First snow of the year

We got a real nice taste of winter today at Dolly Sods Wilderness. I had checked the forecast days before and knew we had to get up there for an appetizer. Ashley and I had a swell time taking in the crisp air and sugar coated landscape, as you can see below, all the best stuff happens at altitude:

We hiked for about 3 hours, doing a loop that took us alongside the red creek and many nice red spruce groves. The ecosystem recovery at Dolly Sods is still in full swing, meadows are slowly returning to forest and most of the trees are young. It sure is a tough area for tree regeneration, the seedlings are competing with a dense layer of sphagnum moss and vaccinium, plus the environmental constraints of a mountain top plateau. You can see the flagging that occurs on the top of the red spruces in the pano photo from the constant wind and frozen precipitation.

Snow makes any scene that much better, particularly at waters edge.


It clung to every tree limb and leaf, setting the tone for a nice time (:

Sweden

Most people know it as the land of meatballs, Abba and Volvos. I am here to tell you it is sooo much more than that! What started as a joke at a dinner party last March turned into the Scandinavian trip of a lifetime. Ashley was my lovely partner for the journey and we managed to fit 3 countries, 3 capital cities and tons of action into 12 days. This blog specializing in Sweden is the first of subsequent blogs detailing the trip. I hope you enjoy a few words about our Scandinavian adventure!

We arrived in Stockholm exactly 12 days ago, having a vague impression of Sweden and only knowing a few key phrases of the language. It was an overnight flight from Washington Dulles on Lufthansa- which was perhaps the easiest flights either of us had the pleasure of enjoying. I mean, on-demand TV, beer and wine with great German cooking, what else do you need for a trans-Atlantic flight! We had our first taste of public transport getting to our hotel in Sollentuna, Ashley was stoked about that and having packed so light, good job!

We arrived at our hotel, which was a Scandic (highly recommend them!) It was in a suburb of Stockholm and directly next to a shopping mall. First impressions of Sollentuna were exactly what we expected; very modern, clean and accessible. Our hotel:

The next morning we awoke to Ashley’s birthday and a magnificent breakfast buffet, one which would really set the tone for the rest of the trip. Continental Europe breakfasts are really the best! This one had an armada of different breads, sliced meats and cheeses, sliced cucumber and tomato, 6 kinds of marmalade, all sorts of yoghurt to dump over muesli and hot items like eggs and little sausages. It was a feast for more than just the tummy! After over-eating at the buffet (we learned quick how to eat conservatively!), we had to make way to downtown Stockholm- because that’s where our ferry boat would depart for Finland in the evening. Stockholm really is a beautiful city:

We caught a quick (but expensive) taxi to nearby Gamla Stan, which is the oldest part of Stockholm and where the city was founded. Carl Larsson was born there, but more on him later.

We had sweets and coffees at a nice little shop that was owned and run by a charitable organization. The photo below shows the side entrance to the old royal palace, where we happened to see the “changing of the guard”.

There are many bridges linking Gamla Stan to the modern city. I guess it needs to be mentioned that Stockholm is actually an archipelago and much of the city is surrounded by water. New architecture meets modern Swedish design here:

We got a really great view of it from our cruise and entering into the Baltic sea. Ashley and I:

The view from the top deck on the cruise ship was spectacular. Later, we had the seafood buffet for dinner andI think Ashley enjoyed it very much (it being her 25^th birthday). The sunset came quickly and the local folks were trying to get back there homes via ferry:

That night we slept kinda rough, I have never been on a cruise ship (and probably won’t go back). We were anxious to get off and walk around Helsinki. It worked out perfect our next Scandic hotel was right next to the ferry terminal and within walking distance of the downtown area. Helsinki is mentioned in further detail in another blog.

I would like to continue with Sweden because after visiting Finland and then Denmark we arrived once again. We picked up the rental car and the next day paid a very important visit to a Swedish icon- Volvo! Ashley and I both drive Volvos, so it only seemed right to visit the factory. Let me just mentioned that in Sweden there are Volvos everywhere, even pimp-daddy Volvo S60 limos:

The parking lot was full of Volvos, and Ashley was pretty stoked!

I enrolled us in the Blue Train factory tour , which was more than an hour and was just what it sounds like; a small train that wound through the actual Volvo assembly plant. Volvo owns other assembly plants around the world, but this one in Torslanda is the origin for much of the vehicle models, including S60s (Ashley!) and S70 (me!). It was a shame we couldn’t take photos inside the plant (to protect trade secrets), because there were some really cool parts like the “Marriage Point” where the chassis is mated to the car body. This assembly plant was a mechanical engineers dream; mechanized processes were everywhere- including robots doing welding, raising/lowering work surfaces and patented features to make assembly like workers jobs a little easier. Ashley just getting on the Blue Train:

After the tour ended, and we exhausted from our search for sweet Volvo streetwear (we never did find cool Volvo t-shirts, like the one that says “Everything is better with a Volvo”), we headed north along the Bohuslän Coast. Our next destination was Stromstad, a beautiful little town on Sweden’s northwest coast and just south of the Norwegian border. We booked a neat little hotel called Hotell Krabben, which had nautical themes and was run by a nice family.

