2013

I neglected my blog for 2013, here's a wrap up of everything that happened.
Mallory came to town a couple times during the winter and we snowshoed a couple places. We did a little hike above Donner Lake, then another time a day hike out to Winnemucca lake on the PCT. There was a lot of snow that winter. Another weekend we went for a camping trip to Solider Meadows hot springs which was total solitude with warm water. There's no way to explain the tranquility of camping alone in the middle of the desert with no visible signs of anyone else. The complete quiet and stillness is mesmerizing.

I had another trip to Washington DC, this time for an ESRI conference. At the reception they had a group of rock violinists playing and I got my picture with Jack Dangermond, the CEO of ESRI.
I also took in a few sites and made a trip to the Newseum and the National Gallery of Art.

I made a trip down to Texas for Alumni weekend and catching up with friends and I failed to take a picture of anyone. I visited Alex and Casey at Moondog Farms. I got a picture of the amazing oak trees around their house, and took the tractor for a spin.
I had a meeting in Phoenix, and when that ended I went to try and find my friends hiking the Arizona trail. I stopped by some Indian cliff dwellings outside of Flagstaff while I waited for them. Then I realized I was at the wrong junction and missed Dirt by minutes.As I was driving back to Phoenix, I saw Lint sitting on the road. He was surprised as ever, just like when I found him in Waterton. Unfortunately I forgot to take a picture of him, because I was in a hurry to make it to the airport.
With May came Riverfest and enjoying the onset of summer.
Mallory came out and we went on a little camping trip to the Sierra's. We hiked up to Summit Lake from the east side. Had a very nice quiet campsite and watched the ISS fly by. The next day we drove into the park and hiked to the edge of the valley and had a great view of half dome and down the valley floor. It was Mallory's first time to the park and quite the experience.


A couple weeks later, I went back to try and meet Lint who was now on the PCT. It was also the night of the super moon, so I wanted to get into the high country. I hiked in to Tuolumne Pass, which was about eight miles in. I got to a perfect clearing near a lake right as the sun went down. I realized I forgot my headlamp, but as soon as the sun set and the moon came up, I realized that wouldn't be necessary. It was a bright night, and a little cold without a tent. Woke up with a little frost and a great view of the sunrise.


Tara had an extra ticket to the Reno Rodeo, and we went and had a great time. Always fun watching some bull riding.
I managed to meet up with Lint the next weekend when he was hikin past South Lake. He had heard rumors of all you can eat sushi, so we went to conqour it. We ate so much we could hardly walk. The next day we went back to the trail and I went in overnight with him. We did about 30 miles to the next junction and I hitched back to my car.
I spent some time in Boise with Mallory in July. We went to the Boise Twilight Criterium and stood on the fence as the bikes went flying by. I went with her friend Bill on a day float trip down the lower Payette. I flipped the inflatable kayak in the first rapid and nailed my shin on a rock. It's going to be awhile before that mark leaves. Then we saw Sweeny Todd at Shakespeare in the Park.


Back in Reno, I went to the Reno Criterium, and decided to buy a new road bike. It was great, because a week later there was an annoucment that Andy Schleck, Frank Schleck and Jens Voigt were coming to town for a ride along. It was neat to ride with a Tour de France winner (Andy) and one of the coolest pro cyclist today (Jens). Jens was awesome and road with the pack of amateurs for 10 miles, chatting and telling stories. He also had some hilarious decals on his bike.



August brought the Rim Fire to Yosemite and dangerous levels of smoke to Reno. It limited all outdoor activities for a month. It wasn't even safe to go walking outside.
Running from the smoke, I went and spent some time in Boise. I got Mallory a camera for her birthday, so we went on explorations playing with it.
Back in Reno, Matt and I got up at 5am one Sunday to go volunteer at the Ironman: Lake Tahoe. It was a lot of fun with some entertaining people. I got some new skis in the mail and got excited for the coming winter.
Over October, Mallory and I took a long vacation to California that was extended due to the government furlough. That will have a blog post of it's own. I also did a lot of work on my house which will be another post all it's own. Mallory came to town for Thanksgiving. This year's specialty was rack of lamb. She made delicious meat lolipops. Mmm. We were hoping to go skiing, but there wasn't snow yet, so we took a day trip up to Virginia City.

There was another Santa Crawl. I met up with Tara and Co. and we had an entertaining time wandering around downtown with thousands of people.
For Christmas the family came to stay with me in Reno. It has been a very relaxing time with everyone staying at my house. I got everything I asked for and a print of a historic map of Texas, which is going to look great on my wall.
Now to see what 2014 will bring.