Life in Chama

Turning a Walnut Bowl

2012-01-27T20:22:00.000-07:00

Hmmm

2011-12-07T23:48:00.003-07:00

I'm not sure about shilling for a company on here, but WOOT.com has occasionally had some really good deals and they said they would 'share the wealth' if readers use the links on here. I threw a couple of their links on over there --------> if anyone is interested. Today's deal is a good one, I bought 2 boxes of 60 AA batteries for $17 including shipping...... about 14 cents a battery.

WOOT OFF!!!

2011-12-05T10:19:00.002-07:00

Hey, there's a WOOT OFF going on at WOOT.COM! (Link is over there to the right, and I get a little something if anyone actually buys something through the link)
One item is sold at a time, usually at a pretty big savings. When that item sells out they post another and so on until it's over. If you happen to get lucky enough and see the "Bag of Crap" listed, make sure you buy as many as you can. You never know what will be in it (my first one had 13 MP3 players, 5 tee shirts, a remote control, a GPS unit (no instructions or cord) and a bunch of other stuff..... all for $3.00 + $5.00 shipping. Check it out!

Apache Trail, unpaved

2011-11-18T07:13:00.002-07:00

This is the road where it drops down to Fish Creek. Pretty narrow and a single lane bridge at the bottom. Both of these look better (a little) if you watch them in HD (change the resolution down in the lower right).

Driving the Apache Trail

2011-11-18T07:10:00.002-07:00

We drove the Apache Trail (Arizona 88) between Apache Junction and Lake Roosevelt last night. Fantastic road and lots to see. I want to come back and do the paved section on my motorcycle......

Another?

2011-11-13T23:02:00.003-07:00

Here's another one (in HD this time) since that seems to work.....

Videos?

2011-11-13T23:00:00.003-07:00

Not sure if this will work, but I'll try embedding a Youtube video I took:

Simon Canyon

2011-11-12T09:31:00.004-07:00

We hiked into Simon Canyon Ruin with Mom & Dad yesterday. We were driving to Farmington and passing by when Dad remembered hearing about it and we decided to check it out. Easy hike and a really cool ruin on top of a huge boulder. There was a rope attached to the top on the back side that made for an 'exciting' climb to the top for a few of us.

What lies beneath.....

2011-11-10T22:57:00.002-07:00

Took Mom & Dad and the kids over to Willow Creek this afternoon to watch the salmon run. I was trying out a new mount I made for the waterproof case for the ContourGPS camera we just got at work. I thought I was recording video but had it set to still photos by mistake. Here's one....

She's climbing the walls!

2011-11-07T14:36:00.003-07:00

Jenni sent me these this morning from her cell phone. Apparently Sara can't get on FB until she gets to Xian so this will have to do for now.
She said the weather was fantastic and they followed the Wall climb with a acrobat show (the circus kind, not the software kind).

She made it!

2011-11-07T00:12:00.002-07:00

Got an email from the wife, she and Jenni made it to Beijing safely. I imagine she is climbing the Wall by now.....

It's a big day.

2011-11-04T09:27:00.004-06:00

Sara leaves to begin her research in Chinese toiletry. From the little bit of investigating I've done, this would appear to be a particularly sanitary example. We will miss her terribly!

A couple items I've noticed are missing: DOORS, and Toilet Paper......

Pease from a plane

2011-10-11T09:32:00.000-06:00

When we flew out of Manchester, NH on our way home this summer, we flew straight East. I've never taken that route before and was trying to follow along. I snapped a few pictures on a little digital camera I had and when I got back tried to match the photo up with the same view in Google Earth. Here is the one of Pease Air Force Base and Portsmouth, NH in the background. Kinda cool.....

2011-09-28T16:06:00.000-06:00

Heading East
Getting up at 3am to drive up to Salida and meet CB. Gotta get to the Denver airport by 10am to catch a flight east. Thanks to Capt. Mike for the buddy passes, couldn't have made it otherwise.
Uncle George's funeral on Saturday. Should be big. Hard to believe he's gone. Glad Sara, Eric and I went to see him a couple weeks ago. He was having a good day, alert, energetic, himself..... a good way to be remembered.

