25 Trips

Kellisa was well on her way to visiting and hiking in all 50 United States when Laurel joined our family in October 2010. Laurel started joining her sister on some of our trips while both girls also enjoyed their own trips. We weren't really going out of our way to visit new states since the goal was to complete all 50 for Kellisa by May 2017. It always seemed like we had time. 

The plan was to get Kellisa to the finish line and then work on Laurel's list since she didn't turn 18 until June 2027. Everything changed when Laurel started feeling left out and Kellisa was only ahead by a dozen or so states. We made the decision to have both girls finish the goal at the same time. This required Kellisa to visit about a dozen states for at least a second time. 

It took us exactly 6 years (November 2010 - November 2016) and 25 trips for both girls to visit and hike in each state together. There were many other trips during this time frame, but we are only counting the trips were they traveled together and shared a trail for the first time in a state. Since we make up the rules, some of Laurel's early states were completed on my back or in a stroller. By the end, Laurel has hiked in all 50 states and has pushed Kellisa in most (sadly, we didn't keep track of this statistic). 

We drove to many of the states and flew to the rest. Our journey started while we lived in Jacksonville, FL and we completed the promise after we moved to Roseville, CA. Below are the flights we took just for the purpose of visiting and hiking each state with both girls at the same time.

One regret, Laurel hasn't hiked in Washington DC. We planned to hike in DC when the girls visited VA, WV, MD, DE, NY, and PA, but our short window was filled with thunderstorms. Laurel was in a rental SUV that drove through DC, but hasn't hiked a trail. Since DC isn't a state, Laurel still completed all 50 states, but it would have been nice to check this box since Kellisa has hiked in our nation's capitol three times. 

Jax - Las Vegas (RT) 

Jax - El Paso (RT)

Jax - Chicago

Cleveland - Jax

Jax - Detroit (RT)

Jax - Minneapolis (RT)

Jax - St. Louis (RT)

Orlando - Jackson, MS

Jax - Nashville (RT)

Jax - Houston (RT)

Jax - Hartford (RT)

Jax - Denver (RT)

Jax - Oakland (RT)

Jax - Portland, ME

Manchester - Jax

Jax - Baltimore (RT)

Jax - Minneapolis

Denver - Jax

Jax - Seattle (RT)

Sacramento -Albany

Manchester - Chicago

Chicago - Sacramento

San Jose - Honolulu

Honolulu - Anchorage

Anchorage - Sacramento

14 Trips

Kellisa and I completed the trails for Rugged Access for All in just over one year. It took 14 trips to visit all 50 United States again. A few were driving trips: California, Oregon, Nevada, and Washington. We flew to the rest.

Sacramento - Kansas City
Little Rock - Sacramento
Oakland - Indianapolis (RT)
Sacramento - New Orleans
Nashville - Sacramento
Sacramento - Billings
Denver - Sacramento
Sacramento - Anchorage (RT)
Sacramento - Chicago (RT)
Sacramento - Oklahoma City
Dallas - Baltimore
Providence - Sacramento
Oakland - Kahului (RT)
Sacramento - Boise (RT)
Sacramento - Phoenix
Albuquerque - Sacramento

Coming Soon - October 2020

Grouse Falls Overlook Trail

Tahoe National Forest

Placer County, CA

Day 75 of the COVID-19 lock downs. As the country starts to open up, we are still mostly hunkered down out of an abundance of safety for the girls, especially Kellisa since she's considered high risk. I took a few days off of work and decided I needed to take a hike. Since this was my first trail since last October, I selected a short, but challenging trail near our home to explore. Based on pictures and trip reports, I selected Grouse Falls Overlook Trail for my hike and it didn't disappoint. 

Full Circle Champagne

Kellisa's first sip of alcohol on her 21st birthday came from a bottle of champagne we bought on December 31, 1998. We made the purchase with the intention to toast the new year with sips of the bubbly, but Lisa wanted to make sure she wasn't pregnant before partaking. The story is told in greater detail here. Long story short, that's the night we found out Lisa was pregnant (with Kirsten and Kellisa), so we never opened the bottle of champagne. 

The bottle of champagne has moved with us from Bolingbrook, IL to Edgewater, FL to Jacksonville, FL to Jacksonville, FL to Jacksonville, FL and finally, Roseville, CA. The years passed and we never had a need or plan for the bottle when Lisa got the idea to save it for Kellisa's 21st birthday first drink. We kept the bottle safe and chilled it a few hours before we would share it with Kellisa.

Lisa tried to take a video of me opening the bottle, but it wouldn't open. It might be me and my lack of experience or more likely, it was the old bottle making it difficult. After several attempts, I was able to pry the top off with little fanfare. There was no 'POP' with bubbling champagne spilling out as the kids had hoped. The bottle just opened.

Shark Cake with Dripping Blood

1. Kellisa loves creepy and scary creatures from spiders to lizards to snakes to sharks. 

2. Laurel has been doing quite a bit of cooking and a little baking during the COVID-19 lock down.

3. Lisa purchased the ingredients and Laurel did all the baking and decorating herself.

4. The end result - Kellisa was blown away with her birthday cake's appearance.

5. And the shark cake tasted amazing! 

#1 - The Most Popular Blog Post of All-Time

Kellisa's Path Blog has been around  for almost 9 years with 528 posts and exactly 1 guest writer. Lisa made her blog debut on Kellisa's 18th birthday (May 23, 2017) when I was struggling to write a post. Lisa stepped up and created (by far) the most popular post of all time. So far, this is Lisa's only post.

Here's the link to our most popular post from May 23, 2017: Kellisa Reaches 18

#2 Our Expanding Universe - 2011

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2nd Most Popular Blog Post (as of April 15, 2020)

A lot happened in 2011, including three surgeries, trips to visit family, narrowly avoiding a serious train accident, backpacking on an island, getting a pet eel, one of my very few regrets with Kellisa, and Oh Yeah....we legally adopted Laurel!

Here's the link to the original post from May 15, 2017: Our Expanding Universe - 2011  

#1 Kellisa Reaches 18

#3 May is a very big deal!!!

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3rd Most Popular Blog Post (as of April 15, 2020)

I knew we had something big planned for Kellisa's 18th birthday and wanted to set the foundation by explaining why.

Here's the link to the original post from May 1, 2017: May 2017 is a VERY BIG DEAL!!!

#2 Our Expanding Universe - 2011

#4 Driving into a Horror Movie Scene

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4th Most Popular Blog Post (as of April 15, 2020)

I get spooked all the time deep in the wilderness, but I rarely get seriously scared. Kellisa and I had just finished a beautiful hike in Northern Idaho when we had an encounter with a man and his chainsaw.

Here's the link to the original post from July 13, 2018: Driving into a Horror Movie Scene.

#3 May 2017 is a VERY BIG DEAL!!!

#5 Hotel Safety (Part II)

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