Buddy of the Grand Canyon II

Someone else besides Annie came with us to the Canyon, as well. You remember Buddy the Hiker Dog. Buddy came with us the last time we camped at the canyon a couple years back. Even though it was a while ago, I'm positive that he remembered where he was, just by the excitement level he had once we got there and the fact that he remembered which way to go to get to the rim.

Buddy is the all around hiker dog. He's ready to go no matter the day or the time, or even if he's just finished his second three-mile hike of the day. No matter how tired he is, he's never too tired for another walk.

Is it time to go yet??

Hey, Annie, did you see that trail way over there? Let's go!!

Come on, Dad, hurry up and get off the phone already.

I know I'm full of dust and dirt, but do I have to have a bath on vacation? Sheesh!

I so tired!!!

Over the Edge

Where does the time go? I've been knitting plenty, but nothing seems to be reaching the finish line. I've been thinking about blogging, but here it is more than a month later. No posts, no FOs. I've been cleaning house, too, but you know how that is. No matter how much you dust, two days later it looks the same...

A few weeks ago we were finally able to take a week off. We loaded up the camper and headed off to the Grand Canyon for a week of peace and quiet. There was frustration right from the start. Although we had paid beaucoup bucks to get the electrical system in the camper updated and reworked, the new converter blew out on us and we lost the entire 12 volt system. Fortunately we could still use regular household current by plugging in to the campground hookups, but the heater, among other things, wouldn't work. And it got pretty cold up there! Fortunately we packed for all eventualities and had sufficient electric radiator heat to keep from freezing! Then there was the wind, a couple days and nights of high winds and gusts rattling the trailer for hours on end. But despite all that, it was wonderful to take long, lovely walks and enjoy good campground food. And despite the wind, I did finally catch up on all the sleep I've missed this summer!

Annie took a week off as well and came along with us. It is probably the last trip she will take with us for quite a while, as she will be heading off to school in another state in January. Annie came with a plan...to hike a hundred miles over the course of the week (that didn't happen), and hike to the Colorado river and back. In one day.

Now, anyone who has been to the Canyon knows that hikers are strongly discouraged from going to the river and back in one day. The average person just doesn't realize how strenuous and dangerous this can be. So all I can say is, don't try this, don't try this, don't try this.

That being said, Annie had been training for the hike. She has been hiking in the Tucson mountains and working out at the gym. Strenuously. She talked to the rangers at the Canyon.

Annie: I have some questions for you.

Nice Park Ranger Lady: How can I help you?

A: I know what you're going to say, so let's get it over with early. I'm going to hike to the river and back in one day.

NPRL: No, no, no, that's very dangerous and we don't recommend it.

A: See? Now that we've gotten that out of the way, I'm going to do it, so give me some pointers.

It must be said that the NPRL did grill Annie pretty thoroughly on her physical conditioning and her knowledge of hiker emergencies and what to do, as well as her hiking plan. Once the NPRL was satisfied that Annie was capable of doing it, she did give some useful tips and information.

On the morning of the big day, Annie was up at four packing her backpack and doing her hair and face. (Doesn't everyone?) Her dad dropped her off at the head of the South Kaibab Trail, the steep trail with no water that drops pretty much straight down to the river. Needless to say, it was still pitch black out. Annie had a headlamp to get her down the trail until the sun came up; she later stated that this was the scariest part of the hike. She was coming down the side of a sheer cliff for the first mile and a half or so, and all the light she had was the battery lamp on her headstrap.

In the meantime, Joe and I drove out to Mather Point to see her come down the trail. We called her on her cell phone to see where she was. There were at least four hikers with lanterns on the trail and we wanted to see which one was her. She answered her phone and she was the hiker furthest down the trail, nearly to Cedar Ridge (for those of you familiar with the trail). Not long after that the sun did come up and she was able to turn off and stow the headband and headlight.

