Parks @ MindSay 
fun
Like a quarterback taking a knee in the fourth quarter, two of Congress's most ardent opponents of our Right to Keep and Bear Arms are trying to run out the clock on efforts to enhance your right to self-defense in our national parks and wildlife refuges.
For two months, we have been asking NRA members and gun owners to submit comments in support of allowing law-abiding citizens to carry their legally-owned firearms in national parks and wildlife refuges -- and tens of thousand of you have done so. The deadline to submit comments expired on June 30 -- or so we thought.
Rather than closing the proscribed comments period as scheduled and moving toward finalizing this federal regulation, U.S. Senator Daniel Akaka (D-Hawaii) and U.S. Representative Raul Grijalva (D-Arizona), succeeded in delaying the implementation of the final rule by bullying the Department of the Interior (their respective congressional subcommittees have oversight of national parks) to extend the deadline for comments an additional 30 days! In a letter to Secretary Kempthorne, Senator Akaka and Representative Grijalva asked that the public comment period be extended, citing the recent decision in the District of Columbia v. Heller.
In truth, however, now that the Supreme Court has affirmed that the Second Amendment guarantees an individual right, it is more important than ever that we move toward final resolution on this matter and extend the most basic right of self-defense to law-abiding citizens visiting national parks and refuges.
The goal of their strategy is clear. Extending the public comment period amounts to a blatant and intentional stalling tactic; further pushing back resolution on this matter, possibly until after the election, into a new Administration. This needless extension will also allow opponents of carrying guns in national parks (like the Humane Society of the U.S. and the National Parks Conservation Association) to rally their troops to express their opposition to this commonsense proposal.
While we disagree with the decision to extend the comments period on this issue, it is now more important than ever that we give the anti-gunners what they profess to want-additional comments. Gun owners, Right-to-Carry permit holders, and all Second Amendment supporters must deluge the Department of the Interior with comments in support of this proposal! The new deadline for submitting comments is August 8, 2008.
Please submit your comments on-line at:
http://www.regulations.gov/fdmspublic/component/main?main=SubmitComment&o=090000648066022a
Or in writing to:
Public Comments Processing
Attn: 1024-AD70
Division of Policy and Directives Management
U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service
4401 N. Fairfax Drive, Suite 222
Arlington, VA 22203
Please act today and forward this message and request to your family, friends, and fellow firearm owners!
--NRA-ILA
Okay, this would be my first blog so it's going to be boring...but in the future my other ones will be mainly rants 
+ hopefully they'll entertain you as much as they do me. So here I go..
-The names Cathy.
-I'm 14 although people say I look a lot older.
-I live on the coast.
-I'm 'obnoxious' and 'never stop talking'.
-I'm single and happy.
-I love pulling pranks.
-The only movies that I enjoy are comedies and horrors.
-I loveeee to ski/snowboard.
-The fall is the best.
-I listen to mainly rock, metal, screamo, oldies, indie, techno, and alternative music.
-I have several best friends.
-Yes, I have a myspace but it's for personal use only.
-Coke is way better than Pepsi.
-My current job is babysitting.
-Pain makes me laugh.
-I love adrenaline rushes cough amusement parks cough.
-Concerts rock.
-Cruises are fun.
-I love talking to strangers and meeting new people.
Want to know more?
IM me. CDxox14.
The WIND is trying to blow us away tonight! The sand is thick and debris is flying everywhere- what a storm! A chair just flew off our back deck! It is my husband's birthday today so we ventured out for a nice dinner on the town- then blew back home. . . nice evening in spite of the weather.
Taxes are done, YAY! Even with extra to pay, it feels good to be beyond the deadline. . . now, on to other items on the to-do list.
I finally got up to the Colorado National Monument to send off my Grand Canyon geocoin this weekend- picked up a coin from Joshua Tree National Park.... it was a scenic 2 mile hike in to a multicache that is actually just outside the monument on BLM land. The first leg of the cache is visible in the 3rd picture here- (check out the tree). The second bag, when located, was also hanging - a new concealment strategy for me. . . it is so funny how you can be right beside something and miss seeing it in the midst of the hunt... the AHA is always a rush! It was a great cross-country venture, but it is hard to avoid trampling the cryptobiotic soil in the desert here.... see the new wildflowers nestled in it. . . protecting the soil from washing (or blowing) away- it is a vital component of this fragile desert ecosystem. I am always torn between enjoying the hike off trail and dreading the damage possible when more of us go hunting..... need to learn to step on the rocks, avoid the areas where the microbiotic crust is most prevalent.
In case you can't tell, this National Monument is one of my favorite local spots. The first superintendent of this park was a rather eccentric man who fought to protect this area and was instrumental it the park status being attained in 1911. Years later, he left this area after a disagreement with local policy makers and spent his last years in California where he died and was buried in a pauper's grave in Yreka. Recently that gravesite was discovered and his influence here honored in a ceremony and setting of a new headstone designed by local artists. iliketiedye lives near this site and today she visited it and posted pictures..... check it out! We are coplanning a geocache near there to highlight his connection to this special place in Colorado. This will be a fun project! Thanks, Julie!
I had fun too, though admittedly through the first leg of our adventure, I felt more like I was doing a show for fear factor – I scared the willies out of myself!
