DINO's GHOST TOWN BLOG

Henry, it is time to go.  You are a scoundrel and a thief as well as a slime scum bag and you should have gotten 10 years for your lack of couth.

I hope they pound you in jail you callous dog you.

Jail On.

Do you know? Or for that matter, why don't you?  The houses in which I have lived in were always lit up during Christmas in one form or another. I can remember growing up in Hillsdale Missouri many centons ago, we had a large window facing the street. We couldn't really afford any cool stuff but I found 2 large lighted candles in the cemetery, which also was my back yard. I brought the candles, which stood about 3 feet high and were bright red and yellow, to our house and cleaned them all up and took them to my work bench where I installed new wiring and new bulbs.  I then sat them in front of the large window and plugged them in. I went out to see what they looked like and they were grand.  I was happy.  But my Mom was even more than happy. She wept cause she was so happy. She is gone now but I still put out some form of lighting, and the form of lighting gets bigger and bigger.  Unlike most peeps, I leave most or my lights up all year long and plugged in ready at a moments notice. That way if I need the police here I call em and tell em to look for the Christmas lights in July.  Or the pizza man.  They ALWAYS know where to go.You say you don't put up Christmas Lights?  Well thats cool if ya wanna.  I mean I respect your right to be a Bah Humbug and all mang.  I wouldn't dare pressure you to become one with the Christmas Spirit. But I have a Christmas present for you anyway.  :-)
Merry Christmas to all my wonderful friends on the Fox 2 Blogamatic and please have a safe and SAFE New Year.
Oh........Leave The Guns Inside as you all know.  I love guns too but keepem in for everyones safety. And ITS THE LAW..............I always wanted to say that.  :-)

Today I got up after hearing what sounded like a ruckus. A large ruckus. I went to the front and opened the front door. (not the back door in the front. what a stupid concept) and what do my blurry eyes spy?  UMSL college came to the house two houses down from me where a big crack head lives and banged on the door. (UMSL owns alot of houses around here. They are used as low cost student housing.)  No one came to the door. Next two Saint Louis County Police officers came and banged on the door. No one answered. BOOM!  Door gets kicked in and everything in the house gets TOSSED.  Right out on the front lawn. Not the back. This is the dude that I told you gets high and drunk and comes home and shoots his gun off and then scoots inside. Well I laughed and laughed when I saw that. I'm still laughing!!  OMG!!  What a wonderful Christmas present.  Another crack head evicted from the ghost town.  OUTSTANDING!!!!     GETON DOWN THE ROAD TWIT HEAD!
Fantastic!
Evict On.  Or off.  I'm easy today.


Who am I kidding?  I'm always easy. Merry Christmas.  :-)

Ya did me wrong Ron.   Ya did me wrong.

Remember when the Perseids were here?  A long time ago this year?  I told you I had shot some time lapse shots of the sky in Weldon Spring?  Here they are....This is a two hour exposure into the night. These are stars, not meteors.
This pics shows a flare from a lighter which I sparked too close to the shot.

This next picture what taken at 2 IN THE MORNING.  NIGHT TIME.    LOOKS LIKE DAYLIGHT DOESN'T IT?
And the last one.  Remember, it 2 oclock in the morning.  Cool.

You can see the moon in the shot. No Perseids tho.  Oh well. Maybe next time.  The sky was too lit up for any real observing. I'll be doing this again soon.
Image On.

This is why I love the forest and all that is is in it.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gt7toFy-9T4

OWL ON.

MY NEW EMAIL ADDRESS IS  dino911@att.net.   Upgraded to 6Mbps and got a new wireless router AND dropped cable tv to go with ATT U-Verse.  Better picture, Awesome features and alot more channels and they are ALL digital.  Plus a DVR!  Merry Christmas to me.
Oh almost forgot........Upgraded to a new DELL OPTIPLEX BUSINESS COMPUTER AT 3.7 gHZ.  I get to open it on Christmas.  WHEEEEEEE!   S-1 is now S-2 and the new Dell will be S-1, joining S-3 and S-4 doing duties here at the bunker from hell.

And my 49th birthday is coming the same day as the nation goes all digital, Feb 17th.  Whoopeeeeee!

Dell On.

