Recall our hike to Franklin Canyon Lake?

Two years ago today, we took a little hike around place you probably see a lot on television: the Upper Franklin Canyon Lake. It's been in a "Star Trek" episode and most famously in the opening credits of "The Andy Griffith Show."

You were fascinated with tossing sticks and pebbles into the water and seeing how it made ripples (see the picture at right!). You also took your favorite stuffie, Logs the bunny rabbit, with you for the whole adventure!

Though the lake looks like it's in the mountains or country, it's right smack dab in the middle of Los Angeles (well, Beverly Hills specifically). That's why a lot of TV shows are made there - because most are produced in Hollywood, which is very close by.

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

I would love to see your drawings

One of your favorite things to do when we were together was to show me your drawings - often we'd even draw or paint or color together. Seeing your artwork also was one of my favorite things to do! I remember how you liked to draw pictures of "Star Trek" characters and Army soldiers when you were four and five; I've kept many of them.

I mention this now because your cousin, Rebekah, likes to color pictures and show them to me. Last night, she drew a whole bunch of pictures and aksed me to come up with a story about them! It made me lonely for your drawings and for you.

What kinds of things to draw and color now? I'd like to see them!

Your picture graces covers of two books!

I'm proud to say, Kieran, that your picture graces the bookshelves of many homes and bookstores across the North American continent and even overseas. As you may know, I write (as well as edit) books for a living, and inspired by our many great hikes we took before you began going to school, I wrote a couple of hiking books about our journeys. Both of those books, Hikes with Tykes: A Practical Guide to Day Hiking with Kids and Hikes with Tykes: Games and Activities, include a picture of you on the cover.

The photo on Hikes with Tykes: A Practical Guide to Day Hiking with Kids was taken in the Angeles National Forest on the Manzanita Trail, just off of State Hwy. 2. It's a neat area, the site of an old faultline. You can see wher the faultline used to ran because one side of the trail is red, the location of old clay deposits only a few tens of thousands of years old, while the the other side of the trail is white, the location of old granite that is at least 70 million years old!

The photo on Hikes with Tykes: Games and Activities was taken when you were four years old at Vasquez Rocks in Southern California. You used to call it the "Kirk Rocks" because the "Star Trek" episode in which Captain Kirk fought the Gorn was filmed there. In fact, "Gorn Rock" is behind you in the photo.

I mention this because earlier this week Seattle Backpackers Magazine ran a nice review of Hikes with Tykes: Games and Activities, and I was remined how you played such an important role in helping me create those books - mainly by giving me the experiences to write them. I've dedicated both boths to you as well!

What are the best movies ever?

Tonight I went to see the James Bond movie "Skyfall" at the movie theater. It was a lot of fun to watch, and because it was the 50th anniversary of James Bond movies, the film made a lot of references to past Bond flicks.

The James Bond movies certainly are among my favorite movies (I especially like "For Your Eyes Only"). So , of course, are the "Star Trek" movies and because of all the times we watched the "Star Wars" films together, so were they.

Last winter we started seeing a lot of fun movies together, going to see "The Phantom Menace 3D" and "Journey 2 the Mysterious Island" together. You really liked "The Lost Island", and we even played it and made up stories about it afterward!

What movies are your favorites? I can't wait to find out and to take you to tons of them in the years ahead!

Remember visiting the 'Star Trek' bridge?

Kieran takes command.

Three years today (Nov. 12, 2009), we visited the "Star Trek: The Exhibition" presentation in Hollywood, California. A traveling exhibition, the exhibition featured costumes, props, ship models, video footage and stage sets from the the show's various incarnations.

While I was really into the "Star Trek: The Original Series" displays of costumes and props, you were really into the mock-up sets of the Enterprise-D from "Star Trek: The Next Generation." How could you not be? It was like a cool playground! In fact, you didn't want to leave when we got to the Enterprise bridge set and wanted us to make up an adventure together.

You might recall that we got "Star Trek" shirts and hoodies there. Sometimes I wore the hoodie, and you always asked if you get one like that, too! Unfortunately, they didn't have a shirt that was small enough to fit you, so I bought one that you might later wear. Sure hope you still have it!

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

My email sent to you on Nov. 10, 2012

Here’s a copy of my email sent to you on Nov. 10, 2012, just in case you don’t receive it:

Hi Kieran,

I had fun seeing you, too, and am glad you liked the toys and candy. I will bring the Battleship game and some Christmas presents from Grandma and Grandpa Bignell the next time we get together.

I’m glad you got a chance to “vote”! Did you know that you actually voted for President Obama when he ran for office in 2008? I took you to vote with me and let you push the “buttons” on the screen for the candidates I wanted to vote for! Voting is very important and something we should do every election, so I’m glad you’re getting into the habit.