First stop, Chimney Rock Park. We had breakfast while sharing a table with a friendly couple we had never met before. Then, after a quick run through the shops looking for some walking sticks, we headed up the mountain to the ticket office. The parking lot was too small to accommodate the unusually large crowd, so a large field was converted into a parking lot and we rode a bus to the lower lot. Fear factor #1 conquered – a large, top heavy bus LOADED with people, winding its way up a NARROW road, sharp corners and in many spots, driving on what seemed to be just a few inches from a scary precipice.
OK, I survived that. At the level that is the actual parking lot on an average day in the summer, we headed down the tunnel/cave toward the elevator that goes 14 stories to Skyline Lodge where all trails converge. Fear factor #2: We opted to abandon the 1/4 mile long line for a brave adventure on one trail I had never been on before, the Needle’s Eye, a 185 stair incline that ascends almost straight up between Rock Pile and Pulput rock. The WORST part of this story is that it was MY idea to tackle this particular trail.
Next to my first ride on a rollercoaster, I think this was one of the most terrifying things I’ve ever undertaken. Granted, it looked intimidating from the bottom, but I was sure it would get better. NOT. Once we got up into the rock, the stairs became VERY narrow and began a steep spiral into darkness. Ok, this HAD to be the worst of it. NOT. Once making it through the spiral, the stairs again go straight up in what seems like an even steeper incline. It gets worse. The rock overhead will no longer allow you to stand upright, the railing ceases to be, and the only way to tackle the steepness of the incline is to literally grasp the step in front of you and climb the next flight of stairs like a ladder. I swear to GAWD, I thought I was going to DIE before I got out of that hell-hole. I was bordering on tears. Yes, I wanted to turn back, but once I got high enough into that darn thing to realize how terrifying it was, the thought of turning around and looking BEHIND me and DOWN from where I’d just come, seemed even MORE terrifying. By the time we came into the daylight, I was shaking like a leaf – not really sure if it was from muscle fatigue or sheer terror. I confess however, that upon seeing others far younger and fit than myself, emerge from this hole, ashen, crazy-eyed and trembling, I did not feel like so much of a wus.
I eventually made it to the Skyline Lodge, though I had to take a few lengthy stops to catch my breath in hopes that my heart would not completely fail me before I got through this entire ordeal. At one of my rest stops, one poor girl was so traumatized that she was vomiting. I did not make it to the top of that blasted mountain, but I was able to get up to the Lodge, which in my lofty opinion, was a MAGNAMOUS feat of courage and tenacity on my part.
Needless to say, we took the elevator back down to the parking lot. Fear factor #3, riding 14 stories down on a teeny 6x6 elevator packed with people like sardines in a can. And YES, you could FEEL the drop. Holy shit, by the time we endured ANOTHER bus ride down the mountain back to our car, I felt like I was suffering post traumatic stress. (I’m sorry if I offend anyone with that descriptive expletive, but that was exactly what I meant…holy SHIT).
Here’s a view of Lake Lure from somewhere we traveled in Chimney Rock Park.
A view from one of my rest stops…
Can you guys find Kendall and Kiki in this pic?
Dead Man’s Gulch…
Can you see Kendall and Kiki’s feet at the bottom? No doubt when this hole got it’s name, it was named after some poor soul who had just attempted to conquer the Needle’s Eye. He likely died from the sheer terror of it all.
From Chimney Rock, we headed toward Asheville and the Blue Ridge Parkway. To be continued...
Ok..after our afternoon monthly discipleship meeting.. which we had Yummy food.. took a man that had knee surgery for some errands he needed to do and took him home.. I SO know what its like to be TRAPPED at home recouperating.. I decided it would be a good idea to go down to the park and take the dogs with us.
So.. we go.. Jillie who is at least 10 pounds overweight, pants continually... I havent been able to exercise her often.. well.. honestly.. at all.. and Ace..the older dog-14 1/2 yrs old.. she has been declining in her health...
We get there, and I grabbed my cane so I could have help going up the inclines... and we walked around the short path... we stopped at the swings.. no one was using, they were all up at the fancy kid area instead... Let the doggies rest and I got on the swing.. I probably only "swang" for 2 minutes or so..
Do you realize how many muscles swinging takes? LOL!
We walked back, and Jillie got excited sniffing another doggie who looked like our sisters alaskan miniature... and she was hot... next thing she collapsed on the ground and began gasping and choking... like a mini seizure... her lung collapsed.
She has done this from time to time... the vet told us that small dogs are prone to this happening,,,but its been awhile since she did it.
Then...hubby was putting the older dog into the car, and she wiggled ( she is a bigger dog) and he thinks he hurt her with his grasp, and she turned and had his face/nose in her mouth, no pressure he said, but she instinctively did it.
THAT made me cry. I love this dog so much.. good lawd..what if she HAD bit him.. I have to be very careful that she is always monitored and supervised now.. I have been letting her just wander outside by our apartment... I cant do that anymore.
God, I prayed that I wouldnt have to make a choice with her.. that she would pass in her sleep... I dont want her end of life to not reflect the wonderful life she has led.
The walk took a little bit out of me too.. but it was a good challenge.. :)
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