Well, folks, it's been awhile since I, as chief editorial director and Grand Pooh-Bah of design for the GonzoPR blog, have convened our team of reporters spanning the globe: Helmut Vallindaklopf in Washington, D.C., Ramona Vallindaklopf in Genoa, Italy and Wolfgang Majoris in Bangkok, Thailand.
JM: "Let's start with Helmut, who's hunkered down in his basement bomb shelter on Connecticut Avenue. He's now live via conference call on Skype. Now that Herr Gropenfuhrer has been impeached and acquitted, what's the climate like in this nation's capital, Mr. Vallindaklopf?"
HV: "It's a war zone, not unlike when the British burned down The White House in the War of 1812 on August 24, 1814. Of course, a hurricane came the next day and extinguished the fire, but be that as it may, we are in shark-invested waters these days, and Herr Gropenfuhrer needs to be stopped at all costs."
JM: "We turn now to Ramona Vallindaklopf in Genoa for an update from her beat covering Europe, Africa and the Middle East. Ramona, what is happening in your part of the world, aside from potential war with Iran and trouble in Syria? A couple more questions: has the world gone mad and why is there air?"
RV: "Has the world got mad? No, only in The White House because of Herr Gropenfuhrer. Why is there air? Well, we have less, due to global warming. Iraq is a mess. Syria is a mess. Most of Western Europe, except for Russia, seems to be working against the Trump campaign, too. Most Western European nations think he's bonkers."
JM: "We now turn to Wolfgang Majoris, otherwise known as Wolf, for his perspective on The Far East, as he reports from his base in Bangkok, Thailand. Wolf, how are things working out there, particularly in North Korea and China, where the coronavirus is rampant, infecting those who come into contact with it?"
WM: "Well, JM, yes. The coronavirus has run amok, and I must lay low for awhile until this whole thing blows over. Around these parts, everyone, and I mean everyone, wears masks. Herr Gropenfuhrer says everything is fine. China has the whole situation well in hand, which is pure, unadulterated poppycock, of course."
JM: "Thank you for that report, Wolf. Truly a bizarre country we live in right now. The only possible solution is to encourage people to vote. And try to avoid the troublemakers. Remember, Vladimir Putin and his minions are watching. As the election year continues to grind on, we will revisit the situation. Ciao."
Lyle Mays, longtime collaborator of jazz guitarist, Pat Metheny, died this past week after a long recurring illness in Los Angeles of unspecified causes. He was 66. His niece, jazz vocalist Aubrey Johnson, announced his death on social media, noting that he passed away surrounded by loved ones.
Metheny, the guitarist, composer and NEA Jazz Master with whom Mays had his deepest musical bond, issued a statement remembering Mays as "one of the greatest musicians I have ever known." As core members of The Pat Metheny Group, Mays and Metheny won 11 Grammys together. He will be missed.
Aside from the Three Sisters themselves, the next largest peak in the constellation is Broken Top. A stratovolcano capped by a summit cone, it was appreciably higher that its present 9,175 feet. Broken Top, adjacent to South Sister, is now a semi-circular amphitheater open for an inside look, much like Crater Lake.
The Committee has climbed the peak twice, once successfully and once that was close-but-no-cigar. The first time, we were advised to climb from the east using the approach from Todd Lake. Bad idea. We made it as far at the saddle above Bend Glacier, but didn't budget enough time for a day trip.
The next time, we went up the west side, hiking past Green Lakes and camping at a small lake (above) below the approach to the summit. Markee transported our gear on llamas, complete with tipi and wood-fired stove. The next day, we proceeded up the west side, where a climber's trail deposited us at Chicken Point.
After a night in the tipi, we embarked early up the west side to Chicken Point. It was pretty easy climbing until then. After that it was tricky. As we waited for one of our mates to set the belay points, we started to get get quite chilly, so we headed up, free-climbing the rest of the way. It was bold and foolhardy, but we made it.
Throughout most of the length of the Cascade Range, large volcanic peaks are generally spaced about 40-80 miles apart, allowing each mountain to reign visually over a wide domain. In Central Oregon, however, the usual pattern is broken: a cluster of closely grouped volcanoes creates an impressively crowded skyline.