Camping/Fishing

2011-06-27T11:05:00.000-06:00

The boys and I went on a campout fishing trip to a super secret spot I 'discovered' a few years ago. We fished Friday night after setting up camp and then hiked to a different lake and fished (unsucessfully) Saturday morning. In the afternoon we headed back to the first lake and had some luck there.......

New place

2011-03-28T15:12:00.002-06:00

Apparently there are still a few people that look at this (according to the stats counter) so I guess I better add an update every now and then. We met up with CB & Mandy, Mom & Dad, and Ed & Audrey this weekend. I've been looking over an area on the map that looked like it might have some interesting things to see. Turns out it has a LOT of interesting things to see and the cool part is it is only an hour and a half from home. We'll be back......

A hike in June

2010-06-19T23:59:00.001-06:00

We took a little hike today to a spot I've been wondering about for a long time. I think we'll go back....

First Balloon flight

2010-02-27T12:00:00.002-07:00

So after a two month layoff, Aunty Ann has shamed me into updating the ol' Blog.....
Sara had to deliver Girl Scout cookies this morning and the kids were in the back room playing Wii when the neighbors usually quiet dog (I can actually tolerate this one) started barking like crazy. I took a look outside and saw that it was a hot air balloon flying over town. I told the kids and they started FREAKING out, running around the house and getting dressed and jumping into boots and just carnage, yelling the whole time at each other to hurry. We drove around town and saw about 8 0r 9 other balloons either lifting off or landing. We sat and watched one and after a while, the trailer drove up and the wife of the pilot got out and started talking to us and giving the kids some cards. I asked her how to go about getting a ride sometime as it has been a dream of Sara's forever. The lady says that when the balloon lands she is sure her husband would take the kids up.....
We rushed home, put on some warmer clothes, grabbed some food and hurried back. We had to drive around for a while til we found the balloon again as it had moved across town and touched down. Some other people were just getting into the basket for a little lift off so we stood around and helped hold the lines until they landed again. The pilot was all ready to collapse it and put it away when his wife went over and told him these kids had hurried home and got dressed and to take them up..... of course he complied.....
Anyway, we got a cool little flight and went up about 150-200ft. Landed and helped collapse and store the balloon, and then had a little 'first flight' ceremony with a story and champagne toast (kids had water). We were a little hesitant to tell Sara about it when we got home because we knew she would be sad/mad.... and we were right. Next time, Mom.

Texas at Christmas

2010-01-02T21:34:00.001-07:00

Facebook album test

2009-12-14T11:02:00.002-07:00

Since I haven't been real good about updating this, I thought I would try linking to Facebook photo albums and see if that works.
Here are some elk I saw this morning:
Click here

Saturday morning

2009-11-07T11:30:00.000-07:00

Stucco going up

Kids new favorite room

Things to be happy about

2009-10-29T21:04:00.000-06:00

Deer in front of the house in the snow
The first fire in the woodstove in the new room.

The twins turned 6

2009-10-02T00:15:00.004-06:00

I'm slow on the update..... they turned 6 on September 11........

A few new room pictures

2009-10-02T00:11:00.001-06:00

Same old slideshow, but there should be about 6 new pix at the end that show the current status of the new room:

New room pix

2009-09-24T08:59:00.006-06:00

New Room!

2009-09-24T08:55:00.003-06:00

The old back porch is gone and the new room has started taking shape!

Single Speed World Championships 2009

2009-09-21T23:28:00.002-06:00

We went to the Single Speed World Championships in Durango this weekend. Our friend Scott Simmons took 22nd out of over 1000 riders. Single Speeders are a unique breed.......

New Tribal Administration Building

2009-08-21T16:21:00.003-06:00

I know, I know, I haven't updated this in a while. We've taken a trip to OR & CA and spent 3 weeks in NH since the last update. I figured I throw up some picture from the new building next to my office. The Grand Opening was today, very nice.

Cali Part 2

2009-07-20T22:29:00.001-06:00

More California pix:

California

2009-07-16T02:36:00.000-06:00

First pix

New OR pix

2009-07-15T00:49:00.002-06:00

I added some pictures from today to the web album and they seem to have added themselves to the slideshow below. Click on any picture in the slideshow to go to the web album (better viewing).
On to CA tomorrow.....

Oregon continued

2009-07-14T09:24:00.001-06:00

Some pix from our first sunny day (yesterday).
I have a really bad connection so I'll add captions later.

