Shakespeare Festival 2007

Justin and I again attended a show during the Shakespeare Festival at Sand Harbor, Lake Tahoe. This year we saw The Taming of the Shrew. I don't recall reading it during any of my schooling, but I did see the movie 10 Things I Hate About You, which is based off of Shakespeare. The performance was fun as usual, although a bit cold this year.

L: Toby, Amanda, Dann, Lari and Justin (not pictured, but still in attendance was Anna and Andy) C: The view of the stage from our seats R: Court jesters that did some entertaining before the show

Death Ride 2007

I again volunteered at the Death Ride this year at the Ebetts Pass rest stop that is always sponsored by the USGS. Due to the extreme fire restrictions this year we were not able to have a campfire, so I slipped off to bed not much after dark. The ride day was busy and fun as usual. I had the angel wings on again and was administering stickers to those riders that made it to the top of pass #3. It was strange, because some of the riders said they remembered me from last year. Doh!

L: A few of the angels, Vicky, Summer and Jena C: Where I stood to hand out the stickers R: The food booth, before it got too crazy

Pappy Cypher (July 3, 1926 - July 21, 2007)

I made it home just in time Friday evening to whisper my final farewells to Pappy. Almost all the Cypher family was there, all gathered together, and we tearfully prayed by his side to let the Lord send his angels to escort him to Heaven. Father Harry came and gave Pappy the Annointing of the Sick for a second time and spoke some very comforting words. Many photographs were collected over this last week spanning from the time Pappy was in the service to him and Grandma dating and up to the present. They were wonderful to look at and hear so many stories that I had never heard about my family. Saturday we all went down to Pappy's house in Herman and shared even more stories about both Pappy and Grandma. I took a few pictures of the house and the adjacent field because they hold so many wonderful childhood memories for me.

L: Front of the house C: The side of the house from where I stood on the property on the other side of the road R: Closer view of side of house with Mom and Uncle Rich...this is where I sat SO many times in the summer

L: Looking down the road that is between the house and the field lot C: Looking down the extra field lot where we used to run around, play baseball, catch lightning bugs and have bon fires. R: Sunday, just before I went to the airport, many of my aunts and cousins went to my cousin, Brianne's, bridal shower. This is Aunt Teresa and Brianne (mother-daughter). Justin and I will be traveling back to Pennsylvania in September to attend her wedding.

Traveling

This is the first time I've ever used wireless internet...I'm in the Las Vegas airport on my way to Pittsburgh for the weekend. I'll be visiting my Grandpa Cypher (Pappy), as his time with us here is very short. Sunday afternoon I'll be again on a plane, this time traveling to Denver, CO to attend a 2-week water-quality field methods class for work. Long time to be away from home, but at least I'll still be able to blog.

Yosemite frog sampling, Year 2

I had the opportunity to be the field hand on the Yosemite frog sampling trip again this year. This time we were taking basic water chemistry of the streams/ponds the frog/tadpoles live in and also sampling for a fungus that is killing the frogs by suffocation (frogs breath through their skin).

L: Mike at the Tioga Meadows sampling site just inside the park boundary C: One of the sampling sites on Glacier Point Rd. About a 1/2 mile hike in R: A thunderstorm was rolling in quickly as we packed up our stuff from the 2nd site on day 2. We only got a little wet

We stayed in Curry Village in Yosemite Valley for 2 nights in tent cabins. So many were crammed in they tents were 2 feet apart from each other...made for a loud "campground". In the right-most picture take note, although it's blurry, of the HUGE wall of rock that can be seen back behind my tent cabin.

L: From the parking lot of Curry Village El Captain can be seen to the left and Half Dome to the right...insane! C: Me on the trail to Mono Pass for our last sample...just over 2.5 miles with 1,000 ft elevation gain. I have the blisters to prove it! R: One of the ponds close to Mono Pass

L: My favorite "sawtooth" section of mountain with a cirque still with snow below it! R: The sign for Mono Pass hiking trail. The bear signs are around the park "Red Bear, Dead Bear"...the sign signifies when a bear was killed on the road.

East-side Sierra's camping

Justin and I took our first vacation together with just the two of us. We went camping near Bassatt's Station, which is on the east side of the Sierras north of Lake Tahoe, at a campground called Diablo. Beautiful up there.

L: My traditional pic with the campground sign R: Justin lounging

L: Libby roughing it in the woods! C: Justin cooking a fabulous salmon dinner R: Campfire lounging

L: The second day we went for a big hike to the little speck on this picture, which is the Sierra Buttes Lookout Tower. 1,600 ft elevation gain over 2.5 miles (one way) C: The wildflowers were really nice R: We passed a section of the Pacific Crest Trail

L: Justin and Willy near the top overlooking Upper and Lower Sardine Lakes. C: I take a lunch break just at the base lookout. R: The stairs up to the lookout!

L: Justin up on the lookout C: Justin's view looking down from the lookout tower...Can you pick out me and Willy down below? R: Justin and Willy trying to stay cool under the lower set of stairs

L: We all made it! C: Had to commemorate the sign L: Willy is one exhausted puppy!

And then we took a dip in the nice and cool Packer Lake. The last day we drove to Nevada City to do some wine tasting and had an awesome dinner at a place called the Stone House. Upon our arrival back at the campsite, we had the pleasure of meeting a very large black bear! Willy tried to warn us about a half hour earlier, but we didn't hear anything. After a nice grunt from the bear, we backed up and Willy came to the rescue to bark and scare him away!

Back to the 4th

Justin and I spent the evening of the 4th of July at a colleague of mine's house. She (Lari) and her husband, Dann, live higher up on C-hill than I do, so they have a great view of the city for firework viewing. Much meat was grilled and eaten.

L: Dann and Lari, M: view looking east from their deck, where the fireworks occurred after dark R: Strange outcome of the fireworks setting on my camera

Spring hiking

I know it's not spring, but we were hiking to the spring. :o) Two weekends ago I bought a new pair of boots and then we went hiking to a spring down the slopes of Tahoe Meadows. Hiking was good, boots hurt my right ankle.

Blog neglect; USGS & Top Gun

My blog neglect is not near as bad as other's, but it has been a while. It's not my fault though, I've been out there doing interesting stuff, but therefore have not had any time to post about it. So, let's start back in June. I did a few more days of field work in Fallon, NV. Located in Fallon is the Navy airbase otherwise known as Top Gun. Yes, I'm talking the Tom Cruise Top Gun...it got moved to Nevada a while ago. A few of our sampling sites were in the path of where they planes come in to land. Here's few cool shots of them.