tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-125072162012-01-15T01:17:33.849-08:00Welcome to Neurotic Nirvana. This is your therapy. Your place to shed your inner demons and absorb new cultures and ideas. Become the new you. Listen. Learn. Grow.Marknoreply@blogger.comBlogger391100tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12507216.post-1163212118773582052006-11-10T17:14:00.000-08:002006-11-10T18:28:38.836-08:00

It's unseasonably warm for November. It was in the mid 70's during the day. In November. Gorgeous day. Should be a great night for camping. Driving out to my camping spot, I find some evil bastards camping in my spot!INFIDELS!Parked in their mini van in my regular camping spot. I knew I should have put up a No Trespassing sign. The nerve of these people, thinking they can just camp in my

Marknoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12507216.post-1162328773154690342006-10-31T13:02:00.000-08:002006-10-31T13:06:13.163-08:00

I've camped out three straight nights, now. Same spot in Lovell Canyon. I am starting to think I'm not such an etched-in-stone city mouse as I thought. I love it there. So far away from any thing. Up on Mount Potosi, you can still see city lights off in the far distance. Hear airplane traffic. Out in Lovell Canyon, there's nothing. You're so far away from everything, there's absolutely

Marknoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12507216.post-1162161379882779262006-10-29T14:31:00.000-08:002006-10-29T14:36:19.900-08:00

This is my first article every written on location, directly to my computer. I often blog in the wild, but that effort includes pen and paper. This one goes straight to my laptop. That's the first indication that there is nothing remoted related to 'roughing it' involved in this camping trip. I got out of Vegas on the night that would be Halloween. All the parties and celebrating took place on

Marknoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12507216.post-1157749584595042492006-09-08T10:46:00.000-07:002006-09-27T02:11:13.006-07:00

6am - BlechNever choose an ex-marine as a hiking buddy.I really detest people that can snap awake in the morning. Early morning. On an insufficient amount of sleep. Mark is up at 6am sharp. I'm up, but I feel like hell. I haven't slept well. My comfortable sleeping bag has been disposed of in a recent move, and all I have is my zero-degree rated mummy bag. Mark likes to keep his apartment

Marknoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12507216.post-1157002835335781652006-08-30T22:08:00.000-07:002006-08-30T22:46:30.776-07:00

Part 1 - The Day BeforeDoesn't it sound like fun? Dying for recreational purposes. The best thing about it is that it's relatively inexpensive as far as hobbies go. Not like some of the hobbies I've been dragged into. By my "friend".Mark.Somehow, I get sucked into everything Mark decides to get into. Magic. Football cards. One hobby after another. Not that Mark is flakey. Quite the

Marknoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12507216.post-1156485047407441592006-08-24T22:48:00.000-07:002006-08-24T22:59:53.243-07:00

Ok. I'm a sucker for punishment. I am home.For those of you that follow my ramblings, you already know what I think about the people that co-reside in my home of Las Vegas. First day back, and already I'm surrounded by the reality of them.A public service announcement poster I've seen on bus stop shelters in both California, and now here in Nevada has set the current standard. It's your

Marknoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12507216.post-1153866082688471242006-07-25T14:58:00.000-07:002006-07-26T10:24:51.893-07:00

Today, I made the world a better place. I didn't cure cancer, or eliminate world hunger.I bought a slushee.Living in Las Vegas for 13 years has poisoned my personality. The city's population makes New Yorkers look like the friendliest people on Earth. Strangers do not acknowledge each other, let alone say a polite greeting. I always have to remember myself when returning to California,

Marknoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12507216.post-1153673712148812002006-07-23T09:24:00.000-07:002006-07-23T09:55:12.466-07:00

I have entered the music industry, at last.Not that music is anything new to me. I started playing the trumpet at age 8, way back in '78. Picked up the guitar in '80. Taught myself the piano in '85. So, there's plenty of experience there, but never any public performance. Until now.[a little background]There's a music production application called "Acid". You may or may not have heard of it

Marknoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12507216.post-1150330711864267132006-06-14T17:05:00.000-07:002006-06-14T17:18:31.876-07:00

[This article is not recommended for the weak of stomach] My soda tasted funny. I was sure I had bought regular, but this didn't taste quite right.I grabbed the two liter bottle and checked the label. It says that it's regular cherry Coke, but I'd swear on my life this is diet. I have had diet before. I know how it tastes. It's horrid. It tastes JUST LIKE THIS!But behind the sickly sweet

Marknoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12507216.post-1142758405315004362006-03-19T00:48:00.000-08:002006-03-29T15:44:53.393-08:00

Hi fans.Sorry there haven't been any articles lately. The way I stopped in the middle of my camping trip on Mount Potosi, you all probably thought I fell down the mountain on my way back and died. No such luck.I just have been on a mental vacation. A badly needed vacation.I was out on a little photo expedition today. Experimented with some time lapse photography, using my new tripod to help.

Marknoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12507216.post-1134332185050791992005-12-11T11:21:00.000-08:002006-01-04T15:42:21.886-08:00

Sleep has been fitful. I wake up often, will roll around to get comfortable, and then go back to sleep. It's still silent. The only sound being the air traffic from McCarron Airport 50 miles away. The planes fly over this way on their way to California. Carole Lombard, the actress and wife of Clark Gable died in a plane crash on this mountain. The wreckage is still there. Mostly looted, now,

Marknoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12507216.post-1134242140754409292005-12-10T11:10:00.000-08:002006-08-29T10:10:43.266-07:00

Luckily, I went home for Thanksgiving. Mark thinks it's funny, but I had no idea how to start a fire. It's not something I had really thought about. How hard is it to start a fire? You light a match, and burn the stuff. It had never occurred to me that you couldn't just light a big log on fire.It makes me sound incompetent, but really, it's just not something I've ever done. If nobody ever

Marknoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12507216.post-1134245639132008072005-12-10T10:20:00.000-08:002006-08-30T23:21:07.330-07:00

It's already dusk. And it's already cold. And it's not even 5 yet.All the practicing out here in the wild, and setting up and breaking down the tent at Mark's house pays off. Even with making a bad mistake and threading one of the poles wrong, and having to go back and fix it, I set up the tent in under 5 minutes, and quickly have my gear unloaded and organized. Now, even in pitch black, as

Marknoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12507216.post-1134212696885566372005-12-10T01:55:00.000-08:002006-08-30T23:06:04.563-07:00

Moving on after lunch, I fall back onto another animal trail. Almost expected, there are more signs of the burros. I am wondering if Mark phoned them, and told them to haunt me while I'm camping. I've heard stories from other campers that the burros will walk right up to sleepers and sniff at them from a few inches away. Not an exciting prospect...waking up with a giant face so close to your

Marknoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12507216.post-1134208048271396422005-12-10T00:49:00.000-08:002006-08-30T23:02:40.726-07:00

After my break, I continue along road 582 C. The higher up I get, the more I can see that the road runs right along my route, pretty much. Going this way was a good choice. There are more signs of man. A car and a truck. I don't know enough about cars to say what make and models, but these are old. 50's era old. Completely rusted out. Both littered with bullet holes. Big piles of trash:

Marknoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12507216.post-1134157258038084622005-12-09T11:06:00.000-08:002006-01-04T14:49:13.106-08:00

Mark was sick.The original plan was two nights at my campsite on Mount Potosi. Sunday night, Mark looked like hell. He said he didn't know if he'd be able to drop me off on Tuesday. I was less concerned about the drop off, than I was the pick up. Last thing I wanted was to be stuck out in the middle of nowhere, with my ride home taking a long-term nap in the city morgue.Monday afternoon I sent

Marknoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12507216.post-1133507191928711052005-12-01T21:50:00.000-08:002006-06-08T23:49:03.653-07:00

10:02 - The split pointWe discuss the time of our meeting. Mark and Jeremy agree on 1pm. 3 hours. Plenty of time for us to hit the peak and back. I'm feeling better, now. Food and water have given me some more energy. I still have the headache, but the dizziness has passed for the most part.10:30 - Wild snacksI have been sucking down water the whole climb up. Every 50 steps or so I pause to suck

Marknoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12507216.post-1133372273784903012005-11-30T09:32:00.000-08:002005-11-30T09:53:53.516-08:00

"The Garden State? Maybe if you're growing nuclear waste" ~ George Carlin [paraphrased]It came up in a political chat room. A chatter with a delicious wit tossed out a new state motto for New Jersey.I created this new license plate, using the chatter's slogan, for immediate submission. I wonder if they will accept it.

Marknoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12507216.post-1133237352224304312005-11-28T20:02:00.000-08:002005-11-29T13:49:43.553-08:00

In case you've never been there, it is pronounced "san-ber-na-dAYE". I can't tell you how to get there. I can't offer you local fashion tips, or tell you how to properly dress for the climate.I can't, because it doesn't exist. It's an invention of a young man that has literally 'missed the bus'. Not that he was late. He and his three traveling companions were there in plenty of time. But

Marknoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12507216.post-1132008907580837542005-11-14T14:17:00.000-08:002006-07-26T09:55:19.020-07:00

8 am - The meetI love Mark's truck. He never washes it. Week after week it's driven on unpaved roads out in the deserts around Nevada. The right rear fender has been ripped completely off, leaving a gaping hole that seems to me what a human face would look like if the upper lip were violently torn off, leaving behind a gruesome perpetual smile. There is something very rugged looking about the

Marknoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12507216.post-1130558356327550992005-10-28T20:09:00.000-07:002008-03-03T23:35:08.112-08:00

In all the years of my schooling, I only went home early one time. I was sick. And it wasn't my fault. It was my history teacher's fault.It was 20 years ago, now. I can still remember the day vividly. My mother was furious. A proud career woman, she was not exactly thrilled about being called away from the office. I'm sure she thought I was faking, or just in minor pain and should have sucked it

Marknoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12507216.post-1130555140394205332005-10-28T19:54:00.000-07:002006-08-29T10:15:35.600-07:00

Everything was ready. I was packed, fully geared, and as mentally prepared as I've ever been for anything. The route to my campsite had been plotted, mapped out and printed. The timetable was coordinated with Mark. He would drop me off at Potasi Spring, 8am Tuesday, then he would meet me at the campsite on Thursday, when he would be returning to get the geocache he failed to get the week

Marknoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12507216.post-1129938478007194502005-10-21T15:51:00.000-07:002006-08-29T10:42:28.833-07:00

11:15 - Out of the mineIt's after we get out of the mine, that we discover Mark's planning error. The route he has us taking looks good on the map, but now that we're standing on the mountain we see the mistake. The next leg of our stroll is going to require we scale the face of a rock 80 feet up. Once on the top, the route flattens out, but we cannot climb this. It's not really Mark's fault. The

Marknoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12507216.post-1129925540035283872005-10-21T11:46:00.000-07:002006-09-27T22:53:11.336-07:00

9 am - Up we goWhat I thought was going to be a hike, is actually a climb. We're going up more than a thousand feet. At this point, I still don't know it. From what little I do know about topo maps, it looks like a pretty flat hike Mark has plotted for us. Wrong! The first point of the trail is marked by an old 'No Trespassing' sign. It's impossible to tell who the property owner once was,

Marknoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12507216.post-1129919612305177892005-10-21T11:05:00.000-07:002005-10-21T13:19:27.353-07:00

Midnight, The Night Before -Tomorrow morning, we are hiking to a peak near the Potosi Mine. This will be just an ordinary weekend hike to Mark. It will be a test run for me.Now, fully geared, I want to get a feel for some of the action of my future adventures. I will be hiking fully loaded. I will set up camp at the end of our trail, to help get a feel for setting up the tent on rocks, with wind,

Marknoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12507216.post-1129917645076598702005-10-21T10:50:00.000-07:002005-10-21T11:00:45.083-07:00

Mark goes camping with a long experienced hiker and camper named Diane. Mark admires her knowledge and ability, and loves her jeep. He tells her my plans. She thinks I'm stupid.I bought the giant backpack. Not the Uber-giant pack, mind you. Just the one to carry all your worldly posessions in. Not the one you can also carry your girlfriend and all her things in. You need the next size up

Marknoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12507216.post-1129589039822736892005-10-17T12:16:00.000-07:002006-07-26T10:18:33.856-07:00

After beating myself up over the decision, I finally purchased my portable shelter. I have been agonizing over two specific tents, a 2 person tent that's just big enough for me, and a 4 person tent that's just big enough for me and my ego.They were only $10 apart in price, but the size and weight difference are considerable. I really didn't think the smaller of the two would be sufficient. With

Marknoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12507216.post-1129263458590952372005-10-13T20:00:00.000-07:002005-10-13T21:17:38.600-07:00

"If he had asked, I would have just given him the money. No one wants to get pistol whipped and shot twice in the head." ~ Dan B.I got off the bus, and walked in the direction I guessed the hospital was. I was expecting it to be right on the intersection where I was directed, but it wasn't. So I started off irritated. I guessed wrong which side of the street the hospital was on. More

Marknoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12507216.post-1129164320674918032005-10-12T17:26:00.000-07:002005-11-14T15:08:06.400-08:00

Hand me my adventuring hat, I'm ready to hack my way thru any jungles that would tempt the likes of Indiana Jones.I am now the proud owner of a machete.It's an unwieldy thing. It's very heavy at the end. Not at all balanced like the professional types I handled at the Military Surplus store. Those were real monsters. 2 foot long blades. Still, mine is a beast at a mere 18 inches in length.In the

Marknoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12507216.post-1129075719925743852005-10-11T16:49:00.000-07:002005-10-11T17:19:55.166-07:00

[The camping trip, part 2]I am two steps closer to the big journey into the wilds. I have purchased an orienteering compass, and a sleeping bag. The sleeping bag is a perfect fit for what I want to do. It's super light, and super small, which is important for a long journey, because I don't want to be bogged down with equipment.The bag is a simple fleece sleeping bag. It's rated for 50 degrees, a

Marknoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12507216.post-1128580900842167902005-10-05T23:24:00.000-07:002005-10-05T23:41:40.856-07:00

I never would have even thought of it if I hadn't been so tired. A silly notion of propping up a tent under the stars and sleeping for an entire week would have not occured to me in lesser state of fatigue.But the more I thought about it, the more it seemed like a great idea. If there is anything my mind and body need, it is rest. Real rest. At 36 years old, I am so mentally and physically

Marknoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12507216.post-1128375715752582962005-10-03T14:29:00.000-07:002005-10-03T14:41:55.760-07:00

The initial report was 18 hit. I tend to believe the initial report. I know how the news works in Vegas.A car drove up on the sidewalk on the Strip, between Bally's and Paris, and hit a group of people walking on the sidewalk. I was inside Paris at the time. By the time I was outside, the police were there, everything was roped off, so I couldn't get any gore photos for you Rotten.com lovers.

Marknoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12507216.post-1126901052058590702005-09-16T12:13:00.000-07:002005-09-16T13:04:15.166-07:00

[Mark and I went into the mountains this week. It was an interesting trip, with good stories and photos. Mark was supposed to email the photos to me. He didn't. This is his punishment.]I whipped 'em both.It was a couple of years ago, now. The first time my friend Mark and I went out on one of our adventures. I had never been to Redrock Canyon, and was excited. We had talked about it for

Marknoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12507216.post-1126303015672423312005-09-09T14:55:00.000-07:002005-09-09T14:56:55.676-07:00

I turned to the dark skinned old man sitting next to me, and commented, "I don't remember anything in the bible about the prophets speaking jibberish!".We both erupted in pleasant laughter, and then the old man came back with, "but it did say they would speak in strange tongues!". This brought on another round of laughter.The prophet came back to us and yelled at us some more. It was the first

Marknoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12507216.post-1125514128708007482005-08-31T11:44:00.000-07:002005-08-31T11:48:48.713-07:00

Do people ever listen to their own jibberish?A couple was robbed in a casino parking lot in broad daylight, at gun point. The robber shot and killed the wife, the husband went unhurt.On TV, the local news featured an interview with their daughter. I understand, she's in an emotional state. Her life has been turned upside-down by a sudden blast of misfortune. So, maybe she's not totally

Marknoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12507216.post-1124471946705462832005-08-19T10:16:00.000-07:002006-08-30T23:36:57.396-07:00

Did you realize if Gwyneth Paltrow's daughter Apple were to marry a son of Fiona Apple's, she would (I hope) be the first human being ever with the name Apple Apple?

Marknoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12507216.post-1124002274998041642005-08-13T23:49:00.000-07:002005-08-13T23:51:15.003-07:00

It's interesting the things that stick in our memories over the years.When I was in kindergarten, some 30 years ago, a kid in my class threw up on my shoe while we were doing morning exercises. He obviously had eggs for breakfast. His name was Patrick.I can't remember a single other thing about that class.

Marknoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12507216.post-1122705424837047212005-07-29T23:08:00.000-07:002005-07-29T23:47:45.556-07:00

A friend in Canada is patching up someone tonight that was hit by a drunk driver and dragged. Burned. The friend is a nurse. What a horrible job.I heard about it in a chat room. And the talk centered around drunk drivers. And how drunk drivers never get hurt. I offered up that drunks are relaxed and just bounce around in the car, so they don't get injured. Sober people stiffen before impact, so

Marknoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12507216.post-1122611706562673042005-07-28T21:34:00.000-07:002005-07-29T20:01:13.196-07:00

A tidbit from the "Do not sit down, you might break your neck department"...Ok. So maybe I'm a bit of a bitter cynic.Having lived in the middle of a place that God intended only for reptiles and cacti for the better part of 13 years, now, I have come to really like rain. The sounds, the smell or the air during a thunderstorm, the coolness that it brings on a day in July when it's been 115

Marknoreply@blogger.com0