Riding bikes!

The photo above is a bad photo of a napkin on which Josh and I hatched a plan to ride bikes to Washington. I didn't train for one day for the darn trip and my legs let me know on the first hill. Boy! Fun stuff though, and tiring, and trying sometimes. But good. We are just putting a very brief update here from a friend's computer (we are on our first "down day") here in Arcata, CA. We have a ton of photos on the camera but none on this computer and probably won't until we reach our Washington destination--Sequim! We have put down 273 miles so far (about 40-50 miles a day). We will do a big update when we reach Sequim, hopefully by 2011, er, Halloween. Either way, at my speed, it'll be a while. Maybe check back by end of October and we should have something up. Thanks for visiting us!
Best, Robin

Yosemite

Hello, from the Bay Area! After spending a week hiking and camping in Yosemite, we are back in San Francisco and planning our next adventure. Our 30+ mile hiking trip took us to Tuolumne Meadows, Vogelsang Peak, Merced Lake, Half Dome and ultimately back down to Yosemite Valley over the course of six days. The weather there was great and the outing afforded us a peaceful contrast to the bright lights and loud sounds of Burning Man. We are enjoying a little down time in the city before heading out once again... We'll keep you posted. To see our pictures from Yosemite and to check out past photo albums, click on the picture above this post or the "click here for more pictures" button to the right.

: )

Best,

Josh and Robin

Hwy15, Utah, Hwy80, Wind, Nevada, Burning Man 2010

Hi friends and family! Checking in after a week or so of new adventures. After we saw Bryce Canyon we drove on Highway 15 (bad road to drive with a slow camper) toward Salt Lake City. Right when we pulled off the road coming into Salt Lake City our little camper pooped out in a Denny's parking lot. After an easy hitch down the street to an RV shop we realized it was a simple spark plug problem with an easy fix. So, back on the road we checked out the Salt Lake City Mormon Temple and surrounding area for a day. Leaving Salt Lake City, we headed west on Highway 80 toward Nevada, we encountered a TON of wind and ended up pulling off a couple times so we didn't blow over in the camper. No problemo. We always have our house with us, and come packed with food, water, books on tape, a guitar, and a deck of cards. So after dinner and a couple games of "Go Fish," the wind died down and we were back on the road toward Fernley, Nevada, the last stop to fuel and stock up before heading north toward Black Rock and Burning Man 2010. Yes, we decided to just go this year. Being in the neighborhood and with the time, we decided to go see what the annual event was all about. Our summary: anything you have heard is probably true at least in part about Burning Man. The artwork and artists are truly amazing, and it certainly is an unforgettable experience. It may be event that is better understood experienced rather than explained, but in the meantime we've posted some photos for you to peruse. Now, we are back home in the Bay Area (CA), probably headed toward Yosemite. We're looking forward to some more hiking and backpacking! After that--you guessed--no firm plans yet! Stay tuned and thank you for checking in. We hope you are all well.

: )

Best,

Josh and Robin

Highway 50, Zion, Grand Canyon (North), and Bryce

It started with Highway 50, the loneliest highway. Super cool. We stayed one night in the middle at a pullout and it was so quiet, you almost couldn't hold still enough to hear it. Almost nobody went by except maybe a trucker in the middle of the night. After checking out a couple of the ghost towns on the way, we made it to Zion and camped out for the night before doing a great hike the next day to Kolob Arch, the largest arch. After visiting Kolob Canyon we headed down to the south end of Zion to the main canyon there and did the Angel's Landing walk/hike/climb. What a view! At one point, the path narrows to only 34" with an 800' and 1200' foot drop on either side of you, so a chain is there to assist for most of the way. Then, to Grand Canyon North Rim, which was very peaceful and with limited crowds (unlike the South Rim). We did another great hike there halfway down the canyon to a waterfall and then back up. On the last day, we actually got to see Robin's brother Erik and his girlfriend Heather for a day. They are also on a road trip together and met us there for the day. After Grand Canyon, our most recent stop was Bryce Canyon, were we did a little walk through the Hoodoos and took some photos. Now, I think we're on our way up to Salt Lake City. I think we're missing a little city life so we may catch a drink and some music for a night before heading back west. We'll see! Hope you are well. --Robin & Josh

California

In the last three weeks, we have visited a ton of family in Southern and Northern California. We also went to the second of two summer weddings, and did a little sailing, sight seeing, cooking, camper fixing, biking, and much eating and coffee drinking. Now, it's time to hit the road and see some country. Today we will be eastbound, ultimately headed toward Utah. We may not be plugged back in for a few weeks, so we'll report back then! In the meantime, we hope you are having a good summer.

Best,

Robin & Josh