I couldn’t resist. I know we had our “stories of the week” yesterday, but I thought why not include a couple others. Not as a Friday space-filler (we wouldn’t do that here!), but because the stories are generally interesting/informative and we want you be the most informed outdoor-oriented readers on the web. Soooo, two more: the California Beaches Blog covers Nights of Lights across California and the SFGate highlights a family that, every winter, makes their own igloo in the Sierras and sleeps in it.

Nights of Lights Across California

Two weeks ago, I visited and wrote about Santa Clara County’s Fantasy of Lights. As nice as I think that experience was, I also realize that it’s a specific location in a specific part of California. Mostly likely, I was a rare bird, coming all the way from San Francisco. Most of the Fantasy of Lights visitors probably come from Santa Clara County or not much further, so I knew that I was only covering a very local experience. On the other hand, today, the California Beaches Blog posted a much more complete list of the “Night of Lights” across the entire state and it gives Christmas light lovers no excuse not to see beautiful displays whether they live around LA, the Sierras or Oakland. Check out their great in-depth post on this Saturday’s (the 19th) light shows and make sure to check one out of it you can. It only happens one month out of the year (I really want to go on that Channel Islands tour). Full text from the California Beaches Blog:

From the Oakland Zoo to Griffith Park, Newport Beach to Mammoth Lakes Night of Lights, California is turning on the juice in holiday light shows this weekend. Beautiful displays of light seen only once each year during the holidays offer a delightful, visual feast allowing visitors to stand harbor and dock-side (or on a boat in Newport Beach and Huntington Beach) to participate in the annual light cruises and boat parades.
Events on Saturday, Dec. 19, 2009 in California
Los Angeles County

LOS ANGELES - Holiday Lights Festival in Griffith Park. The 14th Annual Holiday Light Festival event seen by car is lit by energy-saving LED light bulbs this year. Drive-thru goes through Dec.30. Time: 5 to 10 p.m. Location: 4730 Crystal Springs Drive, Los Angeles, CA. Call: (213) 367-1255. dwplightfestival.com

Naples Christmas Boat Parade - Long Beach. View from the bridges and along the canals around Naples Island you see the small boat parade. From the 2nd Street Bridge and along Alamitos Bay Marina you can also see the larger vessels that don’t fit in the canals. Time: small boats start at 6 pm from the 2nd Street Bridge, large boats start at 6:30 pm near Alamitos Bay Yacht Club. Viewing Locations & Parking: Park at Mothers’ Beach lot off Appian Way, marine lots east of Davis Bridge, Marine Stadium, and 54th & Bayshore. Naples Bayside Academy (5537 The Toledo) offers parking for a donation of approx. $10. Note: The houses around Naples Island put on one of the best displays of Christmas and Hanukkah lights in Southern California. Plan to get there plenty early to stroll around the island before the parade.

Bay Area

OAKLAND - Oakland ZooLights. Oakland ZooLights is an annual event in which the public comes after dark and can walk along a path to see lighted displays with animal and zoo themes. Time: Friday - Sunday: 5:30pm - 9:30pm; Monday - Thursday: 5:30pm - 9:00pm. Cost: $7.50 Adult; $5.50 child. Location: 9777 Golf Links Rd., Oakland, CA.Call: (510) 632-9525. oaklandzoo.org

Sierra Mountains

MAMMOTH - Night of Lights. Night of Lights celebrates the magic of snow with a winter lights show, fireworks, music and fun activities against the majestic backdrop of Mammoth’s ski slopes at Mammoth Mountain Ski Area. Time: 5 to 10 p.m. Cost: Free. Location: Mammoth Mountain Ski Area Canyon Lodge, Mammoth Lakes, CA 93546. Telephone: (760) 934-2571. mammothmountain.com

Orange County:

DANA POINT - Holiday Boat Parade. Join in the 35th Annual Holiday Boat Parade of Lights in Dana Point Harbor by climbing aboard one of the decorated boats and actually take part in the parade. You’ll see the hundreds of other decorated boats competing for the coveted Best in Show Award! Time: 7:30pm - 9 p.m. Location: Dana Wharf Sportfishing & Whale Watching, 34675 Golden Lantern in Dana Point, CA. Cost: $25 adult/$15 kid 3-12. Call: (949) 496-5794. danawharf.com

NEWPORT BEACH - Christmas Boat Parade. Starting around 6 p.m. the boat parade loops around the channels of Newport Beach. Tourists can buy tickets and ride in a decorated boat in the parade, watching the other decorated boats, and lit multi-million homes along the waterways of Newport Beach. christmasboatparade.com

