KJ made it back

KJ made it back from his camping trip in one piece. He had a wonderful time and wants to go with this group again. He is at his dad's for the weekend, but I thought I would go ahead and post a few of his pictures. (He took 167!) Maybe I'll convince him to do a guest blog about the trip when he returns. FYI - all pics are bigger if you click on them.

This is the Mountain Men bus. It has no heat or a/c. Several of the bus seats have been turned so they face it each other with a small table in between. Each boy had to put his gear in a 38 qt. plastic container. The bus has racks above the seats that are designed to hold that size container. Each boy was also assigned a duffle bag for his sleeping bag, pillow, and coat.




This is where the duffle bags and cots were stored. KJ called it the lounge area since the boys would just lay back on top of the bags and nap.


Also in the bus is the head of a jackalope. KJ was excited to show me this picture and wanted to know if I had ever seen one before. "Ummm, you DO know that they aren't real, right?"
"No, Mom. I pulled on the horns and they are really attached." I explained how they were popular novelty items years ago.


He still didn't believe me and directed me to this picture.

The part I circled in red is a jackalope hunting license.

This dog, Brady, has gone on every trek and expedition since he was 7 months old. He is the Fort Smith Mountain Men dog.


He and KJ got along well.


The first day they drove to Balmorhea State Park. (395 miles) I'm not sure if this is there or on the way.




They spent the night and messed around there until after lunch, when they headed on over to Fort Davis State Park. (32 miles) They set up camp and hiked a little.

They had tents, but never used them.

They spent the night there, hiked up a mountain, and went to the McDonald Observatory that evening.

I can't believe how BLUE the sky is.

This is from the top of the mountain, I think. KJ is on the far left.


They went to a star party here. KJ saw and visited with the Education Curator from the zoo. She was vacationing in the area too.


After spending a second night, they headed out to Stillwell Ranch, just outside Big Bend. (93 miles) On the way, they saw some bald eagles who had a nest with babies.


On their first day there, they hiked Dog Canyon.


Big Bend has lots of cacti.


On their second day, they had a longer hike along the Rio Grande. The river is down in the ravine.


See, there it is. It's hard to imagine illegals scaling those cliffs to cross the border.


Well, maybe they could cross here. It looks doable if you were determined.


Now THIS would be an easy place to cross. Is that a tiny building on the other side?


Yep, it sure is.


Hope you didn't buy anything, KJ.


I know these next pics are in Big Bend, but I'm not sure where.




This is an adobe building. KJ is on the far right.




After their second night at Stillwell Ranch, they drove to Wolf Mountain Scout Ranch. (332 miles), where they had a final campfire and spent the night. The next morning, they got to shoot black powder rifles before returning to Georgetown. (66 miles)

KJ learned a ton including how to do a little cooking.

Misc. tidbits

My cough kept getting worse despite all my home remedies. When I couldn't catch my breath and was wheezy, I finally broke down and went to the doctor. She said it was bronchitis. I have some meds plus I'm still drinking honey in warm water so maybe I'll get better soon.

This afternoon, I noticed that someone had beat me to the punch and cleared out the dead leaves and plants from part of the front flower bed. I was wondering who when I noticed that a couple of chickens were steadily making their way along the other half, scratching all the dead stuff out in their quest for worms and bugs. They are doing an awesome job!

David discovered an easier way to get the chickens to go back in the coop. We usually just herd them in, but there is always that ONE chicken who is nearly impossible to catch. Anyway, today he made a sound like a hawk. The chickens froze and then ALL of them made a mad dash for the safety of the coop.

We go pick KJ up tomorrow. I'm sure he'll have lots to say about the trip.

Update:

I talked to KJ's doctor and he has an epididymis cyst and some blood in his urine. If the pain persists (it has gotten much better), he will need to see a urologist. She does want to repeat his urine test when he gets back though.

Catch-up time

Wow, working 40 hours a week away from the house sure put a damper on my regularly scheduled activities like blogging, housework, reading blogs, cleaning Fred's tank, and Toontown. For those of you who don't remember, I was working Zoo Camp last week. I was actually getting paid to do that so I kind of had to be there everyday, as opposed to just picking and choosing as a volunteer. Anyway, great fun was had by all including KJ who helped out Mon., Wed., and Fri. Tuesday was co-op followed by hanging out with his girlfriend and Thursday, he went to Six Flags with his dad.

Speaking of KJ, he is having a medical issue so please send him some positive energy or pray. I'll update more after I talk to the doctor today. Meanwhile, KJ is on a camping trip in West Texas and Big Bend with the Fort Smith Mountain Men. Actually, let me consult his itinerary...today they are at Fort Davis State Park. They will hike into Fort Davis and tonight, visit the McDonald Observatory for a star party.

David and I have both come down with either a chest cold or horrible allergies. We're both blowing out snot or coughing up snot. Oh, get this. I was perfectly healthy Mon. - Wed. On Thursday morning, I rolled over in bed and snot ran out my nose. That's a wonderful wake-up call. My eyes were puffy and my nose was pouring. I did not blow dry my hair and since the wind was blowing hard, you can imagine what it eventually looked like. I was at camp leading the darling children in a wonderful learning experience (in between sneezes). We had just left the Butterfly Garden and were going into the Ranch House so I could do an animal presentation on the Burmese Python. The Education Coordinator and some guy with a camera were already in the Ranch House. Camera guy asks me to "put this on before you get the snake out," and hands me a wireless mike. Ummm, why? For the "Back to the Wild" show on the city cable channel. What??!! The Education Curator and Coordinator FORGOT to tell me that the city's cable channel would be filming that day. I looked like death warmed over. Oh well, it won't air until November and hopefully I will have forgotten all about it by then.

Misc. ramblings

My baby is growing up. *sigh* I ordered his drivers-ed package from the state. It should be here a few weeks before KJ turns 15, so he'll have the book knowledge to get his learner's permit right after his birthday. We're also going through the paperwork for KJ to start the high school dual credit program at the community college this fall. He still has to take some tests in April, but he should be fine there. I feel like this is the beginning of the end of homeschooling. He's only going to take 1 class in the fall and spring so he'll still have some other work to do. The following year, however, KJ will most likely just take college classes.

Next week is our last week of school before two weeks of vacation. The week of the 10th, KJ and I will be working Spring Break Camp at the zoo. Then KJ will leave on a camping trip the 15th and return the 21st. He is going to Big Bend with this group.

David has taken to cooking supper like a professional chef. I have never eaten so good, AND I'm still losing weight!