27-Jul-2001 -- 52.00° N 10.00° W

We first visited this site on a dreary Monday, July 16, 2001, but the digital documentation was lost. So we went back again on a sunny Friday, July 27, 2001, and obtained analog and digital documentation. The following is a description of our second visit.

Along with the rest of Dover Mountain we had been staying near Castlegregory, Co. Kerry, on the Dingle peninsula. From there we made our way through Tralee, then Castlemaine, Kilorglen, and Glenbeigh. We followed a narrow road south out of Glenbeigh and, since we knew where we were going, had no trouble finding the end of the road. We parked in the farmer's driveway and Jan went to ask permission to go across the sheep pasture again (it was her penance). Mel and Jan stayed in the car and Kelly and I set out across the pasture. It was a beautiful day, clear and warm for Ireland. The trek across the pasture was tricky because of the climb, the rocks, and many sheep "hazards".

It took about 15 minutes to zero in on the spot, and while the GPS settled, we took in the scenery. The confluence is on a steep hillside above Lake Coomssaharn, a kettle lake carved by the most recent glaciers. It's quite a view in all directions, even up the hill to the west. Green mountainsides punctuated by rocks, dry stone walls, and white sheep, sporting the red color of their owner. The hillsides contain a number of boggy "micro-environments" where, fed by perennial limestone springs, the sheep-trimmed grasses give way to wildflowers, rushes, and worts in a 1-2 sq. meter area.

Receiving signals from eight satellites, the GPS defined the one rock we were looking for. Kelly took digital video and I shot good old Kodak Gold 100 with my 25 year old Cannon Ftb. We carefully picked our way down to the car and made it back to Glenbeigh in plenty of time for dinner and the gig.

On our first visit, we had met the farmer and his two dogs. They were rounding up the sheep and it was interesting to see the minimal effort expended by the old gentleman to get the dogs to do exactly what they were supposed to do. The Irish love to talk about the weather and having passed that obligation ("It be rainin' soon"), we asked him about the lake. "Aye, she gets black on a day like this." Do you get fish there? "Aye, sometimes." How deep is it? "Has nae bottom." And with that he took the dogs and sheep in a different direction, leaving us very glad we hadn't lost our footing and tumbled down to the bottom, wherever that may be.

The travelers: John and Mel Kidd, Kelly and Jan Crumpley