What a whirlwind this past week was! We got back from backpacking 50 miles on the Appalachian Trail Sunday. I spent Monday packing to go to Arizona for work for the week. I landed back in Charlotte at 8:40pm Friday……. Whew. We woke up early Saturday to meet friends for a camping and kayaking trip to Merchants Millpond. We LOVE…
Heading Out on 50 miles!
I got my backpack together on Sunday. I added 3L of water which weighs almost 8 pounds. Yikes. I added a complete Smartwool base layer because of the cool temperatures at night. The total weight before adding the keto muffins I baked? 41 pounds. I also need to add my vitamins. I think I will definitely need my daily vitamins…
Celebrating Our First Anniversary: A Journey of Friendship and Love
Life continues on without Shadow. The huskies seemed to be okay yesterday, but neither of them ate any breakfast this morning. Could be that they just are not hungry or they could be grieving. We went for two walks yesterday with Ghost and Ammy. The house seems a lot more quiet without grumpy grandpa. I think in retrospect, we realize…
Compassionate Farewell to Shadow with Lap of Love
Every dog is the best dog in the world. Shadow was no exception. That Mally Monster will forever hold a special place in my heart that no other dog can replace. Rest easy, big boy. Rest easy. Lap of love got to the house a few minutes after 3pm. Dr Kate had a vet shadowing her, so we got two…
The Healing Power of Dogs: A Tribute to Shadow
When I called Lap of Love on Tuesday, I asked God to give me a sign that I had made the right decision. Today is going to be SO hard, but God has shown all three of us that euthanizing Shadow this afternoon is the right decision. God really showed up. No one wants to make this choice. No one.…
Saying Goodbye to My Beloved Malamute: Shadow’s Journey
Tomorrow is going to be a very difficult day. Lap of Love is coming to put Shadow to sleep. Even though I knew this day was coming, nothing could prepare my heart. Eight years ago, Sean and I rescued Shadow. Shadow lived with me while Sean was away at college. The lovable malamute became my best friend. Shadow came into…
Life Lessons Learned: The Let Them Theory and a Kayaking Adventure
Kayaking trips are something I don’t think I have blogged about much in the past. We enjoy kayaking on day trips and we also enjoy kayak camping. This past weekend, we paddled 12 miles on the Catawba River with our kayaking group. It was our 6th annual River Feast and a Toys for Tots toy drive. It was a great…
Surprising Finds on Our Virginia Overland Camping Trip
Last weekend, we went on our first overlanding adventure in Virginia. We met two other couples at a HipCamp Friday night and headed out early Saturday for the off-road trails. We ended up driving about 100 miles off-road over the weekend! We had so much fun! The second night we camped at Flagpole Knob. It had been raining all day…
Max Patch to Hot Springs: A Backpacking Adventure
We had a great adventure last weekend. We hiked from Max Patch to Hot Springs. It ended up being just over 21 miles with an elevation gain of 2,966 ft. From the summit of Max Patch to Hot Springs has an elevation loss of about 4,629 ft heading north bound. It was a moderate hike with several ascents that were…
Jeep Lift Kit Installation: Ready for Off-Road Adventure
Last weekend, Marty and Sean put a lift kit on my Jeep! This has been something we have been talking about for a very long time. On some of our adventures, we’ve hit dead ends, because we just didn’t have the clearance. One time, we left the chainsaw at camp, so we had to walk an extra mile to get…
My Little Red Bike 