Vermillion Wildlife

Perhaps these are native inhabitants of the Vermillion Cliffs.
Perhaps not. At any rate they found refuge from the rain and ate
their lunch. Later on I spotted them in the motorhome...

Ancient Outhouse

Located along the base of the Vermillion Cliffs.

If you have been to the guest bathroom in PT, you will understand. If
not, please don't pass judgement.

Space Needle

Jessica and Donald

Jacob and Goofy

OK.  The hat really belongs to Jacob, but I took it every chance I could get.

Hiking Rim to Rim

Petja and I hiked Grand Canyon rim to rim this past August. Don't ask
why we picked August, the hottest month of the year. The National
Park website essentially says that while most people (read smart
people) are hiking in the mountains this time of year, some people
(read stupid people) still make the trip down below the rim.

Grand Canyon has the distiction of being the deadliest national park
and most of the casualties are from falling or from heat exhaustion.
Carrying enough water is critical, as is avoiding the heat. They
advise not to hike between 10:00 and 4:00 which is why we casually got
up and hit the trail at 6:45.

California Screamin'

Merry Christmas from the Wallihans.

North Rim Sunset

Over 90% of the 5,000,000 annual visitors to Grand Canyon go to the
South Rim. Those that make it to North Rim do not necessarily get a
better view of the canyon, but they are the only people who get to see
the Kaibab Squirrels, who only exist in a 20 mile by 40 mile area near
the North Rim Lodge.

Hey Lady, Let Go of My Ear

 

For Jacob's birthday we went to Disneyland.  Here is a picture of us on Radiator Springs Racers.  We made sure that we all were acting proper for the camera.

 

If you don't get a Fast Pass for this ride the wait is over 2 hours.  This on a day where most waits were 15-20 minutes.  And most people just wait in the line!  Crazy.

Canyon Wildlife

This Guy is Goofy

What else can I say?

North Rim Rainbow

Summer in Grand Canyon means monsoons. These storms appear as a
single cloud formation and move in quickly, dump buckets of rain, then
just as quickly disappear. The end result is a wonderful mixture of
light and shadows and colors that take your breath away.

Happy Birthday Jacob

 

His last year in single digits.  Here he is about to blow the candle out on my dessert because Jacob doesn't really like ice cream.  Right Jacob?

Krazy Kidz

The Cliffs of Insanity

Actually, the Vermillion Cliffs. In order to get from the south rim
of Grand Canyon to the north rim of Grand Canyon you have to drive all
the way east to the beginning of the canyon then along the base of the
Vermilion Cliffs and then up onto the Kaibab Plateau. This picture is
halfway up the plateau looking back at the Vermilion Cliffs.

Shades of Darkness

Lower Antelope Canyon really is one of the most beautiful places I have seen.

Sunset at Jacob's Lake

Vertigo

If you were crazy enough to skateboard down the face of Hoover Dam,
this is what it would look like when you dropped in.

Look Dad, Hoodoos.

Thor's Hammer

Everyone who goes to Bryce Canyon has a picture of Thor's Hammer. Here is mine.

The Face in the Rock

Lower Antelope Canyon has things to tell you. Listen and you can hear
it whispering...

Lower Antelope Canyon

Lower Antelope Canyon is a sandstone canyon carved by flash floods
coming from thunderstorms in the hills south of here. The water
rushes through filling the canyon and carving these beautiful
formations before draining to Lake Powell.

Honk! Honk!

Huntington Beach wildlife on the attack!

The Fork in the Road

This is quite literally a fork in the road, but it is also a message to "put a fork in it" aimed at the long standing battle to connect the 110 freeway to the 210 freeway in South Pasadena. That extension would go right through this community and would probably lie right on top of this road. The battle goes on...

Adams and SART City Sign

After the city of Huntington Beach won it's lawsuit they put up new signs with "Surf City USA" on them at many of the entry points to the city.  This one is at Adams Blvd and the Santa Ana River.

Happy December

I managed to hold out two days after Thanksgiving before putting up Christmas lights this year.  And a giant inflatable Santa/snowman/teacup dancing thing.

Pawn Stars

We visited the pawn shop made famous by the History Channel in the U.S.  If you haven't seen the show, the history angle comes from the stories they tell about old artifacts that people are trying to sell.  Many of them end up not being real, but the stories are good anyway.

The Inner Canyon

I think I have posted a similar picture to this one but it never fails to impress, although it loses a lot unless you happen to have a 600" screen.

The canyon at the bottom of Grand Canyon is called the inner canyon. By itself it is one of the largest canyons in the world, but is dwarfed by the rest of the canyon.

This vantage point, toward the east end of Grand Canyon is the best vantage point I have found to see it other than from the bottom.

Snowball Fight

We managed to find a small patch of snow suitable for a snowball fight. I wonder what the people inside were thinking?

Happy Birthday Grandma!

Grandma gets some help with the candle on her birthday.

Kids and the Grand Canyon

Standing on the edge at Grand View.

Jessica's Outfit

It is almost like she is in there...

Bolts in the Curb

Mystery solved. During our trip to Grand Canyon in June we saw bolts in the curbs but were stumped as to what they were. Returning in November cleared up things. They are used to hold poles that stick up through the snow so the snow plows don't destroy the curbs.

Jo and the Grand Canyon

Jo on the edge of Grand Canyon at Grand Canyon Village.

Pumpkin Face

Jessica's self designed and built Halloween costume was a hit for Trick or Treating, where everyone wanted to make sure that they put a piece of candy in each of the buckets.

Cookie

First Day of School 2012

The Measuring Wall

I recorded the final height they were living in the old house where they spent their entire lives. By the time I was Jessica's age I had lived in seven cities in three countries on three continents.

Interesting to note that they are the same height (56") at the same age (104 months).

Breakfast

Sigh... Jessica is getting older.

Jacob's Reading Award

Hi, It's me again.  This one is a bit overdue, but Jacob continues his academic excellence in second grade with a  Reading award.  At the time of this posting he is already in third grade and at a new school...more to come...

Skiing in Norway

I went skiing with some friends from work during one of the weekends I have been in Norway. Conditions were fantastic.  It was the first day I had seen the sun for three weeks.

Sunrise Above the Clouds

Frozen Fountain

In case you were wondering if it was cold here.

Dutch Wind Farm

Taken from the plane on approach to the airport in Amsterdam.

Ullrig

This is the rig that we will be doing testing on.
http://iris.no/internet/ullrigg.nsf

Snow on the Lake

It snowed in Stavanger!  The locals claim it doesn't snow very much, but I think that is a very relative judgement.

Stavanger

The view from my hotel window.

Face paint

The kids got their faces painted during the New Years Eve celebration in Port Townsend.

Jacob Dancing

Drop Box

I don't really know what this box is for, but it definitely deserved a picture.