July 17-22 Beach Week, Kids' Fishing, Cousins

We played in the waves a lot! We also played in the pool a lot. One day we went fishing. I also beat a lot of people at pool. - Jackson

What is one thing you will remember about Beach Week this year? I got splashed by a huge wave without seeing it. - Hannah

What will I remember? That Jackson went out on the boat for two of three days without getting sick! That the boys learned to fillet their own fish. That for the first time the kids went to play in the waves by themselves and I didn't worry like crazy. That sunscreen should be carefully applied to the back of Hannah's legs when she is going to ride the tube.  That we all had so much fun playing with the cousins. - Hillary

July 19: Grumpy Island (Beaufort, NC)

I discovered my own island and named it after myself. I had to fight off a feisty crab who wanted to claim it as his own. Ouch. But the seagulls, they were afraid of me. So there! How did it feel having an island all my own? It was okay; I guess, but then it disappeared at high tide...Just my luck. -Grumpy

At first we thought we were going to Carrot Island, but then we saw a sandbar and named it Grumpy Isle because Grumpy Cat was with us. It had all sorts of wildlife, like a Whelk Shell with the snail still in it, olive shells with snails also. They were burying in the sand. We also saw hermit crabs that were burying themselves in lumps of black sand and Grumpy Cat fought a crab. On one side of the sandbar, there was a drop off and we could do flips into the water without hitting our heads. - Hannah

It was a fun day. - Jackson

Who is grumpier? Grumpy Cat or a crab?

answer: a crab

July 16: Hootiehoo Lynn, Happy 50th birthday

We drove to Julian, NC today to attend a party to celebrate Lynn's 50th birthday. Perry hosted it at his farm. The last party we attended at Perry's farm was Martha andGreg's wedding.  The farm looked about the same, and as best I can tell, Perry always know how to host a great party.  Oh, and there was banana pudding. - Hillary

We met up with cousins. Connor and I caught a few fish while we were there. - Jackson

The farm was a blast. There were tons of dogs to play with and I went fishing with my brother and cousin. Also, there was a dance floor that had a DJ and all.  It was so much fun. - Hannah

Recreating Martha and Greg's wedding photo using a few young stand-ins.

Now don't get all political on me.  We saw this sign in Perry's neighborhood and couldn't resist.  Personally, I'm hoping to avoid prison in 2016.

July 14-15: Atlanta

Atlanta was a relief after that drive.  The pool felt great. I mastered my flip. We saw a movie the first day, but the pool was the highlight. We also ate lunch at a Chinese restaurant. - Jackson

I jumped right out of the van to greet my grandparents.  Soon after I ended up in the pool at their condominium neighborhood. The next day we watched a movie that had just come out called The Secret Life of Pets. - Hannah

It was a quick stop in Atlanta, but we saw lots of relative--grandparents, cousins, and such.  We made the most of our time.  John took the van to the shop for a check-up.  - Hillary

July 12-13: Traveling across country

I'm not really sure how we passed the time driving across the country, but we did. There was no stopping for photos, only quick stops to eat. We spent the night at a campground on Lake Dardenelle, AR.  It had air conditioned showers and flush toilets, but we arrived at dusk and left at sunrise, so we didn't enjoy the facilities or do any fishing. We arrived in ATL on Wednesday in time for a swim before dinner. Yay!

Looking at John's photos of the trip, we can see we have a new family member, Jim.. That is the name of our van.

FISHING

An interview with Jackson about fishing:

How has the fishing been?
It has been great. We've caught tons of fish.

What has been your favorite place to fish so far?
I liked all the places that I caught fish.

Any disappointments?
Baker Creek in Great Basin National Park.  No fish for me, but dad caught one.

What are you looking forward to?
NC baby....

Why do you like fishing? Explain.

I like fishing because when you catch fish you can show off and exaggerate.  Even just casting is fun if you keep the lure and it doesn't snap.

Sunday, July 10-Monday, July 11: Albuquerque

When we arrived we went pool party.  The next day I found out that the Doornbos family, who we were staying with, had a new puppy named Wheeler.  We went mountain biking on a trail with a lot of rocks in the way. The next day we mountain biked in a desert area, and for lunch we went to a place called The Frontier. The next morning we left. - Hannah

The Doornbos family had the cutest, nicest little puppy named Wheeler. (Coincidence, we climbed Wheeler Peak the day before.) While we were there, we swam, rode and hung out with the puppy. We had fun in my birth city. - Jackson

We also drove by our old house, got in a couple of adult mountain bike rides at Otero and in the foothills, and ran into Ben, my co-worker and friend from Bosque School. We did go to The Frontier but missed out on some of our other favorite places because we were short on time.  Hannah was right--the mountain biking IS rocky.  I had forgotten about that.  But it's also amazing.  I really miss that. - Hillary

Saturday, July 9: Taos

I went to the top of Wheeler Peak today. I guess if you're a human and into that kind of thing, it was okay. - Grumpy Cat

When I went up Wheeler Peak it was hard, but it was worth it.  It was worth it because of the downhill and the people we met there were nice. I saw a rat and tons of marmots. Even Grumpy Cat made it to the top. - Hannah

We went to the top of Wheeler Peak.  On the way we met some new friends and they hiked with us on the way down. After that we drove to Albuquerque to a pool party. It was fun to get into a pool FOR THE FIRST TIME this summer.  It felt good to splash around. - Jackson

