birthplace), New Hampshire, Maine and Massachusetts. I think the highlight (besides Bon Jovi and the Red Sox) was the "Freedom Trail" in Boston. If you ever get there, take the time, and take the tour.

Vermont

Joseph Smith's birthplace in Sharon VT. It is a beautiful place, but out of the way. We spent a good share of the day driving to get there. Getting to Vermont was high on my priority list. I was able to cross off Vermont as my last New England state visited. It was killing me that I had been to the Boston area so many times but had missed Vermont.

New Hampshire

New Hampshire was just a "drive" through while going from Vermont (Joseph Smith's Birthplace) to Maine. It was beautiful country to say the least. Farming would be difficult due to all the hills.

While on the road we drove through Lee, NH. I worked with a company there for many years and it was kind of fun to show Marilyn. It was like merging two different worlds (home life and work life).

Maine

What would Maine be without a lighthouse? This is the Portland Lighthouse just south of Portland, Maine. I developed a new fascination with lighthouses on this trip!

Plymouth Massachusetts and Cape Cod

This is the place...... at least where the Pilgrims landed!

The Rock!

The enclosure which covers the rock was under renovation. The only way you could get a good look at it was climbing down to the water level. Good thing the tide was out. If the tide would have been in, our only view of the rock would have been through a scratched up Plexiglas window.

Marilyn was pretty excited about driving out to Cape Cod. One of her favorite authors uses Cape Cod as a setting for the book. We (I) made the big mistake of planning to drive out to the cape on the last day of the 4th of July weekend. Can you say traffic jam! For the most part, we were inbound when everyone else was trying to get out. The traffic jam on the freeway was 20 miles deep.....

Chatham Beach on Cape Code. Hawaii it is not!! The fog was thick.

Chatham Lighthouse. Did I say I have a new fascination with lighthouses?

Not as bad as it looks. Once you get to the edge you realize it's not a drop off.

There was a "links" style golf course near the lighthouse.

Boston and the Freedom Trail

A must do while in Boston is tour the Freedom Trail. You can do this at your own pace, but the way to go is take a quick tour. Everything starts at the Boston Commons and weaves its way to such sites as the Old North Church, site of the Boston Massacre, Granary Burying Ground (Paul Revere, Sam Adams........,....), USS Constitution, and Bunker Hill just to name a few. It is well worth your time. Marilyn and I actually took 2 days to look things over. When on the North Side, you need to eat at a local Italian Restaurant. The picture shown above is while we in the Granary Cemetery.

Paul Revere's marker in the Granary Cemetery.

Old North Church!

The Green Dragon Tavern. A popular hangout for the leaders of the Revolution.

USS Constitution (Old Ironside). The Constitution is oldest warship afloat that is still commissioned!

Boston Red Sox
For me, no trip to Boston is complete without seeing the Red Sox play. I have been a Red Sox fan since I can remember. I remember watching the 75 World Series and seeing Fisk hit the famous HR to send the series to a game 7. I hated the Reds, and I hate the Yankees, so being a fan of the Red Sox just fit. I also have a soft spot in my heart for teams which can't get over the top. Being a fan of the Jazz for all these years has probably taught me to pull for the underdog. I'm also a big Mariners fan and would pull for them over anyone. Fenway Park should be put at the TOP of the list for places to see a ballgame. We took a tour of the park before the game which was pretty interesting. I was surprised to find out that a good share of the seats were from a 1930's remodel. You would think they would have replaced them after 70+ years. They are not very comfortable!

Manny jacks one out to tie the game in the 8th!

A "manual" scoreboard update inbetween every innning (other games in progress scores)

Papelbon comes in to close the 9th. I think this is one of the thrilling moments in any close game when the home team sends the closer in to finish the game. The place was going nuts!


Marilyn and I after the game at the famous "Pesky Pole". The pole was named after a light hitting second baseman for the Sox. It is 303 ft down the line. You can follow this link to read more about the pole: http://www.redsoxconnection.com/peskypole.html

Bon Jovi

When it was all said and done, this is the reason we came to Boston! This is Marilyn's "hobby". Here she is standing in the Fan Club line waiting for their tickets. I can't figure out why they(Fan Club) are all female????

Jon and Richie doing their thing....

Overall it was a good time had by all

Marliyn came all so close to getting to "touch" Jon, but she was denied by a security gaurd &#^$%^^#.

Great ending to a great night and a great trip!