Kim and I vactioned in Zion National Park, where we hiked the amazing Narrows hike, learned about canyonering, explored some amazing canyons, had our car snacked on by squirrels, rode bikes and more. We’re been lucky enough to travel to some amazing spots in the planet, and when I do a trip like this I’m reminded that, especially in terms of natural beauty, America has some stuff that ranks right at the top of the list.

This wasn’t a big year for me for whitewater paddling.  Not a lot of new rivers, except for my fabulous Ecuador trip, and not a lot of paddling in total,  but I did get on some old favorites.   I didn’t do much in the way of photos though.  Here are a few…

Last weekend, Kim and I drove to Lake Tahoe, parked the car in Squaw Valley, and rode about 50 miles around the Lake to South Lake Tahoe on Saturday. The route included everything from bike paths to rolling hills to a LONG climb that led to a screaming fast downhill. Super fun. We stayed in an inexpensive motel in south lake tahoe…. then walked 6 miles roundtrip to get dinner. A great night of rest, and we woke sunday, and …

Kim and I celebrated 9 years from when we first met (OK, mostly an excuse for an extravagant dinner) on Friday, by heading to Providence, a 2 Michelin star restaurant in Los Angeles. It was simply amazing. Each course could easily be in the top 5 plates of food I’ve ever eaten, and there were 7 courses, (plus an amuse bouche and extra little candies) so the math doesn’t even make sense. the service was beyond excellent, and of course, they …

Kim and I celebrated our anniversary this weekend (April 9) with a weekend trip to Monterrey Bay, CA. We went paddling Sat morning off a point near Pacific Grove. It was windy, and big, and stormy, so we didn’t get far, but it was a lot of fun.
After-wards, we hung out in the tide-pools, then checked out a street fair in PG. Checked into our hotel, then had a nice dinner.
Sunday we went kayaking again, with amazing wildlife. Otters, seals and sea lions EVERYWHERE. Really, …

Santa Cruz surf kayak contest is the biggest contest on the west coast.  Great waves this year, and fun people as always.  Every year I think I’m surfing much better than last year, and I probably am, but so is everyone else!  So i didn’t do as well as I’d have liked, but I had a blast and will be back in 2011.

Just a few photos from some winter trips we took.  Lake Tahoe with Paula and Erol, and Mammoth with Helen and Scott.  good times….

A paddling trip by Geoff to Ecuador. Kayaking with the amazing Phil and Mary DeReimer of adventurekayaking.com