Middle of Nowhere, Idaho

He we are in the middle of nowhere, otherwise known as Island Park, Idaho. It’s rustic, but pretty. Day one included a float trip that required more paddling than anticipated. I did not do much of the paddling, but it was a lot of work for those who did. I mostly sat back and enjoyed the scenery.

Boys in one boat:

Moose:

Baby moose:

Break from Winter

We took a break from winter this Spring and found Summer in the desert. Here are some of the highlights.

Randall Henderson Trail:

Swimming at the WorldMark:

Tahquitz Canyon:

More swimming:

Aerial Tramway to San Jacinto Mountain:

The Living Desert:

Boys trying to get water from the misters at the Living Desert (90 degrees at 10:00 in the morning):

We are now sitting in the Oakland airport waiting to get back to winter weather. It was a good trip. We may have to go back next year.

Diggin' to China

Note to self: If it seems like the dog has been outside for too long, he might be working on digging a hole to China.

On the other hand, if he makes it there, it might not be a bad thing.

Maybe he could work on destroying a house there, instead of mine.


Unrelated info: Simon's self-created Halloween costume
Robox. I have no words to explain.

Project Canine Confinement and Seabrook Pictures

It's not easy to keep this dog confined to one space. He always seems to find a way to escape. We tried different furniture arrangements, but he just kept finding a way to jump through the opening in the living room. We needed a gate for the widest part of the hallway which could only be purchased online. We also needed something that Simon could open and walk through, so I decided to build one.
In other news, last week we took a little break from summer to visit Seabrook on the Washington coast. We never saw the sun the whole time we were there and I actually forgot it was July. But the boys enjoyed the house and beach anyway.
Freckles liked it too.
He really liked being off his leash on the beach, so much so that he didn't want to come back to us. I really thought we might have to run to Ocean Shores to catch him, but eventually the birds he was chasing turned around and we were able to capture him.

One day we stopped in Ocean Shores for some lunch at La Chica Taqueria. It was good and the owner/chef/cashier (she does it all) was kind of like the soup Nazi from Seinfeld. She even threw a box at one customer when he tried to order steak tacos which were not on the menu.
The boys split a burrito. The menu claims them to be one and a half pound burritos. Torsten wasn't sure he'd get enough by splitting, but then he got a churro for dessert. My mom and dad came along to see the Coastal Living Idea house. It was nice, but I thought it was too much money (2 million) to spend on a place where there's no sun.

Clam Island

There is an island in the middle of Dyes Inlet that only appears on days with extremely low tides. Torsten was lucky enough to be with his friend and a canoe on one of those days and they rowed out to do some exploring. It seems the wildlife is much larger and more plentiful than what can be found closer to shore.
Check out the size of these snails!
Torsten's friend also makes him look a little short, even though Torsten is somewhere around the 90th percentile for his height. His friend must be off the chart.