Category: Galleries

More Gaming, Costumes + SHUX’22

ChrisLeave a comment

Lots more board gaming with friends from May through October of this year, including at SHUX 2022 in Vancouver, Canada – the annual gaming convention organized by the gang at Shut Up and Sit Down.  This was our third SHUX attendance and this time Darlene and I were joined by Richard, Adriana and Nacho.

Oath, Rocketmen, Streets, Chrono Corsairs, Wyatt Earp, Ark Nova, In Front of the Elevators, Modern Art, Canvas, Sleeping Gods, Camel Up, Gloom, Obsession, Switch & Signal, Anno 1800, SHASN, Brass: Lancashire, Quacks of Quedlinburg, Trickerion: Legends of Illusion, Twilight Imperium (4th edition), Tiny Epic Zombies, Atelier, Aquatica, Who Goes There?, Dive, PitchCar, Brian Boru: High King of Ireland, Dungeon Lords, Last Will, Mind Mgmt, Polynesia, Super Motherload, Root, Tumblin’ Dice, CuBirds, Chinatown, 3000 Scoundrels, Villagers, Pipeline, Sorcerer’s Stone, Picture Perfect, So Clover!, Don’t Get Got!, ScandalOh!, Diamant, Conspiracy: The Solomon Gambit, Nemesis, Forgotten Waters, The Night Cage

Plus a Halloween costume gaming day at the end of October w/Nacho, Luno, Adriana, Troy, Darlene, Laurie and Richard:

Click through for the full gallery:

     

A Return to Costa Rica

ChrisLeave a comment

Darlene and I were able to extend our stay in Costa Rica following Nacho and Adriana’s “not-a-wedding” and we both got to enjoy some new areas of the country – this time during their very wet and rainy “green season”. (All of our arrangements were made through Costa Rica Rios.)

We started off with a few days in and around the very popular and very busy Manuel Antonio National Park to see the wildlife – three-toed sloths, white-face monkeys, caiman, basilisks, spiders and snakes (on my!) – and enjoy the beaches.  We stayed at the Gaia Hotel and Nature Preserve.

After Manuel Antonio, we were transferred further south and a little bit inland on a rough road to the remote Rafiki Safari Lodge for four nights.  From the lodge we managed to get wet in numerous ways: smashing waves on a raft on the Rio Savegre, walking through a heavy waterfall, careening down a water slide, wading into a roaring whirpool beneath another waterfall, soaking in the lodge’s hot tub and of course hiking in the rainforest – in the rain.  We were also treated to our guide Kenneth’s extensive knowledge of the jungle and life growing up in the nearby very small and remote villages.

Our next adventure was a steep hike up to and an overnight stay in The Cave, behind the Diamante waterfall near Los Tumbas.  We also explored some additional trails and came upon another even more insane waterfall as well as an unexpectedly long climb/hike to a not-so-nearby swimming hole.  The next morning, Darlene opted to do the optional rappel down between the twin falls near the cave:

From there we were transported south to Osa Peninsula and had a boat transfer through the mangrove waterways out to Drake Bay and La Paloma Lodge.  Over the following four days, we had a scuba dive trip out to Caño Island, a guided tour with Tico to see lots more wildlife in a bit of Corcovado National Park, a very entertaining and somewhat eventful kayak outing (ask Darlene) in a river channel as the tide came in and a long day’s hike along the coast and the edge of the rainforest to see some (ahem) non-existent baby sea turtles. (Again, ask Darlene. ;-)

A five-and-a-half-minute video montage of our whole trip.

Click through for the full gallery:

   

See also separate gallery from our rainy day visit (before the wedding) to the Rescate Wildife Rescue Center.

Steens Mountain

ChrisLeave a comment

Exploring southeastern Oregon, Darlene and I made our way up to Alvord Desert, below the eastern front of Steens Mountain.  We zipped around the playa mid-day for a little while and then continued north along the steep eastern front of the mountain.  As it turns out, all the roads up into the mountain from this side feature private property signs and require special permission to access, so we ended up continuing on to other southeastern Oregon destinations before eventually circling back several days later.

Kiger Mustangs

On our way back we passed through the Malheur National Wildlife Refuge and headed to the highlands in hopes of seeing the Kiger Mustangs.  These are wild horses which were only fairly recently discovered to be direct descendents of Iberian horses brought over by Spanish conquistadors some 400 years ago.  We did come across a large herd near the road that we could watch for a long while before sunset, even while we cooked and ate dinner.

The next day we took up the Steens Mountain loop from the north, going clockwise and checking out Kiger Gorge before finding a pullout along the road to spend the night.  (Too many mosquitos in the actual campground back down amongst the creek and aspens.)  Over the next couple of days, we checked out many stupendous viewpoints and got in a few hikes (including off-trail from the peak). We camped at another pullout near the top one night so we could more easily catch sunrise and we ran into another herd of wild horses at lower elevations.

Steens Mountain montage

After Steens Mountain, we headed home west (choosing to skip a follow-up visit to Alvord Desert) and stayed overnight in Hart Mountain National Antelope Refuge where we enjoyed a soak in a hot spring pool and did spot a herd of antelope.

Click through for the full gallery:

     

Owyhee Canyonlands

ChrisLeave a comment

On our southeastern Oregon tour, Darlene and I made our way over to the Owyhee Canyonlands near the Idaho border.  It was July and it was hot, so hardly anyone else was around.  We had to get up with the sunrise to get in hiking and exploration before the afternoon heat but it was gorgeous!  The rock formations around Leslie Gulch are fantastic as well as the Succor Creek Natural Area.  We would have enjoyed spending more days exploring but there was an incoming heat wave promising well over 100 degree weather for the coming days so we decided to skedaddle and find some cooler weather in the higher altitudes of the central Oregon mountains.

 

Click through for the full gallery:

     

Hot Springs and River Gorges

ChrisLeave a comment

On our way through Nevada to southeastern Oregon, Darlene and I spent a couple of days exploring the Sheldon National Wildlife Refuge and the Thousand Creek Gorge in particular.  Only spotted a single lone antelope but got in a bit of biking and hiking and a soak in the hot spring pool at the Virgin Valley campground.  Didn’t stay at the campground but found a spot in some nearby BLM land outside the wildlife refuge.  We also overnighted at Bog Hot Springs off of highway 140.

Somewhere along the way, on some rough and rocky side roads in the refuge, we managed to bust off our gray tank’s drain valve.  Didn’t even notice for a couple of days.  Oops!  Eventually we found enough parts to repair it about a week later.

It was also our first run using the Starlink system for internet access – working really well!

Click through for the full gallery:

   

Tahoe Summer Days

ChrisLeave a comment

Darlene and I spent a couple weeks in late June and early July at the Tahoe house taking care of a bunch of house maintenance, including roof repair, clearing newly fallen branches and pine needles, moving the bear box to accommodate a widening of the driveway, etc.  We took some time off from all that to go climb to the top of a very windy Mt. Rose (elev. 10,785 ft.), do some mountain biking and hike up the Five Lakes trail near Palisades/Alpine Meadows.

 

We also had another bear visitor while up working on the roof:

Click through for the full gallery: