Bremerton Bug Museum

August 2017

Kellisa has always loved her bugs, spiders, bats, snakes, and alligators, so there was no way we could pass up visiting the Bremerton Bug Museum in Bremerton, WA. While Kellisa was observing the exhibits, Laurel was fascinated with the gift shop where you could buy many types of bug themed candies. 

Back to Kellisa's Path Blog

The Seattle Great Wheel

August 2017

175 feet above Seattle while on summer vacation in the Pacific Northwest:

Great American Eclipse- Metal Wall Art

We decided to take our best photograph from the Great America Eclipse and have it turned into a metal piece of artwork that we could hang in our house to always remind us of our special weekend spent together witnessing totality in Weiser, ID. Of course, this picture doesn't do the rare event justice, but we will always cherish this moment we were fortunate enough to capture in a picture.

Back to Kellisa's Path Blog

"Student with a Weapon"

Oakmont High School

Roseville, CA

February 6, 2017

Yesterday, I was 1,800 miles away from home in San Antonio, TX for work. We enjoy some major perks because I travel for my job, but there is always a little worry in the back of my mind that I'm so far away if something happens back at home. Thankfully, this rarely happens, but yesterday it happened.

At noon local time, I started getting texts, emails, and automated phone calls from Kellisa's school about a student with a weapon. They weren't releasing much information and the lockdown continued for just over two hours. I was relieved the school wasn't using the phrases, "Active Shooter" or "Shelter in Place", but the texts were very scary none the less. It didn't help to consider that Kellisa can't recognize danger, can't get on the floor by herself, can't crawl, can't remain quiet (I picture her giggling at all the excitement), can't jump out a window...she is 100% dependent on others for her safety and that's a chilling thought, especially when I'm not with her to be her protector. Lastly, Kellisa can't communicate like most other high school students. Therefore, we didn't get texts or calls from her telling us that she was safe.

Parents were asked not to come to the school, but if you wanted to get close, school officials and the police had a meeting place set up at a nearby park. The entire incident lasted just over two hours with little information and no confirmation that Kellisa was safe. It was hard to concentrate on work and even harder not knowing what I should do, if anything.

Eventually, an aide in Kellisa's class called to let me know that she was safe and the lockdown had ended. Another hour went by before I got a text from Lisa, "Both kids are home safe".  It was a huge relief, but I'm sure it took a few hours to get my blood pressure and heart rate down to normal levels.

The early reports indicate that one student stole a gun from a relative and brought it to school to sell to another student. The loaded gun was found in a backpack in the gym. Both students have been arrested and police officials believe there was never a plot to shoot anyone at the school. 

Back to Kellisa's Path Blog

All 50 States Photo Wall: Exhibit A

    Indiana            Kansas         Louisiana

Pennsylvania   Rhode Island   Mississippi

                              Virginia      Washington

     Minnesota                             South Dakota

The girls completed our project of visiting and hiking a trail in all 50 states back in November 2016. Their travels are well documented on this blog and I wanted to display their accomplishment in our home as art. Partly to share our story with visitors, but mostly so we can look back at all the fun we had completing our goal.

I've wanted to copy our kindred spirits at Explore All 50 ever since I read their post about having a photo wall with a picture from each of the United States.  

I've struggled for a couple of years (I started planning our photo wall before we finished) on the format, layout, design, shape, and size of the photos to use. I even struggle picking which is the best picture from each state. Some are obvious, some are impossible to choose, while a few states lack really good pictures.

After a few failed attempts to get this project off the ground (and on our walls), I finally found our layout. We will have five 20X30 canvas art collages with 10 pictures each.  This is our first collage and we love the way it turned out after many, many hours of picking the pictures and then reshaping and arranging the pictures. As excited as I am to have a clear direction, I also know this project will probably take several months to complete. We will order additional collages one at a time as we finish them and share them on the blog. Once we have all five hung on our "All 50 States Photo Wall", we will share a picture of our completed collection.

Exhibit B

Back to Kellisa's Path Blog

Super Blue Blood Moon

Over San Antonio, Texas

January 31, 2018

Back to Kellisa's Path Blog

Interpretive Loop Trail

Miners Ravine Nature Reserve

Bird and Wildlife Preserve

Placer County Parks

January 2018

We just finished the short North Trail Loop and decided that we would check out the other 1/2 mile loop trail at the opposite end of the parking lot. 

