Alligator Spotting with the Family Octopus

We hoped that this gator would dive into the water and get all crazy violent, but all he did was open his mouth and move a leg.

Hope you all had a great Thanksgiving! We spent the holiday in Florida with the family Octopus. On Saturday we tried something new and took the cousins for a field trip to the Everglades. The Octopus and I were the oldest in the bunch, so we sorta felt like group leaders. The power was almost intoxicating.


Sunset over the glades.

NYC to LA

Rewinding to September 2005, the month we moved from NYC to LA. We took about two weeks to drive out, the biggest chunk of time being spent in Wyoming to visit Yellowstone and Grand Teton. This was our route, with the circles representing where we spent the night-- Pittsburgh; Madison, WI; Sioux Falls and Rapid City, SD; Buffalo, WY; Yellowstone NP; Grand Teton NP; Tropic, UT; and Vegas.

I'd love to drive cross-country again-- next time taking a more northern route. I want to see Idaho and Montana especially. More nature, fewer cities. Actually, I'd really love to do a National Parks trip. Starting in LA and then hitting Sequoia, Yosemite and Lassen in CA, Crater Lake in Oregon, Craters of the Moon in Idaho, Glacier in Montana, Teddy Roosevelt in North Dakota and Voyageurs in Minnesota. Maybe we could rent a Prius. We met some people in Yellowstone who had driven their Prius from Texas and only filled up their tank once along the way.