Aus 53

Inside of Outside

At Typo. Good to see the crew. Bit of prep. Made all the beds colour co-ordinated. 5 girls showed up. Much different from Mitta girls. Great girls though. Breakdown, but girls sorted it themselves.

Aus 51

Inside of Outside

Love the pace at Mitta. Movement, but not frenetic. Might change with larger group. Woke. Porridge. Bowl frisbee. Stinky octo-plant. Hiked. Refreshing Mtn. Streams. Got to know Phil better today. Led him over a giant log. Fed him some carrots. Longest ever shopping game. 20 questions. Caroline-look-a-like. Arrived at Mittagundi. Warmth and friendship and food and community and music. Bec gave me a leaf from the love-heart tree. Bec gave everyone a leaf from the love-heart tree. Taught Jacinta some guitar.

Aus 50

Inside of Outside

Woke early to make porridge. Received gratitude all day. Fun to be up before everyone else. Should do more. Packed and hit the road. Started hiking before noon. Met Bec and Phil (the horse) 1st. Good to see Bec. Like her. Group is awesome. Trip is like vacation, hardly like work at all. Lots of laughter. Games. Good conversations. Sweet lunch. Oh yeah. Beautiful scenery. Snowgums and misty mountain tops and spreading valley vistas. Beautiful campsite. I love drinking straight from Earth. Jokefest around campfire and couscous. Wrong tent! All 5 girls in one. Bed to the sound of the stream.

Aus 49

Inside of Outside

Woke. Filled Barrels. Picked up K. and a coffee. Rubiks Cube! Errands! Bkfast@Early Bird. Drew some pictures. Went to the rural store for feed. Horse, chicken, dog. Train station. Met the girls for the hike. River chat and delish lunch. Drove to Tawonga. Gear up. Chill. Work. Laugh. Play. Eat. Cook. Traditions. Make fires. Good times. Yutes are awesome. So chill. Completely different pace than BA. Beautiful country. Harder to keep entries short when living life less simply. Mitta is pretty simple though. Looking forward to tomorrow.

Aus 47

Inside of Outside

Drove to Mitta. Awesome valley-huge boulders above the river. Met Jane, Bec W, Raku, Jacinta. Re-met Bec B. Rafted the Mitta Mitta in tiny 2-person rafts. Helped Bec and Bec learn to guide. Awesome food! Fresh! From the garden! Slept in fresh air on gear shed verandah. Played guitar until too late. Met Jac.

Drums and Dancing

Inside of Outside

Here are some pictures from a fort we visited in Jodhpur. Very cool architecture, a lazy squirrel, a door with metal spikes, and . . . a dancing man? Through out the fort there were museum staff dressed in traditional dress and playing traditional stringed instruments and drums. On our way out, I stopped and asked two guys playing drums if I could play one of the drums. They agreed and I started to play. Thirty seconds later though, the group in the picture walked up and the guy took his drum back to play for them. But the fact that playing the drum was a possibility, that they weren't just look and don't touch drums, seemed to inspire the man and he broke into dance, joined by several others, until he too, asked for a chance to play the drums.

Slow Food and Some Cricket

Inside of Outside


So we went to this restaurant because we were starving, but the only people there were these two kids, one doing his homework, and the other just hanging around. Eventually a couple of teenagers came and took our orders and then disappeared. We think maybe they went to another restaurant across town to order our food, because they brought our food in from the street and we had time for a cricket match before our orders arrived. Even after the young boy borrowed 8 rupees (25 cents) to go and buy a new ball, there was still time for a few rounds.

The Queen Mother vs. Barack Obama

Inside of Outside

This is Scott (left) and Brad, the two guys I traveled with in India. A Canadian, a New Zealander, and an American, we had fun debating the various merits of the Queen Mother and Barack Obama.

Moments

Inside of Outside

Ah. To be back inside of outside. Nancy and I just got back from a week of backpacking the Black Hills of Wyoming. It was beautiful. Tall green pines, vibrant yellow and orange aspens quaking in the breeze, transparent blue skies, purple and white wildflowers blossoming underfoot.

Of course campfires, watching shooting stars at night, enjoying the chattering squirrels and muted nuthatches, and enduring the pain of carrying 50+ pounds on your back everyday were all great parts of our trip, but I had two favourite moments. The first was sitting by a stream in the morning filtering water to drink--listening to the babbling brook and enjoying the peacefulness of being in that moment with nothing else to think or worry about. The second was lying in the tent one night, and being woken up by the huffing, panting, and footsteps of a herd of deer, just outside our tent, and staying awake to listen to the hooting of an owl.

It was Nancy's first ever backpacking trip. If you ask her, she'll tell you that next time she probably won't pack so many clothes. But she had a good time, and it was great to spend time with her, doing something that I love and sharing it with her. Here we are at the end of the trip, a little trail-worn, but very happy.

Nancy

Inside of Outside

This, is my girlfriend, Nancy, whom I love. Those of you who know her, already realize what a great person she is. Those of you who don't know her, are missing out.

Family and Fun

Inside of Outside



Here's a little video I made of my Thanksgiving down in Lincoln. If you're in it, and would like a higher resolution copy, just let me know.

Ah, Glades

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Went snowboarding on Sunday. It's been so long I got leg cramps. It was good times :) I went with my brother and cousins. We did quite a bit of glades, which was nice. It wasn't Colorado glades, but it was fun. There was even a layer of powder from the night before. The view from the top of the 'mountain' was nice too. Georgian Bay partially covered with ice (third picture). Beautiful.

Uncle Greg

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Well, this news is a few days old, by now, but Alejandra has joined the family. See more at the official baby Blog. I held her for the first time, on Saturday. I'm an uncle. Crazy, huh?

so long, and thanks for all the fish

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Well, I've been in Washington for almost three months now, and I'm on my way out. During that time, I think I've spent about four weekends in Naches, where I live. The rest of the time, I've been driving around to visit people. It's been fun times. Seeing old friends and making new ones. Thanks guys!

In no particular order:


Carving pumpkins with David, Kristen, and Damie























































Athena, walking by the docks



















Angela and Darcy sitting on the docks















Creating a collaborative work of art with Angela, Darcy, and Athena














Hiking through a burn with Wendy and Terri



















Playing Bocce, with David, Tyler, Missy, and Alicia (hope I spelled that last one right)

















Hiking with David, Tyler, and Alicia




















Taking a break on the way to the beach, with Angela, Darcy, Athena, and Kiefer
















Athena, being a kid

summer snapshots

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I spent this summer at Indian Creek Camp in TN. Here's a few highlights, although by no means all of them. In no particular order:


Me, Ryan, and Chris being cows at the Rodeo.















Andi and Gertle the Turtle





















Daniel and Keri enjoying some Lipton's at Fall Creek Falls State Park















James, Rodeo Clown, the least of his talents















Community Impact--appreciating daycares everywhere















Community Impact--a Free carwash, all tips refused















Caution: Gas Leak Below





















Mmmmm . . .















Wow















Playing with fire
















The culmination of five years of craving















Fall Creek Falls, round two















Freezer Burned















Fun times in Smithville

To the hills!

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Ah, snowboarding. It had been almost two years since I'd been snowboarding on a real mountain. I'd forgotten how much fun it was. Ah, well, I won't waste much time with words. The pictures tell most of it (although not all the fun little details, you'll have to ask about those).

On the lift















On the mountain















Just resting . . . really


















The ninja

















Lunch!















Supper!



















Stranger things have happened















Waiting for the girls














Warming of the toes



















Top of the world















Last day














The one that made it all possible: tribute to Farlonika