nate's summer job

Because he isn't doing much of anything this summer, Dad decided to cancel the yard service and employ Nate... 

mowing a yard the size of ours shouldn't be too difficult.  But Nate manages to find a way.

The lawnmower starts smoking. So, he calls us on his cell phone to come check it out.

fixed the smoking problem.  Then we get another call. A snake. (like Mom would've gone down to take care of a snake)

i guess the pants were half-off in fear of the snake

i threw a rock and it split 

 Smoking lawnmower? check. Snake? check. So what possibly could be this phone call??

the lawnmower smoking yet again.

It took him hourSSS and several phone calls up to the house to finish. Then he asked dad for a 'wildlife bonus' for the snake that he wouldn't even get close to.

I guess it gives him something to do...

climbing's new style

Check out this stylish new climbing wall in Tokyo's fashion district! 

How'd you like to have one of these in your house?!

i heart airports

i was tempted to do many of these things over my hourSSSS in various airports over the past couple months....

STUCK from Joe Ayala on Vimeo.

23 feet

So I made it home and in the midst of preparing some posts for you to browse.  But, in the meantime, I came across this story of some passionate dirtbags that are truly livin the life!

... a story of a couple of girls traveling with a 23 foot 1970 airstream trailer out west in search of simple-living and passion, wandering "2,600 miles, combing the most beautiful areas of Colorado, Utah, California and Oregon for “full-timers,” people living out of tents or cars in order to do what they love – whether it’s scaling cracks in Moab or protecting ancient Redwood trees in Sequoia."
 the result=a short film called 23 feet
and here's an article from women's adventure about these girls


23 Feet Trailer from Allie Bombach on Vimeo.


Think they need an extra crew member??

funday quote

"Climb a mountain or spend a week in the woods. Wash your spirit clean." ~ John Muir


I have to say, my spirit's feeling pretty clean :)

catching up....

JAMBO!
So i guess my post i tried to do from botswana didn't work so well...
but to fill you in, both mom and i made it to the summit of mount kilimanjaro on the morning of the 21st!!! woohooo! and we did it in good time and a day earlier than expected :) but our world's best guides and perfect weather are to be greatly accredited!  so now we have an extra day here in moshi then will head off to the ngoragora crater tomorrow. maybe a bit frostbitten and bruised, but my toes are all on my feet and legs are still sorta working...

first we spent a day with some masai people

lookin good at 94 years old

 then to begin our climb:

start: the rainforest with the welcoming calls of monkeys

world's best guides: Gift and Arnold

getting closer...

cold, dark trek to the summit

and we made it! all 5895 m

 

our sweet porters and guides sang us goodbye songs

day 6