After she left Cedar Ridge she was on the far side of that particular side canyon and pretty much out of cell phone range. But I was not particularly worried about her. She was sticking to the main trails and there would be plenty of people on the trails with her to help her out if anything happened. But nothing did.

It did not taking long to get down to the river. She spent a while down there and got some nice pictures, as you can see.

Who can resist a little beefcake?

But then she had to climb back up.

She was able to call us as she got up to the rest stations on the Bright Angel Trail. The wind that day was terrible and she was getting extremely tired as she worked her way back up to the rim. That is where hikers get into trouble who are not in shape. Annie was in great condition and even she was getting exhausted and discouraged for the last couple miles of the hike. Joe was standing by, ready to go down the trail to meet her, take her backpack, and talk her the rest of the way up. But she did pal up with another hiker coming up from the river -- he had spent a couple nights down there -- and they encouraged each other to get up to the rim.

We were waiting in the high winds on the rim for her to come up. Here is her picture of us looking for her. (She took my camera with her for the trip.)

I had bought her a tee shirt that said "I made it down and back up again". As she stepped onto the rim I gave her the shirt and took the triumphal picture. We met the young man she had hiked back up with. (Nice young man. Glad he was there.) And is there any truth to the rumor that she was being followed by half a dozen young men as she crossed the finish line? She would have been too tired to care.

Although she had planned several more hikes for the week, Annie did not make any more trips over the rim. She was incapable of eating more than a couple sips of soup that night and was sore and exhausted for several days after that. Remember, she was in top condition for this hike. For a couple days she seldom even left the camper. Nothing to be surprised at. She had hiked twenty miles in extremely rugged and difficult conditions in ten hours and forty-nine minutes. But she did, of course, fully recover and while she may never do this hike again, she can now say that she did come, climb, and conquer!

And, not to be outdone, Michael and Carolyn ran in the Chicago Marathon and both finished the course in the official time period. But they didn't cross the finish line together. Who was first? Let's just say that it's a good thing he caught her at the altar in July!

Knitting and Newport

Yes, I guess it has been a while since I've posted.

My foot is basically all healed up. I'm fully back at work and seldom even think about the foot anymore unless I've been on my feet a lot or I accidentally bump the one sore spot still left. Buddy is doing well, thanks to a lot of rather pricey pills. We're not quite sure what made him sick in the first place -- perhaps a bad infection? -- but he is his usual bouncy hungry self and so I guess we will keep him on the pills for the next couple months like the vet wants. Joe has also been under the weather and I was running him to doctors and the hospital for a few weeks (with the bandaged foot, of course), but we are both pleased that he's doing much better now.

He did well enough that I felt okay taking a week's trip to visit various relatives and attend a couple family celebrations. I also visited a couple yarn shops and behaved very badly in them. The fact that my mom had a 20% off coupon for one of them didn't help, either. And Mom bought herself a scarf kit as well, in addition to using the coupon for my benefit. I also got a scarf kit and am busy working away on it; I took two projects with me and ended up casting on two more while on the trip. Maplewing has taken a back seat, at least for now.

Joe joined me for a few days in RI. We took a trip to Newport to see the mansions and have a seafood dinner. The weather was lovely and all the sailboats were out. We took walks along the water and the cliff walk in Newport.

The cliff roses were blooming and the air was full of their scent.



We took a picnic lunch and after eating I took out some of my new knitting, another Noro striped scarf with some of my new yarn. Almost immediately two of the kids jumped up, grabbed my camera, and took pictures of me knitting. It's getting pretty bad when the family takes your blog pictures without even being asked.

One of these days I will get around to posting pictures of the new acquisitions and the current projects. I'm spending time getting a lot of housecleaning done for company coming soon. We are going to have a wedding!

Catching Up

Since coming back from New England on Monday, I've been trying to catch up with just about everything in life. Amazing how being gone for nine days can screw up the home situation. The lack of groceries, the overabundance of laundry, the dust bunnies, the dog hair, the mountain of mail, etc. Not to mention catching up at work on all the changes while I was gone. But there was much productive knitting and three projects were finished in the course of the trip.

