25th Anniversary Backpacking Trip

Sketches from my hiking journal

Time flies. It’s hard to believe that it’s been 25 years since we tied the knot before family and friends back in Berkeley. We looked so young then. We were so young then. We’ve had a few particularly memorable anniversary adventures since then – like the one where we nearly died on the Diamond in … Read more

2020. Ugh.

First Snow in Wawona

2020 has been a helluva year. We have managed to weather it relatively well, but it’s been anything but smooth. Income from our Yosemite vacation rental took one hit after another. We closed for a major sound-proofing renovation in February, only to have COVID-19 lock everything down just as we were ready to put the … Read more

Dogwood Memories

Dogwoods are peaking near our house in Yosemite West. Picture taken from our deck.

Dogwood trees have a particular niche of its own in the passing of seasons. In the spring, their large white blossoms (actually sepals) decorate the forests and mark the arrival of spring. Photographers of all levels focus their lenses on them – against a backdrop of dark red cedar bark, the deep grey blue of the Merced River or back-lit against the brilliance of the sky. They are stand-alone beautiful, and I love them for that, but I also love them because they’re now associated with people and memories that are fun to revisit as well.

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Internet Progress

In the midst of a kind of rough work day, Tom sent me an IM yesterday with good news on the internet front. We may soon have the opportunity to pay exorbitant amounts of money for slow internet! The tower construction is finished, and there should be the possibility of accessing a T1 line soon. … Read more

Connecting to the past

My parent’s house, the one I grew up in, is filled with images of family. I don’t usually spend a lot of time thinking about my family history, but here I’m steeped in it. Today my mom pointed out a picture of my great aunt, Janet, with my dad as a boy. She made it possible … Read more

Hospital Stays

No pictures today. Dad took a fall and wound up in the hospital. At first, the most worrisome thing is that he’s been getting dizzy a lot lately, and there didn’t seem to be a good explanation. But then, once we got to the hospital and they did a battery of tests, they discovered that … Read more

MN gardens

It’s been too long since I’ve been back to MN to visit my parents. This morning, we went for a walk around the yard to see all the new things since I’ve been here last. There are so many things. There are more flower gardens than there used to be, and more things in the … Read more

Traveling and Lessons

The alarm went off this morning at 4:00 am after a later night than I had intended. I’m beat. I’ve spent the better part of the day traveling across the country, and hoo-boy is this one-post-per-day challenge turning out to live up to its name. Here’s something short that I’ve been thinking about for some time. I’ve … Read more