The Best Part of Reno is....California?

Sorry, Reno, I know you have many good qualities but...our best weekends so far have been based in California.

For Labor Day weekend, Andrew and I traveled to Point Reyes National Seashore to camp, hike, and play with Madeline and Audie.  The seashore is home to a herd of tule elk.  The elk are very comfortable around people, and dozens grazed close to our trail.

The bachelor elk hung out together, thinking about love - it's rutting season.  We saw a couple of them rub their antlers against the ground, which is a sign of aggression, but no one came to blows.  I was relieved there was no violence, but I think everyone else was disappointed.  

These female elk are grazing near the reigning bull.  

Andrew, of course, found a tree to climb while the three of us hydrated, fashionably.

And we added to our collection of photos of me disapproving of Andrew's risky endeavors.

All ten miles of our Point Reyes trail bordered the ocean, and at the end of the hike we ate burritos (of course) on the breath-taking Tomales Bay.

We spent the night at a busy, family-run campground.  When we arrived, the RV campers were in full-swing - country music blaring, Confederate flag waving, even karaoke.  After hot dogs and Reese's s'mores, we found quiet and a sky full of stars at the ocean, just over a dune from our tent.  When we awoke the next morning, the the rest of the camp was still asleep and we could hear the ocean waves.

Breakfast Labor Day morning was delicious.  Madeline and Audie have assembled quiet the camping accouterments.  Freshly percolated coffee, toasted bagels with bacon and fried eggs, and chunky guacamole.

Wagons are for cooking!  Madeline makes a home wherever she goes!

After breakfast, we packed up and spent the rest of the day on the ocean before heading back to Reno.  The traffic heading the opposite direction (back to California from Burning Man and Lake Tahoe) reminded us how happy we are that we live close, but not in, California.


The next weekend we explored Desolation Wilderness.  It sounds like an empty, dreary place, doesn't it?

It's not.  The Desolation Wilderness is one of the most majestic places I've traveled to.  Our pictures aren't great because of the smoke from the Valley Fire, but even on a hazy day the views were amazing.  And it was quiet.  For most of our 15 mile hike we neither saw nor heard any sign of other humans - just pines, peaks, and pristine mountain lakes.

California may have the best hikes, but Nevada has the highest percentage of BLM land in the country.  Andrew's new (used) truck passed it's first off-road  test on the Mount Rose foothills, and I only screamed a few times on the rocky, uneven terrain.

Another Reno perk is the desert amphitheater in the park next to our apartment.  Last week an acting group rehearsed for the musical Cinderella - this is our view from the top of the hill above the theater.  Few cities offer live entertainment while hiking.

So, weekends are still fabulous, and weekdays are still just okay.  It's quite a difference switching from a school designed to support students who have dropped out and want a second chance, to a school where many students are at-risk of dropping out for the first time.  I see the mounting factors - the unexcused absences, unfinished work, shrugging of shoulders - and I know where it leads, but I don't know how to stop it.  Big high schools have so many perks, and the successful students thrive with all the extracurricular activities and sports and electives.  But I miss the close relationships from my little school, and all the support and time I used to be able to give my struggling students.

Next weekend I will go to my first homecoming game of my life.  I don't know if I'm cut out for a huge, traditional high school - I certainly wasn't when I was a teen - but I'm trying to make it work.

Love from Reno!

Boulders, Books, and Burritos

Andrew and I have been in Reno for just over a month.  Andrew, as always, has been a wonderful trip planner, and we've had many grand adventures.  We've also had some surprises, like the wild horses of Reno (who knew half the nation's wild-horses live in Nevada?!) that we stumbled by one evening on the way home from dinner.

 The picture above is from my phone...the picture on the bottom is from the Internet. Thank you, Internet, your timing was much better.


One of Halo's favorite surprises has been the marmots that live by the pond behind our apartment complex.  They are like giant, slow-moving squirrels.  She loves them.

Andrew and I keep noticing how much better Halo smells out here - like sage, instead of sewage.  The first time we took her to Lake Tahoe, she loved it.  Last weekend, however, it was windy and wavy and she was scared.  We finally convinced her (uh, forced) to try the paddleboard, but she did not enjoy herself. The scenery was beautiful, but I wasn't able to stand up because I'm not used to waves and Halo kept changing positions.

