Ten Lakes Backpacking Trip

Last weekend we joined two couples of friends through Kate's soccer team for a backpacking trip out of the Tuolumne Meadows area of Yosemite NP. Tuolumne is higher elevation than the more famous Yosemite Valley, and is more known for its open high-country peaks and mountain passes and lakes (as opposed to the quintessential valley with all the waterfalls and domes). Kate and I went up early Friday with Bill and did a day-hike to Cathedral Lakes, right below spectacularly jagged Cathedral Peak. We had to brave a swampy meadow teeming with mosquitos to get out to the lake, but as you can see, the views from out there made it worthwhile.

Mosquitos! Run!


Hiking along the shores of Cathedral Lake


Looking back over Cathedral Lake at Cathedral Peak

That night we were joined by three others (Roe, Igor, and Petra) at the campground after happily making s'mores and watching the stars around the fire left by the nightly ranger talk. Even later, our little corner of the backpacker's campground was paid a visit by a pretty tame bear who was curious enough about the contents of one of our neighbor's backpacks to loudly eviscerate it (the backpack, not the neighbor) at 3am maybe 15 feet from my head. I guess he was after an overlooked packet of Crystal Light or something. Fortunately the backpack owners got up and scared the furry beast off, then we put their packs into one of the metal food storage lockers. Good thing too, because he (the bear) came back around dawn and sniffed around again at the very locker where their packs were.

The next morning we got on the trail to Ten Lakes, a cluster of seven (yeah, I know! not ten - weird) alpine lakes north of the main road through Yosemite. This being the introduction to backpacking for a couple of the other folks with us it wasn't too strenuous of an adventure - maybe 6-7 miles in - but it was a nice trail and offered some great vistas upon reaching Ten Lakes pass.

Our group at Olmstead Point before starting our hike


On the trail: Kate, Roe, Petra, Igor

Hiking through the meadow: Tom, Kate, Roe, Igor, Petra



The view from the pass NE towards North Pk, Conness, White Mt.

On the steep drop down into Ten Lakes Basin

We found an amazing lake-front campsite a little ways off the trail and spent the afternoon swimming (brrrrr!), exploring the other lakes and streams, pumping water, collecting wood for a fire, eating smoked salmon, and drinking wine. What? You guys don't eat smoked salmon and uncork a nice bottle of Cabernet on your backpacking trips? I guess you need to go with Roe and Igor and Bill and Petra more often. The wine (packed in by the other boys, I must confess) was a nice touch as Kate and I were actually celebrating our 1000th day of being married to each other, a nice milestone I took note of in an imitation of my Uncle Larry, who has celebrated both his 1,000th and more recently 10,000th days of marriage to Aunt Carol! Thanks for the idea, Toledos.

Our campsite by the lake



Nothing beats a good swimming spot after a day of hiking in the sun.


The lakeside view


Petra and Bill make pancakes! We ate pretty gourmet this trip...


Igor celebrates going downhill on the way out

After our hike out we went down to the valley to take in some of the sights and swim in the Merced River, which was refreshingly almost as cold as the alpine lake the day before! Brrrr... Anyways, a good trip and scenic location - always nice to take advantage of some of the beautiful country we have in our extended backyard out here in California.

Here are the photos I took, and there are some others by Bill here if you're curious.

Happy Independence Day!

Sunny Florida & the Keys

Earlier this month Kate and I took a trip out to Florida for a medium-sized family gathering, followed by a quick trip down to the Keys for just the two of us. We were quite shocked by the intense heat and humidity of mid-June in the sunshine state, but we had a great time visiting three generations of relatives as well as exploring Key West for the first time! I have pictures up on my Picasa page, but here are some highlights. Thanks to our friends for watching Banjo while we were gone, and thanks to Auntie for hosting Fam-Fest '09! Hope we can do it again sometime.

First, from our family visit:

Family Picture (can you tell which of us is related to these people, and which two are sisters?)


Relaxing by the pool at Auntie's, which was pretty much our modus operandi for the weekend.


Grandpa in one of his great t-shirts, Wendy


Kate, Claire, & Wendy feeding the giraffes at the Brevard Zoo - it was very cool how they came right up next to us to grab some veggies and treats!


Rhino!


Kate on our airboat ride in the FL swamplands - we saw lots of gator eyebrows and nose-tips


The evening peacock arrival - they were not very timid

Next, we drove down to the Keys for a few nights, stopping in Islamorada and Key West:

Kate


Quintessential "Keys" boat docked in Islamorada


Tom on the old railroad bridge at Bahia Honda State Park


Tom looking ridiculous making an "S" at the southernmost point in the continental US as dozens of other tourists with cameras give him strange looks out of the frame to the left


The nightly "Sunset Celebration" at Mallory Square in Key West, featuring lots of street performers of all types and species


Us on the Key West waterfront


Sunset over Sunset Key

Banjo and the Basenjis

Last weekend we got to dog sit for a couple of Basenjis. They're an interesting breed - they're African and are pretty far from the genetic tree of most dogs. They're notable for their thin, bristly fur, "aloofness", and their yodel (they can't bark!). Contrary to popular belief, being barkless doesn't mean being quiet. We found that out this weekend, for sure.

Banjo wasn't sure what to think about these intruders, so he put on a bit of an attitude. What a tough guy!


















But soon he discovered that the basenjis could do things that he couldn't, like get the stuffy toys down from their high shelf, get into the trashcan, and snitch things from tables. So they decided to form a posse, Banjo and the Basenjis. And they all lived happily ever after, the end.

