In May 2008, I visited Yellowstone and Grand Teton National Parks for the first time. On the way, Mom and I drove through Bridger-Teton National Forest, just south and east of Jackson, on US 189 and US 191. The clouds, the light rain, and the beautiful hills made for a wonderful drive. [View Full Entry]

---

---

I rolled down the window. The breeze was chilly. Very chilly. It was early June, but northeast Minnesota did not seem to care. In the late spring of 2006, I embarked on a week of fishing and sightseeing in the Boundary Waters region of Minnesota with my father. We were to meet in late afternoon on a Saturday, but I decided to leave Norman, OK, early on Friday. Early ended up being about 1 pm, but that still falls under the definition of the word in my book. The drive was solely to be I-35 until the town of Cloquet, after [View Full Entry]

---

---

A blue heron stands at the edge of the water, silently hungry. A small breeze makes the water sparkle with the waves in the sunlight. The heron does not move, not even a little bit. The bird stands there, like a doomed statue, waiting for the right moment. I stand in a boat. The sun is piercing hot, and the small breeze is doing little to help alleviate the stillness of the blaze. Even the water looks warm. The depth is about ten feet, estimated from the depth finder and the translucent browns of the dirty lake floor in a small [View Full Entry]

---

---

Three friends and I went hiking on a beautiful late winter day (February 2009) in the Wichita Mountains. This small mountain chain is located in southwest Oklahoma, west of Lamont. These "mountains" (more like glorified hills) are quite different from the Ouachita Mountains in southeast Oklahoma, as the climate is much drier. Enjoy the photos. Coming up in future blogs: Table Rock Lake, MO; Bridger-Teton National Forest, WY; Two Harbors, MN; and San Francisco, CA. [View Full Entry]

---

---

Enjoyed a nice May afternoon along the California coast (Big Sur). Here are some pictures from this very beautiful part of the country. Coming up in future posts: Table Rock Lake, MO; Wichita Mountains, OK; Bridger-Teton National Forest, WY; Two Harbors, MN. [View Full Entry]

---

---

Vacations require hiccups. Trips you plan cannot and should never go as scheduled. If they do, you won't have as much fun, and you won't remember it as much as you'd prefer. Mom and I went to Canada in 2006, and it was a wonderful trip. We visited Niagara Falls, Toronto, Ottawa, and Montreal, and I loved each place in many ways. Because it was a road trip, we had to drive there. From Lincoln, NE, that's no small task. The first three days were completely drive-days, though the first day we left after Mom finished work for the day. Hey, [View Full Entry]

---

---

Inspired by the fabulous, if not somewhat lengthy, documentary on the national parks by Ken Burns, I thought I'd share a few photos I've taken in national parks in the past couple of years. Safe travels. Coming up: Dyer, IN; Big Sur, CA; Table Rock Lake, MO; Wichita Mountains, OK. [View Full Entry]

---

---

Horsin' Around In June 2007, my sister, three college friends, and I went to Grand Lake and Rocky Mountain National Park (RMNP) to hike the Cascade Falls trail. It was a beautiful sunny day that turned out to be relatively warm and smelly. Smelly in the "horse trash" sort of way. A long stretch of the trail is shared by horses. We actually met a few on the way back. We knew many more had been there, given the "remains of the day". Unfortunately, this required looking down as much as out on the forested trail. The western side of RMNP [View Full Entry]

---

---

My mother and I took a road trip to the Pacific Northwest in May of 2008. One of our stops was Whidbey Island and beautiful Deception Pass. Photos of our stop here are attached. Coming up in future blogs: A Colorado cornucopia; America's Best Idea; Dyer, IN; Big Sur, CA. [View Full Entry]

---

---

Fresh from a week of seminars and posters, colleagues and friends, shrimp on river boats and shrimp in local restaurants, my visit to Savannah last year ended with a short excursion to the Atlantic Coast. In all ways you can imagine, I needed some fresh air. I like talking about meteorology as much as the next of a seemingly infinite number of guys and gals, but there is life outside of work. There is a whole world outside the windows of a confining hotel with mysterious thermostat problems. My friend Somer, her massive pickup truck (which could be easily confused with [View Full Entry]

---

---