The mang gets life in no uncertain terms.  For twelve counts? Not to mention I don't see him being a model prisoner after all.I'm a happy mang. Or maybe he'll get all the respect and love from his fellow convicts? And what was up with those gang signs he was making after he was sentenced, standing between his lawyers? Did you notice that?  To me it just stuck out like the Titanic in my parking space. Was he just tucking papers in his pocket or were those quick, deliberate hand gestures not unlike gang signs we see here in Saint Louis and on TV and in Detroit?
I'm gonna have to look at that again.
Sentence On.

Remember when I told you about the Mo. State Trooper who helped me pull over a guy in a blue van for driving drunk?  Well he called me to ask me if I would come in and write out a statement. I said I would of course and met him at the Maryland Heights Police Station the next day. WHAT A COP SHOP.  All brand new and shiny.  I went there and met him. Trooper D____n was so nice. And Young.  Must be only 28 or 29 years old. Sitting with him in the little substation office writing my report made me feel so safe and happy. He was so polite and informative and nice. Thats the way they all are. I love the Highway Patrol.       When I was finished with my report he looked it over and said it would do very nicely. We talked for a few minutes and then I got up, shook his hand and I left the building. The Esprit' de Corps is very evident with these guys and that makes me very happy to be with them and I jump at the opportunity to interact with the Patrol when ever I get the chance.
     BTW... Missouri Highway Patrol has sold their property on Mason road to BJC and they dropped the tower. I was shocked that they missed the opportunity to upgrade the HEAR network with the tower and radios that were already in place. The new station is at Weldon Spring and 64. Super modern. Looks more like a library or museum than a cop shop.  The new tower is on 94 across from the Francis Howell School. You can't miss it. Its wonderful. Beautiful. Majestic. Amazing. Pretty. Nice. Awe Inspiring. NEW.
New is good.
Troop On. 

Hello again my good friends. It is truly frosty that you have chosen to peruse my feeble attempt at describing my outdoor life to you. Please stay awhile. A beverage perhaps on this teutonic of nights? Yes? A Diet Pepsi? A Sierra Mist?  Perhaps something with a little more body. A taste of Jack Black?  The Glenlivet?  Crown?  No? Water?  You have chosen well my good friend.  As you slake your unquenchable thirst let me rip a tale from the annuls of my log.  As you know I have been on a quest to see and explore the great Sunklands in Shannon County in Missouri on the Ozark Plateau. The location is just too large to see in one day even if you get there at first light so I decided to prepare for further explorations into the area by going on an L.R.R.P. to the area.  This is a Long Range Reconnaisance Patrol to gather intel. My departure time was four AM. The trip to highway nineteen was nice and mellow, trancing all the way with the Missouri State Highway Patrol in the background on the scanner. I installed new high powered lighting in the front of the Air-Cav especially for this trip. They are wired into the high beam circuit so they are easy to turn on and quick to turn off. They are for the many and abundant deer that come to meet you on the road to the Sunklands. Also for the many and varied animals that try to commit suicide in front of my car. No no no. I have new brakes for that. Stop on the proverbial dime. Oh yeah mang.      I got to highway nineteen at five twenty eight in the morning. Making good time.  I stopped at the Quik Trip for gas and a couple of those energy shots. I'll save them for later on the way home. I'll need them. I then stopped at the Jack In The Box for two Jumbo Jacks WITH cheese for lunch and a snack on the trail. I must keep my blood suger frosty. I also have these giant Sweet Tarts that come ten to a tube. Great for the trail. Pop one in the mouth and my blood suger is cool again mang. I stopped in Steelville and got twenty dollars from an ATM for Akers Ferry, which must be utilized to cross the Current River into the Sunklands. Six twenty in the morning saw me entering Dent County. I was getting closer. The anticipation was making me travel faster that I wanted to due to the animals so I slowed a bit. The sky was totally clear and dark. Shannon County has the darkest sky of any location in Missouri. The amateur astronomers love it. So do I. At six forty I made it to Salem Missouri. Super nice town. Didn't see too much tho. The darkness and my speed kept me from sightseeing in this little town. On and on into the Plutonian night I went, speed at forty to fifty miles per hour. The Trance was off now and the only sound was the sound of the tires (also new, just for this trip) and the scanner. The scanner was scanning two hundred frequencies, looking for the local police transmissions. The antennas were just singing in the cool air as I was flying along. No moon, just stars. Beautiful.At seven oh nine I crossed into Shannon County Missouri. AT LAST. I was back to my home away from home. God I love this place. At seven twenty one I stopped at the NEW current River State Park to take a whizzzz.  Much needed. This park is not open yet but its coming along. Its Missouri's newest State Park and shall be a wonderful addition to our State Park system. Can't wait for the opening.  Seven twenty nine AM. Entering the Ozark National Scenic Riverways. This area is so wonderful it just gives me the willies just being here.  Now I must get off the wonderful highway nineteen and get on highway K. Six miles down K and you arrive in Akers Missouri. Here is the Akers Ferry, a throwback from the time when things were simpler and much more easy going. Here they still are. Four dollars one way. Four dollars back. Be back by five or you must go the LONG way around to get home. Thats an additional thirty of forty miles added to the trip. No. Not until I camp here. Here is the ferry...


