Good Deed Week #5

Good Deed #29.  Dad, this one was for you!  I know it wasn't easy for you to be away from us for all those months and years, but we were always so proud to call you dad.  Everyday I would look at the cross stitch mom made that said "Any man can be a father, but it takes someone special to be a Daddy" and would thank God that I was YOUR sweet pea.  I made this video for you, the men you served with, the men who are serving now, and for all the children left behind.  Friends and family please watch this video till the very end so Five for Fighting can donate $1/view to the Fisher House.   

Good Deeds Week #4

Updates on a Few Good Deeds

1.  Kiva.org (Good Deed #12):  All the funds were raised for Aminjon Azimov and the funds have been disbursed to him in Tajikistan.  Over the next 12 months, the organization will collect repayments and will continue to post updates.

2.  Book Care Packages to AnySoldier.com Members (Good Deed #13).  I have heard back from one of the men that I sent books, coffee, creamer, fruit snacks, and cookies to.  He is a wonderfully sweet guy who I am sure will receive more goodies in the mail (as a friend not as a good deed).  

3.  Operation Dreamseed Donations (Good Deed #21).  I have received cash donations from Erin "Bestest" Walker and Chris Bruno (from Lloyd Dobler Effect) who literally sold his blood for the cause.  Yes, that's right, he donated his blood for research purposes, got some cash for it, and sent it to me - tell me that isn't freaking awesome!  If you have sent me stuff and I didn't mention your name - then check with me so I can keep an eye out for the package.  If you would still like to send money or supplies, you have plenty of time.  I am planning on sending the packages after the Valentines mailing rush (yes Valentines has a mailing rush).   

Good Deeds Week #4

Good Deed #22.  In honor of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. I took a 40 day pledge of nonviolence.  You would think I would be able to do this pledge easily considering I am a nice person, but unfortuantly I was with Allan all week and he caused me to hit him on several occasions.  I mean, honestly, they were all provoked by him.  But, since Saturday I have been violence free.  The pledge states the following:

In honor of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.'s life and work, I do pledge to do everything that I can to make America and the world a place where equality and justice, freedom, and peace will grow and flourish.

  

I pledge to make nonviolence a way of life in my dealings with all people (including Allan).

I will reject all forms of hatred, bigotry and prejudice, and I will embrace the values of unconditional, universal love, truthfulness, courage, compassion, and dedication that empowered Dr. King.

I will dedicate my life to creating the beloved community of Dr. King's dream, where people can live together as sisters and brothers.

Good Deed #23.  I have offset 5 pounds of carbon emissions which is roughly equivalent to 3 days of computer usage and one long shower.  In addition, I have saved 14.8 sq. ft. of marine wetlands and 7.5 sq. ft. of american prairies.  With a simple click of a mouse, you too can save marine wetlands, american prairies and help offset carbon emissions.

Good Deed #24 + 25.  I prepared a care package for my first adopted soldier and wrote my second adopted soldier his first letter.  The care package was filled with Valentines candy, the Anchorman DVD, a handmade card, some coffee, creamer, fruit snacks, and cookies. 

Good Deed #26.  I was the 19,550th person to sign the "Stop the Attack on Utah's Wild Lands" petition.  In short, the current administration is planning to sharply increase oil and gas development and off-road vehicle use for 11 million incredible acres in Utah.  This will permanently alter the canyons and wildlife that I have been enjoying over the past year.  The goal is to have 25,000 signatures on the petition before it goes to the Bureau of Land Management Director.  If you could please sign the petition, it would be greatly appreciated.

Good Deed #27.  Brian told me about the site WhatKindofWorldDoYouWant.com that was set up by the band Five for Fighting.  It is the first video community that gives back.  All you have to do is tell the world what kind of world you want and raise money for a charity by making and uploading a video yourself, your friends or your family answering the question "What Kind of World Do You Want?"  OR, you can raise money for charities that John Ondrasik of Five for Fighting has personally selected.  All you have to do is watch any clip on the site and money will go to the charity listed with that video.  So I watched 10 or so videos - meaning I donated $10 to the chosen charities.  I highly recommend you spending some time by watching the videos and raising money.

Good Deed #28.   I signed the ONE campaign declaration.  ONE is Americans of all beliefs and every walk of life - united as ONE - to help make poverty history.  The ONE campaign has over 2.4 million people and growing from all 50 states and over 100 of America's most well-known and respected non-profit, advocacy, and humanitarian organizations.  As ONE, we are raising public awareness about the issues of global poverty, hunger, disease and efforts to fight such problems in the worlds poorest countries.  To support this great organization, I signed the ONE campaign declaration and bought a ONE campaign Nalgene bottle.  The declaration that I signed stated:

We believe that in the best American tradition of helping others help themselves, now is the time to join with other countries in a historic pact for compassion and justice to help the poorest people of the world overcome AIDS and extreme poverty.

       We recognize that a pact including such measures as fair trade, debt relief, fighting corruption and directing additional resources for basic needs - education, health, clean water, food, and care for orphans - would transform the futures and hopes of an entire generation in the poorest countries, at a cost equal to just one percent more of the US budget.

We commit ourselves one person, one voice, one vote at a time - to make a better, safer world for all. 

