Some clips by Ry and Jack, some from the neighborhood 4th of July, and some from Red River. About ten minutes, but goes by faster than you'd think.
Sunday, July 25, 2010
Monday, July 19, 2010
Red River
We did go up to Red River this weekend. Packed the small RV with food and stuff and even managed to get the bicycles in. We had lunch at Michael's Kitchen in Taos, which was very yummy, some of the best chile ever, an old favorite place to stop in Toas, and arrived in Red River late afternoon, where we met Cyndi's sister, Janey, and Ron.
We stayed at the Roadrunner RV Resort Park on the opposite end of town. The lodge office is very nice and well-staffed and the entrance is gated. We drove up and we were able to get a space without a reservation next to Janey and Ron along the river, near the showers, where we hooked up everything you could possibly hook up. I started a little charcoal in a grill, and we picnicked by the river, eating hamburgers and fruit and cheese, with a little wine and Fat Tire.
It was an okay place. Once you get beyond the entrance, I don't think I'd describe the place as a resort. Lots of trees (and the river, of course) and RVers seem to flock to the place. There is no tent camping. It's close to town, and the town runs a free trolley for all visitors but we never took advantage of that. The inlaws love this place, and the boys had plenty of space to ride their bikes, meet some other children, and explore some rocks and woodpiles with their new friends. Our place was next to the only road over the river to the back part of the park and there was a constant slow traffic of diesel engines. Our Class B converted van was the tiniest there. Lots of Class A and C RVs, travel trailers and 5th Wheels, as Jackson tells me. He knows his RV classifications.
Red River itself is tucked in a narrow valley along the river, and is mostly about a two-mile stretch of shops along the main street. The architecture is a mix of western mining clapboards and Alpine A frames. There's a rather popular bike rally here at some time in the year, so the town is very Harley-friendly. In the winter there's skiing right at the edge of the main street, and in summer there's some small amusements and lots of hiking and fishing. It wasn't crowded our weekend. The town must be hurting from the state of the economy.
The boys played along the river and even did some fishing right by our spot along the bank and from the bridge. Jackson played a lot with a boy from Texas. Both boys bicycled a lot, Ry most of all since this was the first time he could manage his new, bigger bike on his own. He wore his helmet. Ry spun out on his bike and skinned his knee. He managed to keep his bike under control, however, and it was more like he laid it down, at the cost of one knee. There was also a small playground.
In the morning there was coffee and hot chocolate. (We brought our grinder and coffee maker with us.) After breakfast along the river, we went for a good but short hike in town with a group and a guide from the Community House. Along a nice trail on both sides of the river, paved on the town side and gravel on the mountain side, we got some lessons in the history and natural history of the place. It ended at a little museum. We visited a small coffee shop nearby for kolaches, smoothies, and espressos. Jackson found a necklace for Janey. After the hike, we went fishing at a pond at Fawn Lakes in the national forest and visited another pond in town but at that point it was raining and lightning so we went back to the RV park. I managed a nap, while everyone else drove in Ron's truck to Eagle Nest, and Ry took a nap along the way.
Cyndi and Janey snuck away for some good hikes, bike rides, and little tours of shops on the main street, and Ron was often upriver to find fishing holes, especially in the wee hours of the morning while the rest of us slept.
Dinner was about the same. We finally did manage to pop the Jiffy Pop just as it turned dark. In the morning, more bicycling, more fishing, more hiking, more shopping tours. The boys and I played a little on the tennis court.
The weekend was hot and dry for the most part. Even Taos was in the mid 90s. Along the way on Friday we made a small detour to check out camping at Orilla Verde, along the river near Pilar, just below the gorge. Along the way back on Sunday, we stopped at the fish hatchery outside Questa to try their pond in the mid-day sun and feed the fish at the visitor's center. Then we stopped again in Taos for shave ice (just expensive snow cones there) and in Santa Fe at Bumblebees for burritos and tacos. Of course, we stopped at Toyopolis for lego toys and there was a quick five minutes at J Crew, our usual stops in Santa Fe. But this time, we didn't visit the plaza and just headed home.
