Yosemite (Part 3)

Day 7: Christian's brother Mark, Danielle and his Dad packed up on the morning of the 7th day to head back home. We initially thought that they would not leave until some time in the afternoon but they decided to take the scenic route back and ended up leaving earlier than planned. We took a few group pictures before they left.

We stuck around the camp until they headed out and then the rest of us headed out for more adventures. Our next destination was to take the everyone climbing on El Capitan. We were originally planning to climb a one pitch route called "The Footstool." Unfortunately, it was super hot out and there was no shade at the bottom for everyone to hang out in. Christian went to look around and see if he could find us a better alternative.

We finally decided upon the zero pitch of "The Nose" of El Capitan called "Pine Line". We were super psyched about it. There was a nice shady spot for everyone to hang out in and have lunch near by. There was a fabulous view from where we would belay from. We couldn't ask for anything more.

As usual, Christian led up the route. Emily, Caitlyn and I were required to make the climb without any cheating, but as the cousins only had tennis shoes, they ended up having to pull on gear and we tried to help them up as best we could by pulling on the rope. The route went up 70' of pretty polished crack. Almost everyone ended up making it up. We hoped that it would give them a once in a lifetime experience that they would not normally have been able to experience. I think mostly everyone was pretty excited about it.

It takes a lot of dedication in gear, time and experience in order to do something like this so you can't just do it casually unless you had a ton of money to hire some guide to take you.

After everyone got a chance to climb the route, Christian went back up to set up a static rope for anyone who wanted to try to jumar up. Christian went up to demonstrate and Erin and her oldest gave it a try but the rest of the kids were hot and tired of waiting around, so we wrapped it up and headed to the river for a swim.

We ended up along the same stretch of the Merced River that the kids went to the previous day while we were out hiking Half Dome. But as none of the adults got in with them, they could not go very far.

Erin's family was prepared as they all had swim suits, but as usual, the rest of us would have to go in our clothes or underwear. Mike and I stayed out to watch and take pictures but everyone else had a blast jumping off boulders, diving and swimming.

It was starting late by the time we got everyone back out of the water and back to the campsite. We were in charge of dinner that night. We made a tasty potato soup from a recipe that I got from a friend. It took longer than I had anticipated but it was a big hit. Luckily, it made a lot because everyone was pretty hungry.

While I was cooking though, there was some disturbance in the camp. Apparently, the same jerk that had tried to start a fight with my father in law was fighting with his someone is his camp. Her kid was screaming, he was irate, cursing and spitting at her. At some point he took a stick and was taking out his aggression on a tree nearby. Erin thought that at any moment, he would turn it on the woman that he was fighting with. She drove off to find the camp host. The camp host just turned around and called the park rangers. It took them some time to drive out to our campsite. They went to talk to the guy and found out that the car that he was driving did not belong to him. Anyway, they ended up taking him away and everyone else in his party was asked to leave the park. It was a bit crazy and a little intense.

In the end, most of us ended up getting the most sleep while staying at that camp ground...except maybe for Erin because she was still all stressed out because of the incident with the other camper.

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Day 8: We got up and broke camp. I followed the kids out through the meadow to take a picture of them in the fort that they were working on.

Even with the drought, it is just still so beautiful in Yosemite. There are few places that we will go out to brave the crowds of tourists. Yosemite is one of them. It is just a stunning place. Pictures never does it justice. Even though it is mid summer now, there are still wild flowers everywhere.

When we headed out, Erin's family decided to follow us to see the other side of Yosemite and take the scenic route home. We took them to see Olmsed Point.

We took them to Pothole Dome and a few of us walked up to the top of the dome. The rest stayed in the car. Some of the kids were still tired from not getting enough sleep. Some of us were still sore from the Half Dome hike and some of us still had blisters from the hike but it didn't stop us from squeezing out a little more fun while we still could in Yosemite.

We stopped by the ranger station in Tuolomne so that our girls could turn in their trash and get their Junior Ranger badges.

They signed their names into a log and took their Junior Ranger oaths and got little wooden badges.

After we exited Yosemite and got down the mountain, we waved goodbye to their cousins as they drive a lot faster than we do. We went into Bishop to get gas, lunch and turn in Christian's climbing shoes to get re-soled. We also ended up shopping for some other gear that we found on sale then we headed back to Alabama Hills.

We took some time out to get a little climbing in after sitting in the car for several hours before heading the rest of the way home.

