Picture postcard

Not sure if any caption is necessary.

This was how they rolled

This is a replica of a wagon that settlers would have used to get to California in the late 1800s.

Shoshone Falls

This waterfall is taller than Niagara Falls! What now Canadians?

Sand Dune

There are sand dunes in the middle of Idaho. Who knew? Now you do.

Malad Gorge

I saw the barely saw sign for this and quickly exited off the freeway to see this huge gorge.

Awesome

A year in the life of...

As 31 rolls into 32 I was thinking back on what the last year brought.  One of the most significant changes in my life has been my interest in indoor rock climbing.  Specifically I've gotten heavily into bouldering.  I started climbing regularly about a year ago in January after I recovered from my epic return from India.  Since then with significant help along the way I have in just about 1.5 yrs moved up 4 grades.  I also took part in a friendly competition and placed in the top 10 out of 300 competitors for my skill level.  I just managed to complete my first two routes at the next grade 2 days before my birthday, which was an awesome present. 

The HyWy and I took a roadtrip with some friends last year and went camping in Lassen National Park.  That was a memorable return to something I haven't done in years.  What made it more memorable was how cold we were the first night because we had difficulty getting a fire going.  I didn't get to do as much traveling with the HyWy last year as I would have liked, which is something we are hoping to change this year with trips to the Avenue of Giants and Yosemite.  I did have work travel that got me to Santiago and Peru.  While in Peru I was able to go to mountains near 4000m elevation, which was the highest I have ever been...hehehe.  We did have several Atlanta trips over the last year, which were a lot of fun and allow us to do more fun things that we miss.  I had a great time hanging out with my brother in law at the Sweetwater brewery and look forward to going back there.

Thanks to a friend and some fortunate opportunities I got into digital photography significantly after shooting a friend's brother's wedding.  That led to the HyWy and I buying a new camera, which we have both enjoyed learning about. 

Another experience that I will look back on fondly was dancing at my cousin's wedding.  The HyWy agreed to do a couple dance where she started off the performance and I came in at the end.  I've done very few dance performances in my life and this was hands down the best experience.  Everyone complimented me on my dancing and let's just keep it real we know who really deserved that credit. 

I haven't had the opportunity to go to too many concerts, but I was really glad that the HyWy and a friend were able to join for a Robert Randolph show at the Fillmore.  That was one of the most upbeat exciting shows I have seen in a while. 

Finally, after several years of searching the most significant change in the last year was that I have decided to leave my job.  The last 6 months have been very difficult for a number of reasons, but the job hunt was the hardest part of it.  There were several near hits in the job hunt, but nothing that was quite right.  I look forward to the next step in this journey. 

Thank you all for being a part of this and it humbles me greatly to know that you take time out of your day to read my thoughts.