    

Good Deeds Week #3

Good Deed #15.  On Monday, January 14th I went to my first Boise Habitat for Humanity public relations committee.  This small group is in the process of developing a new media kit, website, and advertising campaign.  I'm excited to be a new member and look forward to contributing on their great projects.

Good Deed #16.  My next good deed was donating to Heifer International.  Specifically, I donated to the Ukraine - Carpathian Project.  Through this project, Heifer International will help 110 families in the the villages of Borynia and Komarnyky improve their knowledge of agricultural production and processing, and green tourism.  The project also envisages establishment of an education and production center to provide training on small scale milk and meat processing for participants and the larger community.  A total of 55  rural families will receive 25 simmental breed heifers, 50 bee packages, 10 gilts, 1 boar, and ornamental plant saplings.  An additional 55 families will benefit from "passing on the gift."  Heifer will also provide project participants mixed fodder for their animals, veterinary medicines, equipment for artificial insemination, and agricultural inputs.

Good Deed #17.  I wrote my third handwritten letter to my adopted soldier.  I haven't learned much more about him, but I am preparing his first care package.  I hope to send him a Valentines package this coming week so he will feel some love on the special hallmark day.

Good Deed #18.  Plastic bottles, bags, containers, toys, and wrapping are everywhere because they make our lives convenient and easy, but they are creating all sorts of problems for our environment.  Plastic items are used for a short term before they are discarded and become a significant and costly form of litter, pollution and waste.  To make a difference, I signed a pledge on Leonardo diCaprio's website and committed to one day of NO PLASTICS.  That meant no plastic bags, no beverages in plastic containers, and no products packaged in plastics. I knew it wasn't going to be easy, but even I was surprised how many things in our lives are made out of plastic.  My razor, shampoo bottles, contact solution bottles, milk bottles, and the list just goes on and on.  I recommend you signing the pledge and trying it for a day!

Good Deed #19.  My next good deed was an idea given to me by my old coworker Michael Goldfarb.  He told me about the site donorschoose.org where teachers post projects that they need funded and donors register and give donations (no matter the size).  Once the project is fully funded the students give each donor a report on how the money was used and how they were impacted by the generosity.  To help out, I found a teacher with a project called "Handwriting Without Tears."  This teacher needs help buying materials to teach writing skills to her special education students.  The materials she is requesting are part of a multi-sensory handwriting program developed by an occupational therapist.  The program teaches students not only good writing skills, but other important social, motor, and academic skills.  The younger students learn position words, manners, shapes, and letters.  The older students learn phonics and grammar.

Good Deed #20.  I received an email from the Soldiers Angels organization requesting that angels (if possible) adopt another soldier because they have an abundance of soldiers and limited angels.  To do my part, I adopted a second soldier.  My new soldier was posted on the site by his wife and he needs simple hygiene products like shaving cream, shampoo, etc.  All I know about him is he is in the Army.  I don't know where he is located, what he does in the Army, or what he is interested in, but I will keep you posted as I learn more.

Good Deed #21.  My final good deed of the week was one that I am very excited about!  Operation Dreamseed is an organization dedicated to providing school children in Afghanistan with school supplies.  Stationed at Kandahar Air Base soldiers spend much of their time in direct interaction with the Afghani people in nearby villages.  They noticed that the children all love receiving small gifts from the soldiers, but their favorite giveaways aren't candy or toys.  Their faces really light up when they are given items for school.  These kids, many of who are girls attending school for the very first time, cherish pencils, notebooks and craft supplies.  To help this great cause, I started asking several friends and family members to help me create packages for the children.  If you are interested in helping me send school packages to Operation Dreamseed contacts, please feel free to buy items off this list or mail a check to me and I will purchase the items for you.  When I mail the packages, I will be sure to include your name on the cards and I will give you a shout out on my blog entry.

                             

Good Deeds Week #2

It is day 13 and I have completed 14 good deeds in 2008.  Unfortunately, due to delays in plumbing installation construction was cancelled for my Habitat for Humanity Women's Build project.  Here is what I have been up to instead of building houses:

Good Deed #6.  Last Saturday I picked up an application packet from my local coffee shop and signed up to volunteer for the Special Olympic Games being held in Boise.  Not sure what I will be doing, but I signed up for venue logistics, warehouse logistics, and public relations.  If needed, I am scheduled to volunteer on Feb. 23rd, 24th, and 29th.

Good Deed #7. Chances are high that cancer will affect you or someone you know (if it hasn't already).  Whether it's a family member, friend or colleague, this disease touches us all.  As a result, I volunteered to assist with the Climb to Conquer Cancer event sponsored by the American Cancer Society.  Again, not sure what I will be doing, but it will take place on August 9th.  It is a non-competitive event to fight cancer.  Walker, hikers, runners, wheelchairs, and strollers make their way up to the top of Table Rock and wind their way back down to complete the event.  Every dollar raised helps bring us one step closer to more effective prevention, detection, and treatment of the disease.    