The people here are Amish and have an unusual way of speaking. A little difficult for me to understand but very frosty indeed. Here is a typical Amish farm. If you look closely you can see the buggy they use for transportation tho I did see many of them with large pickup trucks hauling their horses around in style. How do they make money?  Where are the jobs and what kind of jobs are there? Weird.


Wonderful. The Sunklands. My home away from home.







I stayed all day exploring my surroundings. I started down this one little path. It looked like the path I needed to take to the bog I was looking for. It looked like the one I had seen on the sattelite image so I went for it. before long I found that it began to go downward and it led me to another path that traveled down deep into the forest. I began marking trees with my Ka-Bar just to be sure to get out. At the bottom I did find a large bog but it wasn't the right one. I sat and enjoyed the day for about an hour. I then began my climb out of the deep bowl that the Sunklands are known for. As I climbed I went by my tree marks to keep me on course. Once back to the main trail I went the wrong way and proceeded to blaze away along the ridge. Nothing seemed recognizable. All was alien. I sped up. The further and further I went the more I became disoriented. I broke out in a cold sweat and my hands became clammy. Realizing that the sun would be down soon I began to get a little agitated at myself for putting myself in this situation. then I found a camp site. BUT IT WAS THE WRONG CAMP SITE! I was beginning to feel like one of the charachters in The Blair Witch Project, alone in the woods with the light fading and nothing except a bottle of water and a Ka-Bar. I sat down. I told myself to calm down and think it thru. I then drank some water and set out back in the direction I had come. After about an hour of hiking I returned to the intersection of the trails and saw the Thermos. I hadn't seen it before. It was like a beacon in the woods that Azazel had missed in his attempt to get me lost. I realized that this part of the trail HAD to be the right way. I left the Thermos to see if it would still be there when I returned half a year later. The trail led me to MY camp site and ultimately to the car, my salvation. Now I had Jumbo Jacks WITH cheese and other goodies to feast on. Yummy. But I was a little fearful for a few minutes. I don't EVER want to be lost in the woods. I shall invest in a GPS for next time.

Why?  Who?  Its been here a long time. Why?

There are slobs where ever you go. This place is no exception. I picked it up and put it in my pack to be disposed of later. Dang #%%@^^#%#!%&&%^#@$%^*&%$!!!!!!
Thats right...I went there.


The beauty of this place is amazing. And there are large animals here. Bobcat, Mountain Lion and Black Bear. Do NOT feed the animals. They may feed on YOU.






This is where I will camp the next time I come to this place. It will be Spring of 2009. The skeeter and the chiggerz will not have come out yet and it will be perfect. This trip was just for Reconn for intel.  Fun Reconn.


I will be back, and when I do I'll show and tell you more of the place that is so dear but not so near to my heart. I have been trying to get here for ten years. I have arrived.
Please join me again my friends as I persue My LIfe In The Outdoors.

Jog On.