Oregon

2009-07-13T11:15:00.001-06:00

First trip pix

Hummingbird nest followup

2009-07-08T09:11:00.002-06:00

I rode over to Farmington yesterday and stopped by the hummingbird nest. It looks like at least one of the eggs has hatched. I forgot to bring the camera so had to use my cell phone to take a picture. The little guy is about as big as my first knuckle.

Lake City 4th of July

2009-07-06T11:28:00.002-06:00

Being alone for the 4th, I decided to take a trip north and see Craig & Mandy in Lake City.
Didn't do too much but got in a fantastic 4 hour dirtbike ride up Engineer and Cinnamon passes. Left for home Sunday night and creamed a deer driving down Wolf Creek Pass last night. No major damage to the 4Runner but the deer ain't looking so good.

Hummingbird Egg picture

2009-06-22T08:59:00.000-06:00

Not sure why this one didn't post with the others. Oh well, here's the eggs.

Hummingbird Nest

2009-06-22T08:55:00.000-06:00

We went to Farmington on Saturday to get new tires. The kids were really hyper so we went to a park to let them burn off some energy.

I noticed a hummingbird buzzing around making a lot of noise and acting angry. After a few minutes I saw it land on a branch and sit there for a while. Eventually it flew right over my head and landed in this nest.

There were 2 eggs that were about double the size of a Tic-Tac and about the same shape. Very cool!

Drive up Cumbres Pass

2009-06-14T20:00:00.002-06:00

We went for a drive up the pass (get the kids out of the house so mom can organize).
Good time in spite of a passing thunderstorm:

La Puente yardsale

2009-06-13T18:49:00.002-06:00

So we went for a little drive in the country and stopped by a yard sale a friend had told us about. Turns out the lathe that was for sale isn't something I needed but the box of stuff with the BB gun in it was too good to pass up for $5.00..... Mom also hit paydirt and scored a little table with REAL CRACKLE PAINT on it.... (feigned excitement)
After that we hiked to some falls and came home and took a few pictures of poppys.
The BIG adventure is tomorrow.

Bag of Crap

2009-05-29T23:07:00.003-06:00

Many have tried to win the WOOT.Com "Bag of Crap" over the years (including the author) without success. During the last WOOT-Off I was finally able to place my order before the servers crashed and the box arrived today. With great anticipation I hurried to the Post Office after work and picked up my box. The Postmaster was astounded that I had purchased the contents of a box and had no idea what might be inside. I offered to open it right there so he could watch and we were both astonished at what you can get for a $3.00 fee (plus the standard $5.00 shipping) over the Internets:

Concrete counters

2009-05-23T21:06:00.002-06:00

The counters are all done! Sara and Holly applied the acid stain yesterday and washed them down today. I came down and sealed them with Holly. They look great (to us anyway)!!

New Doors

2009-05-18T21:44:00.000-06:00

Our first ever bedroom door!! It will triple lock from the inside.
New (old) cabinets almost done.

Kids outside new bathroom (old door)

Foxy

2009-05-18T21:24:00.000-06:00

A fox kit behind the house where we are staying in Pagosa Springs

Extended lunchbreak

2009-05-13T15:32:00.000-06:00

Went home at lunchtime and got the bike out. Happy times

The bedroom floor

2009-05-12T19:23:00.001-06:00

Dave and Sara sanding the bedroom floor. It is a lot redder than the kitchen.

Geese

2009-05-12T14:09:00.000-06:00

I saw these little guys on the way home last night. Pretty cute.

Painting

2009-05-11T00:24:00.000-06:00

Did some painting today:

From House

The new (old) floor.

2009-05-07T16:38:00.001-06:00

Here's how the kitchen floor looks now (click picture for the album, new pictures are at the end)

From House

Sheep on the way to work

2009-05-04T08:53:00.000-06:00

Floor pix up

2009-05-02T16:29:00.002-06:00

Click on the web album in the post below. Should be some pictures of the pine flooring that was under the old linoleum in the kitchen. Supposed to be done in the kitchen and bedroom by Monday. Looks good so far!

Slideshow updates

2009-04-22T11:40:00.001-06:00

Apparently if I add new photos to the Web Album it will also update the slideshow with the new photos as well. It might be easier just to click on this:

House

Hmm.....

