Marriott Hotel Not Exactly ADA Compliant

Springhill Suites - Lincolnshire, IL

ADA compliance thoughts hurting my head.

We're staying at a Marriott property and they have a shuttle van that will take you anywhere within 5 miles, but you need to give the desk 2 hours notice. I thought this was odd and asked.

I was told the shuttle van was not ADA compliant and someone complained because able bodied guests could leave anytime without notice. Guests in wheelchairs would have to wait two hours for an accessible van to arrive. Since it wasn't fair to make some guests wait 2 hours, they are now making everyone wait two hours.

Not surprisingly, most guests are not happy having to wait two hours and Marriott is getting a lot of complaints. They are now planning on buying an ADA shuttle van.

So they wouldn't do it because it was the law and the right thing to do, but are doing it to keep business travelers happy.

Airports Visited - 2018 Update

Evie 1st Flight: SAC - MDW

All Time List of Airports Visited:

Chris- 114   Kellisa- 55   Lisa- 45   Laurel- 39   Evie- 5


At the end of last year, we created a post with the number of airports we've visited. 2018 was a slow travel year for us with three trips back to Chicago as our main destination. Kellisa and Chris went on a few hiking trips which added new airports and we flew to Southern California to pick up the newest member of our family, Evie. Since Evie went on all our flights back to Chicago, she was the big winner with 5 new airports visited.

Evie: Sacramento, Oakland, Denver, Chicago- Midway, and Indianapolis. Kellisa's new airports: Spokane, Kansas City, and Little Rock. Laurel: Ontario and Indianapolis. Lisa: Ontario. Chris: Spokane.

Back to Kellisa's Path Blog

Rugged Access for All - Update #2 (November 2018)

Volo Bog, Illinois

 Back in November, Kellisa and I added 4 more states to our current goal of finding some of the best pushiking trails in the United States. Our plans to visit a few states in the middle of the country changed at the very last minute when I found out that I was needed in West Virginia (for my job) on the Monday before Thanksgiving. I had planned to take the entire week off, but we rearranged everything so I could take care of my work responsibilities. The family joined me on this trip and graciously waited in the hotel while I worked. All was not lost, we completed this weird loop where we pushiked in Indiana, West Virginia, Ohio, and Illinois. We also got to visit family in Ohio and spend Thanksgiving day with grandma in Chicago. All in all, November worked out extremely well.

Stats: November - RAfA Totals

States: 4 - 7

Miles Pushiked: 11.3 - 23.1

Elevation Gained: 679 - 1,513 feet

Flights: 2 - 6

Miles Flown: 3,866 - 8,136

Miles Driven: 1,539 - 2,279

Places Pushiked:

County Park- 1 (IN)

National Preserve- 1 (KS)

State Natural Area- 1 (IL)

State Nature Preserve- 1 (OH)

State Parks- 3 (AR-MO-WV)

Volo Bog State Natural Area

Illinois

November 2018

Sheldon Marsh State Nature Preserve

Ohio

November 2018

Beech Fork State Park

West Virginia

November 2018

Eagle Creek Park

Indiana

November 2018

Rugged Access for All - Update #1 (October 2018)

Back in October, Kellisa and I started our latest adventure...finding the best pushiking trails in the United States to share in our book, Rugged Access for All. 

Our first trip for this project had us enjoying a few amazing trails in Kansas, Missouri, and Arkansas over a long weekend. The chapters may not be finished, but we're 6% towards our goal of hiking in all 50 states (again) to find the best mix of trails to include in our book. 

Stats from the trip:  

States: 3

Miles Pushiked: 11.8

Elevation Gained: 834 feet

Flights: 4

Miles Flown: 4,270

Miles Driven: 740

Placed Pushiked:

National Preserves: 1

State Parks: 2

Back to Kellisa's Path Blog

              

                   

Mt. Nebo State Park

Arkansas

October 2018

Prairie State Park

Missouri

October 2018

Tallgrass Prairie National Preserve

Kansas

October 2018

Far Reaching

  Kellisa's Path blog has been online for more than 7 years and it still surprises us that 49% of the people reading the blog are from outside the United States. Second place historically belongs to Israel with Russia, France, Ukraine, and Germany rounding out the top 6 places where viewers originate. India, Brazil, Canada, and the United Kingdom round out our Top 10 countries.

