Christmas 2016

oh Christmas tree, oh Christmas tree.  This is my Christmas tree : ) perfect for my place!!

Mulhouse Christmas Market

Kandern lit up for Christmas time

Each one is worth a Euro... you receive one from local retailers for every 5 Euros spent during the season : )

Kandern Grey at Christmas.. we did finally get snow this past week (January 12-16)

F1 Race Summer 2016

Check one off the bucket list.  At the end of July I was able to attend a F-1 race.  I had seats on the inside ring and watched as hometown favourite Nico Rosburg tried to take the flag.  He started out number one on the pole, a bad spin of the tires at the start gave the lead to Hamilton.  Hamilton never lost the lead.  It was a fabulous race!!!

This is a PACE car!!!

Only in Germany..

I received this email from the HR department of BFA yesterday..  Too good to not share : )

Good Afternoon Staff Team,

This is to let you know that tomorrow, Saturday December 3rd, is a time many of the local wooded areas/walking paths will be closed for wild boar and deer hunting.

Please obey all posted restrictions you see along paths and leading into the woods. 

Adventures in Mongolia

On Saturday 18-June I landed in Chinggis Khaan Airport in Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia to begin 9 days of adventure!

I am officially a millionaire!!!  The currency is the Mongolian Tughrik, and the USD equivalent below is approximately 740 : )

Mongolian Parliament.. 

On Monday 20-June we began our four night, five day trek into the Gobi Desert.  

We spent the night on the 20th in a Ger owned by a family off the main road.  

On Tuesday morning we set off for Yoliin Am (Eagle's Mouth).  

Yoliin Am is known for having ice many months out of the year.

Traveling through a gorge is not for the faint of heart, this picture does not tell the complete story; but I could have reached out the car window and touched the cliff wall.

Roads?? Where we're going we don't need roads!  This is the drive to Khongorilin Els (Singing Sands)

This is me, I am riding M.C. that is what I named him (her?).  It stands for M.iddle C.amel.  He (she?) smelled REALLY BAD, like REALLY BAD..  it has given me a new basis of comparison in which to judge all other bad smells!

FUN IN THE SAND:

Angel

Greetings

While we didn't hear any singing, the dunes gave us much to look at.

Poor guy!  (or gal!)  The sand claims another victim!

The shoe of the above??  Actually if you look at the back of the shoe you will see our little desert friend : )

On Wednesday 22 we drove to Bayanzag (Flaming Cliffs), once again roads are optional

Bayanzag

The sun dries and peels up the top layer of mud

Uh-oh.. another one bites the dust!!

Fun in the mud

So we decided to go looking for dinosaur bones (what this area is known for), needless to say we did not have success.. however we did have success finding something.  I saw what looked like a sign on top of a hill, up the hill we went; assuming to see directions to these talked about fossils and finds.  Needless to say it was not a sign, and all I could think when we stumbled on this was 'only I would find a car part in the middle of the desert!'

The Ger camp we stayed at for our last night.  The man who owned the place was VERY excited about his turtle building, he also has an elephant building and a museum.  

Fun times

The 2015-2016 Black Forest Academy Track and Field Team

English Camp March 2016

Just another Sunday bike ride : )  

Graduation 2016

Construction begins to renovate and add a floor for the Middle School

The current view from my office : )