Webmaster tools sees 74 URLs in the sitemap which it regularly pulls from my feed but shows 0 Indexed URLs. I see the google bot traverses the site, I've registered it with Google Analytics, I set up a correct robots.txt file, I've even created a feed to Google Shopping - which works but doesn't seem to share links with the main Google search engine.

And although there are a tremendous number of help FAQs, Forums, etc, it's not clear just how long you should wait to be indexed. In the forums you see people saying you should expect anything between a couple days and up to 7 months. What a way to run a railroad.

I suspect the biggest problem is that there are very few links pointing to the new site. A classic chicken/egg problem.

Frustrating... I just want my dad to get his first real order.

I did a bit of research looking at the different options. I really wanted a few things:

• I wanted control over the look and feel


• I wanted the ability to use low-cost payment methods such as Google & PayPal


• I didn't want a monthly limit on included bandwidth


• The solution had to be as affordable as possible

I settled on using Shopify and I'm pretty happy with the results. There are a few quirks to the solution (using their Liquid macro facility for one), but overall Shopify satisfied our needs.

You can see the website at Tom Jones Buckeye Photos. It's still a bit of a work in progress, but take a look. I'd love to hear about other people's experiences setting up small business websites.

Jump to June of this year. I met up with Tim Linehan at his business (Linehan Outfitting) and we talked about that float. Unfortunately after all these years he was a bit sketchy about the details, just that they put in below a bridge. After studying maps it was clear then that they must have floated one of two sections.

Last weekend my buddy Glenn and I went down to the Lewis to finally float it. We tried to find where they must have put the boat in and it wasn't at all clear. The easier put-in seemed to be on the section right below the bridge at the Lower Lewis River Falls campground so that's what we did. Mistake!

We floated in small 1-man catarafts. It took us 9 hours to run the 9 miles or so of water. There were 3 portages, one of which was grueling. It was mostly class III white water, though the water level was pretty low so it was scratchy - there was plenty of exposed sharp lava. One section in the middle I think is pretty much unrunable in anything except a kayak because it's a choked cascade of house-sized boulders. That's was the hideous portage.

After running about a mile we'd done a long portage and broken a rod so we decided not to fish and just concentrate on getting through. It was obvious we were not on the section they'd run on television. A lost oar (luckily found downstream), a broken oar and a ripped (but thankfully not punctured) pontoon later we got to the takeout in the dark. There was a while that I thought we'd be spending the night on the river in our wet gear. I love running rapids in the dark. Not.

In case anyone is thinking about running this, I highly recommend the section from the Curly Creek Falls bridge downstream, I think that's what they must have done on the TV show. I could not run the section we did with a driftboat and it might be physically impossible due to the boulder garden choke in the middle. And there is no way you could portage a driftboat like we did our little catarafts.

Here's what I'd do differently:

• Run with a bit more water. The gauge at the takeout was 425cfs. 500-600 would have been much better.
• Make it an overnight float. There's not enough time to float and fish, and if you have any problems you're gonna get out after dark. For most of the river, hiking out is not an option, you're in the canyon to stay.
  
• Take lots of extra gear - two extra oars per boat, extra rods. Assume you're going to stress all of your gear.
  
• Take a pontoon repair kit.
  
• Take a water filter - We downed quite easily consumed all the liquids we took and wished we'd had more.

From Ushuaia we drove north to the town of Rio Grande and the Estancia Maria Behety. This is the type of country I had in mind when I thought of Tierra del Fuego - wide open for hundreds of miles in every direction. What I wasn't expecting was the grandness of it all. It made Montana "Big Sky" country look small. The spaces and the skies are unbelievably vast. The steppes have their own rugged beauty, especially with the local Guanaco (close relatives of llamas) roaming the gently rolling hills. And the fishing - wow! Sea run brown trout here get up to 30 pounds and it wasn't unusual for us to catch 15 pounders. I don't know of anywhere else in the world where you can catch so many large trout.

I've fallen in love with Tierra del Fuego. I'll be back.

