This Christmas, instead of having Emily fly back home again, we decided to fly out to Prague to visit her and her now bigger bunny, Baby Scout. While this came with a higher cost for airfare than either our summer trip or our Thanksgiving trek last year, it was worth it to finally have the… Continue reading European Christmas Markets
Yosemite National Park is an inspiring place no matter the season, but there is something magical about the park in winter, with its sparkling snow-covered meadows against a backdrop of grey monoliths and towering evergreens. The girls and I had another opportunity to visit our perennial happy place with Owen this past weekend as we… Continue reading Happy Isles and a Happy Dog in the Season of the Sticks
Can be dangerous if you're not prepared. On the first Saturday of November, we headed up to Cucamonga Peak via Icehouse Canyon. This is a hike that I've done on many other occasions, and was to be the final hike of this year's Six Pack of Peaks Challenge. That said, I have never hiked it… Continue reading Hiking in a Winter Wonderland
Gateway Arch in December On the last day of our recent Missouri trips, we had a some time to kill before heading back to the St. Louis Lambert Airport. As it was only about 15 minutes from the rental car company and a quick hop to the airport, we made a stop at the Gateway… Continue reading Gateway Arch National Park
The bluffs above Big Piney St. Robert is kind of in the middle of nowhere, Missouri. Located in Pulaski County between St. Louis and Branson, it is considered the gateway community to the U.S. Army's Fort Leonard Wood. Indeed, that was why we were there. We were celebrating Jacob's graduation from basic training, and with… Continue reading A Day in St. Robert, Missouri
The Cranky Camper 