Good Deed #8.  Most of us starved our way through college and even the first several years after college--some of us may still be starving--but I have complete respect for those that are choosing to starve as they chase their dreams.  In honor of my friends chasing dreams (Andy - your gift is coming soon so I don't want any nasty comments on my blog) I decided to send a Sheetz gift card to my favorite band - Lloyd Dobler Effect.  These guys are always on the road, playing songs across the country in random bars and I figured they could use a free meal or some free gas.  It's a small token of my appreciation for them and its the least I could do considering their music gets me through some ridiculous days.

Good Deed #9.  My next good deed was a simple one that we can all do at home or work.  I followed Tamara's idea and I am now changing the margins on the documents I print.  It's simple, but if we all do it we could do a small part in saving our environment (and our bank accounts).  For more information visit http://changethemargins.com.   

Good Deed #10.  I bought special, fancy-dancy stationary and wrote my second letter to my new Air Force Penpal!  As part of the Soldier's Angels Network, I am committed to writing my buddy once a week and sending care packages once a month.  I was stoked on Friday when I got my first response back from him!  Luckily, it seems like we have several things in common (including home states!) so I should have something to write about next week.  As I mentioned before, because this is a public forum, I can't share much information about him--but if you are interested hit me up and I can tell you all about him.  

Good Deed #11.  Each year, between 140 and 160 police officers are killed in the line of duty and their families, friends and coworkers are left to cope with the tragic loss and monumental expenses.  C.O.P.S was created to provide resources to those left behind and help them rebuild their shattered lives.  To help this amazing organization, I bought a candle from Castine Candles and 100% of the proceeds will go to C.O.P.S.  

Good Deed #12.  A few months ago (actually many months ago) I was watching Oprah (shocker!) and she had guests on that had small ideas with big impacts.  One of the organizations that caught my eye was Kiva.org.  This organization links individuals like you and me to entrepreneurs in small, rural cities who need loans to start or build their business.  By supplying these individuals with small loans they are able to make a huge impact in their towns.  After 13 days of trying to loan money to an entrepreneur, I was finally able to snag one up (it is a popular site so you have to check it constantly to find an individual that needs a loan).  

I provided a small loan to Aminjon Azimov, who is 31 years old, has a high school education, and is married with 4 children.  He sells children toys, hair accessories, mirrors, and food products out of store he built inside of his house.  Using funds from the loan, he plans to increase the assortment of his inventory.  His main customers are children and their parents from his village and surrounding areas.  He hopes this loan will help local residents to purchase toys, hair clips, and mirrors for girls along with other goods necessary for their homes.  At the same time, they will not need to commute to the center of the region.

Good Deed #13.  I went through all my books, selected the ones I knew I would never read again, and took them to a used book store.  I traded my books for books I thought our men and women serving in Iraq would like to read (I have a hunch they wouldn't want to read Nicholas Sparks).  Once I had 10+ books together, I went to Costco and picked up a few food items I figured they would like to have along with the books (coffee, creamer, fruit snacks, and cookies).  Then, I made a few handmade Valentine's cards to complete the care packages.  Below are pictures of the three packages I am sending to three different units serving in Iraq.  Each of the units were picked from the anysoldier.com site that I used last year.

     

  

Good Deed #14.  My final good deed of the week was for another great organization out of Hawaii.  Keiki Cards sends handmade greeting cards to children who have life threatening illnesses.  The goal is to give children support through the mail and to let each child know that someone is thinking of them.  The children range from infant to eighteen.  Keiki Cards sends cards out every week to approximately 400 children in the United States and Canada.  To support this great cause, I made 10 valentine's cards (shown below) and will send them out first thing Monday morning.  

      

Good Deeds Week #1

Four days have gone by in 2008 and I have done four good deeds. I'm on a roll. Here's what I have been up to:

Good Deed #2. On January 1st, Brian and I donated six, filled-to-capacity, extra large trash bags of clothes, pillows, and stuffed animals to our local Goodwill. It was pretty easy, we just looked in our closets selected the clothes we regretted buying or haven't worn in years, tossed them into a bag, and dropped them off at a donation center less than 3 miles from our house.

Good Deed #3. This is one of the good deeds I was looking forward to the most. I adopted a soldier on the Soldiers' Angels Network. Due to safety and restrictions, I can't say much about my soldier, but he is in the Air Force and he is serving in Iraq. What does it mean to adopt a soldier? That means I am committed to sending one letter a week and one care package a month. They even give you a Soldier Angel Mentor to help you with the process. On Tuesday, January 2nd, I wrote my first letter to my soldier - which was basically a page of me blabbing about anything and nothing. I will keep you posted with my little buddy and I will let you know what it's like being a penpal with one of our courageous servicemen. If you are interested in learning more about Soldiers' Angels feel free to visit their website.

Good Deed #4. My fourth good deed was signing up for the Boise Habitat for Humanity's Women's Build project. The project is being sponsored by Lowes and its giving women the chance to build the house from scratch. (We don't need no stinking men. ) As of right now, I am scheduled to help build on January 12th. If you are interested in helping your local Habitat for Humanity or if you want to build pretty much anywhere please visit http://www.habitat.org.

Good Deed #5. I'll be honest, my fifth good deed was kinda selfish. I'm pretty tired of the writer's strike, but I agree 100% with the writers. So I went on the Writer's Guild of America website to see what I could do to help. It turns out they have a list of all the Hollywood Executives along with their addresses and they need people to write letters in support of the strike. So that is what I did. If you are tired of the re-runs and want to see your favorite shows back on TV or if you just simply agree with strike and want to do something about it here is the list of names and addresses where you can send a letter.

