2021-08-09: Road Trip from Colorado to Wyoming in the Motorhome While Geocaching

A few days into this road trip from Texas to Montana and it has already been an eventful road trip to say the least. Within a few hours of starting out in Texas, I had an air suspension issue that I luckily was able to fix myself in a parking lot. Then the next day made it up into Colorado and was able to do some sightseeing and geocaching before another breakdown. This time a blown freeze plug leaking engine coolant everywhere. That brings us to waking up this morning in a little town called Kit Carson, Colorado. Is the one mechanic in town able to get us back on the road today or are we stranded until who knows when? Let's hop into the Jeep and see if he's even open...

Following the directions from the RV park owner, the shop is behind his house on the edge of town. I get there at 8:00 in the morning and he's already underneath a pickup truck. He says he's got a full work load and working alone doesn't really do mobile repairs. But he understands my predicament and says to give him an hour or so to get the truck's fuel tank re-installed so that it doesn't fall off the jack. Then he'll drive over to the RV park and check out the leak. GREAT!

Having a little bit of free time before he gets to the motorhome, I decided to grab the two geocaches in town. The first was over at the Kit Carson Cemetery (GC1EF8H). Then back to the center of town at the Kit Carson Railroad Depot (GCV3R5). From the historical marker: "Built in 1904, this depot has survived intact and is not significantly changed. It is one of a handful of surviving railroad depots of the period in Colorado and may well be in the best condition of those remaining. In addition to housing the station agent and his family, this rectangular depot accommodated the daily activities of train passengers, freight, and the telegraph, and is a distinguishing feature of this depot."

 

Shortly after arriving back at the RV, the mechanic shows up too. The coolant leak from the bad expansion plug is up top on the exhaust side of the head on the Cummins diesel engine. To work on the top of the engine you have to go inside the coach. Opening the "hood" of this motorhome is lifting up the bed.

So I show him where the leak was coming from and he checks it out. He pulls out the bad plug, cleans up the hole, and installs a temporary rubber adjustable expansion plug. Getting the correct size steel or brass would have to be ordered and may take a couple of days. This rubber one will work for a while and until. Hopefully I will eventually be able to find a shop that has the time to replace them all. Anyway, he got us fixed up and able to get back on the road. AND when I tried to pay him, he refused to accept my money and wished us well on our travels.

Now back on the road heading north on US-287, we eventually merge onto I-70 westbound. Once in Elbert County, I had found a geocache (GCQTWZ) by an off/on ramp that had a big enough shoulder to park the RV for a few minutes. See the first photo at the top of this blog. I made the quick find and then also noticed the old farm house and barn at the top of the hill. That made for a nice photo too.

A few miles up I-70 in Arapahoe County, I found another exit ramp with a geocache (GC8CD7) that had good parking. Turning onto I-25 northbound, another exit ramp geocache for Larimer County (GCY322) and then a rest area earthcache for Weld County (GC1ME6T). 

Finally crossing over into Wyoming, we pulled into the Welcome Center just south of Cheyenne where we decided to park for the night. The Wyoming Welcome Center is practically a museum / historical center. We must have taken about 50 photos. These are just a sample. From a petrified tree,

the "Hole in the Wall Gang" with Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid,

giant prehistoric skeletal bones that were once large beasts,

and Wyoming cowboys, rodeos and ranch life.

Also located at the Wyoming Welcome Center were two geocaches. One was a multi-cache (GC979A5) and the other an earthcache (GC93HTZ). These gave us credit for Laramie County.

After the tour of the Welcome Center, we drove about a mile to the next exit to grab a bite to eat. Also at the same exit was a virtual geocache (GC946E) that I couldn't pass up. My job is a surveyor and the cache was about a surveyor. 32-year old John Phippin was a dedicated employee of the National Geodetic Survey, Coast and Geodetic Survey.

A resident of Cheyenne, Wyoming, he was working in Blythe, California on an oceanic geodetic survey project in 1992. In April of that year, two men (I'm not gonna mention their names) quit their jobs as carnival workers and began on a crime and killing spree. They broke into Phippin's motel room where they beat him and then stabbed him in the heart. The two then proceeded to load up his possessions and stole his vehicle, which they drove to Las Vegas and murdered another man.

That's it for today. Tomorrow we arrive in Montana, hopefully trouble free! Stay tuned...

