Browse Author: beakatude

Get gored!

buffalo.jpgSunday (07.02.06)
When we arrived at the park the day before, we were warned not to approach the wildlife for risk of getting gored by a buffalo or mauled by a bear. We joked all day about the dumb tourists who would approach a huge buffalo only 50 feet away. Why would you want to be THAT guy if you were to be charged by one of those humungous beasts. Well, we stopped at the mud volcano area where I tried to set up for a picture of the stinky springs. Little did I know that there was a buffalo walking along the sidewalk just about 10 feet away from me. All I heard was someone say, “Lady, move out of the way.” At first, I thought, “How rude. Am I in the way of your precious photo?” Well, I looked to my left and saw a big brown beast walking towards me. I quickly snapped a photo and walked the other way. Jes was up the boardwalk, desperately waving me over. I picked up the pace thinking that he was just being paranoid. Well, I turned around and there was Vyl behind me and then Mr. Buffalo RIGHT BEHIND HER charging in our direction! We ran in all directions and then eventually back to the minivan. I can’t believe Vyl almost got gored in the arse after we were just making fun of the FOBs down the street. Later that day, we spoke with a Park Ranger who said that the buffalo was playin’ with us and just wanted us to get out of his way. Uh…ok. So, here are some lessons we learned today: if a buffalo charges, run. If a bear is in your area, make a lot of noise and don’t run.
abysspool.jpgThis was basically our “see all you can day”. We started by visiting the Upper and Lower Falls along with the Grand Canyon of Yellowstone. Next stops were the mud pots and then the mud volcano area (that we ended up not seeing). After lunch, we visited the West Thumb Basin and Old Faithful. It was a very throrough day and it seemed like all the geysers and steaming holes in the ground were starting to look the same. We were pooped by the time we got back to the campsite and oh yeah, it also poured that night. It’s a good thing we put up the refugee tarp!

Road Trip

polarbear1.jpgFriday and Saturday (06.30.06-07.01.06)
I always wondered what it would be like to do a road trip across America. Well, I got just a hint of it and it’s pretty rough when you’re riding in a Toyota Sienna mini-van. We flew to Sacramento on Friday evening and the gang (Ryan, Michelle, Bang, and Vyl) picked us up at about around 10:30 pm. Once we repacked the van, we headed east on I-80. We drove and drove and drove. Unfortunately, Ryan got a speeding ticket just 8 miles from the CA/NV border where the speed limit changes to 75mph. Booo…
I got to see Nevada, Idaho, Montana, and then finally Wyoming. We stopped to see the World’s Tallest Polar Bear in Elko, NV. We had pancakes and steak at Smitty’s in Idaho Falls (by the way there are no falls to be seen there). We also shopped at two WalMarts on the way.
By Saturday afternoon, we arrived at the west entrance to Yellowstone National Park. On our way to Canyon Village, where we were going to set-up camp, we saw lots of burnt trees from the 1990 out-of-control fire, bison, deer, and Gibbon River. We shared a box of Runts while Jes was in pure agony because of his dire need to urinate. That’s what happens when you chug two cans of COORS LIGHT.
Once we arrived at the campsite, we pitched our tents, set-up the canopy, hung tarps, and started dinner. Ryan and Michelle’s tent was under the deluxe canopy while we shared our refugee camp with The Bangs. With the threat of rain, you can never be too prepared. Fortunately, we got them up and finished dinner in time for the first sprinkle. It just comes out of nowhere. You get one warning rumble of thunder and then woosh! We were all so pooped from the 18-hour drive that we went to sleep pretty much after dinner. No s’mores tonight.

not stinky anymore

We just got back from our annual camping trip and I’m pooped. This year, we spent 5 days in Yellowstone National Park and what an incredible place it is! It’s located on the northeast corner of Wyoming and the weather there is really moody. I’ve heard people say that if you don’t like the weather in Wyoming, wait 15 minutes. It’s so true. As predicted, it did rain several times but luckily we were prepared with tarps hanging over each of our tents and over the picnic table. I’ll have a recap of each day this week as soon as I get my photos organized. I ended up bringing home 643 photos on my SLR and a few more on the little digi. We had a great time but it was so nice to get out of my smokey clothes and take a long hot shower.

Goin’ to see Yogi and BooBoo

WoW has officially taken over the house. We picked up Jason from the airport last night and they’ve been on-line with Bangerang for almost 24 hours. As a result, Jes failed to pack for our trip and we also missed our 5:05 flight. On our way to the airport we changed our flight to the 9:10 flight and we’re now home waiting to leave again. Tonight we’ll be flying to Sac-town and then driving 900+ miles to Yellowstone through the night. With isolated thunderstorms in the 5-day forecast, I’m a little anxious but I’m sure it’ll still be fun. Maybe it’ll keep Yogi and BooBoo in the den so that my tent won’t get another hole in it.   We’ll just have to cross our fingers for minimal rain and mud.  I also hope my bad back will hold up too.  Hopefully I’ll get some cool photos of the buffalo…we’ll be back Wednesday!

making friends

Last week I went to “My Gym” with Marie and Cole. Since it’s a “parent-participation” activity, I needed to man the video camera and I took some photos as well. It gave me a chance to practice taking action shots of children, which is a lot more challenging that I expected. With so many kids running around, I couldn’t blind them with the flash, so it was tough for me capture the right shots with the flourescent lights above and Cole’s quick moves.
Another funny thing that I witnessed was Cole’s emerging personality. He’s such a go-getter with a rough-play personality. At one point, he walked over to this other child and grabbed him by the shirt. Since he can’t talk yet, that was basically his way of saying, “Hey, let’s play!” Unfortunately, it made the other baby cry and his mom wasn’t very understanding. Ah, Taku-chan…you’re going to be some trouble-maker later on but it’s going to take you far in life too.
Here are the photos.

Brazilian Par-tay

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We went to see Sergio Mendes and his friends perform at Hollywood Bowl last night. It was a pleasant balmy evening with the feeling of excitement and happiness all around. The house was packed and there were so many Brazilians eating, drinking, “smoking”, and having a good time. The performance was so much fun and I have to say that Sergio is the coolest old guy around. At one point, they performed “Never Gonna Let You Go” and it sounded like karaoke night with everyone in the audience singing along and waving around their lit cell phones. I know it sounds corny but it was a cool sight to see. By the end of the evening, I felt like I was in a big Brazilian Party with everyone standing, singing, and dancing. They even had some Carnival dancer up on stage shakin’ their bums like there was no tomorrow. Oh how Johnny and Jesse wished we had box seats. Here are some more photos of the evening.