Berlin Ichthyosaur State Park

This past weekend we went camping at Berlin Ichthyosaur State Park - about a 3.5 hour drive (towing) - out near Gabbs. Cyndy and I had been out there about 15 years ago and wanted to go back. Great destination for several reasons. First, we shared the whole campground with only one other RV and a tent! You can spend a whole day poking around the Ichthyosaur excavation and exploring the ghost town of Berlin, Union, Ione, and Grantville.
Hereis my attempt at being Thomas Kinkaid...The "Ichthyosaur Cathedral"...Rib section of one of the fossils:Mine entrance

Brittney's Session

Brittney visited us from Truckee today for her senior portraits! Fun stuff!

The Hammer

Steve and Cyndy don't get out to the movies all that often. What with a seven year old and the babysitters and the preplanning involved, well... lets just say we rely on Netflix for our movie experiences! Not so on one day this week however - as morning radio host Adam Carolla fans, we dutifully made the pilgrimmage to the Summit Sierra theater to see his new movie "The Hammer". Good stuff, and it gets our two thumbs up seal of approval! Go see this indie movie before it leaves the area shortly!

Kristal today

Fun session with Kristal this afternoon!

Enough already! You blog host and his family live right smack in the middle of ground zero for these shakers - northwest Reno. You know, it's not the rolling and shaking that gets me. It's the sound your dwelling makes when it's being subjected to forces that it ordinarily does not have to contend with - the creaks, the shudders... how do you describe those sounds with words? To date we have only lost one piece of pottery... But I'll count ourselves very lucky if this turns out to be the full extent of damage!

I thought I'd share my "redneck earthquake tiedown" method for home electronics. After being rattled out of bed at almost midnight on Friday, the ubiquitous duct tape was here employed to secure stereo components from falling to the floor!

Cassie and Co.

Cassie brought her equine friends for her senior portraits last week. Her brother and sister came along as well for a portrait of "just the kids"!

Relics from the past

I was digging through some antiquarian images this weekend and rediscovered these - from my hike with my cousin to the top of Mt. Whitney in 1992. Elevation 14,400! Probably the one and only time I'll make that trek - but I still have the memories! We actually went into the Sierra near Independence, then trekked for a few days on the John Muir trail, then came down via the Whitney trail. It probably would have been easier if I didn't have 50-60 pounds of stuff on my back!