2009 Christmas Letter

Merry Christmas,

We all hope that this letter finds you in good health and spirits. It is looking a lot like Christmas here this year as we just had about 8 inches of snow last week and have some more on the way, so we should be set up nicely for a white Christmas.

Mariah (18) started her freshman year at the University of Denver in September. She is enjoying the new experiences, the challenges of school, and meeting many new friends. Her first quarter is complete and she is home all during the month of December, giving us a chance to reconnect (when she is not busy reconnecting with her Eagan friends). Besides studying, she stays busy with intramurals, volunteering at the Platte Forum Art Studio, and many school and dorm sponsored activities. Last spring she was very busy with prom, graduation, her open house, and numerous other senior events. She went on a spring break trip to Gulf Shores, AL with some of her friends and parents where they saw the Blue Angels, relaxed on the beach, and toured around the area.

Kara (15) is a sophomore at Eagan High School. She now has her learner’s driving permit, and is testing out her ability in snowy conditions. She continues to play the clarinet in band, and is getting excited about the spring band trip to Puerto Rico. Last spring she tried out for the golf team and made the JV squad, giving her a chance to play against some older golfers at the various local high schools. She continued to play in a Jr. PGA league over the summer, experiencing many nice local courses. During the summer, she played soccer, even playing some games in goal for the first time. Earlier this fall Kara completed her confirmation training and was confirmed at Easter Lutheran Church.

Hailey (13) became a teenager last April. She was very busy last spring as she was on the middle school swim team, and played volleyball and indoor soccer. She continues to play soccer during the summer on one of the local traveling teams. When school started, she decided to switch from band to choir. Now she always has her instrument with her. Her big highlight of the year was her trip to Washington, DC with about 90 kids from her middle school. Although the weather was drizzly and cool, they had a good time and got so see many of the monuments, museums, and historical locations that make DC so fascinating.

LeAnn has kept busy working as a pre-school teacher for the city of Eagan. She spent much of the spring preparing scrapbooks and decorations for Mariah’s graduation and open house. The senior party was a big event for Mariah this spring, so LeAnn along with many other parents spent numerous hours designing and preparing decorations for this overnight party. She continues to do a lot a scrap-booking as she tries to keep up with the ongoing activities of Kara and Hailey. She played flag football again in the fall with a couple neighborhood friends. She also keeps busy with golf and bike riding.

Ray went on a 3 day, 18 mile backpacking trip along the north shore of Lake Superior with 3 of his workmates this fall. He did not get in as much bike riding this year as he normally does, but hopes to do a couple of longer rides again next year. He also continues to golf and geocache whenever he gets a chance. Ray still works for Advantek and travels to Asia quite a bit. On one of his trips he toured Corregidor Island in the Philippines, getting some firsthand looks at a very fascinating and strategic location of WWII.

LeAnn, Kara and Hailey went up to Duluth during spring break and toured the Glensheen Mansion and the Great Lakes Aquarium. It was still cold, so they did not spend a lot of time at Canal Park or doing other outdoor activities.

Our summer vacation took us out to Lake Tahoe, on the California and Nevada border. Lake Tahoe is a very large, deep, clear blue, mountain lake. It was pretty cold for swimming, but it was plenty warm on the beaches around the lake. During the winter, it is a big skiing area, and on the Nevada side there are numerous casinos. We stayed in a ski resort condo, so had some easy access to many hiking trails through the woods. We took one day to drive around the lake and stopped at various waterfalls and rivers that feed into the lake. We also stopped at Emerald Bay, home to Vikingholm, a mansion built in Scandinavian style. We took day trip to the Sonoma Valley in California and went on a vineyard tour and wine tasting at Benziger winery, which is practicing organic and natural farming techniques. We also took a paddle-wheel boat tour of the lake, giving us many views we could not get from shore.

Both Ray’s and LeAnn’s moms are doing well and continue to keep busy and stay healthy. Lois spends the winters in Arizona and summers at her home in Iowa. Karren is at home in Minnesota all year long.

The outside Christmas lights are on, the indoor decorations are up along with the tree, so we can know Christmas is near. We hope you are ready for Christmas and enjoy the season. Best wishes for a happy and prosperous 2010.

2009-11 Exploring Shanghai

Ray spent the weekend in Shanghai and was able to get out and do some sightseeing and geocaching. He was in a hotel in a different part of town that he had been in the past, a little bit further east of where he had stayed in the past. Saturday afternoon he walked over to find a couple of nearby caches and tour this part of town. One was near a local school and he stopped to watch some people playing cricket on the school’s fields. There is a fairly large expat community in this area, with lots of families out and about enjoying the day. On the way back to the hotel he stopped for dinner at a local bar and grill. Smoking is still allowed in the restaurants in Shanghai, so that was different from back home. The food was good (a cheese steak sandwich) but the desire to hang around was dampened by the smoky environment.

They had some very interesting stoplights near the hotel. Instead of individual red, yellow and green lights, it had a single rectangular LED light array that would change length based on the time remaining until the light changed. The green light would shrink from the top down, while the red light would shrink from the bottom up. The yellow lights here are also activated as the lights change from red to green, giving drivers a heads up on when to go.


Sunday, he got up to head into town. After taking a cab to the subway station, he purchased a transit card so that he would not have to buy individual ride cards to give more flexibility and save time with the multiple starts and stops he was planning. The first stop was down by the Oriental Pearl Tower. Although it was not sunny outside, the air was relatively clear so it was easy to see all the tall landmarks from a ways away. One of the caches brought him past the Jin Mao tower and a giant U shaped sculpture representing a a magnet that pulls everyone to Shanghai. There is lots of construction in the area as Shanghai is getting ready for the World Expo next summer. Many of the sidewalks or made from pavers so when they do repairs they can remove the pavers, make their repairs and put the sidewalks back down with minimal disruption. He also found a small neighborhood park in which the locals were doing their morning exercises. An interesting thatched roof was built into/onto some old tree trunks to give a nice shaded area.

From there, he headed to People’s Square park to count torches that are built around a pool for a virtual cache. In the park, many people were out enjoying the morning. In one area, guys were exercising with spinning tops on strings. They were able to go around their back and between their legs with the top and keep it spinning. Their must have been some air channels in the tops as they were whistling and changed pitch as the speed of rotation changed.


After another subway ride, the next stop was Zhongshan Park. This park had a jumper and some rides for kids and adults. One interesting ride was a tandem bike that straddled a single rail about 20 feet above the ground. It was direct drive so that when people stopped pedaling, the bike stopped. I was watching one mother and daughter, and the mother seemed pretty apprehensive as she made the first pedal strokes off the loading platform. They also had paddle boats and even a small motor boat that you could drive through a small moat. It looked like they would hit the stoned lined channel fairly often. It is so nice to see the local parks so full of people and families enjoying themselves.


As he was heading back to the hotel, Ray noticed that his map had an advertisement for the Shanghai Lupu Bridge Climb, across the longest arch bridge in the world . So he made a detour to the station listed and walked about half a mile to the entrance to the bridge climb. From there, he took the elevator up 13 floors to the bridge deck level. A short walk to the start of the arched portion, and then it was up, up and away. No special gear is required for climbing the bridge as they have added a wide staircase with handrails up and over the arch on both sides. The cost of the walk has also been reduced until the end of the year to 38RMB (US $5.5) compared to the regular price of 90RMB. It is about a 180’ rise with 367 steps to the top. Once on top, you have some great views of the Shanghai skyline along with a view of the site of the upcoming World Expo. The Expo is only 6 months away, and it looks like there is still a lot of construction to complete. (http://www.lupubridge.com/lp/about_en.php)

The last stop of the day was the Science and Technology Museum, which is also home to a local market selling everything from shoes, watches, clothing, and luggage. No prices are fixed and half the fun is making the deal, although the process can be long and drawn out.

As he emerged from the subway one last time to head to the hotel, it had begun to rain, the only rain of the day. This changed his plan about walking to the hotel. As he got in a cab he realized he did not have an address card from the hotel. The room card had the name, but no address. The first cab drive said he did not know where it was, so he had to get out and try to find another cab. This time he looked up the address on his phone and showed the driver. Luckily he had also scouted out the direction of the hotel since it is a tall building, he spotted it and knew the general direction. Well the second cab driver was going to head back north rather than south. So between some hand signals he was able to guide him back to the hotel. As he went in the door, he grabbed an address card and put it in his wallet (which he normally does, but had neglected to do this time).