We went back to Lost Eye to the Moon so that Caitlyn could lead on a sport route called Rhythm on the Range (5.5). She warmed up on Rootin' Tootin' Rhythm (5.3) and then made the climb we came for. She did really well. Emily climbed it as well, but it is easy for her now.

After Caitlyn finished up the rest of us climbed a couple of routes on the Corridors East End. We finished up with Riders of the Frontier (5.7). We heated up some dinner while we finished our last climb. By the time we packed up and finished dinner, the sun started to set and we knew it was time to stop putting off the inevitable...going home.

Even though we had been out for 8 days (the longest we have been on a camping trip), we were not chomping at the bit to get home. But sadly, all good things come to and end and we reluctantly headed home.

Yosemite (Part 2)

Day five started pretty early as we planned to finally leave the Tuolumne Meadows area and move closer to Yosemite Valley. We drove through Tunnel View and the sun was coming up when we finally came into view of El Capitan and Half Dome.

The view was pretty spectacular and we were all pretty excited. Christian helped some English tourists find their way to Camp 4 as we were headed in that direction anyway.

We headed over to Swan Slab to do some more rock climbing. We chose a three pitch climb (310') up the gully. The first part of the first pitch went up a crack that was a bit awkward to climb. The belay from the second pitch was just crawling with giant ants and the third pitch was up a nice slab following a nice crack but unfortunately, we had problems with rope drag and we got showered in dirt as the rope rubbed a patch of dirt at the edge that came down after a rainstorm or something. It was pretty miserable  going up.

All the while, we did not get a moment of peace and quiet as we could hear the air conditioners running from the lodge below and leaf blowers going nonstop...not to mention the car horns blaring...anyway, you get the picture. 

We were pretty disappointed overall as we had great expectations to finally get out to climb some of Yosemite's famous granite but we did get some spectacular views from the top. The climb off the top was fairly rigorous as we had to hike up before we got to hike down and it was a pretty steep hike to boot. To add to our misery, the rubber on Christian's climbing shoe started to wear through and we had get it fixed before it became unfixable. 

After we got down, we headed into the heart of Yosemite Valley to find the mountain shop to see what we could find for him as he could no longer climb in his shoes and our climbing adventures would stop shortly after we just started. The valley itself is a complete zoo. We could barely get parking. It was like being at Disneyland. We did end up finding something for Christian but it cost us a pretty penny. We tried to go to the ranger station as well since the girls finished their requirements for the Junior Ranger program but we could not even get close to it as the area was just swarming with people. One of the requirements of the program had them picking up trash to help keep the park clean. They were given bags and gloves to use. Caitlyn had been getting some little thing here and there all along the way but both girls got a bunch of stuff from the infamous Camp 4 and now we had to tote other people's garbage around until the girls could turn it in. 

It is a lot hotter in Yosemite Valley than it was in Tuolumne. We were hot and beyond filthy from out dirt shower and headed over to find a nice river to wash in. We found a hike down to Tenaya Creek and was able to wash some of the sweat and grime off of ourselves.

Meanwhile, there was a storm brewing and we saw and heard thunder and lightning up at Half Dome. By the time we started drying off from our dunk in the creek, it started to rain lightly. It didn't matter too much as we were already still wet and it did not cool off significantly. It did get a bit more peaceful but it did not deter many people from going out.

When we finally got back, we went to get ourselves a treat in the form of some icy cold drinks and headed over to the Crane Flat Campground where we were to meet up with Christian's family. It is outside of the valley but it was the closest that we could manage. Christian's sister's family was already there and set up by the time we arrived. Christian's brother and dad arrived shortly after we got there.

Christian's sister was working on dinner as we got there and we were able to get some food shortly thereafter. The kids made smores over the campfire. 

Unfortunately, our campsite was right next to the restroom and the water spout for the camp area was right above where we were to put our tent. Everyone got their water and washed their dishes there (even though they were not supposed to) and so the water started seeping into where our tent is supposed to go. The boys got a shovel and tried to divert the water into a different direction but it was pretty miserable because people kept coming over to get their water and use the restroom all night. What was almost worse was the people getting into the campsite late after everyone turned in and you can hear them constantly opening and closing their bear boxes to put away their food. Needless to say, we did not get a whole lot of sleep that night.

