Re: MtMan-List: Fitzpatrick

[PappyCton@aol.com]

Howz about geo-thermal acitvity?  Sound exotic?  maybe.  But I have a couple
of experiences on this one, so gather round...  if'n ye can stomach the
details:

1)  I was in Hawaii once, visited many volcanoes, lava tubes, etc.  On the
very crumbly edge of Mauna Loa, I stood peerin into the swirlin grey vapours
and black pit of the womb of creation isself!  Many awesome things come out of
that Mother of the Big Isle-  amonst which is heat (natch..), but also toxic
fumes (or `bad spirits', `noxious vapours, if 'n you prefer).  Not long ago, a
couple of prominent volcanologist died of this.  It's not constant, you see,
but intermittent; and unpredictable.  Anyhoo, the description of the symptoms
brought the memory back to me from 30yrs back.  I can attest to those
symptoms; I nearly lost conciousness on the very edge of Mauna Loa.

2)  I live in southern California;  on the entire western edge of the great
basin is a LOT of geo thermal action.  Many, many hostsprings from southern,
all the way into 
far northern california.  Nevada too.  Earthquakes, & geo thermal action go
hand&hand out here.  King's beach in Lake Tahoe just had a temblor a coupla
days ago.  That's at 6,547' or there abouts.  Point:  Great Basin has plenty
of action, that way.  Where was fitzpatrick, when this happened?

Lastly, Bein' 5th generation so. californian, earthquakes don't seem so
strange...
just try to shake, rattle an' roll w/ it.  but the following  from the '94
quake got my attention:  'bout 20 minutes after, spectatin' on all the damage:
broken gas lines, water mains,  4th story apt.s turned into patios.  I look in
the still night sky to the south, and see a huge blue-bright flash an'
methinks a power plant has gone in a blaze of glory.  But, nothing in the news
on it for days.  Turns out it was `earthquake lightning':  excess energy
expelled from the crust, in the form of a F  L  A  S  H.

anyhoo, somethings to ponder....  pappy