Amazing!

Last week James and I celebrated our 3yr. anniversary by camping in the Sequoia National Park and I'm so glad we did. We had planned to camp near the top of the mountain but it was still snow covered. James like the idea of camping in the snow, but....I convinced him that staying at the bottom of the mountain where flowers and warmer weather would make the trip much more pleasant and me much more enjoyable :-) So we camped at a lovely campsite called Buckeye Flat, site 18 which was the best site on the whole lot. It was a small campground for tent campers only. Our lot was more secluded and bigger than the others. There was a rushing river that was behind our site and the sound of it put me to sleep at night. There were spacious bear boxes at each site, The first evening at the site we were able to take a short trail from our campground to the beautiful waterfalls. The temperatures were in the high 60s and surprisingly not many bugs, which is always a great sign to me!

The second day we drove back up to the top of the mountain. We hiked up to see General Sherman one of the largest giant sequoias in the park. And from there we took a short hike in and around the grove. There were snowy patches all around. It was beautiful but that area was a little too manicured with its paved hiking path. We continued to the museum, and then headed out to a  lookout called Beetle Rock. It was a massive rock overlook. We found a great little resting spot and admired God's beautiful work. Afterwards we headed out to Morrow Rock on a whim. It was a fabulous decision! We hiked up stone steps and slowly made our way to the top of this giant rock. At the top we had a full panoramic view of all the snow-capped mountains and the valley below.  It was windy but it was definitely a wow moment. Strangely enough a bunch of monks were visiting Morrow Rock that day as well. 

After that we decided to take a desolate trail to see Crescent Meadow. I thought there might be flowers there. The meadow was only about 2.6 miles from Morrow Rock, so I thought it would be easy. Boy it was tough. There we were hiking through giant sequoia trees and snow getting glimpses through the trees of the snow capped mountains in the distance. We didn't see a sole the whole time! I felt like a mouse in a strange fantasy land. At times James and I would have to check the snow or ground for footprints to ensure we were on the right track. It was beautiful and difficult, but it was worth it. When we arrived at Crescent Meadow there were no flowers, not even grass yet. But there was a lot of water covering the meadow. Instantly James and I heard the frogs. They were so loud it was deafening, really it was crazy! Since there weren't any flowers we continued on and hiked back to the car. We took a different route to ensure we saw the tunnel log where cars drive through the giant fallen sequoia.

We had wine and foil pockets, filled with meat and veggies, for dinner. And the entertainment for the night was the new neighbor camper who sounded like a bear every time he blew his nose. It was quite frightening, and funny!!! The next morning we checked out Hospital Rock with the ascent paintings. Then it was off on another hike where I could see the pretty flowers. It was beautiful! I was a little worried about seeing a bear, as there were some signs of a bigger animal using the trail we were on, but no bear this time. (James was a little disappointed...) We headed home shortly after our hike. It was a wonderful camping trip! Now I'm set on going to Yosemite....I just need to figure out when.

 I'm still editing my pictures, this week has been super busy and we have a ton of them. (Of course!)  But I promise they are coming soon...stay tuned :-)

Busy Days

Things are moving pretty quickly lately. My new job is busy to an extreme extent! My days fly by and before I know it I'm getting ready for bed. Surprisingly the past two weeks I've actually managed to go to the gym. I think it has given me the extra energy I need, not to mention a major stress reliever. I'm hoping to get back into shape soon, but we'll see if I can keep this up!

Last week working out was so embarrassing! I was running on the treadmill and my ipod fell off. So I thought oh I'll just jump off after it, that will be faster than stopping the treadmill. So I barely made it of with out falling over and as I was being propelled off there were loud clanking noises from my feet hitting the ground. But I made it! I then picked up my ipod and made the quick decision to jump back on the treadmill. Well I guess I thought it would be challenging but of course I thought I could move quickly enough. I hoped on and was even able to get a second step on the belt and then I started to go down..... I quickly grasped the handles next to me and caught myself just in time. The loud clamoring of my feet and hands as I desperately tried to get to speed was really embarrassing. The gym was full that day and everyone heard and saw my strange show. The guy next to me even asked if I was okay, my only response was "I guess I should have stopped it first." I only missed a couple of steps and bruised 1 knee. I technically didn't fall down, but I guess since my knee touched the ground it doesn't count as a clear landing. Not to mention the mortification factor. All in all it was a perfect example of how an ordinary day in the life of Danielle can escalate to an extraordinary day! ha ha! I am the biggest klutz I know! The best part is I get to see everyone that was in the gym all the time since I am now going regularly! Ha!

Yesterday it snowed pretty hard it reminded me of Michigan for a few hours... and then it all melted :(

James bought a ticket to CA to go for a pre-view trip! He'll be heading out at the end of the month and will be in CA for a week. We'll let you know more news on that later.

Other than that things are kind of quietly busy.

We'll see what this weekend has in store. In the meantime I'll try not to jump onto moving things for awhile!