Happy Holidays from the Tris-Mowery Clan

Us on the dock of Sleeping Bear Harbor, Glen Arbor, MI

Bo with his favorite Christmas hat

Jack (orange and white), Nola (in chair), and Bo.....

as for Wicket, he was too much of a rebel to participate in this shot.

Flagstaff Blizzard of '09

Bob's house across the way, 9am, Tuesday

Winter hit us hard last Monday (December 7) when some 24+ inches fell in as many hours. By evening, winds reached speeds of 50-60 mph, making the first storm of '09-'10 a blizzard by definition. What's more, it was the first blizzard to hit Flagstaff in a decade. The town was pretty much shut down from Monday night until mid-Tuesday (all schools and universities closed). Stranded elk hunters were still being rescued as of Friday. Some will probably have to wait until spring to get their cars/trucks/campers, and I suspect anything they shot but had to leave behind will have been picked cleaned by the coyotes and mountain lions long before then.

Our rides before I spent 2 hours digging them out (snow got heavy quick)

Other neighbor's yard containing old cars, wood piles,

and various snow covered environmental hazards

Summer '09, Third Installment: Bear Wallow and Baldy

5. Bear Wallow Wilderness backpacking trip: June 13-15, 2009

Though tiny in size, Bear Wallow's rugged thick woods and killer views off the Mogollon Rim make up for what it lacks in vastness: http://www.sangres.com/arizona/national-forests/apache/trails/bearwallow.htm . Lara, Bo and I hit the trail Saturday morning and soon met up with our buddy Jerry and his party. With a centrally located base camp we used Sunday to explore up Schell Canyon to the Mogollon Rim. Myself and Jerry's brother's friend (whose name I can't remember at this point) continued on to Rose Spring, which turned out to be dry, before heading back to camp. The next morning we all hiked out and rewarded ourselves with a hearty breakfast at the awesome Bear Wallow Cafe in Alpine.

Trekking through the woods

Jerry's then-new puppy, Choppo.

Bo the Dog, looking inpatient

Mogollon Rim from the junction of RoseSpring and Schell Canyon Trails

6. Mt Baldy Wilderness backpacking trip, July 11-12, 2009.

We hit this 15+ mile loop sometime in mid-July. Super cool area that is very accessible yet didn't have as many overnight hikers as you'd expect. The lower portions of West Fork Trail where we started the hike is dominated by meadows edged with pines and bisected by the meandering West Fork of the Little Colorado River, a major Arizona water way that has its headwaters here. More information on this killer backpack through gorgeous country can be found here: http://www.sangres.com/arizona/wilderness/mtbaldy.htm .

P.S. My camera battery ran out almost immediately so we only got a few shots.

West Fork Trail parallel to LCR

Typical scene on both the East and West Fork Trails

Nice