HUNTINGTON BEACH - Cruise of Lights. Huntington Harbour is all aglow and you can buy a ticket for a boat ride to view the lit up homes. Each cruise includes an approx. 45 minute narrative. Times: 5:30, 6:30, 7:30 and 8 p.m. Cost: $15 adult; $9 age 2 to 12. Location: Huntington Harbour Mall, parking & 10 minute bus ride to the docks, Huntington Beach, CA. Tickets: 714-840-7542. Cruiseoflights.org
Ventura County

OXNARD - Channel Islands Harbor Lights Cruise. Ride aboard the Sunfish for a two hour tour, Christmas carols and fun in the Channel Islands Harbor. Time: 7 to 9 p.m. Cost: $45 adult, $25 child. Location: Channel Islands Harbor, 3600 Harbor Blvd 219, Oxnard, CA, 93035 USA Call: (805) 290-5731, reservations required -Visa or Mastercard accepted. venturaboatcruises.com

A Family Tradition: Building an Igloo and Sleeping In It

The von Kaenels stand in front of their Lake Powell igloo.

SFGate’s new blog Slope Dope has been pretty good so far, as they cover the ongoings in the snow-covered Sierras. This week they uncovered a particularly nice gem through a reader letter: Manon von Kaenel, a junior at Palo Alto High School, wrote a story in her school’s newspaper about how her and the rest of her family take a trip every year to the Sierras to build an igloo and spend a night in it. How cool is that? Especially in a world of posh lodges and large cabins…a family spending quality time in an icehouse. In the U.S. Man, I just can’t get over that. Anyway, Slope Dope posted the full text, so I will as well (in hopes that maybe it will inspire your family to do the same). By Manon von Kaenel and Camille von Kaenel:

After a while, you get to know which type of snow is right — not the powdery “sugar” kind and not the hard and icy kind.

You learn that the right kind of snow is sticky and wet, easily condensed into a sturdy and neat block. It becomes a routine; dig, lift, dump, dig, lift, dump, move on to the next block. Pat the snow down. Slowly you see something appear — a circle of blocks, nice and tidy, tilting inward and growing upward as you dig, lift and dump. Just as night approaches, you are finally done, after around three hours of work. The igloo stands in front of you, sturdy, strong and thick.

Our family comes from Switzerland, and along with a Swiss passport and a love of chocolate, we inherited an enthusiasm for all things snow-related. When the holiday season comes around and the Christmas lights start to go up, that is a sure sign for our family to get out our skis and snowshoes and head to the Sierra Nevada mountains. But unlike many other Palo Alto families heading to the snow, we also prepare to build one of our seasonal igloos.

Building igloos and sleeping in them has become a tradition in our family ever since we first tried to build an igloo in early 2006 in the Lake Tahoe area. For that first igloo, we had to cut out every single block with a snow knife and then place it carefully onto the walls of the igloo — a slow and unreliable process that spread out over days for beginners like us. We decided to sleep in our first newly constructed igloo, and we were hooked. Both our parents were fond of building, digging and playing in the snow as children growing up in Switzerland, and they passed down this passion to us.

The von Kaenels stand in front of their igloo at Lake Powell after building it the previous day and sleeping in it during the night.

Our relatives in Switzerland have also taken to building igloos every winter, once making it into the local newspaper after having a fondue in their family-sized igloo. We’ve never had fondue in our igloo — our relatives told us it stank for many of the following weeks — but we have, one Christmas, clinked our glasses and snacked on smoked salmon appetizers in our igloo.

Our dad received the IceBox, an igloo-making device made in Colorado, for Christmas in 2007 and it has allowed us to create sturdier igloos faster. Now, the whole family — our parents, us and our younger sister — participates in the building of around four igloos every winter season.

Some of the igloos we have built at the Lake Tahoe area have lasted whole seasons if not melted too much by the sun. If you find an igloo next time you are in the Lake Tahoe area, chances are, it’s ours. We have received help on numerous igloos from family friends and onlookers — some shocked, some amused, but all very curious.

The basic IceBox, which functions like a compass, consists of a pole with a stake at one end that we anchor to the ground at the center of the igloo and a three sided frame at the other end, which we fill with snow to create a block. For the very last block, we simply hold the pole in place straight up, with the bottom of the frame serving as the last support in the ceiling. The construction of an igloo forces us to work as a cohesive team within the family, improving our cooperation and family bonds.

After the basic igloo is finished, which takes around two and a half hours on a good day for an experienced team, we fill the occasional holes in the walls with handfuls of snow and dig an entrance — always below the base level of the igloo so that the cold air stays outside. This low entrance makes it somewhat awkward and difficult to enter or exit the igloo, resulting in the “penguin” style exit where we comically slide and struggle our way out on our stomachs.

