High altitude balloon catches aircraft in transit

by Grant Martin on

Technology is cheap enough these days that almost anyone can send a balloon up into the atmosphere to see the curvature of the earth. And if they’re lucky, they can track down their camera and get some awesome video — just last year a father and son sent an iPhone nearly into space with incredible results.

What Vimeo user Edouard Janssens captured, however, is pretty unique. Bobbing around the troposphere, the camera had the fortune of capturing a passing aircraft as it soared past, quickly zipping across the field of view. It’s a pretty interesting perspective that’s usually not

In case you’re wondering, a collision between an aircraft and a balloon like this could be potentially disastrous so it’s fairly common to put radar deflectors on the balloons and register the flights with the FAA or local governing body. Hopefully the proper steps were taken with this launch.

[Via Reddit]

Video of the Day: Bus stops, passengers tumble

by Mike Barish on

Whether part of your commute or part of your travels, buses are often a convenient (and affordable) way to get from Point A to Point B. The downside of buses (other than frequent stops) is the lack of space. The seats are cramped, there’s little room for your belongings and the movement of the bus jostles things around. For all of those reasons, many people covet the middle seat in the back row of many buses. It has no seats in front of it, so you have ample space for your luggage. The aisle provides seemingly infinite legroom. What could possibly go wrong in the middle seat of the back row? Well, the bus could stop short and you could be hurled halfway down the aisle and left on your back with your shirt flung up. But what are the odds of that happening?

Umpqua National Forest: Oregon’s waterfall alley

by Kyle Ellison on

“People are drawn to waterfalls as places of wonder, relaxation, and inspiration” -Umpqua National Forest brochure, “Thundering Waters”

I remember an old sage I once camped with in Baja, Mexico referring to campfires as being “nature’s televisions”. As we all sat circled around the dancing flames mirthfully sharing a bottle of tequila and eating freshly caught fish, I decided that a well-built campfire is, in its singular ability to capture the rapt attention of a silent crowd, nature’s equivalent to a 48-inch plasma.

For the last 8 years of my traveling life I have held this as the truth.

That was until yesterday. As I start a 10 day road trip across the United States to explore “10 days, 10 states, 10 great American sights” my faith in what comprises nature’s television has suddenly been knocked to the curb.

I say this because here in Oregon, deep inside the Umpqua National Forest, I have found a challenger to the title of nature’s television in the complex combination of rivers and gravity we creatively call the waterfall.

You read it here first: Waterfalls are nature’s television, and here in Umpqua National Forest, I find myself literally swimming in them.

Sandwiched between Crater Lake National Park in the south and the vineyards of Willamette Valley in the North, Umpqua National Forest is a little-visited ribbon of America that features every type of waterfall you could ever imagine, all within easy strolling distance of the 172 mile Rogue-Umpqua Scenic Byway. In Umpqua, you cannot drive or hike more than a few miles without running into a well maintained trailhead for a thundering display of water and rock. Along the drive, no fewer than 15 named waterfalls spring from both sides of the road.

%Gallery-138321%Only 60 years ago, this remote and rugged part of Central Oregon still didn’t even have any paved roads, making it a relatively new attraction for those exploring the soggy and serene Pacific Northwest. For those with time to linger, the 79-mile North Umpqua Trail provides a wooded footpath that hugs the banks of the meandering North Umpqua River. Though the falls trickle along even through the autumn and winter, it’s the springtime snow melt that truly makes the valley thunder.

The enchanting thing about waterfalls is the fact that, like snowflakes, no two waterfalls are alike. Horsetail, cascade, segmented, fans, and tiers are all various waterfall structures prominently on display in Umpqua. In a dense green canyon dripping in moss, a two-tiered fall plunges 120 ft. into a pool that is so placid the local Umpqua Indians bestowed upon it the name of Toketee, indigenous for “pretty” or “graceful”. Thousands of years later, Toketee Falls is the most famous waterfall in the region and greatly lives up to its name.

Just up the road, 50 ft. Susan Creek Falls blasts through a dark and narrow canyon which sits just below a collection of native Indian mounds where adolescent boys would camp during their quest towards manhood. Further up towards the top of the valley, a 1.5 mile stroll on the North Umpqua Trail brings you to Lemolo Falls, a 102 ft. horsetail waterfall that explodes over the towering precipice above. To the Umpqua people, Lemolo means “wild and untamed”, and as the mists erupt off of the slippery rocks below, the native moniker couldn’t be more apt.

Finally, for those who like their waterfalls narrow and high, 272 ft. tall Watson Falls is the highest waterfall in southwest Oregon and is located a mere .3 miles walk from the road. Unlike the more popular and heavily visited Columbia River Gorge-Oregon’s most famous waterfall alley and home to Multnomah Falls, a tour bus and souvenir stand outpost of fun-it’s still possible to sit at the base of Watson Falls and listen to nothing but the sounds of the forest.

