Monday, April 9, 2012
Monday Monday
I am really struggling with not finishing the Hike! I am trying to to fall into a major funk of depression. I feel like only a couple of people understand how important this is to me. My husband said he is going to try to take a couple of days off so he can take me to finish. I really hope he can. It is a Monday morning here and I am trying to keep myself busy. I know that is part of what I have to do. I have already mowed 2/3 of the lawn. I did some Pilates and after writing I am going to clean house. I must not allow myself to just plop on a couch and do nothing. I felt so good and strong doing things. I am able to do so much more than I "feel" like I can. I can be so hard on myself. So this Monday is about keeping this momentum going. Get things done and feel good about it!
Wednesday, April 4, 2012
Hike 2.0 day 2 and 3
Hike 2.0 Day 2
We woke up with the sun to a great view of the field. I was excited to have my Mountain House scrambled eggs with bacon. Donnie was less then impressed! Donnie was really ready to get going and try again. Unfortunately the damage had been done to his body. He was peppy and we talked to Don on the phone and figured out what was wrong with our packs. We fixed that problem. The packs felt ten pounds lighter. We had the weight to much on our shoulders instead of on our waist. We had camped at our first stopping point on Hike 1.0. So we were at Old Ferry Road, so we have nicknamed the next leg the Fairy road. It had seemed like all would be better if we crossed the road to that “fairy path. Well as we began walking we really felt that way. The woods were just beautiful. Dogwoods were bright white throughout the woods. There were hundreds of purple flowers through out the area, mixed with red, yellow and pink flowers. It was just lovely. The sun was shining down through the tress in beautiful sun beams. The tiny leaves on the trees seemed to just be waving good morning to us. We saw large patches of soft looking moss covered patches. Just a quarter mile in we came to a huge bridge going over a nice sized creek. The white and tan rocks with bubbling water just flowing.
We continued just walking the path, again the woods opened up to a nice field as we crossed it we found a strip of woods with a babbling brook running through. Donnie stopped and splashed the water all over his face and washed his hair out in it. The water was so crisp and clear. It felt amazing. I had him wet a bandana for me and I was able to wash my gritty sweaty face. We also wet our hats to cool us off. It was heating up and our water was getting low. I asked Donnie to fill his bottle. We should have filled everything. Note to self if ever on a hike again take no chances fill water bottles whenever there is beautiful, clear, cold water!! We passed the second field and headed back into the woods. Now we were heading towards Duncan Lake and a water source.
We got into the woods and found ourselves by a muddy, icky creek bed. One side being about 3 feet higher up… So I had to put one foot up and the next level and have Donnie push my backpack to give me the ummph to make it up. Only problem was at first I just couldn’t force myself to move. I counted 1…2….No wait! Okay I can do this. So we counted again and on 3 this time he pushed, I tried to avoid face planting and I made it. He just steps right up…
We start on some of the very steep hills at this point. Another thing I learned is that going up hill is very tiring; going down hill really can hurt and wear on your knees. We followed a road, that was part of the trail and it also led to an old cemetery. Along the road you can still see trenches that were from the Civil War. We investigated the cemetery and found old headstones from the Civil War.
We sat to have lunch, I asked to Donnie to pull out the water from the creek, he had not filled the bottle. So we now had about 1 cup of water. So we ate our applesauce and moved on in the search for water. We came to the area that was suppose to be the lake, we never saw the lake. We had learned from Hike 1.0 it is not worth going off trail to try to find water so we carried on. At the end of one section of trail we came to a road where someone had left 3 gallon jugs of water. We are still unsure whether those were meant for hikers or not. We didn’t take any because we worried it might be someone else’s water source…We should have taken a little!
We came to a creek thank goodness. It was a really nice fast flowing creek. So we moved down to it and started filling jugs with water. We added the tabs to make the water safe. Although I would have drank it fresh! We boiled some for lunch and as that water boiled we took off our shoes and put them into the cold water. It felt amazing! To bad the rocks at this creek were so sharp or I would have left my shoes off.
I realized this was the perfect time to get the ziplock bag of my snake clothes out! I pulled out bar of body soap and then my underwear thank goodness I didn’t get them out all the way yet. This would be the moment a group of bike riders decided to come out of the woods right where we are! So once it cleared I got to work on cleaning my clothes. I hung them on a branch. Donnie was very quiet, we start eating and his attitude is so different. I am not sure what is wrong. So we gather up our things and move on. We now hit some of the steepest trails yet. One minute I am ready to fall forward as we walk up hills then we a carefully walking down steep hills praying that we don’t slip and slide all the way down. Going downhill I am taking such baby steps I feel like I will never get to the bottom.