Though building an igloo may seem unsafe because of the possibility it could come falling down, a finished igloo is very sturdy because the snow solidifies to create firm blocks that support and lean on each other. Even if it may sag a little after the first night, the igloo can actually become strong enough to support the weight of a person if frozen after construction — we know this from experience. The common misconception that the interior of an igloo is really cold is not true at all because the walls of snow insulate the interior, keeping the temperature above zero degrees Celsius even as the temperature drops outside. One morning, we measured the outside temperature to be -18 degrees Celsius while the inside stayed a warm 3 degrees. Also, with sleeping bags that withstand freezing temperatures and a couple of other warm people sleeping next to you, it stays pretty cozy.

Along with constructing igloos wherever we go, the two of us and our dad have also hiked twice through the snowy landscape from the Dodge Ridge Ski Resort in the Sierra Nevada mountains to a charming little lake nestled among pine trees and granite boulders called Lake Powell — a trip of about five miles. On our first trip with the IceBox in early February 2008, we hiked for about four hours with snowshoes and built an igloo to sleep in at the lake.

The second time, in late January 2009, we opted for the faster option: cross country skiing with seal skins on the bottom of our skis to prevent us from slipping backwards and pitching a tent at our campsite. Since setting up a tent takes up much less time than building an igloo, the second trip allowed us the time to explore the surrounding area, where we admired the wind swept designs on the snow as well as the grandeur of the landscape.

Snow camping allows us to forget about stress, school and everyday life and enjoy nature at its purest form. Alone in the middle of a snowy nowhere, we reach an understanding of what nature really is — raw and peaceful, with that strange capacity of making you feel very very small. These trips also allowed us to discover an area we already knew and loved from our summer excursions under a whole new attire, peacefully blanketed by snow.

Preparing such a trip required a lot of time and effort; we had to familiarize ourselves with our equipment and with the igloo construction process. As experienced backpackers, we knew the basics of camping as well as the Lake Powell area, called Emigrant Wilderness, as we had often backpacked there in the summer. We also knew the precautions surrounding snow camping due to our father’s enthusiastic sharing of his experience as a climber of a virgin mountain in the Himalayas, a ski instructor, a triple avalanche survivor and a ski patroller.

We also had to improvise and learn new things on the spot — such as to fully lean back while skiing down a slope with a 12 pound backpack to avoid falling on our faces in the deep powder (let’s just say Manon had an unfortunate experience that resulted in frozen fingers and a snow-filled hood).

Since we could rely solely on what we were able to carry on our backs to survive two days in the snow, we had to make a strict selection of food — picking the sugary and energizing Sharkies candy over trail mix bars and our favorite snow drink, earl grey tea, over raspberry tea.

This winter season or the next, we hope to cross country ski from Squaw Valley to Alpine Meadows, stopping in the middle to sleep in a tent or an igloo, or even traverse the Sierra Nevadas by passing through Yosemite.

We’ve joked about our family’s slight eccentricity with regard to igloo-building and snow-camping, but in the end, we do it because we love it. We truly enjoy snow camping because it combines two passions of ours: backpacking and skiing. Also, we realized that, for us, snow is almost a heirloom, a part of our “Swiss genes,” as the passion for playing in the snow — because in the end, that’s what all this igloo-building and snow-camping business really comes down to — is passed down from generation to generation.

The interior of an igloo is like its own little world — a green yellow light seeps in through the walls and absolutely no sound penetrates from the outside, no matter how loud the wind in the blizzard is howling outside. It’s a world we love, as a family, and one we would like to share. When the snow starts to fall in Tahoe, you’ll be sure to find us up there, constructing igloos and trekking through the snow. Why don’t you try your hand at it?

President Obama’s Remarks From the Copenhagen Climate Change Conference

Since the Copenhagen conference is so huge (both literally and figuratively), I figure I’d include President Obama’s remarks from the climate change conference. Full text from the White House website:

Good morning. It is an honor for me to join this distinguished group of leaders from nations around the world. We come here in Copenhagen because climate change poses a grave and growing danger to our people. All of you would not be here unless you — like me — were convinced that this danger is real. This is not fiction, it is science. Unchecked, climate change will pose unacceptable risks to our security, our economies, and our planet. This much we know.

The question, then, before us is no longer the nature of the challenge — the question is our capacity to meet it. For while the reality of climate change is not in doubt, I have to be honest, as the world watches us today, I think our ability to take collective action is in doubt right now, and it hangs in the balance.