2009-04-14T20:26:00.002-06:00

Well, I updated some photos of Sara and Dave's hard work today to the Web-Album. I am not sure if the slide show on the posting below will include these new photos or not.....?
If it doesn't, click on the slideshow a couple times and it will open the online album and you can see them from there.
I'm home alone in a cold, very dusty house tonight. Sara & Dave will be back at it tomorrow.

House work

2009-04-09T20:01:00.002-06:00

Well, the long awaited house renovation has begun. Our friend Dave has been working for a couple days now and things are really progressing. Up first will be enclosing the porch and making some more storage space and a laundry room. Next will come the addition of a new bathroom in the front bedroom/classroom and then on to the kitchen where I don't know what is happening, aside from all new appliances and cabinets. I haven't really 'taken charge' on this one so I'm a little out of the loop on what all is going to go down. Here's the pix (I recommend clicking on the slideshow until it opens the web-album where you can view the captions better):

Another trip to Abiquiu

2009-03-30T12:40:00.002-06:00

The kids and I drove down to Abiquiu on Saturday for some more exploring. I was looking at an area on Google Maps that I wanted to hike into. Turns out it involved a major descent into a canyon that we thought we could tackle another day when we had more supplies (snacks). We retreated and did a little scrambling around and found some arrowheads and cool rocks instead. We shall return.....

Trip to Monte Vista

2009-03-09T17:19:00.003-06:00

I had to go over the pass to Monte Vista, Colorado this morning for a Cutthroat Trout meeting and saw all these Sandhill Cranes up in the Valley. Amazing how many there are!

Abiquiu Adventures

2009-03-08T22:01:00.001-06:00

We took a little drive about an hour south today and did some exploring. We all had fun:

Florida pix

2009-02-20T13:21:00.001-07:00

New friend

2009-02-15T18:19:00.000-07:00

A new friend I caught up with at the beach today.

The captive

2009-02-15T18:08:00.000-07:00

Sawyer's little buddy.

Disney

2009-02-10T07:13:00.003-07:00

Hike to the river

2009-02-02T12:06:00.002-07:00

The kids and I took a hike down to the river on Saturday while mom cleaned the house.
We saw a porcupine in a tree.

Bowling night

2009-02-02T11:45:00.000-07:00

We had a little bowling party on Friday night in the building I work in.

Swimming at work

2009-01-27T00:54:00.000-07:00

Pictures

2009-01-16T12:11:00.001-07:00

Fox on a hot tin roof

2009-01-11T19:37:00.000-07:00

So....

Foxy Loxy

2009-01-11T19:32:00.000-07:00

We got up early this morning for a trip to Santa Fe. I was looking out the window, checking the weather and heard the wierdest screach/howl. A few seconds later something ran down the ally in front of the house and out of sight. About 10 seconds after that, a fox walked across the front porch and stopped right outside the door and looked up at me, maybe 4 feet away!
I called everybody else and they all came running. Sara had trimmed some scraps off my Elk backstrap and had them in a bag. We threw a couple pieces out in the driveway and about 3 minutes later this guy came back and scarfed them down. Pretty cool!

Coons

2008-12-29T19:13:00.000-07:00

I heard a noise outside a few minutes ago. These two were russling around.

Elk hunt, 2008

2008-12-24T20:31:00.001-07:00

A good day before Christmas:

Mason working

2008-12-17T10:52:00.001-07:00

Mason's first bowl from MarkB on Vimeo.

Monkey(s) on my back

2008-12-16T01:30:00.000-07:00

Second batch of Costa Rica pix

2008-11-18T06:56:00.000-07:00

Sara's Costa Rica

First batch of Costa Rica pix

2008-11-17T00:51:00.002-07:00

Here's some pictures from our video camera. It does a decent job with stills:

Zipline

2008-11-14T22:52:00.001-07:00

Zipline from MarkB on Vimeo.

Rio Celeste falls

2008-11-14T21:34:00.001-07:00

Rio Celeste Falls from MarkB on Vimeo.

White Faced Coati

2008-11-14T15:13:00.001-07:00

White Faced Coati from MarkB on Vimeo.

Arenal Volcano boulders

2008-11-14T15:06:00.001-07:00

I could have sat and watched this for days.....

