Here’s the toolkit:

• A Flickr account, naturally.
• A digital camera, in this case it was my everything-proof Olympus Stylus 770 SW. This also works with RAW files from my Canon Digital Rebel XSi.
• A GPS unit, such as my Garmin GPSmap 76CSx.
• Garmin’s RoadTrip software for Mac OS X.
• GPSPhotoLinker by Jeffrey J. Early.

Here’s the procedure:

• Synchronize your camera’s time with the GPS unit’s time.
• Take your powered-on GPS unit with you on an adventure. Garmin makes a nice handlebar mount for mine. I also have a boat mount that I plan to put in the kayak. For the tubing, I put it in my dry bag that I took along.
• When you get home, download the photos from the camera to your Mac.
• Using RoadTrip, download your GPS track to your computer and edit the track as necessary. I copy my edited track to its own folder in RoadTrip. Export the folder from RoadTrip, creating a GPX file.
• Open GPSPhotoLinker and load the track and the photos. Use the “View on map” button to preview the position online in Google Maps (the default, others are available). I mostly found myself using the “Time weighted average point.” When you are satisfied with how things are looking, use the “Save to photo” button to write the geographic info into the metadata of the photo file. A batch mode is also available.
• Before uploading to Flickr, You need to set the Import EXIF location data setting in your profile to “Yes.” I don’t know why Flickr doesn’t have a “This photo contains geographic data, do you want to use it?” option when you click, “Add to your map,” but for now, it will only automatically use the data on upload.
• Upload your images to Flickr. If you are editing the images first, make sure you don’t save them with a method that discards the metadata.
• Sit back and enjoy your mapped photos. Here are mine.

This was taken somewhere north of Providence, Fla., probably on CR 241 south of CR 240.

It’s been a good couple of weeks that have found me going tubing twice. Will something happen to make it thrice? I don’t know. But here are some more photo sets:

• Tubing with the Byrneses and Kinseys – 31 July 2007 – One of my best tubing trips ever (but is there such a thing as a bad day tubing?) when my out-of-town cousins came to town and we did the whole thing on a Tuesday, one of the slowest days of the week during Summer.
• 2nd Strays Ichetucknee Triathlon – 11 Aug 2007 – The most-crowded day I have ever seen there, probably because it’s one of the last weekends before school starts in most counties around here. I went with a group from my cycling club and we rode and picnicked before tubing. I have never before seen the river so crowded. When we were ready to tube at about 1 p.m., the mid-point shuttle had already closed for the day. And when we exited the river, there was a tremendous queue to wait in for the parking lot shuttle. I think I got some cool people photos.

I guess this post could be titled, “It was the best of times and it was the worst of times,” but as I asked earlier, “is there such a thing as a bad day tubing?”

I once again want to give a shout-out to Aquapac for their awesome waterproof case. It seems that every time I break it out in public lately, someone asks me about it and thinks it’s cool.

Related: Ichetucknee Springs tubing photos.

We had about nine pots of chili. I brought Emeril’s Turkey and White Bean Chili and came home with an empty pot and a lot of praise.

O’Leno has been a special place to me ever since the Summer of 1976 when we happened upon it during the Florida back roads vacation we went on that year. Those have been my favorite woods ever since I first laid eyes on the suspension bridge and the first time this child of the suburbs ever petted a wild, though pretty tame, deer. It was definitely part of the attraction when I got the opportunity to move to Gainesville in 1988.

• First, at some point this Summer, I posted a somewhat complete album of pictures from my June vacation with Mom to England and Scotland. I later found some stragglers that may be added at a later date. Or maybe not.
• In mid-August, I led a group from the cycling club on a ride, eat, and tube adventure at Ichetucknee Springs that we dubbed “The Strays Triathlon.” It was the only opportunity I really had this Summer to go tubing. Maybe I’ll get to go again in early Fall before the weather gets too cool for it. That is, if I can get a certain someone to go with me.
• The week after tubing the Ichetucknee, I was off to Chicago for this year’s convention of the Society of Professional Journalists where I once again produced Webcasts of many of the sessions. I didn’t have much time for sightseeing, but came home with some neat pictures. I had the pleasure of meeting and getting my picture taken with Bob Dotson of NBC News. I will be posting some techie details about Webcasts on my work blog.

• Strays ride the Feagles – Yes, we did this ride six weeks ago, but this day we rode it in the opposite direction. A resident on the route who must be accustomed to bike tours going by even told us we were going the wrong way.
• Night ride on the G-H Trail – We had permission for a night ride on the Gainesville-Hawthorne Rail Trail under the nearly full moon. The mosquitoes were a lot more numerous than I thought they would be given the temperature.
• Las Vegas – SPJ Convention – I went to Las Vegas in October to work for the Society of Professional Journalists producing webcasts of selected sessions from the convention. I didn’t have a whole lot of time to run around taking pictures and the weather didn’t cooperate during the latter part of the trip, but I came home with some good shots.

• Horse Farm Hundred – October 2. I drove a support vehicle that day, but I also stopped and occasionally took pictures.
• Strays ride the Feagles – October 8. The Strays group met up south of Lake City and rode some very scenic roads roughly in between there and High Springs.
• Strays ride from Hawthorne – October 29. The ride I try to lead at least several times a year out in my neck of the woods.

Enjoy!