Stromstad was so quaint, we ate dinner right by the water at a Thai restaurant:

The harbour seen from a rocky perch above town:

The sun set nicely as a few last sailboats trickled into the harbour:

The next day, after yet another scrumptious Swedish style breakfast, we headed further north. Our destination was Lake Siljan, a favorite vacation spot for Swedes and some cool attractions. The drive up was super scenic:

Lake Siljan, seen from the shores of Mora:

The north part of Lake SIljan:

Sweden is unbelievably forested, everywhere there are spruce, pine, paper birch and the occasional larch. It was especially neat to see how much active forestry is going there too. Just from the highway I could spot different silvicultural treatments, clearcuts, tree planting and tons of natural regeneration. The landscape could be compared to northern New England or the Pacific northwest, with well-worn mountains interspaced with lakes and rivers.

We took an excursion about a hundred kilometers north to Sweden’s smallest national park. It is called Hamra and contains a thousand hectares of forest that date to the 17^th century! It was a mix of low-lying sites and clearings, containing all kinds of organic matter, the club mosses were particularly colorful:

A 450 year old forest is quite a diverse one if you look closely. There are living things everywhere, filling it in every nook, every cranny and every niche. It is amazing to see how well intended nature is. The vegetation here was characteristic of many of the high mountainscapes I’ve visited, this is likely due to the northerly latitude, very cool!

This shot came out so well it is now the background for my computer:

We returned south to stay at our favorite B&B of the trip, the Langshyttans Brukshotell. The host couple of the place were so lovely and accommodating, I wish we had gotten a photo with them. They had a restaurant formerly in the Stockholm harbor on a boat, but the boat sank and the insurance company told them they had no water damage. So they took the opportunity to move out to the country and start a very cool, small B&B. The husband is the chef and he prepared a quick salmon plate for each of us that was splendid. I think Ashley and I were REALLY spoilt by all the salmon the entire trip!

The lovely little inn:

It was sad to leave our new friends at the Brukshotell, but we had more of Sweden to see! Our next stop was the Carl Larsson (pronounced Carlarsson) residence. For those who don’t know him, he was a very influential Swedish artist. During his time in the late 19^th and early 20^th century he pioneered new ways of family life and believed in people living productive/fulfilling lives.

We got a tour of his house, the interior design was quite far ahead of its time! Carl put personal touches on everything and we were able to see his wife’s wonderful tapestries she made, his handwriting on things and even his reading room full of books from the period. Sorry no pictures from the inside of the house, but outside was just as nice:

After getting our fix at Carl Larssons, we drifted south to Stockholm. Everyone knows of Ikea, but who has been to one in Ikeas country of origin? The third Ikea to open is south of Stockholm, and also happens to be the biggest one in the world, opened in the 1960s. We didn't buy anything home furnishings because it was all the same as at home! We did however eat at the restaurant, cheap and delicious Swedish cuisine. On the way north to our hotel, we made a quick pit-stop in downtown Stockholm, just in time to see a romantic sunset set over the old city. Look for those photos and more (I don't have them at this moment) in an update to this blog shortly. I also have a few concluding words about the wonderful Scandinavian country that is Sweden.

Lake Tahoe, Durden style

Just when the temperatures in the East were on the rise, I jetted off to the cool and dry West for a week long Durden family vacation at beautiful Lake Tahoe, CA. Everyone had such a fantastic time, we did a ton of fun activities (the logistics were smoother for some more than others) and I felt thoroughly pampered. The trip began on July 3rd, with a quick visit with my good friends Leslie and Chef Dan. I rendezvoused with Leslie in the late morning for a quick bite of dim sum and finance talk. We discussed index funds and the proper way to set aside moneys for retirement.

Tasty Chinese food gave way to distinguishable discussions of climbing anchors. However, before we delved into the mechanics of climbing fall-forces, I had to interrupt the moment for a quick forage to the local Goodwill store. For me, a staple of coming to SF is shopping at the thrift stores, the selection of top-quality, name brand clothes is second to none in this city saturated in culture. I came away with a high performance t-shirt, that might retail for 35 bucks, but I snagged for $1.99!

Shortly thereafter, our good friend Chef Dan made an impressionable appearance and took us to a local spot to practice setting climbing anchors. Meantime, Ashley was securing a new flight to the Bay Area because her former one was delayed by some hours. Plans changed quickly and she arrived later that night in Oakland, but not before I had a memorable dinner of homemade Moroccan chicken with figs served by Leslie at her place.

