Folkmoot - July 29, 2006

Rain hits the pavement in Waynesville this morning, and the Folkmoot International Day Festival schedule hits the skids. It’s out of control and nobody knows what is going to happen or when or why.

We opt for an early buffet at Nick-and-Nate’s Pizza Place. When we come out the rain has quit but the schedule of events has been lost. Musical instruments cannot be used when the streets are wet, and so nothing happens. All musical instruments now are electrical, of course.

We perservered. There were still sights to see - like the beautiful ladies from Thailand.



Dour Scotsmen are always at home in the rain - and so are their bagpipes.



and wild-eyed New Zealanders are not afraid of rain - nor are their drums!





Later, the sun came out and I danced in the street with a pretty, young gal from Ecuador.












Then my wife came and got me, and took me home.

©John Womack, 2006. All Rights Reserved.

Sentinel Dome, Yosemite

Three great monoliths dominate Yosemite Valley. El Capitan, Half Dome and Sentinel Dome. The last one is not nearly as well known as the first two, and that’s a real shame - it is the easiest to ascend. You can drive right up to it, well - to it’s trail head anyway. But from there it is only a 1.2 mile hike - 30 minutes, more or less. Although breathing at this rare air is not as easy as it is down in the valley. At 8.600 feet above sea level, most tourists were open-mouthed and wheezing. But it is well worth it. Here is a view of Yosemite Falls, 2425 feet of waterfall. it is spectaculalr from any angle, this is a different view.
To say that there is a 360° view is to understate the point. You can see everything.


Here is another photo of Half Dome photographed from the top of Senitinel Dome.


And here is the top of Half Dome at 100X magnification made from the same spot:



Now why would anyone make such a ridiculous picture? Must be a form of altitude sickness.

© John Womack, 2006. All Rights Reserved.

Top of the Mark

Home of the Martini. They have a menu with 100 different Martinis. JoAnn had a Sangriatini, and I had a Beck. Their beer selections are still middle America and way out of step.


But I've had a few Martinis here. First one was back in 1958. Martinis were still special back then, just not nearly so commercialized.

The view has changed too. More buildings. More to see. But it is still San Francisco. And this is still the Top of the City.

And here is a picture of a Sangriatini and the City.

© John Womack, 2006. All Rights Reserved.

France - 2002

Haut-Koenigsbourg Castle - Alsace

Imagine a land of deep dark forests filled with great stands of spruce and fir; great pine trees that tower 200 feet - and higher - into the sky. Birches are here, brilliant in golden plumage, and maple trees, still green, but also with red, yellow and bright orange leaves. A land of fox, rabbit, and deer, a place where great castles tower into the sky like piercing boulders and gaze down upon an ancient river far below. Where on earth? The Black Forest of eastern France, home to the chamoix, stretching out along the Rhine River, south of Strasbourg, north of Colmar. "The mighty Cathedral of Notre Dame in Strasbourg is one of the truly incomparable sights of Europe." This from The Lonely Planet, comments about the 430 foot high cathedral. After dinner one night, JoAnn and I toured its interior again. Earlier in the day one of its organs had been playing; tonight it was quiet with the silence of a thousand years. Outside a guitarist was playing and singing Ave Maria in the moonlight, seated in front of the Cathedral. Next day we went south to fabulous medieval towns: Obernai, Sélestat, Ribeauvillé,

Ribeauvillé, France, in Alsace

Riquewihr, Muenster. Here the smell of frying onion, sausage and Choucroute Garnie (fluffy sauerkraut served with smoked ham, sausages and potatoes) mingle
with that of freshly squeezed wine in the golden October afternoon, and flute and accordion play strains of Moulin Rouge, here in the land of escargot and pâté de foie gras, French Onion Soup is served the "right" way along with Quiche Loraine and the Alsatian specialty, Onion Tart. Well, it's all here in the land the French call Alsace-Loraine, where the sunlight


Outdoor Café in Ribeauville

warms outdoor cafes that cluster beneath half-timbered buildings, and which serve bread and beer with cheeses and wine that America will never know. The land where chocolate is a passionate way of life. Photography is also a passionate challenge in Alsace because of the bright skies, dark overcasts and constantly changing landscape - all part of October days in Germany and France.