Behave Yourself! – Rockwatching Blogging Protocal

 

scan0001, originally uploaded by Mic2006.

Well, Rockwatching has been up and running for a number of years now (5 to be exact) and I believe it has contributed significantly to the interest of people like myself who like caving, rocks, the outdoors, gems and minerals in Ontario.

We are just a few short days from 2011 and I believe it’s high time we made some resolutions -all of us  (you my loyal fellow bloggers as well).

So in the interests of all involved a few ground rules to follow on Rockwatching from now on

1) Lets not carry a personal vendetta onto this site which is meant to be a forum where like minded enthusiasts can interact in a positive way.
2) Lets respect each other and try not to get personal when we are frustrated.
3) Lets respect the basics of conservation and eco-minded thought.
4) Lets not assume stuff we don’t know for sure (hence the survey at the bottom of the post).
5) Lets keep in mind that this is all about enjoyment.
6) Lets keep in mind that just because the topic is on the table, every single aspect that pertains to it is not an open book.
7) Lets respect people who are not on the site, private property, reputations etc. Just because there is discussion of a site or feature does not mean permission has been granted to go there.

8) Lets not get petty, self righteous or important. Stop correcting my grammar, spelling or use of terms. I am a writer at heart and so I believe I can use the language as I please (providing it’s in good taste, or if I choose, not in good taste).

9) Lets not waste my time by having to re-direct you to one of the above rules.

Happy and prosperous 2011 – Mick

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What is Wrong with the Elevator – haunted??

Cant imagine where some of those reflections were coming from

I saved the strangest till last in my story of the Broadview Hotel in Wichita.

As mentioned in previous posts, the Hotel is supposedly haunted. Though the topic of hauntings intests me, I am by no means a believer. I would like to find evidence of paranormal activity, but aside from the “haunted tree” in Burlington, there has been nothing that I have come across that leaves me convinced – and even the haunted tree was not really a conclusive experience – but it was certainly wierd.

Anyway, I had been returning to my room after a few drinks down in the bar and in riding one of the old brass and mirror elevators up to the third floor, I was plagued by a jerky ride and flickering light – that left me wondering whether I was about to become stuck. Looking into the mirrors all round was quite dis-orientating and for a brief second, I was left with the impression that there may have been some kind of filmy human form that appeared down one of the endless panels of reflected glass. It wasn’t really spooky, just a little unusual and as I said – I was coming back from the bar downstairs and had already beeen primed by stories of the supernatural. Anyway, I looked around to see what might be standing next to me, thinking that the reflected image was someone else in the elevator, but there was nothing there.

The power of suggestion can do some strange things to the mind. as I said, I am not a believer, by the haunted tree in Burlington really had me wondering. (Thats another story)

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Ghost at the Broadview – Wichita

BTK spent some time here – Broadview Hotel

Well now! Staying at the Broadview would be a hollow experience if one made no attempt to follow up on the Ghost story. Clarence as an entity is well known around there.

By all descriptions Clarence seems harmless enough, but as with any place thats haunted, it seems that a one-off paranormal situation is the exception not the norm. Some have felt cold patches in their rooms, others shaking at the doors. A disembodied voice – a small child, is sometimes heard in the halls at night. Apparently Clarence likes messing with the phone – endless dialing down to the front desk from such and such a room, but when the staff go up to investigate, there is nobody there. The lady who ran the tour told us that sometimes orbs appear on people’s pictures.

I wonder if some places are more conducive to paranormal activity than others? I have long been interested in the lay-line theory. I know from a few examinations in Ontario where I have accompanied the highly acclaimed paranormal investigator – Patrick Cross that paranormal entities seldom occur in ones. In Burlington – Patrick’s place of residence, the very streets are oozing spirits – here a poltergeist, there a moving statue and of course the infamous tree – posessed of an evil energy – I myself almost came “acropper” at that dismal spot, but thats another story.

Lay lines, you have to wonder, they supposedly stretch between places of cultural and religious significance – threads quite plainly seen by some, only felt by others. Witchita is dead-smack center of the continent, a veritable power house of culture and religious worship. Odd though it might seem, BTK was some kind of church elder at Wichita’s Christ Luthern Church and he is known to have spent time in the Broadview Hotel. Not being an expert in lay line divination, I wonder what a dowser would find in the plains around the city.

This picture above is the bar in the Broadview Hotel – a beautiful tin ceiling’d space with stained glass and plenty of pints of my new favorite beer – “Amber Bok”. The Flapper tour that takes residents down to the basement starts in the bar – led by the lady on the left in the red dress.

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Supernatural in Kansas

“Oh Good Lord”

Nah, I’m not talking about the impression at sunset.

I just got back from a Conference at the Broadview Hotel in Wichita. It was nice to get down to a place that was relatively warm, or so I believed – the Texans thought quite different. I suppose the sky had something to do with the intense cold front that was moving in, the wind was just howling and it got to the point that my eyes were watering so bad, I just had to hope the auto focus on the camera was doing all the work.

This picture was taken from the corners of Douglas and Waco streets. And to the right – “The Broadview” a haunted place – literally put chills up my spine.

It certainly was atmospheric – a beautiful Victorian interior, walked by both the living guests and also those who had lived there – the dead, though it is said that some dont know it yet.

Is it better the ghost you know than the ghost you dont?

I took what they call the flapper tour and was aquainted with the hotel’s rather sinister basement…… And Clarence, “their ghost in residence”. “He generally lives in one specific room – a room with a balcony, but we dont tell guests exactly which room, but as we are starting renovation soon he has started moving around”. “Oh good Lord”, the lady from Georgia muttered, “I’m sleeping with my light on”.

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