California Riding and Hiking Trail

California Riding and Hiking Trail

Joshua Tree National Park

California

July 2013

One goal from our recent trip to Joshua Tree National Park was to scope out the California Riding and Hiking Trail. Some information states that the trail is 35 miles long and other list it at 37.3 miles. Either way, we've been researching the trail online and were thinking it would be possible to hike with Kellisa across the backcountry of Joshua Tree. We didn't want to plan a trip and arrive to find it impossible to push Kellisa, so we stopped at both trailheads and at every road crossing to access the possibility. We didn't see anything that would prevent an attempt to hike the entire trail with Kellisa, so it's been added to our "dream list" of hikes even though we could only check out a small percentage of the trail. Now we have to plan the complicated logistics of how many days, what month, water drops, etc.

Pictures from the trailheads and all the road crossings in both directions:

Joshua Tree National Park

Joshua Tree National Park

California

July 2013

Kellisa and I were in southern California for a quick weekend to present "Kellisa's Path" to the Los Angeles Hydrocephalus Association Support Network. We had a few hours the following day and decided to drive out to Joshua Tree National Park. With limited time and the rare scattered showers, we saw the park like most tourists. We stopped at the visitor center, walked the short, paved path behind the center and drove through the park stopping at most of the scenic viewing spots before heading back towards Los Angeles.

2013 Big Bend Ultra 25K: Finish & Spring 2013 Newsletter

Copyright: Shanda Schneider

Kellisa gets credit as the first wheelchair participant:

Friends of Big Bend National Park

Friends of Big Bend National Park

\/ Our picture shortly after the start:

Friends of Big Bend National Park

Taum Sauk Mountain

Taum Sauk Mountain

1,772ft.

Missouri

July 2103

View near the summit:

State Highpoint #22 for Kellisa:

Kellisa and Egypt share their first State Highpoint together:

Sanilac Petroglyphs

Sanilac Petroglyphs Historic State Park

Michigan

July 2013

As you can tell by the way Kellisa is dressed and the chair we have, a hike to historic petroglyphs wasn't exactly planned. We were driving towards the airport when I saw a sign pointing down a rural road in Michigan for petroglyphs. I figured we could maybe spare 30 minutes and still catch our flight. We were glad we made the side trip that lasted just over an hour. We broke a few laws and needed a miracle (the flight was delayed 35 minutes) to catch our flight.

Sanilac Petroglyphs are the only known petroglyphs in the Lower Peninsula of Michigan left by Native Americans. The petroglyphs were discovered in 1881 after a forest fire exposed the rock. 

The crosses represent migrating birds: 

The swirl represents water:

Nightwalker:

A warrior with a bow and arrow shooting wisdom into the future:

A birdman:

To protect the petroglyphs from vandalism and erosion, the rock is protected by a wooden roof and surrounded by a large fence with barb wire. We were fortunate to arrive when the site was open and two archaeologists were there to share their interpretations.