Yosemite National Park

Yosemite National Park ended up being a favorite for both of us.  I loved the Grand Canyon and Yosemite, and Joel put Yosemite in first place definitely (this was his 3rd time to be at the Grand Canyon and my first).

Here is some more information about Yosemite.  We camped at Yosemite, and the first night we were there we woke up to snow on the ground and on the tent!  Joel and I decided that we have far exceeded our quota for snow this year!

 

Abbi in front of a giant sequoia tree

 Joel in front of the roots of a downed sequoia

 

Three sequoias next to each other

 This one is named the Grizzly Giant.  I put the picture with people in it so you'd be able to get a sense of how big it really is.

 Bridal Veil Falls 

 El Capitan - we didn't see anyone climbing, but it had snowed the day before, so we think everyone was letting all the ice/snow melt first.

 Half Dome covered in snow

 Half Dome after the snow melt

 The Royal Arches - if you look closely you can see the striations in the mountain that make an arch shape.

 View 1 of Yosemite Falls - notice the upper and lower falls

 Up close view of the lower falls

View 2 of Yosemite Falls - you can see the upper and lower falls more clearly here.

Here is a video Joel took of Vernal Falls - we took a hike (uphill) to get to see this view of the falls.

Hoover Dam/Las Vegas

Here is some info about the Hoover Dam 

 Hoover Dam

 New bridge that bypasses the dam. 

Lake Mead

 Lights/Water show at the Bellagio (short video here)

M & M's store on the strip.  I immediately thought of my niece Avi - she loves M & M's.

 It's not every day that you find yourself in Las Vegas, so we wanted to swing by the Gold & Silver Pawn Shop while we were there.  This is a shop that is featured on the History Channel - see more about it here.

We did not make it inside the shop because there was a BIG line of people waiting outside the door to get in.  But, we can say we've been there :).

Grand Canyon

http://www.nps.gov/grca/index.htm

 Abbi & Joel at the Grand Canyon

 Campsite at Mather Campground

 Canyon Views

 Canyon at the start of sunset

Mesa Verde National Park

Here is the site for Mesa Verde http://www.visitmesaverde.com/.

Montezuma Valley Overlook on the drive up to the dwellings.

 Cliff dwelling ruins

 Cliff Palace - the largest cliff dwelling at Mesa Verde

Spruce Tree House - this is the dwelling we chose to see up close (the pictures above are obviously from afar - Spruce Tree we walked up to it and got a closer view).

Far view of Spruce Tree House

 Joel next to tower at Spruce Tree House

 Kiva - used for religious ceremonies.  When occupied, this area would have had a roof.

Square Tower House - also viewed from afar.

Great Sand Dunes National Park

Here is the official site for Great Sand Dunes http://www.nps.gov/grsa/index.htm.

 Campsite - this was my very FIRST time camping (ever), and it was literally freezing.  It got down to 29 degrees or so that night, but I made it!  There was ice on the top of our tent when we got up that morning.

 Wildlife

View of one side of the dunes - they go on forever!

 View of the other side of the dunes

Dunes somewhere in the middle

The Truth About Digital Copies

So, I thought I'd come share a little bit of a rant tonight while it is on my mind.  Joel and I both love movies, and we have our fair share of DVD's and now Blu-Ray's.  If it is bought today, according to Joel, it MUST be Blu-Ray :).  (This post is not against Blu-Ray's)

The trend right now is for Blu-Ray's to come bundled with either a DVD copy & a Digital Copy or just a Digital Copy.  For those of you thinking, "What is a digital copy?" -  here is a link to help you understand what I mean - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Digital_copy.

The purpose of a Digital Copy is that you can put your favorite movie onto your portable device, i.e. your iPhone, iPad, etc. 

So, my gripe is that tonight as I was preparing to download a few of our digital copy movies to my computer and then to my iPhone I got this message.

If you can't read that it says - Sorry, the offer is no longer available.  Now, when I first saw that message I thought surely not.  There must have been some kind of error, but nope, much to my dismay as I tried it again I got the same message.