Since it was still raining a little, Ray walked across the street from the hotel to a Scottish restaurant. There is a large choice of foreign foods available throughout Shanghai as it is truly an international city

The subway is a very economical transportation mode here in Shanghai. His whole transportation cost for using the subway (6 individual trips of about 30 miles total) was 21RMB (about US $3). The total number of caches found was 5 with 2 not found. Ray figured he must have walked around 6-8 miles all told, getting a good amount of exercise along the way and enjoying the sites and sounds of Shanghai.

2009-10 Kara's confirmation

Kara was confirmed on Saturday Oct 25th. This was one of 5 confirmation services over the next 3 weeks, with about 160 kids in her class being confirmed. There were 36 kids being confirmed at this service, including 4 others from her mentor group of 6. This is a smaller group that meets both at church and away from church to discuss and learn about the church and confirmation. The group is formed in their first year with an adult mentor and the entire group stays together for the whole 3 year program.

Kara's Godparents Leigh and Gregg, and their daughter Gina, were able to come to the service and be part of the Laying on of Hands, which is a show of support and backing to the new confirmand. Kara's grandma Karren, sister Hailey, and her parents also participated in the Laying on of Hands.. Her aunt Sue and uncle John, cousins Heather and Heidi and their families were also at the service giving their support.

Afterwards, we had a get together with food and beverage at the house to have some time to celebrate the achievement and accomplishment.

Congratulations Kara

2009-10 Hailey Goes to Washington DC

During the MEA break (a couple of days off from school while the teachers have meetings), Hailey went on a trip to visit our nation's capital of Washington DC with about 90 kids from her middle school. Other schools in the district were also going to DC at this time too, so they ran across them at various stops.

They flew out early on Thursday morning and hit the ground running. From the airport they went right to the Naval Academy at Annapolis. The tour hit on both the military and athletic aspects of the academy. Before dinner, they went into DC to see the Lincoln, Washington, and Vietnam memorials. After dinner, they drove back through the memorials for a night time look.

Getting back to the hotel late in the evening was the norm, generally around 10PM or after, and breakfast was at 7:00 in the morning, making the nights in the hotel relatively short. Hailey roomed with 3 of her friends, so they had to figure out the best way to share the one bathroom each night and morning.

Friday included a trip down embassy row and then a stop at the National Zoo and the Panda exhibit. After the pandas, they went to the national cathedral and then on to Gettysburg for the afternoon. Although it was rainy and wet much of the trip, they still did all the planned activities. The evening was spent at the Pentagon Memorial and the Air Force memorial. The Pentagon Memorial had memorials for everyone killed in the 9/11 attacks, and differentiated the people who were killed inside the Pentagon from those on the outside in the direction the individual memorial faced.

Saturday morning included a stop at the White House. The highlight of the morning, though, was the stop at the Arlington National Cemetery and the changing of the guard a the Tomb of the Unknowns. It was unfortunate that it was very cold and wet that morning.




Saturday afternoon included a trip to the capital building and then time at the Smithsonian Institute. The kids had their choice of 3 museums to spend time in, and Hailey went through the National Air and Space Museum. Saturday evening the group went to the play "sheer Madness" at the Kennedy Center. They enjoyed the play and even got to help choose the ending. The actors had worked references in to the various schools that were in attendance, making it feel even more like a personal performance.

Even though Sunday was a travel day, they started out with a tour of George Washington's Mt Vernon estate. Before heading to the airport, they stopped at the Holocaust Memorial Museum and the National Archives. An afternoon flight and connection in Detroit got them into Minneapolis around 10:30. Although still excited from the trip, it was time to get to bed and get some rest because school started up again the next day.

2009-09 Backpacking on the Superior Hiking Trail

Ray and 3 of his workmates went on a 3 day, 2 night, 18 mile backpacking and camping trip along the Superior Hiking Trail along the banks of Lake Superior. The overall trail stretches over 200 miles from just south of Duluth, up to the Canadian border. Along with the main trail, there are many spur trails and connections to state parks trails. The trails can be very hilly and rocky, but they can also be relatively level and smooth.

