Good night grippy rocks of Las Conchas, rising above the chattering East Fork creek. Thank you for all the fun climbs and social times; cold water rushing over bare feet, sweaty fingertips sliding off polished rock; flip flops clacking down the easy ramblin’ trail. One-armed push-ups on the footbridge; first leads. Sleep tight, Las Conchas. Good night San Antonio Hot […]
At the shrill little “ding” which was Stéphane’s night pilot texting to let him know he was officially off for the day, I hopped on my mountain biked and zoomed off for a quick ride on the trails before dark descended. Up Camino Uva, across the open space by the baseball fields, through the stables (go slow so you don’t […]
Both Stéphane and my little brother Dan share the same birthday, August 20th. I love that these two amazing men in my life share this day but also that they share a wonderful friendship. It makes my heart glad. So here’s to my sweet Bug-Zilla and Daniel-son- happy birthday!!
Chama, New Mexico is a tiny little town in Northern New Mexico that we had never really seen until this past trip. We always drove just up to Chama, then turned left, stopped at the gas station for gasoline fill-up and propane top-off, and continued on to Colorado. This time, we turned right. And we discovered a quaint, train-themed downtown […]
A photo catch-up of life so far in 2020. Camping, climbing, trail running; more mountain biking than usual as Stéphane is preparing for a seven-day mountain biking trip through the mountains from Durango, CO to Moab, UT this September. Hugo has been spending lots of time on his bike and in his book nook (we are drowning in books, but […]
The plan was to do something a little out-of-the-box (for us) for my fortieth birthday. January 30th this year just so happened to fall on Stéphane’s week off, and so we were exploring options further afield and different from the norm to ring in the big 4-0. Options were Copper Canyon, Mexico and Cochese, AZ for a longer-than-normal climbing trip. […]
Miso Myyyyyyyso Myra-Bear Myra-Bell Palmyra Mighty Myra Myra Turbo mode. Sad eyes. Tail-thumping, trail-running, snow-rolling. Loyal, loving, constant, gentle soul. Myra began her life in the shady dirt yard of an old, run-down house on the side of Highway 50, en route to the Black Canyon. Just across from the Old West Museum. It was the spring of 2010 in […]
Thursday afternoon we hit the road north for Pagosa Springs, CO. Our friends the Regeles have a condo in PS and invited us up for the weekend for some adventures in the snow.
Happy Thanksgiving from the Heftis! This year we celebrated a day early, on Wednesday, so Jess and Bradley could join us. Stéphane prepared a feast! Turkey with stuffing; mashed potatoes, gravy, yams, macaroni and cheese, green beans- it was amazing! Our neighbors and good friends Tom and Pam also joined us; we all had a lovely day together. The following […]
The Gruffalo is packed and I’m madly tying up loose ends at work so we can get on the road and escape south, away from the snow. A half an inch of the powdery stuff fell in Los Alamos Thursday morning, so we were more than enthusiastic about driving down the hill and heading south to warmer weather and our […]
By five-fifteen Hugo’s morning milk has been warmed and set quietly at the top of the stairs – just outside his bedroom door – ready for the six-thirty wake-up-pee-and-back-to-sleep call. By five-twenty the office is warm and cozy, lit softly by the glow from the paper IKEA lamp, and buzzing with the soothing hum of the heater. Tea is piping […]
Browsing through our photos from this past year, I am amazed by all of the things we have been able to do! From hosting family and friends at home base Casa Uva to traveling to Switzerland and Detroit to see family; this year we’ve tackled major (and minor) home improvements, sneaked away for countless climbing trips, and logged some quality […]
This week we took a quick road trip to St. George, Utah so Stéphane could attend his company’s safety conference. We were able to multi-task and squeeze in some nice (albeit hot) trad climbs, enjoyed a couple of cush days at a hotel, and explored a bit of SW Utah. As I write this, Hugo is napping on the bottom […]
I lost my dear friend Carley this past March. Her favorite color was purple. She loved researching her Swedish genealogy and was passionate about writing. She had an adopted granddaughter named Lizzy who was her world and she loved going to the casino. She was a loyal, loving friend. We worked together for five years and shared a lot of […]
Dear Daddy, Today is your very first Fathers Day! I wish we could be together today but I know that you are working hard out west to make way for mommy and I to come out. We’ll be there soon and we miss you so much. I love […]
For some reason I can’t seem to remember much these days. Like, what were our days like when Hugo was one month? Three? No clue. I’m thinking this memory failure is a side effect of sleep deprivation. Or hormones, perhaps? Some cruel trick played on mothers so that they forget how hard this all is and decide to do it […]
We finally got a taste of what a real Maine winter can look like after experiencing our first Nor’easter. All said and done, two feet of snow blanketed Hurd House. That’s a lot of snow to remove, particularly when the engine of the snowblower you just purchased on Craigslist decides to seize. Now, we have sold and purchased many items […]
February 19th: Happy birthday Grams!!! Except I get the present today: This is the face of a boy that just slept the whole night through. For the first time. Smiles all around this morning!
