MADDOGS
THE ADVENTURE CREW: Master, The Nomad, Sweet Bird of Freedom (aka Freeta Roam), Pixie & Pod, Miss Cycle, Ivan the writing muse, Jude, and the brains of the crew--Croc. DOUBLE-CLICK ON ANY PHOTO TO ENLARGESaturday, January 01, 2005
MADDOG ADVENTURE--Flying With The Pelicans!
(The Crew sent the following Adventure out for winter greetings, but we are recording it here for those who didn't get a chance to read it.)
Last July the Adventure Crew picked up Jude's Moms (that's what Jude calls her), and made her an honorary member of the Crew. Then it was off on a MADDOG Adventure. We ended up about 20 miles from Brigham City, Utah in the middle of some wetlands. We spent a leisurely day navigating a gravel one-lane, one-way twisty road. We stopped for binocular views, gourmet lunch in the back of the Nomad, scenic strolls, avocets, stilts, egrets, mallards, herons and photo ops.
Toward the end of the afternoon, the Crew came upon a small flock of pelicans in a stream next to the road. Whenever the Nomad got close to them, the pelicans would take off. As they flew above the stream, their wingtips sometimes dipped into the water. When they felt safe enough, they settled just out of sight of the Nomad. As the Crew meandered down the road, the pelicans would fly away again.
This dance of fly, dip and land, then takeoff, swoop and skim went on for quite awhile. Jude and Pixie tried to get a good photo of the pelicans in flight, but Jude needed at least ONE hand on the steering wheel and ONE eye on the road (since she has TWO of each, the Crew thought this would be an easy task). But alas, although Pixie was doing a great job, Jude had a jiggle-thing going on and the pictures came out blurred or--worse yet--pelican-less.
Then Jude had a great idea. Oh no! We on the Crew can't tell you all the trouble she gets us into with her great ideas. Well, this was her great idea: Jude would accelerate the Nomad to match the speed of the flying pelicans (which turned out to be 37mph--15mph was the posted safe speed), while hanging out the window with Pixie in her grip. Then with one eye shut and the other looking through Pixie's viewfinder she'd be able to capture the flight of the pelicans.
But who would man the steering wheel? None other than Moms.
So there the Crew was, bouncing down the gravel road at rushing speed with Moms swerving to avoid holes, dips and boulders while Jude was hanging halfway out of the Noman and Pixie was clicking away.
The resulting masterpiece is for you.
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