Arenal Volcano lava boulders from MarkB on Vimeo.

Costa Rica

2008-11-14T15:03:00.001-07:00

We're back from Costa Rica. Great trip, we would leave again tomorrow if it weren't for jobs and kids and the real world. Here's a few video clips I've been working on.

Keel Billed Toucan from MarkB on Vimeo.

Apple picking

2008-10-18T19:23:00.001-06:00

We picked our apple tree today. Unreal how many we got. The house smells of apple butter and sauce.

Eh, Yeah, about that tarantula.......

2008-10-11T00:35:00.000-06:00

MISSING:
Small furry arachnid.
Last seen in his aquarium in the living room just before story time.
Answers to "Hairy"
If seen, please call Dad (Mom is not taking calls on the topic)

and he's NOT under the couch, we already looked.

Rescued from the highway

2008-10-09T20:26:00.000-06:00

I found this guy crossing the highway on the way home yesterday. "Rescued" to our house for a few days.....
They highway may look good after we get done 'loving' him for a while.

Muh new boards!

2008-09-29T19:09:00.001-06:00

Flippin' sweet!
Got em at the ski sale in Pagosa yesterday. The are like an inch and a half wider in the waist than my other ones.

First Tooth

2008-09-29T19:02:00.000-06:00

Lost it Sunday

Sorry reader

2008-09-27T20:48:00.002-06:00

Sorry readers, our home computer has been down for about a month. Can't even start Windows on it.... I'll take it in for repair/retirement next week.
In the mean time, here are some pictures from up in the pass above our house from today. The fall colors are just starting to come out.

Latest

2008-09-16T22:57:00.000-06:00

Apricot from Scott's garage site. I love this wood, but it splits when drying.

Daddy's little project

2008-09-16T17:32:00.000-06:00

My project over the past couple days...

Sawyer

2008-09-16T01:51:00.003-06:00

Sara's pictures from Marble

2008-09-06T15:31:00.001-06:00

Some more off Sara's camera:

Insurance Fraud

2008-09-06T15:06:00.001-06:00

Edmond thinking about that big insurance policy he holds on Olivia....
Marble, CO

New friends

2008-09-06T09:55:00.000-06:00

We were down at the river yesterday and found 3 baby snakes. They have been well loved.......
Release date is today.

Marble and stuff

2008-09-06T09:45:00.002-06:00

We met Edmond & Olivia and a couple of their worthless children in Colorado. We went to Eagle and Carbondale and Marble and had fun. More pictures later:

Ride em' Cowboys

2008-09-06T09:28:00.001-06:00

After an entire week of begging...... "Dad, can we ride horses tonight after work?" (asked on my way out the door and then again as soon as I got home)
We finally went down to ride at the woman I ride to work with's house. Happy kids and sane parents.

Peregrine Falcon

2008-08-27T08:36:00.002-06:00

This guy has a broken wing and was brought in to Game & Fish. I only had my cell phone for a camera, so not the best images......

Penitente Canyon

2008-08-23T09:31:00.002-06:00

A few pictures from my trip to Penitente Canyon last weekend. I went up to meet little bro and Mandy and do some climbing. It ended up raining after we got 3 climbs in.

It's a dry heat.....

2008-08-23T09:14:00.000-06:00

Driving home from Idaho

2008-08-05T19:47:00.002-06:00

Here's a few shots from my 872 mile day driving home from Idaho.

Gramma's car

2008-08-05T18:56:00.000-06:00

Arden in the rearview cam.

Lewis Falls

2008-08-03T18:13:00.001-06:00

Yellowstone National Park

Lewis Falls, Yellowstone National Park from MarkB on Vimeo.

Scenes from the far East

2008-07-29T00:16:00.000-06:00

Mostly shot video. I'll have to edit some and post it.....

Polyphemus Moth

2008-07-11T15:42:00.000-06:00

Found this guy at work this morning. Polyphemus moth (Giant Silkworm Moth)

A trip to Texas

2008-07-10T23:47:00.002-06:00

The wife and I drove to Texas and back this week. The mission was to see a well-loved dying uncle one last time.
15 hours of driving puts you in Dallas/Ft. Worth if you don't get distracted on the way by interesting abandoned buildings, ranches, towns, and mansions......