To follow along on our travels and keep up with my latest blogs, you may do so here of course by clicking the "Follow" button to the right. And there's also my main website at AwayWeGo.US for the complete index of my traveling adventures going back to 2005. But also by using one or more of your favorite of these social media platforms: Facebook, MeWe, Gab, Reddit, Twitter, GETTR, Instagram, and TruthSocial. These all link directly to my profiles. Again, please feel free to comment and / or share.

2021-04-01: Cruising Route 66 Through Kansas and Oklahoma on Day 10 of Our 3400 Mile Roadtrip Adventure

Today was a very busy day. We continued to follow the historical Route 66 through the corner of Kansas and all the way down to Oklahoma City. There were many roadside attractions to see, many geocaches to find, and some new counties to get, and we tried to visit as many as we could. But we still had to put some miles behind us as our goal is to eventually get down into Texas for the next work project. So join us in the GeoJeep while we share the history and photos from "The Mother Road."

After leaving Joplin with coffee and breakfast, our first geocaching stop was in Kansas... wait no... Oklahoma... or is it Missouri? I guess it depends on where you stand, or park, or... well you get the idea. The virtual geocache (GC6F6D) technically is located in Oklahoma. The stone monument you see was erected in 1938 to mark the spot determined way back in 1857 as the Tri-State intersection. Sadly it had been vandalized, graffitied, and the original plaques stolen. Over the years it had been determined that the monument was off by 50 feet. In 2004, the Missouri Association of County Surveyors rectified the error with a "stand-in-three-states" plaque on the ground marking the correct location. I think this is my third tri-state corner marker that I've been to.

Ok, now that we've got that out of the way... back to Route 66. We stopped for three caches in Cherokee County, Kansas. A quick cemetery geocache (GC497WV) in Galena. A roadside park (GC85F4E) in Riverton highlighting the rather short stretch of Route 66 which passes through Kansas.

Then back over to the original Route 66 alignment and another old historical bridge. Built in 1923 as part of the Jefferson Highway, three years before the US-66 designation, the Rainbow Bridge is a concrete arch bridge and spans 130 feet across Bush Creek. It was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1983 and is the only one like it within the entire state of Kansas.

And finally a virtual geocache (GCBBF6) at the historical marker for Baxter Springs. Also here in Baxter Springs is this restored old gas station which is now used as the Route 66 Visitors Center. Built in 1930 by The Independent Oil and Gas Company, it was purchased by Phillips 66 Petroleum Company later that year. The original brick house style was modified in the 1940's to an "L" shape adding on a garage for service repairs. The gas station was in use up until the 1970's. After restoration, it was placed on the National Register of Historic Places in 2003.

Route 66 enters Oklahoma into Ottawa County. Passing through the town of Commerce, I saw this little Marathon gas station which was built in 1927. They don't sell gas anymore. But they do sell cookies, candies, and other tasty treats. We resisted the urge to step inside and only left with a photo.

A couple of blocks to the south is the Hole-in-the-Wall gas station. This Conoco Station was built out from a wall of another business in 1929/30. It now serves as a Route 66 Gift Shop.

Following the Mother Road south through Miami, we found this rather unique older section of the original highway. With the early age of automobile travel in the 1900's, Oklahoma began improving the Ozark Trails turning them into an "Auto Trails" system of roadways connecting small rural towns. Working with very tight budgets while trying to still get the distance needed, they paved what came to be known as "Ribbon Road" or "Sidewalk Highway." (GC2ZXEE)

Kinda hard to tell from this photo, but it's basically a one lane paved road that's 9-feet wide with 5-feet wide gravel shoulders. Completed in 1922 as Federal Highway Project No. 8, four years prior to the Route 66 designation. Running from Miami to Afton, this 15.49 miles of narrow road is the only remaining 9-foot section of original pavement on the Old Route 66 system. While it was officially taken out of service in 1937, you can still drive on it today. Just be careful of oncoming traffic!

Passing through Afton, I see these rock walls and stop for a photo. No signs posted and can't find anything online about it. Old gas station? Old store? The ground out front of the sidewalk looks like there may have been gas pumps there. If you know, please leave a comment.

