Out and About

I've been neglecting this blog again, and I fear that will be the norm from here on out... only two more months until we move away from Ridgecrest, and after that I probably won't write in here again. Unless something Ridgecrestian happens in my post-Ridgecrest life. I guess that could happen. Anyway, during the next two months I am going to be really really busy getting ready to leave, so the blog will suffer. Maybe. Or maybe I'll feel the need to post a lot, to document our last days. We'll see.

We've been going out and about a lot the past few weeks, continuing to try to see everything we haven't seen and re-see everything we're going to miss. It's all quite impossible.

Two weeks ago, actually 2 days after the last post, we returned to the CALM Zoo (CAlifornia Living Museum) in Bakersfield, where we had been twice before.

I like that zoo a lot, and it's so kid-friendly. Glad we could see it one more time, but I'm sure that'll be our last visit there -- maybe ever?

Last weekend we re-visited Fossil Falls, which is just up 395 from us, less than an hour away (so it's practically in our backyard).

This time, Rocket Boy and the twins walked down into the canyon formed by the falls -- it's probably technically not called a canyon, but whatever.

I stayed behind and watched for them. I can't remember if they're actually in this photo or not, but eventually I did see them from this vantage point.

Afterwards we drove back towards Ridgecrest, but stopped at the park in Pearsonville where we had a mini-barbecue dinner.

This weekend (yesterday) we went back to Death Valley. For once -- seriously, it's probably the only time in our lives -- we got a fairly early start and made it there before noon. It was a beautiful day, blue sky and clouds, not windy, even a few wildflowers blooming. After a pleasant lunch at Stovepipe Wells, we drove on to the Furnace Creek Visitor Center. The twins hadn't been inside since they totally redid it. It's very very nice.

Our excuse for visiting Death Valley this weekend (if one ever really needs an excuse) was MarsFest, an annual gathering of members of the Mars Society. We couldn't attend any talks, but we looked at the exhibits out on the patio. The twins loved this one:

In this photo, the scientist is changing the batteries on the little Mars Rover. Once he got it going again, all the little kids took turns controlling it -- as it zoomed around the patio -- using the joystick and computer you can see there.

Later we drove northeast, as if we were going to Beatty, Nevada. Just after you leave Death Valley National Park, but before you hit Beatty, you come to the ghost town of Rhyolite, where we had never been.

Honestly, this national park is so amazing. Every single time we go, we see something different.

Near the ghost town is a little art museum. We didn't go inside, but the twins enjoyed playing on and around this interesting sculpture. By then it had gotten very cloudy, almost as if it might rain, but it didn't.

And then of course it was time to hurry back to the sand dunes, where we played until the sun set.

Death Valley is one place that I know I *WILL* see again, if I possibly can. It's an incredibly wonderful park. Maybe in six or eight years we'll come back with the twins, see if they have any memories of it. Do you think they will?