Four years ago today: Mountain snow II

The view from where we went sledding.

Four years ago today we went back to the mountains to enjoy an afternoon in the snow!

The afternoon before (Jan. 23, 2010), we drove up into the San Gabriels to explore what was up there. I was so excited to find a winter wonderland that on the way back we stopped off at a sporting goods store and picked up a sled with rope and some other sundries for cold weather fun.

The following morning, we drove back up into the mountains. We went sledding down a very small hillside and tossed snowballs at one another!

Here's a couple of photos from our adventure together!

Four years ago today: mountain snow

Four years ago today, we drove up into the back range of the San Gabriel Mountains and played in the snow, though only briefly. For the past couple of days before then, clouds shrouded the mountain tops, and on this day they cleared, leaving the peaks capped in white.

I decided we should check out just how far down in elevation the snow had fallen and if there would be any great places for us to play in the snow. So late in the afternoon, after our midday naps (You usually fell asleep in my arms after lunchtime milk), we drove on up.

Was I ever surprised by the number of people there! I had difficulty finding a parking spot but eventually did. Unfortunately, sunset came shortly after 5 p.m., so we didn't have a lot of daylight (which is why the photos are a bit dark) to enjoy the snow, though you sure had fun playing in it, especially throwing snowballs!

Here's a few photos 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 The trail starts at the location of an old fault line that's no longer active.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.