Taking a detour off of Route 66 for a moment, we drove down I-44 to the small Oklahoma town of Big Cabin. Back in my truck driving days passing through here and just as you exit off the interstate at US-69, there's a gigantic Indian Chief statue proudly greeting you as you enter the truck stop. I wanted to stop by here again so that Candy will get an opportunity to see it. Erected on August 9, 2001, the Tall Chief stands at 46 feet and weighs in at 15,500 pounds.

We continued a short drive further south in order to grab another county and a historical virtual geocache (GCFDCD). Just a few miles away in Mayes County is the County Creek Battlefield. Down the backroads through the woods to arrive on a hill with multiple historical markers creating a mental picture of this Civil War battle. On September 18, 1864, a Confederate force of 2,000, mainly General Stand Watie's Indian Brigade, intercepted a Union supply train en-route from Kansas to Fort Gibson. The convoy of 130 wagons worth $1.5 million was captured after a heavy engagement. This was the last Civil War battle in Indian Territory.

Making our way back to continue our drive down Route 66, we arrive in Rogers County. Approaching the town of Chelsea, the historical Pryor Creek Bridge (GC6F24Y) was built in 1926 and carried U.S. Highway 66 traffic from 1926 to 1932, when a new alignment of Route 66 bypassed the bridge.

Once in Chelsea you have to stop for the underground pedestrian bridge (GC6QCMW). Instead of the usual crosswalk from corner to corner, the town built this tunnel to cross Route 66. I guess it was much busier and harder to cross the street back in the day.

A little further down Route 66 and still in Rogers County, we make a stop for the World's Largest Totem Pole as well as a virtual and a traditional geocache (GC9251, GC6M4FJ). Built by Ed Galloway from 1937 to 1948, it stands at 98 feet tall. It was made with 100 tons of sand and rock, 28 tons of cement, and 6 tons of steel. There are 200 carved pictures with four 9 foot indian chiefs at the top.

Our next virtual geocache (GCH7V1) was located in the town of Foyil, just a few more miles down the road. A graduate of Foyil High School, Andrew Hartley Payne (1907-1977) won the 1928 Great Transcontinental Footrace which began in Los Angeles on 3-4-1928 and ended 3,422.3 miles later in New York City 5-26-1928.

Then a short time later we passed this bridge from the 1936 Route 66 alignment. This 24 feet wide bridge replaced the 18 feet wide version from 1925. Now it leads to Molly's Landing Restaurant. I don't think this is the original location of this bridge.

The remains of the Old Route 66 alignment go down the hill to the left from this photo and head down towards the Verdigris River. There's a geocache (GC8H9MC) at the dead end about 1500 feet away from here. There's also an old cemetery up on the hill here. The River Hill Cemetery has about 20 internments dating back to 1882.

Our last geocache for Rogers County was in Catoosa. The Blue Whale (GC4ADE) is a popular Route 66 roadside attraction built by Hugh S. Davis from 1970-72. The Blue Whale is 20 feet tall and 80 feet long and took nearly 3000 hours to build.

Arriving down in Tulsa County, we starting searching for the virtual geocaches in the area. The community of Broken Arrow was named because reeds, found in abundance along streams and riverbeds, were broken to make arrow shafts. The Arkansas Valley Townsite Company chose the site for the town along the proposed MK&T Railroad in September 1902. The first virtual geocache was at Centennial Park (GCEABB) which was dedicated in 2002.

The next virtual geocache was at the Veterans Memorial Park (GCG235). Along with this wall of local veterans, there are two statues dedicated to Major William H. (Hank) Miesner Jr (1939-2003) and Lt. Col. Ernest Childers (1918-2005).

Speaking of memorial parks, we drove a couple of miles away to the Memorial Park Cemetery. It was there we found our next virtual geocache at the gravesite of comedian Sam Kinison (GC48BE). The son of a Pentecostal Preacher, he became a preacher himself at an early age. At age 24, after his first divorce, Kinison gave up preaching and became a comedian. In 1992, he was killed in a car accident when his vehicle was struck by a drunk driver. He was 38 years old.

OK, we don't have time to get to all there is to see in Tulsa. It is already late in the afternoon. So we make our way back to Route 66 and head down into Creek County.

Upon arriving in the town of Sapulpa, our first stop is another virtual geocache at the Sapulpa Trolley and Rail Museum (GCG4JG). The trolley on display here is called the Maggie M., which was built in 1919. The Sapulpa Trolley Company went out of business in 1933. It was donated to the museum in 1997.

