Little Sac River, near Willard, Missouri
18 April 2011 | Copyright © 2011 Gary Allman
More fun in the workshop
This is another picture from my 365 Days of 2011 project, taken while I was working on building a “batch-loaded, inverted down-draft gassifier” wood stove out of old tin cans. Building the stove kept me occupied for a couple of hours. The reasons for trying this are (1) it’s fun, (2) carrying a traditional stove and fuel adds around 2-3 lb to my backpack. A stove like this should weigh around 4 oz, is smaller than my backpacking stove, and (3) did I mention it’s fun? Anything involving power tools and fire has to be. In the picture I’m lining up the outer casing before drilling the air inlet holes.
Postscript: the stove worked, but not efficiently enough for my liking, the burner inset wasn’t deep enough and it wasn’t tall enough to draw properly. Watching the jets of wood gas burning is fascinating. A Mark II stove followed which works a lot better and I’m toying with modifications to that design for the Mark III.
05 April 2011 | Copyright © 2011 Gary Allman
Susan and Natalie
This is a combination of two almost identical images. I combined them because the positioning of Susan’s hand was better in the second shot which was composed to remove some background distractions, but the overall composition of the first shot was better, despite the distracting background elements. The combined shot removed the distractions and kept the best pose and composition.
13 March 2011 | Copyright © 2011 Gary Allman
Ozarks’ skies
01 March 2011 | Busiek State Forest and Wildlife Area | Copyright © 2011 Gary Allman
High school parking lot
22 February 2011 | Copyright © 2011 Gary Allman
Last thing on a Tuesday night
It is surprising how insidious the traps are in the 365 days project. I have had a run of photographic luck, and suddenly I find myself in the mindset that I shouldn’t post anything that’s not at least average. I spent a lot of time and took sixty odd pictures in two locations to get today’s picture. I even juggled with a reflector in one hand and a cat in the other at one point.
All my 2011 365 days pictures can be found on my 365 days blog and on my 365 days Flickr set
15 February 2011 | 365:046 | Copyright © 2011 Gary Allman
St. Valentine’s Day breakfast at Anton’s Coffee Shop

14 February 2011 | Copyright © 2011 Gary Allman
Little Sac River from the Sac River Trail
This afternoon we decided to enjoy the sunshine, brave the snow cover and go for a short hike on the Sac River Trail. The hike was fine, proving our gear is up to a winter hike, getting to the trail and away again was not so good.
On our way to the trail I nearly ‘T Boned’ a pick-up and trailer as it sailed through a stop sign without stopping; the driver was too busy chatting on his cell ‘phone to notice the stop sign. A couple of hours later at the parking lot for the trail I made the mistake of trying to turnaround to get out and got us well and truly stuck in the snow. I had to resort to digging down through the snow and ice to the ground using my pocket knife. Note to self: Snow shovels aren’t worth a damn for digging out a stuck van.
05 February 2011 | Copyright © 2011 Gary Allman
Proud dad
Ginger holds Natalie Anne, born on the evening of Wednesday February 2, 2011, while dad, Matt, hovers protectively in the background.
As I was editing these pictures I received news of a death in the family back in the UK.
It was expected, but I was deeply saddened by the news. Saddened that it happened so soon and so quickly. Saddened that I wasn’t there to say my goodbyes or provide support.
Just as one life ends another has begun.
03 February 2011 | Copyright © 2011 Gary Allman
Lighting test
It turned out all my preparation was in vain as I ended up taking pictures on stage during the ceremony.
29 January 2011 | Diocese of West Missouri Youths’ 2011 Bishop’s Ball | Copyright © 2011 Gary Allman
Gary in the workshop
With temperatures up in the sixties expected, we were planning on going out in the kayaks. That didn’t happen. Some shopping got done and I spent some time in the workshop instead.
First I repaired a kitchen drawer and in the process learned two valuable safety lessons. Then I made my self a pair of huaraches. I’ve been reading up on minimalist footware for quite a while and the huaraches seem to be the way to go, providing a very open shoe with a firmly attached sole. They are also very easy to make. So today I made a test pair. The finish of the sole cut-out is a bit rough, but I don’t expect these to last long, so I’m not going to worry about it.
Now I’ll have to give them a test and see how well they fair out on the trail and around home. One thing that has surprised me is that I’m having trouble getting used to the feel of the cord between my toes. As a long term flip-flop wearer I wasn’t expecting it to be an issue.
