John Schneider

'Straight-line wind'

The destruction was too orderly for a tornado. A neighbor said it was a powerful “straight-line wind” that barreled down our road last week, snapping dozens of trees in half.

Sharon and I were out West and missed the action.

I looked it up and learned that a straight-line wind is defined as a “non-rotating wind gust produced by thunderstorm downdrafts.”

When rain-cooled air rushes downward, it hits the ground and disperses horizontally, causing winds that can exceed 100 mph.

Winds that strong, no matter what you call them, can cause widespread, uniform damage that often looks like the work of a tornado.

Anonymously famous

In between our visits to Canyonlands and Arches, acting on a solid tip from a friend, we took a less-traveled road to Castleton Tower, about 25 miles northeast of Moab.

In scouting our trip to Utah, we never read a word about it. That’s ironic because the Internet calls Castleton “probably the most famous desert tower in the world…”- particularly among rock-climbers.

The drive there is itself a treat. The road out of Moab hugs the Colorado River all the way, threading its way through massive canyon walls.

The tower, which is actually a sandstone rock, rises 400 feet above the cone-shaped hill it sits on, putting its tip 6,660 feet above sea level. A short semi-circle hike provides views from all sides of the tower.

Lord Huron's universe

This review of Lord Huron's Red Rock's show nails it better than most. Jena McShane, writing for Loud Hailer magazine, wrote, in part:

"After being immersed for two hours in Lord Huron’s universe, what became obvious was that this is a band that isn’t content to just play great music. They are intent on weaving together mythic storytelling, awe-inspiring visuals, and beautiful musical arrangements for a complete experience.

"There might not be another venue on Lord Huron’s Cosmic Selector Tour to complement the band’s cinematic world quite like Red Rocks, but their shows continue through the fall and are well worth checking out."

I'll take Red Rocks

When the Bubs played the Buckeye Country Superfest at Ohio Stadium in Columbus Saturday, it was in front of 60,000 people.

Sharon texted the front Bub Sunday asking him how it went and he included this photo in his reply.

Damn. That’s a lot of faces.

Of course Lord Huron wasn't the only attraction. Grammy Award-winner Tyler Childers was the headliner. The other performers included Sierra Ferrell, The Red Clay Strays, Flatland Cavalry and Kaitlin Butts.

More natural wonders

As we pulled up to the entrance gate at Arches National Park, just outside Moab, I tried to present my senior-citizen lifetime pass to the ranger but she ignored it.

“Flag Day,” she said. “Free admission.”

Oh, yeah: Flag Day ... which may be renamed “Cage-Fighting Day" by executive order.

But it was no time for politics. It was a brilliant Sunday morning and we were headed into another world of wonders. The photos shows:

- Two views of Balanced Rock, a gravity-defying spectacle.

- Skyline Arch.

Being there

Even a good camera is an inadequate instrument for capturing the drama and grandeur of National Park landscapes.

But we can't resist trying, at least not until we accept the fact that we're not there to document it; that's already been done thousands of times by people with more talent and superior equipment.

At some point, we put our cameras away and simply appreciate the beauty of what we're seeing.

The sincerest form of flattery ...?

You may have noticed that Lord Huron's front Bub is rocking a new vibe. Out with the Jesus look; in with the Ted Lasso look.

From the stage at Fiddler's Green in Denver Thursday night, he joked about how unnerving it was to look down at the front row and see fans sporting mustaches that somehow didn't look quite real.

He said it was caused him to lose his concentration and called the fake mustache-wearers "trouble-makers," but said it in a way that made it obvious he meant it as a term of endearment.

Beyond generous

As I mentioned a few blogs ago, an important part of the annual pilgrimage to the Rocks Amphitheater is a massive gift-exchange among the World Enders - Lord Huron fans.

As you can see in this photo of some of things I brought home from Wednesday's show, the exercise brings out both the creativity and generosity of the people in the group.

Notice the item in the middle. At some point during the show a woman handed me a packet containing two bracelets. I thanked her and put the packet in my pocket, never noticing, in the dim light, that the beadwork spelled out "JESSICA" and included little sunflowers.

It's an obvious reference to our dearly departed daughter, who drowned at age 25. This means, of course, that the woman who gave me the bracelets made them specifically for Sharon and me and took the trouble to seek me out at the show.

We didn't notice until Thursday morning, at which point I realized that my casual thank-you at the show doesn't begin to cover how touched we are by such a kind and thoughtful gesture.

Family reunion

I can't say I met every single one of these people Wednesday night, but I did meet a bunch of them. Some of the faces were new; many were familiar from previous Lord Huron shows.

