yosemite & mojave

matt & i hung out at yosemite & mojave desert during the week of christmas.  highlights:

- snow.  cross-country skied on a variety of terrains.  skiing on backcountry trails with no prior tracks was the most fun!  not many people -- we only ever saw folks in the first and last mile of the paths.  as matt would say, we've leveled up :)

- water.  we took a quick dip at remington hot spring, a handful of super cute tubs, probably maintained by old hippie dudes, right along the kern river. 

- rocks.  on christmas eve, we camped at an established campsite near these very cool rock formations.  we feasted on fried chicken (a new tradition, we've declared) in the evening and opened presents over hot chocolate in the morning.  skyped with family later.  technology is amazing.

- sand.  headed out to the mojave desert, where we camped for 3 nights off a little road. hoping to see desert tortoises, but sadly no. we hiked around some hole-y rock formations, up some very tall sand dunes, through a forest of joshua trees, and over hills to a former military outpost. very varied landscape.

lots of fire (using scrap wood, fanciest fire ever), scotch, and board games. a nice, relaxed, and not cold christmas break.