Malibu Sunset Baby!

More Great Hiking in Anza Borrego

The Bill Kenyon Trail leads to a great view of the San Felipe Wash.And some rugged peaks.The Chollo cactus are looking good.
And this Ocotillo is the first to bloom!

Rip enjoyed hiking up the wash canyon.

And we came to a shear fall.

Lots of interesting geology - metamorphic, igneous and sedimentary rock mixed into the fault lines.

And the Elephant Tree.
Did I mention how gorgeous the Chollos are? Look at this grove.

And the new metal sculptures are dramatic and exciting!

More.

Peg Leg Dry Camp

This monument indicates Peg Leg's gold stash may be in the vicinity.We hit the trail to climb 1,000 feet in 3 miles on the way to Coyote peak. Lots of views that follow, and a tough spot in the trail that was unclear which way we should go.

Rip spotted this coyote.And watched him climb the opposite wall of the canyon.

I'm glad Ripley didn't bolt. He was clearly smaller than the coyote. And his fighting skills are based on the licking move. We continued up the hill.To see the South-east drop to Coyote Creek.And the view of De Anza Dessert Country Club is inviting.

The dessert sunset.

And a moonlit view of the Peg Leg monument. I'll have to give you a better look in the daylight.

Very good perspective from the dessert.

Lake Arrowhead and Hiking

Mountain paradise at Lake Arrowhead. Sharon and I walked to earn views of the lake.

Ripley and Ruby blazed the trails.

And we came across puddle ice on the North facing slopes.

Beat that!

There's Nothin' Like Golf in the Freezing Rain!

Yes, it rained! High thirties. Awesome! Better than any day working!

John at the tee and his house above his bag.

Yeungling, BABY!Just when we cracked the beers the wind kicked up and I got a 15 on hole number 5. OUCH!

Crazy Travel Day!!!

Welcome back TO!

Early this morning, Sue loaded the car with four college guys and all their luggage. The rain made the drive a little longer than usual, but she returned, John cleaned the cave and all was settling down.

Then came the phone calls. "Mom, my flight was cancelled! Sean Ferg's was delayed. Papi is on standby!" Only John Rabb went out on schedule.

We received late word that Sean and Whitey both made it home.

The comedy came under duress. TO spent 10 hours at the airport only to return for another try tomorrow. Let's hope all goes smooth and on time tomorrow!

Paintball Baby!

The paintball dudes tore up the course at Paintball Country today.We played capture the trailer, then hyper ball before we decided to do a Civil War battle.
Line up, one shot, one step forward...

No cover!

Man hit!
We lost Sean Ferg with a shot to the chest.Then an all out war ensued after the last man was down.
You bet, this game is a testosterone high!

I hope you had as much fun on the Saturday after Thanksgiving.

Time for more leftovers!

Playing golf at the country club baby!

Hurry KJ, finish cooking breakfast so we can go play golf!The Heritage Club is a fine course that plays tough - 130 slope from the middle tees. The cool weather made for a brisk outing. We walked the back nine.

I shot 49 with a birdie on number 15.

We swapped the lead several times and - YES! - I pulled out a victory over John's 50.

We returned to the Griswold compound to put on the holiday cheer. Everyone chipped in to dress up the house for the Christmas season. John, Papi ad Whitey set up three layers of management to assemble this reindeer. I'm pretty sure none of them touched it - good work!

And the balance of the crew went to work on the big pine tree.
There are perhaps a thousand lights on that little tree.
And a thousand more on the bushes out front.

Sue made a run to Target for additional supplies and by the time it was dark, we had a brilliant light show.

Welcome to the Christmas season!

Happy Thanksgiving!

I decided to brave the busiest air travel day of the year and fly to Cincinnati on Wednesday. I was not alone, John and Sue made a combined 5 round trips to the airport picking up the Kobe boys that are now going to college back in the USA. Everyone made it to the Oswalt household without delay and the boys were playing DOTA before midnight! We fielded a 5 on 5 football game and enjoyed a beautiful day on the lawn. My team was up 7-0 at the half and we had to break to help finish up dinner. Sue did all the heavy lifting and the boys came together to lend a hand. Yes, the bag of potatoes was very heavy! The race was on! Who can peel four potatoes the fastest? Chad was out to an early lead... then Dave joined in the competition... and Whitey knuckled down to come through with a narrow victory!

Chad added the gourmet touch to the taters and whipped up a tasty mash.
With nine potential carvers in the group, we turned to the customary flip-off to determine who would carve the turkeys. Now please keep in mind, this is an Oswalt tradition that goes back several decades. John and I are proud to maintain a perfect record in the flip-off as long as Uncle Bill is involved. But this year Bill was not in attendance and we had two turkeys and several rookies of the knife. So the flip-off goes like this... all nine flip, odd man carves. It could take many rounds to get one odd man out of nine - the odds are one in fifty-eight. We got our two carvers in just three flips! Incredible!!!Sean and Tommy were our carvers - rookies no longer!

We all enjoyed helping and giving advice. Nibbling and giving more advice. Everyone had a hand in the preparation.

Then we all sat down to a fabulous meal. We gave thanks to our friends - old and new - family near and far - and wished happiness and healthfulness for all.

Happy Thanksgiving to all of you, my friends and family. I love you all and wish you the happiest in this holiday season.