The Twisted Cables Pullover was finished and was a major success. It fit the younger granddaughter perfectly and she didn't want to take it off. And hasn't taken it off. I was very pleased with the pattern and the Patternworks Bretton Heathers yarn. Hopefully it will hold up well with the use it's going to get. All the details are on my Ravelry page.

Altogether there were six sweaters and vests that made the trip and stayed behind. The little ones, of course, are for the new grandchild on the way, and the others are for wearing now.

The Glacier Scarf was also finished. How appropriate that I should finish it and wear it for the remains of the big east coast snowstorm! The Pink Carrots yarn is extremely soft on my neck and this is definitely going to be a favorite scarf. Again, details are on my Ravelry page.

There was much snowball throwing and snow hiking. There was also a first knitting lesson, using the Glacier scarf! There are more than a few three year old's first stitches in it, making the scarf an extra special treasure.

Another finished project and more lovelies next time.

Ain't No Spring Around Here

Yesterday (Sunday) we went to Tucson for a bridal shower for Carolyn (and Mike). It was a lovely day. The temperatures in Tucson were near 90 degrees, it was sunny and lovely. We were in the foothills of the mountains and it was a marvelous day in the great Southwest.

Today we flew to Rhode Island.

Yes, the middle of that huge winter storm.

There was some question as to whether or not we would make it in. Personally, I had no doubts about it. As it was, the airport in Providence was closed until the afternoon; by the time we got there, it was still snowing and the snowplows were working the runways, but we landed right on time.

Shocker. A wind chill in the single digits. Good thing I had my knit hat and scarf. The down jacket I dug out of the back of the closet didn't hurt, either. I haven't seen this much snow since we lived in Germany.

The grandbabies have grown tremendously.

Tomorrow, sledding and snowmen. Hopefully I will be able to post some pictures, although I'm sure all the rest of you are tired of the snow. At least I have the benefit of the novelty!

Saturday Sky - Jamaica Sunset

Friday's Flowers - The Jungle Edition

It's hard to give you a real feel for the jungle, but I shall try.

See if you can see me zipping through the trees.

Swing With Me Wednesday

Sometimes some really odd thoughts come unbidden to mind. I was preparing this post about our canopy tour in Jamaica, riding the harness and lines through the treetops from platform to platform, when a thought occurred to me about life as it is nowadays.

A hundred years ago our ancestors probably would have considered living to their mid-fifties as reaching a ripe old age. Family history has it's stories of relatives who didn't make it past their twenties, due to the lack of medical care that we take for granted today. Certainly my own grandparents never traveled much if at all, and when they did it was very low key. Certainly not anything highly adventurous.

I certainly couldn't see my grandparents riding ziplines or even traveling so far in their mid-fifties. Yet nowadays we take it for granted. Joe and I are both fortunate to not have any health issues that preclude us from living a full life with a multitude of adventures that our grandparents and even perhaps our parents could not have imagined. I felt just like a kid swinging through the trees.

Even if my hair is gray and the old waistline disappeared quite a while ago. Hey, Tarzan, here comes Jane!

Saturday Sky - Jamaica Morning

Friday's Flowers -- Jamaican Version

It was overcast and just barely drizzly when we got into Montego Bay midmorning. Despite it being in the high 60's, and about as cold as it gets in the Jamaican "winter", there were still some flowers blooming. And of course it was very green.

Uh-oh. It looks like a scary jungle cat is stalking us.

Gratuitious picture of Joe on our balcony on Deck 8. Royal Caribbean knew what they were doing when they upgraded us to a balcony stateroom a couple years ago. We've been purchasing balcony rooms ever since. It's the only way to go, especially on any cruise longer than a day or two. I love the privacy of my own balcony, and the fact that I can wander outside in my pj's first thing in the morning. Nobody ever steals my deck chair, either, when I make a trip to the bathroom. Or the buffet. Or the bar. Love those Pina Coladas.