We had wifi available at the park, but we didn't use it much and didn't miss it. Jackson did figure out how he can use his IPod Touch to send text messages, even though it's not a phone, while waiting for the guided hike to begin. My phone had no service in northern New Mexico and so it wasn't until we reached Espanola that I got Ariel's message that she was seated at the theater at the Lincoln Center to see A Disappearing Number.
We stayed at the Roadrunner RV Resort Park on the opposite end of town. The lodge office is very nice and well-staffed and the entrance is gated. We drove up and we were able to get a space without a reservation next to Janey and Ron along the river, near the showers, where we hooked up everything you could possibly hook up. I started a little charcoal in a grill, and we picnicked by the river, eating hamburgers and fruit and cheese, with a little wine and Fat Tire.
It was an okay place. Once you get beyond the entrance, I don't think I'd describe the place as a resort. Lots of trees (and the river, of course) and RVers seem to flock to the place. There is no tent camping. It's close to town, and the town runs a free trolley for all visitors but we never took advantage of that. The inlaws love this place, and the boys had plenty of space to ride their bikes, meet some other children, and explore some rocks and woodpiles with their new friends. Our place was next to the only road over the river to the back part of the park and there was a constant slow traffic of diesel engines. Our Class B converted van was the tiniest there. Lots of Class A and C RVs, travel trailers and 5th Wheels, as Jackson tells me. He knows his RV classifications.
Red River itself is tucked in a narrow valley along the river, and is mostly about a two-mile stretch of shops along the main street. The architecture is a mix of western mining clapboards and Alpine A frames. There's a rather popular bike rally here at some time in the year, so the town is very Harley-friendly. In the winter there's skiing right at the edge of the main street, and in summer there's some small amusements and lots of hiking and fishing. It wasn't crowded our weekend. The town must be hurting from the state of the economy.
The boys played along the river and even did some fishing right by our spot along the bank and from the bridge. Jackson played a lot with a boy from Texas. Both boys bicycled a lot, Ry most of all since this was the first time he could manage his new, bigger bike on his own. He wore his helmet. Ry spun out on his bike and skinned his knee. He managed to keep his bike under control, however, and it was more like he laid it down, at the cost of one knee. There was also a small playground.
In the morning there was coffee and hot chocolate. (We brought our grinder and coffee maker with us.) After breakfast along the river, we went for a good but short hike in town with a group and a guide from the Community House. Along a nice trail on both sides of the river, paved on the town side and gravel on the mountain side, we got some lessons in the history and natural history of the place. It ended at a little museum. We visited a small coffee shop nearby for kolaches, smoothies, and espressos. Jackson found a necklace for Janey. After the hike, we went fishing at a pond at Fawn Lakes in the national forest and visited another pond in town but at that point it was raining and lightning so we went back to the RV park. I managed a nap, while everyone else drove in Ron's truck to Eagle Nest, and Ry took a nap along the way.
Cyndi and Janey snuck away for some good hikes, bike rides, and little tours of shops on the main street, and Ron was often upriver to find fishing holes, especially in the wee hours of the morning while the rest of us slept.
Dinner was about the same. We finally did manage to pop the Jiffy Pop just as it turned dark. In the morning, more bicycling, more fishing, more hiking, more shopping tours. The boys and I played a little on the tennis court.
The weekend was hot and dry for the most part. Even Taos was in the mid 90s. Along the way on Friday we made a small detour to check out camping at Orilla Verde, along the river near Pilar, just below the gorge. Along the way back on Sunday, we stopped at the fish hatchery outside Questa to try their pond in the mid-day sun and feed the fish at the visitor's center. Then we stopped again in Taos for shave ice (just expensive snow cones there) and in Santa Fe at Bumblebees for burritos and tacos. Of course, we stopped at Toyopolis for lego toys and there was a quick five minutes at J Crew, our usual stops in Santa Fe. But this time, we didn't visit the plaza and just headed home.