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Day 6: We got up extra early as we had a long day ahead of us. We were up at 4:30 am to start our hike to the top of Half Dome. We were only able to get 6 passes for the cable route (which is procured by lottery and a fee per pass). Originally, we were going to take both of our girls and Christian's sister Erin was going with just her two oldest boys. Everyone else was going to hang out at camp and do other more leisurely activities. Since we only had 3 passes for the four of us, we figured that we would have to leave one or both girls behind. Emily had been pretty whiney and somewhat lazy going up and around the trails on the whole trip so she more than happily gave up her pass to hang out with her cousins. We thought that Caitlyn would just want to stay with all the other kids as well but she decided to join us as this was kind of a once in a lifetime experience that she did not want to miss out on. Plus, I don't think that she wanted to get left behind. Emily slept in Grandpa and Uncle Mark's tent with Aunt Danielle so that we had more room and would not have to wake her when we got up to go.

Our hike would take us about 15 miles round trip with 4,800 feet of elevation gain. We hiked from the parking lot to the Misty Trails which took us to Vernal Falls and then eventually to Nevada Falls. Of course, because of the drought, the trail was not very misty unless you went down to the bottom of the fall itself...which the boys did. They took some time off to take a swim at the bottom of the fall. The boys were way ahead of us, so by the time we got there, the boys had finished their swim. Our two nephews had giant grins on their faces when they caught up to us. They had never gotten to do anything like that before. Christian, of course, had taken the swim the last time we came (back in college).

There was not a ton of water coming down the falls. In fact, most of the falls in Yosemite were dry. The last time we came, it was a drought year as well, but there was still water coming down Yosemite Falls and Bridalveil Falls.

We took only brief breaks occasionally to have breakfast and lunch along the way. The hike was pretty hard as most of the way up was up giant granite steps. After Nevada falls, the trail continued as normal switchbacks.

We got shade from trees and some cloud cover, so the heat was not too unbearable. After leaving Vernal Falls, the crowds thinned out considerably. After we passed Nevada falls, it was downright peaceful out there. In fact, it was the most peaceful time we had in the Yosemite Valley. Every now and then, we would pass a few groups of people or they would pass us up. Mostly the boys hiked up ahead and took breaks for us to catch up to them.

We did not see anyone checking for permits so we started to kind of feel like suckers for getting them but when we got to the bottom of the cables, the ranger was there waiting to turn people away if they did not have permits...and he was armed. There was a big bottle neck up the cables so it quickly became crowded again. Some people made the grueling hike all the way to the bottom of the cables and once they saw what it was like, they turned away to go back down. A few people started to make the attempt and found that they were not equal to completing it and turned back down.

It was pretty steep. Caitlyn put on her climbing shoes and Christian and I wore our ascent shoes. Gloves were a must. So many people stopped to marvel at Caitlyn climbing up the cables. She was really awesome. It was really hard as people were going up the same route that others were coming down and some of the people were really petrified. 

We finally made it up before 2:pm. Unfortunately, a storm was brewing just as we were heading up and by the time we made it to the top, we were hearing thunder and seeing lightning from the top. We quickly snapped a couple of pictures and just as quickly, headed back down the cables. I had wanted to take a group picture of everyone from the top to show Caitlyn's summit team, but it was not meant to be. Part way down the cables, Caitlyn's hair started to stand on end from all the electric charge all around us. Christian had to rush us down the main dome and the sub-dome as well. The rain started to fall before we got down the main dome which made things a bit more slick. Caitlyn started to get really scared by then. We were all pretty tired as well but we had to keep moving off the dangerous domes before lighting hit.

It was beautiful up there and making it to the top was satisfying because we were not sure that we would all make it at some point but we did not have much time to enjoy it.

By the time we made it down the sub-dome, the rain was coming down pretty good. It was pretty warm out still so no one was very cold or anything and we had planned to take a dunk in the river on our way down anyway so it didn't make too much of a difference in the end.

At some point, we stopped for a snack and Christian was going to take a short nap on a boulder. Erin and her boys continued to head down. Eventually, Caitlyn and I figured that we would let Christian nap and headed down ourselves, so we all got separated.

Christian eventually caught up to Caitlyn and I and we then caught up with Erin somewhere above Nevada Falls. She had fallen behind her boys and could not catch up to them. Christian left us at the Merced River to go catch up with the boys. Caitlyn, Erin and I decided to get in the river to wash off and cool off.

We thought that we would catch up to the boys at Vernal Falls again where we knew that they would be going for another swim but we did not see them. Erin had some major blisters developing by now and had to limp down the many granite stairs.

