Sunday, November 25, 2007

Thankscamping or Campsgiving

our site, sunset

our site (viewed not directly into the sun)

Whichever you pick, that's what Bird Nerd and I did this weekend. Much relaxing, fun and hiking was had, despite my forgetting to bring the following:
  • reading material
  • something to write on
  • knitting
bananas are best transported suspended from climbing webbing in the corner of your Jeep

a hat full of trilobites

Here's a little adventure I insisted on:

"that looks suspiciously mine-like, wanna go check it out?"

"I wonder what that rusty box on a stake is?"

"what the ...??? glow in the dark bandages???"

"oooh - there's something inside, I wonder what it is?"

"a MINING CLAIM??? from 1997??? well, that explains the glow in the dark bandages..."

Beauty Vein #1 (it's in the eye of the beholder)
Beauty Vein #4 was later identified by the clearly marked of a big pile of rocks with a hand stamped metal plaque on it

Tuesday, November 20, 2007

Some blogs must be blogged about

Everyone must partake in this little piece of history that was eloquently blogged about by a blogger that I don't know.

GO HERE NOW.

That is all.

Monday, November 12, 2007

My new vacuum rules the world.

The new vacuuming routine now involves me multi-tasking at a whole new level. There is nothing more satisfying than vacuuming and doing laundry while blogging and drinking coffee.

Saturday, November 10, 2007

The day after the lengthy day (Nov. 9)

After delivering KM to the airport bus at pre-dawn, I forced Pearl to accompany me on a trek through the Mojave desert via old Rte. 66.

Boats on Rte. 66... nearest body of water? Unknown.

I'd like to make this into my "small house".

Roy's - at Amboy - best sign ever.

We checked out the world's first commercial solar plant, browsed houses, looked at boats for sale, met odd characters, jumped on lava rocks at Amboy Crater, looked at the blobby granite mountains, did yoga, and moved vast quantities of sand from the Kelso Dunes to our pants while trying to get them to "boom".

Hovering above Pahoehoe.

Airplane on a noisy dune.

The day finished with a sunset on the way to giant burgers from Bun Boy in Barstow. As any good day in the desert should.

Sideview sunset leaving the Dunes.

Noisy Dunes (Nov. 9)

err... sorry for the "turn your computer screen sideways" requirement for these...


Kilometers and Pearl come to visit! (Nov. 8)

In one lengthy day we had a luxurious omeletey breakfast, hiked around Red Rock Canyon, off-roaded to find "Burro" Schmidt's tunnel (some detours were had accidentally), and clambered throughout fossil falls.

Much jumping photos were taken.

Flying high on the red rocks.

We three hat-wearing adventurers...

The walls in "Burro" Schmidt's cabin were lined with... uhhh... garbage. But nifty garbage from the 1920's through the 1950's!

Jumping over Saltdale on the other side of Burro Schmidt's tunnel.

Roaming up, over, under and through the water-carved rocks at Fossil Falls.

Leaving "Burro" Schmidt's tunnel (Nov. 8)

Monday, November 05, 2007

Sunday, November 04, 2007

field trip

a view over the black and red dunes behind the cinder cone - pretty surreal I think

field trips are all done for my geology/earth science classes for the semester! YAY! only a couple more left for engineering now...

yesterday we went to red rock canyon and fossil falls again, this was a small group of around 50, and I am definitely going to be capping all future field trips at this number. lesson learned!

one week later...


one week later (although this post is very much delayed) was another earthquake. this one more than 32 times more powerful! but significantly farther away, and thus... I still didn't feel it