As a Boy Scout in the early to mid-60s in Troop 138 at Ascension Catholic Grade School in Portland, Oregon, our scoutmasters took us on an extended hiking/camping experience from McKenzie Pass along the Obsidian Trail on the west side of the Sisters to South Sister and down to the Cascade Lakes Highway at Devil's Lake.
Much later, we were about to begin a new EWEB headquarters building along the Eugene riverfront. Along with several other of my mates, including some members of The Committee, we served on numerous utility task forces, including one to develop a new logo for EWEB. Despite some resistance, the design prevailed.
Well, faithful readers, we have arrived: we have now surpassed #400 on the GonzoPR blog, established in 2008, when I retired from Eugene Water & Electric Board. A humble operation at first, it has since turned into a monster. My favorite subjects are travel, sports and, much to the chagrin of some of my friends, politics.
However, a funny thing happened on the way to determining statistics as laid out by Google on GonzoPR. The rankings are the same but the numbers vary widely. In other words, they don't exactly jive. Be that as it may, here are the top ten posts, the greatest hits as it were, on Gonzo PR, starting with Alpine Adventure, the clear winner.
The post presaged our trip to Zurich to take in the sights of the mostly the German side of Switzerland. On this trip, we stayed at the Hotel X-tra in downtown Zurich. We visited the Jungfraujoch, Lucerne and Interlaken, Reinfall and Schaffhausen, Liechtenstein, Heidiville and much, much more.
Number two is King Of The Blues, a missive on Riley B. King, otherwise known as B.B. King, an American guitarist, singer and songwriter. I've seen B.B. a number of times over the years, the first time at Springer's Ballroom in the hinterlands of southeast Portland near Gresham on the path to Mt. Hood and Central Oregon.
Next up on the hit parade is Defining Public Relations, a treatise on the subject of public relations, a practice and profession that I became familiar with as an undergraduate and graduate student at the University of Oregon School of Journalism in the 70's and early 1980s, followed by 33 years as a professional and instructor.
The Trinity Mine is next, a failed experiment to mine precious metals near the Glacier Peak Wilderness, where I toiled as a ranger while working my way through college. Having worked previously on the Malheur National Forest, I was smitten with a girl who worked seasonally on the Lake Wenatchee Ranger District.
Weighing in at number five is Berchtesgaden And Eagle's Nest, which described our time in Munich and our exploration of the castles of Mad King Ludwig, and his suspected murder. We also spent time in downtown Munich and explored the city known for Octoberfest, when an additional six million people cram into a city of two million.
Rounding out the top ten starting at number six is Willkommen Bei Den Bayerischen Alpen, which presaged our trip to Munich. We visited castles, toured The Eagle's Nest, saw the BMW headquarters, toured the Paulaner distributor, visited biergartens, ate at the finest restaurants and stayed at The Hotel Deutches Theatre.
Number 7 is Castle Keep, part of our tour that included visits to Mad King Ludwig's castles, including the Neuschwanstein and Linderhof castles (above) and Hohenschwangau, an older castle where Ludwig grew up. As part of that tour, we also visited Oberommergau, a small town that resembles Leavenworth, Washington.
Coming in at number 8 is the Italian Riviera And Cinque Terre from one of five trips we took to The Motherland to locate our cousins, the Sanguinetis, who live in the hill country of Liguria in a little village called Isolona in the district of Orero near Cicagna, where my beloved grandmother lived before escaping Italy for Portland, Oregon.
Next up, at number 9 is Getting Around: Plane, Trains And Automobiles, a missive about how to get around while traveling in Europe. I never rent a car; I guess I'm paranoid. But the public transportation options in Europe are simply wonderful, whether you're in Italy, Switzerland, Germany, Spain or anyplace else.
Finally, weighing in at number 10 is Der Zugspitze And Garmisch-Partenkirchen, another great adventure to Germany's highest peak and the little town with a ski resort that sits at its base. The cable car ride (pictured) is not for the feint of heart. And now, as Porky Pig would say, "that's all folks." That's GonzoPR's top ten.
JM: "We turn now to Ramona Vallindaklopf in Genoa for an update from her beat covering Europe, Africa and the Middle East. Ramona, what is happening in your part of the world, aside from potential war with Iran and trouble in Syria? A couple more questions: has the world gone mad and why is there air?"
