sleepy weekend

not much happening in PS this weekend...just enjoying the weather and planning our trips for the next few weekends...we're planning on visiting about 5 national parks in november...should make for some great blog photo ops....election craziness has taken hold here - we average about three mailings a day for or against various propositions/candidates...apparently everyone running for office out here is a bad person...looking forward to nov. 8....

Murray Peak

Mac and I finally made it all the way to Murray Peak! It's about a 2,200 foot climb, which traslates to 5,000 feet in dog travel, because you have to run back and forth along the trail the whole way to make sure you don't miss a weird smell. I used about 4 liters of water keeping the dog hydrated, and had a couple 24 ouncers myself. Anyway, here's a couple shots from the top of Palm Springs...

Who wants to go to Europe?

Having seen a huge portion of North America this summer, we're thinking about about going on a Contiki tour of Europe next summer. Below is a link to the itinerary that seems best suited to what we're hoping to see...

http://www.contiki.com/en-US/Tours/Europe/European.Discovery/Itinerary.htm

Sarah did a Contiki tour when she was in New Zealand and had a blast. They plan out all the entertainment and sightseeing, but also include optional side trips that you can pick from, depending on what you're into. So all we would have to do is get ourselves to London, and they take care of us from there. Kind of like a land cruise.

Of course, guided trips are more fun with friends, so we will be encouraging everyone to join us....

Hiking for Dogs

This past weekend Mac and I took a hike up the Luyken Trail, which is about 2 miles from our front door. As long as your dog doesn't eat people you can have them off the leash when you're in the mountains, so it makes going for a walk much easier. Mac started strong, but after a while couldn't take the uphill climb in the bright sun, so he finally just laid down right in the middle of the trail. We took about a 15 minute break, enjoyed the view, and headed back down the hill, which Mac enjoyed much more.

1st Teacher of the week award from Edward Wenzlaff Elementary goes to.....

SARAH NORTON!!!!

Nothing New...

Not much happening in Palm Springs this week...just enjoying football season and cooler temps. The dog is vaccinated for another year, and this time his face didn't swell up from the shots, which is nice. He's even learned two new tricks in the past couple weeks, which is more than I can say for myself!

More Alaska

I'm finally getting to sorting through the Alaska photos, and I've come across some amazing pictures that haven't made the blog - here's one below...

Sarah standing on the banks of a glacial river at Denali National Park..

Vegas!

To end Mom Tiede and Spencer's trip in style, we spent a night in Vegas before they flew back to Minnesota. The pictures below are of the hotel we stayed at, called Excalibur.

Karen, Sarah, and Spencer

Excalibur Hotel. We stayed in the tower to the right.

Day 29 - THE END - 7/22/06

Well, after 9,000 miles, it was time for me to head home. I left Sarah and Mac in Minnesota and flew back to the desert. They have a few more weeks of vacation with family....but it's back to the real world for me!

Shawn, Sarah and Mac in Mom and Dad Norton's back yard.

Mac confronting my mom's cat Slick for the first time as a full-grown dog. After a few barks and some ferocious tail-wagging, Mac decided it was in his best interests to leave Slick alone.

Day 28 - 7/21/06

After returning from Moorhead on Friday morning, we went to visit Grandma and Grandpa Fowler. Their backyard is full of flowers, so Sarah took some great pics...

Grandpa explaning how he got his tree moved across the yard...

Day 27 - Moorhead - 7/20/06

On Thursday we made a quick 220 mile drive up to Moorhead, MN to visit Trent and whoever else could stop by...

Trent's house...

Trent, Kyle, and me...I found out that Kyle now has 47 children....he's shooting for 50 before he's 30...I guess he can get the group discount at Valley Fair after that...

Day 26 - Rainy Blaine - 7/19/06

We had some thunderstorms roll through on the day we were supposed to be out boating, so instead we stayed in and watched some movies. Mac found out that Spencer made a nice pillow...

Spencer scoring a run in his little league game after the rain let up. His team won by a huge margin, and Spencer made some nice defensive plays as well.

Day 25 - 7/18/06

A Monach butterfly Spencer had taken care of came out of its cocoon. You can see it flying out of the jar as he released it into the world. A great experience for Spencer!

Sammy's dog Radar likes to help her draw!

My sister Audra's new apartment building in Uptown Minneapolis. It's a fun location walking distance from everthing you need. We went to a restaurant for dinner with a patio on the roof overlooking downtown Mpls...the most shocking thing about the area was the amount of people our age! You get used to being surrounded by seniors in the Palm Springs area!

Inside the apartment....

Day 24 - Minnesota - 7/17/06

We finally made it to our final destination on the 24th day of our trip. As you can see, we were welcomed with beautiful weather. It's easy to forget about the bitter cold when you visit during the nicest part of the year!

The travelers enter MN...

Sarah's brother Spencer (leading off first) had a little league game. Dad is the first base coach and general team motivational speaker!

Spencer pitching...I'm sure it was a strike!

Day 23 - Anniversary - 7/16/06

We left Grandma's house on the day of our 2nd anniversary, to start the trip back to Minneapolis.

We stopped in Ladysmith, WI so Mac could do some swimming...

He's getting fancy - 2 sticks at once!

We booked a suite near the MN border for the nite...

Our fancy anniversary meal - check out the Diet Vernors soda - you can't buy that West of the Mississippi!

Mac was very interested in the bubbly water!

Day 22 - Norton Reunion - 7/15/06

We made it to the Norton Reunion in Mount Pleasant, MI on the day before we headed for Minnesota.

This is actually someone's backyard! They are family friends and have let us use the place for the past few years. They have a swimming pond, zip line, paddle boat, canoe, beach volleyball, bathrooms, horseshoes, and a softball field - pretty much the perfect place for a reunion!
The Norton kids. Uncle Elwood, Aunt Colleen (standing), Aunt Norma, and Dad.
My cousin Nate's little girl Paige showing off the homemade ice cream she was eating.

The Norton Cousins, from top left - Pam, Reggie, Jodi, Paula, Sherry, Kim, Shawn, and Nate.

On our way back to Grandma's we drove through the Central Michigan University campus where Mom and Dad went to school - this is the married housing they lived in the last year they attended.

Day 21 - Michigan - 7/14/06

Day 21 we went back to Sage Lake, MI, which is about 10 miles from my Grandma's house. The lake was very clean and deep - up to 70 feet in some places.

Mom and Dad Norton on the water...

Mac was our spotter...

Dad landed his first aerial 180!

Shawn doing a rail grab...

Dad decided to get fancy, going for the double-refreshment move...drinking a diet pepsi while wakeboarding!

Day 20 - 7/13/06

Day 19 - 7/12/06

Day 18 - 7/11/06