The Final Countdown

We started out the last week of summer excited to finally get to the beach. Unfortunately, Brian came home on Friday afternoon late, and told us that he didn’t think he could come with us. Work gets in the way of life. Can I get an Amen? I attempted to get a few others to join us at the little apartment, but just decided to go on my own. I am so glad we came.

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When we were at the beach, the best way I know to describe it is occupied. The girls were just busy doing beachy things: digging for coquina clams, searching for crabs, riding waves, building sand castles, filling buckets, emptying buckets, looking for fish, watching the dolphins, the list goes on.  The girls loved going out to the sand bar, so we went out at least every day. Once while we were out there, we were watching some fishermen in kayaks and their wild success.  Then, some dolphins decided to join in the frenzy.  We were close enough to hear the water come out of their blowholes!  It was really cool.  We weren’t close enough to see them underwater, so Samantha continued to ask why we couldn’t get closer.  They are her all time favorite animal, I think.  They certainly are now, at least.

Then, on the last night we were at the beach, I was doing the final packing up and was ready to start walking up.  Samantha yells that she found a sea star!  I happened to have a net in my hand, so I walked down to the shore, not really knowing what I would find.  She was right!  It had lost an arm, but we picked it up long enough to watch it for a few minutes.  It was still alive, so I didn’t want to keep it.  Otherwise, what a cool find!

As soon as our feet hit the sand, they were content, which made me content. I even got to read a little while we were there!! They didn’t need me to join in the play, or worse, be the referee. It was lovely. I wish Brian could have joined us in this little bit of bliss.  The weather was great, a little cloudy all day (which is perfect in my book!) and even a little thunderstorm one afternoon.

This was the first time we had gone to Perdido Key, and based on our great trip, maybe we’ll be back!  We found so many great shells and animals.  I’m not sure if it was the season, weather, or the area.  It was nice.  I’ll pass along the house info too.

The rest of the week promises the finishing touches on our summer book reports, buying some new shoes, new school haircuts… Do you see a theme? We start back to school on Monday!!

My Mother’s Day

I had a great Mother’s Day hiking around Mt Cheaha.  I didn’t really know what to expect since we had never been before, but it turned out to be a great day.  The hikes were all pretty short, with some decent views, so we got to enjoy most of the park.  Thankfully, the girls love to hike.  Climbing up the Observation Tower was another story though.  Samantha was very nervous.  I think she might be afraid of heights (like some unnamed father of hers…).  We stumbled upon the best view while on the Rock Garden Trail, so we decided to have our picnic lunch looking out towards the lake and the waterfall.  It was lovely.  Thanks Brian and girls for making my day special.

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New Year’s in Gatlinburg

After Christmas, we headed to Gatlinburg to celebrate Christmas and the New Year with the Mauters.  The weather was cloudy and cold, but we did see a little blue sky.

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I finally remembered to pick up some National Park passports so that we can begin tracking our National Parks.  Too bad I forgot to get them while at the Grand Canyon a few months ago…

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Overall, we had a great time, and even got to celebrate a 1st birthday!  Happy Birthday Wesley!

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And of course, with all the traffic/car issues we had while there, it wouldn’t be complete without a flat tire on the way home.  Nice.

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Grand Canyon

It was certainly a whirlwind trip, but well worth it.

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We saw LOTS of elk.  Lots.  Most of the time, like this one below, we accidentally walked up to them without realizing it.  This one was at the Visitor’s Center just as we got off the shuttle bus.  Otherwise, we saw a lot of Abert’s squirrels, a couple of families of mule deer, butterflies, ravens, and vultures.  I was hoping to see condors, but no luck.

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View from Mather Point:

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On the Bright Angel Trail at the 2nd tunnel:

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On the Bright Angel Trail at the 1.5 mile resthouse (1.5 mile hike down, with 1100′ elevation change):

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We also hiked the South Kaibab Trail almost down to Ooh-Aah Point.  This picture was right before the many switchbacks near the head of the trail.

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Sunset from Pima Point:

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Harvest moon rise on the Fall Equinox from Pima Point:

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I’d love to post a video with a time lapse shot of the moon rising.  It was very awesome.  Maybe Brian can work on it in his spare time.

UPDATE:  Here is the time lapse video of the moon rise!

I think my favorite spot to view was Yaki Point because you could see the many trails, and had a great panoramic view of the canyon.  Pima Point was good to see and hear the rapids below, but the water was very dirty from all the flooding in Colorado.