New toy? tool? GADGET!

Yep. I got a new gadget.

I had a few points left on my Apple account at the travel agency.

So...I used them.

On something useful.

Will I get to try it out before MN hiking?

 

{September 2012}

Geocaching

Mex, Karmex and I did a little caching on our IL hike.

The first cache was a multi-cache to look at small IL cemeteries.

And figure out hints.

We skipped the rest of the cemeteries, but had an interesting time looking around the first one.

After that, we found some genuine caches.

And saw some interesting scenery along the way.

This one was a little difficult to find.

I almost fell into the mine.

I may have squealed when I DID find it!

Earth cache.

Bushwhacking.

And..someday I need to learn to log these caches right after I find them!

{28 July 2012}

Hiking in the N. Illinois Lake District

 A-hiking we will go.

Well...some of us.

Mex, Karmx and I went hiking near Karmx's abode.

On a glorious day.

 And I say SOME of us...

because Mex did some running, skipping, hopping, jogging...

and maybe a few pushups

while Karmx and I walked.

Here, she sees how many times she can run around the bench

before we catch up.

 The hike...we'll rate it easy.

But the path wasn't paved.

And there were lots of trees.

 Some water.

Some flowers.

 And plenty of opportunities for discussion.

This is the list of things to look up later.

The end.

{28July2012}

Pictured Rocks hiking

WARNING:

There will be a lot of photos.

In da U.P. we played outside a lot.

Mex, Jenx, Jax and I pretty much moved at the same speed,

taking a photo here and there.

But Shax was a bit faster.

(She didn't take the pictures her dad asked for.)

 So, here we are, with me behind the camera--

and Shax way out in front.

 First stop was a pretty waterfall.

"ooooooohhhhh!"

 Second stop was a nice lighthouse.

"ahhhhh!"

We chose to ignore the warning signs about the

vast quantities of biting flies on this hike.

We may have regretted this.

But we sallied on.

The beach was rocky and sandy in turns.

Some of these rocks are agates. 

They were really pretty.

"eeeeee!" 

 Shax walked so fast

she got to sit amist the stream and wait

for the rest of us for a good long while.

But the middle of the stream deterred the flies.

So it was all fine with her.

 Next stop was a pretty overlook.

We were amazed by the water color.

 I thought it looked like the Caribbean,

so I tried to jump in.

And they all laughed at me.

Thanks for making this a fabulous trip, ladies!

{13July2012}

Tahquamenon Falls

I went with some of my great friends to the

Upper Peninsula of Michigan a few weeks ago.

Things have been busy since, so I'm just now

looking at photos.

And re-living this trip.

It was gorgeous.

First hike on Thursday was at Tahquamenon Falls.

Its highly recommended.

Beautiful scenery, semi-treacherous paths,

(we imagined bears among all the raspberries lining the path)

woods, water...what more could we have asked for?

 The Lower Falls

 One of the not-so-drunken boardwalks.

 The Upper Falls

The 'work out' stairs.

I think they were worth it, even if you don't work out.

{12July2012}

Starved Rock: take two

Bailey eats water.

The Dutchmen's Breechs.

No. We did not see any little dudes running around nude.

Mex and Krix by one of the falls.

Hikers 3 after enjoying our dinner whilst NOT wearing green.

{17 March 2012}

Hikers.

I actually planned something for once.

And a bunch of people came.

This here is the hiking group..minus 4, I believe.

At Starved Rock State Park.

In Illinois.

We all started out together.

It was a lot later than we'd planned.

But everyone got there.

And it was a glorious day.

After about 15 minutes

it was quite obvious that we had

different speeds in the group.

This is the faster-paced crew.

And WHAT a crew.

I've made a pact with some of these peeps.

To do this again.

When winter is ended.

Colour

For those of you who don't get a real autumn.

Or...those who are already missing it!

Covered trail

I love trails.

I especially love trails with tree 'roofs'.

Auntie Karrot and I had fun trying to capture this one.

{March 2011)

Walkin' hill

The hill on which I walk when conditions are ideal.

Right now, its slipp'ry and slide'ry.

And probably quite nice for sledding.

Yosemite. In the rain.

Yep. We did the mist trail again.

Because its pretty.

And there is water in the falls year-round.

Except, this time we got a little more water than we bargained for.

We got to the top of Nevada Falls.

The clouds opened.

The rain poured down.

The hail pelted us.

We hid under a bridge for awhile.

It kept us from getting hail welts, but not from getting soaked.

And pruney!

But oh, look at that beauty.

It was worth it.

And our trip was made even more memorable.

02Oct2010

Yosemite. In the sunshine.

The second of the falls. I beleive this is Vernal.

There were lots of picnickers.

It was gorgeous!

What? An Englishman in Yosemite?

Do tell!

Rainbow at the falls.

Blue sky,
sunshine,
Truman lovers.

What a day for a hike!
02Oct2010

Hiker fail.

We hiked up to the highest point Ray could find close to San Luis Obispo.

It was gorgeous.

It was hot.

I made it to the point where we could see the ocean.

Yep. See that white line waaaaay out there?

That's the cool, refreshing waters of the Pacific.

Then my vision started to blur.

The background?

Pretty much what I saw...

So I made like a pig.

Found some cool dirt, and flopped.

(okay, I'll be truthful. This was earlier in the hike.

And I didn't make it all the way to the top.

I waited in the shade and attempted a cool-down.

It was humbling.)

When we got back...

we heard all about the heat wave. 107° in San Luis.

117° in outlying areas.

So-heat and Becky...not a super mix.

The end.

27Sept2010

Dunnings Spring

If you ever find yourself in Decorah , Iowa...

do yourself a favor.

Go seen Dunnings Spring.

It is lovely!

Better yet: take a special trip to Decorah to see it.

Coldwater Spring

After caving, our adventure took us to this lovely spring.

I would like to mention that said lovely spring is reached by crossing Coldwater Creek.

Twice.

And the creek is appropriatly named.

Luckily, it was a lovely day for wading.

So, off the shoes came.

And in I went.

I would also like to mention that my pants came unrolled.

Halfway across the creek.

They had a nice cooling affect for the rest of the stroll.

Spelunking.

Niagara Cave.

It was a lovely day for a lovely cave.

Ps. Taking cave pix is a large challenge.

CORNCOB (on steroids)

Lisa and I had a lovely drive to Niagara Cave early one Saturday.

Our route took us right by this gigantic ear of corn.

Look closely...each kernel is a milk jug!

Oh, the delights of smalltown Iowa.