We take a small break where Donnie is very intense. I just get frustrated and move along.
Finally after 9.5 miles we see the tents through the trees.
We have made it to Sugar bay. We walk out towards one of the sites and normally campers at LBL are great the people at Sugar Bay were not. They looked at us like aliens invading their world. So we were like okay and just went and found a site. Then we found out bad news. We had misread the amenities page this campground had no water! Donnie was not a fan of the thought of drinking lake water. I would have boiled, treated it and been fine. So as the evening goes on Donnie finally tells me how much pain he is in and that he is does not think he can go on at this time. My emotions took a huge nose dive. I was mad. I want to finish this. But I also know if the same thing had happened to me I would need to quit and I would hope he would not make me feel to bad about it. I did make him feel pretty bad. I cried a lot. I would love to have just moved on. But I do not believe a 37 mile hike alone would have been a wise idea. I wasn’t ready to go home yet. We posted a note at the bathroom asking for a ride to any of the campgrounds with water. But as I said the campers at Sugar Bay were not the kindest around. We went ahead and ate one more meal using some water then we were careful with the rest of the water to make sure we had enough for the next morning’s breakfast. I had planned on trying again to get a ride the nest day. As we slept, or tried, I watched Donnie struggling. I wanted to do this as a great memory. Not as something where he was miserable. He was now miserable. He kept trying to get through and make me feel better. But he was done and nothing could make me feel better. I decided laying there; I would call Don in the morning to come get us. That was not an easy decision for me. So then I was able to just enjoy the moon beaming into our tent. I would write my complaints about the bad campers more, but I will not waste my time typing any more about them!
That was the end to day 2
Hike 2.0 Day 3
I woke up ready to hike. Oh yeah we are not hiking….so bummed. I evaluated our water and made breakfast. I knew if we were still there at lunch we would have to use lake water. I called Don he was not able to come so My Mom and Dad came to the rescue. Donnie and I cleaned up our campsite and the one next to us. People are very messy at the back country campsites. I don’t leave a campsite dirty..EVER. I had a hard time not going around cleaning the whole campground. We made a fire to warm us up a little it was a cool breezy morning on the lake. I decided to just kind of relax while waiting for them to come. Donnie and I had some really good conversations waiting.I also walked over to the point we left the trail. I prayed and took a picture of my end spot because I will return!
When Mom and Dad got there we asked to them to take us to retrieve our gear. So down Old Ferry road we headed again. I had to tell them the story of peeing my pants over the snake, because I had to walk that path again. My dad came with me down the trail. I grabbed a big walking stick to take with me. Once I got to the section where the snake had been I started sweeping it as I walked to the bridge. Back and for the so the snake couldn’t get me this time. Whew no snake. I poked the stick around our bundle under the bridge. No animal seemed to skitter away. I used the stick to pull out the bundle. Then I carefully picked it up went back on to the bridge. I loaded all of the gear into my emptied out backpack. Dad and I stood admiring the beautiful creek for a few minutes. It was still flowing in parts. One section was a deep green pool with little silver minnows swimming around. The sun shining into the water was mesmerizing. Finally we headed back. Again I started swinging my stick on the grassy path. When what do I see at my feet. The snake, of course. It was laying a few inches on the path looking very dead. It had not been there earlier though. So I poked at it and it was Not dead it hissed at me. I did not pee this time I just gently nudged it off the path. I could not believe that snake tried to get me again!!
We made it back to the North Welcome Center; I went inside to return the dollar with the bite out of it. Well the lady at the welcome center tried not to accept it! I told her I got it from here on Saturday! She reluctantly took it after some snipping about it. I then noticed candy bars behind the counter and bought 2 with my $20. The women tucked the torn dollar into my change!! I was mad. Note to self, return torn bills right away!
Mom and Dad took us the scenic way home. We stopped at a Country Ham store. I was bad and bought BACON!! It was so good. We also stopped to see my Great Grandfather and Grandmothers grave. I don’t get down there very often, so I was happy to see it. It was nice to visit with my parents on the ride home. We finally arrived home, ending North South Trail Hike 2.0.