I can’t wait to see your Ninja costume pictures. I bet you looked cool! In the past, you’ve gone trick or treating as a Jedi knight, a Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle, a doctor, Elmo and as Tigger (when you were a baby).

Speaking of Jedi Knights, I believe I mentioned that three new “Star Wars” movies will be coming out. The first one will be in movie theaters 2015, or three years from now. That’s a long time to wait, isn’t it?! A “Star Trek” movie comes out next year in 2013.

I’m glad Como Park Zoo has refurbished its kids’ area. When I was a little boy your age and went there, they had a cool kiddie roller coaster. My cousin Barry always got sick whenever he went on it, so his dad would take me instead. I always held my hands high up in the air when we went over bumps. In fact, I think your mommy and I went on that kiddie roller coaster together just before they closed it down.

I am a little concerned about this bully Logan you told me about. You should tell your mom about him so she can bring it up to the teacher or principal at your school, okay?

I had fun building and playing Bioncles with you on Friday. I hope you take them on lots of adventures! And I can’t wait to see your new skateboard. You always liked to watch the older kids do skateboard tricks when you were a toddler and we went to the park in Santa Clarita.

I love you and miss you very much! Have fun this weekend!

Dad

Recall your shuttlecraft Galileo toy?

Do you remember the fun shuttlecraft toy with Captain Kirk action figure that you used to have? Here's a picture of it at right.

When you were two, you discovered that in the garage at the green house (in Lancaster) that I had all of these old Star Trek action figures and toys in totes. You begged me to let you play with them, and I figured there was no need to keep them in packages anymore, so I let you have one a day. Among the larger sets was the cool shuttlecraft and Kirk figure from The Original Series.

We'd often take them on adventures to other "planets" - namely the beds and tables in the house - where they'd have to fight off pillow monsters and strange alien action figures. Often you put your Star Wars action figures in the shuttlecraft for a Clone Wars adventure!

I don't have the shuttlecraft anymore, but I'm fairly certian that I still have your Captain Kirk action figure.

Dad's favorite TV show - 'Star Trek'

Spent a little time talking with your Grandma today (Who can't wait to see you by the way - she took care of you every day for several months when you were a baby and your mother stayed with them.), and she read to me some "Star Trek" trivia questions that appeared in one of her magazines. I got 1 out of 2 right but dispute the veracity of the second question!

Anyway, if you don't already know, "Star Trek" is my favorite TV program. You enjoyed watching the cartoons versions of it and The Original Series (The ones with Captain Kirk) while a toddler and in preschool). For a while, you even had each of the action figures fromt he series!

I watched "Star Trek" ever since I was your age (five) and really got hooked when the cartoons came on the air - I was probably in first grade when that happened. Of course, the show was cool in that it offered all kinds of action and cool monsters and neat gadgets. But I also really liked the adventure of traveling to new and exotic locations - one of the most interesting "planets" that I always wanted to visit as a kid was filmed at Vasquez Rocks County Park - where we did lots of hiking when we lived in California!

But what I liked most about the show was its philosophy that people could get along and work together out of mutual respect for one another. The Enterprise crew were noble people who came in peace and only wanted to learn about places and cultures they encountered. They defended a civilization where people were equal, intellectual and just.

Do you still watch "Star Trek"? I would love to watch it with you (and introduce you to Grandma, too!).

Visiting Mojave Space and Air Port

Remember our many trips to the Mojave Space and Air Port? Every month they held a fly-in in which we could get a close-up look at planes and sometimes other vehicles. We usually went to seven or eight of them a year; photo albums of them are posted on my Facebook site (Here's the last one we went to.).

The space and air port was a unique facility where a lot of research into going into space occurred. It's best known as the airport that launched SpaceShip One, the first non-government craft to carry a civilian astronaut into space. And it was just 20 miles from where we lived in Lancaster/Palmdale!

We started going to the fly-ins in 2009, so here's a list of some of my favorite memories of the fly-ins over the years:
10) Watching the robot battles during a special competition there
9) Touring the hangars and research facilities on the flightline
8) Getting to ride a garden train a local club set up one weekend
7) Seeing SpaceShip Two up close
6) Eating at the diner (and later Denny's or McDonalds) after visiting all of the planes
5) Playing in an APC on display there one year
4) Getting our names and pictures into the newspaper (This occurred many times  - and I have all of the copies!)
3) You getting to sit in the cockpits when owners were near their planes
2) Taking tram rides around the airport
1) Meeting Michael Dorn, who played Worf on "Star Trek" (He autographed a Worf action figure for you!)

One day we'll get to go to air shows together again - I can't wait!

Drawings found in my backpack

Was cleaning out my backpack - the one I used to carry all of our stuff in when we went on weekend trips after we gave up the stroller - and found some neat things of ours tucked in an interior pocket, both from our time at Disneyland last winter.