New Year's Resolution

Its that time again. We all mentally review the past year -- the decisions we have made, the places we have gone, the people we have met -- and begin to make plans for the coming year. New Years invites reflection. It presents another chance to get things right, to start over and to wipe the slate clean -- complete with fresh ideas, goals and wishes. To kick off the New Year, most of us will hold ourselves to a resolution -- usually they are so lofty we can't keep them going for longer than a month. But, hopefully this year will be different for me. My resolution this year is to do 366 good deeds in 2008. The good deeds can range from the very small - holding the door open for someone with full hands -- to the very large -- building houses for habitat for humanity and volunteering at the Special Olympic Games. Each day (or more realistically, each week) I will update my blog with my progress and let you know all about my good deeds.

After making this decision a few weeks ago - I have been very excited to get started. And, let's be honest. I will need all the time I can get to do the 366 good deeds. So, I began the resolution a few days early.

Good Deed #1. My first good deed occurred by circumstance, not by planning. Brian and I went to a local Irish Pub to watch the New England Patriots game the other night. We sat across from a group that had approximately 10 people in their party. They ordered beer and shots one after another. When it came down to paying the bill - they of course all wanted to pay separately. We've all been there before - breaking down the bill, counting the cash, writing the credit card charges down by name and amount -- it's not that hard. But, at the end of it all, everyone was gone except for 2 people (both well over the age of 40 and were previously bragging to us that they were from the Laguna Beach area and now living in one of the rich areas in Boise). The waiter politely approached the remaining 2 people and said their party still owed $8.25. After a short discussion and raised voices, the waiter finally let it go. He would just make it up later or would be short for the night.

Thinking this is ridiculous, I decided this is a perfect opportunity for a good deed. I got a ten dollar bill and called the waiter over. I explained my New Years Resolution and handed him the ten dollars and told him that was for the drinks and his tip. Simple as that. A good deed was accomplished and I only have 365 more good deeds remaining.

I wish you all a wonderful and safe New Year!

Becky

Lake Powell September 14th - 18th

After a long year, it was finally time for another Lake Bash. This year we moved it to Lake Powell, Arizona / Utah. Before I get into the details of the week, I think it is important to highlight the crew members and explain their roles. Without solid teamwork, the trip would have been a disaster. Thank goodness we all played nicely together.

1. Captain Dan (aka Ice Man). As you can guess from his title, he was the main leader in our group. He organized, planned, and executed this fine excursion.
2. Brian - Electronic Navigator. With a GPS handy, Brian led us up and down the Lake with ease.
3. Scott - Paper Navigator: Scott preferred to use a more basic form to navigate up and down the river – a napkin map (whatever works, right?).
4. Allan – Knot Expert: Allan used his fancy knot tying expertise to secure the boat each time we beached; we would have been drifting aimlessly without him.
5. Rich – Smoothie God and Squirrel Wrangler: What would we have done without the smoothies on the last day? As a smoothie snob, I must admit it was an excellent idea and they were very tasty. The Squirrel Wrangler part is explained under Night 1.
6. Amanda – Cleaning Master: Amanda somehow kept the 8 x 10 room that eight people were sharing all day and night cleaned the entire trip.
7. Becky – Pancake Maker: Well I couldn’t beach the boat, but I sure could feed the crew. Who needs measuring cups when you have coffee cups?
8. Mario – the Part-timer: Although Mario was only with us a few days, he definitely helped us get started and organized. We would still be wondering in Wal-Mart if it wasn’t for him.

Okay, so now you know who everyone is, let’s start with day 1.

Day 1: Taco Bell, Subway, Horseshoe Bend, Wal-Mart, Rental Cars, Alstrom Point.

As you can see from the title, it was a very busy day, and somehow we got it all accomplished in half a day. Brian and I arrived in Page, Arizona and stopped at Taco Bell for some fine Mexican cuisine - which isn’t exactly the place a vegetarian prefers to eat. So, once Allan and Amanda arrived we all went over to Subway for some vegetarian friendly food.

After we were all fueled up, we went to Horseshoe Bend (pictured below). Not much to say about Horseshoe Bend other than it was about a mile from the main road and it was a total tourist overlook. We didn’t spend much time there, just enough to appreciate the true beauty it had to offer.

Next, we divided into teams: half went to Wal-Mart to get food and supplies for the night and the other half went to the rental car place to get two high clearance, 4-wheel drive SUV’s. The cars were very important in order to reach the isolated Alstrom Point.

Again, we rejoined as a group, loaded up the rental cars and began the 2 hour drive to Alstrom Point. I’m not sure how many miles we had to drive to get there, but I would guess less than 30. However, the drive took so long because we had to drive off-road like we were in some sort of cheesy SUV commercial (see picture below).

For those who were in my car….this is for you… “You can do it, but I am getting out and walking back.” No need to point fingers, but we almost drove willingly over a cliff. Minor detail.

Well, after a long and very bumpy ride, we made it to Alstrom Point right before sunset. We all stopped, watched, took pictures, and admired the incredible views.

Night 1. NO! Get Out!

