Hail in Houston!

On March 15th, 2009 we had a freak hail storm come through West Houston - Ed and I got some pics of the hail before it melted! Luckily we do not see any major damage to either vehicle. How weird!

Home Projects

If you read Christina and Paul's recent blog, you know that I am starting to get into sewing. Their pillows were my first project and since then, I've been finding tons of stuff to make! This past week, I decided to make some things for our new rock climbing hobby - a chalk bag (will make another one for Ed) and 2 gear bags to hold our harnesses, chalk bag and shoes. Below are some pics - who knew you could combine sewing and adventure sports!?!!

An action shot!

My chalk bag on a clip I got for $0.89 from REI!

My bag - fairly simple - drawstring with a canvas bottom and shoulder strap

Ed's bag - with a zipper pocket for keys and a wallet. (Ed's trying to climb our wall...for proper effect)

Leave No Trace Training Weekend

Sorry it's been so long since we had a post, but this weekend was definitely post worthy!

This weekend Ed and I joined some students from the University of Texas at San Antonio to attend a Leave No Trace training course at Government Canyon State Park. We had a blast - it was a few hours of classroom learning, and then an overnight backpacking trip. It was beautiful...although VERY cold!!! We definitely tested out the "30 degrees" rating on our bags!

Government Canyon Park is not currently open to campers, so this was a real treat. In addition, we did a challenging night hike with no head lamps or flashlights! It took a little while to adjust our eyes, but it was a great time. The Rangers directed us on the trail so we didn't get lost and we hiked up to a peak where we could see all of San Antonio! It was quite bright at night! We met a lot of great people and learned a lot about respecting the land and wildlife while camping and hiking.

Below are a few pics and links:

Tons of Spanish Moss
Pair of Antlers Ed found in a Tree...he took a picture, but left the antlers!
Tracey - one of our Leave No Trace Traveling Trainers

Seven Principals of Leave No Trace:

1. Plan Ahead and Prepare

2. Always Camp and Hike on Durable Surfaces

3. Dispose of Waste Properly

4. Minimize Camp Fire Impacts

5. Leave What You Find

6. Respect Wildlife

7. Be Considerate of Other Visitors

Website for Leave No Trace Organization

Article done on our trip by San Antonio Newspaper

Denver!

Sorry this blog is so late, but we've been busy! Jan 8-11th we visited Denver, CO for Ed's ASCE Young Member's Conference. Kristin spent some time relaxing at the Bed and Breakfast (Queen Anne's) while Ed was busy learning how to be young leader! We enjoyed some really great local food based on recommendations from our Inn Keepers and had a lot of fun. The Bed and Breakfast was "green" and featured all sorts of interesting components - sustainably harvested wood for bed frames and tables, an all local foods breakfast, local Colorado wine tasting at 6pm, and many more. One of my favorite things was the Lavender Lemon Cookies throughout the day! They were so yummy! I got the recipe and even bought some lavender buds at a Denver spice shop! I've already made them for Ed and I's offices, although they came out much smaller than expected.

Below are some pics from the bed and breakfast:



On Sunday, before we flew home, we drove up to Estes Park and one of the entrances to the Rocky Mountain National Park - it was gorgeous!!! Below are some pictures from RMNP and Estes Park:

Brazos Bend w/ H$ and Gators

Back on Jan 3 we took Harmony (aka H$) to Brazos Bend with the challenge of finding the elusive crock. We had to do a lot of walking before we saw our first one. The first couple crocks we saw were so far away that we could barely make them out. As we continued towards a couple lakes where we were told we would see more wildlife, be started to see more and more crocks just laying around. Even though there was prey abound and our wishful encouragement, the crocks just continued to lay there. Yeah, just lay there. Like they couldn't even snap at one poor helpless waterfowl. The best part was stopping by a fishing dock where we were not disappointed with how close some crocks came up to where people were just fishing without a care. The best picture is, well hopefully you can guess, is the warning sign with the bicycle missing cyclist. Where they eatin by the crock or ...?

House Projects

Ed and I had some great ideas on organizing the kitchen while on our honeymoon. When we got back, we tried to build them with the Home Depot gift cards we got for wedding presents - 1 project came out really well (the shelf) and the other not so well. I didn't put up pics of the second one yet - the pantry overhaul...but as soon as we complete it and get it functional, I'll post pics of that as well! For now, here is our "Pots and Pans Shelf"

Inks Lake with Matt and Ash

Ed and I are stuck here in Houston for the holidays due to a severe lack of vacation hours (and money) and coincidentally so were Matt and Ashley! So we had Christmas dinner together (on our new China!) and then headed to Inks Lake for Matt and Ashley's first backpacking experience. I have to admit, it wasn't the most difficult of hikes, but it was beautiful weather and we were the only primitive campers there!

We had a bit of a scare when we heard a truck stuck in the dirt and then heard a gun shot...way after dark...but the LCRA rangers came to check it out and it was some illegal after-hours hunting at the "Deer Park" next door to Inks Lake.

After calming down from that, we had some fun using the long term exposure on the camera(s) and headlamps...came out with some pretty freaky photos - these are all natural - no photoshopping...