Night falls on the city 1-27-2008. We're on the NE side of White Rock Lake looking toward downtown Dallas. A great sunset provides the perfect ending to a beautiful winter day.

Left to Right: Karen Lee, Kelly Cutler, Ranger Randell Fields

Left to right: Randy Wilkinson with back turned, Bob Williford. Banjo Doug, Christen Cross

An outstanding performance by Jenni Mansfield Peal.

Left to Right: Jenni M. Peal, Lisa Byrn, Bucky Bones.

January 2008. Jammers gather in the hallway at the historic Sons of Hermann Hall in Dallas Texas. This charming two story frame building in the Deep Ellum part of Dallas has seen many a good time and has nurtured a lot of love and brotherhood. The venerable Texas haunt built in 1911 still provides a home to the original SOH fraternal organization and since the 1980s has become one of the coolest music venues anywhere. Every Thursday night, the Electric Campfire Acoustic Jam hosted by Ranger Randell takes over the hall and upwards of 50 musicians fill each of four or five rooms with music that lasts all evening. It is a very special place indeed.

The WAMJam Girls in a benefit performance at Adair's in Dallas TX in the Spring of 2005. Left to right: Annie, Susan, Reba, Stephani, Bridget, Lisa and Jenni getting some laughs. WAMJam is the Women's Acoustic Music Jam held periodically in Dallas.

Bliss by guitar. Our friend Alan plays a beautiful song at a Fall 2004 Rancho Frijole camp out. The rancho near Wills Point TX is a very special place tended by another wonderful friend, Linnie.

Driving across the vast Texas outback on the way to Chinati Hot Springs via Pinto Canyon Road west of Marfa. Chinati Peak is in the distance. We visited this one of our favorite places on Earth in late 2004.

Here we're standing on a cliff by the Rio Grande in Big Bend National Park around Christmas 2003. Jenni and I camped in the high desert at a place called Rice Tank which had provided water to livestock belonging to early settlers in the 1920s. One night a huge North wind came in howling like a banshee. Already gone to bed we heard the storm approach but soon realized the high tank levee behind our camp provided the perfect diversion and sent the gale high overhead. We slept cozy and warm completely untouched by the wild arctic blast. In the morning a thick coat of ice topped the water jug but soon it was brilliantly sunny and warm again.

My brother's daughter Emily with Jenni on the shore of Lake Michigan. Emily and David were married that day in June 2003 on the beach with many friends and family members in attendance. That was two weeks after Jenni and I were married in Texas.

Jenni at Lake Mineral Wells TX in 2003. There seems to be some kind of waveform emanating from her outstretched fingertips. We used this photo for her 2004 "Flood" Song Album Cover.

Part 2

Well, we got back from a month camping in Wyoming and Montana over a week ago and I spent 2 days looking at photos I took on the trip. We had a great time and saw many beautiful places. Here is one:
Jackson Lake, Grand Teton National Park

The Call of the West. Part 1 - 7.25.07

We are heading west again next Monday. It's been a year since we spent 2 weeks on the North Rim of the Grand Canyon. This time we're going to Yellowstone NP via Grand Teton NP. Driving from Dallas via Pueblo, CO and Lander, WY, we should arrive around the middle of the third day on the road. I talked to a ranger today at the Buffalo District office of the Bridger-Teton National Forest, close to where we'll camp the first few days in the area. I found out that few people take advantage of dispersed camping in the forest there. The ranger on the phone said most try to get a campsite in one of the two National Parks where all the conveniences of civilization are available. You generally have to reserve ahead of time. The next step away is at one of the National Forest campgrounds of which there are many to handle the overflow crowds vacationing at Teton or Yellowstone. The next option is dispersed camping where you just go find yourself a place in the millions of acres of national forest and set up camp. Most of our National Forests allow folks to do just that. The roads are mostly primitive but well maintained. There are no facilities, no noisy neighbors and plenty of quiet peaceful beauty. That will be our option...and it's free compared to $10-15 a night in the established campgrounds. You just have to camp 200 feet from streams or lakes and 100 feet from roads.

That's what we did last year at Grand Canyon and had a camp right on the edge of the upper canyon with no neighbors anywhere close. It was close to heaven. I love kids but I won't miss camping next to a family of five. The ranger went on to say the bears around Yellowstone were not typically a problem as long as you follow the rules about food handling and storage. You must store food so that it's not easily accessible as inside your vehicle. We'll be careful about that! We're planning lots of day trips in the truck and day hikes as well. When we've seen what we want at Tetons and the southern area of Yellowstone, we'll move on to another base camp somewhere in the forest further north. Hopefully we'll criss-cross the greater Yellowstone area to our heart's content for about a month before we turn back towards Texas. Our first big stop on the way back is at Thermopolis, WY, home of the world's largest hot spring. Flows millions of gallons daily at 134F degrees. It's in a Wyoming state park and by an old Indian Treaty you get to soak in the springs pools, which are cooled down a bit, for free so we may camp nearby for a day or two. After all that hiking, we'll be ready to rest awhile.

Here's a view from our forest home overlooking the Grand Canyon last year.