not much to report this week

Howdy, folks!  It's been a week at work, I tell you.  Everything that can come up before the big trip next week has come up.  Yay?  Ah well.  But also, ugh.

Anyway, it's been quiet nights at home, making dinner for Conrad and bringing it up to him. Yep, still testing positive.  Poor guy.  He's bored and frustrated.  I feel for him.

I did get out last night, though.  Van and I went to a friend's professional/social over at Barbrix,

and you know what?  We had a great time.  A few drinks, very light bites (we grabbed a late dinner afterward), and a lot of chat with a nice gay couple whom we'd like to invite over some time and get to know better.

And now it's Friday evening, I have made dinner and had a cocktail (the Blue Sky),

and Conrad is still isolated.  Sigh.  May the weekend free him! 

quick TO check-in

Howdy from late at night in Toronto.  I fly home tomorrow.  It’s been a truly fantastic weekend, spending time with Allison and more.  Alas, it must come to an end.

Much more to come, but hey, how about a photo from today?

road trip to Death Valley, day three

The last part of the road trip saga.  The day we came home, but not without seeing a little more of the park, first.

Late morning, and we checked out

of our delightful hotel. 

It really was a terrific property.  Come on, look at it. 

Glorious.  And that's just part of it.  Did I mention the golf carts?  But even pretty much across the street from the hotel, there were some cool rock formations. 

The park had so much to offer.

We stopped to get a little bite and some coffee (and why oh why did none of the coffee vendors seem to have decaf?  Come on!) and then headed south to Badwater Basin.

The Basin.  The lowest point below sea level in North America. 

See the little sign up there? 

That was sea level.  It was a cloudy Monday, and the crowds were less than we had seen elsewhere the day before.  Equally happily, the clouds meant less glare on the salt flats we all walked out on.

I gather that it is rare to see water in the basin as we did.  A very shallow lake stretched out, reflecting the landscape above it. 

It was so very cool that we got to see that.  We didn't see salt formations like the park guides suggested, but perhaps we didn't wander to the right areas.  It was really something, though to be atop all that salt. 

And at that low point.

We got photos of ourselves,

we got photos of the surrounding area. 

We got in the car, and headed south to eventually exit the park.  The drive was a little desolate in a very wonderful way - it's nice when it feels like you have the whole road and even the valley to yourself.  Ultimately, we made it onto the 15, and, in darkness, onto the 210.  A slog getting home, but we made it in time for me and Conrad to go out for pizza.

That wraps up Death Valley.  I look forward to another national park some time.  And now, to bed.  I have to fly to Baltimore tomorrow....

road trip to Death Valley, day one

We're home from the long weekend.  It's back to work tomorrow for a couple of days, then out of town again for me.  I'll blog that when the time comes, no worries.  For now, let me tell the tale of the weekend that was.

We set out late Saturday morning, heading up the 210 to the 14 and through Palmdale and Lancaster, cities I knew of from work but had never ventured to.  From there it was onto smaller roads

that took us past the Trona Pinnacles

and Searles Lake, through the settlement of Trona (I was on the other side of the car from the town's buildings)

with its ongoing chemical mining operations, and then through Ridgecrest where we stopped for lunch.  After that, it was back on small roads that opened up onto the Panamint Valley, one valley west from Death Valley. 

We dropped down into it, and drove toward the park, stopping at the marker for the ghost town of Ballarat

and then at the sign for the entrance to Death Valley National Park. 

There were a few blooms already visible,

though I think it won't be a great year for flowers unless we get more rain.  We took pictures at the sign,

including of the Panamint Range and the snow on Telescope Peak,

then we headed east, deeper into the park.

There will be more sights from Death Valley in coming blog posts, but the first one that we got to admire (and come back to the next day) was the Mesquite Flat Dunes. 

Gorgeous with the approaching sunset.  A real delight.  The sun dipped behind the Panamint Range,

and we made it to the hotel in dimming light.

Ah, the hotel.  The Oasis at Death Valley.  An historic site, a classic national parks hotel still nicely maintained.  We stayed down below the main building, in the casitas. 

But ah, what a fine building the main lodge is. 

Come 7:00, we were sitting down to dinner in the dining room.  Salmon for me, nicely prepared. 

After dinner, we stopped by the pool bar,

and then it was home to the casita to unwind and head to bed so that we would be properly rested for a day of exploration.

things I have learned (#42971)

In fact, I've probably learned far fewer than 42971 things in life. Either that or my sieve-like memory has dropped approximately 42964 of them. Likely the latter. What was I just going on about?

I have learned this much. This? Is wrong.

Kudos to catering at my university for letting me down. Iced tea, people, ICED.

This much I know.

wee New Zealand post (2)

It's an in-joke between me and Conrad we carry too far, I tell you. On our return to Wellington, we simply could not resist...