Happy Holidays & New Year to All....

K and I are poised to leave for northern California Christmas Eve....and are due back in Albuquerque before the New Year begins. We plan on viewing Redwoods, riding horses on the beach, possibly riding a "skunk train" into the groves, and driving up and down the coast...we'll be staying in a Cape Cod-style cottage, and will walk or drive into the village for Christmas dinner and for other meals as well...cottage comes equipped with a hot tub and other fine amenities...Here is a link to views of the cottage we're staying in...and you can also link back to MacCallum House's main page from there, too, to find out about the place: http://www.maccallumhouse.com/pages/rooms/rm23.html

It has been a full year for us, with trips, lots of work news, and various other amusements, which we will share with you soon.

A View of Heaven

The skylights are installed. Take a peek. The top one is the bedroom, which is an opaque one and is intended simply to let in light; the kitchen/living area skylight is a clear skylight -- it lets in light and when you look straight up through it you see blue sky and tree branches.

The Great Grand Canyon Adventure

Dave Nelson eats lunch about two thirds of the way into the canyon. Thousands of vertical feet yet to go....

The gang who ventured into the Heart of the Earth in September, 2005 are, from left: Tom Sahs, Tom Byerly, Arran (yes, just Arran), me, Dave Nelson, and Dave Yegerlehner. Dave Y is the master who took all of these photos. Click on photos for enlargements.



The view from the South Rim at sunset.







Dave Yegerlehner and I. We're on the Tonto Plateau on the north side of the canyon, on the second day in the canyon. The Tonto Plateau is a large shelf on both sides of the canyon about halfway down -- more than two thousand sheer feet from both rim and river.












Dave Nelson and I, down by the Colorado River, about a vertical mile down and eight or nine miles of trail distance from where we began at the South Rim early that morning.

When bad jeans meet nice girls

Here's a nice photo of Kathy and me in her backyard back in August. I apologize for my retrograde jeans fashion. They belong to a moment that lasted about five minutes in, say, 1988.

Skylights and Fires and All....

I'm getting ready to put in skylights in my bedroom and living/kitchen area. This is no small business: cutting big holes in your roof during the rainiest season on record in order to let a little light into a cave-like, if pleasant, space. We have to drill core samples in my roof to make sure there are no hidden reservoirs of seepage that could lead to problems later, like major leaks and unintended waterfalls. While I'm up there I have to decommission my swamp cooler unit and switch to the heater. To wit: last evening I had my first fireplace fire of the season. 'Twas as toasty and cozy as you can imagine. (Sketch above of Ratty at home before a warm fire is by Jonathan Wiltshire.)

Book Covers, covered

Here's the cover of the latest book, coming out in Spring 2006. I will not realize any profits on this one, but at least my name is on it. Enjoy.

Old Trip Pics, Still Viewable Here....

Here's a link to my pictures from the Catwalk hike a couple of years ago.


Here's a link to my pictures from Canyonlands last year.