Raven's Roads
Living an interesting life: the travels and musings
of motorcycling author Linda R. Moore

By now you probably have figured out that I have this thing about lush greenery. Admittedly when I think of Shangri-La I think of a mystical land that cropped up in one of the first computer adventures I ever tried, but that’s by the by. Shangri La Gardens and Nature Center is to be found in Orange, Texas, and is run as a “green” outfit in more ways that its vegetation.

I don’t know if you’re familiar with the different levels of LEED®-NC certification, but it’s a building certification that measures how environmentally friendly its construction is, from water conservation to materials used. These gardens have a platinum certification, which is, if I remember correctly, the highest.

The site needs updating a little: it still says “when the site opens” in several places, and it opened on March 11th. But actually, the admissions fees are pretty reasonable. $6 to see the garden, $10.00 to do everything (including a tour). Less for children 12 and under, and senior or student discounts. School groups are free, and you can arrange your own group tour at $5 a head. There’s a cafe there too: I have fond memories of eating my lunch at the St. Louis botanical gardens, so I’m sure this will be just as fun an experience.

They run a series of educational programs and activities for kids, too. And don’t forget to visit the garden store!

I enjoyed browsing through the gallery. If the plants aren’t enough for you, then a variety of creatures make this their home as well– amphibians, birds, nutria (like giant guinea pigs!), as well as a fine collection of bugs and reptiles. ;)

Visit Shangri-La, then visit the city of Orange in southeastern Texas. I love botanical gardens, and you could easily spend a whole day there, checking out one of the newest gardens in America.

Yesterday I walked 10,000 steps, according to my handy dandy little pedometer. I’ve become quite determined to get as fit as I can manage, as the older I get the harder it becomes to catch up. Besides, that way I won’t ever need to learn more about Bradycardia and other heart problems than I need to.

Besides, it’s really kind of neat to go on all those nature trails and walk in the sunshine.

On the other hand, if you want to educate yourself about state of the art heart saving techniques, including ICDs, you can watch one of the many informative videos over at St. Jude Medical.

This post was sponsored by St. Jude Medical.

I perked my ears up when I read that at Kettering University, you can enter one of the engineering co-op programs with such companies as Harley-Davidson. It works this way: From your freshman year you rotate between study and work, study and work, earning a competitive work and getting on-the-job training and a more conventional education in three-month stints.

Nobody else does this. It’s a unique program. I think that it’s great whether you’re doing industrial engineering or are focused elsewhere.

In its annual guide to America’s best colleges (the 2008 edition), US News and World Report has ranked Kettering University as “the #1 University in the nation for Industrial and Manufacturing Engineering.” Located in Flint, Michigan, this is a great place to get hands-on experience and an education tailored to your passions.

If you are of an engineering bent, take a look at Kettering.

It’s May 2006, and A Little Twist of Texas is hot off the press. My friend and I step off the bus and catch a cab to our hotel, ready for the morning’s festivities.

Morning comes, and we’re on our way to Los Angeles Harley-Davidson to sell books. It’s a women in motorcycling event, a parking lot sale, and I’m the least professional vendor there. We do our best with a tablecloth and borrowed table, meeting and greeting an endless stream of leather-clad travelers. At the end of the day I’ve sold six books but learned more than their weight in gold; I also have a plastic tub full of prospects’ names and addresses.

The event is over, and we head back to Chinatown where we’re sharing a room in a wonderful hotel with dragons and a pagoda roof. On the way up my friend spots the Walt Disney center and we walk up there in the cooling afternoon, spending a delighted hour enraptured by its curved and mirrored insanity. The building is a dream within a dream, and sparks a creative mood that’s been exhausted by the long slow birth of my book.

If we’d been in New York we might have gotten the same spark from the Metropolitan Museum of Art, but here it’s out there, glistening in the rapidly sinking sun.

Back in the little Chinatown, we admire a Buddhist temple and rows of little red lanterns strung up across the street. Ornate gates wrapped around with dragon mark the boundaries, and yet ironically we dine in a little Mexican restaurant. The previous night our experience with a local Chinese eatery had proven mediocre and greasy, so we switched to something tastier and quite incongruous.

Finishing the night with an order of sweet dumpling, we drink our beers and fall asleep. There are plenty of things to do in Los Angeles, and we’re dog (or should that be hog?) tired.

If you sign up for the Trusted Tours newsletter, you can have a chance to win an iPOD Nano (offer ended 31st March 2008). There are many other family vacation ideas at the Trusted Tours & Attractions website.