This prompted me to do a little more looking.  So, two issues I now have with the Digital Copy idea.  One, you can only put it on ONE device.  I sort of understand this, I mean copyright law should come in somewhere.  But, for example, Joel and I both have phones that we could play the movie on, but we are only able to put it onto one of them.  Ultimately, I am ok with this issue - that's not really my gripe.

My real issue is that the Digital Copy offer expires (see picture above) after a certain amount of time.  It should never expire - you only get to use it once, but you should be able to choose when you use it - you paid extra for the Blu-Ray, DVD, & Digital Copy.  Therefore, you should get to use all of them, at whatever time is convenient for you.  

In case you're wondering how you might find out when your digital copy expires here's where you look:

 Either on the back cover of the case OR on the bottom of the insert that has your one time use redeemable code.  Notice it is in the extra fine print that I have circled in the picture above.

 Here is a close up view so you can see that in just a single (very small print) sentence they make your paid extra for the digital copy no longer useable.

So, moral of the story is that if you have bought or plan to buy digital copy versions in the future, you should check the expiration date.  Also, make sure you put it onto the device you plan to use it on the first time, because after that you have no choice.

Moral of the story for me: I will no longer pay extra for a digital copy.

Twilight in Athens II

The women's race started at 7:45 and lasted until about 8:45.  Up next were the men (9:00-11:00) - there race consisted of 80 laps around the course!  Again, it was fun to see how fast these guys were moving and how easy they made it look.  The men were moving at speeds of 40 mph.

The race got really interesting about the 5th or 6th lap.  Two sprinters decided to take off and separate themselves from the rest of the pack.  They continued to sprint around the course and eventually (many laps later) actually caught up to the group!  It was fun to watch, and it was amazing to see all of the guys keep up that pace.

Here are a couple of videos of the men.  On the first one, you can see how fast they were going - just a blur past us.  On the second one, I turned as they came by so you could watch them go past.  For those Mississippi State fans out there, in the second video in particular, you'll hear a very familiar sound - the cowbell.  Joel and I felt right at home with the ringing of the cowbells!

Here are a few pictures from the evening.  There are a couple of the crowd/route, just so you can get an idea of the atmosphere.  Also, the sunset was really pretty.  You can see some of the beautiful downtown buildings in this picture too.

 Looking at one of the curves in the race.

 This is the crowd for the women's race - it got MUCH more crowded for the men.

Twilight in Athens

Last night Joel and I went out to enjoy the Twilight races in Athens.  Here is the official site for this year's race: http://www.athenstwilight.com/   Last year, we went on Friday night and enjoyed the music and food while watching the racers qualify on stationary bikes, but we didn't make it back out for the actual races on Saturday because it was pouring down rain.  This year the weather was perfect so we ventured out to see what it was all about.

It was certainly a unique experience.  When the Twilight races come to town, the entire area of downtown is gated off.  The actual route that the races take is a big loop in the middle of downtown.  For those of you familiar with Athens the route starts at College Ave. (near The Grill) and heads toward the Georgia Theatre for a big turn, then comes down that street and heads straight for the Classic Center.  After making that turn (past the classic center toward the ABH) they come all the way back around and head toward the start/finish line.  There are 4 intense turns that they have to make on the course.  

The first two videos that I am posting are from the women's race.  The women's portion of the evening consisted of 40 laps around that course.  These women were riding at speeds of 25+ mph.  It was really fun getting into the feel of the event and watching how easy these athletes were making this look.  Unfortunately, we saw TWO spills during the course of the 40 laps.  One was near the middle of the race, but the most heartbreaking one was on the LAST lap after the 4th curve.  They were in the home stretch and about to be finished.  I felt so sorry for the 4 or 5 girls that were almost finished!

Take a look at these videos: (Notice how much of a blur the women are as they ride past us.  You can see across the street (the other side of the course) the gate that separates spectators from riders.)