This Land is Your Land (Part II)

Photo: Stewart Udall, Secretary of the Interior 1962-1969 (under Presidents Kennedy and Johnson), father of Tom Udall, Senator for New Mexico, and uncle to Mark Udall, Senator for Colorado.

TODAY I ACTUALLY SANG "THIS LAND IS YOUR LAND" WITH A LARGE GROUP OF PEOPLE! My blog posting from last week came true.


Photo: Old Ebbitt Grill

Today was what I like to call "A Very D.C. Day." It started out at the famous Old Ebbitt Grill near the White House for breakfast. Yes, Dad, I do remember when you took me there when I was 11.

Then, I headed to the Department of Interior to celebrate the life and legacy of Stewart Udall, the Secretary of the Interior during the Kennedy and Johnson Administrations, whose legacy for conservation influences most of the conservation community's work today.


Photo: Stewart Udall and President Kennedy

Today at the ceremony they re-named the Interior building after Stewart Udall. I enjoyed the speeches from President Johnson's daughter, Douglas Brinkley (whose book about TDR I'm reading right now - Wilderness Warrior), Tom Udall (son and NM Senator), Mark Udall (nephew and CO Senator), Rep. Grijalva (D-AZ) and others.

Photo: Robert Frost and Stewart Udall

They read Robert Frost poems, told stories about Udall's work, and ended by singing "THIS LAND IS YOUR LAND."

I spent another part of the day learning about upcoming tax law changes, but I'll keep this post about the inspirational Udall.


Among his accomplishments, Udall oversaw the addition of four national parks, six national monuments, eight national seashores and lakeshores, nine national recreation areas, 20 national historic sites, and 56 national wildlife refuges, including Redwood National Park in California and the Appalachian National Scenic Trail stretching from Georgia to Maine. He also played a key role in the Clear Air Act, Clean Water Restoration Act, Wilderness Act, Endangered Species Act and more.


Soon after becoming the Secretary of Interior, Udall told the Washington Redskins owner that he had to integrate the football team as every other franchise in the NFL had already done, or risk being evicted from the Washington, D.C., stadium, which was federally owned.

An inspirational man. Learn more here.

Island Bingo

Island Bingo is as fun as it sounds. Last week Tom and played Bingo at Solomons Island, Maryland, joining the locals for triple Bingo competitions and a bunch of other sequences we didn't understand - like crazy kite and postage stamp.


The Island Bingo came with a free fried chicken, mashed potato, green beans and assortment of cake desserts dinner. I spare you the photo of us eating the fried chicken.


A high school aged staff had to help us and monitor our gaming. We had fun, though!


One update in the Bingo world is that the game included dozens of TVs around the room to display the Bingo # (i.e. "B14"). Bingo is getting very technologically advanced. Most of the people in the room had Bingo computers. Check out a full display of Bingo supplies at this link, including fancy daubers.


Tom really wanted me to include this photo. We should have sat by more locals. This is the Early Bird game, so the big time $1,000 jackpot 8:-11:00 game night had not started, yet.

Historic Preservation - WWII Edition

Photo: Camp Amache in Southeastern Colorado

Last week I attended the Japanese-American Citizens' League awards banquet, an event for work because of our partnership with Japanese-American internment camp site preservation. It was an inspirational night, including speeches from awardees Dianne Feinstein (her staff) and Roxana Saberi (who told her harrowing story as an American journalist imprisoned in Iran in 2009).

This historic preservation projects my firm works on have been a good lesson for me about this chapter in history I didn't know much about. For more information, see video.

I painted the boat!

Watercolor of the Argo.

This Land is Your Land...

Photo: Kevin and I climbing Mt. Bierstadt, Oct. 2001

Great article by Timothy Egan in the New York Times last week. Titled "My Summer Home," Egan reminds us that our national parks and other federal lands are "summer homes" for all of us.

Growing up, I looked with nose pressed against a mythic window of class at those who played in their waterfront compounds at Hayden Lake in Idaho. And when I came of age, I heard about the Hamptons and Cape Cod, Aspen and the San Juan Islands, where the zip code itself was supposed to guarantee happiness.

We had nothing to call a second home, and then I saw in a month’s travel that we had everything. Not long after I was old enough to cast my first vote, I realized that with American citizenship came a birthright to my summer home.

Read full article here.

