Hiking Trip Day One: Valley of Fire State Park, Nevada

 After our Arts District breakfast on Day One we got in the car and drove about 90 minutes outside of Vegas to hike the Valley of Fire State Park. This was true desert terrain, and the temperature reflected it: 97 degrees and unrelenting sun, with very little cover. 

The world feels bigger out there. And a lot of the hike felt like we were walking on the surface of mars.

Early on, Syl established her love of climbing high and then sitting down to take in the views.

Shade was rare enough that when we found some, we spent some time.

The "path," insofar as it existed, was marked by sparsely-located poles like the one in the photo below... and by footprints in the sand. About an hour in, with no idea how far we'd come or if we'd managed to stay on the path back to our car, I was starting to wonder if our failure to respect the desert was going to become problematic. Oh, and no cell phone service whatsoever. 

Luckily we came upon these nice folks, who seemed to know where they were going. So we trailed them for a while.

Whatever trepidation we might have been feeling was interrupted repeatedly by moments like this one: walking on a rainbow!

Ultimately, Syl's love of a good climb saved us: she went up high and spied the parking lot!

We loved our first hike... and we also loved getting back to the car and cranking the AC!

Late lunch at a random Mexican place nearby set another pattern for the trip: this part of the country has a REALLY strong Mexican food game. I am not sure I have ever seen Syl wolf anything so fast as she downed this burrito.

Hiking Trip - Trip out and Vegas launch

 Syl and I missed our annual Feb break ski trip this year due to a board meeting I could not miss. Melissa kindly shifted around the schedule so we could do a make up trip. But since April is a snow gamble at best, we decided to switch it up. A friend of mine who is majorly into the National Parks did us the huge favor of helping me build a great five day itinerary, hitting multiple state and national parks in Nevada and Utah. Bonus: we got to drive through a chunk of Arizona! So we invested in new hiking footwear and some other gear and spent April break on the hoof in and in the car driving between some of the most spectacular terrain on the planet!

First though, we flew to Vegas and, arriving late at night, spent a night in a place that is decidedly different from some of the most spectacular terrain on the planet, but held its own charms.

Syl conked on the plane about three minutes after declaring her certain conviction that she would not fall asleep on the plane, a pattern that repeated throughout the trip.

Vegas hotel rooms are fun.

By coincidence we stayed nearby the arts district, so on Monday morning, before getting in the car to drive to Utah, we walked to breakfast and took in some random sights.

This meal set the tone for the week. We had most every meal on whim stops, and didn't get a bad one.

Egg hunt!

 Syl and I had a great time again this year, hosting cousin Angelina and some friends for our second annual Dakin Road Easter egg hunt! 

We hid more than 100 eggs this year, and found a perfect spot for the golden egg, which was found last by our friend, Owen. 

More of the fun is here.

First week at Guild

 I really enjoyed my first week at Guild, visiting Denver and meeting my new colleagues. Great people, who seem really charged up about what we are doing.

The exec team took me to dinner my first night there. I think I am going to really enjoy working with this crew.

Denver is also a GREAT place for exercise. Caught a morning run. 

The rest of these are of the legal team I'm inheriting. They seem like smart, eager people who welcomed me warmly.

April... animals

 One upside to sitting with my camera shooting birds is I also catch some of the other critters that make our yard home.

This is one of two coyotes we see all the time. I have tried to chase them off, and they do go when they see me. But they don't seem inclined to stay away. They also don't seem inclined to bother the dogs. And they are clearly well-fed. 

I see squirrels try and fail to climb the feeder all the time. This guy seems to have it knocked.