Apparently, the boys overshot the trail and started to head down the John Muir trail. Fortunately, they figured that they were not in the right place at some point and headed back. That's when they ran into Christian. They did go for their swim again, but they had left before we got down to the base of the waterfall.

We finally met back up with them before the bridge at the base of the hike. Christian was taking another nap, one of the boys was up and the other just woke up from his nap. We collapsed down next to them to rest and have another snack. We still had a way to walk back down to the parking area.

We didn't get back to the campsite until after dinner. They made a bunch of extra food for us though and we were glad to get it. There were three other adults and three kids that did not go on the hike but only one car between them so they mostly hung out at the campsite. The kids ran around playing and working on a fort. At some point, they took a couple of trip to get everybody over to the river and the kids went for a swim.

We were pretty exhausted and we settled down for the evening. The other campers were even noisier than the previous evening and Christian's dad ended up going around to politely remind them of the so called quiet hours that was supposed to be in effect on the campground. Most people settled down but there was one irate camper that tried to pick a fight with him over it. Christian had taken off earlier to go for a walk so that he would not kill any of the other rude campers. For the most part, we ended up getting a bit more rest that night than the previous night...but of course, that isn't saying a whole lot.

Yosemite (Part 1)

This year, Christian's sister decided to go to Yosemite. After some discussion, we decided to make it a big family vacation. We met up at the end of May to nail down the details. As they were only going for about three days, we decided to head out earlier and meet up with them when they all arrived.

We left early Thursday morning. We spent most of the first half of the day driving. We arrived in Lone Pine around lunch time and decided to have lunch and get out of the car for a bit so we decided to go climbing in the Alabama Hills.

We went to the Nut Towers and climbed several routes on the Walnut. Everyone made all the climbs including Caitlyn!

Next we climbed on the Spur on the Tall Wall.

Caitlyn opted out on that last route. All were pretty fun climbs. When we were done, we packed up and continued on our way. We camped outside of Mammoth in the Inyo National Forest that night.

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On day two, we got up in the morning and headed into the east side of Yosemite via Tuolomne Meadows. We went to the Ranger Station so the girls can get their Junior Ranger stuff, use the facilities and sort our gear.

After we got ourselves organized, we headed out to find Daff Dome. There was an accident on the road and we had some trouble getting through. Apparently, we overshot our destination by quite a bit because of the accident and had to double back in order to find it.

After climbing, we walked around a bit on the dome. The girls found a play area that they really liked, Christian took a time lapse and we walked out to this beautiful vista point. Unfortunately, I turned my ankle on my way back...the same one I hurt out by Lake Perris. I had to limp my way back to the car.

On our way out, the sun was starting to set and Christian and the kids decided to hike up Lembert Dome to watch the sun set. I walked up part way, took pictures and settled down to read at the base of the dome.

Emily took a picture of the sunset from the top. There was nearly a full moon out so it was pretty bright even though the sun had gone down. I snapped a couple of pictures of the moon and headed back to wait for them in the car. They came back down shortly after and we headed back out of Yosemite. We don't like to stay at campgrounds and most campgrounds are full anyway and so we decided to stay outside of the park boundaries and just commute in each day until we met up with the rest of the family. We actually headed back out to camp outside of Mammoth again. The moon was so bright though that it felt like we were camped underneath a street lamp the whole time!

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We got up early and headed back into Yosemite for day three. We were still exploring Tuolomne Meadows. We pulled off to sort our gear again near a small waterfall. With so much camping equipment, food and climbing gear, we had to constantly reorganize to keep things orderly and to make sure all our equipment was ready for more adventures.

Our next destination was Pothole Dome. We took the trail around the base of the dome and ended up next to the Tuolumne River. We decided to wade around in the water and it was so refreshing that we ended up all taking a bath in the river as there were not too many people yet about. 

We stayed to have lunch and then continued on our hike back around the dome. When we got back out to the front, we hiked up the dome to try to find the climbing area by locating the anchors from the top.

The girls and I actually overshot the area and hiked up past it. We finally met back up with Christian who had found the rappel rings.

The climbing here was pretty easy but it was a nice place to get in some training. The girls played with rocks and stuff at the base of the dome. 

We stopped later to have some dinner so that we could make it out to one of the ranger programs that is required for the kids' Junior Ranger program. We chose a campfire talk that is designed especially for kids.

The ranger sang songs, talked all about the animals in Yosemite and we played some games. The rangers usually do a pretty good job at these programs and we are usually surprisingly happy with their presentations.

Afterwards, as it was getting pretty late, we again headed back out of Yosemite to find a campsite. This time, we ended up camping outside of the June Lake area. It is quite a bit closer but the campsite was not nearly as nice or secluded.

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In the morning of day 4, we headed back into Yosemite once again. We decided to stop in to the Wilderness Center to see if we could get a wilderness permit to stay in Tuolomne that night. 

Then we stopped back over at Pothole Dome to get some more pictures and walked around to see if we could find some other climbing routes that we had read about.

Afterwards, we drove out to Olmsted Point where we got a view of Half Dome in the distance. We hiked down and around a little ways.

We were hot, we still needed to find a camping spot and the kids wanted to play in the lake so we headed out and hiked down some trail in the Sunrise Lakes area. We hiked down quite a way and were unable to find a suitable place to camp. It was late afternoon by now and we ended up turning around and hiking back out. We took the kids to Tenaya Lake for a swim. We all managed to bathe a bit again although, we did not get a whole lot of privacy since people were dotted all around the entire lake. We really wished that we had prepared and brought swimsuits with us but we made due with what we had.

It took some time to dry off and had our dinner. We camped nearby in a meadow. Unfortunately, we ended up with quite a few mosquito bites that night. We had gotten a few here and there on the previous days but it wasn't too bad overall considering. By now, it seemed to be really adding up. We got a bunch our faces and on the scalp of my head because the rest of my body was mostly covered by clothing!

Fourth of July

For Fourth of July, we decided to check out a climbing area in Perris that we had heard about. The climbing area is called Big Rock and overlooks Lake Perris. The entrance to the lake seemed to have a line of cars a mile long waiting to get in. We were not sure what to expect there. Luckily, we did not have to enter by the main entrance but through another entrance in the back.

There was a bit of a walk to get to the base of the rock. I think next time, since it is mostly a paved trail, we will bring our bikes. 

Our climb was another "Trough." A 5.5 friction climb up a steep slab. It was two pitches long (180 feet).

The rock was pretty slick down the trough. Christian and I climbed it first and then Emily came up. Caitlyn decided to only climb the first pitch but that is really the hardest part of the climb. The second pitch was a bit easier. We did not push her though as she has made great progress in her climbing.

Christian climbed a harder route that was just left of The Trough called Crater Maker but nobody else wanted to try that one.

We had the whole area to ourselves as everyone else was in and around the lake. It was pretty stinkin' hot out so no other climbers ventured out to climb in this area. There was a nice tree and picnic table at the bottom of our climb so we did not suffer too much.

Christian, Emily and I also climbed a route called "Puppy Dog" which was pretty fun. Unfortunately, I had turned my ankle at the bottom of the route when we were looking for it. I still climbed the route but lowering down and the walk back to the car was a bit of a challenge. Christian ended up walking ahead and bringing the car back for us at some point.

We went home to cool off and get some rest. I made some treats as we were planning to go to a Fourth of July party at a friend's house that evening. We had dinner and the kids played before the fireworks show. I did not bring my big camera and the small one I normally take climbing was not able to capture the fireworks. We watched the fireworks from their front yard that has a nice view of Mt. Roubidoux. It looked like there were two small fires near the top this year but they just forged ahead with the show and put it out afterwards. 

Daddy Daughter Camp Out

As I had mentioned, this year was Caitlyn's turn to go on a campout with her dad. She got to choose her own adventure.

They left on Thursday morning, shortly after Emily went off to school. They drove for much of the day and camped outside of Mammoth in the Inyo National Forest. They had time to go for a walk to stretch their legs. Caitlyn flew her kite.

She never quite has enough room here or enough wind when she has the mind to play with it.

They got up early the next morning and made their way to their first destination: The Devil's Postpile National Monument.

Christian and I went many year's ago and we tried to take our kids last year but the ranger said that they no longer allowed cars up to the trailhead and that we had to take a mandatory shuttle bus in which we found out to cost quite a bit.

Apparently, the ranger did not give us all the pertinent information at the time as you can drive in as long as you go early. Basically, she was oblivious or lied about it.

Christian got the correct information off their own website and took Caitlyn.

They continued on their way to Rainbow Falls.

They stayed and took pictures and played in the water. They had lunch and headed out as the trails started to fill with tourists. Caitlyn completed her Junior Explorer program and went in to get her patch. They returned to Alabama Hills that night to camp to be in the right area for their next destination.

