Day Hikes part 1

This fall we have taken a few delightful day hikes.  The crowds are mostly gone and the weather is still delightful in the Sierras.  

Our first destination was the Lakes Basin, northwest of Reno.  We did a loop trail that passed 5 lakes. Interestingly, camping is not permitted at any of the the lakes. The hike was about 5 miles on a well established trail, but Calvin decided it would be a good time to practice using his GPS. So we started out with satellite support and a 20 year old guide to wildflower walks in the Lakes Basin.

Just a short walk from the trail head we came to one of the many Big Bear lakes in California. This was closely followed by Little Bear Lake.

Up around a bend we came to a vista of one of the many Long lakes in California. Which made a good spot to admire ourselves as well as the scenery. It is clear from these pictures that Calvin has a much better phone camera now that I do.

Our lunch destination was Silver Lake.

After lunch we saw our 5th lake, Round Lake, but it wasn't quite as scenic as the others.  And...Calvin and his GPS were making serious tracks toward the car. So I didn't stop for any more pictures.

The final leg of the hike was on a very nice trail that was probably was an old mining road, but unfortunately that road did not lead to the trail head where we parked our car.  So we skirted back around Big Bear Lake again and found the trail to our parking lot.  It is apparently an easy thing to misplace your trail head.  When we arrived at the correct trail head we met a couple who had also misplaced their trail head.  We knew exactly where theirs was and were able to give them a lift back to their car.

Labor Day 2015

We had a surprise visit from Rosie, Jay and Alice over Labor Day weekend.  It was so fun to see everyone again.  Reno traditions were observed: sushi was consumed, ribs were eaten, and Lake Tahoe was visited.Jay took a monster bike ride that Calvin was not even tempted to ride and we enjoyed lots of sitting around with the family.

Rosie, Alice and I tried to ride the train at Idlewild, but it wasn't running so we took time to "smell the roses" in the Rose Garden instead.

Lake Tahoe was beautiful as usual.  My random shots all seem to center around Alice. Strange.

But the lens strayed away from Alice once in a while

And I have absolutely no explanation for this one.

Another Superior Weekend

A few weeks ago we went to Superior, CO to celebrate Zach's eighth birthday and baptism.  It is always fun to visit Butch and his family and having a special celebration made it even more fun. Zach had a cool Lego cake and even got to light his own birthday candles.

His BIG birthday present was a new basketball hoop which Zach and Austin immediately put to good use. It is a perfect addition to their new backyard patio.

Zach looked so happy on his baptism day and obligingly posed for LOTS of pictures. These are a few favorites.

In the afternoon we drove up the canyon for a picnic. Eating pictures are never very flattering, but I love getting together with family and I love having a picture to remember.

And just because both Sarah and Rosie were there and they are both expecting new arrivals...