We started out from a parking lot just outside of Silver Bay around 12:30. We had brought 2 cars, so we positioned one at each end of our trip. There are shuttle bus options also for people that only have one car or are hiking alone.

Chad had done most of the prep work including dehydrating our food and providing the backpacking tents. He had been up on various parts of the trail in the past and had picked out this portion based on the length and availability of camping sites along the way.

Right out of the parking lot, we headed up a steep grade that was very rocky, giving us an indication of things to come. It ends up this was not the actual trail but one of a bunch of general hiking trails out of that parking lot. Once we got our bearings and back on the actual trail, we did not lose the trail again.

A couple of miles in, we stopped at an overlook of Bean and Bear Lake for our lunch. Looking the other way we had some beautiful views of Lake Superior. Although we don't have mountains in Minnesota, we have a lot of elevation change in the terrain along Lake Superior. We had many great views both inland and out to Lake Superior. Inland views included lots of smaller lakes surrounded by steep hills and rocky inclines.

We made it to camp around 5:00 at the East Palisades campground and got the tents set up, a fire going and dinner prepared. There was one other group using the campground, and they loved their campfire, and kept it burning hot and high all night long. At one point they added a whole pine tree to the fire! Rocks in the fire ring were popping due to the high heat of the fire.

We were camping near a stream, which was out source of water for the evening and the next day. Most camping areas had some source of water, but other than the campsites, there wasn't a lot of other water sources along the way. We had to chemically treat all of our water before we could drink it. Most of the water had a brownish tint, so it was easier to drink it if you didn't have it in a clear container. My yellow jug was very effective at masking out the brown color.

Even though the trail is well maintained (by volunteer members), I found myself not able to look around and enjoy the woods as much as I normally do while hiking because of having to keep my eyes on the trail and watching almost every step. Also, having a 40lb pack on made me much more careful with every step so that I did not loose my balance or trip on something.

On Saturday morning we got on the trail around 9:00. Saturday was our longest day at about 8 miles. It was also the most difficult section of the trail that we took with lots of elevation changes and only short sections that we could pick up the pace. Our halfway point was Tetteguoche State Park with lunch along the Baptism River. Eating lunch along the river with our feet cooling of in the river was reinvigorating. We saw a lot more people on this section of the trail on day hikes from the state park.

It was a lot warmer on Saturday than on Friday. The temperature was in the low 80's without much breeze, and that took a lot out of everyone. We arrived at camp about 4:30 and weren't as efficient at setting up camp as we were the night before. We had pasta for dinner and it tasted good and gave us a second wind. Although the stream was about dry, we were less than 1/4 from a lake. We went down there to get our water and cool off our feet. The lake was part of the Wolf Ridge Learning center which caters to school groups for outdoor and environmental teaching.

Each night the stars were incredible. there was no moon and very clear out. Without all the excessive city light, there were so many more stars than we can usually see at home. The Milky Way was also very evident. No northern lights were visible during the time we were there, but we did see a few satellites tracking across the sky.

Sunday, we hit the trail around 8:00 and worked our way along a long flat ridge for about 2 miles. Then we made the final climbs to the top of of Sawtooth dome before working our way back down to the highway.

We had hoped we might have had some more fall color, but most the trees were still green. There were a few patches of color depending on what elevation we were at and what type of forest area we were in. It was interesting how the forest changed in relatively short stretches as you changed elevation, or side of the hill, or proximity to water.

I was also surprised that we did not see more quantity of wildlife along the trail or in camp. We did see and hear a variety of animals, just not too many of anything. We heard owls at night and saw some birds, chipmunks and squirrels. We did see two bald eagles along the way, which are always so exciting to see circling in the thermals. At the Wolf Ridge lake, we saw a couple of beavers. One swam over to check us out, but gave us plenty of distance.

We made it to the car around noon and then went to pick up the second car before stopping for lunch, then the trip home and a reintroduction to construction backups and traffic.

We had great weather all weekend (meaning no rain or really cold temps). Considering I had not done any backpack camping since grade school, it was a lot of fun and something I would consider doing again.