Although it’s possible to blow through Umpqua National Forest in little more than an afternoon, a well-maintained system of campgrounds is scattered throughout the forest and provides a relaxing getaway far away from the crowds.

So next time you’re in the soggy Northwest, consider pitching a tent far up the Umpqua river valley and taking to the woods for a bit. Throw on an early morning flannel, heat up a pot of coffee on the camp stove, and disappear for a while in one of the dwindling places in the West where it’s still possible to have waterfalls all to yourself.

Follow Kyle on the rest of his series as he explores “10 days, 10 states, 10 great American sights”

Masterpieces of silver in Antwerp

by Sean McLachlan on

Belgium is famous for its silver. Belgian silversmiths have a history stretching back hundreds of years. Their work has always been sought after for its high degree of craftsmanship and so it’s no surprise there’s a Silver Museum in Antwerp dedicated to the craftsmen that make these works of art.

Besides talent, they have a sense of humor too. This wine cup, shown here in a photo copyright Hugo Maertens of Bruges, is actually an early drinking game. It’s shown upside down so you can get a good view of the clockwork mill. When it’s wound up, the mill begins to turn and the people climb up the stairs. After a few seconds the clock strikes 11, and if you haven’t drained the cup you have to drink 11 more times. The fact that this was made back in 1688 or 1689 shows just how good the Belgian silversmiths were, and what people liked to get up to on their off hours.

Antwerp has been a center for silversmithing for 500 years and the Silver Museum is in the castle of Sterckshof. Different sections explain how silver is mined, processed, and worked. Sumptuous displays of silver items from all times fill the many rooms.

Until 9 April 2012 there’s a special exhibition called Esthétique Moderne focusing on Belgian silversmiths of the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. This covers the Art Nouveau and Art Deco movements. It’s an impressive collection of works of art. For images from the exhibition, check out the gallery, and if you like seeing beautiful works of art, check out the Silver Museum.

Don’t miss the rest of my series: Lowdown on the Low Countries.

Coming up next: The oldest printing press in the world!

This trip was partially funded by Tourism Antwerp and Cool Capitals. All opinions, however, are my own.

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Oklahoma’s largest Civil War battlefield may become National Park

by Sean McLachlan on


The Honey Springs Battlefield Park in Oklahoma may become a new addition to the National Park Service, the Tulsa World reports.

The U.S. Department of the Interior said in a report that there’s “potential action” for “support designation of Honey Springs as a National Battlefield Park.” Now Oklahoma history buffs are scratching their heads over just what that means. The Tulsa World couldn’t get an answer. Hopefully that government-speak translates into real action. The Battle of Honey Springs was the largest Civil War battle in Oklahoma, which was the Indian Territory back then. The battle was notable in that white soldiers were a minority on both sides.

On July 17, 1863, a Confederate army was gathering at Honey Springs in order to attack the Union position at Fort Gibson. About four or five thousand rebels had assembled, mostly Cherokee, Choctaw and Chickasaw. More reinforcements were coming, so the Union troops at Fort Gibson, which only numbered 2,800, decided to attack before it was too late. The Union side was mostly black and Indian troops, some from the same tribes as the rebels.

After a night march, the Union army attacked the Confederate position in a pouring rain. The rain ruined much of the rebel gunpowder, and this helped decide the battle. Nonetheless there was enough powder left for the rebels to put up a hard resistance. After a few hours they were forced to retreat, having to burn part of their wagon train to keep it out of Union hands.

The Confederates lost 150 men killed, 400 wounded, and 77 taken prisoner. The Union lost only 17 killed and 60 wounded. The rebels lost control of the Indian Territory north of the Arkansas River. This helped open up Arkansas for invasion and led to a Union army capturing Little Rock that September.

Prominent in the fight on the Union side was the First Kansas Colored Volunteers, a black unit of mostly escaped slaves that was the first American black regiment to see combat when they defeated a larger force of rebel guerrillas at the Battle of Island Mound in Missouri on October 29, 1862. The victory made headlines across the country and helped dispel a widespread belief that black soldiers wouldn’t fight.

The First Kansas Colored Volunteers fought in several engagements in Missouri, Kansas, and Arkansas yet they aren’t very well known. The justly famous 54th Massachusetts has inspired books, a monument, a movie, even a rap video, but the First Kansas remains largely forgotten. I’ve been sending a book proposal on the regiment around to publishers for a few years now, and despite being an established Civil War author I keep getting told there’s an “insufficient market” for the subject. Apparently the American public can only deal with one group of black heroes at a time.

Here’s hoping the Honey Springs battlefield will become a National Park and the First Kansas will get some of the recognition they deserve. Thanks to Jane Johansson over at the The Trans-Mississippian blog for bringing this to my attention. Jane blogs about all aspects of the Civil War west of the Mississippi and is worth reading.

Photo courtesy farmalldanzil via flickr.