Back from the long road...

I'm back in Olympia after a long road trip. Nearly two weeks of travels and 2,500 miles through the states of Washington, Oregon, and California. I did so much stuff, it's hard to decide where to start. But anyway, I drove first to Auburn California where my Grandmother lives in a gracious retirement community. I spent a couple of enjoyable days with her - I even won about $40 at the slots on Sunday.

From there I went to a small town in the heart of the Sierra Nevada Mountains to visit my Uncle Brandt and his wife Stevee. They live in a cool house in a beautiful spot right on the side of a mountain that stretches up 9,000 feet.

I left early on Tuesday morning to get to Yosemite in the early afternoon. The highlight from that stay was a 10 hour hike up to, and back from, the summit of half dome. It was about 17 miles with an elevation gain (and loss) of nearly 5,000 feet. More on that later.

This picture is from Crater Lake as I stood looking out over one of the deepest lakes in the world. Crater lake is almost 2,000 feet deep. The lake's remoteness and isolation make it a special system for studying the effects of humans on climate. The water temperature and surrounding air temperature both show increases over the past few years. It is only common sense to assume that all of the fires and engines of human productivity would contribute to an overall warming effect on the Earth's climate and surface systems, like Crater Lake. Anthropogenic forcing of heat into the atmosphere is already having consequences for humans, as well as a slew of other creatures. Some animals face an ever increasingly hostile environment and ever increasing chances of extinction as habitat changes become more pronounced and severe. What can I do to ameliorate and prevent the further effects of human caused climate change?