First were two puppet bats that we could color when we visited Woody's ranch house. They were both ones I colored - a Captain Kirk and a Mr. Spock bat! The wings are the colors of their uniforms and have their rank braids on the tips.

Second was a color picture you'd drawn there of the three stars in our cowboy adventures - Sheriff Jack, Lone Ranger and Bad Bart. They're stick figures, but I notice you colored Bad Bart in a black clothing. The picture is dated Feb. 5, 2012 (I always dated your pictures!); that would have been the Sunday before Jane came out to visit the first time (You met her later that week at Barnes and Noble and we spent a couple of days in Santa Clarita).

I need to get a new printer/scanner as my old one doesn't allow me to scan pictures into my laptop (my laptop's operating system is too advanced!), but rest assured, I have the items in a tote for you to look at one day!

Wishing you could join me for this hike

Traveled through Valley of Fire State Park today in Nevada, and sure wish you would have been with me. You would have loved it - there were cool red rocks to clamber over (see picture at right), a petrified tree, and a great visitor center with live snakes, lizards and tarantulas (all safely kept behind glass) that you so much liked to see when we stopped at park visitor centers on our hikes. The Valley of Fire also is where they filmed the famous scene from "Star Trek VII" in which Captain Kirk dies. It would have been hot - it was 106 degrees - but with the air conditioned car, I think you'd have been okay.

You actually have been to Valley of Fire State Park before - It was in September 2008 when you weren't quite 1-1/2 years old, so I don't imagine that you remember it. The day was unbearably hot, and the wind kept sweeping sand into our eyes, so you didn't much like it. I carried you that day outside the vehicle to see some formation.

When we're together again, I will add the Valley of Fire to the list of places we must visit together. Perhaps it can be tour of "Places We've Been Together Out West" that lasts a couple of weeks. I'm sure we'll have lots to catch up on!

A little about myself

So far, most of the entries here have been about my memories of you. But I thought you might like to know a little but more about me.

I run and own my own business in which I edit people's writing and help them get published. I edit all kinds of things but mainly novels and nonfiction manuscripts. I also write books, which help other people become better writers, get published, and sell their books; another set of my books is about how to hike with children (which is largely based on my experiences hiking with you when we were together!).


My company "logo."

Helping other people write better books brings me real pleasure. First, I like to read, so someone paying me to read their book is a lot like someone paying a person who likes to fish to spend his whole day fishing! Secondly, I like to teach and mentor others; it gives me a lot of joy to see others achieve their goals in part thanks to the help I gave them (In much the same way, I so enjoyed helping you learn and master new skills when growing up, from learning your colors and counting to using a scissors and throwing a great spiral pass).

I also like to write, but most of my efforts these days are on nonfiction pieces rather than fiction - though I've got plenty of short stories and novels started. They are just very time consming (albeit fun) to write, and I find penning nonfiction and editing others' works more lucrative. Scan through my blogs and websites, and you're certain to come across my published writing.

The first story I ever wrote that wasn't a class assignment was in second grade. I wrote a "Star Trek" tale for a friend of mine, who was an Asian-American. Mr. Sulu was his favorite character, and he always complained that there were no episodes in which the helmsman saved the day. So I wrote a story in which Mr. Sulu rescues Captain Kirk on a dangerous planet!

You always loved to make up and to hear stories when we were together. I have a confession to make: I'd always guide your storytelling and teach you terms of the trade in hopes that you'd become an excellent writer one day yourself! In fact, in one story you were going to have our main character die, and I said, "But you can't kill him! He's one of our lead characters!"

Like a typical writer, you weren't too keen on having someone else tell you how your story should go, but after a while, you relented!

Some places we built some memories of

Yesterday, I saw a lot of places, probably for the last if not for a long time, where we once spent time together. The Twin Cities where you now live offer its own great sights and events, yet it was with some melancholy that these places of our past our not vanquished to memory alone.

There were the famous "Kirk Rocks," as you liked to call them, where Captain Kirk fought the famous Gorn. It's really Vasquez Rocks County Park, and we went there quite a few times (the picture at left is from April 2011), hiking the same trails Captain Kirk and Mr. Spock did, often playing our own "Star Trek" and later cowboy adventures.

Speaking of cowboys, do you remember the McDonalds in Acton that had a horse atop it? Everytime we drove past it while making up cowboy stories, we'd joke about how it was Sheriff Jack's horse, Luke, and say "Get down from there, Luke!"

And as far as McDonalds go, we stopped many times at the one in Santa Clarita next to the new Kohl's along Hwy. 14. Whenever heading into Los Angeles, it was a certain pit stop for a snack or bathroom break.

Maybe one day we'll be able to go back to all of those places again. I hope we don't have to wait so long that you will have a son of your own who we take on the trip - though I can't wait to meet my grandchild!