Tuesday, June 2, 2026

2017 (Kellisa's First 18 Years)

Kellisa Keeps Her Side and Reaches 18

After moving across the country in 2016 and finishing our quest to hike in all 50 states, 2017 was still a year filled with many adventures and fun times.

The year started out with some of Kellisa's hiking adventures featured in the new book, families on foot. We also went to Yosemite National Park for the first time, and the girls enjoyed Disney on Ice in Sacramento. Our family vacation for the year was a week in the Pacific Northwest where we visited several national parks and hiked with a large group of wheelchairs. Kellisa really enjoyed not being the only one in a chair on a trail.

Egypt continued to love all things that allowed her to spend time in water, including taking water polo lessons. We enjoyed several local hikes in the valley and Sierra Nevada Mountains. Kellisa went to a dream prom with a date, and both girls went to several community dances alone. On of Egypt's highlights was borrowing a friend’s dog for a "Doggie Dash" and I continued to take many pictures of the moon.

What would be the highlight of just about any other year was our trip to Idaho to witness the Great American Eclipse in totality, but since 2017 was the year Kellisa reached her 18th birthday, May 23rd was the undisputed highlight of our year along with her "Southwest Airlines Day of Flights". A video posted on Southwest Airlines Facebook page has received well over 1 million views.