We woke up with the sun to a great view of the field. I was excited to have my Mountain House scrambled eggs with bacon. Donnie was less then impressed! Donnie was really ready to get going and try again. Unfortunately the damage had been done to his body. He was peppy and we talked to Don on the phone and figured out what was wrong with our packs. We fixed that problem. The packs felt ten pounds lighter. We had the weight to much on our shoulders instead of on our waist. We had camped at our first stopping point on Hike 1.0. So we were at Old Ferry Road, so we have nicknamed the next leg the Fairy road. It had seemed like all would be better if we crossed the road to that “fairy path. Well as we began walking we really felt that way. The woods were just beautiful. Dogwoods were bright white throughout the woods. There were hundreds of purple flowers through out the area, mixed with red, yellow and pink flowers. It was just lovely. The sun was shining down through the tress in beautiful sun beams. The tiny leaves on the trees seemed to just be waving good morning to us. We saw large patches of soft looking moss covered patches. Just a quarter mile in we came to a huge bridge going over a nice sized creek. The white and tan rocks with bubbling water just flowing.
We continued just walking the path, again the woods opened up to a nice field as we crossed it we found a strip of woods with a babbling brook running through. Donnie stopped and splashed the water all over his face and washed his hair out in it. The water was so crisp and clear. It felt amazing. I had him wet a bandana for me and I was able to wash my gritty sweaty face. We also wet our hats to cool us off. It was heating up and our water was getting low. I asked Donnie to fill his bottle. We should have filled everything. Note to self if ever on a hike again take no chances fill water bottles whenever there is beautiful, clear, cold water!! We passed the second field and headed back into the woods. Now we were heading towards Duncan Lake and a water source.
We got into the woods and found ourselves by a muddy, icky creek bed. One side being about 3 feet higher up… So I had to put one foot up and the next level and have Donnie push my backpack to give me the ummph to make it up. Only problem was at first I just couldn’t force myself to move. I counted 1…2….No wait! Okay I can do this. So we counted again and on 3 this time he pushed, I tried to avoid face planting and I made it. He just steps right up…
We start on some of the very steep hills at this point. Another thing I learned is that going up hill is very tiring; going down hill really can hurt and wear on your knees. We followed a road, that was part of the trail and it also led to an old cemetery. Along the road you can still see trenches that were from the Civil War. We investigated the cemetery and found old headstones from the Civil War.
We sat to have lunch, I asked to Donnie to pull out the water from the creek, he had not filled the bottle. So we now had about 1 cup of water. So we ate our applesauce and moved on in the search for water. We came to the area that was suppose to be the lake, we never saw the lake. We had learned from Hike 1.0 it is not worth going off trail to try to find water so we carried on. At the end of one section of trail we came to a road where someone had left 3 gallon jugs of water. We are still unsure whether those were meant for hikers or not. We didn’t take any because we worried it might be someone else’s water source…We should have taken a little!
We came to a creek thank goodness. It was a really nice fast flowing creek. So we moved down to it and started filling jugs with water. We added the tabs to make the water safe. Although I would have drank it fresh! We boiled some for lunch and as that water boiled we took off our shoes and put them into the cold water. It felt amazing! To bad the rocks at this creek were so sharp or I would have left my shoes off.
I realized this was the perfect time to get the ziplock bag of my snake clothes out! I pulled out bar of body soap and then my underwear thank goodness I didn’t get them out all the way yet. This would be the moment a group of bike riders decided to come out of the woods right where we are! So once it cleared I got to work on cleaning my clothes. I hung them on a branch. Donnie was very quiet, we start eating and his attitude is so different. I am not sure what is wrong. So we gather up our things and move on. We now hit some of the steepest trails yet. One minute I am ready to fall forward as we walk up hills then we a carefully walking down steep hills praying that we don’t slip and slide all the way down. Going downhill I am taking such baby steps I feel like I will never get to the bottom.
We take a small break where Donnie is very intense. I just get frustrated and move along.
Finally after 9.5 miles we see the tents through the trees.