Hugo’s four months and babies fly free ’til their two – so let’s fly home to Michigan and introduce him to his family! A good time was had by all and many lessons were learned in regards to travel with Hugo. He is proving to be a resilient and mellow […]
It’s the morning of our last day in Michigan before flying home to Maine. We’d spent the past four days showing off Hugo to friends and family, playing euchre, and drinking Pete’s latest beer fave: Founder’s Rubais Ale (a raspberry-infused brew). Dad says the same thing he’s being saying since he and mom were out to meet a two-week-old Hugo: […]
Merry Christmas and Happy New Year from The Heftis! In lieu of bringing yet another tree into our lives (we have enough of them here in Maine), we decorated a happy little pine just off the back porch. So…what else has been going on at The Heftis the last month? […]
The heating oil is low. It’s been snowing all morning and our steep, slick driveway, now hidden under five inches of powder, must be tamed by Wednesday or we will go without a heating oil refill ’til who knows when. Which means frequent trips to the gas station, filling five gallon jerry jugs with diesel and schlepping them home to […]
Tomorrow Hugo will be two months old. I have no idea where these past sixty days have gone and what I have actually done during this time; they have zoomed by in slow motion. A friend of mine shared a “new mommy” saying that I find quite appropriate to our new life: The days are long and the years are […]
Well, The Hefti Family has survived over a month. As I type, I hear Hugo Bear’s soft coughing/grunting noises coming from the crib. Which means he’ll be up soon. Which means a slapdash eeeeeep post – so here goes: Top seven observations from our first month (because ten would take too long and I’m tired) When changing the diaper, make sure […]
He has many names: The Curve-Breaker (coined by our group because he is so amazing at pretty much everything) AirWolf (remember that 80s high-tech helicopter show?) Bug And in the last two weeks, a new one has emerged: The Magic Coffee Table Yes, you read right. The Magic Coffee Table. Just check out this short video and you will […]
So very much more to say on this topic but at the moment I have the use of just one arm – the other is engaged in infinitely more important business: holding our son. So to be brief: Hugo Jürg Hefti joined Stéphane and I Monday morning, October third at 11:46. I was able to have the natural, non-medicated birth we were hoping […]
The Grizz (Winnebago View - active duty)
1,800 miles and counting
The Hungry hippo (Popup camper - retired)
1,200 miles
The Gruffalo (Tow behind camper - retired):
12,000 miles and counting
The Baby Bison (Tow behind toy hauler - retired):
7000+ miles
Maine > New Mexico + adventures in between
The Great White Buffalo (5th wheel camper - retired):
3,000 miles
Free Range (Slocum 37 sailboat - resting; getting overhauled in Nova Scotia):
Traveled 2,400 nautical miles from Oriental, NC > Antigua (end of the road).