We went up on the roof to watch a sunset this week. Our ladder is not quite long enough to make this a safe activity. A definite display of poor parental judgement by the Bigs, but we had fun, and no one got hurt.
I’m really not sure what to say about this, except that I look super cool, and you can see my new slippers:
On Saturday, we went to Waldo Lake. It is ridiculously clear. You can see to depths of 120 feet!
We packed lunch on our paddle boards, and found a sandy beach to stop and eat:
I constructed a road in the sand,
floated logs,
and played in the water. All while wearing my underwear:
Sunday morning started with carving my name in a pumpkin with neighbor Becky.
The pumpkin grew out of her compost. The idea was that it would continue to grow and my name would expand. The deer have been eating her pumpkins, so she decided to pick it and give it to me instead.
Next up was a mountain bike ride. Here I am with Mom at the Chicken, freshly painted for Halloween:
After biking, I decorated a t-shirt with fabric markers. This is a sunset over water:
In the Blossom Room, name tags tell us where to sit for lunch. Now we know where to sit at home, too:
School is back in session. The Bigs are less than excited, but I am fired up! My remote teaching setup, complete with homemade webcam:
Hard at work developing tomorrow’s lecture:
I started my Cog Kids mountain bike class this week. I was NOT happy about it at first. By the end I was asking the Bigs why it was only six weeks long, and if I can do it again next year.
Weekly Rocket Man photo:
I love fall. It means I get to rake leaves,
eat pumpkin bread,
wear sweaters,
and go for hikes. Log walking on the Six Lakes Trail.
We only made it to two of the six lakes, but we had lots of fun. I was prepared for the 45 degree weather. The Bigs were not. Silly Bigs.
The Bigs got takeout from Monkless to celebrate their 13th anniversary. I got my favorite – poutine (fries covered in gravy) topped with two runny eggs.
They got mussels. They can keep their mussels.
Smoke has cleared. Porch breakfasts are BACK!
Playdate with Hadley. 4+ costume changes. Army…
A firefighter and astronaut who help hurt animals…
Superheroes…
and chefs…
Our neighbor Becky gave me a gift certificate to Locavore for catsitting Dazzler. I spent the whole thing on wild foraged steak because I wanted to make jerky.
It turned out great. Jerky dance, jerky dance everyone look at your hands.
I spent two hours playing with a sheet the other day.
If it’s fun, it’s fun.
Grandparents and Uncle Chris, you can probably relate to this one. The Bigs take you out for some ‘fun’. We are on our way back to the car when they say ‘oh, let’s go this way, it’s not much longer.’ 8+ miles later we were back at the car. I’m 5. My wheels are 16 inches. I have NO GEARS. I toughed it out though – bribes of gelato got me through.
Gelato and jerky party!
Some other things we ate this week. Mango, avocado, black beans, and seitan burritos:
Pop’s pasta recipe (using our homegrown tomatoes):
Chocolate avocado pie with almond coconut crust. OH YES, you read that right. Avocado. And it’s delicious.
The Tree was closed for a five-day weekend, so we went on a four-day, three-night backpacking trip in the Three Sisters Wilderness:
Here I am at the start of the trip, while I was still clean:
I took a lot of breaks and had a lot of snacks:
Our first night, we stayed at Teddy Lake:
I did a lot of log walking:
and swimming:
The morning was cool
and calm:
Morning coffee by the lake:
After breakfast, we were off to Snowshoe Lake.
We passed several lakes along the way, including Muskrat Lake:
When we got to Snowshoe Lake, it was time for more swimming:
The view from our campsite:
We headed back to Teddy Lake for our third night. I was in charge of route finding:
Somehow, we made it there anyway. We did lots more swimming and some world’s-strongest-man training:
Wombat made the trip with us as well:
He enjoyed swimming:
and eating our camp food:
Due to wombat’s voracious appetite (or was it mine?), we were running low on food for the trip out, so I resorted to eating peanut butter with a spoon:
We stopped at Cultus Lake for one last swim, where I did some excellent going under water:
We drove 3500 miles and through five different states over the past three weeks. Get ready for a lot of pictures.