Hi. How ya doing?  What are you doing out in this most heinous of nights?  Glad you stopped by. I was getting a little freaked being here all by myself. Would you care for some dinner?  How bout some cheeseburgers and fries?  Some trout?  Some Haggis? Ok, maybe later.  Let us sit with a refreshment and I shall relate to you a tale of gunshots and fear.  You have the time?  Yes well I guess you would. You know my door is always open to you. Sit and I shall begin.
       The time was one oclock in the morning. The place was the Katy Trail. I was hiking down the trail in search of a nice place to sit and relax in the cool of the night. The coyotes are out. So are the wolves. It is of no concern. I walk past a little bridge that was pushed off its foundation by hurricane IKE and continue. The bridge sits on a precarious angle now. No stopping on the bridge anymore. As I continue walking in the dark the night sounds were greeting me.  I walk about a mile and found at last a bench to sit my weary bones on, Taking my heavy pack off, I set it on the bench and then sit on the bench myself. Ahhh, that was nice. Surrounded by the darkness and the trees. There was a slight breeze, making the leaves on the trail shift and swirl about. I pulled a bottle of water from my pack (I always take two, unlike Steve Fossett, who took one) and unscrewed the cap. Being its carbonated and has some fizz it went SSSSSSSSSSSSSSS as the cap came off. Always thinking tactical, I was worried that someone might have heard the noise, giving away my position. I didn't think there was anyone around or any houses or farms or anything. I WAS WRONG.
      So here I am on the bench. It was now two in the morning and all was well. Or so it seemed. The coyotes were yipping and yapping and the wolves were howling. I was sitting with my head back, leaning back on the bench, hoping I would see something in the sky like a UFO, or falling galaxy or perhaps a large meteor. A plane went by, and PEOPLE WERE HOOPING AND HOLLERING OUT OF THE WINDOWS OF THE PLANE. I didn't know planes had opening windows? As the plane went on to land at Spirit I noticed the hooping and hollering was getting more and more quiet until the plane disappeared and with it the hollering. What was that all about?
      The plane was gone and the sounds were quiet. As I watched the night sky a very large meteorite (A meteor doesn't impact the ground. A meteorite does) traced a very bright path down to the ground. I was happier than Bob Hope in Vietnam. I just happened to be looking in the right direction and BAM, there it was. It was most treacherous!
       After about fifteen more minutes I hear a man yelling and hollering. He was joined with another man who began to whoop and yell with great glee. This freaked me. I didn't know there was anyone else here. I could tell where they were but I knew they were close. Then I heard TEN gunshots!  NOW YOU HAVE MY FULL UNDIVIDED ATTENTION!  A woman began crying and screaming. Then another woman, sounding much younger, started to scream and cry. I didn't hear the men anymore. Now I get a little spooked. I'm armed, as I usually am, but that doesn't mean I want to do battle with some unknown entities. I decide the best course of action is to egress forthwith without giving away my position. I packed up and put my pack on. I then hiked all the way back to the car, checking six all the way, without my flashlight, in the total darkness.  I was not concerned of the darkness. The darkness is my friend. Azazel is not friendly but I can manage. Azazel is always scary but managable. When confronted by Azazel you must keep a cool head and calm demeanor. Exit as soon as possible. Always tactical. Always safe. Always alive.
        I made it back to the car with no problems. I left and got home about three thrity. Don't know what happened. Don't wanna know. I scanned the area using Google Earth and found that there is a farm house about five hundred feet further that where I was sitting.
Whatever happened at that farm house was not good but I guess i'll never know what happened.
Here is where I was and the farm house. The Katy trail is the light streak with the little bridge.

Weird.
Farm On.

Hey Nan2sing.  I noticed your friend on your page. I have one just like him.

 Her name is Pookie.

FROSTY!

THE SUBJECT WANTED  FOR KILLING A UNIVERSITY CITY POLICE OFFICER IS IN CUSTODY.

