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 be seen, but I'm sure it will be fun or great. Or great fun. Or something. Here are your options: 1) "we want organic food", 2)"witty workers only offer forthrightness", 3)"willing workers on organic farms", ... read more

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 adventure-John (aka Silverchin). True, he was the only friend who met us, but still our favorite. 7)Favorite B&B-Orchard B&B in Yakima 8)Favorite star-gazing - Backpacking trip in Yellowstone 9)Not having to pump the gas in Oregon. Its illegal to pump your own gas and they have attendants at all service stations. 10)O... read more

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 been a beautiful thing. Colorado is beautiful. Went to a mall in Boulder yesterday and have gone to the movies as well. Hey, nobody said we had to be roughing it every day. And the ... read more

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 one. There is a painting above the counter of Robert Redford and Paul Newman as Butch and Sundance. It's actually quite well done. Two. The name Robber's Roost is the title of a Zane Grey ... read more

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... read more

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... read more

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 Vernal and Nevada Falls, and we are doing a loop of 5 miles with a 2000' elevation gain. The first 1/2 mile is uphill and fairly steep, yet the bridge looks like a city park ... read more