Travel Ponderings

Sunday, October 15, 2006

Homecoming, Ohio and Michigan, October 2006

Jon and I decided to come home in October. We went to Swanton, Ohio for Nick Jankowski's memorial celebration, visited his Mom, Mia, Dad and Denise in Toledo, Ohio, and then went up to Bay City, Michigan for a day of hanging out with my family and friends. It was nice to see everyone, and I even made a stop at Dacia and Kate's! We had a great time.

Oops....pics not ready

I just had to put this one in there. It's the "before" picture of the nice group shot. As you can see, Noah's really excited about the picture, and Bradley has an aching back because he's getting old.

Nick's Memorial Party 2006

This was the gang leftover the next morning at Nick's Memorial Party 2006. Jankowski's house, Swanton, Ohio.

My immediate family minus my sis

This is my immediate family, minus my sister, Becki.

We're a small but sturdy clan.

Almost all of my family...

October, 2006. Nena's house. Almost all of Steph's gang is here.

Newberry Crater, late summer 2006....

I can't remember if this trip was at the end of August or early September. Todd, Kirstin, Jon and returned to Newberry Crater for a relaxing weekend. We didn't take very many photos, just some cool sunsets. Our campsite was right at the lake, so as soon as we saw the impending beautiful sunset, we were quick to grab our cameras. Enjoy.

hot couple

Jon and I

Silhouettes

Super K and hot Toddy posing in front of a gorgeous backdrop.

Sunday, August 27, 2006

After a long hiatus...

After a long hiatus, the pics from this spring and summer are all on!! We have Nena's May visit, Jon's Alaska fishing trip, campin' with Hot Toddy and Super K and spelunking at Ape Cave.

Remember, not all the new pics are on this page. To see all of the new pics from this Spring and Summer, go to the "Archives" section on the right and click on August.

Enjoy!

Steph

natural sky light

As we approached the exit to the cave, we came upon a natural sky light (aka...hole in the ceiling). After walking underground for over an hour it was nice to see green moss and light.

what a cheeseball

I had time to goof around in there.

more terrain shots

I'm trying to get up!

Jon took this photo to illustrate the terrain upon which we were climbing. It was fun. And yes, I am going to go into that little hole up there. Claustrophobics; beware!

Striations

Notice the striations, or layers of lava flow that cooled during different time periods. There were a couple of different kinds of lava in the tube as well.

Inside Ape Cave

Ape Cave is one of the lava tubes formed via Mt. St. Helens. Learn more about Ape Cave here. There is an upper and lower level. We of course took the upper level, the most difficult. I have to say, it's for sure one of the most difficult hikes I've done simply because of the terrain. Check out our other spelunking activities at Lava River Cave, Newberry Crater National Monument, Central Oregon.

The new "fin" inside the dome

This is a good view of Mt. St. Helens' new "fin" feature that is growing about 6 ft. a day inside the crater's dome. It's been present since May, 2006 after the old "whaleback" feature collapsed. The "fin" and the whaleback look similar. (Click on the image and make it bigger) When Jon and I visited this day in August, it was heavily pluming. Yikes! :) Check out this close-up image of the whaleback taken back in 2005.