Scott : In search of a new Sleeping Bag

Well, my old Mountain Hardware 600 down fill bag has seen some harsh nights in the backcountry, and it has finally seen better days.   It’s time to start thinking of getting a new sleeping bag.

What I’m looking for in a new bag:

• Must be a down bag.  For me, the extra cost is totally worth the space saving.
• Must have a water repellent outer shell.  My old bag did not have this and I spent quite a bit of effort making sure it stayed dry during raining times.  This also protects the down from getting wet.  A synthetic bag can get wet and still keep you warm, but not the case for down.
• 15-20 degree rated.  I sleep hot and can easily handle 10 degrees less than the bag is rated for.  In addtion, you can always add a silk liner for and additional 5-10 degrees.

Other factors to consider:

• Stephanie and I now use a Big Agnes King Solomon bag.  Big Anges bags do not have insulation on the bottom for additional weight saving and size.  The bag is also equipped to hold a 20”x72” sleeping pad.   We use Big Anges insulated sleeping pads. No more slipping off the pad during the night and 2.5” thick.  This is a fantastic feature, and one that is making me lean towards another Big Agnes sleeping bag.
• A center zip bag.  Many side-sleepers like me claim this bag is more comfortable.

Here are a few products in the running:

• Big Agnes Lost Ranger – 15°- 650 Fill Down
• Big Agnes Mystic – 15°- 800 Fill Down
• GoLite Adrenaline 20° – 800 Fill Down

The search is still on…

Fun with our Nikon D90 (DSLR) camera.

Stephanie and I are having fun FINALLY learning how to use our Nikon D90.   We’ve been pouring over our Nikon D90 for Dummies book, but nothing works better than just plain on trial and error (and that’s what a DSLR camera is good for).  Tonight I think we shot about 400 photos just messing around with full manual mode.

This photo below of Spencer was taken indoors and night; no flash on the Nikkor 18-105mm f/3.5-5.6 DX that came with the camera “kit”.

So now we are looking for some new lenses.  We have a couple of lenses we are looking at :

• A good FAST lens for portraits like the one we took of Spencer.  We want something that will give us the ability to get more light in, without raising the ISO.  We are looking the Nikon 35mm f/1.8 DX (~$200 if you can them as they seem to be out of stock most places), or more likely the Nikon 50mm f/1.4 AF-S (~450), which is closer in focal length to the photo below which was taken at 66mm.  
• A bigger telephoto lens, like the Nikon 18-200mm.  A couple of weeks ago, driving down to Shawnee National Forest, we found an eagle’s nest with the mama eagle in the nest.  Reaching a maximum of 105mm took a good shot, but I wish we could have gotten a little closer.  We are now looking at the Nikon 18-200mm f/3.5-5.6 ED VR II AF-S DX (~$760).

I understand that I can get about $100-$150 for my original Nikkor 18-105mm lens (which is ~$350 retail).  I’m thinking I’ll just keep the lens as a backup for now.

Lucky for us, we have some very CUTE test subjects.   Here is a link to the full sized photo.

Here is the photo of the eagle and her nest, taken at 18mm.  As you can see it is a little off the road and we could not get around the water.

Here is a shot, zoomed in to 105mm (and cropped).  Sure would have been nice to get a little closer.

Snow Day!

 

It appears that winter has not finished running its course here in O’Fallon, IL

 

		Early Spring Snow VIEW SLIDE SHOW DOWNLOAD ALL

Samatha in the news

Samantha and her friend Brittany were (briefly) on our local news today, as their school was given a briefing on Internet Safety.  This is part of the (IL) state’s “Crimes Against Children” law enforcement unit.

Unfortunately, Sam did not get a speaking part in this video clip.

You can check out the video here.

Skylar meets a blue.

Skylar’s class had a surprise visit from St. Louis Blue’s Lee Stempniak, who spoke at their school assembly about the importance of education and reading.

More Water Troubles

Steph and I woke up this morning to water bubbling out from underneath our driveway. I did not want to call and bug our friend Gretchen, who works for the city, but I ended up being transferred to her anyway.

After talking with Gretchen, minutes later the city was out at our house to look over what was going on. A big “Thank You” goes out to Gretchen!!! (It’s not what you know, but WHO you know, right?)

About 15 minutes later, a whole team showed up, and began to break up our driveway, in an attempt to fix the problem.

After digging up a small part of our driveway, and then about 7 foot more down in the ground, they were able to find the leak in the main, and put a collar over the leak. Man, does that water come shooting out of there, and getting that collar on, with the water pressure behind it, doesn’t make it any easier.

After just a couple of hours, the leak was fixed and the hole was filled in with rock. The city will come out later and repave that part of the driveway. Glad we hadn’t had our driveway redone yet.

See more photos here.

Girl’s Night at the Cardinal’s Game

My friend, Shelli, was very fortunate in scoring Card’s tickets for a girls night out. We had a blast! I also met up with my buddy, Mark at the game. He was visiting in town, with his kids from CO.

Oh yeah…and the Cards got stomped by Arizona- 7-1. Grrrreat…but it was still a fun night!

View Photos on Flickr

What a cutie

This is such a great shot that Stephanie took, while we were camping at Twin Rivers earlier this year.

(And don’t worry Mimi & Pop-Pop, Spencer recently got his hair cut!!!).

The Backyard Project has officially begun.

The New Conversation Set

Steph and I are planning on seriously upgrading our backyard, after the sewer incident. The plan basically is to build a multi-level deck and flagstone patio, new landscaping, a new fence, playground upgrades, a new shed, on and on… One of the first things we are going to do is the deck, and we’ve been looking for a couple of months for some patio furniture.

We stopped by Lowe’s to pick up some other small items, and decided to check out the patio furniture, in case they had something new. We were surprised that Lowe’s had 51% off all patio furniture and accessories. We got a great deal on the furniture we originally wanted. It also happened to be the LAST set they had, except for the floor model.

Here’s the photos from the Lowe’s site: Chairs, Loveseat and Table

I was surprised by the fact that is only the beginning of the summer, yet everyplace had clearance sales on their patio furniture. I’ll have to remember that if we’re ever looking for new patio furniture, the 4th of July is the time to start looking for good deals.

View the ever-evolving photos of the backyard project.

View just the new patio furniture.

Skylar’s Birthday Party

Skylar FINALLY had the chance to celebrate her birthday. She decided she wanted to have it at the Korte Recreation Center in Highland. Unfortunately, many of her friends were out of town (mostly on vacation), but Sky still wanted to have her party.

View photos of her birthday party.

The girls had a great time, and Spencer too. Skylar told all of her friends that she wanted earrings for her birthday, and that’s what she got. The last time Spencer was there, he was NOT happy. This time, totally different. He surely did NOT want to leave this time. Now he wants HIS birthday party to be here too. We’ll see about that…