Hiking at 7,000 ft

My brother and I also went for a hike one day.  It was the most snow I've seen all winter so far (go figure, I'm in So Cal in January...)

We were hiking along the Pacific Crest Trail...

 The pinecones were gigantic!  (sorry mom, I didn't bring any back with me)

 Doesn't this dead tree look like a goat?

The "waterfall" we were hiking to...I think

 Not quite enough snow to ski at Mt. Waterman...

And here is as good as any place for a couple cute pics of my brother family...

 T. Rex waiting for me to stop taking pictures and play ball with him

Dr. Zhivago is still loving his arugula

And although I've always heard the owls when visiting my brother...this was the first time I saw one in a tree just outside his deck

The The Tar Tar Pits

While visiting my brother in LA, we went to The The Tar Tar Pits.  I learned that La Brea means "the tar", so The La Brea Tar Pits is really The The Tar Tar Pits.

(hee hee - looks like the baby is poopin)

 the pits are still bubblin

they are still excavating at the site and still finding bones

We then went next door to the LA County Museum of Art... 

...the infamouse lampposts out front

inside we went to see the Metropolis exhibit which opened that weekend

 outside, we stumbled across another piece of the Berlin Wall

Holidays

To kick off the holidays, I went to a friend's house to make cookies...yummy!

 She's been busy baking (we made a lot of cookies in one day, but not this many!)

Went to a friends house for dinner earlier in the month...their tree was already up and sparkling...

On xmas day I went hiking with my brother and two of his three hounds...

 

We hiked along the Little Gunpowder Falls...

It was very quiet on the trail...and the roads

Tofurkey Day in Raleigh

I visited Raleigh for the long holiday weekend. Went to the state capitol while I was there. I had been there many, many years before but not since I started keeping track and taking photos.

Main view:

North Carolina's presidents:

View toward theatre

Inside the rotunda:

House of Representatives

Senate Chamber

 Presidents statue at dusk

 Rotunda from the outside

sunset

Weekend in Gettysburg

train station where Lincoln arrived into town

Lincoln pointing toward his room at Willis House

where Lincoln stayed before Gettysburg Address

Little Round Top, Picketts Charge

Fall!

me and my buddy Abe hanging out

view from our 2nd hotel

sunset