Back to JT Again

This past week I had a few days off school, so I took advantage of the chance to escape the city again for a spell. This time the trip was for a day of rock climbing with Josh, a friend from Talbot. Because I put off my homework to spend an entire day running around the desert, I am doing it now, which means I don't have much time to write about the events of the day. Suffice to say it was great to get out and do something active, and it was equally grand to spend the day with a friend I haven't seen much in the past year. Thanks, Josh! I had a great time. Here are a few pictures for you to enjoy, and a few more can be seen here.

Climbing Barefoot


Reflections


Rappelling




Serious Climbing


Chalk

A Few Photos

I keep intending to write something on here, but between studying, spending time with Torrey and attempting to finish some projects I am in the middle of, I haven't been able to get around to it. So in the meantime, here are a few photos. These were taken on a camping trip to Andrew Molera State Park in the Big Sur area last new year.

Townsend's Warbler



These little guys were all over the campground, so I took some time crawling through the grass to get close enough to capture this one.

Monarchs



There is a grove of eucalyptus trees at Andrew Molera, and when we were there the butterflies were in town, covering large portions of the trees in the park. Awesome.

Catching Up

Torrey and I just got back from vacation - well, it wasn't quite vacation, since the entire trip was consumed by interactions with other people, which means that we didn't really get to spend any time relaxing or alone. It was great to catch up with people we hadn't seen in a long time though. First we spent a few days in Waxhaw, NC with my old friends from Peru. The group above is a good portion of my class from Yarinacocha who showed up for our 10 year reunion. We were a very close group in Yarina, and it was great to see everyone again after such a long time apart.



After the reunion we went on Ventnor, NJ to spend a week with Torrey's family. There are some missionary homes just three blocks from the beach there, where the Bartons used to spend vacations when Torrey was little, and we were able to go back and enjoy that place once again.

So now we are home again and hitting the ground running. Work is back in full swing and school starts up again on Wednesday. Never a dull moment.

Getting Started

3D Camp, originally uploaded by Aaron Nystrom.

Well, I started this thing with the intent of sharing an occasional thought and/or photo with friends and family, and to get it going I am posting this photo because it represents so many of the things I really love. First, that is my wife sitting on the log and I must say, I love her a ton. This was taken in Yosemite (a very beautiful place) on a backpacking trip (I love backpacking) at our campsite (camping is amazing) in the mountains (another plus) in the wilderness (I love getting away from the city), and it is a 3D shot (which I thoroughly enjoy taking and looking at). In case you don't know how these work, you have to cross your eyes, bringing the two images together, then focus on that combined image to see the scene in three dimentions. It is a little trick I learned from my Dad years ago, and it brings me great delight. If you have never done this before it may take some time (one friend of mine stared at one of these for about three hours before he figured it out). Be patient, for it is worth the effort.

Anyway, all that to say, welcome to my little corner of the internet. Now let's see if I can keep this thing up.