Egan also wrote The Big Burn, a terrific book about the conservation movement during the era of Theodore Roosevelt and Gifford Pinchot (first Chief of the U.S. Forest Service), told within the narrative of the young Forest Service fighting an historic fire in Idaho that was the size of Connecticut.

Photo: Stacy, Meredith, Pete and I camping in Colorado, Fall 2003. Eric and Jeff were with us, too.

I miss Colorado's public lands! (and Colorado people!)

Now everybody sing! "This land is your land..."

Where the Buffalo Roam

The last week of August I roamed with the buffalo, traveling around northwestern Wyoming. I saw Old Faithful erupt (amazing! on the edge of my seat!), viewed Lower Falls in Yosemite's canyon area (of Ansel Adams fame), gawked at the sunsets at Grand Teton National Park and relaxed at "Cowboy Village," my lil' cabin/hotel. A great week of work!


Photo: Old Faithful!

Photo: Lower Falls in Canyon area of Yosemite National Park.

Photo: Grand Tetons National Park at sunset

Photo: Cowboy Village Resort in Jackson, WY

Photo: My lil' cabin at Cowboy Village

Photo: Buffalo rolling around at Yellowstone Lake

Photo: More buffalo! They are everywhere.

Photo: Ah Wyoming! View of the Grand Teton.

Floating the Snake River in Idaho

Yesterday I floated the South Fork Snake River in Eastern Idaho, a river that meanders from Jackson Lake in Wyoming all the way across Idaho to join up with the Columbia River in Washington.


We rafted in order to view a corridor of conservation properties on what the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service has rated the most unique and biodiverse ecosystem in Idaho. The river features prime habitat for yellowstone cutthroat trout. This blue ribbon fishery receives over 300,000 visitors a year. I can see why - I loved floating this pristine river with mountain views.

I learned the Snake River obtained its name through miscommunication between British fur trappers and the Shoshone tribe. A hand sign made by the Shoshone representing fish was misinterpreted to represent a snake, giving the Snake River its name.

Cruising the West

Took a 1st class tour of my old Denver neighborhood in a door-less rusted out 70's era Land Cruiser, a friend's project. Impressed by the repair and enjoyed visiting friends and family over the weekend. Off to Idaho Falls and Jackson Hole next!

Sailing the Chesapeake

Photo: The Argo, sailing the Chesapeake Bay in southern Maryland

I asked my Dad and Mom, "You want to visit D.C. during AUGUST?? The hottest month of the year?" But they said, "Yes, it's your birthday," and they came.

Photo: Dad and Mom sailing.

Tom and his brother took us sailing to keep us cool. We had our best sailing day of the summer - sunshine, nice breeze, great company. We sailed for over 4 hours from Solomon's Island, Maryland to the Bay and back.


Photo: Dad helping Tom put up the sails. Dad revealed that it was one of his life goals to sail the Chesapeake, so we were glad to make that happen.


Photo: Tom and I. Dad brought a sailor's hat, but I ended up wearing it. Tom grilled us lunch on the lil' grill in the back of the boat.


Location: Solomons Island, southern Maryland

Top Chef D.C.

As an avid Top Chef fan, I am enjoying this season even more because it takes place in D.C. Last night's "Restaurant Wars" episode was filmed at Redwood restaurant in Bethesda, Maryland.

In order to celebrate Redwood's two year anniversary and the Top Chef episode, the restaurant held a party and screening with cheap drinks and free appetizers. The Maryland Governor came and we enjoyed watching the show on site. A fun party for a Wednesday night!

DCist.com has great reviews of each Top Chef episode, if interested.

We, the Pizza

Photo: Owner and Top Chef contestant Spike Mendelsohn serving pizza at his new restaurant.

In case you were wondering - I finally made it to We, the Pizza. I hope to go back for another slice of buffalo chicken pizza with mozzarella, hot sauce and creamy blue cheese dressing. Waiting in a long line during opening week was worth it, and provided a nice break after sitting through a long markup on the House Interior Appropriations Bill.


The place has a real soda fountain, and I enjoyed a C.R.E.A.M. soda. Full menu here to see the entire variety.

Now I need to find a healthier place to eat on Capitol Hill...

