A Little Bit of This and a Little Bit of That

Man, it's been a really busy month or so. I'm finishing up my job with Friends of Nevada Wilderness, which is keeping me hard at work. My last day with Friends is Friday the 24th and I don't think I'm going to finish everything that I wanted to get done. There's still an area in Gray Creek I would like to get to and I'd also like to get further into the west side of Hunter Creek.

I'm very sad that this awesome job is coming to an end, I have enjoyed the experience immensely. I can tell, however, that my body is a bit tired and is in need of a break--my knee has been hurting and I've been feeling fairly tired overall. I don't want to take too big of a break though, I'd like to stay in as good as shape as I am in now or, if I'm lucky, get into even better shape--that will be hard if I'm not hiking 8-20 miles a day like I am now. I want to start swimming again,maybe start running too. I'd like to do a marathon...I think. I also would like to get back into climbing, it's been a few years and I miss it. As for work, I hope I can find another job that is as awesome as this job. I think I'd be happy if my next job is even half as fun as this job. I feel so lucky to have had this opportunity to explore the Mount Rose Wilderness and to get to know the people at Friends, they have been wonderful, I'll miss them.

I know this post is a bit rambly for me, but it has been preoccupying my mind. As far as what I've been doing as of late; a couple of backpacking trips for work, a bachelorette weekend, and some pro-mini golf. Here's the proof:

Dan and two of the kids at work

Dan and Dust hard at work with me

I love Mount Rose Wilderness

Bachellorette floaty

Bachelorette Groove Thang

I love Mount Rose Wilderness

Backpack trip for work, Thomas Creek to Brockway

Gray Lake and Rose Knob Peak at Sundown

2010 4th Annual Pabst Reno-Tahoe Mini Golf Open:
The Most Awesome Team!

Birthday - A Look Back

Saturday was my 33rd birthday. It was a nice day; we played ultimate in the morning, had sushi for lunch and then drove to Davis in the afternoon for our good friends going away party (he's moving back to Costa Rica).

I try to do at least one exciting thing every year to make that year unique from all the others. Looking back at my 32nd year I did quite a few exciting things which definitely made this year unique. First of all, I did not have a conventional job once this year, my last day at DERM was right around my birthday last year. Dan and I spent three months camping and exploring during our trip back to the west. During the move back I went on my first bike tours, a two week tour around the Gila Wilderness in New Mexico and a month long tour around northern Arizona, wonderful experiences I highly recommend traveling by bike it is so liberating. During the bike tours I started this blog, which has evolved some since it's conception, but has helped me begin my journey into the amazing world of herbology and has also helped me get back in touch with my wild side. We lived and worked at Leonard Creek Ranch where we adopted the cutest baby goat in the world, learned about ranching life and was able to breath in the beauty of the Nevada desert. In addition to all of this, I grew a garden, the first one since I was a child, and it was very successful - I can't wait to grow more gardens in the future.

I hope 33 will be as adventurous as 32. I already have tickets to visit my sister in Romania (my first trip overseas and my first real trip out of the U.S. - I've been to Ensenada). Hopefully Dan and I will do some other out of country traveling during the year. We'll have to wait and see.

Here are some of my favorite pictures from the last year:

Dan on our Gila Wilderness tour at Snow Lake

Me on our Gila Wilderness tour

Dan right after we climbed a steep grade on our Gila Wilderness tour

On top of Mt. Humphreys (AKA: Dook'o'oosliid) the highest point in AZ

Bill Even's Lake, on the Arizona tour

Dusty at the Grand Canyon on our Arizona tour

First hike back in Nevada

Our first hike in the snow since being back

riding

Cutest baby goat in the world

Dan repairing flats with the bike pump

The family relaxing in the sun

The garden

Mom's trip to the ranch @ chicken creek

Dan and me

09-15-2008: What Is Camping These Days

We are at Datil Wells Campground. We have spent the last couple of nights camping here. It only costs $5.00 a night which is nice, we feel like we’ve been spending too much money so it’s nice to have cheap camping. While we were in Santa Fe we spent more money than we intended. We need to buckle down on the spending, but it’s difficult, because when traveling in new places, we want to try the local fair and really experience the culture of the place, but until we start making an income we will have to hold back on the culture.

