Billings and Berlin

The first weekend in August Calvin went backpacking in the Wind River Range in Wyoming with some high school friends and I flew to Billings to attend our niece Hannah's wedding. I planned a quick weekend trip, but I wish I had planned a longer trip.  Billings looks like an interesting place and it would have been fun to explore a little more. Hannah and Eric had a lovely wedding in a park overlooking Billings.  These pictures don't do it justice but they were beautiful even in cell phone pics.

They were attended by a large group of nieces and nephews.

They all looked adorable.

Congratulations Hannah and Eric!

After Calvin and I made it back to Reno we took a weekend trip to view the Perseid Meteor shower.  Every year we try and find a place with a clear dark sky.  This year we decided to go to Berlin, Nevada and we were not disappointed. We have visited Berlin many times over the years.  Calvin has taken many scout trips, there have been school field trips, a family trip long ago and a couple of Calvin and Calli adventures.

This is pretty much what there is to see of the town,

but the main reason to come to Berlin is to see the ichthyosaur fossils. We've seen them a few times too, but we took the tour again.

The last time Calvin took the scouts to Berlin the ranger showed them a place where they could legally hunt fossils, so we tried our hand to fossil hunting.  I'm afraid I didn't find anything, but Calvin found this shell.

After we had settled into our room with a view we prepared for quiet evening watching the sun set.

There is not a lot to do while waiting for the sun to set so I took a few pictures. Sunlight on the sagebrush.

My favorite subject.

Sunset Berlin Nevada

We had intended to try and take pictures of the meteor shower, and even set up the camera ahead of time, but at midnight when we woke up to watch the show that seemed a little complicated, so we just watched meteors streak across the night sky. This was perhaps our best viewing spot yet.

In the morning we took a detour to the town of Ione. This is the road to Ione.

Once you get to Ione there is not a lot to see. A few well tended homes where the residents live and a few less well tended.

On our way home we stopped at the Grimes Point Archaeological Area.  The ridges along the top of this rock are symbolic, but what they symbolize seems to be a mystery.

There is a lot to see in Nevada