2006 Sangiacomo Vineyards Chardonnay
5-6-6
Light gold, straw colored with hints of green. A very tight, difficult to smell nose. Not too buttery, nice acid, plenty of oak. Kind of a creamy texture to it. The end of the finish has a slight woodiness, but I kind of like it. A medium long finish. A very restrained California Chardonnay. $32

2006 Savoy Vineyard Chardonnay
6-6-6
Grapes from the same vineyard in Sonoma that Radio-Cateau uses for their Pinot Noir. Very light colored, again a touch of green. Bit of green apple on the nose - crisp. Nice round flavors, some noticeable glycerin. Apple flavors predominate. Nice long sustained finish. You can taste this wine with your entire mouth. Good stuff. $40

2006 Savoy Anderson Valley Pinot Noir
5-6-5
Pinky colored. Nose has some cotton candy, strawberry aromas. Light tasting, pleasant and easy drinking but not a lot of depth. Starts out with berry flavors, moves a bit towards dark cherries. Finish is kind of long but not complex or layered. Nice, but not great, I'd rather have the Radio-Cateau version of this wine. Seems over priced. $52

2006 Tina Marie Russian River Pinot Noir
5-7-6
Purplish pink color. Tight aromas, hard to get a nose. Shows more backbone than the Savoy. Classic California Pinot with blackberry and raspberry flavors predominating. Finish is a bit short. A very pleasant wine. $40

2005 Spring Mountain Merlot
6-7-6
Blackberry colored. Beautifully balanced, but still definitely a merlot. Finish is nice and long but not layered. No grassiness, no harsh tannins, easy to drink now. $45

2004 Spring Mountain Cabernet Sauvignon
6-7-7
Dark bing cherry color. Cherry aromas, little bit of green pepper, but very very small; I enjoyed the aroma. Tastes very well integrated and balanced with lots of plum and a touch of black pepper. Nice long finish, with a bit of layering. Soft tannins, very easy drinking. $65

2005 Rattlesnake Hill Cabernet Sauvignon
7-7-6
Dark, almost opaque purple with hints of blue. Dusty blackberry and cassis aromas. Beautiful taste, some mocha, nice acid. Fruit first, very subdued oak, finely integrated. Tastes very fresh without any green flavors or harsh tannins. A nice wine. $120

2005 Cyrus-Ryan Cabernet Sauvignon
7-8-8
Grapes from the Napa valley floor. Blackberry color, touch of cloudiness. Some blackberry hints on nose. More intense than the Rattlesnake hill. Reminds me a lot of good Napa Valley Cabs like Stags Leap or Frog's Leap. More tannins than the other Cabs, but not harsh in any way, nicely balanced. Has a beautiful long finish that moves from the back of the pallette to the front.

2006 Grand Reserve White Meritage 6-6-6
Pale sand color. Citrus nose, touch of grass. Not surprisingly it's 13% Semillon and 87% Sauvignon Blanc. Tastes of pineapple, grapefruit, hints of green apple skin. A bit of an edge like grapefruit peel. Surprisingly long finish. CA$24.75

2006 Chardonnay 7-7-6
Pale sand, hints of gold. Butter, poached pears and oak on the nose. Big time malolactic but balanced by a nice acid. Surprisingly clean, with a low alcohol content that helps keep it tasting light. Well balanced. Not an exceptional long or layered finish. CA$18.95

2006 Riesling 8-7-7
Beautiful nose - extremely floral - you can smell it from yards away. Very dry, hints of violet, some orange, touch of lemon zest, green apple. Maybe some sour peach or peach pit or apricot. Nice long finish with some layering - goes from fruit forward to a bit of candy. I like this. CA$17.30

2005 Delaine Vineyard Riesling 6-7-8
Clear. Strong petrol nose, very little fruit though some green leaf. Sits on the knife edge between sweet and sour. Green apple, green pear, soursop. Very long finish to lemon. I like this. Would pair perfectly with a chilled dilled salmon. CA$18.95

2006 Delaine Vineyard Gewurztraminer 6-5-6
Almost clear. Big dill chip nose. A very dry gewurztraminer, kind of a funky european kind of taste. It has a long but not complex finish. CA$22.80

2005 Delaine Vineyard Pinot Noir 4-4-4
Bing cherry skin colored. Nose of nectarine skins, earth, a bit of plastic (not a turn on) or even furniture polish. Tastes green and very heavy on the earthy flavors. You've got to look hard for the fruit. Lots of dark flavors. Tastes very tight but I don't think it will ever open up. Tobacco and tannins on the finish. CA$25.30

2002 Delaine Vineyard Merlot 6-6-5
Opaque, slightly cloudy. Bell pepper, vanilla, blackberries on nose. Taste vanilla, plum, some green pepper. Hints at a velvety mouthfeel. Finish isn't complex but goes towards spicy plum. CA$25

2005 Delaine Vineyard Syrah 6-5-6
Dark red currant color. Cassis on the nose. Nice intensity and concentrated flavors. Black cherry, truffles, some dark chocolate flavors. Finish is surprisingly long with an emphasis on dark berries, maybe a bit of mushroom. My last taste was much better than my first. CA$29.99

