Hosmer Lake

Yesterday was Sydney's 9th birthday and we went canoeing on Hosmer Lake (she got a horseback ride with a friend yesterday). Hosmer is about 45 minutes from our house, and is absolutely beautiful. It's also filled with trophy-sized trout and Kokanee Salmon lurking just below the surface in full view through gin-clear water. (The video has a shot of a school of Brook Trout - they were about 10 feet down and I'd guess the biggest ones were approaching 24 inches.) It's enough to make a fly fisherman cry.

Strawberry Music Festival

Last Wednesday through Monday we attended the Strawberry Music Festival in Yosemite National Park. Strawberry is a 20+ year old music festival that occurs twice a year over the Memorial Day and Labor Day holidays. This was our third year, and we had as much fun as ever. (One of the kid’s requirements for moving to Bend was a pledge that we continue going to Strawberry.)

It’s a wonderful family event with diverse musical groups spread over 3 stages, great camping and kid-oriented activities, numerous jam sessions going on in a bunch of campsites, and many friends in attendance. The 12-hour drive was more than worth it.

Creating this video was my biggest editing job so far: 4+ days of video taken down to 3 minutes. It took me a while to get this one put together. I clearly have a lot to learn about editing, but you may get a flavor for what Strawberry is like. (BTW, you better get on the ticket list soon – they always sell out months in advance.)