A Jackson Rockstar XS for Christmas!

I'm so excited, Santa brought a Jackson Rockstar XS. I know I already have a lot of boats, but it was time. I've long outgrown my Fun and even my Shooting Star.

My Jackson Rockstar XS - Christmas 2017

Our Family - Christmas 2017

Santa True

I've been generally obsessed with kayaking the past few months, so that's likely how Santa (aka my parents) knew what to get me. For Friday Enrichment glass blowing this fall, I made a kayak and a paddle while all my friends made cute animals! If you want to blow glass in Truckee, here's the place to go Glass Blowing in Truckee

The idea came to me right after I kayaked Chili bar for my first time. Chili bar is a class 3 stretch on the American River. I went with my dad and his friend Jeff - there aren't really any other kids my age to go with unfortunately. See how my glass blown kayak matches my real one :)

Chile Bar Put in November 2017

Thanksgiving at Trouble Maker!

For Thanksgiving this year, a group of my parents' friends decided to go kayaking. Now that I started kayaking Chili Bar, I can join them! Here's a video of my line in Trouble Maker - not perfect, but super fun!

6th Grade Yosemite Trip

Yay, we just got back from Yosemite! My 6th Grade class went on a field trip to Yosemite with Nature Bridge. It was really fun. We hiked a lot. And the food was really good. I had a field guide book that I drew in. I drew Half Dome and Yosemite Falls. During the day we played a lot of team building games. We also had night activities where we would play tag in the dark. My dad was a chaperone for the trip, but he was not in my cabin nor in my trail group. The nature guides did a great job leading us. This was one of the best field trips I've been on with school.

Yosemite

Kayaking in Canada

I just got back from Chilliwack, Canada! I was in Canada to learn how to slalom kayak. Slalom kayaking is when you have a long, fast, and narrow boat and you are trying to make it through all the gates without touching or hitting them. Here's some basic information on Running a Slalom Race. It's actually an Olympic Sport.

The second day in Canada there was the Mamquam Race. I loved competing and got first place! I also did the boater-cross race, which was fun.

The rest of the week I trained at a camp with Chilliwack Centre of Excellence. My coach was Brendan Curson. He was one of the best coaches I've ever had. The kids that train there are really good kayakers and super nice. My parents said that it's run by a non-profit, so it is very affordable.

This trip made me a much better kayaker and was very fun. And I came home with my very own slalom kayak!

Mamquam Race

1st Place!

Training with Brendan and Chilliwack Centre of Excellence

My very own slalom kayak!

Kids Spartan Race

Every year, my dad works on the Spartan World Championships in Squaw. This year, my brother and I got to do the kids race again. We did it twice. Maybe that was a bit too much because the second time we did it we had to carry a really heavy weight while doing the course. I was glad when it was over!

Me and Alex at Spartan

New Kayaking Skills . . .

Since we didn't go on our usual rafting trip to the Lower Slalom in Idaho, my parents took us to Coloma instead. We kayaked, saw friends, met new kids who kayak, and played board games. I even took kayak lessons with Dan Crandall at Current Adventures. He's the best roll teacher ever. Anyone can learn from him. The best part of the trip for me is when I got my combat roll at Old Scary!

Dan teaching Alex to roll

I also recently tried Slalom Kayaking for the first time. It combines two things I love: slalom racing and kayaking! I never knew this sport existed.

I went to the Moke Races and the Feather Fest with Sue Norman. My mom came too, but she had a hard time making the gates in her inflatable kayak. I just hope that more kids join this fun sport with me.

Moke Races 2017: My First Slalom Race

The Rogue River was Awesome

For our family rafting trip this year, we went to the Wild and Scenic Rogue River. It was awesome. It is a multi-day wilderness trip. No idea how my parents got permits at the last minute -- we were supposed to go to the Lower Klamath but fires closed that river.

We were a really big group, with lots of kids. And some fun adults without kids, like Canella, Kurt, and Cliff! And a dog. There was a natural water slide, a wilderness lodge with ice cream, wild blackberries, and we had a talent show. And best of all, I kayaked as much of the trip as my parents let me. I even kayaked my first Class IV rapid, Blossom Bar (and swam at the bottom). Since we were having so much fun and didn't want it to end, the kayaking kids stayed after the trip was over and we kayaked Hellgate Canyon.

