|
|
 |
 |
| |
 |
 Auf Deutsch
January 2007:
 2007 started with a cold spell - quite cold at night (for California), but beautiful and warm during the day. A few inches of snow on the ground would make for a perfect winter feeling! We celebrated New Year's Eve and New Year's at the Grand Canyon. Camping in the snow, the temperature was perfect to keep the champagne cool. Un fortunately, the same was true for our feet.
 This was part of a trip we did with Frithjof who was visiting from Germany for 3 weeks. After visiting Muir Woods on Christmas Eve, we packed our kayaking and camping gear and went on the road. We started out at the Black Canyon of the Colorado River, where we spent 4 days kayaking, hiking, and enjoying some of the numerous hot springs in the area. Passing through the Arizona back country we had a few adventures, including a night-time fire incident next to our campsite. We eventually made it to the Grand Canyon. Winter is a good time to visit, because it is far less crowded than at other times of the year. However, the snowy and icy conditions prevented us from doing a more treacherous hike down into the canyon. We left just before the next snow storm was forecasted, and then visited a real jewel among the desert parks: The Valley of Fire in Nevada.
 In the Valley of Fire we found red sandstone in wonderful shapes and with a brilliant glow in the morning and evening sun. From our campsite we watched the full moon and dramatic skies. As a real plus, it was also warm enough to sit around the campfire in the evenings and enjoy our fire baked potatoes. The trip back to the California coast was uneventful. Our hopes to stop by Mono Lake and enjoy some more hot springs in Long Valley were stopped by another snow storm moving in. We have to go again some other time.
 In July, I started a new job with Unavco as a field engineer. I am working on a project to investigate geological processes -fault movement, volcanic activity- along the American-Pacific plate boundary. This is done by deploying high precision GPS instruments in dense networks all over the western US. I am working for the Northern California office, where we are responsible for installing a total of 229 stations all over the norhtern part of the state. As of today, 99 are left to do.
 Of course, kayaking is still our favorite weekend activity. Over the last year, Dave and I have spent more time with our home-built Greenland style kayaks. We are trying to learn all kinds of maneuvers and tricks. In October we went to San Simeon in Southern California for a meeting of people with similar interests. It was fun to see so many skin-on-frame boats of various styles and their paddlers coming together.
From California - Doerte
|
| |
|
2007 started with a cold spell - quite cold at night (for California), but beautiful and warm during the day. A few inches of snow on the ground would make for a perfect winter feeling! We celebrated New Year's Eve and New Year's at the Grand Canyon. Camping in the snow, the temperature was perfect to keep the champagne cool. Un fortunately, the same was true for our feet.
This was part of a trip we did with Frithjof who was visiting from Germany for 3 weeks. After visiting Muir Woods on Christmas Eve, we packed our kayaking and camping gear and went on the road. We started out at the Black Canyon of the Colorado River, where we spent 4 days kayaking, hiking, and enjoying some of the numerous hot springs in the area. Passing through the Arizona back country we had a few adventures, including a night-time fire incident next to our campsite. We eventually made it to the Grand Canyon. Winter is a good time to visit, because it is far less crowded than at other times of the year. However, the snowy and icy conditions prevented us from doing a more treacherous hike down into the canyon. We left just before the next snow storm was forecasted, and then visited a real jewel among the desert parks: The Valley of Fire in Nevada.
In the Valley of Fire we found red sandstone in wonderful shapes and with a brilliant glow in the morning and evening sun. From our campsite we watched the full moon and dramatic skies. As a real plus, it was also warm enough to sit around the campfire in the evenings and enjoy our fire baked potatoes. The trip back to the California coast was uneventful. Our hopes to stop by Mono Lake and enjoy some more hot springs in Long Valley were stopped by another snow storm moving in. We have to go again some other time.
In July, I started a new job with Unavco as a field engineer. I am working on a project to investigate geological processes -fault movement, volcanic activity- along the American-Pacific plate boundary. This is done by deploying high precision GPS instruments in dense networks all over the western US. I am working for the Northern California office, where we are responsible for installing a total of 229 stations all over the norhtern part of the state. As of today, 99 are left to do. 
Of course, kayaking is still our favorite weekend activity. Over the last year, Dave and I have spent more time with our home-built Greenland style kayaks. We are trying to learn all kinds of maneuvers and tricks. In October we went to San Simeon in Southern California for a meeting of people with similar interests. It was fun to see so many skin-on-frame boats of various styles and their paddlers coming together.