Despite the very real warning of rattlesnakes living around the trail, we didn't see or hear any as we explored this wooded preserve on the first day of 2018. Since we didn't see any snakes, the highlight of this loop would be the bedrock mortars created by a prehistoric people who spent time gathered on the rocks grinding grain, acorns, and other local resources into a food product. 

North Trail Loop

Miners Ravine Nature Reserve

Bird and Wildlife Preserve

Placer County Parks

January 2018

After our hike on the Mountain Quarry Railroad Trail, we wanted to do a little more exploring. In between Auburn State Recreation Area and our home, we remembered driving by the Miners Ravine Nature Preserve several months ago and seeing the suburban park had a short trail system. It seemed like the perfect destination to continue our first day of the new year hiking plans.

We started on the North Loop Trail because it was closer to where I parked our SUV. The path did not disappoint. We had the trail to ourselves, it was wide and even provided a short rock scramble for Kellisa. She loved the effort it took to get her to the top where she could enjoy the views. Kellisa asked for "more" after we made it back down, but I was done rock pushing for the day.

In the end, the North Loop Trail was exactly half a mile in length. Short, but very sweet.

Mountain Quarry Railroad Trail

Auburn State Recreation Area

January 1, 2018

This is how Kellisa rolls into the new year while Laurel was at the park and movies with mom. It doesn't matter how much research we do on a trail in advance, we are always surprised. For the most part, the Mountain Quarry Railroad Trail is a Rails to Trail which means it is now a hiking trail on a former railroad path. This usually means wide and mostly obstacle free for Kellisa's mobility chair. Several trestles have been removed and a rough trail has been blazed to connect the rail trail around these gaps. The first couple weren't too bad to navigate, but as you can see in the picture to the right, the trail around the missing trestle over the Black Hole of Calcutta Falls is anything but accessible. But, I've jumped ahead to the crux of our first day of the year hike.

It was a beautiful and sunny afternoon when we arrived at the trailhead. Every parking spot was taken and vehicles were parked on the shoulder of the road in all directions. This trailhead didn't have any disabled parking and even if did, I'm sure those would have also been taken. We drove back and forth hoping to find a spot. After many U-turns, a spot only a few cars from the trailhead opened. This was fortunate since we had to negotiate around all the parked cars by walking (pushing) out into a lane of fast approaching cars.

I Hate Irresponsibe Dog Owners!

Mountain Quarry Railroad Trail
Auburn State Recreation Area

January 1, 2018

I really do hate irresponsible dog owners while out on the trail. Read that first sentence again before sending any messages or leaving comments. I hate irresponsible dog owners. I don't hate all dog owners or dogs, just irresponsible dog owners. Read on to see how I define irresponsible.

Most, if not all trails that allow dogs require them to be under control and on a leash. I know there are dog parks that allow dogs to run wild, so you have places to let your dog be free and a trail which requires a leash is not the place for many reasons.

Too many times we've encountered dogs not on a leash and they come running up aggressively. Sometimes the dogs are face level or even higher than the kids which scares them...and me. The most common response from these owners is laughter, "Oh, they're harmless" or "They're part of the family". The owners need to know their laughter doesn't help us feel any better or safer. Keep your dogs under control!

Another pet peeve about irresponsible dog owners- at the trailhead to our recent hike of the Mountain Quarry Railroad Trail, there was a nice little box with baggies (Top right picture) for dog owners to use for their dog's waste. A large boulder (Top left picture) not far from the trailhead seems to double as an open air trash can for the whole world to see and smell while out trying to enjoy nature. 

To make matters even worse, not all owners cleanup after their dogs leaving a mushy mess on the trail. Unfortunately, with all the leaf debris covering the trail, we wheeled (Bottom center picture) through a well camouflaged pile of dog waste. This is impossible to thoroughly clean from the tire treads while out on a trail which means we need to load the smelly tires in the car for the ride home. Once home, I need to use the hose to spray the disgusting mess from the tires. 

Our only silver lining is Kellisa doesn't have to use her bare hands on her soiled tires to propel herself. Not every wheelchair user is that fortunate. Think about that for a minute.

Back to Kellisa's Path Blog