It started like any other night. It was midnight and I was sitting on the group W bench of the handicapped parking area in Lost Valley.  The weather was superb. The sky was clear and dark and the stars were out big time. I was sitting there in the darkness listening to the coyotes and the fish and the bobcats. Sitting there eating trail mix and drinking a diet 7UP. The Great Horned Owls were not doing their thing. I was also listening to the scanner that is always with me along with my cameras. All was so nice. It got to be around 3 in the morning so I gathered up my stuff and went back to the car. The drive back to 64 was uneventful thank God. The deer were all lined up along the side of the road waiting for me to come by and wave. And wave I do. I proceeded to get on 64. All is good. My speed increased until I was doing 75 MPH.  I know...I speed way too much but I get caught too. So here I was trancing along happily, just getting ready to go under Boone's Crossing. As I sped by a blue van got on 64. I seem to notice something strange about him so I slowed to get behind him. He began to swerve. He could not maintain a single lane. Hell he couldn't even maintain a single highway!  I followed him at a distance as we got on 270 North. At that moment a white Jeep came up next to me at the same speed I was doing and also noticed the drunk. We watched as the van swerved from the number 1 lane to the concrete median and back, CLEAR ACROSS ALL LANES OF TRAFFIC. He almost hit the wall several times. At this moment I turned on my hazard lighting and the Jeep did the same. I pulled out my emergency cell phone from the center console (Its only for 911. The phone cost me 3 dollars and the 911 calls are free.) and contacted Saint Louis County Police. They went Point To Point with Weldon Springs State who , with Saint Louis County, broadcasted on the scanner that the drunk was being followed by a white Jeep and a white Cavalier with antennas all over it. As I heard the broadcast we were approaching highway 70 at 70 MPH. I was gonna terminate the pursuit at 70 cause I was getting tired. The Jeep got off. I flashed my lights and he flashed his. I decided I was gonna persue this guy into Illinois if I have to and beyond. Speed stayed steady at 75. We went under McDonnell BLVD. As we went under I looked in the rear view mirror hoping I would see some red lights. I was a good mile away from McDonnell when I saw them crossing McDonnell. RED LIGHT!  ALLRIGHTYTHEN!!  I continued after this guy.  The lights were getting closer and closer FAST. Then he was on my tail. Then he pulled up along side of me. Missouri State!!  Man was I glad to see him.  I flashed my lights at the van in front and he got behind him and lit him up. I stayed behind the Trooper as all three of up pulled over. I got out and as soon as the Trooper came back to his car I advised him how long I had been following him and what I saw. He told me the guy had told him that he was eating and that what caused the swerving. I laughed and so did the Trooper. He advised me that he was going to give the suspect a Field Sobriety Test. I said thanks and told him to be careful and have a safe night and he thanked me for getting involved. Getting Involved?  Heck thats all I do. I GET INVOLVED.
I watched the Trooper get him out and give him the test. He failed miserably which gave me much delight as I watched one of Missouri's Finest put the nickle plated bracelets on the suspect and proceed to stuff him into the back seat. As I left I waved to the Trooper and he waved back. All was good again.
If you see a drunk driver on the road do yourself and all of us a favor...GET INVOLVED. Get the plate. Get the color. Get the make and model. Describe the number of occupants and the color of the occupants...black,white,or green.  The life you save may be MINE. 
MAKE THE CALL.  SAVE US ALL.
Troop On.

already from not being in the woods and in the wind and sun. Here we are getting ready for our first cold blast of the season and the official ending of the growing season and already I am losing my mind from being indoors too long. My wife pleads with me to take a Xanax just to cut the sharp edge off me. I take an Ativan instead. I been getting the old launch complex and associated bunker here in the ghost town ready for the coming brutal winter. I tell ya...get your stuff together NOW.  While you can at a reasonable price. Christmas stuff is already out on the shelves and the price of rock salt is gonna hit an all time high so don't say I didn't warn ya me bucko.
In the meantime (the name of a fantastic CD by one of my favorite bands, HELMET) as I was in the area, we saw this......


 This is the entrance to the Allison Cemetary trail. Its on Lake Wapapello property and is worth a visit if you like to see old stuff as it is and imagine how it was. I'll tell ya how it was....IT WAS HARD!  HARD I TELL THEE!  Not hard like diamond or dylithium crystals or like the USMC. It was hard just to live day to day on meager earnings from crops and cattle or super pure crank.  It was a hard life for you and your family on the old homestead. Homestead I SAY!


 Here is a creepy, surreal and sublime shot that my wife took of me being stupid.  Gave me a weird feeling. MY GOD!  ITS FULL OF STARS!

 The full monty. This is an old area from the 1880's. There is a beautiful bench just over there that lets you sit overlooking Lake Wapapello and ponder the question.....WHAT IN THE GREAT HIBERIAN GODS AM I DOING HERE?  I am glad I am here.  I wish I was there now.

We spent a good 3 hours here just looking and studying the stones and the inscriptions and just  wondering.

Just like i'm doing now.

Death On.