After we watched the sunset, we cooked some food and set up our tents. However, due to the wind factor, we almost lost two of our tents over a cliff. (Allan, you can thank me later for saving yours.) Anyway, we threw a bunch of crap in each tent and put rocks on all the stakes and that did the trick. The rest of the night we sat under an incredible blanket of stars. I have never in my life seen so many stars. What an experience.

Naturally, as the night went on and we knew we had a long day ahead of us, we all slinked away to our sleeping areas. Brian and I were in one tent, Amanda and Allan were in a second tent, Mario was in a third tent, Dan was on the ground outside, and Rich and Scott each slept in a SUV.

Here comes the hilarious part. In the middle of the night, Brian gets up to go to the bathroom, which of course wakes me up. Brian returns and about 5 minutes later I hear one of the guys yell “NO! Get Out!” My first thought was, I guess someone is playing a late night prank on someone. Oh how wrong I was. The next morning we discovered Rich was being attacked by a squirrel all night long. The squirrel kept jumping into the car and as Rich described “I could tell he was losing respect for me.” The squirrel may have compromised our bread, but he sure did give us all a good laugh.

Day 2: Alstrom Point, Boat Rental, First Attempt at Beaching the Boat

Alright, so we took some pictures of the sunrise over Alstrom Point, packed up our gear, and headed back down the bumpy dirt field they called a road. We ran some quick errands, returned the car, and headed to our houseboat. What a beauty she was. From this point on, the houseboat will be referred to as its call name “Ice Man” and the powerboat is “Jimmy Sprinkles.”

We got a 45-minute, crash course lesson from Gary on how to operate the boat (he even used some German words for our listening pleasure). I think each person retained about 5 percent of what Gary said, luckily, we didn’t all remember the same 5 percent. So here comes the fun part, taking Ice Man out for a ride.

The first day we only could take Ice Man and Jimmy Sprinkles a few hours down the lake. Then, came our first beaching experience. I am not sure how many mini-disasters it takes before you have a real disaster on your hands, but I think we were close that night. Something about having 6 guys pulling 4 anchors in different directions and tying knots in different areas, and digging random holes on the beach – just didn’t work out so well the first time or the second time…but the guys finally got it and we didn’t budge at all. Key phrases from that event was “Whatever you do, do that” “No, whatever you don’t do that” “Yes, you have to do that” “No, do NOT do that”……can you see how it wasn’t exactly a smooth and seamless beaching.

Night 2. Group Photo

Not much happened the second night, we had a few drinks and took a group photo on the top of Ice Man. And, we put Rich in a squirrel free sleeping area.

Day 3. Water Slide, Gunsight Bay, a random Island, and a Storm

The next morning, we all got up and I cooked delicious pancakes while the boys (and Amanda) slid down the waterslide on the back of Ice Man. After, the morning fun, Rich, Scott, and Mario jumped into Jimmy Sprinkles and took Mario back to the main dock. While Jimmy Sprinkles was cruising the lake, Dan, Brian, Allan, Amanda, and myself cruised our way in Ice Man to Gunsight Bay (the same water we overlooked when we were at Alstrom Point a few days earlier). Shortly after we arrived in Gunsight Bay, Jimmy Sprinkles caught back up to us.

This is when yet another mini disaster arose. We decided to beach Ice Man on a small island, take a few pictures and explore. We beached the boat with relatively no problems, took a few pictures, explored, and all was good. But, then when we came to leaving the island….we had a few minor technicalities. The currant was pushing Ice Man into the island so we used Jimmy Sprinkles to pull the houseboat away. This is where things get fuzzy. I’m not sure exactly what happened, but I do know that Ice Man pulled successfully away from the Island without an anchor and without Rich and Scott on board. Yes, that’s right, Rich was holding an anchor and some rope on the island with Scott standing beside him. Luckily, Brian in Jimmy Sprinkles was able to cruise back to the island to rescue the guys.

As we are cruising down the river, we notice the sky is almost pitch black behind us and lightening is flashing all around us. We decided to play it safe and beached Ice Man once again in Warm Creek Canyon. Although it wasn’t a picture perfect beaching attempt, Amanda and I did notice the boys had vastly improved from the night before.

The storm approached and we all sat on the back of the boat watching the lightening show. Somehow the storm went right around us so we had the benefit of watching the show but we didn’t have to actually get wet.

Night 3. Fire pit and drinks

We found some dry logs, and Brian dug a very deep and wide fire pit in the sand. We all grabbed a few drinks and sat around the fire. I’m not sure how long we were out there, but it started to sprinkle and we had electronics (iPod speakers) with us so we all went inside for the night. We continued the drinking and again headed to bed.

Day 4. Hiking in Warm Creek Canyon / West Creek River

This was the day I was looking forward to the most. The day we got off the boat and explored the incredible scenery around us. We loaded our packs, got in Jimmy Sprinkles and headed into the narrow canyon. Soon enough we were faced with low water levels and a massive amount of downed logs. We beached Jimmy Sprinkles and began our trek in waist high water (well waist high on me, it was mid-thigh on everyone else). We hiked about 7 miles I would guess round trip. Most of the hike was in a substance most like quick-sand, but we also waded in a ton of cool water and hiked over a lot of rocks. It was a hike unlike anything else I had ever done before. It was freaking awesome. (Thanks Allan for pulling me out of knee-deep sand).