We have made it to Sugar bay. We walk out towards one of the sites and normally campers at LBL are great the people at Sugar Bay were not. They looked at us like aliens invading their world. So we were like okay and just went and found a site. Then we found out bad news. We had misread the amenities page this campground had no water! Donnie was not a fan of the thought of drinking lake water. I would have boiled, treated it and been fine. So as the evening goes on Donnie finally tells me how much pain he is in and that he is does not think he can go on at this time. My emotions took a huge nose dive. I was mad. I want to finish this. But I also know if the same thing had happened to me I would need to quit and I would hope he would not make me feel to bad about it. I did make him feel pretty bad. I cried a lot. I would love to have just moved on. But I do not believe a 37 mile hike alone would have been a wise idea. I wasn’t ready to go home yet. We posted a note at the bathroom asking for a ride to any of the campgrounds with water. But as I said the campers at Sugar Bay were not the kindest around. We went ahead and ate one more meal using some water then we were careful with the rest of the water to make sure we had enough for the next morning’s breakfast. I had planned on trying again to get a ride the nest day. As we slept, or tried, I watched Donnie struggling. I wanted to do this as a great memory. Not as something where he was miserable. He was now miserable. He kept trying to get through and make me feel better. But he was done and nothing could make me feel better. I decided laying there; I would call Don in the morning to come get us. That was not an easy decision for me. So then I was able to just enjoy the moon beaming into our tent. I would write my complaints about the bad campers more, but I will not waste my time typing any more about them!
That was the end to day 2
Hike 2.0 Day 3
I woke up ready to hike. Oh yeah we are not hiking….so bummed. I evaluated our water and made breakfast. I knew if we were still there at lunch we would have to use lake water. I called Don he was not able to come so My Mom and Dad came to the rescue. Donnie and I cleaned up our campsite and the one next to us. People are very messy at the back country campsites. I don’t leave a campsite dirty..EVER. I had a hard time not going around cleaning the whole campground. We made a fire to warm us up a little it was a cool breezy morning on the lake. I decided to just kind of relax while waiting for them to come. Donnie and I had some really good conversations waiting.I also walked over to the point we left the trail. I prayed and took a picture of my end spot because I will return!
When Mom and Dad got there we asked to them to take us to retrieve our gear. So down Old Ferry road we headed again. I had to tell them the story of peeing my pants over the snake, because I had to walk that path again. My dad came with me down the trail. I grabbed a big walking stick to take with me. Once I got to the section where the snake had been I started sweeping it as I walked to the bridge. Back and for the so the snake couldn’t get me this time. Whew no snake. I poked the stick around our bundle under the bridge. No animal seemed to skitter away. I used the stick to pull out the bundle. Then I carefully picked it up went back on to the bridge. I loaded all of the gear into my emptied out backpack. Dad and I stood admiring the beautiful creek for a few minutes. It was still flowing in parts. One section was a deep green pool with little silver minnows swimming around. The sun shining into the water was mesmerizing. Finally we headed back. Again I started swinging my stick on the grassy path. When what do I see at my feet. The snake, of course. It was laying a few inches on the path looking very dead. It had not been there earlier though. So I poked at it and it was Not dead it hissed at me. I did not pee this time I just gently nudged it off the path. I could not believe that snake tried to get me again!!
We made it back to the North Welcome Center; I went inside to return the dollar with the bite out of it. Well the lady at the welcome center tried not to accept it! I told her I got it from here on Saturday! She reluctantly took it after some snipping about it. I then noticed candy bars behind the counter and bought 2 with my $20. The women tucked the torn dollar into my change!! I was mad. Note to self, return torn bills right away!
Mom and Dad took us the scenic way home. We stopped at a Country Ham store. I was bad and bought BACON!! It was so good. We also stopped to see my Great Grandfather and Grandmothers grave. I don’t get down there very often, so I was happy to see it. It was nice to visit with my parents on the ride home. We finally arrived home, ending North South Trail Hike 2.0.
Tuesday, April 3, 2012
Hike 2.0 The First Third Day 1
Hike 2.0
The First Third
Walking the North South trail at Land between the Lakes is a life goal of mine. It is 59 miles in total. It is beautiful land that is wonderful for hiking and camping. As a child we camped there. It has always been a safe place for me. It is a place to go and recharge my spirit. As a child when we went camping at Piney (a campground at the bottom of LBL), it was the 3 weeks of a year that my family was neat, organized and Calm. This is not something that was usual. So a deep love for the area has grown in my heart. I also began taking my family there and we have made many great memories there. When I found out there was a marked trail to walk the whole LBL area I was so excited. We tried once before; we will refer to that as Hike 1.0.
This is the story of hike 2.0 Day 1.