I love the sea. I always have and I always will. One of the easiest way for me to recover from a stressful day or the annual nightmare of, say, doing one’s taxes is to take a long walk on the beach with the sand sifting between my toes. The trouble with this is that the sand invariably also ends up in my toes, boots, bed, and myriad other places where sand just doesn’t belong, and there’s the unfortunate modern malaise of stepping on something unpleasant as well.

Many wear flip-flops, but there’s another option, especially targeted at the ladies. Saltwater Sandals are great leather footwear that are designed to be salt-water resistant. You can splash around in the saddles without fear of ruining your shoes. (You still might not want to do this in countries where the sealife will kill you as soon as look at you, though.) Grab a pair of salt water sandals and you’re good to go in green, fuchsia or a variety of other fun colors. :)

I love their 110% guarantee, detailed on the website: if these are not the most comfortable women’s leather sandals you’ve ever worn, you’ll get your money back plus another 10%. Pretty neat!

This post was sponsored by SaltWaterSandalStore.com

In my more masochistic moments, I think of starting other blogs–one just for reviews, for example, and another just about food. But the way I do blogs makes me think “probably not just now.” I’d want to have at least a photograph a day up on both, and then I feel sort of guilty when I get behind. So I’m probably not ready. (more…)

I’ve only ever been in a limo once, and I’ve only ever been in Phoenix once. The limo was in Vegas, blissfully air-conditioned on a 130-degree day, and in Phoenix I was stuck in traffic on my bike, on a 100+ degree day.

Yeah, I got heat stroke. When I finally found my way to a motel, I almost passed out while trying to pay my bill. (more…)

Right now JR is being an obnoxious little thing, and using the entire rig as a litter box. And the litter box itself is, shall we say, malodorous. I could use an TriScents electric air freshener, that I could. The one we bought from the dollar store way back in November is pretty much all used up and never seemed to do that much in any case. (more…)

NAHETS, the National Association of Heavy Equipment Training Schools, is a body which seeks to approve schools for the use of equipment such as cranes, tractors and dozers. Many years ago, one of my cousins suggested that I “have a go” at driving his tractor (I was six years old at the time). Being sensible, I gently declined. A six year old does not belong behind the steering wheel of a tractor, and neither do the untrained. NAHETS understands this, and acts accordingly.

Recently, NAHETS attended the National Indian Education Association’s (NIEA hereafter) annual convention in Hawai’i. One of over two hundred exhibitors, this was no vacation: their objective was to share information about the training programs offered through NAHETS, which gels with the NIEA’s goals to provide Native Americans throughout the entire United States with equal and meaningful training opportunities.

Listed on the NAHETS website are the criteria required for a school or program to get started, including staff and an impressive list of equipment. There are four levels of training that one can take; levels one through three build on each other, but level four (crane operator) requires actual industrial experience (and, presumably, a head for heights!)

Knowing how to handle these mechanical monsters can leave to a lucrative career in building or maintenance. The range of hourly wages can be from $12 to $50. Not too shabby at all!

Press Release:

When people talk about going to Hawaii it usually is associated with vacations, luaus, snorkeling, sight seeing, surfing, and so on. It is the ultimate tropical paradise. But just like any other state in the U.S., more goes on there than just vacations and having fun. One important event that took place in Honolulu is the annual National Indian Education Association (NIEA) Convention. The NIEA was founded in 1969 to support traditional Native cultures and values, and also to enable Natives to improve their communities through educational opportunities and resources. The NIEA works with Native Americans throughout the United States, including Alaska and Hawaii.

38th Annual NIEA Convention: Return to Cultural Honor and Caring

The National Association of Heavy Equipment Training Schools (NAHETS) was an educational exhibitor at this year’s convention. Over 3,400 Indian education advocates attended the convention and participated in over 220 workshops. Each advocate expressed concrete, statistical information on Indian education.

Native American Liaison, Sharla Patterson, represented NAHETS and instructed the educators about the educational opportunities available through NAHETS’ heavy equipment operating programs. She showed the attendees that NAHETS education and training curriculum can help the NIEA mission become a reality; i.e., provide Native Americans throughout the U.S. a real and lasting education in construction equipment operating that will improve both the society in which they live and also their own lives.

The National Association of Heavy Equipment Training Schools is an entity focused solely on heavy equipment operator training and education. There are member schools and colleges across the United States.

Contact

Sharla Patterson, Native American Liaison
National Association of Heavy Equipment Training Schools
2920 N. Green Valley Pkwy Ste 811
Henderson, NV 89014
(702) 480-248-0731

This post was brought to you by NAHETS.