Day 5. Return Ice Man, visit Hole-in-the-Rock (aka Wahweap Window), Return Jimmy Sprinkles

Okay Day 5 was supposed to be one of the more relaxing days, but it was actually the most terrifying day. Let me begin by saying, returning Ice Man was a breeze and we passed inspection with flying colors. We then headed over to Hole-in-the-Rock in Jimmy Sprinkles, took a few pictures, played around on the lake, and then headed back to gas up. This is where it turns scary. So we are on the boat as the lady is filling our tanks. Another powerboat comes tearing into the dock area and the workers blow a horn at him telling him to “SLOW DOWN.” He does slow down but he still rams his boat into the dock as he tries to get gas. He then decides to turn the boat around, sadly, he doesn’t have very good control of the boat. As we are all watching this unfold, we all know this isn’t going to end well for him. Then all the sudden he hits the gas and his wife falls on her a$$. As I am laughing at her falling (we know how I can’t control my laughter sometimes), I quickly realize he is heading right for our boat. Next thing I hear is Allan yelling “Brace yourself, Brace, Brace for impact.” And then WHAM! He T-bones Jimmy Sprinkles. Next a few of us start yelling “What the f- are you doing” and he replies nonchalantly “Sorri.” As if we were the crazy ones for yelling when he just damaged Jimmy Sprinkles and scared the crap out of all us. Thankfully, we were all fine and we all got a lot of laughs out of it. (This is the autobahn, yes?)

All in all, it was an incredible experience and I want to go on another lake trip NOW. Thank you to all the guys that went on the trip, it wouldn’t have been the same without each of you. As I said on Day 2, my stomach had never hurt that much from laughing and you guys kept me laughing for three more days.

If this blog wasn’t enough for you, here are the links to all the pictures.

Day 1: Horseshoe Bend and Alstrom Point:
http://picasaweb.google.com/bwelch23/FirstDayHorseshoeBendAndAlstromPoint

Day 2: Alstrom Point and First Day on the Boat:
http://picasaweb.google.com/bwelch23/Day2SunriseAtAlstromPointAndFirstDayOfBoating

Day 3: Island and Gregory's Butte:
http://picasaweb.google.com/bwelch23/ThirdDayIslandAndGregorySButte

Day 4: Canyon Hiking
http://picasaweb.google.com/bwelch23/FourthDayHikingLakePowell

Day 5: Houseboat and Hole-in-the-Rock
http://picasaweb.google.com/bwelch23/FifthDayHouseboatHoleInTheRock

Enjoy!

Becky

Seven Devils

Day 1

With Allan and Amanda’s drive from Colorado taking longer than expected we were behind schedule right from the start. We made it to the trailhead around 4:30 pm on Wednesday July 4^th.

We started the hike by walking through a well maintained trail even though in recent years most of the trees had been burned by a wildfire. We even stopped at a nice rock over hang to have a rock climbing lesson from Allan. The final mile or so we were hiking in the dark, but we were able to find the campsite with only minor problems 8.6 miles from the trailhead. The only problem we had was finding the lake we were supposed to be camping beside. But after we set up the tents and hung the bear bags we realized we were about 10 feet from the lake edge. Doh.

Day 2

The next morning we were slow moving, but we filled up on breakfast, checked out the lake, and plotted out our hike for the day. Our first destination was Sheep Lake, which meant climbing about 1,000 feet in elevation in a few miles. As we climbed we were able to have incredible views of Gem Lake and Shelf Lake (Lake behind the group in the picture below).

But once we finally made it, Amanda, Allan, Brian and the dogs enjoyed the cold lake water and went for a quick swim.

Afterwards, we ate lunch and decided Allan would go check out the Lookout Point a few miles off course. Allan got an early start and headed back up the mountain, while Amanda, Brian and I slowly recovered and prepared for our long day still ahead of us.

We did realize the further we went on the main trail, the less maintained it became. Therefore, we were taking a lot of time climbing over the many fallen trees that were blocking the trail. After struggling through the blazing temperatures, intense sun, and shadeless terrain, we finally reached a nice wooden section. We realized the trail split so we decided to sit and wait for Allan to ensure he didn’t get lost. About 15 minutes after we stopped, Allan met up with us. Instead of climbing all the way up to the lookout point, he turned around early to meet us. As a group, we headed down to a stream about 100 yards off the trail, filled up our water bottles and ate some dinner.

After dinner, we headed to the He Devil Trail which climbed another 500 feet in elevation. With a long day behind us, our legs were feeling every step we took. Thankfully, we made it to He Devil Lake just in time for the sunset and were able to set up the tents and start a fire before it got dark. In total, we hiked about 13 miles on day two.

Day 3

We woke up sore and tired, but we knew we had another long day ahead of us. We ate breakfast, packed up, and headed down the mountain. Our first resting spot was Baldy Lake. I don’t remember it being too hard to get to Baldy, but that may be because I was delirious from the heat and have blocked it out of my memory. Regardless, we made it to the Lake, we ate lunch, and rested our tired bodies. I do know I was too lazy to try to get a good picture of the entire Lake so I only have a fraction of it, but trust me…it was beautiful.