28 January 2011 | 365:028 | Copyright © 2011 Gary Allman
Owl carving – Bass Pro, Springfield, Missouri
15 January 2011 | Copyright © 2011 Gary Allman
Our MSR Mutha Hubba backpacking tent at Berry Bend Campground
We spent a long time researching and looking at tents. Each time we thought we’d found the one we wanted we saw another we liked even more. A three season tent was essential for spring and fall camping, some useable vestibule space that would double as a wind break for cooking was also high on our wish list. It had to be big, or even a three person tent so that we can keep our packs inside if the weather is really foul. And it needed to be as light as possible for backpacking, this tent is working out great for us.
We’ve written a short review of the MSR Mutha Hubba tent here
21 November 2010 | Copyright © 2010 Gary Allman
Gary and Ginger Sitting by the camp fire in the moonlight
We decided to cheat on preparing the fire. Not wanting to spend a lot of time and energy gathering and cutting wood, we bought some logs for $4 and I split them with an 8lb non backpacking axe. However, we did successfully light the fire backpacking style using cotton wool pads coated with Vaseline.
20 November 2010 | Copyright © 2010 Gary Allman
Gary and Ginger: wildlife and lake watching
Friday evening we took Alek, Katie and a couple of kids from youth group to Kansas City for a Church event. We needed to be on hand to collect them again Sunday afternoon, so we left Lanie in the capable hands of Ginger’s cousin Betsy, put Getzger in charge at home and once we’d dropped the big kids off we turned around and went back to go camping at Berry Bend on Harry S. Truman Lake.
We didn’t bother taking the kayaks; we had a very nice quiet day sitting watching the lake and wildlife instead. It gave us a change to try out our Trekker chairs. I was dubious about sitting so low to the ground, but they proved very comfortable. The great thing about the chairs is that they use our existing Therm-A-Rest mattresses for the seat and seat back so there’s very little extra to carry. Which brings me to a problem. My Nikon weighs in at 2lbs. I need something lighter for backpacking, or I’m going to have to compromise somewhere else. We’ll see.
While sitting here we saw loads of different woodpeckers, hawks, and other birds including a bald eagle. We also watched the squirrels and chipmunks rushing around. Over the course of the weekend we also saw a deer, possum, coyote, and evidence of a beaver.
I never did get a chance to read the book I brought along, and I don’t think Ginger got much knitting done either.
20 November 2010 | Copyright © 2010 Gary Allman
Woods Fork at Busiek State Forest and Wildlife Area
The previous night night several squall lines passed through, and a couple of trees were down across the trail. We won’t mention the tree near home which the same storm knocked down, taking out a power pole and leaving us without electricity for over 24 hours.
26 October 2010 | Copyright © 2010 Gary Allman
Oh noes
21 October 2010 | Copyright © 2010 Gary Allman
Berry Bend, Harry S. Truman lake, Missouri
09 October 2010 | Copyright © 2010 Gary Allman
Berry Bend, Harry S. Truman Lake, Missouri
08 October 2010 | Copyright © 2010 Gary Allman
Kayaking on James River, Springfield, Missouri
I decided not to take my anchor of fishing gear. I should have taken both; the anchor so we could stay in one place when we stopped for a drink, and the fishing gear because there were a lot of likely looking spots for fishing.
02 October 2010 | Copyright © 2010 Gary Allman
Kayaking on James River, Springfield, Missouri
I decided not to take my anchor of fishing gear. I should have taken both; the anchor so we could stay in one place when we stopped for a drink, and the fishing gear because there were a lot of likely looking spots for fishing.
02 October 2010 | Copyright © 2010 Gary Allman
Kayaking and fishing on Stockton Lake
We took it quite easy, and I spent a fair time fishing – catching three fish. There was hardly anyone on the lake. We stopped here for lunch and to have a swim. It may not look like it but the lake drops to over fifty feet deep very quickly at this point. Very quickly being about ten feet from the shore.
I’m looking forward to changing the color of my paddles to something a little darker.
Note: I sprayed them camo green a week or so later. Here’s the result and some notes on the modifications and additions I’ve made to my Ascend FS10 kayak.
20 September 2010 | Copyright © 2010 Gary Allman
Tricia makes a splash
Slideshow of all the block party pictures
19 September 2010 | Copyright © 2010 Gary Allman
Christ Episcopal Church Springfield, Block Party 2010
19 September 2010 | Copyright © 2010 Gary Allman


























