Mountaintop Surprise!!!

Hi everybody, I've been exploring some more in Idaho.  I went up a mountain called "Scotchman's Peak" and I found a surprise at the top :-)

A view of lake Pend Oreille on the way up.

A stack of stones to mark the trail

Almost there...

There's the top!  (And some snow!)

Oh, hello goats!

Happy goats :-)  They were very calm and nice to me.

 

The view from a goat's front porch.

I made it to the top!!!!

The goats are very friendly and almost always visit with anybody who hikes to the top of Scotman's Peak :-)  I also wanted to share a little video I am in, I felt like dancing :-)



Yours,

Michael TheMonkey

Mountain Day!

Hello!!!!  Today I went hiking on a mountain called Schweitzer that looks down on Sandpoint, Idaho.  From the top you can see Lake Pend Oreille.  It's a huge lake surrounding the town that was created during the ice ages by the lake Missoula floods -- it's called "Pend Oreille" because it's shaped like a big ear :-) Here I am jumping over the ski resort building and the lake!

On the trail I found some deer tracks!!! I didn't see the deer who made them, though, but he must have come just before me.

And I found some beautiful flowers called "Indian Paintbrush."

And last but not least, I found some huckleberries!!! Huckleberries are like mountain blueberries, they are a little smaller and they have a slightly different but extremely yummy taste!

Mountains!!!!!

Hi everybody! Today I took a trip just over the Idaho border to western Montana! I floated down a river in the bright sunshine and saw mountains and fishermen and trees!

The water was so clear and clean in the river I could sometimes see fish swimming right below me.

It was great!  I definitely recommend making a trip to Idaho and Montana!!!  More coming soon!

Yours,

Michael TheMonkey

Back in the USA!

Hi Everybody!!!  I'm in the little town of Sandpoint, Idaho!  So far and I've explored town a little bit, and I went hiking!  There were great views from the lookout point!

A view of town, there's a big lake here called "Pend Oreille" because it's shaped like an ear.

Old American cars

A repair shop and an old mill in the background

Happy evergreen trees

Me in a tree!

More to come tomorrow, I'm going to a farmer's market!

Yours,
Michael TheMonkey

Happy Birthday St. Basil's!

Today is the anniversary of St. Basil's Cathedral. It is 450 years old this year!

St. Basil's, Tourists and Construction

I learned something interesting about its name. In English it is usually called "St. Basil's", but in Russian it is called "Собор Василия Блаженного" - "Saint Vasili's Cathedral."

"Василия" is the possessive form of the Russian name "Василий" - "Vasili" (which has a short, informal form "Вася" - "Vasya.") The character "В" in Russian actually sounds like "V" in English, a hard English "B" sound in Russian is made by the character "Б."

So the Cathedral can be called "St. Basil's" or "St. Vasili's." :-)

Red Square

I also couldn't help myself -- I had to take a quick flight around the square.

Meeeeee!

Yours,
Michael TheMonkey

Chinese Box Lunch in Moscow!

I've been dreaming of finding a Chinese restaurant with take-out boxes for a long time, but I was convinced that they couldn't be found in Moscow.  Then, out of the blue last week I happened upon an internet ad for Wokker! Not only did their food look yummy, they also had cool take-out/order-in boxes like I had been dreaming about.

So I went to try it!  I got some Teriyaki turkey noodles and some noodles with shrimp and oyster sauce, it was great! The only sad thing is that Wokker's three locations in Moscow (at Metro stops "Voikovskaya" - where I went, "Rechnoi Vokzal" and "Universitet") aren't that close to where I live, so I might have to order in next time. :-)

Yours,
Michael TheMonkey

5 Foods to take to a desert island...

I recently saw this idea posted other places and I wanted to make my own list...  what would I take???



1. Bananas, of course, I'm a monkey!  While you might find these on a desert island, it's best to be safe.

2. Banana Popsicles!  It's hot on desert islands and these are a perfect cool treat.

3. Banana bread.  Mmm, for cold desert island nights, warm banana bread is perfect.

4. Banana cream pie.

5. Bananas again.  You can never have too many bananas.

What about you? Let me know what you'd take in the comments!!!