First stop – Yellow Pine Campground in Eastern Oregon. Route planning:
Good log walking logs at Yellow Pine:
The instant I’d finished I heard a ga-Zump! I looked. I saw something pop out of the stump of the tree I’d chopped down. It was sort of a man. Describe him…That’s hard. I don’t know if I can. He was shortish, and oldish, and brownish and mossy. And he spoke with a voice that was sharpish and bossy.
Tree face:
Day two took us to the Pettit Campground near Magic Mountain, Idaho.
We were the only people in the entire campground, it was right next to a great mountain bike trail, and we had our first campfire!
And s’mores:
Roadside lunch, heading toward Utah:
Campsite near Ogden, UT:
Finally! We made it to my home state, Colorado!
Campsite in the North Fruita Desert:
I got in a quick sunset ride after dinner:
The evening’s entertainment was wildfire TV:
The next morning we headed to the 18 Road trails in Fruita:
My favorite trail was Kessel Run, which, I am proud to say, I did in well under 18 parsecs.
That night we headed to Grand Mesa,
where we went for a hike and saw wildflowers,
and a partly-dried-out lake,
which I tried to fill in with rocks:
‘Bout time. We finally made it to the cabin. I’ve been around for five years, and this is the first time you bring me here?!
We were only here for three days, and we worked almost the whole time:
But we did find time for a bit of fun too. Lunch on the beach at Lake Dillon:
And, a hike up Pennsylvania Mountain behind the cabin:
I almost made it to 12,500′, almost to the top. I wanted to keep going, but the Bigs thought they knew better. Next year.
After a too-short stay at the cabin, we headed to Wyoming. Our campsite near the Happy Jack Trails:
The mountain biking was excellent. I saw beaver lodges and rode through streams (over and over again).
Campsite pinecone art:
Campsite visitors:
Next stop: next to a stream, somewhere in Idaho:
I splashed back and forth through the stream 476 times:
I wore my raincoat, so I wouldn’t get wet. Didn’t work.
Up next, Ketchum, Idaho. Our campsite for the next five days:
Lots of purple thistle. Apparently considered an invasive weed, but pretty:
Riding my favorite trail at Galena Lodge, the Lodge Loop:
It’s my Birthday! The Bigs brought one of my presents on the trip for me to open. Thanks, Nan and Pop!
Post-bike-ride birthday ice cream in the park:
Birthday dinner was pasta with red sauce:
Hammock Man:
Hike to Titus Lake near Galena Pass:
Campsite construction:
Getting clean:
Last time we were in Ketchum, I really wanted a Smokey Bear stuffie, and the Bigs really wanted to get him for me, but I was such a little … No, wait, I’m not supposed to use that word. I mean, my behavior was so absolutely abhorrent, it was not to be. This year, however, was a whole different story, and a whole different Emmett. Smokey:
Smokey was a little tired out, so I let him nap with me:
Our penultimate stop was McCall, Idaho for some great mountain biking and a bit of kickin’ it by Payette Lake:
One final night at Yellow Pine on the way home, and one final campfire. I wanted s’mores, but the Bigs informed me that we had eaten through all of our graham crackers. I said, “okay, let’s problem solve this,” and that is just what we did. S’mores on chocolate chip cookies, a taste sensation:
This week we decided to go on an overnight backpacking trip to a lake.
Our route took us on part of the Pacific Crest Trail. I asked if we could take it all the way to Mexico. The Bigs had some lame excuse about only having enough food for two days.
We went to South Matthieu Lake instead. Trail 4062. See:
We saw pollywogs,
flowers,
lakes,
and mountains.
3.5 miles carrying some water, swim trunks, and puppy was soooo hard.
No rest for the weary though. The Bigs said our tent is not big enough for the three of us, and there is no way puppy can stay with us too. I built him a shelter. That’s the kind of guy I am.
No, Dad, it goes here.
Puppy somehow made it into the tent – here he is enjoying the view in the morning.
Back home. Time for science. This week: foaming sandcastles.
I also did another big ride and went on another new trail. This week: part of COD.
I went to Hudson’s birthday party as well. There was a water slide,
