2022

 

Scotland,   Antarctica,  Puffins and More,

  Alaska_2016,   Joshua Tree NP,  Puerto Rico_2019,   New Zealand,  Argentina,  

East Africa,  Nepal,  SW--USA_2008,

 Svalbard_2008,  Norway-Iceland_2008, Camino de Portugues_2015 

2022

 

 

Sea World, San Diego

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Spent the New Year with friends in San Diego who made me work in the yard for room and board--I thought it was a great deal.  Took time for an afternoon trip to Sea World as well as various hikes and strolls.  

My poor truck was broken into and the jerks took a bunch of really random stuff--including my hiking boots which fit perfectly.  There was a bunch of other stuff, which added up pretty quickly, but only the climbing gear was probably worth anything to them.

 

We also went to the Sistine Chapel exhibition which was absolutely amazing.  I highly recommend it if you have a chance to see it. 

 

SW national parks

 I headed off for a few days to visit with a friend from the East who was in Tucson then continued to travel to Scottsdale to visit some Anchorage friends who were hanging out there.  The musk ox lasagna was terrific.  Then I stayed at the Grand Canyon for a couple days and then to Joshua Tree.   Lots of lovely hiking.    

 

From there I headed to Rohnert Park, CA--wine country--to do some cat sitting for an old friend.  It was a pretty easy gig, hang out and pet 4 kitties and make sure they were fed and brushed.  Took one afternoon to head out to the headland near Guerneville, which was also quite lovely!  Got to see a very large river otter.

From there, I headed back to Laramie for about a month which included some job application stuff and then packing for a Yoga Teacher Certification class in Colombia.  It was a terrific experience with Akasha Yoga School near Barranquilla. Lila and Pablo were awesome and I highly recommend their school!!

Colombia

Afterwards I did some traveling near Santa Marta, hiked to La Cuida Perdida and then visited with friends near Medellin.  Unfortunately, I showed up with covid and did not realize that is what I had until I gave it to everyone.  Fortunately, it was not too horrible, though it was not totally mild either.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Dalton Hwy

After a short delay in Colombia, due to the covid, I came back through San Diego overnight, then back to Laramie.  While I was in Colombia, I was offered a full-time position with the Toolik Field Research Station.  It is on the north side of the Brooks Range, not too far south of Dead Horse-Prudhoe Bay and the Arctic Ocean.  It is on Toolik Lake and just off the Dalton Highway also known as the Ice-Haul truckers road.  Generally, the job was about 4 weeks on and 2 weeks off, so, since I started in May, I have been up and down highway several times,  When I arrived, it was snowy, then starting to be green, then full green, then starting to change color and finally back to white.  The photos were taken across all those various trips.   

 

 

Fairbanks

Additionally, I spent a number of days in Fairbanks, sometimes in Quarantine and sometimes just hanging out, so here are some photos from Fairbanks across the seasons.

 

 

 

 

 

Toolik area

At Toolik, I was a science tech meaning that I carried soil cores from the field for a science group, measured stream flow, troubleshot a meteorological station, changed out filters on several long term projects, or counted flowers.
  There were also station tasks like packing and shipping samples left by researchers or replacing computers that had died, or simply helping folks find the equipment they needed on station and showing them how to use it.  We often set up and took down various experiments as the researchers couldn't get to the Station.  

 

 

 

flowers +

  The tundra absolutely bursts with flowers so here is a full album of just flowers, berries, and a few fungi and lichen. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Wyoming Truth site

My first break, in July, I returned to Laramie to grab stuff from my garage, make sure my renters were starting to pack up to leave, and generally enjoy the area.  It was beautiful with cactus flowers in the prairie and great scenery in the Snowy Range  I did a bunch of hiking and mt biking and visited friends, even went on a bat walk in Cheyenne.  See the entry below for all the photos from the Laramie areas.   Wyoming Truth website posted this photo of mine

 

 

Ketchikan and Creek Street

 

 

 My second break was to Ketchikan where it rained--a lot!!  But I got in some hiking and biking and wandering around the cute little town, sometimes with hundreds of folks from HUGE cruise ships.

 

 

Shortly after returning to Toolik in September, my boss terminated my contract.  Guess we were just not a good match.  I was quite annoyed, but probably much happier now anyway.  

 

lichen album

 

 

There were some amazing lichens in the tundra so here is an album of just a few of the varieties I saw there and elsewhere.

 

 

 

I returned to Laramie and my old boss asked me to immediately start working on a new project setting up weather stations as part of a Mesonet network on the Upper Missouri River Basin.  Over the next 5-7 years we will be installing ~60 station across the NE part of Wyoming, where the rivers all eventually flow into the Missouri River.

T. rex, adding atmosphere

 

In mid-November I headed to Philadelphia to attend my nephew's wedding.  They held it in the Natural Sciences museum, which was soooo cool!  They said their vows right under the T. rex skeleton, and we ate surrounded by fossils and dinosaur bones.  Then, if you wanted to get away from the dancing and music, the rest of the museum was open for viewing.  They have some really lovely animal dioramas, mostly of mammals, from around the world.

Schuylkill River at sunset

     I also spent some time walking and running in the neighborhood while hanging out at my brother's  house for a week or so.

 

 

 

 

 

Then I headed to California for some kitty sitting (no, I did not sit on the cats...) and a quiet
Thanksgiving... and got to do some lovely hiking in the Sonoma area.  Here are a few photos. 

 

From the top of Jack London State Park.

 

In the midst of various trips and work, I did manage to get in some hiking in Wyoming and here are some photos of day hikes and the like. 

 

hiking around Laramie and the Snowies

 

It is now the end of the year and I am still getting to play and adventure.  I have been in the field working on some beautiful winter days; and, since I am back instructing skiing and snowboarding at Snowy Range, I gotten more time in the snow.  A bit of cross-country skiing and ice hockey are keeping me busy outside.  Inside, I am putting my house back together, putting up colored light everywhere, and now fostering two kittens:  Pele and Zulu.  Soon they will be ready for adoption.

 

Pele

Zulu

 

 

 

 

 

Happy Holidays to everyone and all the best for a Happy New Year!!