At home we packed and planned for months to prepare for this. We waited for the weather to be at a peak of 80’s in the day and 50’s at night. We left Evansville at 7 in the morning. We arrived at the North welcome station a little after 9am. I went in to purchase our back country camping passes and bug spray for ticks. Here we found out that we are starting are hike in the middle of a random turkey hunting weekend. Thanks goodness for my pink hat! I am not a turkey!! As I paid for our stuff I was given a dollar bill with a huge chunk taken out of it. I should have given it back.
We filled all of our water containers and posed for our picture. My legs were shaking from the weight of the backpack.
At 9:41 am we were off! Right away we saw the white marker for the N/S trail. Now in a way this was our first oopsie. I had forgotten that we had decided to take the bike trail from the north station. It was actually about 2 miles longer on the actual N/S trail. It was also a much prettier walk. So it was okay. The trail leads you back to the lake and you walk along the edge. We had a moment of nervousness when we noticed the trail shift to where the lake was on our left side, it should always be to our right! We were actually going way uphill this was a switchback to get us higher. We just kept following the white markers. When you are on a trail like this that is really all you can do it follow the markers.
We arrived at Moss Creek picnic area.
Although in my picture it looks cloudy it really was a gorgeous day. We took off our packs which hurt our shoulders so badly. Pulled out our camp stove and made our lunch. We were off again. The terrain is very hilly so lots of switchbacks and ups and downs. Donnie really had a shift in attitude, he had been so encouraging. Now he was in pain and really frustrated. My shoulders were killing me as well so I also was frustrated. Push on is all you can do at this point. We came to a point where on Hike 1.0 we had gone off course, we stayed on course…this saved us about 2-3 miles! Where we had went before to try to get water was a bad idea!! Thankfully we stayed the course and got to Pisgah Point boat launch. This is where Donnie was ready to be done for the day! I was not! We pushed on. I was so happy when we got to the bridge that had been broken before and there was a new beautiful bridge for us to cross. Getting my butt and a 35lb pack over a muddy creek is not fun! We were walking through the mosquito infested area from 1.0 so I was spraying my Skin so Soft on me just in case. Thankfully they were no where near as bad. I kept saying “Ya though I walk through the valley of mosquitoes, I will fear no evil for my skin so soft is with me”
When we arrived at a large creek area we were really hurting from our heavy packs so we decided to lose some gear. We unpacked some clothes, water bottles, propane tank, and just some random things. We wrapped them into a rain poncho and slid them under the bridge. We knew we were near a road and decided we would recover gear later. The creek had pretty water in it this year. Last time it was dry and mosquito filled. As we walked on we came to an area where the trail had a ditch on both sides. It was very pretty, a dirt footpath with grass edges with beautiful purple flowers lining it. I was so relaxed I stopped watching the path held my head up and enjoyed the walk. That was when I heard it the rattling of leaves and the hissing of the snake at my feet! Oh I screamed so loud it was in striking position and hissing so loud! I screamed louder jumped and totally peed my pants! This is not a good thing on the first day of a long hike. We decided to sleep at the end of this trail right before Old Ferry Road. There is a beautiful field surrounded by woods that we set up camp for the night. So we cleaned up made our dinner and settled in early. Donnie is so quiet and tired he fell to sleep right away. I was so nervous hearing every little noise. The whippoorwills would keep me company for hours singing to one another. I listened to owls hoot back and forth. Finally Donnie woke up for a while. We heard a tremendous crash. We both jumped and looked at each other wide eyed thinking of the turkey hunters.It was a tree falling in the woods. We did here some hunting dogs in the distance and a few distant gun shots. None close to us though. I was glad we were in the field at that point. Very visible in our orange and gray tent. The stars and the moon were so bright. I loved looking at them. I could have watched them for hours. My body was so tired that I knew I needed sleep. I finally lay down and was able to get some sleep. And that was the end of day 1.
I have photos on my facebook.
https://www.facebook.com/DLDMOM3/
I will get some on here later.
The First Third
Walking the North South trail at Land between the Lakes is a life goal of mine. It is 59 miles in total. It is beautiful land that is wonderful for hiking and camping. As a child we camped there. It has always been a safe place for me. It is a place to go and recharge my spirit. As a child when we went camping at Piney (a campground at the bottom of LBL), it was the 3 weeks of a year that my family was neat, organized and Calm. This is not something that was usual. So a deep love for the area has grown in my heart. I also began taking my family there and we have made many great memories there. When I found out there was a marked trail to walk the whole LBL area I was so excited. We tried once before; we will refer to that as Hike 1.0.