Falling Water(s)

Photo: Tom relaxing in the middle of the Youghiogheny River, Pennsylvania

One of my favorite college trip locations - Ohiopyle State Park on the Youghiogheny River - happens to be exactly between my brother Chris' family's house in Akron and my place in D.C. (just 3.5 hours each), which led to a fun-filled camping/river extravaganza meet-up this past weekend.


Photo: Youghiogheny River

Chris brought a friend and I brought Tom, and we pretty much played in the river for 10 hours within two days, which is what you're supposed to do in August, I think.


We took a 5 hour rafting trip on the Lower Yough. The four of us in a guide-less raft made it through class III-IV rapids with names like "Dimple" and "Bottle of Wine." Tom was our Captain, calling the turns.

July 2010 Backpacker featured an article on the "Top 3 Natural Waterslides," which included the slides at Ohiopyle State Park. Convenient for us that we already had a trip planned there! The slides were a blast.

Photo: Natural waterslides at Ohiopyle State Park

When we weren't rafting, sliding or relaxing in the river, we visited river-themed "high-culture," i.e. Frank Lloyd Wright's masterpiece, the aptly named "Fallingwater" house.

Photo: Tom and I at Frank Lloyd Wright's Fallingwater. Notice the stairs descend into the river, and behind us the water cascades into a waterfall.


Photo: Frank Lloyd Wright's Fallingwater. Built for the Kaufmann (department store) family. Wright designed it in 1935. The house made the cover of Time and it is listed among Smithsonian's Life List of 28 places "to visit before you die."

A Million Miles in a Thousand Years

The most memorable book I've read this year so far is a book about making life more memorable.

I highly recommend Donald Miller's A Million Miles in a Thousand Years, because of Miller's vivid account of his life as he takes new risks, reflects on the art of the story, and lives out the theme that "making life more 'story-like' will make it more memorable."

It's a bit of the theory that "life imitates art," in the sense that "life imitates the story we're playing out," and if we want a better life, then we need to change the themes of the story we're in.

Miller does this in form of climbing Machu Picchu, biking across the country, kayaking at night, and other adventures I won't spoil. During this span of his life, film producers follow him around in an attempt to create a movie about his autobiographical best seller Blue Like Jazz, which propels him into more introspection on "life as a story," both in how we tell what has happened in the past and how we create what's going to happen next.

He defines a story as "A character....who wants something....and overcomes conflict...to get it," and frames his reflections around each of these ideas.

He takes the famous screen-writing class that Nicholas Cage takes in Adaptation, taught by Robert McKee.

His friend teaches him the "save the cat" principle (one of my favorites).

I liked this book because I enjoy thinking about the story-theory, i.e. the arc of the narrative and other principles. This book is far from a theory book, though, because Miller presents his thoughts by recounting his own adventures and describing the actions of others who are leading inspirational lives. The book compels me to live a better story.

Bay Swimming

Tri-training. Open swim practice in the Chesapeake Bay
Sandy Point State Park near Annapolis
In background: 4.3 mile Chesapeake Bay Bridge to Maryland's Eastern Shore

Seersucker Style

Summer in D.C. Time for the seersucker suit.

July on the Hill is a flurry of hurried legislation, right before the long August recess. Yesterday I attended a markup at the House Natural Resources Committee. The bill covered oil spill and conservation issues.


I hoped the nearby "We, the Pizza" restaurant would be open - run by Spike Mendelson of Top Chef 4 fame, but, alas, I'll have to wait until next week. Instead, I went to his other joint, Good Stuff Eatery, where they have "farm fresh burgers" and the best toasted marshmallow milkshake.

Shark Week

Shark Week. Discovery Channel Building. Silver Spring, Maryland

I Lived Next Door to Russian Spies

"On Monday, federal prosecutors accused 11 people of being part of a Russian espionage ring, living under false names and deep cover in a patient scheme to penetrate what one coded message called American 'policy making circles.'" - New York Times

In my first townhouse in D.C., I had the worst living situation. I won't go into the details, because they are haunting.

This week I found out that I ALSO LIVED NEXT DOOR TO RUSSIAN SPIES!! Officially the WORST living situation in the world!

The NYT quotes my old landlord (who also lived in the townhouse) about her observations of the Russian spies, which is how I found out. I would post more links to this, but I am paranoid. You can read the news.

I am glad I moved!

Photo: Spies enjoying an American-style picnic. These aren't the spies that lived next to me, but this is an adorable photo of other spies! They are in New Jersey. Credit: Mail Foreign Service