Mother's Day Weekend at the Gorge V 2008

“i dont snore, just breathe loud at night!”

“so are you going jerry?”

“yea”

“Safe travels everyone! See ya tonight.”

“Ya'll have a GREAT time & I wish I could be there!!!!!!”

“safe travels and a good time for all! looks like saturday could be a beautiful day in the red! wish i could have gone.”

“Well, I'm not sure if everyone's left or not but we have to bail. We spent most of the day today in the hospital because our daughter had a boil that had to be drained. Doctor said if she was older it wouldn't be a big deal but since she's only 10 weeks it chould get into her blood stream so we have to stay home and give her antibiodics and bath her twice a day.

Have fun everyone. Hopefully we can make the one in August.”

“Bummer Thrifty. Hope she's better soon. I'll let everyone know why you're out.”

“Yikes! She okay?”

“Thrifty-take care of that little one! See ya on the next one.”

“Yikes! She okay?”
Wounded Knee
2:47:35 PM

yea, it's just precautionary...the doctor at the hospital acted like she didn't even really need to be there...it is caused by an infection though that she's likely to have her whole life but as soon as she gets a little older it won't be that big of a deal

this is the second time we've had to call off plans because of this...oh well, such is parenthood...wouldn't trade it for anything
last edited: 5/09/08 1:58:25 PM”

“Ditto brother!

well...except for last night when Charles pulled a number 2 that had so much force behind it, it shot up his back and out the neck of the PJ's he was wearing. It was quite funny though. Gracie was sitting next to me and caught in the blast zone. She did not even know what hit her.”

“I got the directions and will be leaving sometime around 9 AM. So that problably means I will be actually leaving the house around 10:30. Hope to see you all early afternoon.”

“Dang, WK, just....Dang. It's a visual I could do without, now burned into my mind.”

“We made it home with all our wet gear. We had a great time!!! Pictures to follow soon.”

“pictures

http://www.thebackpacker.com/pictures/album/oge0ucw3,1.php”

“HA HA HA!
WG, picture #34 had me laughing! The toy leopard in the foreground- Laurel has the exact same one. She named him "Big Eyes!"”

“I'm home and have wet gear EVERYWHERE!!
Once again an awesome hike! Great company...Awesome weather....well except for that "little" bit of rain we had!! lol
Thanks Ruby for putting this together, again!

Great pics WG!”

“Thanks Ruby for putting on another super trip!!

We had a blast even though it was a short one for us. Perfect weather and better company couldnt have been asked for...”

“Once again we arrived home from this trip with me vowing that next year we are going for a couple days more to take advantage of more at RRG. We'll see how that goes when we have an infant. ;)

We got home a while ago and have started unpacking and drying. What a downpour that was this morning!! I was a little worried about those who were left. Jon and the boys and I got nailed with the downpour on our last run to the truck. We were sopping wet but in good spirits. Just as we pulled out of the parking lot a severe thunderstorm warning alert was broadcast for Powell County, among others, saying to be prepared for driving rain, hail, and 70 mph winds and that if you were outdoors to take cover immediately in a shelter. How'd you guys make out?



BTW, we went for breakfast at the True North Outfitters hostel/Gorge Bistro just a few miles from our campsite. What a fantastic breakfast!! You get 3 scrambled eggs with cheese, fruit, 3 strips of bacon, seasoned tomatoes, tea/coffee/milk/juice as well as your choice of 3 pancakes, biscuits & gravy, or waffles for $6. What a delicious bargain! We highly recommend it.

We chatted with the owner after breakfast. He offered to help us out with our annual trip each year, offering a deal on the hostel. I told him I didn't think our group needed the hostel since we were pretty comfortable backpackers/campers. So then he offered to tag our campsites for us next year if we decided we wanted to go back to Koomer Ridge. He also offers canoe/kayak rentals and shuttle. We might try to get a day on the river doing that sometime.


I don't think anyone ever came up with an official head count, but we figured there was around 40 people this weekend, more than half of those were kids. My kids were wiped and slept a good part of our 6.5 hour drive home.

When I asked the kids tonight what was their favorite part of the trip, they said the swim hole at the river. Though the rope swing had been cut and the water was cold, they still loved it. They also loved running around the campsite playing with all the other kids, the s'mores, and the chairlift at Natural Bridge SP.

At the hostel this morning I picked up a book called Hinterland which is an unofficial RRG hiking guide. It has all the details for many, many hikes that aren't on the official maps. I may try to incorporate some of those next year. There are also a great number of more difficult hikes that should be done without kids or dogs, such as Indian Staircase. So if you want to learn about other off-the-map hikes at RRG, you may want to consider getting a copy.


It was so good to see everyone this weekend and to meet some new people. Some random thoughts:

*Stomper's husband is an awesome cook!

*Helinka is an amazing trooper of a mom to take her kids and pets, including a rescued cat, on such a jaunt for a weekend!

*It's not worth arguing with a ranger about RRG's vaguely written rules, even when you're right.
last edited: 5/11/08 5:30:38 PM”

“Great turn out and great weather on Saturday. I didn't even mind the thunderstorm this morning while we were trying to pack up. I just stood under the tarp and had my coffee. Life is good!”

“40 people? Shoooo-weee!”

“Oh and btw, the philharmonic was great. LOL!”

“Wish I could have made this but since half the people that RSVPed the party did not show I made the host happy by showing up.

Ruby the book you got is one of several Goodpaster has written. He has another one about The Gorge, the one you picked up is actually his second book on it.

http://www.lostbranch.com/

I hope the camp site I suggested worked out.”

“The campsite was cool sticks.

Ruby, thanks for planning another great trip! Our only complain is that the time went by too quickly. Abby's so worn out she's been trying to convince me she's too tired for school. =)

My favorite part was watching the kids scramble into every rock crevice on the natural bridge hike. AND our feast Saturday night! Thanks Dave and Stomper!”

“looks like a great trip - cool pictures!”

“Here's my pics

http://picasaweb.google.com/UPluver/AATKH

I'll try and upload the videos tomorrow”

“Sticks, I have that book of his as well. I was so happy to see the "unofficial" guide. I've been to Indian Staircase once, but not sure I could find it again without a guide. Now I can. I read the book all the way home and am excited to get back there and see some of the other "secret" hikes.”

“Good pics and thanks to all for making this a memory for us. Yo bear!”

“I have posted next year's trip here: http://www.thebackpacker.com/trips/trip/1518.php”

“Weird, the URL is not found when I tried to join.

Nice pictures everyone.
last edited: 5/13/08 6:41:16 AM”

“damn, i almost forgot about mothers day”