After lunch, we headed to Hibbs Cow Camp, which would be our campsite for the night. The trail was much like the days before, and we were walking in extreme heat, limited shade, and many fallen logs were blocking our way. With my legs getting more and more tired, I became sloppy with my footsteps. As I climbed over one of the logs my left ankle rolled completely over and started to swell immediately. Amanda did a great job wrapping it and the boys took some of the weight out of my pack. A few miles later we finally made it to a tree section and sat down for dinner. During dinner, we heard the rumble of thunder and knew a storm was fast approaching. The boys took some more weight out of my pack and we headed to the camp site as fast as possible. The next few miles involved a lot of climbing in open meadows and we watched the storm inch closer and closer to us. In record time we made it to the campsite, worked as teams and set up the tents before the rain started. We all sat in our tents for about 30 minutes and waited for the storm to pass. After the storm passed, we gathered some dry wood and sat around the fire and relaxed.

Day 4

I woke up on the final day feeling great. Actually, I felt better than all the other mornings. I kept my ankle wrap on and put all the gear back in my pack. With the motivation of getting home in the back of our heads we got a somewhat early start and headed back to the car. We knew we had a tough climb out, but somehow none of us remembered the 1,200 foot drop we made on the first day. But looking at the climb from the bottom, I knew it would be a long and tough climb.

As we climbed our way out, several times I told Brian I didn’t think I could do it, but he would hear none of that. So I pressed on. Slowly….very slowly…I climbed one step at a time up the mountain. You would think that at the top I would feel a sense of relief and a sense of accomplishment, but on the contrary. I felt tired, angry, and just wanted it to be over. My legs felt like they weighed 50 lbs each, my ankles were swelling, my knees were throbbing, and my whole body was done. Even worse, I knew we still had several miles to go and several hundred more feet to climb. We pressed on and continued our hike. Again, my memory is a little foggy. I know the final 400 feet climb was tough, but Allan stayed with me, sang to me as we hiked, and encouraged me until we reached the TOP.

Finally, we were DONE. What an incredible hike, experience, and overall adventure. The pain of hiking more than 40 miles and climbing more than 13,000 feet is actually less than I anticipated. My ankles and feet are still throbbing and I have giant blisters on my left foot, but other than that I am doing relatively well.

Below is a picture of the route we took and the elevation profile of our hike

More pictures of our hike can be found here.

Rapid River / Hells Canyon

A trip that will not be forgotten anytime soon. Brian and I packed up our bags and headed out to the trails once again this past weekend. The plan was to hike a few miles on Friday after work, camp, hike a few miles on Saturday, camp, and hike out on Sunday. What actually happened was quite different though.

We got off work around 3:30 on Friday, grabbed our packs and headed out the door. We stopped at a gas station to fuel up and as Brian was pumping the gas I realized a young boy trying to call people for help. With the look of sadness and desperation on his face, I knew he didn’t reach anyone. So, I told Brian to ask if he needed some help. In fact, he did need help changing his tire. He was a local high school junior with a clunker that has given him tons of trouble.

After Brian finished changing his tire, we got back on the road and sat in traffic – yes Boise has traffic (well not really only in construction zones). We got to the trailhead behind schedule and knew we would be hiking in the dark. We hiked a few miles and didn’t see the first campsite – which means we had to hike even further in the dark. About 5 miles from the trailhead we found a decent campsite. I set up the tent as Brian went ahead and hung the bear bags. Finally around 11:30 pm, we were settled in the tent.

Sadly, neither Brian nor I could sleep that night - Jake, on the other hand, slept incredibly well. Early the next morning, we got up, packed the tent and headed up the trail. We were having fun walking along the river and were looking forward to the halfway point where we could stop and have some lunch.

We reached two very nice campsites right beside each other and debated on stopping there to have lunch. But, we looked at the map and realized we only had a little over a mile until our turnaround point. So, we pushed ahead and kept hiking while munching on granola bars. We turned the corner and OH NO – what is that??!?!?!! Is that a large sheep? Is that a dog??? IS THAT A BEAR! And then the conversation went something like this:

Brian: “Becky get the camera out”

Becky: “What no! That is exactly what you shouldn’t do”
Brian: “Get the camera out and take a picture then we will leave – I want to see what it is”
Becky: “Fine, but I don’t want to die”

Brian: “You wont die”
Becky: “Okay I took a few pictures”

Brian: “Give me the camera, I want to see”
---Brian takes about 40 pictures—
Brian: “Okay lets get out of here”
Becky: “OK!”
Brian: “Did he just look at us???”

Becky: “I don’t know!”
Brian: “I think he just looked right as us and turned around”
Becky: “LETS GO”

So we turned around and headed back to the camp. As we are rushing along we were debating on where to stop, if we should stop, what to eat, etc. We decided, since we are only 8-9 miles from the trailhead we should just hike out and not stay the night in the woods with the bear.

