We continued submitting on children into the new year without any success. We were lucky if we received an automatic email reply with the subject, "Your Submittal Has Been Received".
Our first
trip of the year was during Kellisa's spring break a week after I completed my
2nd Bataan Memorial Death March. The first weekend was also Easter, so we spent
a few days in Texas visiting family before Lisa went home and Kellisa and
headed for a week in the Southwest. While in Texas, we went for a nice hike at
Brazos Bend State Park where we enjoyed its abundant birds and alligators.
Kellisa
and I visited Zion National Park before driving to the Southeastern part of
Utah where we enjoyed visiting: Valley of the Gods, Gooseneck State Park,
Bridges National Monument, and driving the Moki Dugway. From Utah we headed
south to stop at Petrified Forest National Park before driving to Albuquerque
to visit their zoo.
Our
spring was filled with a Mother's Day kayaking trip down Julington Creek in
Jacksonville, FL, lots of Little League Baseball, and another dance recital. We
signed Kellisa up for a water-skiing event, but the group that organized the
event did not feel comfortable taking Kellisa out on the water on an adaptable
ski. I couldn't argue because I know nothing about water skiing and they had a
back-up plan to take Kellisa out on raft being pulled by the water-skiing boat.
The
idea of taking Kellisa backpacking was bouncing around my head for a few years.
I felt fairly confident combining our experiences of hiking and car camping. My
biggest concern was finding the right trail. I decided on a trail at the North
Rim of the Grand Canyon. I selected the trail because it led through a pine
forest and ended with amazing views of the canyon. The trail description said
the trail followed an old road. I interpreted the guidebook to mean a wide
trail with most boulders removed. Excited to have selected a trial, I submitted
a permit with the National Park Service. A few later, we were excited that we
had a permit for early June.
We
arrived at the trailhead, and I immediately realized the trail would be far
more difficult than expected. This "road" was filled with large,
jumbled rocks and was steeper than I pictured. I knew it would be a challenge
but knew that we were sleeping in the mountain lion filled forest one way or
another. We hiked a short distance up the trail, and it became clear that we
would never make it to our designated campsite. I could see a clearing in the
distance far off from the side of the trail. We went cross-country to find a nice,
secluded spot that couldn't be seen from the trail and started to set up camp.
It was a beautiful spot, and we enjoyed a cool night camping in the
backcountry.
Another 4th of July
Deep in the quiet filled Okefenokee Swamp
We had
unfinished business in the Mid-Atlantic states after the blizzard in December
2009 turned us away from the highpoints of Pennsylvania and Maryland. This was
a quick weekend trip to attempt three state summits and the highpoint of the
District of Columbia for extra credit.
We flew
to Baltimore after work and drove to a nearby state park to camp for the night.
The next morning, we drove to Mount Davis, and it looked completely different
without a few feet of snow blocking the road. After reaching the easy summit,
we drove down to Backbone Mountain in Maryland. This trail was significantly
longer, steeper, and our path was complicated by all the rocks we had to
navigate over and around. I was close to giving up at one point.
The trail
became too narrow and rocky for me to continue pushing Kellisa. I turned us
around in defeat, but then I started thinking that this would probably be our
only chance to summit Maryland and definitely our best chance. I turned the
chair around and pushed until I couldn't push any more. At that point, I lifted
Kellisa out of the chair, slung her over my shoulder and carried her
approximately a 1/4 mile up and to the summit. I imagine my gasping for breath
sounded similar to climbers at the summit of the tallest peaks in the world.
We made
it back down and drove to the highpoint of West Virginia. We drove up a foggy
mountain road to park close to our third highpoint of the trip. On our way back
to Baltimore Airport, we stopped at a zoo and caverns in Luray, VA, drove part
of Skyline Drive in Shenandoah National Park, hiked to the Theodore Roosevelt
Memorial, and even made it to the top of Washington D.C., Fort Reno. It was a
successful weekend.
Kellisa
almost grew out of The Wiggles after she discovered Hannah Montana, but her
heart will always have a special place for The Wiggles! We purchased VIP
tickets as soon as they went on sale for our hometown concert and were very
excited to later learn that we would have the opportunity to meet The Wiggles
and Captain Feathersword before the concert. We arrived early and were escorted
inside the theater. Within minutes, 3 of the 4 Wiggles and Captain Feathersword
made their appearance to talk to the few families that were gathered and to
take a picture with each family. Kellisa was excited to see her idols close up
and she didn't seem to realize that one was missing. It was Anthony who missed
the meet and great and Kellisa literally took matters into her own hands when
she grabbed him for a hug (above) as he passed by during the concert.
For our
family, it was a quiet end to the summer. Kellisa started a new year of dance
class, we spent a week camping on Jekyll Island, GA and Kellisa started middle
school.
We
had no idea, but our lives were about to change forever!
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