The next three geocaches were on the west side heading out of town. There was a letterbox cache at The Heart of Route 66 Auto Museum (GC859VG). Unfortunately, being late in the day, the museum was closed. But the HUGE gas pump outside made for a great roadside attraction and photo ops.

This was followed by the historic Rock Creek Bridge earthcache (GC6Q151). This bridge was built in 1921 to serve the Ozark Trail. It became part of Route 66 in 1926. The bridge was used by motorists traveling "The Mother Road" until a new highway was built to the south of here in 1952.

Then just a few hundred feet down from the bridge was what remains of the Teepee Drive-In Theater (GCG4K2). The drive-in first opened in the 1950's and remained open until the late 90's. At the time of our visit, it was still closed. However, in preparation for writing this blog, I have discovered that the drive-in has been renovated and reopened in the Spring of 2023. And a really cool addition is that along the back row they have several retro RV trailers that can be rented out through Airbnb.

Another geocache in Creek County was at the Magnolia Memorial Gardens Cemetery (GC3AZXC) located just north of Bristow. This cemetery has almost 3,000 internments here dating back to the early 1900's. Most impressive is this 2-story chapel on the grounds.

Our last geocache in Creek County was a roadside attraction called the Route 66 Shoe Tree (GCHPFX). I'm not sure when this started, but it was just a tree along the side of the highway that people tossed their old shoes up and had them hanging from the branches.

Continuing westbound into Lincoln County, our next stop was the Seaba Station in Warwick, Oklahoma. Currently a motorcycle museum, it was originally built in 1924 as a gas station and garage. It stayed in operation serving travelers for many years until 1996. Then the building was restored and the museum opened a few years later in 2000. Unfortunately, the geocache (GC346Y6) was kept indoors and we couldn't sign the logbook after hours.

Now into Oklahoma County. Our next geocache stop (GC4759Y) was located at another historical Route 66 gas station, or what was left of it anyway.  According to the sign: supposedly built in the late teens or early 1920's, before electricity made it out to this rural area. Cold soda pop were only sold on the days when the ice man made it by. Chocolate candy was only sold during the winter when it was cold, otherwise it would melt.

Times were tough back in those days and it was hard to make an honest living. The station owners bought plates to make counterfeit ten dollar bills. A room was added to the back of the station and the only entrance was through a window. After one person was caught passing the fake bills and arrested, their identification gave the address. They were eventually traced back to the gas station. The plates were found, the crime spree terminated, and the owner taken to jail. The old station was closed, never to open again. Many years later and nothing to do with the counterfeiting, a murder victim was found in the abandoned building. The victim was never identified and the mystery never solved.

Our last stop of the day was at Pops 66 (GC162WP), an the iconic destination and must-see landmark on Route 66 in Arcadia, Oklahoma. It features a family-friendly, full-service restaurant, gas station, convenience store, tons of bottled soda, and a 66-foot-tall pop bottle outside that dazzles with multicolor LED lights when the sun sets.

Needless to say after browsing the store for about an hour, we left with a huge assortment of good and "gross" sodas!

That's the end of our LONG day. Twelve hours of driving and sightseeing the roadside attractions along the historic Route 66. Tomorrow we finish up Oklahoma and arrive at our destination in Texas.

To follow along on our travels and keep up with my latest blogs, you may do so here of course by clicking the "Follow" button to the right. But also by using one or more of your favorite of these social media platforms: Facebook, MeWe, Gab, Reddit, Twitter, GETTR, Instagram, and TruthSocial. These all link directly to my profiles. Again, please feel free to comment and / or share.

2021-03-24: Turning a 1400 Mile Drive into a 3404 Mile Road Trip! Day 2 in Virginia, DC, Maryland, and Pennsylvania

On this Day 2 of our 3400 mile road trip from NC to TX, taking the long route, we geocached our way from Virginia through Maryland, DC, West Virginia, and into Pennsylvania history. Picking up new geocaching counties along the way, we were sightseeing places of Revolutionary and Civil War prominence that included churches, houses, cemeteries and more. So come join us as we travel back in time...