Kate and Tom and Banjo in 2008

Tom and I just finished putting together our 2008 photo album. Even though these photo books seem sillily overpriced, we've really enjoyed being able to look at an actual paper copy of our pictures from the past four years. If you'd like to take a look at the most recent version, click on the link below:

2008

Marshmallow Launchers and Other Physics Projects

After my Physics students finished their standardized tests, I decided to give them a break from the lecture circuit and turn to some research and engineering projects.

First they spent about a week researching a Physics topic of their choice and then gave a poster and presentation on it for the class. I was amazed at what a great job the kids did, as a whole. They had some really interesting topics (MagLev trains, Speedo swimsuit designs, Astronaut Ice Cream, LRAD, body heat powered pacemakers, etc). One set of kids really wanted to do something related to birth control (I think they were in the middle of health class) but had a tough time coming up with a solid connection to Physics. They tried to convince me it was related to "fluid dynamics" but it got vetoed.

Then, for the last couple weeks in class we built marshmallow launchers with popsicle sticks and a rubberband. They had two goals - to launch a marshmallow as far as possible, and to be able to hit a bucket at ten feet. The "winning" team managed to launch the marshmallow 36 feet AND hit the bucket! Of course, we also had a major marshmallow war one day in class and ate a bunch of marshmallows along the way, so everyone was really a winner. There were a huge variety of designs, ranging from a standard catapult to a bow-and-arrow to a slingshot to a rubber band cannon. This project was interesting for me as a teacher because the kids who had struggled with the more academic material this semester really embraced it and often were more savvy and intuitive than the top students.

Anyway, the success of the marshmallow launchers makes me want to incorporate more engineering-type projects into my class next year - hopefully spaced throughout the curriculum instead of just at the end. I've got a few ideas, (mousetrap cars, rockets, build-an-instrument, blimps, boats) but haven't really built many of them myself, so if anyone out there has any suggestions I'd be happy to hear them!

Job Update!

Looks like I have a job next year! I'm going to be at Pioneer High School (where I did my student teaching) teaching Physics and Conceptual Physics (2 sections of each). I'm really excited about it because I had such a great experience there last year - I know the kids and will have the benefit of teaching with my mentor teacher for another year.

It has been a strange year to be looking for a job. Apparently in past years, teaching offers were made in April and most new teachers (especially in science and math) would have 3-4 offers to choose from. But this year the education budget in California has been cut so much that schools just aren't hiring. Prevailing wisdom seems to be that most job offers will start appearing in late July and August once schools have a final budgets and enrollment count - giving many new teachers only a week or two to prepare for the new year. Brutal.

At any rate, I feel very lucky to have landed on my feet at a school that I know I'll like. Here's hoping all my friends from the SJSU credential program find what they're looking for, too!

Big Brother vs. Carpal Tunnel

Today at work I noticed that some new software was automatically installed on my machine, but I didn't think much of it until this afternoon when I heard a "bloop" over my music and saw a window telling me it was time for an exercise break! The software was this ergonomic monitoring program that prompts you to take a break or do a short exercise if you've been computing too long...

Anyways, I thought the pictures and exercise names they have "tutorials" for were pretty funny. Some of the images really demanded a more accurate name based on the picture:

"Go Speed Racer, Go!"

"Smell my pits!" or "Check me out"

This one is just funny on its own.

Do the "Sock Adjust."

"Pretend you are a corpse"

"Shoot lasers out of your fingers"

"Aghghhh! Where did everyone go?" or "Ostrich hide"

Heh. This one is much funnier to watch the video for. No, there wasn't a "Love Handles" or "Spare Tire" exercise.

"Office Ninja!"

"The Bionic Elbow!"

Got any better name suggestions? Uh-oh, I'm overdue for a mousing break, better stop and do a Speed Racer or two...

She's baaaaack!

I have had this strange feeling all day. I can only describe it as "that feeling you have when you finish up a nice soak in a hot tub." Tom tells me it is called "relaxation" and that I might have to get used to it.

At any rate, I have finished up my last classes at San Jose State and only have a couple weeks of low-key teaching to go before summer break. We're building marshmallow launchers in both of my classes, so it'll be a good time. Anyway, I'm hoping that I'll get back to blogging regularly now that I don't have essays to write every night. Of course, who knows if I'll have anything to write about once this "relaxation" gets going full-time...

Kate

A's Game

On Saturday we (Kate) took a break from a busy weekend of schoolwork and headed across the bay to see our first Oakland A's game of the season! The A's took on the American League defending champion Tampa Bay Rays on a beautifully sunny spring afternoon, and it ended with the good guys winning 5-2! Here are some pictures:


Here we are sporting our Matt Holliday replica jerseys, the giveaway of the day


Matt vs. Matt: Holliday shatters his bat on a Garza fastball


A beautiful day at the Coliseum


Ziggy! Everyone's favorite blogger-turned-submariner-closer, sportin' the high socks


You show 'em, Kate.

Another YTVotD

I know I know, get back to cute pictures of Banjo. All in good time, gentle reader.

But I wanted to post this so some of you could see it before Rep. Joe Barton (R-Tex) or his staffers realize how far he has stuck his own head up where the sun don't shine by putting this clip on his own YouTube channel complete with sensationalist graphic at the beginning indicating he thinks he's successfully made his point. Anyways without further ado - Rep. Joe Barton questions Energy Secretary and Nobel Laureate Steven Chu on how oil got to Alaska.



I am honestly amazed. Not just that Chu had to explain that to a US Congressman, but that Barton appears to think he's made Chu look like a fool with his "so-called continental drift theory hogwash." Anyways, this will probably be pulled soon, so get it while it's hot. Too bad comments are disabled on that video, they would have been interesting to read.

Thanks to GOOD magazine again for the link - it's a good blog, check it out.