This is the story of hike 2.0 Day 1.
At home we packed and planned for months to prepare for this. We waited for the weather to be at a peak of 80’s in the day and 50’s at night. We left Evansville at 7 in the morning. We arrived at the North welcome station a little after 9am. I went in to purchase our back country camping passes and bug spray for ticks. Here we found out that we are starting are hike in the middle of a random turkey hunting weekend. Thanks goodness for my pink hat! I am not a turkey!! As I paid for our stuff I was given a dollar bill with a huge chunk taken out of it. I should have given it back.
We filled all of our water containers and posed for our picture. My legs were shaking from the weight of the backpack.
At 9:41 am we were off! Right away we saw the white marker for the N/S trail. Now in a way this was our first oopsie. I had forgotten that we had decided to take the bike trail from the north station. It was actually about 2 miles longer on the actual N/S trail. It was also a much prettier walk. So it was okay. The trail leads you back to the lake and you walk along the edge. We had a moment of nervousness when we noticed the trail shift to where the lake was on our left side, it should always be to our right! We were actually going way uphill this was a switchback to get us higher. We just kept following the white markers. When you are on a trail like this that is really all you can do it follow the markers.
We arrived at Moss Creek picnic area.
Although in my picture it looks cloudy it really was a gorgeous day. We took off our packs which hurt our shoulders so badly. Pulled out our camp stove and made our lunch. We were off again. The terrain is very hilly so lots of switchbacks and ups and downs. Donnie really had a shift in attitude, he had been so encouraging. Now he was in pain and really frustrated. My shoulders were killing me as well so I also was frustrated. Push on is all you can do at this point. We came to a point where on Hike 1.0 we had gone off course, we stayed on course…this saved us about 2-3 miles! Where we had went before to try to get water was a bad idea!! Thankfully we stayed the course and got to Pisgah Point boat launch. This is where Donnie was ready to be done for the day! I was not! We pushed on. I was so happy when we got to the bridge that had been broken before and there was a new beautiful bridge for us to cross. Getting my butt and a 35lb pack over a muddy creek is not fun! We were walking through the mosquito infested area from 1.0 so I was spraying my Skin so Soft on me just in case. Thankfully they were no where near as bad. I kept saying “Ya though I walk through the valley of mosquitoes, I will fear no evil for my skin so soft is with me”
When we arrived at a large creek area we were really hurting from our heavy packs so we decided to lose some gear. We unpacked some clothes, water bottles, propane tank, and just some random things. We wrapped them into a rain poncho and slid them under the bridge. We knew we were near a road and decided we would recover gear later. The creek had pretty water in it this year. Last time it was dry and mosquito filled. As we walked on we came to an area where the trail had a ditch on both sides. It was very pretty, a dirt footpath with grass edges with beautiful purple flowers lining it. I was so relaxed I stopped watching the path held my head up and enjoyed the walk. That was when I heard it the rattling of leaves and the hissing of the snake at my feet! Oh I screamed so loud it was in striking position and hissing so loud! I screamed louder jumped and totally peed my pants! This is not a good thing on the first day of a long hike. We decided to sleep at the end of this trail right before Old Ferry Road. There is a beautiful field surrounded by woods that we set up camp for the night. So we cleaned up made our dinner and settled in early. Donnie is so quiet and tired he fell to sleep right away. I was so nervous hearing every little noise. The whippoorwills would keep me company for hours singing to one another. I listened to owls hoot back and forth. Finally Donnie woke up for a while. We heard a tremendous crash. We both jumped and looked at each other wide eyed thinking of the turkey hunters.It was a tree falling in the woods. We did here some hunting dogs in the distance and a few distant gun shots. None close to us though. I was glad we were in the field at that point. Very visible in our orange and gray tent. The stars and the moon were so bright. I loved looking at them. I could have watched them for hours. My body was so tired that I knew I needed sleep. I finally lay down and was able to get some sleep. And that was the end of day 1.
I have photos on my facebook.
https://www.facebook.com/DLDMOM3/
I will get some on here later.
Monday, March 26, 2012
Preparing for the Hike
Well here we go again. My family and I attempted to hike the North South trail at Land Between the Lakes a couple a years ago. It did not turn out well. Temperatures were in the 100's and I have only seen mosquitoes like the ones that were attacking us in cartoons! We were spraying ourselves with poison and still slapping them off with blood on our hands. Now we know go earlier in the season. So Donnie and I are going. Saturday the 31 we are going to do this. In fact we are really not giving ourselves much of an out. Don is going to drop us off and then there we go! I am now packing weighing and measuring what Donnie and I need to take and figuring out what is unnecessary.
