Inside the Inbetween

Heads up: I didn’t really write this on New Year’s Eve, 2010. I actually wrote this in July, 2011. I love the date changing capabilities. Thanks Blogger!

I’m catching you on my life, and this is the best way I can think to do that. Or at least, it’s the way I feel like doing it.

So, back to New Year’s Eve. 2010 was crazy. wild. weird. a year to remember. a once in a lifetime experience.

We started the Colorado Trail on Monday, June 7^th and it was incredible! I cannot even explain how amazing our time on the trail was. Unfortunately, it was also short-lived. My knee was injured Friday, and thankfully we made it to a trailhead Saturday. Two extremely nice guys picked us up and drove us all the way back to Littleton to our Tahoe. They really were heaven-sent!

Of course we were extremely disappointed. Heart broken really. We had been so set and so excited about our journey that to have it cut short by something beyond our control was terrible! We weighted our options and decided that our summer was only ruined if we let it be. So we created plan B! This is how plan B looked:

15000 miles in 2 months. We slept in our Tahoe most of the time and took showers at National Parks and KOA Campgrounds. Oh, and we lived almost entirely off of McDonald’s Dollar Menu. I can’t stand the smell of Mickey D’s anymore. Yuck.

After wrapping up our Grand Tour and visiting family for a few weeks we came home to our warm, homey… extended stay hotel room. Interesting to say the least. We moved in to Colorado on August 7^th, and El found a job pretty quickly. He started on August 15^th and we moved in to our rented townhouse on the 19^th. The whole process didn’t take very long really.

We met and became good friends with Bubba and Paula. They’re pretty amazing. I think they pretty much rock.

I got a job at WAY-FM, a Christian radio station, at the end of September.

Life continued. That brings us to now, New Year’s Eve.

My oldest- little sister will turn 16.

In the next half a year, El’s friend Chris will move in with us, and then move out.

We will meet new friends Jason and Rachel. They are amazing. 

We will be under contract for a house for over 3 months, and still not know if we actually be able to buy it or not.

We will visit El’s sister and her family in Reno, NV for Easter.

My mom and sisters will come and live with us for about 6 weeks.

Life is amazing.

Weight in Pictures

Two weeks away!

  Here is a sampling of what we'll be carrying on the Colorado Trail:

Yeah it's a lot. And this isn't all.

Honestly, it's only about 2/3rds of what we'll be taking.

We're taking boots and crocs, so our feet will have a chance to dry out at night. Also, we each have a light down coat and a rain jacket.

Cool Whip containers to eat out of, a water filter and back-up water drops, headlights, and about 178K other things.

My muscles hurt already.

Pack Shock

  Wow. We just tried out our backpacks for the first time. Wow. I knew it was going to be heavy and big, but to see just how big, and feel just how heavy that pack is... WHEW!!!

  Mine weighs about 35 lbs, about 3 1/2 feet tall and bigger around than I am! I put it on and El had to help me adjust it, then I walked down our three flights of stairs and back up, and my back is still sore! 485 miles? What exactly am I thinking? We’ve gone to a local reservoir a few times and walked the track around it. It’s a three mile track and I’m so tired at the end! This is us on the track:

 

 

  I am also shocked at just how much stuff we have to stick in that bag! Tons of food, clothes (only about one extra set, but they take up a lot of room), rope, toiletries, camp shoes, sleeping bag, stove, fuel, on and on. It truly seems like the list never ends. We still have a lot to buy, and we haven’t decided on water purification system yet. We saw some at Bass Pro we liked, but we aren't sure yet.

  Elliot discovered that my pack has a built in waterproof cover, so that's a blessing! We have yet to get El's pack. Mine is North Face, but he likes REI, or a Kelty.

  Preparations go on!