Blackberries in camp

Canella!

Kayak kids: me, Athan, Quinn, Jayce 

Post-trip ice cream at Galice Resort

Summer Camps

So, this year, I got to join my Ecole Bilingue friends for a week at Camp Ravencliff. I was tired and jet-lagged since I had just gotten home from France, but I loved it! Camp Ravencliff was on the banks of the Eel River. My cabin had no electricity, lots of spiders, and 7 fun girls! The swimming hole at the river was very refreshing and fun. There was a lot of activities to choose from. I played canoe dodge ball, went creeking, and swam. There is a camp fire every night where we put on skits and tell jokes.

Sophie, Cahyani, Clarissa, Mia, Sebastien, Kael, and me

I also went ro Kennedy Meadows Horse Camp! We rode and took care of horses and went on a wilderness packing trip. It is just down the road from my cousins' cabin on Sonora Pass, so I got to hang out with them too. My dad also took us to Bodie.

Anabelle, Lylah, me, and Mia

France!

My brother and I spent the summer again this year in France visiting our great-grandmother, Grannilou, with our grandparents. In France, we mostly spend time at the beach and go to sailing camps. Here are some photos from our trip.

Carnon

Carnon beach kids

Manon in Pont Saint Esprit 

Our front deck in Carnon

Alex in Pont-Saint-Espirt

Stalagmite and Stalactite caves

At Grannilou's house

Back at SFO saying bye to Nana and Grandpa

Father's Day at the East Carson River

Well, the river was really high. And we had never been to the East Fork of the Carson River before. So, my parents didn't let me kayak. Instead, I got to ducky (inflatable kayak) with my friend Luke. We camped out at wilderness hot springs and went fly fishing. I didn't catch anything, but we had a blast and wished it had been more than just a weekend trip. I hope we go for father's day again next year.

Truckee Source To Sea!

Thank you Sue Norman, Jay Wild, Danielle Katz, and Jane Weeks for taking me and the other Student Ambassadors on the Truckee River Source to Sea Environmental Learning Adventure. Thank you also to everyone who made a donation to make it possible.

Here's the link to my profile on the Team page, along with the other Student Ambassadors. Chloe Tippett Student Ambassador

Before going on the trip, we had to fundraise. I participated in an Earth Day booth at Squaw, contributed to a newspaper article for Moonshine ink, and started a go-fund-me campaign (I raised over $800!).

Here's my interview in the May issue of Moonshine Ink (online or on page 34 in print). They interviewed me and Annsley. www.moonshineink.com/sports/truckee-river-source-sea-paddle

Here are some pictures from our expedition.

Me and Annsley on Donner Lake for Moonshine Ink

Fundraising at Earth Day before the trip

Off we go!

Upper Truckee in South Shore

Kayaking the Upper Truckee in South Shore

Outrigger Canoe on Lake Tahoe

Outrigger Canoe on Lake Tahoe

Outrigger Canoe on Lake Tahoe 

Truckee town run 

Camping at Nature Conservancy in Nevada

Put in for Reno town run

Reno town run

Channel 2 News in Reno

And boating is a wrap!

Biking to Pyramid Lake

We're done!

Pyramid Lake

The Truckee River is huge this year. I was very lucky to go on it when it is this high. The two core team adults (Sue and Jay) paddled the entire 150 miles. The student ambassadors did about 80 miles with them.

We started off a week and a half ago kayaking the Upper Truckee. We kayaked 6 miles of the Upper Truckee River. It was very fun to kayak with other kids. It was also very beautiful. Some parts though were a bit sketch because of all the debris in the river caused by the huge snow pack. About half way down the river, we stopped and a naturalist talked about the Upper Truckee Restoration Project. The restoration project helps the vegetation grow back. This is important because once it grows back it creates new habitats for wildlife to return.

Then, we outrigger canoed across Lake Tahoe. We used a Hawaiian outrigger canoe. We went through Emerald Bay and the water was a beautiful greenish blue. We paddled 14 miles.