Andrew had a wonderful time, but there is no photographic evidence because Halo was rocking the board too much for me to take a picture.  We need to get her a life jacket.  (Look, parents, I'm wearing a life jacket!)

We found the Minnesota of Nevada this weekend.  We went hiking around Donner Summit, and Halo swam in three mountain lakes in two miles.  It was amazingly beautiful.  Andrew brought his new toy - a water filtration device - and we drank filtered lake water with our lunch. 

Below is the lunch for which this blog is named.  We ate burritos while sitting on boulders with our books.  It was fabulous.

 After lunch, Andrew swam.   The water was warm, but the air was chilly, and I didn't go in past my knees.

The next day, we left early to summit Mt. Rose.  It was a gorgeous 10 mile hike, complete with pine forests, granite boulders, volcanic conglomerate, meadows, mountain streams, and a waterfall.

And, of course, views of Lake Tahoe and Reno.

The whole day was even more perfect because we found out that morning that the seller accepted our offer on a house we found this week!  It's in the location we've been wanting since last summer, in an older, quiet neighborhood just a block from a big, open wash and less than a mile away from a huge park.  The house is a little dated, but it is move-in ready and full of potential.  Here is the backyard.


And here is the wet bar, straight from the '70's, which will have to go.



Also, Andrew bought a truck and we laid down in it today to confirm it will work for overnight trips - more pictures and adventures to come.

Work is good for both of us.  We both have things we miss about our old jobs, but are finding things we like about our new ones.

And that's August...  Come visit!

We moved!

After over a year of planning, obsessing, and boring friends and family with the details of our move (sorry!), Andrew and I finally set off on our trek to Reno.  Andrew drove, I played podcasts and helpfully pointed out mistakes he made while driving, and Kitten and Halo posed for pictures.  

 I take full credit for Andrew looking at the road while driving.  I really don't know how he manages to drive when I'm not in the car reminding him to look at the road.  He really appreciates my help.

It was also my job to document our trip, but I failed miserably.  I did, however, perk up and start taking pictures in Utah.  That's salt in front of the mountain!  Salt!

I've done better at taking pictures since we arrived in Reno because there are so many new and exciting places.  This is our apartment on the day we moved in.

Our apartment is in the Southwest of Reno, and is heavily irrigated.  I feel a little guilty about the amount of water used on our trees and grass, but the shade and pine-filled air is really nice.



We didn't spend much time unpacking since we don't plan on living in the apartment for long.  Instead, we went to Lake Tahoe two days in a row.  I thought it would be too cold to swim, but the water was perfect.  Halo had a fantastic time.  She has played in the water every weekend since we arrived, yet doesn't smell like sewage.  Imagine that!

Halo has adjusted really well to the move.  We run together every morning, and Andrew and I take her with us to explore a different place in the city almost every night.

Kitten, however, misses her Indiana yard.   She really wants to play outside, but we have to keep her in.

We let her out on the porch sometimes...and she managed to catch a bird.  Poor bird.

We moved very little furniture, and haven't really missed it.  Andrew uses his climbing crash pad as a couch, and we use my Grandpa and Grandma Reddix's old card table for a computer desk.

Ever since we met, Andrew and I have mostly been hermits, and have spent most of our weekends together.  Since moving to Reno, however, we've been apart almost every weekend.  I spent my first weekend in Klamath Falls with Katherine while Andrew explored Reno with Halo.  On our second weekend, I bailed on a very fun trip to San Jose  to visit May and Audie because I was feeling overly stressed about starting school the following Monday.

 On our third weekend in Reno, Andrew participated in a Mountaineering class at Donner Summit while I caught up on my reading and took Halo to a few creeks she hadn't swam in yet.  And she still doesn't smell like sewage!


This trail splits off of the Tahoe Rim Trail.  There's a creek along the boardwalk which Halo enjoyed immensely.

This is the Hunter Creek Trail.  Reno is full of little creeks that run between the mountains.  Halo loves running down the trail to get a drink, then running back up to meet me.


















Living this far from family still feels surreal.  We love all our new outdoor adventure possibilities, but it still feels strange not to be able to drive to see family.  I will try to do better about blogging regularly to make the distance seem shorter.