Friday July 8: Mesa Verde

We woke up and had oatmeal and hot chocolate for breakfast. Then we went to the Mesa Verde's museum and got tickets to look at the cliff dwellings. To pass the time, we took a fun hike and at the top got to see petroglyphs.  When we got back down, it was time for our tour! We saw all the structures and buildings.  We went up about four ladders and through one tunnel. - Hannah

Mesa Verde, Green Table: Apparently mesas are like huge flat tabletops.  We went on a hike to see some petroglyphs. They were cool. Then we went on a tour. I soaked up a lot of info, but my favorite part was climbing up the ladders and climbing some carved stairs.  Then we drove to Taos. - Jackson

Mesa Verde and the cliff dwellings are fascinating.  We picked the "adventurous" tour that included the most ladders and a tunnel because we thought the kids would like that the best.  From their comments, they did.  Everything at Mesa Verde is so spread out that the whole experience was an adventure in driving.  We drove from our campsite to the showers, our campground to the visitor center, then back by our campground to the museum, and from the museum to the cliff dwellings.  I'm really glad we made it a stop on our journey.  I think everyone in the family learned something. Now on to Taos. - Hillary

Thursday July 7: Lost Lake

While the mountain biking has been great, we have neglected our second goal, fishing.  So after leaving CB, we drove over Keebler Pass to Lost Lake to do some serious fishing. The Lost Lake campground sits on one lake, but a mile or so hike up a trail takes you to Lost Lake proper and the trail continues on to Dollar Lake.  These lakes are beautiful alpine lakes, tucked up against the mountain.  And they have plenty of fish.  When we arrived, a boy was catching a fish that he cleaned and then as we were headed back to our campsite, we saw his father pulling it off the campfire for dinner.  We also caught plenty of fish, but we were on the catch and release program (thankfully). - Hillary

We fished until about 1:00 today.  I caught two and hooked two for Hannah.  then it was another long drive to Mesa Verde. - Jackson

On the 7th we fished at this place called Lost Lake.  I caught two Brook Trout. So did Jackson.  It sure seemed lost.  Then we started a five hour drive. - Hannah

It's a keeper--a new stuffed animal named Lardo.

Saturday, July 2-Wednesday July 5
Crested Butte, CO

I have always said that CB is my favorite place on earth. I couldn't wait to show my kids my favorite place and why I liked it so much! For years CB was stuck in a time vortex and nothing seemed to change, maybe a few new houses at the far edges, but it never seemed like a resort destination.  That has changed. At least for the Fourth Weekend, my special, secret place where everyone is an athlete and loves the outdoors  was overrun.  It was still fun.

We spent three days riding our bikes and enjoying time with old friends. On our first day's group ride there were fifteen of us going down the mountain on single track together. Admittedly, that was probably too big of a group.  But on the last day, we had a smaller group ride 401, a classic ride, and Jackson rode it like he was born on a mountain bike. My boy has become my riding partner. I can't believe it. Thirteen years ago when I was pregnant with him, I bought a pair of Sidi bike shoes at The Alpineer in CB.  He used those same bike shoes during our four day visit. I feel like we've come full circle. (I also feel like it's time for some new shoes...) -Hillary

Finally we got there! We made it to Crested Butte. We were staying in one huge house with three other families. There was a girl the same age as me and he name was Hanna too! Our first bike ride we took was downwards most of the way, but there were a few hills at the end. The next day was the 4th of July. We took a trail that started up and the down and then up in the middle and down at the end. It was called Lupine. We rode our bike to the parade. They gave out a ton of candy. Hanna and I went on another ride later that day, and we watched fireworks from the top of the ski area that night.

The day that Hanna left, Brian and Ian, his son, and I stayed together while everyone else went on a ride that was too advanced for me. First we went to a park. Then Brian surprised me and all of a sudden I was riding a cute paint brush horse named Dezzie. About 3:30 that day we left Crested Butte. -Hannah

We were finally in Crested Butte. What's next? Lots of trails. First day we started on a downhill. The next day we did an up and down trail that was so fun! The next day we did a trail called Snodgrass. It was really fun with one exception--one of the girls, Ella, crashed and  bruised her hip really badly. The next day, while Hannah did all that "fun stuff" with Brian, we rode an advanced trail called 401. It was so much fun. -Jackson

Friday, July1: Great Basin National Park

I woke up and had some hot chocolate and walked around the campground with mom. I was excited; my family was going to tour a cave. I was so excited because I'm obsessed with rocks ( and cats too, but that's different). I even got a rock hounding pick for my birthday last year. So we explored ( with a tour guide) a cave. I learned stuff, like when a stalactite and a stalagmite connect, it's called a column. Then we hiked to some of the oldest things in the world. It was trees called Bristlecone Pines. Some were 3500 years of age. We kept hiking and found a blue surprise; it was a glacier pond. -Hannah

Lehman Caves = so cool. The shields, stalactites and stalagmites, cave popcorn and cave bacon. We didn't see any cave creatures, but it was still cool. Next we hiked Wheeler Peak and saw the oldest living things.-Jackson

...and remarkably, they were even older than his parents. The kids proved to be good hikers--especially when a hiker coming down the trail encouraged then to keep going to find the "blue surprise."

Great Basin was a great surprise itself--more alpine than desert and uncrowned for a national park in summer. We were going to press on to Mesa Verde, but decided to take a day to explore Great Basin instead. I'm so glad we did. -Hillary