2004 Delaine Vineyard Cabernet Sauvignon/Merlot 5-6-6
Dark cherry color. Big green pepper nose, some currant in there. Do smell some cotton candy? Surprisngly fruity, softer flavors than I expected from the nose. Blackberry, cassis, classic bordeaux flavors with some vanilla on the finish. CA$29.95

2004 Proprietors's Grand Reserve Meritage 5-6-6
50% Merlot, 35% Cabernet Sauvignon, 15% Cabernet Franc. Dark cherry color, nice brilliance. Bit tough to smell the nose, not a lot of aromas. Light hints of green pepper, green twigs, cherry. Intense flavor - kind of a wow wine - very full bodied which was a surprise given the nose. Strong cherry flavors, hints of spice. Finish is long but not too complex. CA$24.99

2004 Gewürztraminer Icewine 7-7-8
Light gold color - "spring sunrise". Candied pineapple on the nose. Lots of tropical fruits, some candied ginger. Maybe some peach cobbler. Very light acid. Has a beautiful long lingering layered finish. Good stuff. CA$63

2004 Cabernet Franc Icewine 6-7-7
Red-orange copper color. Apple butter on the nose. Very intense flavors: marmalade, honey, touch of black pepper from the tannin. Finish is nice but not as long as the Gewürztraminer. CA$74

2005 Chambourain 4-3-3
Dark cherry color, touch of brown. Smells high in alcohol, but is only 12%. Tastes a lot like tar, and not in a good way. Finish is abrasive. CA$14

2005 Vidal Icewine 6-7-6
Gold/green color. Honey on the nose, hints of apple butter. Nice bit of acid, keeps it from being cloying. Very crisp, not syrupy. Slight grassy taste. FInish is long though not layered or complex. Hints of apricot on the finish. CA$40

2003 Riesling Icewine 6-7-6
Sandy colored. Almond blossom nose. Taste violets, green apples. Backbone has a touch of acid, like apples. Not overly sweet. Very long finish, with some apricot, but not much layering. CA$50

2004 Cabernet Franc Icewine 6-6-6
Copper colored. Sweet ice tea nose. Taste apples - a bit tart, some spicy apple butter going on. Don't like this as much as the Jackson-Triggs. Tiny bit of tannin. Finishes with strawberries.

2006 Late Autumn Riesling 6-5-5
Semi-dry. Very light, almost clear color. Hints of lime on the nose. Tastes much drier than expected. Very one-dimensional lemon/lime flavors, not enough depth, probably lacking acid. Finish is medium long but flat.

2004 Montague Estate Chardonnay 5-3-4
Light sand colored. Classic chard nose, butter and pineapple. Tastes green, not my kind of chard at all. Some butteriness but not the sweetness I usually associate with a bit of malo-lactic fermentation. Actually a bitterness predominates. CA18.30

2004 Founder's Series Pino Noir 6-2-2
Light cherry colored, some hints of strawberry red. Nice raspberry, classic pinot noir nose. Taste is very bitter - no fruit at all. Finish is hot and burnt. Drinking this was not a pleasant experience. This was really bad - could it have been a bad bottle? CA34.65

2004 Oak Aged Videl Icewine 7-7-6
Light gold colored. Honey and vanilla on the nose. Not overly sweet. Taste caramel, peach shortcake, bit of cream, hints of almond. A very long finish, but drops of suddenly at the end, not gradually. CA$89.95

2005 Cabernet Franc Icewine 8-8-7
Pinky copper colored. I love the nose - hints of strawberries. Definite strawberries in the flavor. A wee bit syrupy, but some noticeable acid, especially in the front of the mouth. Zero tannins. Nice sustained finish. CA$110

2004 Sparkling Vidal Icewine 6-6-7
Golden straw or honey colored. Honey and flowers on the nose. Tastes hint of mangos and lychees. Not as sweet as expected. Finish is nice and long with hints of nuts at the end. CA$70

2005 864 Charonnay 5-7-7
Very pale. Bit of a tight nose, hard to get much smell, but some burnt match. Tastes zero butteriness - do get grapefruit and serious minerality. Reminds me of a white burgundy. Has a long layered finish with a touch of burnt wood at the end of the finish. A beautiful elegant wine. AU$49

2006 Pinot Noir 5-6-7
Pinkish raspberry color. Almost candy nose. Dark stewed plum taste, with a bit of violet. Not overly complex finish. Last taste is much better than first, turns out there is a nice long finish in there. AU$29

2005 Over the Shoulder Cabernet/Merlot 6-5-6
Interesting almost candy nose. Dark plum colors. Hits of grassyness, cedar, blackberries. Tiny bit bitter, tannins a bit rough. Not very well integrated. Long finish but not very layered. AU$18

