Deer Creek, Parmalee, and art

After 4 weeks of bigger hikes we scaled it back this weekend and hit Deer Creek and Pamalee trail out at Mt. Falcon.

I'll post a couple quick vids of those spots right after an art update.....

After some time I'm finally seeing progress on my latte art. One thing that has taken me time is pouring just one drink most days. Between my set up, caffeine intake, my diet, time, and so on....actually if I had a different machine I'd forget about those other excuses. :)  But nevertheless I just pour one drink per day in most cases. Finally I'm getting consistently good milk and have turned the corner on stacking it up (marking). Now it's a matter of learning to control things. I'm very happy to have reached this point and the journey from here to there promises to be more fun than the one from back there to right here. Obviously all of it was necessary and the consolation prize for all those learning pours was still drinking solid small milk drinks...not bad in a days work. I still feel like a Czar or a Sultan sometimes when the shots are right, the milk is right, and the cup rewards beyond what a few ounces of milk, water, and coffee ought be capable.

Maybe art is (in small way) to show some respect and appreciation back to the coffee for what it is to us... just a thought.  

Some recent pours:

Now the hikes.. Deer Creek was interesting because it was a conditioning test coming from a place I've never been before. Perspective is everything and coming off much harder hikes this summit was gained in 70 min. descent in 50 min. Pretty fast for me.. Can't wait to see what times I can pull in 2012. :)

Parmalee / Falcon is just a place we like to be. The vid below shows my fav part of this hike. The very start with the picture frame mnts behind the hitching posts.... nice!