Jan
Celebrations
Posted in family, personal | No Comments »
Wow, another month has come and gone…not to mention another year! We spent around 2 weeks up in Big Bear between Christmas break, Christmas, and New Years. We had family up to the house, hiked a ton, went snowshoeing several times, ate an enormous amount, watched movies and hung out with family. We had a wonderful break. I did a bit of work remotely, but for the most part it was R&R.
Two memories I won’t soon forget… the first one was on Christmas Day. My wife Nicole and I took our two boys out for a hike/snowshoe. We went on a fairly tough hike called Cougar Crest, that climbs from around 6500′ up to around 8000′. The boys got new snowshoes and hiking staffs for Christmas and were eager to use them. They’d hiked up ahead a bit and as I followed my family up the trail I couldn’t imagine anywhere else I’d rather be. My kids weren’t home playing Xbox or arguing about who gets to use the computer. Rather they were both out of breath, working hard and loving every minute of it. There are a few pictures in my gallery above.
The second memory… I know everyone rings in the New Year in their own fashion, but for us it was a new way, and one we won’t soon forget. Our home in Big Bear is about 1 mile from the Pacific Crest Trail (a well known trail that runs from Mexico to Canada). The 2 mile section that is closest crosses the back of the mountains and from the path you can view the desert off the backside. It’s an incredible view (images below). Well as it turns out, on New Year’s Eve there was a Blue Moon. You’ve probably heard that expression “once in a Blue Moon”. Well a Blue Moon is when there are 2 full moons in one month -and it’s not a common occurance – hence the saying. In fact the next one won’t be for 19 years I believe.
Well we hiked out early around 4:00 to get out to the best viewing location to watch that big beautiful moon rise up over the desert. There were some low lying clouds which made the event even more colorful and awesome. I took lots of pictures – a few of which are above in the gallery. Then we waited an hour or two for the moon to get high enough to light our path home in the dark.
I can’t think of a better way to celebrate the ringing in of a New Year! Happy New Year to everyone – wishing you a great one!