On Saturday morning, they got up very early to start for their next destination which was the top of Lone Pine Peak (elevation: 12,944 feet). They started up the Meysan Lakes Trail which takes you to some beautiful meadows and lakes.

The hike lead them to a long, steep scree filled chute. They proceeded up but there was a lot of rock fall going down the slope. I heard that it was pretty scary. There were huge boulders coming down at some point that was bigger and much heavier than Caitlyn.  The climb was hard, the distance was far and there was a lot of elevation gain besides the boulders coming down to kill you so it was pretty slow going. Christian had decided to hike only up until 2:00 and then they would turn around no matter what so that they would have enough time to get down. At the 2:00 deadline, they were 400 feet from the summit and decided to turn around and head down. Christian was pretty disappointed but he knew that it was too much for Caitlyn.

They made it back down safely. They slept in the next day and took it easy. They drove around to scout out some rock climbing areas. They washed off in a creek and headed for home.

Emily and Mommy time

The week after the Ho'olaule'a was spent getting ready for Caitlyn's trip with her dad. Emily had her daddy-daughter campout last year. We originally had planned it as a special reward for her hard work in working to skip 4th grade and maintaining honor roll for the next year. Since Caitlyn managed to test out of fourth grade, this year is her turn. We had her plan out a menu for herself and her dad. We had to make a shopping list to get all the stuff together and I had a lot of laundry to do to make sure they had what they needed (wanted) for their trip. The last day was used to pre-prepare food that they wanted to bring.

They were ready to leave on Thursday morning. I took Emily to her summer bridge program that she has been attending the past couple of weeks. Christian and Caitlyn took off shortly after I got back. They will not return until Sunday night.

Emily's summer program is only half day for three weeks so I picked her up at noon. She was sad that the house was empty when she got home. We didn't do a whole lot on that first day. We just took care of things that we normally have to, cleaning up after Caitlyn left, watering the garden, etc. I had a little fun project for Emily to do. After which, we did some shopping and picked up some dinner and other goodies. After dinner, we watched a movie. We decided on watching the Harry Potter movies since they are normally a little too scary for Caitlyn.

The next day, a friend came over to do some yoga. Afterwards, I took Emily to the climbing gym. We spent about three hours there.

Emily befriended a little 7 year old girl that was climbing with her family. There were actually quite a few kids there that day. We found out that they were having some beginning of the summer kick off later that night and was supposed to have all these fun activities, so after we found out that the family of the little girl was planning to go, we decided to go have lunch and come back later to see what it would be like. We had lunch and ran our normal errand to the library and did some more shopping. We went back to the climbing gym for about 45 minutes but they were not really doing a whole lot there. A couple of the employees were having a water balloon fight and the other family was not there.

We were too hot and tired to spend too much more time there and decided to go home to work on dinner. Of course, as we drove out of the parking lot, the other family that we were waiting for drove in. I did not change my mind to stay as the kick off there was pretty pathetic anyway.

After dinner, we continued our Harry Potter movie marathon with the next in the series.

Saturday, we spent on a hike up the Box Springs Mtns. Emily picked up some trail mix that she has been wanting for us but we never get because Caitlyn hates any kind of raisins or craisins and dad is alergic to cashews. We got up to the ranger station without too much effort and decided to see if we could get to the top of the mountain. We automatically went up the biggest hill directly above the ranger station (which we found out was not the top of Big Springs Mtn).

The peak was at about 2,800 feet. Initially, there was an obvious trail going up, but the trail tapered off to a glorified game trail until it all but disappeared. We bush wacked the remaining way up. It was not a very clear day and did not make for very many nice pictures. We found a slightly easier way back down a different "trail." It was super hot and we did not bring enough water to do much more and decided to head home.

We got some lunch and Emily spent the next couple of hours cooling down playing in the sprinklers while she watered the grass. We spent the rest of the evening making apple pie with the apples from our garden and watching the third movie in our movie marathon.

Sunday was just spent going to church as usual and preparing food in anticipation of Christian and Caitlyn's return. Not super exciting but good time we spent alone with each other. Emily really missed Caitlyn and kept wanting to turn around to tell her something. It was very sweet and I wondered how long it would last until they were fighting about some nonsense or other when her sister got back.

These little trips have gone so well that Christian wants to continue taking them (alternating who gets to go each year) for some special personal time with each child. More on Caitlyn's trip in the next post!