Does Davis Look Like Mark?

When I go to Davis' meets, the image I have in my mind when he runs is that he looks just like Mark used to in high school.  The first meet I went to I even felt like yelling, "C'mon Marker!"  So, I asked Nanette to scan some photos from high school.  Now that I look at them I don't think he looks anything like him.  What do you think?

 Mark, 11th grade, Sugarhouse Park, Utah State meet (I think, based on the location and the colors of the other team uniforms), 1988.

Davis, 10th grade, Peppertree park, 2011.

 Mark, 12th grade, Sugarhouse Park, state or region meet, 1989.

Davis, 10th grade, Oak Park, 2011.

Cross Country Pics

I can't make it to Davis' weekday meets this fall because my teaching schedule makes it impossible to get home before 5:30pm.  So, I was really glad one of Davis' teammates took a lot of pictures and tagged him on facebook.  Then I can just download the ones with Davis.  Here's a bunch of them from the meet this last Wednesday.  Davis won the frosh/soph race - his first win!  I would have loved to have seen it.

I wonder what he's looking at?

See Chris on the right with his arms folded?  The race was close enough that he came out for Davis' race and then went back to work.

This must have been coming onto the straight away before the finish line.

I took this picture Saturday at a bigger meet.  Davis improved his time by about half a minute and placed in the top 20.  He thinks he was 2nd or 3rd sophomore in the race.

Davis has gotten much bigger and stronger (and as a result, faster) since last year when he first started running.  Now he is starting to learn how to race.  It's fun to watch.

August in the Chaparral

In August the hillsides are dried out, the grass is brown, most shrubby plants have drying seeds on them, the baby quail are almost full grown, and the rattlesnakes don't seem to be out on the trails as much.  There are still a few new plants blooming and a couple sights unique to this month.

Beware allergy sufferers - the ragweed is about to bloom.

 In the early morning when the marine layer made everything all misty, I could see spiderweb "funnels" all over the open grassy areas.

 Sweet Fennel is about 6 feet tall this time of year.

 The marine layer cools everything off and makes for a nice run.

 A field of sweet fennel.

Lake Tahoe and Gold Country

Here are some pics (OK, a lot of pics) from our trip to explore another part of California.  It is pretty awesome to live so close to great vacation spots.  This summer we decided to do a little exploration of gold country and Lake Tahoe.  The plan was to check out Sutter's Mill and the gold discovery state park, go whitewater rafting on the South Fork of the American River (on which Sutter's Fort was located), and then spend a few days in Lake Tahoe playing on the lake.  We didn't like the place in Lake Tahoe very much and the boys were too young to drive any motorized watercraft - so we changed plans and spent a couple nights in Squaw Valley (we pricelined a great deal at a 4 star resort from our not-so-great place in S. Lake Tahoe.)  So, we spent more time on bikes than on the water.  

We did the Chili Bar section of the river.

OK, this isn't us, but this is what we would have looked like had we waited for the river photographer to load her photos, burn a disk, and charge us $60 for it.  So, just pretend....

Auburn, CA - pretty darn cute town in gold country.

Boys in historic Auburn, CA where there was a Monday night festival.

Statue of a prospector panning for gold.  Looks like Davis is digging for something else.

Most people see antique mining equipment.  Davis sees a "light cycle" (Tron reference) circa 1850.

Sign says "Mormon Cabin".  Sutter's Mill

Sutter's mill site on the American River.

Lake Tahoe

Nathaniel was the only one interested in getting in.

Biking in Van Sickle Bi-State Park (that means the park is in two states: CA and NV)

Taking the gondola up Heavenly Ski Resort.

This made me want pie even more.

Overlooking South Lake Tahoe

After eating high altitude chili dogs and chicken fingers, the boys weren't super excited about hiking (blech).

Why is there a ladder up here on top of the mountain?

It's sad to see them grow, but even more sad to see them shrink!

Nathaniel "downhill" mountain biking at Northstar Ski Resort, Truckee, CA.

Wild flowers border the very dusty trail.

Davis and Nathaniel play in the Squaw Creek Resort pool.



Davis tosses Nathaniel in the air.

A great place to relax.

Nathaniel runs...

jumps...

and splashes!

Nathaniel said it isn't weird for parents to go on the water slide with their kid.  He didn't say that it is such a small slide that a parent is too heavy to slide down without pushing yourself along.

Through the chute.

splash down

Davis' favorite activity of the whole trip - driving the golf cart.

Squaw Valley - a very pretty place.

It's not really a vacation unless Chris is able to golf.

Dinner at the resort.

S'mores around the fire.

Cozy place when the sun goes down.

Mountain biking (cross country) in Paige Meadows (Lake Tahoe).

The cell phone camera only picked up the white flowers.  This meadow was full of so many different colors of flowers.

Fun single-track biking through meadows and forests.