the Get Rolling Orbit

Album: Road Trip to So Cal

After a frigid but fun Tahoe area ski week over the Christmas Holiday, we headed south to visit Dan’s high school pal Tom (with wife Linda) in Anaheim, and Dan’s Uncle Fred, still living on his own in Reseda. We also celebrated New Year’s Eve with a hike and a quiet evening in Santa Monica with Donna,  Liz’s lifelong pal and hubby Roger. Last stop was at Jerry Miller’s rancho on the Nipomo Mesa in SLO County, which included a dunes hike, fantastic as always.

Album: Ski Road Trip

• Dan’s lifelong dream coincided with an epic winter of massive storms–but fortunately, not while we were driving! We enjoyed 5 weeks of skiing powder, corn, corduroy and everything in between.
• We drove from from Mammoth Mountain, CA across Nevada and through the Rocky Mountains of Utah, Colorado, Montana, Wyoming, Idaho, Washington, Oregon, 4062 miles and 9 ski resorts!
• We kept our costs down by finding Costco gas stations, using our Ikon (collective) ski passes and lodging at Air BnBs wherever feasible.

Album: Point Reyes Backpack

• This spring trip is a great one for wildflowers and gorgeous ocean vistas. We’d done it twice before, and it was just as pretty as we remembered.
• But this trip we also dealt with extra challenges tied to the commute-hours drive to and from the trail-head, the weather, and aging backpacking gear as well as senior bodies!
• Great outcome: A new tent and Liz’s new Merrill hiking boots–both items comfy and waterproof!

Album: We Got SUP!

Dan was interested in expanding our water recreation, and since Liz isn’t into white water rafting, we purchased a couple of stand-up paddle boards from Costco and took them around the Bay Area to test our new skills. We also did SUP in Iceland and on the Jersey Shore in August.

Album: Point Buchanan Trail, Montaña de Oro

Liz took a trip home for a quick weekend of father-daughter bonding. Jerry Miller is doing just fine consuming Facebook and YouTube content, thank you very much! The highlight of the weekend was our hike in the Montaña de Oro State Park, located on the Pacific coast just south of Morro Bay.

Album: Backpack in Little Yosemite Valley

• With heavy packs, we started our six-day trip from Glacier Point, from which we photographed some epic panoramas of the Yosemite Valley.
• On our first night, we camped at the foot of the Half Dome ascent trail, along with dozens of folks who’d either done the climb or were planning it. (Been there, done that, never again!)
• Moving further into the wilderness, the weather was good, vistas from Little Yosemite Valley continued to be fantastic, but mosquitoes were a constant maddening annoyance. Poor itchy Liz. At least the new hiking boots were comfortable!

Iceland Photo Albums

Dan and Liz spent two weeks in Iceland, the first with Kim and Rich (daughter and son-in-law), and the second week with Zephyr Adventures. The large number of albums below reflects how much gorgeous scenery we saw driving and hiking! Iceland is truly a nature lover’s paradise.

Of course, none of these adventures would have been as care-free if we didn’t have confidence that our Danville homestead was under Don’s meticulous care. A million thanks to Don Miller! We need a clone of Don at our ski-leased cabin up at Tahoe, to guard against unlocked doors and bears looking for a snack!