That time of year

It's time for our annual walk through the maple trees across the street. They are just as beautiful as ever this year. Our little autumn treat before the cold, cold days start. Walter picked a few leaves that would be just right for his ever-growing nature collection. I like his little, decorative display by our front door.








Previous fall tree photos are here and here.

Zoo Run Run

Last Sunday was the Henry Vilas Zoo Run Run and Walter participated in the kids 1-mile Roo Run Run. This was his longest run so far and it took a little convincing to get him to believe he could do it. But he did do it, and he did great! A big confidence boost for this little runner. The event has come a long way in the past few years. What was once disorganized chaos is now a well-run event. And, it's at the zoo! Running, plus face-painting, turtle riding, trying on antlers, and photos with Henry the Lion. A pretty good day.

Hiking for grown-ups – Iceland 2014

A beautiful evening, and a long, kid-free hike, thanks to Gramma who kept the kids busy at the campsite. Waterfalls, rivers, mountains, and a glacier. Skaftafell seemed to be the place the Icelanders vacationed. I can see why.

Cousin pals - Iceland 2014

A football, sunshine, and a cousin/friend. What more does a kid need?
From our campsite at Skaftafell:









I love the way these two get along. They are about a year apart in age and are great at entertaining each other. Even on long drives in an RV.

The glacier - Iceland 2014

In southern Iceland we made a stop at Skaftafell to see the glacier. I could tell you some facts about glaciers and geology, but isn't that what Google is for? In fact, here is Skaftafell on Wikipedia, if you feel like doing some reading. Instead, here are my personal observations based on the bit of glacier we explored.
1. It's cold on a glacier. I mean, duh, it's ice. But, just a short walk away at our campsite on the national park grounds, we were perfectly comfortable in t-shirts.
2. It's slippery on a glacier. Again, duh, it's ice. But it doesn't LOOK slippery. Very deceiving, those glaciers. We had to be very careful hikers.
3. Glaciers are dirty. Which makes total sense since it's pushing it's way over the earth, moving tons of dirt along with it. BUT...
4. The ice is SO CLEAR! Nothing like those cloudy cubes that come out of your ice maker at home.
Hmmm... chances are, you could have found all that information with Google too. Oh well. On to the photos!