After two months of skiving off we're finally getting back to it. My friend Jeremy and his indentured servants joined us Saturday to finish off the 14th course and get into the fifteenth. Looks like our little building is outgrowing its tarps. Some water damage. Good thing it's easy to patch Jeremy on the wall with Clara and Royce Caleb forms a cob ball for tossing... ...or eating I though the kids would get bored after an hour but they stuck with us all day Royce demonstrates good cob tossing form Jean overseeing quality control Jeremy fielding cob balls Thanks for the help! Board gaming afterwards

Jean's cousin, Vicky, is based in Sydney but her company has an office in Phoenix, Arizona. A few years ago Vicky made a work trip to Phoenix. At the end of her work trip she flew into Austin and hung out with us for a weekend before going back to Australia. Vicky had another work trip this Spring so we decided to meet her in Sedona which is fairly close to Phoenix. Breaking camp at the Grand Canyon Before meeting Vicky in Sedona we stopped by the Walnut Canyon National Park for some more natural building research. These dwellings, built into the rocky overhangs have been vacant for about 800 years. The rocky outcrops provided ceilings and floors. Walls were constructed of uncut rock with mud mortar and then plastered over with more mud. The plaster is all gone but some of the original mortar still remains. I wonder if this provides some explanation as to why all the Mormons I've ever known have always been so chipper. Nice stem wall! These are the re...

The next most common warning sign after those advising against socializing with the rabid, ravenous, plague flea infested squirrels with huge fangs were the signs warning park visitors not to attempt to hike to the Colorado river and back in one day. Although several friends of mine told me it's not a big deal, the warning is understandable because the shortest route to the river is twenty miles round trip and includes 5000+ foot change in elevation. Even for a masochist like me I'd consider that in the grueling category. Apparently, there are an average of 250 requests for assistance a year. Those must be some busy rangers. For our big hike, Jean came up with a plan to descend into the canyon via the Bright Angel Trail (One of three going into the Grand Canyon from the south rim), hike across the basin via the Tonto trail, and ascend via the Kaibab trail back to the south rim. All-in-all it would be about 14 miles and 3000+ feet of elevation loss and then gain. An audacious...