After Sugarite Canyon we spent a couple of nights at a campground called Fawn Lakes just outside of Red River, New Mexico. Dan finished up his books while we were camped there. It was nice, but was a little close to Highway 38. It was our first campground that was located on a river, it was a small river, but a river none the less and there was a little pool just above our campsite that had been created by some downed trees. The pool contained a bunch of fish, one morning I counted eight. I love nature.

After we left Fawn Lakes we went directly to Santa Fe, NM so Dan could send off his books. We spent two nights there. We decided to take our bikes in for a tune up at Frankie Flats, he did a great job. He also recommended the 2nd Street Brewery which we ate at our second night in Santa Fe. It was very good. The first night we had dinner at Tomasita’s, a traditional New Mexican restaurant, it was good too, a bit more touristy than we expected (the folks who recommended it said it’s where locals go, but it was definitely touristy). Second street had a much more local vibe to it (Thanks Frankie!)

Yesterday we went on a 32 mile bike ride, we wanted to test things out and get our lungs used to biking at higher elevations. The ride was nice and things went smoothly. Today we did a 2.5 mile hike, the hike had a nature trail on it so we took some video of the lessons of the trail, it was fun. We might post it on youtube. My knowledge of western plants has become a little rusty so it’s fun to relearn them. I want to get some books to help refresh my memory as well.



It’s funny, we have been camping in a lot of car camping campgrounds on this trip which I haven’t done much of in the past (most of my camping experience has been back country packing trips). It is amazing how few tent campers there are anymore, most people are camping in RVs or in some sort of trailer. I’ve gotten to the point where when I see a car drive by I think to my self; oh…they’re in a car they’re not camping, but we’re in a car (for now…hopefully not for long) and we’re camping, crazy. It’s strange too because I can’t help but think that RV and trailer camping is not really camping. How is sleeping in a nice cushy bed with running water considered camping? And these days most RVs and trailers have satellites so the occupants can watch TV and use the internet anytime they want, just like at home. How is that camping? How is that experiencing nature, which is what camping should be about? Or should it? I wonder what today's kids, who have grown up camping in RVs, think of camping, what does camping mean to them? When I was younger camping was about being outside, getting physically exhausted by hiking, or by following a trail of ants, trying to figure out where they were going and where they were from. It also meant getting dirty, really dirty and not having showers, but being okay being dirty. Also, you had to sleep on tiny bed rolls, that aren't very comfortable, but we enjoyed the night anyway... listening for all the night critters that might be strolling through our site after hours. I love camping and being outside. I'm so glad we are tent campers and that we are on this adventure if it doesn't turn out the way we hope.

*Not too long after I wrote this journal entry in the afternoon a couple pulled into the campsite next to ours. They had a big camper shell that fit on the back of a big truck. They got out of their truck when they first arrived and went to the bathroom, focused their satellite, then they climbed into the camper. We did not see them again until they left the next morning. That night I walked by their camper on way to the restroom and sure enough what sounded like voices on a TV set were coming through the windows. Crazy, spending a beautiful day in a beautiful area and never leaving the camper.

09-08-2008: Sugarite Canyon

We left Clayton Lake State Park this morning and headed to Sugarite Canyon State Park. Sugarite is nice, but not quite as nice as Clayton Lake. We are at a pretty high elevation here about 8,000 ft. Today we took a little hike up to the rim of the canyon, it was only about 3/4 of a mile one way, but fairly steep and since we’ve been living at sea level for over a year we could definitely feel the elevation on our lungs. It is so amazing to go hiking...really hiking, gaining and losing elevation. In Florida we went on a lot of walks, but we weren't hiking in the sense that we're used to. I can't believe we are here and doing all the activities we haven't been able to do for so long.