As we approach 150,000 views, I thought I'd check our "stats". Most of the recent views come from the United States, but then Vietnam comes in second. With China, Indonesia, and Cambodia coming in 4th-6th respectively, it's exciting that Kellisa's Path is somehow growing in this part of the world. 

We are very excited to be reaching new corners of the globe and as always, appreciate everyone who finds Kellisa's Path. Hopefully, more than a few have been inspired to go out and find a trail.

Back to Kellisa's Path Blog

Rugged Access for All - Overview

Rugged Access for All is the working title for our book project under contract with Rowman & Littlefield. 90,000 words are due to the publisher on November 1, 2019. One question we've been asked is about the book's content.

There are thousands of hiking books on the market (and we own hundreds) that cover just about every topic: guides, reference, how-to, memoirs, best sellers, books made into movies, narrative non-fiction, hiking with families, hiking with babies, and even a few are written about accessible trails.

The only thing missing is a book written for families who have a member that uses an all-terrain jog stroller for toddlers and families with a child or adult in a wheelchair who use special mobility chairs designed for trails that don't meet ADA requirements.

With Rugged Access for All, we intend to fill this gap considering there are millions of families in the United States that fall within this all-terrain jog stroller and mobility chair category. Pushiking (One person pushing another in an all-terrain jog stroller or mobility chair while hiking) is the word we like to call our hobby. 

Rugged Access for All will be a mixture of trail guidebook w/pictures and maps, how-to for those just starting out, and a little narrative non-fiction mixed in to make the book a little more personal.

Even though Kellisa has traveled and hiked in all 50 United States, we didn't hike those trails with the intention of writing a guidebook. Therefore, we will be heading back out across the United States to find the best rugged trails for wheels to include in the book. From mountains to oceans to deserts to swamps to forests to canyons...the United States offers just about every kind of wilderness experience you can imagine. The trails will range from easy to extreme and everything in between. Some trails will be short, while others will be long. We might even backpack a few. We'll hike in all four seasons and in all weather conditions. At the end, we hope to include a little bit of everything our beautiful country has to offer those who want to get out and pushike!

Back to Kellisa's Path Blog

Harney Peak

South Dakota

October 2006 

Highpoint Elevation: 7,242 feet

Elevation Gain on Hike: 1,550 feet

Round Trip Hiking Distance: 6 miles

After summiting North Dakota, I drove south towards Harney Peak, the highest point in South Dakota. I decided to take a detour to see The Devils Tower. I decided to go for an evening hike and noticed a couple of climbers high on their route. They ended up spending the night on the side of Devils Tower while I had a comfortable evening spent in my tent in the shadow of the famous rock formation.

The following day, I enjoyed a couple roadside waterfalls on my drive to the trailhead for Harney Peak. The hike to the summit tower was uneventful, yet beautiful as the trail weaved around and over countless boulders and rock spires. The views from the top were endless, including the backside of the rocks that were carved in the shape of four United States Presidents. 

After, my third highpoint in three days, I spent my last couple of hours sightseeing. I drove the Needles Highway, passed through Custer State Park, and ended my day with a quick trip through Badlands National Park.

Eagle Mountain

         

Minnesota

October 2006

Highpoint Elevation: 2,301 feet

Elevation Gain on Hike: 650 feet

Round Trip Hiking Distance: 6 miles

My itinerary called for flights from Jacksonville, FL to Minneapolis to Duluth after work, but my second segment was canceled and rebooked for the following morning. I was on a tight time frame with a lot of miles to cover, both driving and hiking and I couldn't afford flight delays. I changed my rental car reservation to start in Minneapolis instead of Duluth and despite the late evening hour, I started my drive north. I stopped just short of Duluth around 2am to sleep in the car at a rest stop. It's been 12 years, but for some reason I did not have a hotel reservation for that night. The cold woke me up several times and I used the car's heat to warm myself. Despite the lack of sleep, the cold made it easy to get an early start on my drive to the highpoint of Minnesota. Along the way, I enjoyed the sun rising above Lake Superior and I stopped at several roadside waterfalls.