Saturday, April 14, 2012

Bender Peak and Flat BM Hike

Last weekend I decided to go hiking in the Danskin Mountains outside of Boise.  This has become a bit of a Spring ritual as the area is only enjoyable before the opening of ORV season on April 10.  I decided to climb Bender Peak (a.k.a. Peak 4966') and Flat BM, two very minor summits which I'm sure rarely see visits from hikers.  This hike was very near to last Spring's Hutton Peak and Fiddler BM Hike and was a very similar outdoor experience.

I decided to hike from the Bender Creek ORV trailhead.  This was mostly for parking convenience as other places further along Blacks Creek Road would make for a shorter hike.  I started up the trail and soon encountered another hiker, a shocking sight on an ATV trail.  I continued to follow the ATV trail for awhile, passing some big washouts before reaching the spot where Bender Creek meets Flat Creek.  Here I crossed the creek which was a little annoying due to high water and lots of willows.  From this area I hiked straight up to the ridge leading to Bender Peak, which unsurprisingly had a motorcycle trail on it.  This trail led straight to the top of Bender Peak, which has good views of the surrounding country.  The views are very familiar to me by now but they never get old!  After staying for a bit, I simply followed the motorcycle trail along the ridge over to Flat BM.  Flat BM was most notable for not actually having a benchmark - at least, I couldn't find one anywhere, nor anywhere one likely would have been.  The peak really needs another name but there isn't much remarkable about it to suggest anything better...

After taking in the very similar views, I headed back down, retracing most of my route but taking a few shortcuts.  Interestingly, when I got back to the trailhead there was a USFS ranger parked waiting for two motorcyclists to return to their trucks.  Hopefully the "poachers" got their ticket in the end!

Bender Peak/Flat BM Hike Pictures!
GPS Track

Monday, April 9, 2012

What has Claire been up to?

Hi to all our lovely readers! We hope all 2 of you had a great Easter weekend..ours was pretty quiet - we had a very nice Easter brunch with Gary & Bonnie at the Original Pancake House and Claire played with some Easter eggs that Zach & I had coloured (or "colored" for all our American readers) the night before. Really, she just tried to eat the eggs & faceplanted into my Easter basket! You can check out the video footage of this ridiculousness below!

In other Claire news, this past week has been full of excitement! First off, she had her 6 month checkup & shots, and she is currently weighing in at 16lbs 9oz (60th percentile for weight) and 27" long (90th percentile for height!!) Her height isn't too surprising considering all of her tall family members on both sides! Clearly she doesn't take after me in that regard! She had to get 2 shots & take a liquid Rotavirus vaccine, and she did very well - only cried for about 10 seconds after the shots.

This past Thursday, Claire & I went to The Little Gym to take an introductory class with other 4-10 month old babies...she seemed to really enjoy it, and we both got to meet some new babies & moms. The class focuses on developmental skills, using music, gymnastic mats & equipment, and fun things like scarves, balls & bubbles...Claire was fascinated by the bubbles! She really only started to fuss in the last 5 minutes or so, probably due to a little overstimulation! Before we knew it, 45 minutes had flown by & class was over. Their season lasts for another 8 weeks, so we've signed up for the remaining classes & we'll see how it goes! Should be pretty fun!

In other news, as of Friday night, Claire has started to cut her two bottom teeth! She doesn't seem too bothered by them most of the time, but occasionally is a little clingy/fussy & tends to have a tough time in the wee hours of the morning, getting back to sleep...which is lovely for Mom & Dad, too!

That's about all we have to report...here are some pictures & video...enjoy!

Claire Easter Pictures!

Claire Jumparoo Video
Claire Playmat Video Part 1
Claire Playmat Video Part 2
Claire Eats Avocado
Claire Wants a Beer Video
Claire Easter Video
Sippy Cup Video