At the rim we had a nice view of the canyon and the surrounding grassy plains. Dusty had a great time running around at the top, lots of good smells up there. It’s nice to see some familiar plants, wax currant (Ribes cereum), pinyon pine (Pinus edulis), mountain mahogany (Cercocarpus montanus) and a whole bunch of beautiful gamble oaks (Quercus gambelii). They also have the New Mexico Locust (Robinia neomexicana) with mean thorns that are characteristic of Locusts. There are a lot of pretty little Asters around too, all purple, yellow and white. I'm so glad we're finally getting into the Mountain lands. It’s awesome to see such great variations in elevation it is unbelievable how flat Florida is. It’s so quiet here, it almost hurts my ears. Mmmmm, so nice, loving life. I hope we can keep this going!

09-07-2008: Love of Camping

Camping feels so great! A weight has been lifted off of everyone’s shoulders. The dogs are acting younger, they’re playing like I haven’t seen them play in a long time, Dan is back in his element, and I feel calm and at peace. We still have a lot to figure out for our bike trip. We need to cut back on a lot of our stuff, we have too many books and clothes. I need to finish the website and we need to figure out a good way to keep at least a small flow of money coming in, so we don’t use up all of our savings.

Today is overcast and cool. Dan worked on his book for a while this morning, he is concerned about getting it done while we are on the road, but I'm sure it will work out fine. Yesterday we took the bikes out, it was the first time I took the long haul trucker out on dirt roads. It handled pretty well, but I will have to get used to its narrow tires. We rode over to the east end of Clayton Lake to check out the dinosaur track fossils. The tracks were neat, but it doesn’t seem like the park is doing much to preserve them which is too bad. At Berlin-Ichthyosaur State Park in Nevada they have an immaculate display of the Ichthyosaur fossils and they go to great lengths to preserve the them.

Dan’s allergies are acting up, there are a lot of grasses in bloom and he doesn’t have any of his allergy medications with him – poor thing. In Florida his allergies didn't affect him, so it's hard for him to deal with the allergens here. Speaking of Florida, I wonder how Hurricane Ike is doing, I wonder if it is going to his south Florida or not. Before we left Florida, the models showed that all paths lead to South Florida!!! Will it hit, did it hit???

09-06-2008 The Start of our Journey

I haven’t traveled much in the last year. I flew to Reno in December to pick up Dusty in Reno. Mom, Dusty, Ozzie and I drove across Country back to Miami Beach , other than that we pretty much stayed in South Florida. For the past year I worked for Miami Dade County as an Environmental Resource Assistant where I learned a lot about South Florida ecosystems.

I’m currently sitting in a campground at Clayton Lake State Park in New Mexico, needless to say Dan and I decided to leave South Florida – overall our time in FL was great we met an awesome group of people who we spent a lot of time BBQ’ing, listening to music, bicycling and playing Frisbee. We also went on a couple of cool Kayaking trips and saw some alligators. However, in the end Florida is not for us, it’s too hot, there are no mountains, and the outdoor activities that we love were just not easily accessible, plus we both were unhappy in our jobs.

We decided we wanted to leave Florida and start riding our bikes. So we drove to New Mexico, we wanted to start in New Mexico because when we drove through it on our way to Florida we fell in love with it. Originally we thought we would ride our bikes across the country Miami to Reno, but we decided the end of August was the wrong time of year to leave Florida on bikes, mainly because it is hot, humid and it’s in the middle of hurricane season. So we decided New Mexico was a great place to start riding our bikes.

Now that we are in New Mexico, it feels great to be in a place where the evening air cools down and you can hang outside without sweating and being uncomfortable. The puppies love it too, they have been running around chasing each other and wrestling. I did not see them do that at all in Florida – probably due to the heat. Now I’m sitting in the sun with a great view of Clayton Lake and a nice breeze blowing across my back. This feels so good!