CS IN THE SW

Cold Splinters is heading to the southwest section of these United of States for Christmas, so there might be some crickets around these parts for the next week or so. Have a wonderful holiday and we'll see you in 2013. It's gonna be a real good one.

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I'll meet you in the Organ PipesAll alone on a winter's nightYou'll say, "Come Home."I'll stay.You won't.

MP3: Steve Earle - Goodbye's All We've Got Left

WNPA

The Western National Parks Association has published some pretty wonderful books since it was founded in 1938. (Back then they were called the Southwest Monuments Association.) They now operate bookstores at 66 NPS sites throughout the western United States with a flagship/headquarters in Tucson. I've found and bought a bunch of these while traveling these last few years - Flowers of the Southwest Mesas, Flowers of the Southwest Deserts, 70 Common Cacti, 100 Roadside Flowers  - and they're pretty darn easy on the eyes. You can see more old covers at the NPS' website here and you can order books, patches and a whole lotta Prickly Pear Cactus Candy directly from the WNPA here.Thanks WNPA.

Kelso Dunes

Kelso Dunes is the largest field of eolian sand deposits in the Mojave Desert, covering 45 square miles. The tallest dunes rise up to 650 feet above the surround terrain. The region is protected by the Mojave National Preserve and is located near the town of Baker, California.The Kelso Dunes are also notable for the phenomenon known as singing sand, or "booming dunes." Enthusiasts typically climb to the top of the dunes and slide down slowly, generating a low-frequency rumble that can be both felt and heard. This effect has also been noted at the Eureka Dunes in California, Sand Mountain in Nevada, and the Booming Dunes in the Namib Desert, Africa.See you soon, sand.MP3: Linda Perhacs - Sandy Toes

Juana Maria

If you're like me, you probably read Scott O'Dell's 1960 novel,  Island of the Blue Dolphins, when you were in grade school. It's the story of a Karana, a young girl who is stranded for years on an island off the California coast. The story is based on the life of Juana Maria, a Nicoleño Indian left alone for 18 years on San Nicolas Island in the 19th century. It was believed that she lived in a cave on the island, and just a few months ago, a Naval archeologist believes he found the cave after 20 years of searching. Read more about that here.Go to your local thrift store, pick up a copy and spend a quiet afternoon reading this thing. It's quite the gem. Then come on back to CS and watch the movie after the jump... 

Photos From The Road

Cold Splinters wrote a few times about Mikael Kennedy and Sean Sullivan's Ramblers Bone, the Wolverine-sponsored road trip the two guys took this last spring. Mikael was even generous enough to give us a few exclusive photos to post.In any case, the final culmination of the whole thing will take place TONIGHT, November 29th, down in SoHo, so come on out and enjoy yourself. And despite the fact that Mikael's best photos are of me, it's a hell of a show (I know, I helped put it up yesterday), so maybe I'll see you there....MP3: Elvis Presley - True Love Travels on A Gravel Road

May Wah

I haven't eaten meat in many years. There, I said it. And getting lightweight protein isn't always the easiest thing (or tasty) for non-carnivores.For that reason, May Wah, located in New York City's Chinatown, has seen my credit card many of times before a big trip. Beef and Chicken flavored TVP (textured vegetable protein), vegan jerky (I like the spicy squid) and an array of other weird things (the mock lobster, which is obviously not trail food, comes shaped like a lobster) are wonderful for vegetarians, vegans and even meat eaters while out in the wild. I'm not usually a huge fan of these types of foods while back in town, but out in the woods, it sure is nice to have around.I hadn't seen the article until a few weeks ago when I made a pit stop in the store, but the New York Times wrote an article about May Wah in September, citing it as a great place for campers to buy snacks. Wild.In any case, have a look around their website, learn more and thank me later. Or never.

The Mazamas

The Mazamas (pronounced mah zah maz) is a mountaineering club based in Portland, Oregon. The name comes from the Nahuatl word for mountain goat, mazati, which explain the logo above. And not surprisingly, Mount Mazama, the collapsed volcano that formed Oregon's Crater Lake, is another point of reference for the club's name.The cool part: It was founded in July of 1894 on the summit of Mount Hood. Charter members had responded to an advertisement in the Morning Oregonian the previous month announcing a meeting at the summit. 105 men and women showed up and were all considered "founders."MP3: Camera Obscura - Lloyd, I'm Ready To Be Heartbroken

Bird By Snow

At the beginning of September, I spent a week with my Juniper Ridge family, hiking down the John Muir Trail and relaxing in backcountry cabins right outside of Inyo National Forest. There were over ten of us on that trip, including Fletcher Tucker, who owns Gnome Life Records and records under Bird By Snow, and Em Gift, aka Mountain Momma Long Legs, who runs the show at one of my favorite stores in these United of States, Gravel and Gold. Fletcher and Em go way back, but it was my first time meeting them both, so it's a real time for me to watch the new video for BBS's "Peering Out." Em is dancing around Big Sur, where Fletcher lives, and Fletcher, well, he's keeping the fire going. Read more about the video here.See you both in a few weeks.

HARDTACK

Hardtack (also known as Pilot Bread, Ship's Biscuit, Eskimo Cookies, Pilot Crackers etc.) refers to a simple cracker of flour and water. These bland little things will last for a long long time and were common fair for sailors, soldiers, and yes, campers back in the day. Today, most hardtack is made by Interbake Foods under the "Sailor Boy" label, pictured above. 98% of the their production goes to Alaska, where the crackers can be found just about anywhere.

On The Mountain

If you're a fan of the old photos/magazines/advertisements/videos etc. that fill this rag on a regular basis, then you'll be happy to know about On The Mountain. They make the blank greeting cards pictured above out of recycled paper, then donate 10% of their profits to the NRDC. OTM was kind enough to send me a box last week, and though it's not even Thanksgiving, I'm already writing Christmas cards.Buy them here.

Trail Mix Vol. XIV

This week's Trail Mix is brought to you by Ben Ferencz of the Montana-based FairEnds. It's been a real time watching Ben and Martin's company grow over the last few years. And it's easy to see : I've spotted their Camp Caps in just about every city I've visited in 2012. Even in the middle of nowhere Southwest Texas.Ben is just about as sweet as they come and he's always good for a random afternoon email with a link to something Grateful Dead-ish. Thanks, Ben.Download: FairEnds For Cold Splinters - Trail Mix Volume XIV

Wrenched

According to the movie's website, Wrenched is about "HOW EDWARD ABBEY LIT THE FLAME OF ENVIRONMENTAL ACTIVISM AND GAVE THE MOVEMENT ITS SOUL." I gotta say, after watching the trailer above, this looks sort of wonderful. They're over 30K dollars away from their fundraising goal, and though I usually don't post links for such things, any movie dedicated to all things Edward Abbey is worth taking out your wallet for. Donate here.