This is a strange weekend for me. It is filled with activity options that wouldn’t normally occur to me as Things to Do in Yosemite. When I got here 5 years ago, my list was pretty short – climb, hike (to climbs) and backpack (for far away climbs), but the more I’ve lived here the more I get exposed to all of the other things that are going on in Yosemite.
Observing Lent
I don’t really know too much about Lent. We never observed it when I was growing up, and although I knew it was that period right before Easter, I didn’t really even know how long it was until pretty recently. My in-laws observe Lent, and I think my brother’s family does, and I’ve even tried it once, in the traditional way.
We were visiting my in-laws one year during the beginning of Lent, and my father-in-law was giving up “all the stuff he loved” meaning desserts and sweets. I felt like I’d been eating a lot of desserts lately, and on a whim decided I’d follow suit, having no idea how long Lent was. I was shocked and horrified to find out that I’d committed to 40 days. 40 days!?! In the end, it didn’t really matter, because my dessert-loving father-in-law had a favorite bakery on his morning circuit, and since he wasn’t eating them, brought a pastry home for me. My good intentions lasted just over (or maybe just under, I forget) 24 hours.
But, 40 days is a good number of days to challenge yourself with – long but not eternal, so I thought that maybe this year I would try again to do something for Lent. I’m going to try to publish a blog post each day for the duration of Lent.
Poem by George Bilgere
This was the poem of the day on Writer’s Almanac and it really struck a chord. Thought I’d put it here so that I didn’t lose it. It’s amazing and wonderful that we can catch up with friends and loved ones while dining alone in a cafe, it’s comforting not to have to eat alone. … Read more
Badger Pass powder
On a personal note, this year I’m starting to feel like it would be OK again for me to get shaken up a little bit, and take a few falls, if you know what I mean. I’m still pretty tentative, but on a relative basis it’s a huge step up from where I was last year. When the snow was firmer I got in a few runs on the NASTAR course, trying to go as fast as I could, and now I’m hitting some rougher terrain with more confidence, and taking some falls. I keep thinking it would be fun to ski some steeps in Tahoe one of these weekends, but of course there is always so much to do.
Skate skiing before work
I admit it. When we pulled into the Badger Pass parking lot this morning, in the dark, I had serious reservations about this being the right time to go for a skate ski. But, we had done the backward calculation, and figured this was when we needed to start to make it in to work … Read more
Horsetail Falls Analysis
Natural Firefall at Horsetail Fallsphoto by T Lambert I just came across this amazing analysis of the best time to photograph Horsetail Falls in February, and wanted to leave it here so I don’t lose it for myself. Photographing Horsetail Falls (the Natural Firefall) in February has become a substantial Event in Yosemite. Nancy Robbins … Read more
Cork Flooring
Now that I pretty much suck when it comes to serious house-building projects, I’ve been given the task of researching cork flooring. Although the upstairs unit of our house is basically finished, we’re far behind schedule in terms of building out the downstairs unit. We’re so happy with our upstairs, that although our initial plan was to rent it out as a vacation rental, we’re now more inclined to keep it for ourselves, and rent out the downstairs when that is finished. This post is really more for me, but if you’re interested in cork flooring, then by all means…
Chefs Holidays Cooking Demonstration
Last year, I was invited to the Gala Dinner for Chefs’ Holidays, and thought it pretty amazing. But Chefs’ Holidays is so much more than just the Dinner at the end. This morning a few of us went to see John Stewart and Duskie Estes give a cooking demonstration in the Great Hall at The … Read more
Farewell to Mike Tollefson
The farewell party for Mike Tollefson, Yosemite’s Superintendent for the last 6 years, is this weekend. It’s going to be a big party with live music by the Adam Burns Band, dinner, and the works. Cher helped put together a slide show that DNC CEO Dan Jensen will give there, which finishes with some pretty … Read more
Rainbow in Yosemite Falls
This was the scene driving in to work this morning, and I had to pull over and get a quick picture. With the warm temperatures, the falls are flowing and in the morning the spray is lit with rainbow colors. It’s just a matter of finding the right angle. This picture was taken around 8:15am … Read more