Camping with the Thompsons

We went camping with my parents for a week recently. It was awesome to hangout with them since I don't get to see them nearly as often as I would like. To kick-off the trip, we went to Silver Jack Reservoir to stock up on firewood. After two nights, we decided we needed to get some sun, so we headed off to Moab. 

Since my folks hadn't been there before, we stayed out Onion Creek which is about 20 miles from the town of Moab. There was lots to explore out there, but we also went to see Arches National Park, Tyler's been there a few times, but I had only driven through quick when we were moving out to Vail. We had a good time exploring the arches and checking out the hikes around the park. 

And of course, there were plenty of cooking adventures. We all ate like royalty the whole time: burgers, fried razor clams, halibut, salmon, steaks, sand hill crane and ribs. Tyler even built a smokehouse for the ribs, and my dad assisted with the construction. For all of the visual documentation of the trip, click here.

Back to school

As some of you may have heard, Tyler is taking two classes at Colorado Mountain College this semester, which is helping him work toward his long-term goal to get into the brewmaster program at U.C. Davis. In order to be accepted, he needs to have some calculus, biology, chemistry and physics classes under his belt as prerequisites. He's taking both classes online: college algebra and chemistry 101.

What surprised me most about the online classes is that even his chemistry labs are done at home. It's not baking soda and vinegar projects, or water and cornstarch, but an actual kit with all the chemicals and flammable tools you need to make it through an introductory chem lab. In the above picture he's learning what colors different elements produce when they burn. And yes, that's the kitchen table. I've also caught him burning potato chips to determine their caloric content, as well as converting liquids to gases. 

Overall, he's doing well with his studies. He's disappointed when he doesn't receive an A on an assignment or test, and he's determined to nail the material. He told me the other day that school is much more interesting when you're working toward a goal. I'm just happy he hasn't set anything on fire yet.