Recall our hike along Lake Piru?

Watching a bug cross the road near Lake Piru,
Calif., on April 28, 2010.

Three years ago today we took a hike along Lake Piru, a reservoir near Santa Clarita, Calif. The water is held in a canyon, so the mountains rise straight out of the water in a really cool effect!

For me, the highlight of the hike was seeing a condor fly overhead. We spotted one searching for food near the lake; even at 500 feet above us, its wings dwarfed those of the raven that sat on the road just 20 feet away.

For you, though, the highlight was watching this huge bug cross the road in front of us (see picture at above right)! You must have spent close to a half-hour following it and were so disappointed when it finally disappeared into the grass!

Here's a whole bunch of pictures from our adventure!

Your photo is online again, Kieran!

A picture of you appeared online today, Kieran - a pic of you on the cover of my first book "Hikes with Tykes: A Practical Guide to Day Hiking with Kids" in an article about that book for a Canadian magazine. The book cover photo is of you all ready to go on a hike at the head of the Manzanita Trail high in the San Gabriel Mountains of the Angeles National Forest. The trail starts at the location of an old fault line that's no longer active. On one side of the fault line is red, sedimentary soil (like what you're standing on), and on the other side is white granitic rock that is tens of millions of year old. It made for a great pic, especially with your terrific smile!

All of the anecdotes in the interview are about you. I'm specifically describing a hike you and I took through the redwoods in northern California (the diaper stuff) and one we took alongside Lake Piru (the bug crossing the road stuff). Photo albums of both hikes on on my Facebook page.

I remember well the telephone interview for this article. Jane and I had just spent the day before in Anaheim and were heading to Palmdale on the Pearblossom Highway. We were to pick you up that night for the weekend, and she was so excited to meet you for the first time! The sun shined brilliantly in the blue sky with the San Gabriels to our left ... the very same mountain range where this picture of you had been taken. The future held so much promise. It is a day I never will forget.