I want to ride

Bicycle, bicycle... Congratulations to Floyd Landis for winning the Tour de France this morning. He is the new American cycling hero. It will take some time to tell exactly how Floyd's courage in stage 17 pans out in the race's history - but what a thriller this year. We've been watching 'the tour' in the mornings before we go to work/day care.

I have smaller, more immediate goals. I am dressed up in my new bumble bee helmet and sitting in my new bicycle child carrier. A big "Thank you" to Theravance (Papa's employer) for their annual wellness benefit check which funded the bicycle accessories. Papa has mounted the carrier on the back of his old mountain bike so I can tag along on neighborhood rides. Wheee! We went to visit the Farmer's market last weekend and bought lots of fresh fruits and vegetables for less money than what we'd pay at the big chain supermarkets. The money goes directly to the growers and we get perfect produce. Everybody wins.

More Yellowstone

The first picture is a view of the lower falls in Yellowstone Canyon from Lookout Point. Papa got lucky with the exposure and captured an interesting effect on the lens and toplit clouds. A few days earlier we had visited the upper falls and felt the awesome power of the Yellowstone river as it cascaded down. Impressive.

The second picture is me hanging out with bear. Actually this bear is different from my buddy at home. This one is quite a bit bigger, blacker, and decidedly scarier. Bah, bah! No worries though, he'd be my friend if I spent enough time here. Babies like bears.

Yellowstone vacation

Here are a few pictures from our recent trip to Yellowstone. It was my first airplane trip so I was a bit apprehensive about the procedure. Luckily my parents let me play with a plastic bag (not normally recommended for safety reasons). Plastic bags are quite entertaining for their scritchiness and this one kept me busy during the long wait at SFO. We flew into Salt Lake City and changed to a smaller turboprop plane for the final leg to West Yellowstone. I tried to be on my best behavior for the sake of the other passengers and was glad to finally arrive.

Mama and Papa took a day to fish the upper Madison river. The second picture is Mama with her first ever trout caught on a fly. The guide Chris Connor is holding up the small brownie, which went back unharmed to the mighty river. Several rainbows and many whitefish were also caught during their float from Lyons Bridge to just past the Palisades. Papa was proud of Mama for all the fish she caught.

The last picture is the family on top of Mount Washburn in Yellowstone National Park. While on top, a local asked from where we were visiting. Papa replied, "sea level." Teehee. The elevation is listed as 10,243 ft. Mama carried me all the way to the top by herself - quite a workout. I highly recommend this 6.4 mile hike if you do visit the park; it rewards with vistas few get to experience.

Happy 4th of July

I can't believe it is July already. Half of the year gone by. I am excited because being summer means it is time for vacation. We are headed out at the end of the week to visit Yellowstone National Park.

YNP straddles the corners of Idaho, Montana, and Wyoming and is the world's first national park. We will be staying near the West entrance with many of Mama's family members. GrannyM and Pop-Pop Bob have even volunteered to watch me while my parents take a float trip down the Madison River. The river is a fly fisher's dream destination for the area's famous cutthroat, rainbow, and brown trout. Yippie.

I promise to make Papa take lots of pictures. See you soon.