Memorial Adventures in Camping

John, Stacia, Josh, and I headed down to lower elevations in search of warmer weather and scenic camping this Memorial Weekend. Stacia spent some serious time researching the web, and she discovered Mokelumne River down in Eldorado County. When we turned off the highway 30 minutes past Kirkwood, we were a little concerned to discover we were still at 6000 feet and around lots of snow. But then the little road proceeded to drop quite drastically into this gorgeous valley, and next thing you know, it was warm, sunny, and we were at 3000 feet. The camp site was right on the river, and it was totally secluded and awesome! And the big bonus...the Salt Springs Reservoir was just a little further up the road for some fun kayaking adventures. Great weekend with the gang!

Chillin' at the campsite next to the rushing river.

Josh and his buddy Chris enjoying a few afternoon beers after a great game of frisbee golf.

Johnny and Stacia consulting the map and our cool location.

A scenic little creek feeding the river next to our campsite.

Chef Stacia setting up the gourmet camp dinner...she does know how to cook up some good camp grub!

Kishka probably had the most fun of anyone on this trip. What a lucky dog!

Kishka and Aunt Kat enjoying a little campfire action.

The Lange Lounger being modeled at one of it most scenic locations ever. Gotta love that chair!

Josh and John consulting on the preparation of the beans.

Look at this handsome guy!

John and Stacia posing in front of our epic campsite on the way out.

Turns out there was quite a long, steep, trecherous portage involved in getting our kayaks down to the low levels of the reservoir....

And it turns out Josh's kayak is very heavy!!!

But it was worth the trek...very cool lake to explore!

Stacia, Kat, and Josh...the kayakers.

Kat, John, and Josh heading out for round 2.

Caution: Kat Crossing!

This weekend was the 20th Annual Lake Cushing Crossing at Squaw Valley. The goal is to ski down the hill, fly off the jump, land on the water, and ski across without falling in. Easier said than done! This year I dressed up as a Rodeo Clown inside a barrel, which was a cool prop but adds a lot of drag and makes it hard to get all the way across. But I made it! And I won 1st place for the female competition!!

Kat the Rodeo Clown getting pumped up before the competition!

Ready for take-off! Can you see how high the jump was this year?!

Release the landing gear...

Going...

Going...

Still barely hanging on!

Here's a better perspective on the size of the pond...

And she's across...whew!

High fives in the finish area!

And Kat the Clown is all smiles after a successful crossing!

Congratulations Megan and Jesse!

Megan Ganong and Jesse Shirley tied the knot this weekend! It was quite a party. The ceremony was so touching and perfect, taking place over at Sand Harbor. And despite all our worries earlier in the week, the weather ended up being perfect. Then we headed over to the Chateau in Incline for some great food and lots of dancing. And then the party just kept going on the bus ride back to Alpine for the late night escapades...

Trevor, Lizard, and Josh enjoying the sun at Sand Harbor.

Josh, Liz, Ana Liz, and Paul patiently waiting for a look at the bride's dress.

Joe, Rena, and Trevor, all lookin' quite sharp!

Kat and Josh, getting ready to take notes for their own "big day".

Dah dah da-dah...And here she comes now!

Have you ever seen Megan looking more beautiful? Rick sure must be proud.

The ceremony with a gorgeous Lake Tahoe backdrop.

Derrek, Travis, Chelsea, Sabrina, Ali, and Megan. What a good looking wedding party!

Katharine and Josh enjoying some delicious slow cooked ribs.

Posing with the glowing bride...what a perfect day!!

A Little Back Country Spring Adventure

Last weekend was Megan Ganong and Jesse Shirley's Wedding Weekend, so all sorts of fun people came to town...A couple of my personal favorites being Chelsea and Trevor Robinson! I was lucky enough to get to go on a little Back Country Skiing Adventure with Trevor on Friday. We headed up Jake's Peak again, and it was awesome! Top 20 turns or so were fresh winter powder, and then the rest of the way was a bit more variable. The day was gorgeous, the temps were perfect, and the company was amazing. Thanks for a great ski Trev!

Trevor on the skin up, smiling and chatting the whole way!

Kat setting the pace...and it was a pretty mean one ;)

Trevor enjoying the view of Tahoe from the top of Jake's.

What a wonderful world!!

It was a little chilly up top, so we bundled up for our picnic lunch.

Trev loving his old stomping grounds...we miss him back here in Tahoe!

The views of Desolation.

The day was all smiles with my adventure buddy...wish he was around more often.

Easter Sunday

We had a lovely Easter lunch down in Fairfield this year, and it doubled as my grandmother's birthday celebration. Check out this good-looking family!!

Meg's Bachelorette Weekend

We headed down to Napa on Easter Weekend for Megan's Bachelorette Party. We had a great turnout of old friends, and the trip was really fun. Cool hike, champagne and wine tasting, picnic, dinners, dancing, spa, and of course, everyone's favorite, crazy bachelorette bar dares! It was the perfect sendoff party. Good luck in married life Meg!

Ali navigating across the rushing river on our hike.

Luckily we had quite the athletic bunch on this trip... there was no slacking on this 2 hour hike!

Then a quick change in the park bathrooms, and these hot ladies were ready for some Mumm's Champagne! Caroline, Ali, Cara, and Megan.

Cara, Ali, and Caroline enjoying the nice scenery at Mumm's.

Megan and Antja...got enough champagne there girls?

Kat and Cara with a quick "cheers" to the bride.

The gang gathered for a gourmet picnic in the park.

The power of the engagement ring!

Kat and Meg enjoying a delicious Italian dinner with the requisite penis themed props.

Antja and Sabrina were lovin' their frosting dipped penis whistles.

One of the big dares of the evening...a Megan dancing sandwich with 2 strange men, in the middle of the street no less!

Antja and Kat having fun with cameras and rings.

Why does everyone always want to buy shots for a bride?!

Megan was a good sport with all the dares... this was her fabulous air guitar performance.

And, the morning after, in front of the cute Victorian house we got to stay at.

Nice yoga moves Megan!

My Charlie Chaplin Face

Well, I successfully survived another year of Big Mountain Comps at Kirkwood relatively unscathed (despite two big somersaulting crashes), only to have another huge crash back home at Squaw the next weekend. Got caught up in some rocks on the Adrenaline Chute and again somersaulted down the hill. This time I was not so lucky... I ended up with a huge fat lip, which then turned into a huge bruise that made me look like I had a Charlie Chaplin moustache!! Not too cute. These pictures are about 5 days later, so the bruise had actually faded a lot, but you get the idea...

It was quite embarrassing at work all week...everyone thought I had food or dirt all over my face, but most of them just looked at me funny and didn't say anything!

Luckily Josh still said I looked pretty... He's a good liar!