We continued to munch on granola bars and beef jerky and hiked briskly towards the trailhead. Then Brian comes to an abrupt stop. He turned and gave me Jake’s leash and pointed to the rattlesnake. He tried to scare it out of the path, but the snake wasn’t budging. We tossed sticks, rocks, we caused vibrations on the ground – everything you are supposed to do….and he wasn’t moving. He made sure to rattle his tail, but that’s about it. So we had no choice, especially with Jake, we had to hike around him. Only problem was, there was a strong river to our left and a steep hill with loose boulders covered in moss on our right. We decided to hike up and around on the loose boulders that would just fall down the hill as we placed our foot on them. After about half an hour of trying to avoid the rattlesnake, we were back on the trail and ready to get away from the BEAR and rattlesnake.

About half a mile later, we came across another rattlesnake. This one however, was willing to get off the path and out of our ways – so no massive detours were needed. A few miles later, we were safe and sound back at our car. But, Hells Canyon didn’t fail us with the wildlife this time! What an adventure!

Next backpacking trip is scheduled for July 5 – 8 with Allan!!!!!

Can’t wait!

Becky “I hate Bears” Welch

Care Packages for our Troops

As all of you know, I recently requested donations for care packages to be sent to men serving overseas. With the help of friends and family, we were able to raise more than $500 in cash and donated items and mailed 10 care packages to men serving in Iraq, Kuwait, Afghanistan, and Africa.

The individuals we mailed care packages to were selected from the more than 3,000 soldiers listed on anysoldier.com, started by Sergeant Brian Horn from LaPlata, MD. Each individual sent their name, contact information, and wish list items to the website, along with their promise to distribute the requested items to their fellow troops with an emphasis on those who receive the least amount of mail.

I would like to thank each of you for your support in what I think is a simply way to show our love for the men and women serving abroad. I believe the care packages will not only boost their morale, but will also let the servicemen know we appreciate their sacrifices.

Again, thank you because this wouldn't have been possible without you!

Becky

Hells Canyon - Freezeout Saddle and High Trail

My first backpacking trip and what better way for Brian and I to spend our 2 year anniversary then hiking and sleeping in Hells Canyon? We started the trip by climbing 2,000 feet in elevation in a little over 3 miles - OUCH. The views from Freezeout Saddle were well worth the climb, but we didn't have much time to enjoy it. We had to head back down the mountain to our campsite for the night.

We snagged the one flat spot in the Canyon and set up camp for the night. After very little sleep (I was scared we were going to be eaten by bears!), we woke up, cooked breakfast, and headed up the trail. We hiked for several miles and then ran into a few nice gentlemen who informed us that we were not on the Saddle Creek trail but in fact we were on High Trail. Wooops!

So, not wanting to get lost we turned around and hiked back to the campsite where we stayed the night before. Now, the sun was out in full force and I began to truly understand why this place was called "Hells Canyon." By the time we got back to the campsite, I was burning up and was in desperate need of shade. Without any trees nearby, I set up the tent and crawled inside hoping it would provide me some relief. Sadly, it didn't. So, Brian and I hiked to the nearby stream and soaked our shirts in the freezing water and wrapped our bodies in our wet clothes.

Around midnight that night, we hear something moving outside our tent and Jake starts barking. Scared to death a bear was about to attack, I stopped breathing and started praying. Luckily, it wasn't bears. A group of 8 had just arrived at our campsite and was setting up tents around ours. Shortly after, we calmed Jake down and went back to sleep. Next morning we woke up and started to pack the tent again. As we were packing, a strong windstorm came into the canyon making the process much more difficult. We finally got everything ready to go and we began our hike out of the Canyon and back up Freezeout Saddle. As we were heading out, the weather was slowly getting worse and we got to the car just as it started to really rain hard - phew!

All in all - it was an awesome adventure and I saw some of the most incredible sights!! Next backpacking trip is set for June 8 -10th.

Oh and Brian - I love you and happy anniversary! Thanks for keeping the bears away :-)

Becky

Daily Photos

Kids flying kites on a windy Sunday evening in our neighborhood. Tell me who doesn't love Sponge Bob?

Daily Photos

Shaw Mountain / Lucky Peak

Brian and I went for our second hike in as many weekends. As we approached the parking area for Shaw Mountain, Brian says “That one over there is the one we are climbing.” In my desperate and frantic scan of the horizon I try to point out the smaller, less intimidating mountains as the ones he was talking about. But, no, it was the monster in front of me. After I confirmed which mountain I would be climbing, the only words that came to mind were “Holy Shit, I can’t do that.” However, before I knew it I had my loaded pack on and we were beginning the climb up to the peak.

Brian had researched the climb and sources said it was approximately 8 miles round trip – WRONG. The hike was approximately 12 miles and we climbed about 2100 feet in elevation. It was exhausting. It was painful. It was long. But, it was well worth it even though I came home with a bug bite on my tongue (don’t ask; that sucked), bruised hips (from my pack), achy leg muscles, a swollen left hand, and two bloody toes.

I think Willie Benegas says it best “I love reaching a summit; it’s that feeling of accomplishment I can’t find anywhere else.” I agree, the feeling of thinking I couldn’t make it and then the feeling of 'oh my goodness I did it' is an awesome feeling. We had some incredible views and saw some cool stuff. We even heard a bird’s wings in the wind for the first time. Think about, when do you hear their wings? Never. It was pretty loud and interesting.

Overall, well worth it and I can’t wait for the next one!

Becky