#3- Top of a 14'er/ Family Update

Top Ten List #3- Top of a 14'er

I have been to the top of 4 mountains that peak at 14k plus feet. One of them is Pike's Peak which we drove up to the top so that doesn't really count in the adventure category!

When I was 12 my family indulged my dad in hiking to the top of one 14k foot mountain, Mount Eolus, for his 40th birthday. This was such a great experience that my dad and I took another trip to the Chicago basin for my college graduation present along with Marcus and Forrest Bowen and Uncle Bob and Eric Gross.

A few highlights of the trip:

The unexpected 6 feet of snow at the top which resulted in a sunburn (ouch!),

Camping on a rock in the middle of the snowfield for 2 nights. Thanks to Meredith and Aaron for the use of their nice inflatable mattress thing to make the rock sleeping much more comfortable.

The feeling of summiting 3, 14k foot mountains: priceless. Actually, the views from the top are priceless and the true reward. Unfortunately I'm always so gassed at the summit that I just think about the long hike down. I hope to return one more time and summit North Eolus.

The Family Update:

Today is Tracy's last day of work! We will be packing up and leaving Bastrop this weekend, well our stuff will stay in storage. I am moving into the Lemmon house and Tracy heads east next week. Watch your e-mail account for updates on Tracy's adventures!

I'll admit that I will miss Bastrop, the tall pine trees, and our friends. I told Tracy that "this has been our best move yet." It was our first move away from the Dallas area and truly on our own. While confident that we'd make Bastrop work, you just never know until you move away from security and are truly on-your-own. I'm hoping that our next move will be just as good for our family; that we can find a good church and many good friends!