Switzerland
Cold, snow and flight delays have Grace running late this morning, but with some luck she'll arrive in Randa, Switzerland tomorrow around 6am our time. She's spending the next few months of her gap year working as an au pair for a single Mom and her 5yo son. Lots of skiing seems likely... they're just a few minutes train ride from Zermatt, regarded by many as one of the best ski resort's in the world.
into the blue
Grace is college bound this fall but has been wandering Central American for a few months on a gap year. I met her a couple weeks ago exploring Costa Rica and Belize.
road trip
For some much needed adventure, Grace and her friend Madi are headed west. They overnight in Bismarck, spend 3 days in Bozeman for a campus tour (Montana State), snowshoeing, hiking and hopefully lotsa fun.
teddy
A year ago my photo buddy Sparky and I were in Theodore Roosevelt National Park during a snowstorm that closed roads, and left us stranded in the Dakotas for days. This year, we shared 4 days of warm, sunny skies, with lots of COVID weary visitors. Wind had the wildlife hunkered down for a couple days but we manage to make a few photos
Olympic
With the best backpacking buddies you could ask for, we shared 5 days hiking the Olympic coast. As a family trip I think we'd all say it takes the gold, but it required an equally impressive effort to navigate. Heavy packs, soft sand, endless boulder fields and surprisingly scare fresh water made for sore muscles, but the scenery and solitude left all souls smiling and asking for more. An Olympic level adventure it was.
music: John Butler "Ocean"
no service
The BWCA is maybe a 125 miles from home, but with few people and no cell service, it sometimes feels like another planet... A planet that when shared with family and friends, I was reluctant to leave.
red rocks!
Our bucket list just got a bit shorter. The Red Rocks Amphitheater in Colorado is widely regarded as the best concert venue in North America. The John Butler Trio is widely regarded (by our family at least) as one of the best bands on the planet. Combining the two made for an epic Colorado vacation.
concert video from somewhere in Japan - but gives you an idea of a JBT show.
10 mile
Thanks to Jeremy and Sibby, we spent a fantastic weekend at the 10 Mile cabin. It's a post-card like place near Leech Lake with big pines. clear waters, a sandy beach and a spacious, yet classic looking Northwoods cabin. The weather was near perfect, the kids mostly sunny, and as forecasted, a 100% fun.
road trip
The summer road trip was epic. We kick it off with Ben Harper and the Innocent Criminals at the Minnesota Zoo, and shared a late breakfast with Grandma/pa the next morning. Arriving just before the sun we met George, Thomas, Theodore & Abraham at Mount Rushmore and later explored Custer State Park and the Needles Highway. The next day armed with what amounted to a candle in a bucket, we descended 200' below the South Dakota prairie and hiked a couple miles of the seemingly endless Wind Cave. It was amazing down there but despite my pleading, they didn't allow cameras :-(
After climbing our way out the of cave we made the drive to Estes Park, the doorstep to Rocky Mountain National Park. There we met Emily, Doug, Gabe and Eli for the highlight of our trip, a 4 day backpack through the majestic high country of the Rockies.
All in all 11 adventurous days that will long be remembered.
caymankind
Our week in Little Cayman was absolutely fantastic. Sharing it with some of our favorite people elevated it to possibly the #1 vacation of all time. Thanks for diving in John, Carrie, Caroline and John Henry.
Given the epic nature of last week, packing all the memories into a little video was a bit difficult. Thanks to an awesome soundtrack from the Cayman Tourism Office and some ruthless editing, I managed. The track is called "Caymankind", and was a community project to highlight their welcoming culture and friendly nature. It's perfect.
island time
Life on Little Cayman moves slowly... there's no traffic, no stop lights, or stop signs for that matter. No malls, water parks or mini golf. With just 150 residents, three resorts and one gas station, Little Cayman isn't little, it's tiny. The reef that surrounds it however is bustling with life and arguably the finest in all the Caribbean. Coral canyons and sand chutes lead you through pristine blue water before plunging 6000' into the Cayman Trench.
We shared the sea with our friends, John, Carrie, John Henry and Caroline, and after leading the "life aquatic" for a full week, we were all a bit sad to leave.
lots more to come...
madeline island
Had a Superior Hiking Trail hike/camp planned out for this weekend, but a bunch of armed men in orange scared us off. Ended up in Wisconsin where deer opener doesn't happen for another week. Rode the ferry out to Madeline Island with our bikes and make the 6 mile ride to Big Bay State Park and camped for the night. A little chilly, but we literally had the place to ourselves.
great white
I've talked about photographing polar bears with my photo buddy Sparky, and my father in-law Loren on multiple occasions. Due to logistics and expense it was a pipe dream type trip I assumed would remain as such until I tracked down that winning lotto ticket. Well, in early 2012, Loren says to me, "you set up a trip, and I take care of the rest". So I did, and he did...
We flew out of Winnipeg for Churchill, Manitoba four years ago this week. Those were pre website days, and while I shared the photos in a book with Loren and others, I've never shared them online. The photos were taken over 4 short but amazing days with the great white bears of Hudson Bay.
MEA rocks
We kicked off MEA weekend just north of Two Harbors by climbing Silver Cliff. Isabel's friend Claire turned out to be the billy-goat of the bunch, but everyone seemed to enjoy being out. Weather was largely cooperative, but a few passing showers had the girls running for cover. Grace gets photo credits for the two climbing photos :-)
JBT
Wandered about the Minnesota zoo on Sunday... Saw lions, tigers and Isabel snuggled Poo Bear. Afterwards we walked over to the Weesner Family Amphitheater and saw the John Butler Trio where we got Tigger's bounce back.
SCUBA
Lots to celebrate lately. Just spent a week with the whole family on a tiny tropical paradise snorkeling, sunning and SCUBA diving. Despite a bit of anxiety, Grace completed her SCUBA certification while we were there.
Twelve hours of online training, two afternoons of pool training before we left, and four fairly intensive open water dives in the ocean later, she's a certified SCUBA diver. Not easy ~ especially when your 12.
The kids missed a weeks worth of school for the trip. Grace's science teacher made her a deal... Present her SCUBA experience to the class in exchange an exemption on a weeks worth of homework. She helped me put the above video together for tomorrow's science class.
more Cayman fun to come...