Every year Lord Huron fan club members - the World Enders - pose for a group portrait at their mecca - the Red Rocks Amphitheater in Morrison, Colorado.

In 2019, the Red Rocks group numbered less than 50. As you can see, it's grown a little.

The photo always reminds me of a family-reunion because, in a sense, that's what it is

"Long Lost" for sure

After browsing the possibilities, I’m considering adding “Long Lost,” to my “ink,” as the hipsters call it, continuing the tradition - and the theme - of my Red Rocks tattoos.

The first one was “Not Dead Yet”; then, “Fool for Love”; then “The World Ender” (“W” and “E”, separated by a lightning bolt).

Notice that these are all Lord Huron song titles, making “Long Lost” the clear choice for Red Rocks 2026.

Westbound

The plan: Today we’ll catch a 12:42 p.m. flight - Detroit to Denver - for Lord Huron’s Wednesday show at Red Rocks in Morrison, followed, on Thursday night, by the band’s Fiddler’s Green show in Denver.

Assuming we make it past “Blucifer,” that menacing blue horse with the glowing eyes that guards the airport entrance, we’ll claim our rental car and begin a week or so of bumming around Out West.

On Friday morning we’ll light out for Moab, Utah to have a look at Arches and Canyonlands National Parks (Two more opportunities to flash my lifetime senior-citizen pass, which I bought for $10 about 10 years ago. Now they cost $80, which is still a bargain).

How to describe it ...

Yet another label for Lord Huron’s music: “Cinematic, vaguely Southwestern-flavored folk-rock …”

That one - not entirely off the mark, I must say - comes from a writer for the Bulletin in Bend, Oregon, where the Bubs played the Hayden Homes Amphitheater a few nights ago as part of their 2026 summer tour.

With another 30-plus shows coming up, who knows how many new labels may emerge …?

The Bulletin writer did some research and seemed to surprise himself.

“Lord Huron,” he wrote, “has just over 24 million monthly listeners on Spotify. That’s a couple million more than Bruce Springsteen, nearly 10 million more than John Mayer and more than twice as many as Phoebe Bridgers…”

No. 51

The big blow-out was last year, in honor of the big round number.

We all gathered - all 11 members of our nuclear family - at a chalet on Shadow Mountain Lake, in Grand Lake, Colorado. The kids arranged the whole thing. It was fabulous.

This year? It's just Sharon and me. At home. We talked about maybe going out to dinner. We decided instead to just grill some chicken and reminisce over a cocktail, which, to tell the truth, is more typical of a 51-year of marriage than the 50-year bash.

Not that I'm complaining. The excitement starts next week, when we light out on a trip Out West - to Red Rocks and points beyond.

Seven swans a-swimming

Every now and then a photo will write its own caption.

The second I glanced our our window at swans on Lake Huon and counted seven of them ... swimming ... well, who could resist?

These black-beaked beauties are trumpeter swans and, unlike their orange-beaked mute swan - those invasive bullies of the swan world - trumpeters are native to Michigan.

Mumbo jumbo

I’m reluctant to call it a word salad because salads are generally healthy and the meaningless excretion that emerged a few days ago from the mouth of a National Science Foundation official is anything but healthy.

Trump, no friend to scientific research, recently announced the Regime was scrapping a network of deep-sea instruments that collect data on currents, climate and marine ecosystems - information vital to monitoring the earth’s precarious health.

It’s just another volley in the Administration’s overall assault on science.

When asked about the cut, the NSF official spewed this jumble of nonsense:

“(It) …aligns with N.S.F.’s wider strategy to have a nimbler approach to prioritizing support for evolving scientific priorities and emerging technologies as well as a deliberate approach to smart life cycle management within its portfolio of research infrastructure.”

Gallows humor

Sharon sometimes seems resigned to the proposition that I'll meet my ultimate fate out on the lake - pulled into Huron, perhaps, by a big fish that I can't bear to give up on". (I say there are worst ways to go).

But I know she's only engaging in a little gallows humor.

As I was on my way out one recent morning, she went through her check list of doom: "Let's see ....," she said. "Old boat, old back-up motor, old guy ... big lake ... what could go wrong ...?"

Outward bound

After a 7-month-long nap, the John B didn’t exactly spring into action. She required a shot of starting fluid, with a fresh-gas chaser.

But, as I mentioned in a previous blog, she turns 40 this year, which is at least 77 in human years. A little creakiness is understandable. I can identify,

On Tuesday, after five days of beautiful, but blustery, conditions on the big lake, Huron went docile, allowing the John B. and me our annual shakedown cruise.