Ciao. The adventure continues. In two weeks, we leave for Italy. Will Moose and Squirrel maintain their witty banter during travel in a non-english speaking country? Will there be camping? Okay I can go ahead and answer the second question, with an emphatic "no." Will there be wwoofing? The answer to this question is "yes." Yet your next question may be "what the heck is wwoofing?". Well, since we like audience participation, lets make this into a multiple answer question. First one who responds correctly or answers with something we find funny, wins. What do you win? Well, that remains to [View Full Entry]

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A few of our favorite things. 1)Best backpacking experience - Yellowstone (with our dear friend Silverchin) 2)Favorite comment - from gentleman in the Prospect Oregon laundrymat in response to my leaving/returning to laundrymat with detergent. “I reckon that the washing machine washes them so good I don’t use detergent”. 3)Favorite bed-Guest bedroom of Joe and Diana 4)Moose’s favorite beer-Moose Drool, of course. 5)Favorite car camping site- Squirrel’s-Hoh rainforest in Olympic NP; Moose’s- Ohanapecosh, Mt. Ranier NP 6)Favorite friend who met us on our [View Full Entry]

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Well folks, it looks like we're coming home. After hanging out in Longmont for 5 unprecendented nights (and getting to see snow!), we decided to end the trip and return. Winter is closing in on the high country and our plans to visit relatives in Nebraska didn't pan out. Granted, we could have visited the World's Largest Ball of Twine or the World's largest Prairie Dog, but the Barbed Wire Museum was closed for the season. So why wait? We've had a great trip and have accomplished what we set out to do; I think we're ready to come back. Plus [View Full Entry]

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We have a new contest. We're giving you a collection of photos and you can vote for you favorite. The winning Hoodoo will be turned into a temporary tatoo or something. So send in your votes! Moose Enjoyed Dinosaur National Monument in Utah and Colorado. Lovely campsite with fun visit to petroglyph sites. Just got ahead of the snow to arrive in Longmont Colorado on 10/20/07. Now resting and relaxing in Longmont Colorado. Thanks to the sponsorship of Joe, Diana, and Zoe for our Longmont leg of the trip. Relaxation, good food, good rest, and titillating conversation with our friends has [View Full Entry]

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We did have a lovely stop in a lovely coffee shop in a lovely little town yesterday. However, a chai (as delicious as it was) and 1/2 muffin and a bit of a small scone do not make a good breakfast for a 8.6 mile hike (with a fair amount of elevation gain, loss, gain, loss). And did I mention our dinner the night before was apple pie a la mode? I didn't have enough to keep me going. Well, I did keep going, but I was rather pissed off at the trail (Jim called it an evil little trail). How [View Full Entry]

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We are enjoying our morning coffee and scones (yes!) in a wonderful coffeehouse in Torrey, Utah. It is built of timbers with interesting rocks plastered into the wall, a wood stove in one corner, books all round, soothing music playing, the smell of coffee. Ahhh. It's called the Robber's Roost, because near here was the hideout of Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid. The synchronicity starts here. My father has been calling me the Sundance Kid for the last 20 years, I think because I grew a big mustache once (either that or because of my uncanny resemblance to Redford). That's [View Full Entry]

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Lori Wins! Finally! Dave gets a runner-up award for guessing the right direction but Lori scores the win for stating the correct destination--Utah parks. We spent a few days in Zion and stopped by Cedar Breaks. Now we are in Bryce for a couple days. More later. Moose [View Full Entry]

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A couple on an extended vacation books a room at an out-of-the-way B&B. This will be the beginning of an unusual journey, a journey of both sight and sound. They've done this kind of thing many time before and they are not concerned. They will leave the main road and pass through a series of gates, but what they don't realize is that on the other side of the last gate lies, the TwiLodge Zone. We booked this place over the phone on a reference from a hotel. The woman said it was a B&B, "Sort of." We met the host [View Full Entry]

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That is the travel trivia question. Where are Jim and Susan now? Its Sunday October 7th. We left California this morning. We headed south from Three Rivers California and got on 58 East. We then had to make a decision when 58 split into I-40 and I-15. I-15 goes through Vegas to Utah; I-40 goes to Arizona and the Grand Canyon. Which way did we go and what is the destination (where we will be on Monday the 8th)? There you have it. First correct answer wins. Squirrel [View Full Entry]

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Two hikes, two different parks, two different experiences. One provided an opportunity to connect with nature, one not so much. They shared some things: traffic, road construction, lots of people. But they differed in important ways. The difference is due mostly to my perception, yet it is real enough to me. Perhaps in the future I will find a way to make them the same. I hope so. Hike 1: Yosemite. The trail is busy from the start: families with small children, an old woman being led by her daughter, voices from all over the world. This is the trail for [View Full Entry]

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