We had wifi available at the park, but we didn't use it much and didn't miss it. Jackson did figure out how he can use his IPod Touch to send text messages, even though it's not a phone, while waiting for the guided hike to begin. My phone had no service in northern New Mexico and so it wasn't until we reached Espanola that I got Ariel's message that she was seated at the theater at the Lincoln Center to see A Disappearing Number.
Thursday, July 15, 2010
Brooklyn
I had a terrific telephone conversation with Ariel this afternoon. She had just gotten off the phone with Chris, who's arriving this weekend. That's good news in itself. They're going to move to an apartment in the Cobble Hill area that sounds great, sort of near Prospect Heights, where she and Chris were looking, and not far from Prospect Park. A few great things: it's a one-year sublease from a math professor, the rent is very reasonable, and it's close to the water. In fact, Governor's Island looks like it's about 500 yards as the fishies swim from the waterfront district right by. It's somewhere between Brooklyn Bridge Park, where she was telling me there's all these water taxis, and Red Hook, where's there's a nice park and a free, outdoor pool. So I kept saying there should be a boat launch nearby, and sure enough right next to the Red Hook park is a little park on the water where you can see the Statue of Liberty and launch kayaks. And we got to talking about lots of other things. She's got some very good interviews coming up with very good publications and radio programs, but I'll let her tell more as those things develop, and right now she's developing podcasts for IEEE Spectrum. I had just heard this morning on NPR about a play called A Disappearing Number, about a mathematician, and the story sounded very familiar. It also sounded like a very good play, judging from some of the dialogue they played from it. Ariel had done some work on this mathematician and told me about him four or five years ago. I think it was part of her thesis. So it's playing at a festival at the Lincoln Center this weekend. And we talked about an old friend of mine, whose daughter went to school with Ariel at Valley, and Ariel and her friend just had dinner together the night before somewhere in New York City. Ariel says she likes Brooklyn. I would have liked to continue; it was so fun to talk to her. But I had to pay a few bills before the day ended. Now I'm going to run home in the heat.
going to Red River
We may take a little trip to Red River this weekend in New Mexico Papa's Class B RV and stay at a so-called RV Resort. We are meeting Ron & Janey there and the boys may get some good fishing while we are there. I had other ideas in mind for a camping trip, but I definitely got out-voted. Jackson loves RVing, and Cyndi, too, and Ry has already packed. Leave maybe Friday afternoon.
There's a moment every day that I think, have I mentioned this or that about Ry or Jack? And, of course, the moment passes and I forget. Jack's been working on designs and ideas for a web site he calls Cool Club or Cool Camp. He drew some kind of creature and he's even getting Lauren and Ry to submit design ideas. It's all very elaborate, and it's related to Club Penguin. He's been at me to get a flash player on his site, which I think means something like this. Oh my. Meanwhile, the laptop he and Cyndi use is burning up again and the family is back on the PC in the kitchen, where the boys play Club Penguin or watch Youtube episdoes of Phineas and Ferb or bakugans. The latter is a big deal, has insipid scripts and vocabulary that's otherwise useless, spawns endless debates on a hugely trivial points, and provokes shouts of "Ability Activate!" and brawls in the living room with lots of kicking and jumping on furniture. Reminds me of Star Wars, with lots of minutiae and fantasy roleplaying. The little spherical bakugans themselves are clever and fun to play with, without all the other stuff and marketing backstories. The boys love it and share that with their cousin Nicholas. Phineas and Ferb, on the other hand, is a kick. It's an animated cartoon they find on Youtube, the Disney Channel,and Disney dot com.
Rylee meanwhile is coming into his own as a young boy. He is very meticulous, folds his clothes, picks out his clothes and dresses himself, lines up his toys so he can find them the next day. He loves plays on words. The other day, I had my first chess game with him without Jack. He knows the board layout and the moves. I constantly have to advise him about protecting pieces and recognizing dangers. What's fun is that he doesn't get upset when he eventually loses a piece. In fact, he gets excited and laughs at himself: "Oh, I didn't see that. Now I get it!" He plays all the games that way, and the three of us have been playing more recently.
