Bass River Bridge, Cape Cod

Bass River Bridge is one of the Cape's more familiar landmarks.

Within sight of the bridge I've fished for flounder and striped bass, dragged for bay scollops and hauled eel pots. 

It was too cold and windy to smell the sun-warmed docks.

So far only the Yarmouth Police or Marine Fisheries were in the water.  Nothing south of the bridge either.

Familiar sights on the north side of the bridge.

Merrill Memorial Park, dedicated to a Vietnam Vet, was a surprise for me.  Taking up an acre (more?) sized area immediately northeast of the bridge, it had brushy foot paths, waterside trails, sunning benches, picnic sites, and boat docks- all of it tastefully done.  Nice! 

Views across, and up the river.

Joseph Merrill Memorial Park

Signs and sights walking east of the bridge.

Janet's digs!

Lanna Bush Hash 26, Phrae, Thailand

This past Saturday, 25 February,  another Chiangmai hasher and I travelled four hours south to the town of Phrae for another Lanna Bush Hash- our 26th.  A larger group drove or flew the 350 miles up from Bangkok.  Another hasher, Belly Dancer, come over from England.  The LBH as we call it is a men's hash, usually 20-25 kilometers/12.5-16.5 miles over terrein that varies from flat, back-country dirt roads to difficult, mountainous ascents and descents.  We usually start around 1p.m./13:00 and the last hashers limp in before dark hopefully.  We do four or five of these runs a year and the sites range all over Thailand.  About half of us show up at our hotels or guest houses on Friday, then go out for a good meal and a few beers that evening.  The rest arrive the day of the run.  

Most of the hashers who come on these "Bush Hashes" have been at it for years.  Most (most, I say..) are very savvy about gear- good trail shoes, water packs, hats, and gaiters for some of us, are standard.  Tip Toe, on the right, is wearing a pair of thin gaiters for protection against thorns, thistles and "poison ivy" related plants.  "Whore Monger" on the left below set the trails for this run so he is relaxing in sandals.  We load up on "carbs" the night before- beer the preferred medium but pasta and rice okay too.  Run day the operative words are "hydrate, hydrate, HYDRATE!" 

A few more group pics as we wait for straglers to come down.

Belly Dancer on the left above and Tip Toe below.

 Leaving aboard the "red bus", and getting it together at the hash start below.  

The obligatory group photos before we head out.  There were ten of us for this outing.

Rope.. Why is he bringing rope?

The start of the first leg.  The run is set in three legs with water and snack stops between.  The 1st leg was 7km/4.5 miles, billed as "flat" (NOT!!).  The 2nd was also about 7 km but "hilly with nice views", and the 3rd leg was 9 km/6.5 miles of "undulating trails!" Everyone has the option of bailing out at the stops- e.g Tip Toe was getting seriously stressed by the 100 degree heat and opted to stop after the first leg.  I did the 1st 7 km, felt okay but decided to pass on the hilly section, and did the last 9 km leg.   Four hashers did all three legs and finished close to 5 p.m.  

These kinds of tin or thatch roofed shelters are all over the Thai countryside, from the rice paddies to the steep hillsides cultivated with corn.  The field workers use them to rest during breaks. cook a meal, or maybe stay overnight.  The "pond" has been excavated and stores water for the dry season.       

In addition to being very hot, the fields, hills and mountains are tinder dry this time of year.  The pitted  monsoonal mud has case-hardened, the treacherous ravine floors and creek beds are hidden under teak leaves,  the bamboo crackles and rustles, thorny vines lay in wait everywhere, and the aggressive red ants have no sense of humor at all!

If you like this sort of stuff it makes for a most excellent adventure!

 Sometimes it's hard to tell if people are living here.  Places that seem abandoned my be inhabited when the growing season is more favorable.  One business that thrives during the dry season is making charcoal.  Below, dry wood is stacked alongside the two kilns waiting to be charred and bagged for market.

I have a little Nikon "tough camera" that I "stole" from one of the hashers for half price ($60).  It's supposedly waterproof down to 50 feet, can be dropped from 6 feet and it's small enough and light enough to strap onto the belt of my fanny pack and take along.  It takes okay pictures but unfortunately, if you don't recharge the battery the night before, it runs out of juice- which is what happened after this picture was taken..  On On!    

A High Monk's Passing 10.2- Gestures of Love and Respect

Sometime before three, out on Suthep Road at the entrance to Wat Suandok, traffic is still moving normally.  But a sudden flurry of cellphone calls, police walkie-talkie chatter, and a noticable tightning of security, signal that the head of the procession has turned the corner from the moat road.  It is now less than a mile away.  People have begun to gather along the road side, police are checking vehicles entering the wat, and, though the procession is still thirty minutes distant, heads are turning in that direction. 

Monks are gathering in the shade near the local police station.. 

 ..while across the entrance way others have secured a shady spot of their own.

Many students were among the onlookers.  Wat Suandok is also the site of a prestigious Buddhist university- most of the monks in these earlier photos attend there, and the main campus of Chiangmai University is just a mile away.

The closest monk in this photo seemed to be more than just an observer.  I saw him in different places during the afternoon, sometimes giving instructions but most of the time carefully observing.  He seems to be looking at me but if you zoom in it's apparent that someone or something in the the crowd behind me has his attention.

Traffic on Suthep Road comes to a standstill as the lead vehicle in the procession approaches.

With just one exception, the entire procession was on foot.  Mid-afternoon temperatures in Chiangmai this time of year are in the 90s.  They had been walking for more than three hours on baking pavement, most wearing only flip-flops on their feet.

The one exception..  I wondered if he was now the senior abbot at Wat Buph Pharam.  He looked so young, but obviously he was highly ranked.  He held that pose- no movement of his hands, no turning of his head, not even a glance, as he passed.

Did they stop to rest?  Did they get to change positions or switch off?  How could she still manage to still look serene?

Led by the eldest, hundreds of monks moved into view.  The rope you see looped back on both sides for 30-40 yards.  At the far end it was attached to the funeral wagon bearing Pha Thep Veehsutthikhun's casket.  Some of the monks were laboring in the heat and other monks were closely watching them. 

As the senior monks turned into Wat Suandok a hush fell on the crowd.  Some watched silently while others folded their hands in respectful wais.  Still others recorded the event from favorable vantage points.  The funeral wagon, with his casket visible in the curtained tower, began it's final turn.