Pettingell Peak is the high point of Grand Country in Colorado, and a great 13′er near Herman Lake. Getting to the top requires a bit of class 3 rock scrambling and is definitely not advised for those who have an extreme fear of heights or exposure. The weather was pretty nice for most of the...
One of the many things I love about Austin is the annual Carnaval Brasilerio festival that goes on every February. It’s a huge Samba party thats been going on for about 30 years now, and it’s pretty much the wildest, craziest and most flamboyant party I’ve ever been to. Begun in the early...
It’s been a busy past couple of weeks. I’ve been out and about in Houston, catching up with all sorts of old friends. I’ve also ben treating myself fairly well, with christmas presents to myself of a new laptop, digital camera, and GPS. I figured with the upcoming season at the pole again, it’ll be...
I’ve now been in Austin for three days, and every one has been fantastic. The first night I got here, a bunch of my old friends met me at a new bar, and then we went out country dancing. I can’t even tell you when we got home..I was just very glad I didn’t have...
Before we head down to the South Pole, the winterover crew attends a week of fire training in Denver. This was a blast! It was a hugely physical class where we learned how to do just about everything that would need to be done in a real emergency. One of my favorite highlights was going...
Another Halloween has come and gone, which of course meant drunken debauchery in Austin! This year I went as a perverted priest. Lots of fun to be had with a costume as naughty as that one! We went out at least three times during Halloween week. Once to Leslie’s party, once...
Mardi Gras is always an amazing street party in Austin. This year there were a few police issues where the local force decided that they were going to demonstrate who was really in charge. Despite the cancellation of the street parade with floats it was still a great time. Our gang decided to dress up...
Every February Austin has its own version of the Carnaval festival in Brazil. It’s usually a two night party with samba bands, costumes, cheap beer, and just a great hedonistic time. This year two of my scuba club buddies and I went dressed as trees. We got green body paint and cheap...
Austin exploded in a typical street party for the last day of the 20th century. (Ok, technically not for another year, but it sounds good!) My excellent friends Amy and Brian came down from Lubbock and Dallas to see what a real party would look like. The city sure didn’t let us down. Everything was...
My friend April had a training class in San Francisco, and had decided to take a bit of a vacation afterwards. She invited me to join her for a tour of the Napa valley and Bay areas. We spent a long weekend driving around, sampling wines, and just having fun. One of my favorite things...
