California fun

We had such a good vacation.  We were gone 9 days.  We went to visit my grandparents (ages 86) so they are getting up there in years and I really felt like we needed to go see them.  So here are a few pics from our adventures while out there.  

Kevin "enjoying" the sand.  He was our wild life spotter.  Whales, dolphins, pelicans, sea lions.  He also buried his feet in the sand so he they didn't  get burned.

So COLD!  But so much fun.  Half Moon Bay, in San Mateo, California

We took a day in San Francisco and rode a ferry boat around the bay.  We got to go under the Golden Gate Bridge.

Alcatraz Island.  We were too late to purchase tickets but we got a mini tour on the ferry ride.  The kids were amazed by it.

Lombard Street the crookedst street.  Yes, we drove it in the big truck.  Look at all those crazy tourists!  

Up to Redwoods, Trees of Mystery.  This guy was in the shop and the kids couldn't resist.

Here they are Paul and Babe!  The kids harassed him with lots of questions.

We also rode the gondola up the mountain at trees of mystery.  Big trees!

And we "tried" to drive through the tree.  #1 it costs money to even go up to it #2 not as big of a tourist attraction as you might think (we were the only ones up there) #3 I had Kevin back up so it looked like we made it through.  It was a cool but sad thing to see a big hole in this tree

It's hard to summarize so many days in such few words.  We'll add more next time.

Yesterday, we took the youth in our ward to hike a local mountain called Old Rag. We took about 18 kids and met at 3:00am so that we could drive there and arrive in time to beat the crowds. The hike was great, the weather was beautiful, and there was only one kid  that we had to push and pull up the mountain (literally). This is Kelly looking out over the Blue Ridge Mtns. in Shenandoah National Park. 

 At about 5:00am we passed this place in the dark and I only saw the sign. I didn't even notice the cars parked out front. We stopped in for some ice cream on the way home and we were not disappointed. 

Crazy Cooter's tow truck. Look closely to the right of the door and you'll see signatures from most of the original cast members.

We were standing in the restaurant ordering our milkshakes when I heard a voice that I thought I recognized. I turned around and there was Cooter himself. He was sitting in a chair signing autographs, posing for pics, and chatting with everyone. He was definitely a character and every time he smiled for a pic he said, "We're just a couple good ol' boys!"

Kelly and I got back from our travels this week. Here's a few pics from our time in Norway. It was an interesting place with many different landscapes and water everywhere. Some areas resembled the Palouse with the rolling wheat fields bordered by pine trees, others looked more like the Rockies, and some were just like you'd expect from the pictures of beautiful fjords that you've seen. 

On the bus ride after our fjord tour

Bergen - a city of the west coast of Norway - it gets something like 7 ft. of rain per year. It rained most of the time we were there.

View from Pulpit Rock. We shared the nice hike out with about 8 million Spanish cruise ship passengers. The hike actually reminded me of the Lost Creek Wilderness area that Brant, Kevin, Matt and I hiked in a few years ago. 

I kept track of all the modes of transportation that I used on the trip - this doesn't include the walking.

• Bus - House to Forest Glen metro - 5 min
• Metro - Forest Glen to downtown DC - 25 min
• Metro - Downtown DC to Rosslyn - 10 min
• Bus - Rosslyn to Dulles airport - 45 min
• Flight - Dulles to Paris - 6.6 hrs
• Flight - Paris to Oslo - 2 hrs
• Train - Oslo airport to Larvik - 2.5 hrs
• Bus - Larvik to Oslo - 2.5 hrs
• Train - Oslo to Myrdal - 6.5 hrs
• Train - Myrdal to Flåm - 1 hr
• Ferry - Flåm to Gudvagnen - 2 hrs
• Bus - Gudvagnen to Voss - 1 hr
• Train - Voss to Bergen - 1 hr
• Bus - Bergen to Stavanger - 4.5 hrs (included two ferry rides) 
• Ferry - Stavanger to Tau - 40 min
• Bus - Tau to Pulpit Rock parking - 20 min
• Bus - Pulpit Rock parking to Tau - 20 min
• Ferry - Tau to Stavanger - 40 min
• Train - Stavanger to Oslo - 9 hrs
• Bus - Oslo to airport - 40 min
• Flight - Oslo to Amsterdam - 1.5 hrs
• Flight - Amsterdam to Washington DC - 8 hrs
• Bus - Dulles airport to Rosslyn metro station - 45 min
• Metro - Rosslyn to Wheaton station - 40 min
• Car - Wheaton to home - 3 min

We've had some great weather for the last few days and I've even been able to turn the ac off at night and sleep with the windows open (not normal here in DC summer - makes me miss Moscow where it actually cools off at night). Last night I went to the Nationals game and watched them beat the Rockies. It was a beautiful night for a game. 

 Yesterday I also cut down a tree for Marlo and Jamieson's neighbor. The Elders helped us haul the wood to the truck and one of them made this video with his ipad.

I.D.A.H.O!

Just because I think he's cute today.

Mountain fun

Some friends invited us to spend the weekend at their cabin in the mountains.  On Friday night, we visited Brainard Lake.  This lake is located in the Indian Peaks Wilderness- which is where we will be doing our High Adventure hike later this week with the YM.  It was fun to look up at the mountains and think that we'll be hiking there shortly.  Tyler served as the human rope, so that everyone could get to the top of the boulder.

The moon rising was beautiful.

Look familar??  This one is missing a dent and has probably never seen maple syrup.  We found this at the annual Hilltop bazaar held near their cabin.  Lots of old people selling crafts.  They had several working looms and even a person playing Celtic music on a Hammered Dulcimer.  (Kelly, you would have been in heaven!)

After the bazaar, we packed up some lunches and headed to their favorite swimming hole on the St Vrain river. The water is snow melt, and very cold.  The highlight is to slide down the rocks- nature's own water park.  Katie jumped right in and was the first to go- no fear! Here is a video of a train they made, with Katie at the end.

-Brant

Picture Pages

Here's what's what we've been doing lately.

Washington Monument while we wait for fireworks on the 4th

 We went to the beach in Delaware last week and had a crab cake sandwich. Also, Nilla Wafers kept us alive between arrival and dinner. 

 You may have heard that we have a Cuban embassy (again) in DC. I pass it on the way to work every day. The crowds have died down but it's still a popular photo spot.

I tried out some new family transportation yesterday. The price is a bit steep, but one can dream, right?