We will begin at the North Welcome center. Then Finish out at the south welcome center. Camping in the woods along the way. You can view maps better at this web site. You will have to copy and paste it.
http://lbl.org/VCMaps.html
We are incredibly nervous and excited to begin this journey. I will be updating my Facebook with pics along the way then will add more when we are done to this blog and to FB. Please pray for our safety and that we just have a wonderful time!
One of the other reasons we are doing this now is that my son is moving out. A month after this my Son Donnie will be leaving to embark on a new life and career of his own. He will be heading to Fort Benning GA to begin Basic Training in the Army. I am very proud of him.
We will begin at the North Welcome center. Then Finish out at the south welcome center. Camping in the woods along the way. You can view maps better at this web site. You will have to copy and paste it.
http://lbl.org/VCMaps.html
We are incredibly nervous and excited to begin this journey. I will be updating my Facebook with pics along the way then will add more when we are done to this blog and to FB. Please pray for our safety and that we just have a wonderful time!
One of the other reasons we are doing this now is that my son is moving out. A month after this my Son Donnie will be leaving to embark on a new life and career of his own. He will be heading to Fort Benning GA to begin Basic Training in the Army. I am very proud of him.
Monday, March 19, 2012
Grandbaby
March 5 my second Grandson was born. Rachel did a great job. Being there for the births of all of my grand kids has been an incredible gift. Watching Rachel struggle with the pain was so hard. The look on her face when she first saw Aaron was so amazing. Watching my girls have husbands who love them so much and have such love for their children is so wonderful. So here is the first picture of Mr. Aaron
He is holding an Elmo doll is Opa (Grandpa) gave him. Opa is grandpa in German and means party!!
He is holding an Elmo doll is Opa (Grandpa) gave him. Opa is grandpa in German and means party!!
Wednesday, February 15, 2012
Seeds
The seeds are doing really well. I have set them outside to start hardening off. We are going to have good weather for a few days. I am getting the roof done soon. I am hoping this week. The house is getting a bit of a refresher this year. I have let so many things take me away from taking care of what I needed to be doing here. So a great veggie and flower garden and some sprucing that needs done!! Yay.
Sunday, February 12, 2012
Gardening
Well I got my garden started a few days ago. I started a seed tray. I have watermelon cucumbers, two kinds of tomatoes and chives started. I looked today and the cucumbers have begun to sprout! Yay!
Wednesday, February 1, 2012
Time Managment
Why time management wasn't part of my New Years plan, I do not know. Time managment would solve quite a few of the issues I have in my life. It is an issue I am working on also. I have many things I want to do. Well setting myself goals are great unless I set aside no time to do them.I am pretty good at making lists to help myself. I really just need to focus! So off to the lists!
Monday, January 9, 2012
Garden bug....
Today was so pretty here, after being sick I just couldn't stay inside for one more second. I decided I was going to get my burn permit and burn up all the twigs in my yard. I then started looking at moving my old compost pile. Transferring it into a new bin my husband Don is building me. I rake and moved all the top parts out picking up sticks and things. Well it exposed some wonderful rich soil. I am excited to plant watermelons and pumpkins there in the spring. They will do great there. We are working towards getting our garden back in shape this year. I have not put any focus outside for a while. I am so satisfied with getting things prepared for spring. I believe working outside is a great way to be close with God!~~~~big long sigh of satisfaction ~~~~
Oh and I figure this is a great workout for me as well!!
Oh and I figure this is a great workout for me as well!!
Sunday, January 8, 2012
Make plans
Well I have always said how to make God laugh, tell Him your plans. I had all of these great New years plans. Which I am doing really good about keeping to them. But way to throw a monkey wrench in getting the stomach bug from hell! I am not kidding. I have not been sick like that well really ever that I know of. It didn't last real long. I would have had to have gone to the hospital other wise. That was awful. I am going to get back to it in the morning. I really didn't go off track food wise because well 1 saltine cracker and a can of ginger ale don't count! I think I was as frustrated by the fact that it was beautiful outside this weekend. I would have been outside doing something instead of stuck inside. Well enough of my whining about it. Better now so moving on.
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