We went up to Ithaca (finally!) to see Ben and Gretchen graduate and celebrate the achievement with them. It was a great family visit, for sure.
In addition to celebrating, we had some good family visiting time, and just a little bit of time to explore the Ithaca area.
There are more photos in our gallery.
After CEDAR, Don Hampton came “up the hill” for a visit. We really enjoyed catching up with him. We went out on a hike down behind the golf course, partially on Walnut Rim trail. Don found big rocks to stand on: Torsten enjoyed exploring rocks and trying to keep up with Don It was a great hike, and Aven held her own: But it was also quite hot, and Aven was good at calling the water breaks After cleaning up from the hike, we went over to celebrate Carrie’s piece in the gallery opening in the Fuller Lodge gallery: Then we wandered over to the museum (we tested out whether you get more bubbles in a root beer float if you add the root beer to the ice cream or if you add the ice cream to the root beer. Both kids approved of this kind of science.) On the way the museum, we had a little chat with Opie and Leslie A few more pictures are in the gallery. Torsten spent Wed-Thurs at Bendelier National Monument in their kid camp. He had a great time, outside, learning about the area and even what to do if you are lost outdoors. Torsten’s report: “We went hiking, we playing in a stream, we planted a garden” On Saturday it was “family day” so we all got to visit. Aven loved to see her big brother’s camp: We did some tree identification and some treasure hunts. It is always nice to have some water as part of the environment and camp activities: We played a family game in which we blindfolded each other, then led the blindfolded person to a tree. After exploring the tree (still blindfolded), the person was led back to the start area and (blindfold removed) point out the tree they were led to. A few more pictures are in the gallery. On the way the airport, we stopped through Tent Rocks to get everyone well tired out for the flight. We went with Will, Christina, and Tanner. It is a great place to check out! Aven is turning into a great hiker. She loves her camelback waterpack: Aven and Torsten are checking out the “model tent rock formations” at the trail head. They are a good gang together: We loved exploring the slot canyon, a large tree in the middle of the canyon, and the fantastic rock/erosional formations: There are a handful of more pictures at the gallery. I was very overdue for a re-read of this. I’m sad that Bradbury passed away and that that’s what it took for me to return to this classic. I think I should probably re-read this every few years — I don’t think I’ve read it since high school! I was amazed how prescient this was with everyone distracted by earphones, immersive “reality” technologies, and a lack of “being present”. There are many classic lines, that I’d mostly forgotten! If they give you ruled paper, write the other way. We need not to be let alone. We need to be really bothered once in a while. How long is it since you were really bothered? About something important, about something real? If you don’t want a man unhappy politically, don’t give him two sides to a question to worry him; give him one. Better yet, give him none. Playing the stock-market, of course, the last refuge in the world for the dangerous intellectual out of a job. ‘To hell with that,’ he said, ‘shake the tree and knock the great sloth down on his ass.’ And of course: “If you hide your ignorance, no one will hit you and you’ll never learn.” To: editor@nytimes.com, Hello, I’m concerned about the full page ad in the June 1 NYT edition from “FACT: … sugar-sweetened beverages are not the No. 1 source of added I’m sure it isn’t a coincidence that I got a tweet in my feed that: “FACT: Sugar-sweetened beverages represent largest share of calories This tweet was from The National Academies of Science and references “National Academies (@NASciences) I would like to see a retraction from the NYT of the advertisement. Thank you for considering my request, Matt and Max (Team Green Chile?) went up to interior Alaska back in March for the White Mountains 100 Human Powered race (ski, bike, or run — we went for the fat bikes). It was a great adventure. Aven helped me pack and prepare: We got into Anchorage and spent the first night with Gina & Harlow before going to pick up the rental bikes from Arctic Cycles. Max was digging Alaska, and loved standing in the middle of Alaska Highway 3: We stopped for a ride in Denali Nat’l Park and then got up to Fairbanks and enjoyed the awesome Anne & Don hospitality and some Fairbanks fun, including the ice art festival: Then it was time to get up early, drive up to the BLM White Mountains area and face the harsh reality! Sunrise just before the race start: The trail was fantastic and the volunteers on the trail and at the support cabins were really amazing! Max & I had lots of fun, but we finally got up to Cache Mountain Pass (~51 mile in of the 100 mile course) around 2am, with about a foot of new snow on the trail.. We decide to hitch a ride with a medic team on snowmachines (Ariana and ??). We got out to the Windy Gap cabin and got some zzz’s. Max caught the first ride out to the start/finish line, while Matt ended up hanging around the cabin due to scheduling. Windy Gap was very picturesque and the volunteers there were a fun gang to hang out with. The ride out was spectacularly beautiful and the only thing that would have made it better would have been to still be riding the bikes. Here’s one scenery shot: We finally made it out to the finish line with all our gear (and with lots of help from our heroes!) 🙂 We made it out to Chena Hot Springs to recover, and then zoomed down to Anchorage for the post-race party, bike returns, and then our flight home. What a trip! I’m hoping to get back up for the White Mountains 2013, and to finally finish the darn thing!! 2012 (51 miles) was much better than 2011 (~30 miles). I still had a little bit too much gear, and I’d like to get more optimized packing. I think I need to be prepared to sleep on the side of the trail, but I think that if the conditions were the same as in 2012, I’d push on to Windy Gap on the bike and catch a few hours of sleep before heading out. But who knows what the weather and course will bring — much less if I will make it into the race (only 65 racers are allowed). What a great trip to the Grand. Here’s a few more photo memories from hikes: We enjoyed several hikes around the Grand Canyon. We went a little way down both South Kaibab and Bright Angel Trails. My very favorite photos are Carrie and Torsten adventuring out on a little rock outcrop. Here’s two photos I took: And Carrie’s view of the same spot: We spent four nights camping at Mather Campground in the Grand Canyon Nat’l Park. It got a little chilly at night, so Aven & Carrie were very glad that Nana had a hotel room.. Torsten & Matt spent all four nights in the tent, but a few nights we were glad that we had Carrie & Aven’s sleeping bags to snuggle under!! Torsten is under here somewhere: The campsite (Thanks Mary!!) and the camping/birthday experience was fantastic for all involved: Torsten said it was his best birthday celebration yet! We enjoyed the wildlife and birds around our campsite:Don Visits
Bandelier Camp
Tent Rocks rock!
Go Read it Now! Fahrenheit 451
Fahrenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury
My rating: 4 of 5 starsTilting at windmills..
nytnews@nytimes.com,
public@nytimes.com
the American Beverage Association. Do you allow false statements to
be published as advertising? I understand that opinion in ads are ok,
but the ad clearly states:
sugars in our diets — food is.”
in diets of individuals aged 2 and up”
an Institute of Medicine Report of May 8. The tweet is:
5/31/12 12:10
RT @theIOM: FACT: Sugar-sweetened beverages represent largest share of
calories in diets of individuals aged 2 and up ow.ly/bgGz8 ”
MattWhite Mts 100, 2012 version
More Grand Canyon Memories
Now That’s GRAND!
Camping and Eighth Birthday
