We arrived into Kathmandu after a crazy flight through Abu Dhabi (where Garfield was always trying to mail Nermal), which was a bit of a crazy airport (with a mosque inside the restrooms), but it did have free internet terminals available! The last leg of the journey was problem free, except for the slightly off-putting guy sitting next to Shane holding a mask up to his face the entire flight -- keeping germs out or in? I'm sure we didn't catch whatever it was... We arrived in Kathmandu late and cleared customs painlessly and met our guide, Shree, who drove us [View Full Entry]

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Here are a few more of our favorite photos from Kruger. We had a fantastic time living in the park, and loved being able to see such incredible wildlife every day. Over New Years, we had a great visit with our friends Jess and Brian, who are living in Ethiopia and swung down to Kruger for a week on their way back after Christmas in the US. Soon we'll post the pictures from the rest of our South African travels through Zululand and Cape Town... [View Full Entry]

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On my birthday, Shane surprised me by taking me to a nearby elephant sanctuary, where we got to meet Kasper and Kitso. Both were rescued from people who thought having an elephant for a pet was a good idea, until they realized it wasn't so easy to have a massive potentially dangerous eating-machine for a pet... Now Kasper and Kitso allow people to touch them, walk with them, and ride them around the reserve. What amazing animals! [View Full Entry]

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November was a really hectic month and we got a taste of what a week of 105 degree heat feels like. We worked for a couple weeks in the central part of the park, near Satara restcamp, raising 24 rain-out shelters within a big fenced area. The fence is to keep out the animals, but even though the outer fence is 10 feet high, giraffes and zebra can still leap over it to get inside….park staff have to shoo them out every so often. The rain-out shelters are designed to collect half the rainfall that falls on the plot and [View Full Entry]

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My Mom kindly posted the following summary of our fun trip to Italy: The trip to Italy was fabulous! It was wonderful to spend two weeks with my girls and enjoy all the sights of Italia. We started out in Rome in brilliant sunshine and great weather. Our hotel was around the corner from the Pantheon and Piazza Navona--very convenient to all the sights. Our visit to St. Peter's was conducted by a private tour guide who gave us the "inside scoop" on many of the works of art. His special interest was mosaics, and we saw and learned a lot. [View Full Entry]

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After 18 hours stuffed in plane, I made it in one piece to Johannesburg. The S. African next to me asked me upon landing, "Are you ready to fall in love?" Its an apt slogan, as South Africa sure is a pretty amazing place. The guy at the Hostel I stayed used to work in Kruger as a ranger on anti-poaching missions. He seemed quite hardcore and asked if I was scared of lions. I said "not yet" and he said "you will be," but didn't use a raspy Yoda-type voice for effect. I was in Kruger the next day and [View Full Entry]

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On our drive across the country, the highlights included driving right by a Wyoming wildfire, stopping in Chicago for a Cubs game (Shane’s an obsessed fan, for those who don’t know), visiting our friends Jess in Columbus and Brie in Cleveland. We also were able to stay with my Aunt Nida and Uncle Dom in Buffalo, who hosted a dinner where we got to see my great uncles, aunts and cousins. It was so great to see all of them! We then made it home, finally getting to spend some quality time with our parents, siblings, cat, and dog. We also [View Full Entry]

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For the last hurrah before heading back east, we did a final backpacking loop through the Grand Tetons. What a way to finish - one of our favorite hikes of the entire trip! The scenery was mind-blowing, and the senescing plants added a great autumnal feel to the trip. We saw two black bears, including one that was walking right towards me as Shane told me to get the camera aimed - you can see where his priorities lie. We also met several nice moose, including two big bulls and one lady. We spent our six month anniversary on the road [View Full Entry]

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We had the great luck to be able to meet up with my brother and his girlfriend’s family for a couple days in beautiful Teton Village, nestled below the Grand Tetons. They took us in, dirty from backpacking (they were too!), and welcomed us into their giant rental house as part of the family. We had a fantastic time eating great food, drinking great beer and wine, and enjoying the Jackson area. The archway of antlers and many fur shops (including thongs) were entertaining. Molly took us on a nice bike ride, and her parents treated us all (their four kids, [View Full Entry]

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We made it to Whitefish, Montana by late afternoon and found the August weather we had been looking for…it was wicked hot! Wildfire hot, it turned out, as there were several fires ablaze all around Glacier National Park. It made for some haze and a little bit of a burned smell, but nothing to dampen the spirits. After enjoying some delicious food and hotel in the quaint little tourist town that is Whitefish, we headed into the Park. We camped for 3 nights at a campground in the center of the Park and mostly lounged. We hiked a sweet loop hike [View Full Entry]

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