American Lakes

Today Dorinna and I took an absolutely fabulous cross-country ski trip to American Lakes. Warm, only a little wind, and only the slightest wisps of clouds. Oh yeah, lots of new snow.

American Lakes Basin


Back side of Nokhu Crags


Dorinna is all smiles anticipating the descent


Turns

Blizzard Update: February 18

Grass!

Arapahoe Bend

Earlier today Dorinna and I took a walk to the Arapahoe Bend Natural Area on the outskirts of Fort Collins. We were going in search of Bald Eagles, but found only Grebes and an unidentified raptor.

Old abandonded ranch house near natural area.

Michigan Ditch

Last weekend, Kevin joined Dorinna and I on a ski trip along Michigan Ditch. This was Kevin's second time on skis, but the trip was mostly flat. We "encouraged" him to try some hills at the end. The weather was windy and snowy, but warm, so it was a fine day with fresh snow.

Bunny and Llama Awarded BTFNDSA Foundation Grant

Recently Bunny and Llama received a grant from the BTFNDSA (Bassett Transportation For Non-Domesticated Domestic Stuffed Animals) Foundation-- a new car!


Naturally, the trouble started almost immediately...

Blizzard Update: February 10

Way back in December, I complained about the lack of snow plows in Fort Collins. So what does our neighborhood look like, almost two months later.

Here's a picture of our street. Note that in our neighborhood, the sidewalk is flush with the street- there's no grass strip between them.


About a block away, the street still only has one lane:

Dadd's Gulch

A few weeks ago, we took a cross-country ski trip to Dadd's Gulch. Part way up Poudre Canyon, Dadd's Gulch is a classic mountain bike trail. On a typical year, the Gulch is not skiable, but with this year's storms it wasn't half-bad. Joining us on the trip were our Boulder friends Dan and Corinne, and their 4-year old Ada. Dan actually went to High School with Dorinna many years ago.


Dan and Ada heading up Dadd's Gulch

The Perfect Cure for a Cold Winter's Night

From the label: Originally brewed in England for the Russian royal family, this stout had to be bold enough to withstand the long Baltic crossing and rich enough to please the Czar.

Read more about Imperial Stout.

The World's Biggest Swiss Army Knife

"This is not exactly going to win any awards for lightest, smallest, or most efficient tools with which to going backpacking. It is however, getting a lot of attention and is the best platform for showcasing our product capabilities," said Dennis Piretra, Director of Marketing for Wenger NA. "The most often asked question is about whether or not we have a pouch for it. Our answer is simple. You don't need a pouch, the knife has a key ring."

Bunny and Llama's Christmas

I'd be remiss if I didn't talk about our "pets" at Christmas.

Llama models her new Peruvian hat, knitted by Dorinna.


Bunny looking dapper in his knitted toque. (Dorinna knitted the scarves for them last year)


All aboard the Mobus Christmas Train!


They had many opportunities to "feel the love" from the twins, which usually involved being tossed around or drooled on.