Our first two geocaches were quick urban hides to get credit for the county. In Virginia, there are not only the counties but also some of the larger cities have their own "boundaries" separate from the county. So the first of the geocaches was for Spotsylvania County (GC1FYJ1) and the other just a few blocks away was located within Fredericksburg (GC82XNE).

Our next geocache and county was up the road into Stafford County. It was a old virtual geocache at a piece of Civil War history (GCB1C). This huge stone block base is all that remains of a train bridge which spanned the Potomac Creek. The Richmond, Fredericksburg, and Potomac Railroad crossing this bridge was a major supply route for Confederate troops along the river. Early 1862, the troops were ordered to abandoned their positions here. The advancing Union troops found the bridge destroyed in an effort to slow them down. In May 1862, engineer Herman Haupt supervised the unskilled Union army soldiers in harvesting two million feet of lumber and reconstructing the bridge in just nine days (see photo at top of page). Over the next three years and continued destruction by the Confederates, the bridge was rebuilt four times using this same foundation. You can see the modern roadway through the trees on the right side.

Our next "county" geocache, one of Virginia's separate townships, was in Falls Church. Just a quick parking lot LPC (light post cache) (GC3XCZE), but it fills in a blank on the county map and keeps us moving forward.

Our next two geocaches are practically in the same spot at the intersecting corners of Arlington County, Fairfax County and Falls Church. Located in a small park in a residential neighborhood is the original 1791 survey stone marking the proposed western corner of the diamond shaped District of Columbia for the newly formed United States Capital. Maryland was donating land NE of the Potomac River, while Virginia was to donate land SW of the river forming the diamond shape. However, Virginia rescinded and we have the current half-diamond configuration of Washington D.C. today. The two geocaches located here are a virtual for the survey marker (GC6781) and a Challenge for finding 300 Virtual caches (GC572WE).

Just a short distance away, and in Fairfax County, is another Virtual geocache at this 9-11 Memorial (GCA072). There are a LOT of virtual caches in and around Washington DC, but we don't have the time at this point to get to them all. So we just try and grab a couple every time we pass through the area.

In an effort to not get too bogged down and spend the entire day in Virginia, I make another quick park & grab parking lot LPC find in Loudoun County (GC3V6QF).

We add Clarke County to our map by picking up a geocache in the County Seat of Berryville (GCXGQF). From the historical marker: "The year after Clarke County was formed in 1836, construction began on a brick courthouse based on county justice David Meade's design. The courthouse was remodeled in the Neoclassical style about 1850 when the portico and copula were added. Portraits of locally prominent judges and lawyers from the 1840's to the present are displayed in the courtroom. The last public hanging in Clarke County occurred here in 1905."

There was much to see around the courthouse square. One of which is this statue erected as a memorial to those Clarke County residents who fought and died during the Civil War defending states rights and the Confederacy.

The other was the Grace Episcopal Church and Graveyard erected in 1832. Do you know what the difference between a cemetery and a graveyard? Originally graveyards were burial grounds on church property, whereas cemeteries were land specifically designated for burials. Some very old churches actually have clergy or other very prominent members buried WITHIN the church under the floor. Their flat headstones would be down the isles between the pews.

My next two geocaches are in the Winchester Township. On previous roadtrips through Virginia I had just skipped the small townships, instead just focusing on the larger and rural counties. But I'm gonna have to fill these in on the map sooner or later. Might as well get to working on them.

During the Civil War, the Union and Confederate armies each used the Frederick County Courthouse (GC4XT0K) as a hospital and a prison. The Greek revival style courthouse was completed in 1840. It was the third courthouse constructed on this location. In 1758, the first courthouse was the site of George Washington's first election to office, when voters here elected him a member of the Virginia House of Burgesses.

Though these buildings have not been around that long, Colonel James Wood, a native of Winchester, England, laid out and founded the new Winchester in Virginia prior to 1743. It received a charter of incorporation from the colonial legislature in February 1752. Colonel Wood was the first surveyor of Orange County from which the county of Frederick was carved by an act of the House of Burgesses passed in 1738.

The Taylor Hotel, also our next virtual geocache (GC890KN), was a major stopping point for travelers because of its location on the Valley Turnpike and also was the center of town life. During the Civil War it was the headquarters for several commanders, most notably Confederate General Thomas J. "Stonewall" Jackson. This is the Taylor Hotel below as it looks today.

