Bonding at the Aquarium...

Charli is introducing Buster to some of the more intricate details of marine life at the California Academy of Science. Gloomy outside, sunny inside!

Great Weekend!

After our huge road trip, then a bit of time back, then another trip to St. Louis, and some more time back, we are finally settling back down into being in our own house in San Francisco. And last weekend we took full advantage or our environs to do a couple of cool weekend activities.

On Saturday we drove down the Peninsula to the Purisima Creek Redwoods for an easy little hike. The trail was chosen simply because it was advertised as one where a stroller would work. There were also picnic tables along the way which made for a nice afternoon of eating (a lot) and walking (a little). The mostly second growth Redwoods down there are cool too, big trees. Not friggin' ginormous trees like we saw at Sequoia National Park, but still pretty big.





On Sunday, we had an unbelievable visit to the California Academy of Sciences in Golden Gate Park. What was unbelievable about it was that on this beautiful Sunday afternoon the place was practically deserted! It was great to see all the cool exhibits and, of course, the jellyfish, without having to stand in line or fight a big crowd.



Suffice it to say, it's good to be back...

Corn on the cob...

Buster is already putting his microscopic teeth to work on this grilled corn on the cob. In other news, he has learned to scream. Loud. Hopefully next week's inaugural flight(s) will not showcase this new talent.

Dinosaur National Monument...

We put the camper to the test yesterday with an excursion into the back roads of Dinosaur National Monument. The campground was 12 miles down a gravel road that had some rather frightening switchbacks and some great canyon scenery along the way. This picture is the road back to the 25 mile paved road that led back to US 40. We saw lots of stars last night an I put my hatchet to good use in chopping some firewood from the fallen trees in our campsite. Were it not for the militant bees that took a liking to our dinner, the evening would have been great!

Rocky Mountain Adventure...

On Monday, we left Ft. Collins and finally took real advantage of the fact that we not only have a camper, but we have a camper that can go lots of places. This picture is of our evening adventure hike near our campsite which was about 12 miles down a gravel road in the Roosevelt National Forest, on the northern boundary of Rocky Mountain National Park. Later in the hike we saw a couple of moose too! Korin got the pictures of those, as my phone camera wasn't really up to the task. Then it was back to the camper as the temperature began to dip lower than we have yet experienced in our travels for some hot soup. The camper also has a heater, which kicked in several times during the night.

West Fest Weekend!

As luck would have it, we are in Ft. Collins on West Fest weekend. There is a petting zoo, there are pony rides, and Charli seems to have overcome her fear riding ponies! Our travels through the Wild West have paid off!

"Roughing It" in the morning...

When we camp somewhere with electrical hookups (as we are here in Escalante Petrified Forest State Park in Utah) the ideal morning for me, before everyone wakes up, looks like this picture. iPad, plunge pot full of coffee with water that I just heated in that electric hot pot doodad at the edge of the table. The camper, unfortunately, had to be parked in such a way as to obstruct my view of the reservoir that sits behind it, but that'll have to do...