Sunol to Del Valle 20 mile Hike

The Boy Scouts are doing a 50 mile backpacking trip in Yosemite in a few weeks.  Jordan and Scott have been preparing by doing smaller hikes each weekend.   This weekend they camped one night doing a test run with the bear canisters in the back pack.   They hiked 10 miles yesterday evening and 10 miles today on the Ohlone Wilderness trail.  Not an easy hike.  I have pictures of them when I dropped them off and when I picked them up.   

Getting the packs on.  Jordan is noticing this is the heaviest he has carried.

Jordan and Nathan-- Scott at the truck getting his pack on.  Nathan is such a good sport to come along and keep Jordan company.

I am waiting at the bridge to take a picture of the guys.  Here comes Chance,  this is what he needs...

...his shoes tied?!  What, the child knows how to tie his own shoe laces.  This coming from a child who will some day be a scientist and invent something amazing.

Here the hikers come- they have walked the first 100 yards!

This is where Chance and I say good-bye and we go to the creek to skip rocks and look for tad poles.   But wait, look Mom...

It's a ground squirrel!

He so cute and small.

                         He runs to his hole, waiting for us to leave.                                 

                            He looks out the other hole,  Yup- we are still here.   

                         

At the creek and now it is time to...

...skip rocks.

I got to Del Valle the next day and they were waiting for me.   Last time they did the hike I waited for them.  I was bummed I did not get pictures of them walking the last few steps of the hike.

Jordan continues to hide from the camera.

Nathan gives me his smile of pain.   He has a scratched his eye and it is swollen.  The story goes that is a raccoon attack-- because sometimes life just needs a little embellishment.

If the picture could talk you would hear and I quote "Mom, can you get a friggin' life and stop spending all your time blogging"  Sure Jordan and not have any fun embarrassing you through your teenage years.   That would be denying me my parental rights!

Could this sign be about my home?

After reading things like this... my chances of dieing from cancer just went up, forget about genetics.   I breath kitty litter dust,  I leave the dry cleaning in the bags, and my lawn and roses are lush due to fertilizers and pesticides.  Oh, and heaven help my kids-- Jordan played with those Brio trains-- infested with lead.  Poor kid!  And last year I read about cancer caused by plastic water bottles. Dangerous to refill over and over again, because the plastic is deteriorating with each use and your are drinking it.   Told Scott a few months back I needed a steam cleaner for my house-- because housewives are the most likely to get cancer... all those chemicals in the household cleaners they use.   And with boys, sometimes my toilet just needs bleach poured over it.  How many times have I breathed those fumes.  Maybe, I really need a gas mask! (I decided,  I just won't clean the house!)

In all seriousness, I really do think about these things.  We either know someone or hear about someone who has died at an early age of cancer.  Anita Shumway-- from my high school graduating class died a number of years ago of breast cancer.  Amy Wilstead (don't remember her married name) knew her in college before I met Scott.  She was Scott's high school sweetheart.  She died a few years back of brain cancer.  So I can't help but make the connection that the above story is true and these things are wrecking havoc on our bodies.   

Jordan's Last Day of Seminary

Jordan at 7:35 am, leaving seminary for the last time of his freshmen year.

Hiding from the camera- anyone can do that.

But your mother capturing you hiding in the side mirror-- that is pretty funny!

Still waiting for that picture- got a bit of the sweatshirt!  Come on Jordan, let us see your smiling face.

Finally he gives up when he knows his Mom is not going to take him to school until she gets a picture.  Thanks Jordan--love you.

Exciting day... what this means--at least until September, no more getting up at 5:30 in morning Monday-Friday.

What is seminary?  In the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints (LDS) it is a religious class teens take for 4 years starting when they are Freshman.  This year they studied the Old Testament.  Scott and I grew up in Utah and seminary for us was during the school day- it was on our school schedule as released time and you would go to the seminary building near campus during that period.  No extra effort required.  When we lived in Ohio-- the teens there did home study and would go to the church building once a week for instruction and then study the rest of the week at home.  For Jordan, depending on his school schedule he has the option of home study (yuk- who wants more homework) or attending early morning seminary.  He choose early morning seminary.  

Did his parents make him go?... no!  Some mornings he never did make it out of bed- during band season it was really tough.  But in order to pass he needed to have an 85% attendance or higher.  And tardies added up to absentees.   So almost every morning I would hear his alarm go off at 5:30.  Then I would hear the shower going.  Then around 6:30ish I would hear "MAAAAAAM!"  And that was my cue it was time to drive him to seminary.    

So I asked him this morning what was the highlight and low light of his year in seminary.

Low light- Getting up early

Highlight- Being with his friends

What I observed from his year in seminary-

•  Responsibility and commitment.  Making the choice every morning to go and be on time.
  
• Knowledge of the scriptures-- he was preaching to Chance and reciting scriptures on being obedient to your parents.
  
• That Scott and I have one heck of a great teenager!! 

