Psalm 19:1

"The heavens declare the glory of God; and the firmament sheweth his handywork."!  Venus - top picture, Jupiter - lower left picture and...a "fingernail" of the Moon!

The Toliver's at JHPC

We were so blessed to have Brother Tommy and Sister Ethel Toliver with us this weekend at Junction Hill Pentecostal Church (JHPC) in what I guess you would call a "Mini-Revival".  It was wonderful just being around these folks!...Just makes you feel better!  For some reason our paths had never crossed until a couple of years ago and we have really missed out!....However we are trying to make up for lost time!  Their singing and Brother Toliver's preaching was outstanding!  Looking forward to their next visit!

Junkyard Corner

This particular corner is in Eldon Missouri at a new retail store site we were surveying.  When I staked this corner out with the GPS it was one of those  "no.....No....NO....NOOOOO!!!  AHHHHHH!!!!"  moments.  After I staked it within a foot or two, I realized there was a small opening in the junk pile right at the corner position!  God is Good!

For any of you observant nit-pickers out there...No, the pole is not plumb!!!  I had to take the bi-pod off to get it down in among the junk.  I just leaned the pole over when I took the picture.

Plat note "5/8"X24" REBAR WITH PLASTIC ID CAP SET IN JUNKPILE"

Benchmarks......

One of the more interesting aspects of my job is using GPS to tie our jobs to NGS, USGS or MODNR benchmarks, when required to.  Benchmarks are found in a lot of interesting places and this one was no exception.  This is the original datasheet from NGS for the benchmark I am at but the description was incorrect.  It called for the

 "TOP OF THE NORTHEAST WING OF ABUTMENT OF BRIDGE A-3021"

when actually I'm standing on the northwest wing.  We looked all over the northeast wing and found a chiseled square but that must have been a TBM set by the bridge construction crew.  From experience I knew that the datasheets could be wrong so I checked the other side and sho-nuff thar hit were!  We did check to another benchmark on the courthouse lawn just to verify that this benchmark was good (I could hear all you surveyors out there saying "YOU USED A THIRD-ORDER BENCHMARK, DESCRIBED INCORRECTLY WITHOUT CHECKING TO SOMETHING ELSE???!!!)

For the Acronym challenged folks out there......

GPS - Global Positioning System

NGS - National Geodetic Survey

USGS - United States Geological Survey

MODNR - Missouri Department of Natural Resources

TBM - Temporary Bench Mark

(I used the word and not the acronym for benchmark for obvious reasons)

Looking north along the west side of US65 southeast of Warsaw, Missouri.  The site we were surveying is directly behind me in the far background.

This picture is really deceiving.  I am not that fat and my britches are not about to fall off!!  I really must get a better photographer!  The highway is US65 looking south on the southeast side of Warsaw, Missouri.

SSSSSSnake!

Now this little feller is more my size!  You can tell by the size of the leaves that he ain't very big but if I went by his attitude, he would have been 20' long with 3' fangs!  He was striking at the camera and generally making a big fuss.  I named him "Warsaw" (where I was working Tuesday and Wednesday) and he is a non-poisonous garter snake.

S(n)akes Alive!

I was in the Oregon County Assessor's office the other day and snapped these pictures of pictures they have in the map room.  These are Timber Rattlers and are the biggest I have ever seen.  I have talked with the assessor, Charles Alford (bottom photo) and both of these were killed in Oregon County.  I would estimate that Charles is at least 5'5" tall so that gives you some perspective about how long the rattler is.

I have only run on to a couple of timber rattlers in my years of surveying.  We caught the first one, myself and the party chief, which was many years and a lot less wisdom ago!  I pinned it's head with a stick and he grabbed it behind the head.  We looked it over, examined it's fangs and rattles and then let it go.  I know...I know..."WHY did you let it go???!!!" you ask.  My philosophy is, if you are miles from civilization, why kill them?  (I do make exceptions when they scare the bejeebers out of me!...  Then I usually pound them flatter than a fritter!)

Portland Pie Company

May 22, 2011  Riggs Anniversary Trip

On our last night in Portland we decided  to order in since we were exhausted our whirlwind trip.  The Portland Pie Company had good reviews so we ordered the "Monhegan" specialty pie.  It was delicious!

"MONHEGAN"

"No red sause, a layer of American cheese, montreal seasoned steak, mushrooms, onions and green peppers sauteed in fresh galic woven in our three cheese blend."

Silver Cascade

May 22, 2011  Riggs Anniversary Trip

It is amazing what you will run across if you get off the beaten path and take the road less traveled.  When we were traveling from Mount Washington back to Portland, ME we came across Silver Cascade waterfall on Crawford Notch Road (US 302) south of Bretton Woods, NH.  As always, pictures do not suffice but you can check out my pictures and other pictures here and here

Twenty-three years!

Today I have been on the Riggs & Associates, Inc. payroll for twenty-three years! I've covered quite a few miles since March 1, 1989 but the Lord has been good to me.  Just a short testimony to the goodness and greatness of our God...After tragedy on 9-11 our work slowed to a crawl and we were put on three day weeks for almost a month.  I probably could have made it but really without asking some folks from our church fellowship said they had a few days work for me and then something else came along, another odd job here and there...so...when I tallied up what I made when I went back full time, I had made just a few dollars more than my regular wage!  

Mat 6:26  Behold the fowls of the air: for they sow not, neither do they reap, nor gather into barns; yet your heavenly Father feedeth them. Are ye not much better than they?

"His eye is on the sparrow...and I know he watches me!"

 I believe this picture was taken right after I went to work at RAI.  We are south of Cassville, MO (which we renamed Cussville) working on a U.S. Forest Service project.  Jim Protiva (the bearded guy) was running the theodolite, seen in the foreground.  Bob Jones (the shorty to the right) was switching off with me (the handsome feller in the background) running the foresight and the EDM on the backsight.  Ralph took the picture so I guess he was just loafing!!!

On our first trip to Cassville, we thought it would be great to camp out and save some money to boot.  Everything was fine until we went to bed.  We had thunderstorms with fantastic lightning and we were camped under a FIRE TOWER....the highest point for miles around!!    I think this is where the name "Cussville" started to be tossed around!  Needless to say, we found other, more suitable lodgings the next trip!  Bob and I are grilling hamburgers and frying potatoes before the monsoon hit!