Favorite Vacation Moments

	Dragon Cay Sunrise Tue 06:30 AM Jul 18, 2000

Dragon Cay is one of the spectacular views at Blue Horizon. We're there for sunrise almost every morning when we stay there. The area is know locally as Mudjin Harbor. At low tide, the beach stretches all the way to the cay.

	Rainbow over the Ocean Sat 03:45 PM Dec 25, 1999

Middle Caicos has it's rainy seasons which we haven't experienced yet. We have had our share of the overnight downpours and isolated showers. They are always welcome since they keep the island green and provide most of the island's drinking water.

	Blue Horizon Moon Mon 06:17 AM Jul 17, 2000

The sky always attracts our attention when we're on Middle. Sunrise and sunset are favorites. On moonless nights, familiar constellations are filled with so many stars that they are hard to find. A full moon like this one setting over Blue Horizon can light the beach for romantic walks.

	Sandcastle Fri 01:39 PM Dec 24, 1999

Even on vacation, my engineering background wakes up and I feel the need to build something. I built this fortress at the intersection of beach below Blue Horizon and the sandbar that connects to Dragon Cay.

	A Different Kind of Sandcastle Mon 02:43 PM Dec 20, 1999

Never satisfied to do things the same old way, I took lessons I learned at a Natural Building Workshop high in the Rocky Mountains of Colorado and built a different kind of sandcastle. This dome shaped structure has a door and windows and encloses an open space. It's made from long cloth sacks filled with sand and coiled in a spiral. A crab moved in soon after I completed it.

	Sand Shark Sun 03:49 PM May 27, 2001

This sand sculpture was inspired by the reef shark we saw while snorkeling near the reef a few days earlier. The secret to building the vertical and undercut details was to find the right sand. I had to scrape the fine grains from the top inch of the beach. The coarse grains below won't stick together enough to hold a shape.

	Y2K Power Failure Fri 06:13 PM Dec 31, 1999

On New Year's Eve, 1999, some people expected power failures to spread across the world. On Middle Caicos, it actually happened. But we always lose power at least once on each trip so it wasn't anything out of the ordinary. On that night, it happened as we were preparing for dinner and the evening's festivities.

Electricity is generated on Provo and carried along the chain of islands by underwater cable. When it drops out, the single utility worker on the island drives down to where the cable comes ashore to check the fuses. If the power's going to be out for long, he starts the island's backup generator. We've never seen it out for more than an hour or so.

	How We Began the Millenium Sat 06:34 AM Jan 1, 2000

We've been up for many sunrises on Middle Caicos but this one seemed a little more special. It was January 1, 2000 and we were just where we wanted to be.

	A Little Yardwork Fri 05:27 PM Jun 1, 2001 21°49’36”N 71°43’44”W

A machete, locally known as a cutlass, is indispensible when your front yard looks like ours. A few hours of clearing passages through the brush taught me to push the plants aside and chop low at the base of the trunk.

	Morning Coffee Thu 06:15 AM May 24, 2001 21°49’43”N 71°44’02”W

We never sleep in when we vacation on Middle Caicos. Usually Cathy and I share our coffee on the beach or clifftops. On this morning, Rick joined us.