Camping at Samuel P. Taylor

For Memorial Day weekend we went to Samuel P. Taylor State Park near Point Reyes, north of San Francisco.  We made our reservation 6 months ago and this was not our first choice-- New Brighton was, but they were already full and so I decided on Samuel P. Taylor.  We have camped in the area before-- at Olema Ranch-  a private campground and higher priced.   We ended up really liking Camp Taylor.  We stayed at pull-though site 41, it was beautiful, peaceful, and quiet.  This is about 50 miles from our home.  We definitely will come again.

At the entrance-- see the "Camp Full",  not what you want to see if you did not make reservations- we had that experience the first time we tried to go camping.  We ended up coming back home and setting up the tent in the back yard.    Holiday or summer weekends at popular California state campgrounds must be reserved 6 months in advance.  However, you can get lucky like the people camped next to us.  That space was originally  reserved by us so we could invite some friends to go camping with us.  We never found anyone to come with us-- so we canceled it on Thursday and some lucky last minute campers camped there each night.  

A creek/river runs along the road and bike trails.  This park had hands-down the best family bike trails we have seen.  They are flat and run on both sides of the river- a north and south trail.   The path is either gravel or paved and level.  While riding along it reminded us of our stay in Portland Oregon.  The lush greenery, the smells and the sound of the creek.  

Chance is looking for wild life--he spotted tiny fish and tad poles.  

Having a snack and water break at the end of the North trail.  Jordan stayed back at the campsite, finishing up his book that he read in two days.

On Saturday we went to the Point Reyes Lighthouse.  We had never been there before and Scott kept wondering if were going the right way.  Because we kept driving and driving.  We drove through ranch after ranch.  The last five ranches were dairy farms.  Each ranch had a sign and would tell you when it was established.  They were established during the gold rush around the 1850-60's.   Below is a picture of the cows going from pasture to the holding pen to be milked.   I had Scott take it for my family- a little blast from the past.  I told Scott we should see if we can go in and watch them be milked!   These are the Happy California Cows.  They are feeding on the open pasture lands- the rolling hills and  clean ocean air.

Okay... I see my pics are out of order.  I have not quite got the uploading down and they are not so easy to move around.  So I will keep it like this for now.  We are back at the campground.

This is our home away from home, our 30 ft Airstream Classic.   We do not really rough it.  And since the first day was misty-- it was really nice to have a dry place to cook and eat.   Sometime I will need to give you a tour of the inside.  

See how beautiful the campground is.  On Sunday morning after breakfast I went back into the bedroom and read a book.  I loved how I could look out the windows and see the trees--  I snuggled under a blanket- it was heaven.   

Back to the Lighthouse.  We arrived at the parking lot and walked 1/2 mile on this road. 

You can't tell in this picture, but through the trees is the ocean.

Looking about half way down to the lighthouse.  308 steps!   This is what most impressed me-- how far down the ocean is-- you can't tell the distance from this picture.  The hard work and loneliness of being a lighthouse worker.  The dangerous and treacherous place Point Reyes is for Mariners.  And how big whale lice is- they had some in a container in the visitors center.  To read more about the Lighthouse at Point Reyes go here.

From the Lighthouse-- looking back up.

Chance on watch.

Heading back up-- Chance made it with only this brief stop.  I was thinking... those stairs would be a great exercise program.

Happy Birthday Kirk!

This is my second time posting this.  For the first posting I was rushed and the pictures and text came out in a mess.   So I do it over-- because... well, it is your birthday and you are worth it!

 I have put together a photo collage for birthday enjoyment.  My tech support went to work and did not have time to show me how to scan with the wireless printer.  So being the creative person I am, I just snapped pictures of photos from my album.  

This I believe was a picture of you at Aunt Rhonda's.  You were probably getting something to help fix my car.  I think I was in college and you were a Junior in High School. You are such a handy fix it guy.  I do not know how much fixing you do on cars today... but I remember your 1st home and all the work you did putting a master bath in and moving the furnace from one end of the house to the other and well basically re-doing most of the home.    I also remember you were a hard worker and that still stands true today.

How blessed and lucky you are to have Monica and all those beautiful children!  I am glad that something wonderful came out of working at JB's Restaurant, besides my $800.00 401k that has now grown to a big Thousand.  Maybe by the time I am 60- it will a $3,000.  But you-- what came your way from JB's is priceless!

Proof that at one time I was a lot taller then you!

If this picture was clearer, you would see that you have a big scab on your nose.  Mom will have to tell you what that is from.  But I am sure it is not as memorable as the scar you still have from the feral cat you tried to pet at Grandpa's farm.  Ouch-- I still think of it when I see butterfly bandages to this day.

And this my brother, is a little birthday trivia-- can you guess what I am holding in my hand.  The only hint I am going to give you is... most of our family should know what this is.  You can post anonymously, and if I have stumped you-- the guessing is open until the question is answered.  (PS-- Marlo has guessed, she said "How could you forget!")

Happy Birthday Kirk,  I love you.  Thanks for being my first little brother!