Got a nice note from California Papa about our recent Durango trip, using his RV if we were out there,and some news about Uncle Al's and other's trips to Alaska, etc. Mom & Dad are probably beaming about a great grandchild coming soon.
There's a moment every day that I think, have I mentioned this or that about Ry or Jack? And, of course, the moment passes and I forget. Jack's been working on designs and ideas for a web site he calls Cool Club or Cool Camp. He drew some kind of creature and he's even getting Lauren and Ry to submit design ideas. It's all very elaborate, and it's related to Club Penguin. He's been at me to get a flash player on his site, which I think means something like this. Oh my. Meanwhile, the laptop he and Cyndi use is burning up again and the family is back on the PC in the kitchen, where the boys play Club Penguin or watch Youtube episdoes of Phineas and Ferb or bakugans. The latter is a big deal, has insipid scripts and vocabulary that's otherwise useless, spawns endless debates on a hugely trivial points, and provokes shouts of "Ability Activate!" and brawls in the living room with lots of kicking and jumping on furniture. Reminds me of Star Wars, with lots of minutiae and fantasy roleplaying. The little spherical bakugans themselves are clever and fun to play with, without all the other stuff and marketing backstories. The boys love it and share that with their cousin Nicholas. Phineas and Ferb, on the other hand, is a kick. It's an animated cartoon they find on Youtube, the Disney Channel,and Disney dot com.
Rylee meanwhile is coming into his own as a young boy. He is very meticulous, folds his clothes, picks out his clothes and dresses himself, lines up his toys so he can find them the next day. He loves plays on words. The other day, I had my first chess game with him without Jack. He knows the board layout and the moves. I constantly have to advise him about protecting pieces and recognizing dangers. What's fun is that he doesn't get upset when he eventually loses a piece. In fact, he gets excited and laughs at himself: "Oh, I didn't see that. Now I get it!" He plays all the games that way, and the three of us have been playing more recently.
Got a nice note from California Papa about our recent Durango trip, using his RV if we were out there,and some news about Uncle Al's and other's trips to Alaska, etc. Mom & Dad are probably beaming about a great grandchild coming soon.
Saturday, July 3, 2010
Thursday, July 1, 2010
added some stuff
We may go for another camping and fishing trip up north and I was checking out the Orilla Verde recreational area near Taos. In the research, found an interesting site and then some plans for truck camping and then found a revolutionary technology: nail on a stick. Dad & Dave, you may be interested. There's a link at the bottom under "Some Stuff". Note that some assembly is required.
Initially, what was interesting was how these people set up a menu page and I thought, Jackson would be interested in this. He's learning html code--watched an entire 17-part series about it on youtube--and then started applying it to a web page that he wants me to help him on. He's developing some game he's calling Cool Club. 'Course, most of the plans are in his head, but he has started to design a page. He's also been doing some 3D design of a bunkbed and a desk. I think he's headed in the right direction. Meanwhile, Ry folds his things in a neat pile he can find the next day and cuddles with me at night, preferably watching baseball...although, we have been watching a bit of the World Cup. And Ariel told me a whole bunch of good news that may be coming her way.
Initially, what was interesting was how these people set up a menu page and I thought, Jackson would be interested in this. He's learning html code--watched an entire 17-part series about it on youtube--and then started applying it to a web page that he wants me to help him on. He's developing some game he's calling Cool Club. 'Course, most of the plans are in his head, but he has started to design a page. He's also been doing some 3D design of a bunkbed and a desk. I think he's headed in the right direction. Meanwhile, Ry folds his things in a neat pile he can find the next day and cuddles with me at night, preferably watching baseball...although, we have been watching a bit of the World Cup. And Ariel told me a whole bunch of good news that may be coming her way.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
