Rainbow

A thunderstorm rolled in last night around 6:00. I was planning to head out for a run, but I delayed for a while to wait for the storm to pass. I thought of the many times I have been in a shelter along the trail while a heavy rain soaked the woods . . and the times that I did not make it to shelter before the rains came pounding in, and I have ended up with soaking socks and shoes. I ran through Greenbelt Park after the rain slacked off, and on the way back a rainbow appeared in the northeastern sky.
This morning I am sitting by the back window enjoying the view of the green, leafy woods, as Calista plays around on her playmat. I am very happy with the way our addition(s) have turned out.

Appalachian Trail re-visited

It's been almost a year since I finished the Appalachian Trail by hiking to Roan Mountain (I am pictured at right on the exact spot where I finished). I have yet to bring Calista out on her first AT hike, and in fact I have not been on the AT at all since last June. It's been a busy year! But I have been working on a journal of my travels. The journal consists of a description of each day of hiking, along with photos, elevation profiles, mileage totals, and maps. I might be adding to it over the summer (I just read about some new ideas for creating computer-based trip journals in Backpacker magazine), but I view it as essentially complete. So . . check it out if you are interested.

UPDATE - Tatiana reminded me that Calista actually HAS been on a portion of the AT. I hiked the southernmost ~20 miles of the Tuscarora Trail in April, starting at Elizabeth Furnace in the Massanuttan Mountains (a mountain ridge parallel to Shenandoah). Tatiana met me in Shenandoah, and hiked a short section of the AT with Calista while waiting for me. I was also on the AT for the last mile of the hike. The Tuscarora Trail, but the way, is a 200+ mile trail that joins the AT in Shenandoah and again near Harrisburg, but follows a more western route. It was devised in the 1960s, before the National Trails Act was passed, providing permanent federal protection for the AT corridor. Prior to the passage of the Act, trail managers feared that development would overtake the trail corridor between Shenandoah and southern Pennsylvania.

Finishing touches on the house

I don't suppose we will ever really be "finished" with the house, but we moved one step closer in late May when we did some painting of the hallway along the stairs and the bathroom. We also put up a collection of photos on the wall -- they are all 5x7 shots we have taken in outdoor setting, mostly along the Appalachian Trail. We got our new table back in March, but we did not get the chairs until recently - they can be seen on one of the photos as well.


For those who are interested (which will likely only include brother Mike), the photos are of:
* the Susqhehannock Trail in Feb 2007
* Big Bald on the AT in North Carolina (June 07)
* McAfee Knob on the AT in Virginia (April 07)
* Snow in the Nantahala Mountains (AT south of the Smokies, April 05)
* Apple Orchard Mountain, Oct. 06
* Katahdin
* Roan Mountain, June 07
* Rhododendron Tunnel on the AT in North Carolina

You can see better copies of most of the images on my photo website

Hanging out with Daddy

We have settled in to the summer phase of Calista's first year. I am taking care of her during the day while Tatiana is back at work. Things are going fairly well. I have been out running with her in the stroller a few times, and have made a couple of trips out to the store, but mostly we hang out at home. I am taking an online course with American Museum of Natural History, so I work on that while she is sleeping or otherwise occupied.

Calista is somewhat irregular with her naps at this point. She tends to nap for about 20-30 minutes once every 3 hours or so. She loves her yellow blanket, and it's very cute to see her snuggle up with it - especially when she is feeling sleepy. I have posted a few new pictures