The Arches!
These pictures are of a trip Josh just took to the Arches last week with a bunch of buddies from Utah. It was awesome and from what he tells me plus all the pictures, it sounds like he had a total blast. On their last day there, they took a grueling ten-mile hike that just about tested everybody to the max, literally climbing straight down (and back up) through the rock structures without any foot or hand holds, having to use their backs and arms to brace themselves as they climbed up and down through the rocks....sounds like a blast (NOT!) for us armchair adventurers! He still can barely move from the hike! One of the pictures in the slide show is of a lady who was tucked away among the rocks, playing Indian music on some instrument, similar to the flute. Josh said it sounded so cool to hear her play that beautifully haunting music among the rocks. It's so beautiful here....just another trip I have added to Maddie's and my "Must Do" list in the not-so-distant future!
Josh and Mike braving the Salt!
A few weeks ago, Josh and Mike decided to brave the Salt. With water temperatures somewhere in the 40 - 45 degree range, this truly was an act of heroism (or insanity...I'm still not sure!) So, off they went, one beautiful March morning. Fortunately, this happened to be when Phoenix was experiencing unseasonably warm temperatures in the 90's so they actually picked a good day to go. At this time of year, the river was supposed to have Class III/IV rapids (based on a scale of I-VI, a class I is calm with no rapids and a class VI is impossible to navigate... think Niagara Falls) but I think on this day, based on the water flow, the rapids were "only" rated Class II/III. Here are some pictures of them on the river. My favorites are the pictures where you can see them smiling, which is in just about every single picture. They are grinning ear to ear..check them out! I guess we have a couple of adrenalin junkies in the family because the first thing they both said as soon as I asked them about the rafting trip was, "It was awesome but next time we really need to have more rapids!" Both Josh and Mike managed to stay on the raft the entire trip....that is until Mike decided, at the very end, that they both needed a little swim so Mike tackled Josh and off they both went into the water! They had a total blast and after seeing these pictures and hearing them talk about it, this is something I DEFINITELY want to do so for any of you brave souls reading this, if you are interested in going rafting, let me know and maybe we can seriously get something going!
When Justin and Erica traveled back east for a few weeks in February, their favorite stop, by far, was Gettysburg. They absolutely fell in love with it and sent me, literally, hundreds of pictures. They were fascinated by its rich history and captivated by the sheer beauty and quaintness of the town. Though I've never visited there, my sister tells me that as pretty as Gettysburg is in February, when these pictures were taken, it is absolutely breathtaking in the spring when everything begins to turn green and the flowers begin to bloom after the long, cold winter. I literally had to go through several hundred pictures to select some for the blog but the few that I have chosen do not even begin to tell the story of Gettysburg. I hope y0u enjoy them as much as I have and please ask Justin and Erica if you have any questions...they have become experts on the area and would love to pass on their knowledge (especially when it comes to the ghosts!)
A few weeks ago, Josh and Mike decided to brave the Salt. With water temperatures somewhere in the 40 - 45 degree range, this truly was an act of heroism (or insanity...I'm still not sure!) So, off they went, one beautiful March morning. Fortunately, this happened to be when Phoenix was experiencing unseasonably warm temperatures in the 90's so they actually picked a good day to go. At this time of year, the river was supposed to have Class III/IV rapids (based on a scale of I-VI, a class I is calm with no rapids and a class VI is impossible to navigate... think Niagara Falls) but I think on this day, based on the water flow, the rapids were "only" rated Class II/III. Here are some pictures of them on the river. My favorites are the pictures where you can see them smiling, which is in just about every single picture. They are grinning ear to ear..check them out! I guess we have a couple of adrenalin junkies in the family because the first thing they both said as soon as I asked them about the rafting trip was, "It was awesome but next time we really need to have more rapids!" Both Josh and Mike managed to stay on the raft the entire trip....that is until Mike decided, at the very end, that they both needed a little swim so Mike tackled Josh and off they both went into the water! They had a total blast and after seeing these pictures and hearing them talk about it, this is something I DEFINITELY want to do so for any of you brave souls reading this, if you are interested in going rafting, let me know and maybe we can seriously get something going!
Thanks again Caroline. That was a blast!
ReplyDeleteI didn't know you guys had a blog. I've already started catching up on all these great stories and I'm excited to keep checking back in with it.
ReplyDeleteGREAT BLOG.....THANKS!!!!!Ash is going to show you her backgrounds. We'll add our addresses that show date and time of last posts. Love, Vel
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