We then rafted through downtown Truckee. And through Reno. We then kayaked in the Nature Conservancy in Nevada. Our permit was revoked to kayak the last stretch, so we finished off the last stretch to Pyramid Lake on bikes. It was a beautiful Plan B - we saw thousands of pelicans with 8 foot wing spans.

Along the way, we learned about the watershed, local fish and birds, and the vegetation. We spoke to people who are working hard to restore and preserve our river. And we gave news interviews.

On our way home we stopped and did a tour of Marble Bluff Dam Fish Hatchery. There, we saw Cui-ui fish. They are such cute sucker fish and we even got to hold and measure them. These fish are native to the Lower Truckee River and Pyramid Lake. They are endangered.

The best part, though, was hanging out with kids that share these same interests.

The hardest part was asking for money. Thank you to the following donors:

Me and Mikaela

Mikaela Shiffrin (I know, right!)

Michael Rosen

Jo Abbott

Sid Crockett

Mark Mirviss

Annette Mirviss

Brit Crezee

Jeff Rouse

Dick Banfield

Scott Flint

Sarah Powell

Joel Martinez

Sean Whelan

Chiara Gajar

Katrina Smolen

Uncle Loulou

Nana and Grandpa

Grannilou

Alicia Doherty
Maureen Garvey
Christine & Cathy
Aga Nowak
Sue Campbell

Dawn Preisendorf

Tom Brand

Brian Maher

Brooks Alldredge

Darby Stienmetz

Todd Wees

Rachel Rohler

Kim

Murray Sandford

Creekside bake sale (thank you Jack for baking)

Spring in Tahoe

It was a busy spring - though it really still seemed like winter. So much snow!

Still powder skiing well into spring . . .

Me on Siberia Spring Skiing 2017!

Yummy Strawberry Rhubarb Pie Recipe . . . 

My brother and I were at our community garden helping my mom plant tomatoes and cucumbers for the summer. Another gardener offered us some of their rhubarb. So, we decided we would make rhubarb pie. Just in time for June 9th, National Strawberry-Rhubarb Pie Day!

Here's the recipe. Tip: you don't have to use the full amount of sugar.

Ingredients

• 4 cups chopped rhubarb
• 2 pints of strawberries
• 1 1/3 cups sugar
• 6 tablespoons flour
• 1 tablespoon butter
• 1 pie crust in tray
• 1 flat pie crust

Directions

• Preheat oven to 450 degrees F
• Combine sugar and flour and lightly cover pie crust (in tray) 
• Heap rhubarb and strawberries over this mixture
• Sprinkle with remaining sugar and flour
• Dot with small pieces of butter
• Cover with top crust
• Place pie on lowest rack in oven. Bake for 15 minutes
• Reduce oven temperature to 350 degrees F, and continue baking for 40 to 45 minutes

See some other National Strawberry-Rhubarb Pie Day ideas at ChopChop Magazine here.

Home-grown, kid-made Strawberry-Rhubarb Pie

Memorial Day Weekend - Still skiing lower mountain!

KT Closing 7pm Party
My dad, Cliff, Andrew, me, Daniel, my brother, and Dawn
(my mom is taking the picture)

Gearing up to Memorial Day Weekend - Made in Tahoe

I can't wait for Memorial Day Weekend! I love browsing the cool stuff at Made in Tahoe. Check out this video to see what I mean. This year, I even have my own booth. We will be selling kid-made bath bombs, soaps, lollipops, baked goods, and jewelry.

Me and Alex before we had a booth!
Made in Tahoe 2016

May the 4th be With You . . .

Look how cute these turned out! Stormtrooper marshmallows and bubble wand lightsabers.

Stormtrooper marshmallows and bubble wand Lightsabers

Hibernation? The bear in my backyard . . .

There's a bear that lives under my deck. Sometimes, he lives under my neighbor's deck. Or down the street. And after a very big winter, he's come out of hibernation. If you also live with bears, you should read my brother's presentation Don't Feed the Bears and the Bear League website.

Photo Credit: Doug

Kayaking home from school!

There's a creek that runs between my house and my school. This time of year the creek is rushing because of the snowmelt. So, today, my dad picked us up in an inflatable kayak and we boated home. Thanks to my dad, I got soaked. Burr, that water is cold!