Arriving in November 1861, his stay at the hotel was short. Continuing crowds of people eager to meet the famous Stonewall Jackson, he moved a few days later to a private residence of the Lewis T. Moore house, which is now the Stonewall Jackson Headquarters Museum (GC4XT6Y) pictured below. He used this as his headquarters until March 1862 when he left Winchester to begin his Valley Campaign.

Finally exiting Virginia and making our way into West Virginia, our next stop was in the town of Middleway to grab a geocache for Jefferson County (GCM0TN). From the historical marker: Middleway, founded in the late 1700's, flourished as a trading center for most of the 1800's. About 1820, the Lutherans and German Reformed congregations joined together to build this church. Some years elapsed and the building was erected and finally the Presbyterians agreed to bear one third of the cost. Services were alternated, thus the name Union Church.

As the village declined, the Union Church and its cemetery deteriorated. In a more recent act of destruction, vandals smashed tombstones with bats and knocked others askew. The nearby Grace Episcopal Church, built in 1851, (pictured below), having acquired the forsaken property, stepped in and has restored the site to its former dignity.

For Berkeley County, I stop for one of the famous WVTim gadget caches. Since 2012, it has had over 1400 finders and awarded nearly 700 favorite points. Located on the grounds of a fire station, it's made to look like an old fire house. I'm not gonna give you the GC code to this one cause I'm gonna tell you how it works. In order to open the compartment that contains the log sheet, you must first open the compartment which contains a package of balloons. Insert the balloon into tube on the side leaving enough around the tube for you to blow on and inflate the balloon. As the balloon expands on the inside, it opens the door containing the swag and log sheet. A fairly simple gadget cache but fun none the less. Oh and please take your balloon with you as you don't want another cacher to using the same one as you.

Up next in Morgan County, I stopped for a quick guard rail cache (GC4AX47) but still a significant point of history. From this point along the banks of the Upper Potomac River, Stonewall Jackson began shelling Hancock, Maryland from Orrick's Hill, January 5, 1862 after it refused to surrender Jackson's men were able to plunder a large cache of rifles, ammo, and blankets from a supply train that came into Alpine Station. After destroying remaining supplies, the B&O Railway track and the bridge over the Great Cacapon, Jackson marched his army of 8,500 men to Romney and captured it.

Crossing the bridge over into Maryland, we followed the river westbound until we got to that narrow piece of Maryland that separates West Virginia from Pennsylvania. Turning north a few hundred feet into Pennsylvania for our next geocache in PA's Fulton County and a significant piece of survey history. Here is located a stone survey marker for the Mason-Dixon Line (GC2BCKX).

The Mason–Dixon Line was surveyed between 1763 and 1767 by Charles Mason and Jeremiah Dixon in the resolution of a border dispute between British colonies in Colonial America. The disputants engaged an expert British team, astronomer Charles Mason and surveyor Jeremiah Dixon, to survey what became known as the Mason–Dixon Line. It cost the Calverts of Maryland and the Penns of Pennsylvania £3,512/9 to have 244 miles surveyed with such accuracy. To them the money was well spent, for in a new country there was no other way of establishing ownership.

Mason and Dixon's actual survey line began to the south of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, and extended from a benchmark east to the Delaware River and west to what was then the boundary with western Virginia. The surveyors also fixed the boundary between Delaware and Pennsylvania and the approximately north–south portion of the boundary between Delaware and Maryland. Most of the Delaware–Pennsylvania boundary is an arc, and the Delaware–Maryland boundary does not run truly north-south because it was intended to bisect the Delmarva Peninsula rather than follow a meridian.

And finally our last geocache of the day was a virtual (GCED74) at the Sideling Hill Welcome Center on I-68. The Interstate 68 highway through Maryland is also known as the National Freeway. It runs parallel to US-40 and the original National Road which was built in the 1800's. I'll talk more about the National Road more next week when we visit some of the remnants along the way including the first toll booth in the United States.

That's it for today. To follow along on our travels and keep up with my latest blogs, you may do so here of course by clicking the "Follow" button to the right. But also by using one or more of your favorite of these social media platforms: Facebook, MeWe, Gab, Reddit, Parlor, Twitter, RVillage, GETTR, Instagram, and TruthSocial. These all link directly to my profiles. Again, please feel free to comment and / or share.