I believe we can act boldly, and decisively, in the face of a common threat. That’s why I come here today — not to talk, but to act. (Applause.)

Now, as the world’s largest economy and as the world’s second largest emitter, America bears our responsibility to address climate change, and we intend to meet that responsibility. That’s why we’ve renewed our leadership within international climate change negotiations. That’s why we’ve worked with other nations to phase out fossil fuel subsidies. That’s why we’ve taken bold action at home — by making historic investments in renewable energy; by putting our people to work increasing efficiency in our homes and buildings; and by pursuing comprehensive legislation to transform to a clean energy economy.

These mitigation actions are ambitious, and we are taking them not simply to meet global responsibilities. We are convinced, as some of you may be convinced, that changing the way we produce and use energy is essential to America’s economic future — that it will create millions of new jobs, power new industries, keep us competitive, and spark new innovation. We’re convinced, for our own self-interest, that the way we use energy, changing it to a more efficient fashion, is essential to our national security, because it helps to reduce our dependence on foreign oil, and helps us deal with some of the dangers posed by climate change.

So I want this plenary session to understand, America is going to continue on this course of action to mitigate our emissions and to move towards a clean energy economy, no matter what happens here in Copenhagen. We think it is good for us, as well as good for the world. But we also believe that we will all be stronger, all be safer, all be more secure if we act together. That’s why it is in our mutual interest to achieve a global accord in which we agree to certain steps, and to hold each other accountable to certain commitments.

After months of talk, after two weeks of negotiations, after innumerable side meetings, bilateral meetings, endless hours of discussion among negotiators, I believe that the pieces of that accord should now be clear.

First, all major economies must put forward decisive national actions that will reduce their emissions, and begin to turn the corner on climate change. I’m pleased that many of us have already done so. Almost all the major economies have put forward legitimate targets, significant targets, ambitious targets. And I’m confident that America will fulfill the commitments that we have made: cutting our emissions in the range of 17 percent by 2020, and by more than 80 percent by 2050 in line with final legislation.

Second, we must have a mechanism to review whether we are keeping our commitments, and exchange this information in a transparent manner. These measures need not be intrusive, or infringe upon sovereignty. They must, however, ensure that an accord is credible, and that we’re living up to our obligations. Without such accountability, any agreement would be empty words on a page.

I don’t know how you have an international agreement where we all are not sharing information and ensuring that we are meeting our commitments. That doesn’t make sense. It would be a hollow victory.

Number three, we must have financing that helps developing countries adapt, particularly the least developed and most vulnerable countries to climate change. America will be a part of fast-start funding that will ramp up to $10 billion by 2012. And yesterday, Secretary Hillary Clinton, my Secretary of State, made it clear that we will engage in a global effort to mobilize $100 billion in financing by 2020, if — and only if — it is part of a broader accord that I have just described.

Mitigation. Transparency. Financing. It’s a clear formula — one that embraces the principle of common but differentiated responses and respective capabilities. And it adds up to a significant accord — one that takes us farther than we have ever gone before as an international community.

I just want to say to this plenary session that we are running short on time. And at this point, the question is whether we will move forward together or split apart, whether we prefer posturing to action. I’m sure that many consider this an imperfect framework that I just described. No country will get everything that it wants. There are those developing countries that want aid with no strings attached, and no obligations with respect to transparency. They think that the most advanced nations should pay a higher price; I understand that. There are those advanced nations who think that developing countries either cannot absorb this assistance, or that will not be held accountable effectively, and that the world’s fastest-growing emitters should bear a greater share of the burden.

We know the fault lines because we’ve been imprisoned by them for years. These international discussions have essentially taken place now for almost two decades, and we have very little to show for it other than an increased acceleration of the climate change phenomenon. The time for talk is over. This is the bottom line: We can embrace this accord, take a substantial step forward, continue to refine it and build upon its foundation. We can do that, and everyone who is in this room will be part of a historic endeavor — one that makes life better for our children and our grandchildren.

Or we can choose delay, falling back into the same divisions that have stood in the way of action for years. And we will be back having the same stale arguments month after month, year after year, perhaps decade after decade, all while the danger of climate change grows until it is irreversible.

Ladies and gentlemen, there is no time to waste. America has made our choice. We have charted our course. We have made our commitments. We will do what we say. Now I believe it’s the time for the nations and the people of the world to come together behind a common purpose.

We are ready to get this done today — but there has to be movement on all sides to recognize that it is better for us to act than to talk; it’s better for us to choose action over inaction; the future over the past — and with courage and faith, I believe that we can meet our responsibility to our people, and the future of our planet. Thank you very much.