This is the first summer we've attempted a vegetable garden in Flagstaff. After planting, our little greens endured 2 snows, 1 killer hailstorm, and multiple attacks by javelina. I'm happy to announce that while nothing was entirely wiped out, we definitely won't be receiving a bounty of squash due to the plants only having 15% of their leaves. This afternoon we picked some turnips and the first of our purple carrots. Quite exciting.

In college, I worked for Jim and Joan at Fresh Aire Delivery Services, now Bikes at Work, pulling bike trailers full of recycling around the Iowa State campus and Ames. Who would have guessed that the experience would help in the future.

On Monday, I started working with Josh Lipton at his online business, biketrailershop.com. Thus far, I've been doing a lot of watching and learning, shop organization, etc., but soon I'll be ready to step into my new title, Sales Manager.

On Wednesday, Sarah successfully defended her thesis, "A Baseline Study of Human Impacts in the Wildland-Urban Interface: Red Rock Ranger District!" Today she is turning in five copies of the 97-page monster and turning the page on four years spent prostrate to the higher mind.

If you'd like to read the master work, it's right here! (PDF | 15MB) Be aware that there's a fair bit of blood, sweat, and tears in there, but not enough to be a bio-hazard.

I drove past this sign every day for almost 2 1/2 years. I'm sure it is/was a Forest Service sign- but it is a style that is no longer in use and no one on the district knows what it was for. But I always liked it. I passed it as I turned onto I-17 north and it pointed me home.

We have been wanting to ride the Grand Canyon Loop for a couple of years now- the three day Memorial Day Weekend and the need to try out a new cat sitter provided the perfect opportunity!

In 2001 we hatched a plan to visit South America, poring over guidebooks in our tent during our nights in Virginia and North Carolina. Almost six years later, we finally got around to it, and spent two weeks in Peru and Bolivia, traveling from the sacred valley, across the altiplano to Bolivia, and finally, north along the coast toward northern Peru.

Sunset from Nehalem Bay State Park, our first night out. We started our trip in Astoria, heading south on 101, and spent most nights at one of OR's great state parks- all with hiker/biker sites.

A surrey is a four-person bike. I'm hanging off the front of this one, taking Matt, Allie, and Sarah's picture, but I was pedalling just a moment earlier, honest.

I thought my search and rescue team was going to be deployed to aid the relief effort along the gulf coast, so Sarah and I celebrated our anniversary a week early. This is us toasting with the bottle of wine we brought back from our Baja honeymoon.

Jeff and I have one day off a week together- when we aren't grocery shopping, painting the kitchen or running errands- we explore some of our neighboring public lands. These are some of the recent photos that we've taken on our adventures-all within an hours drive of Flagstaff - plus hiking time.