2005 Shiraz 6-6-7
Purple - a bit cloudy. Bit of white pepper on the nose, maybe hints of cardamon. This is a very different style shiraz with blueberry fruit and white pepper and anise flavors. The tannins say "Hello!" A long, nicely layered finish. AU$29

2005 Cabernet Sauvignon 6-7-7
Intense dark red/purple. Nose of sweet cream de cassis, sweet grapes. Beautifully blanced, tannins is there but well integrated. Nice acid too. Tastes of black fruits, cedar, smoke. A long savory finish on a nice classic style Cabernet. Good Value at AU$29

2005 Yarra Valley Estate Chardonnay 6-7-7
Very light straw color. Nose has nuts and burnt match aromas. Hints of fig on the initial taste. Nutty oak - maybe macadamia. Plenty of good acid. Finish is very long and somewhat complex and interesting. Really keeps on going to a beautiful finish. AU$30

Gulf Station Pinot Noir 6-5-5
Purplish red cherry skin colored, medium color intensity. Classic pinot noir nose. Dark cherry flavors with a bit of latte. Very soft tannins. Moderately long finish. At the end of the finish there is some candy/syrupy taste. AU$18

2005 Estate Shiraz/Viognier 5-6-6
Nice rich deep purple colors. The nose isn't as interesting as I'd hoped with the viognier in there - some white pepper, but pretty tight. Very ripe, stewed plum tastes. Viognier influence is hardly noticeable. Smooth tannins. Finish is nice, goes towards plum skin flavors. Last taste was much more interesting than the first. AU$30

Black Noble 6-7-7
A very interesting blend of botrytised semillon (Noble One) and Pedro Ximenez. Interesting nose of molasses & malt. Complex & interesting flavors with toffee, mocha ice cream, and malt. Really reminds me of a Starbucks drinks.

U.S. Distributor:
DeBortoli Wines USA
usa@debortoli.com.au
201.714.9700

2006 Yarra Valley Sauvignon Blanc 5-6-5
Light straw colored. Very grapey nose - the typical Sauvignon Blanc grassiness is kind of hard to find. Very sweet, not much traditional Sauvignon Blanc flavor. Huge passionfruit, a bit bit of yeastiness, crisp. Above average longth of finish, but not very interesting. Hints of oak seem to come through. AU$22

2006 Fontaine Rosé 5-6-6
Blend of Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, and Shiraz. Rose-gold colored. Tropical fruits on the nose. Totally dry, with a streak of tannins. Red berries and cherry tastes. Nice savory finish. AU$18

2004 Heathcote Cabernet Sauvignon 8-7-8
Bit cloudy, light plum colored. Extremely interesting nose. Beautiful intense blueberry, currant, and spice flavors. Has a long lingering finish, nicely layered. This is good stuff. Nice yummy tannins. AU$40

U.S. Distributor is Grail Wine, 2870 Monticello Road, Napa

Another Margaret River icon winery. Leeuwin Estate was started with the help or Robert Mondavi back in the 80's and they've been producing great wines ever since. Like the Mondavi winery in Napa, Leeuwin often has concerts in a large outdoor amphitheater. Unlike Mondavi, Leeuwin has a fantastic restaurant which I highly recommend.

2005 Art Series Riesling
6-8-6
Pale, touch of grassy green. Nose of honeysuckle and wet rocks. Concentrated flavors, big lime and grapefruit, very crisp with a definite mineral edge. Finish is a bit shorter than expected (hoped) and has hints of orange. AU$22

2004 Art Series Chardonnay
7-9-9
Straw colored, hints of green. Nose of peaches and Fig Newtons. Wow, really intense flavors. Beautiful layers of peach, pears, pear skin, buttered toast, nuts. Incredibly complex finish, tons of layers. Oak is totally under control.
I had this with a Butter Poached Marrin (something like an american crayfish) salad, the taste pairings were interesting: With the marrin a sweetness came out which I hadn't noticed before. With the parsley, arugula, and mint salad the apple and pear flavors came forward (this was an excellent combo). This wine gets better as it warms up a bit - hints of an oiliness. This is as good as some of the best French Chardonnay I've had. I don't normally like Chardonnay, but this could be the best wine I've had in Australia. AU$85

2004 Art Series Shiraz
7-7-6
Dark purple. Nice nose - blackberry and oak. Rich, very warm flavors, almost sweet blackberries (though completely dry). Very nicely integrated tannins. Finishes with dark cherries. AU$34

2002 Art Series Cabernet Sauvignon
6-7-7
Dark purple. Cedar and pencil lead on the nose. Medium bodied wine. Taste hints of chocolate and black currants. Beautiful, yummy smooth tannins. AU$51