This summer Hannah got to work as a field tech and drone pilot for a lab withing the College of Agriculture at UNR. Working with a team of four other women to catalog cheatgrass growth across Nevada. They all also loved reading discussing Frank Herbert's Dune series, plenty of desert inspiration to go around!
Beautiful sunsets and amazing wildlife were just one of the perks of long camping hitches in Elko, Paradise Valley, and the Ruby Mountains.
Hannah got her drone pilot's license earlier this year and got to put her field gear to use right away -- so much fun!
Hannah creatively carrying some of the field equipment -- transect tapes and Daubenmire frames were something she got very familiar with.
Another adventure -- Hannah made it her goal to capture, cook, and consume a Mormon cricket after living with, what felt like, thousands of them both last summer and this one.
On her breaks, Hannah enjoyed spending time at the beach with her friends, going on lots of hikes and spending fun time with the family -- shooting with Dad, playing games with Caleb, and crafting with Mom.
Cheers to another great summer!
One activity Bob and Hannah have been enjoying this summer is shooting! Both going out to the range and handloading have been a blast (ha ha) and both Bob's .300 Winchester Magnum and Hannah's .270 have been getting more and more accurate.
Bob lining up a shot with the .300 Win Mag he got from his Dad.
Going shooting on Saturday mornings have been one of the highlights for both Bob and Hannah this summer.
Five shots with the .300 at 100 yards.
Lots of analysis, practice and careful handloading have allowed Bob to really improve his marksmanship.
A close up of the successful July 31st target.
Two holes with four in one and a "marginal" flyer.
On August 6th, Bob, Lisa and Caleb went for an overnight camping trip in Hope Valley. Because it was only an overnighter, we decided to go light and only take tents. It was fun and a great flash back to the way we always used to camp.
Of course Chester was with us as well. He's our happy little camper!
This was the first time we've camped in Hope Valley and we thoroughly enjoyed the scenery and back road tours in the surrounding area.
Lisa and Chester enjoying the view from Bob's ultralight backpacking tent. Very nice!
Drying out tents and flys in the morning after light rain the night before.
The last time we'd taken out our larger tent was in 2015 when we camped in it almost three weeks on our Grand Canyon river trip.
Gorgeous mountain views on our back roads trip checking out the surrounding area.
A view of beautiful Upper Blue Lake.
August 13th Bob and Lisa got to go to the Cordillera International Film Festival in Reno. It was held at the National Auto Museum and we had a fabulous time. Here we are sitting in the original Batmobile.
Lisa calling Commissioner Gordon on the Bat phone. :)
Both Lisa and Caleb enjoy going out to the range as well. Here Caleb is shooting Bob's .223 bench rest rifle while Lisa spots for him.
Caleb returning the favor for Lisa. This heavy .223 is fun to shoot with little to no kick making it a great rifle to practice with.
Hannah joining Bob a bit earlier in the summer shooting the .220 Swift that Bob got from his Dad.
The .220 Swift was developed in 1935 and is still one of the fastest cartridges with velocities around 4,000 feet per second.
Hannah drilling it with the Swift.
On July 8th we had a wonderful four day camping trip at Sugar Pine Point State Park campground on the west side of Lake Tahoe. The weather was perfect and we had a great time relaxing, mountain biking and hiking. This has become one of our favorite weekend camping destinations.
Caleb chopping wood for the evening fire. There were a few pieces of Sugar Pine firewood in our campsite when we arrived. Very nice wood to split and burn.
On June 18th Caleb ran in the Rock Tahoe Half Marathon at Lake Tahoe.
Caleb diligently trained for over six months in preparation for the 13.1 mile run from Spooner Summit to South Lake Tahoe.
The 1,412 runners at the marathon's start.
If you look closely you might be able to spot his white and blue hat in the center of the pack about a third of the way up from the bottom.
Out of 1,412 runners, Caleb finish 50th, 44th out of 503 men.
He ran a 7:29 minute mile finishing the 13.1 mile race in 1 hour, 38 minutes, and 6 seconds.
We were very proud of him.
Caleb at the finish with a proud Dad
On June 6th we loaded up kayaks and camper for the first camping trip of the year to Fallen Leaf Lake.
Fallen Leaf Lake has become our favorite campground here in Northern Nevada.
Our friend Chris England joined us for a fun overnight stay and breakfast.
A panorama of beautiful Fallen Leaf Lake with the Desolation Wilderness beyond and Mount Tallac on the right.
Caleb heading down to the lake, kayak in tow.
Caleb enjoying time on the water.
Bob took these photos of a surprise visitor to the campground!
After throwing a few rocks at him, Bob was able to "herd" him away from the neighbors camp, through ours, and out of the campground. If you look close you can see this big bruin isn't too happy with the "herding". :)
Also joining us for a short time at camp was Hannah's best friend, Lydia Moretto. It was great to relive memories of her camping with us when she was just a little girl.
Enjoying and end-of-the-day game of dice around the picnic table.
Bob whipping up one of his famous camp breakfasts. Nothing like hot blueberry pancakes to start off the day!