Two perfect days on Orcas Island, WA.

Enjoying the ferry ride;

Playing by the lake at the South End campground;

Waterfall hike;

and of course, Orcas.

We just got back from a short trip in the West.

We briefly enjoyed the luxury and the craziness of Vegas, drove through Arizona to the Grand Canyon for one memorable glimpse of the Colorado River…

…and back to California for three full days in Death Valley. We saw unexpected snow on top of Joshua trees, played hide and seek in golden sand dunes…

met a couple of friendly coyotes,

and traveled back in time to the Gold Rush era.

Rhyolite

Eureka Mines

Geology is now Alvar’s favorite topic and Austine brought back a Mountain Lion toy as her new best friend.

86m below sea level

Alvar in Mosaic Canyon

Austine in Mosaic Canyon

From Emigrant Pass

To Aguereberry Point

“In wilderness, people can sense being part of the whole community of life on Earth. Preserving wilderness shows restraint and humility, and benefits generations to come.”

1964 Wilderness Act.

Happy New Year – Bonne annee

2015

Comme promis, et en francais pour une fois, voici quelques images de notre semaine entre San Francisco et les parcs de la Sierra Nevada.

Temps ideal, regime alimentaire deplorable (sauf une exception notable au Evergreen lodge ) mais nature gigantesque, sereine et toujours surprenante. Un peu d’art aussi, Ai WeiWei a Alcatraz et du folk art inuit et mexicain au De Young Museum de San Francisco, ca fait du bien.

Hi,

last Thursday evening, we took a break and flew to Bozeman, Montana, …

… in order to visit Yellowstone, Wyoming.

Austine ran after the chipmunks and chatted with a red squirrel. Alvar found some interesting stones and liked the dragon’s mouth a lot (a smelly geyser).

But for all of us, meeting with a grizzly was quite THE memory of the weekend.

Coming Soon : Yosemite, California.

Early morning in the Skagit valley

Anacortes – Friday Harbor ferry

Camping 101

Orcas playground

and to follow, a mix of Normandy, Hawaii … and a birthday cake.

Normandy

Maui

and a Summer Cake. Happy Birthday Alvar (8).