yee-haw!

i'm about to join my new friend packer on a flight to missouri, then a road trip up to wyoming. duff's dad is attending his high school reunion, and said we could tag along. hopefully i'll be able to get some good pictures of the wild west.

i'm excited- maybe i'll manage to visit all 50 states this year, after all.

feeling minnesota...no wait- north dakota

i just got back from a thrilling trip to north dakota with my friend keith. there were a bunch of boring meetings to sit through, but as a treat, he took me to a monument to the geographical center of north america.

my close up

you are here. (well, i am, anyway.)

my latest adventure

i know it has taken me a while to get back to this, but i've been one busy gnomad. first, there was the wedding, then the honeymoon in italy. then, a couple of weeks after my return, i was whisked away to arizona for a week of adventure. first, i went kayaking on the colorado river.
i also went on a few hikes, and visited the phoenix zoo, too.

for me, the high point of my trip was meeting my second famous person, author laurie notaro.

for a little more check in with duff.

next up: a quick hike this afternoon- assuming i have time after i pack for my trip to north dakota. (i'm leaving with duff's "adoptive" dad tomorrow afternoon.)

thanks for checking in!

south of the border

during our recent trip to arizona, my companions asked if i wanted to see mexico. in retrospect, maybe i should have said, "no".

we were already in tucson for the day, so the hourlong drive down to nogales was not a big deal. i was surprised that we weren't stopped at the border, like we were when we went to canada, but we drove right into mexico without so much as a wave from their border patrol. that alone should have raised a huge red flag.

with the flag (albeit not a red one)

we drove less than a mile into nogales, took some pictures, and turned around to join the long line of cars waiting to get into the u.s.

welcoming us with open arms (and border)

mexican real estate

our return to the u.s. did not go so smoothly. first, there was the 45 minute wait in line to get across the border. as we waited, mexicans walked between the cars, offering to wash our windows and sell us random paintings, sequined disney princess pictures, food, balloons, other mexicans.....(well, maybe not the last one)

by the time we got to the actual border, we were hot and tired of being hounded. the customs agent we dealt with was not pleasant at all. he couldn't understand why we didn't park our car and walk across (like everyone else apparantly does), and sent us over to the car-searching area. twenty minutes later, satisfied that we weren't smuggling anything (or anyone) across the border, we were allowed to leave.

you have no idea how glad i was to be back.

bodhi on the colorado

i've just returned from a kayaking trip down the colorado with friends here in arizona. i was initially quite nervous about the trip, but wound up falling overboard only once and had a really good time- not that you can tell from my pictures, of course.....


an early photo. notice how the morning sun brings out the blue in my eyes?


after one frosty drink too many, i thought it might be nice to go for a little swim. thank goodness duff was nearby and able to fish me back out. perhaps i should switch to soda for a while.


my daring rescue, from another angle



a much more stable place to be- in the middle of the kayak with f-stop and alaska


taking a break near some indian petroglyphs


a little rock climbing


relaxing again with f-stop and alaska


catching a few rays


back on shore, safe and sound