Soon Ashley's mom swooped by Leslie's place in her Volvo sport-utility to pick me up, we headed to Oakland airport right away. Ashley emerged tired with a carry-on. We made quick time from Oakland to Santa Rosa to sleep for a night in order to be ready for Lake Tahoe in the morning! The drive went by quick, with a stop at In-N-Out Burger, a CA classic. Of course the weather at Tahoe was perfect, CA sunshine and a temperature moderated by the altitude. Later in the evening we viewed fireworks near Tahoe City:

I'm not going to lie, it took me a little while to get used to the all Kodak-moment-making in the Durden family. I really like it now, and find myself always fine-tuning to get the best look for each shot. They required to take my specs off to pose for a photo (flash glare)!

That night everyone slept like royalty, with king beds all around at our super plush Hyatt resort. I don't have a great photo of the actual hotel building, but the architecture is remarkably similar to the rest of the Northstar village:

This photo was taken on the only day it rained, this thunderstorm came through and soaked the area nicely, I never would have expected humidity to feel so good (: Its funny when you live in a humid environment you loath it and look forward to a dry wind, but in a dry environment the opposite is true.

We all awoke leisurely to breakfast and then to rent bikes for the afternoon. Check Ashley on the cruiser!

We rode all the way out to Squaw Valley before turning around to go back. The bike path was real mellow, it followed the Truckee River as it flowed northwest, tubers and rafters floated along it too, albeit alot slower than us. The water is quite clear, as it originates from Lake Tahoe, we stopped for some Kodaks and to admire the beauty:

Everyone grouped for a photo during our break in the shade:

That evening we washed up and cruised back to the Tahoe City area for a very delicious dinner at a fine restaurant. I don't recall the name of it, but we didn't have a reservation and so Mrs. Durden suavely put in for a table for all of us. I ordered a filet, and it was cooked to perfection, little did I know, this was to be the beginning of a fine-dining culinary trend that carried through the week. Thanks to the Durden's for dinner that night. Some nice photos were taken after dinner out on the dock too:

The next day we all woke up and Ashley's parents, Ashley and I all embarked on a hiking excursion. This was my blunder for the trip; we couldn't get to the proper trailhead and finally did some off-roading in order to get in. Looking back on it, I really wish I had brought the family to Mt. Rose, which offered better opportunities for waterfall viewing, panoramas and alpine meadows gleaming with wildflowers. Nonetheless, we all had a great time, we hiked towards Freel Peak and came around the corner to this:

Not a moment to miss for the Durden family:

And great tasting snow melt water:

Alpine scenery, water you can drink out of the creek, I was stoked!

The next day was a sort of do whatever you want day, so while the others frolicked down by the lake and the beach, I investigated Mt. Rose. Mt. Rose is the third highest peak in the Lake Tahoe Basin and sits nicely in the northeast end of the region. I think it was one of the faster peaks I've ever climbed, I started in the early afternoon and was down and back to the Hyatt for dinner. It was a standard walk up, nothing technical at all. I really had a craving for some snow in July and that was soon satisfied:

In fact, the trail crossed over snow numerous times, in some places it was steep too, allowing for some slides. The trip was about 10 miles roundtrip, it started fairly flat, traversed past a very nice waterfall and then continued up nearly unabated to the summit. The vegetation changes to the summit came quickly, and treeline was only a few hundred feet below it. Here is a struggling whitebark pine next to the trail, the dense krummholz of more pines are clearly visible in the background. The environmental conditions are unsuitable for trees to grow higher.

However, if one turns around to view the trail they came up, the scene is different with contiguous trees, but if you look close they are in little islands:

Interesting strategies trees use to colonize higher elevations, with many factors working against them. The view from the top was pretty spectacular looking east into the Reno area:

But to the south, the view was equally rewarding:

No alpine summit is right without alpenblumen!


Those who saw this video from the summit thought it was pretty comical, so I decided to throw it on here.

The next day the Durden's treated everyone to boating, it was probably the highlight to the trip for most of us. A 19 foot motor boat was rented and we cruised pretty much the length of Lake Tahoe. Our destination was Emerald Bay, site of the only island in the entire lake. See if you can guess who the skipper was:

As we were finishing lunch, clouds moved in and made the way back quite choppy. Requiring some more careful maneuvering towards shore, which was ok because then we could get a closer look at some of the more opulent lake houses. After dropping off the motor boat, we made quick time back to the hotel to get washed up and return to a restaurant near the shoreline.

Dinner was absolutely delicious as usual, I don't recall what I ordered, but I remember everyone being very generous with sharing. After dinner, we had the wait staff bring out the cake that was bought earlier at a specialty bakery. Thanks to Ashley for planning out a great carrot cake for the 3 folks with August birthdays!

The sun was setting after dinner, giving everything a splendid tone and bathing the sky in a deep glow.
Not a moment to be missed for another couple Kodak moment!


What a stunning, awe-inspiring trip! A gigantic thank you to the Durden family for allowing me to spend 6 wonderful days vacationing with them. You all really know how to do it in style and are excellent at keeping everybody super stoked!