Day 168: Minister Creek

Our expedition of twenty five Quest student and adult leaders plus a few friends arrived at Minister Creek ready for adventure.  Steve and I struggled with the steady uphill climb and the heat, stopping frequently to rest.  My pack felt like it weighed more than it did for Quest because I was carrying a gallon and a half of water.  It's a challenging trail, but it's worth the effort.



Twisting through the hardwood forest, the trail lead us through graceful fiddlehead ferns and fragrant mountain laurels.  Huge boulders called glacial erratics left by the glacial retreat littered the hillside.  Tumbled into place at odd angles, many were composed of layers of colorful quartz pebbles.  Every step offered new delights; fossils, butterflies, wildflowers all in the company of good friends.





Lots of other campers were on the trail, but we were still able to claim our favored site.  A swift rocky stream flowed through a pine grove at the valley floor.  Previous hikers had fashioned chairs made of rocks around the fire pit and repeated the process in the creek.  We dunked our steaming bodies into the cool water and then sat chilling our feet and enjoying the sights and sounds of the forest.

Dinner was a smorgasbord of dehydrated meals: Hawaiian chicken, Santa Fe chili, beef stroganoff, pizza, trifle, taco rice, pad Thai, and lots of others. We sampled bites of each dish prepared by the campers.  Evening came and we made s'mores and sang around a campfire, things we never do on Quest. All around us, hundreds of fireflies glittered and glowed in the darkness.  Some chose to leave the rainflies off their tents so they could watch the fireflies and the stars all night and fall asleep to the sound of creek.

Day 167: Blooming

We watched most of "Oh Brother, Where Art Thou?" tonight and I thought back to Colin's senior year in high school.   For class night he and Kiel and Alex performed "Man of Constant Sorrow."  Colin sang the lead while Kiel and Alex backed him up.  It was so authentic and funny that they brought down the house.

Our young friend was smiling and sitting up in a chair at Children's Hospital this afternoon.  She's made such great progress!  As she heals, she's dreaming of a healthier future, going back to college and traveling to France one day in the future.  That's our dream for her as well.

 Chautauqua Cha Cha Cha was the first lily to bloom and it had three blossoms!  That's fifteen days ahead of the normal schedule.  I'm ahead of schedule too.  I swam 150 lengths today for a total of 710 lengths or 3.76 miles.  Great week!

Tomorrow we are heading to Minister Creek to backpack with our student and adult leaders.  We'll walk along a circular trail through a valley in the National Forest.  A small stream flows in the center of the valley.  The trail in is on a gentle slope, but on Sunday we'll climb up the opposite side through giant boulders.

Day 166: Meg

Meg is leaving Fredonia for a great adventure.  She volunteered to serve with Americorps in West Virginia working on women's health issues, specifically counseling teenage girls on pregnancy prevention.  So passionate and committed to this important work, she is excited and eager to start, but her family is nervous.  I so admire her energy and dedication.

We spent most of the day in the yard enjoying this lovely summer day.  Of course, I can't sit still, so between sets of laps, I weeded the gardens, potted more flowers and Steve and I moved a ton of mulch.    In the vegetable garden, a tiny tomato and a few tiny summer squash are prospering.  Tomorrow the first of the lilies, Chautauqua Cha Cha Cha, will bloom.  For the next two months lilies will dominate my pages.  They are so exquisite they leave me breathless with wonder.

Day 165: Evening on Canadaway

Walking along the creek tonight, the killdeer whizzed by and landed in a pine.  It flew too fast to catch a photo, but it was an evening treat.  Over  the weekend we'll be backpacking at Minister Creek which will be an opportunity for amazing photos.

I swam another 100 lengths for a grand total of 430 thus far this week.  That's a little over two miles! A heat wave is coming so I will be spending lots of time in the pool.

Day 164: Tuesdays with Amy

Hot fudge sundaes, root beer floats, Mexican sundaes, pepsi floats, mint chip cones, cherry toppings!  Our Tuesday nights together are all about the conversation, but the sweet treats definitely enhance our visits!

Day 163: Backyard Follies

Our class reunion is just a few weeks away and the reservations are just dribbling in.  Planning and preparing has been lots of fun because all the committee members have remained good friends for 45 years.  Meeting every few weeks since September, we talk and laugh for for hours.   We've been fortunate to have good participation over the years.  In fact, our 40th was the best party I ever attended.   It would be impossible to recreate that great evening, so we will do our best to create a different, but equally amazing reunion.

We hauled dirt to fill low spots in the backyard and to extend the lily garden.  At 89 degrees, it probably wasn't the best job to tackle today.  I swam 110 lengths, just a bit more than yesterday.  I could hardly lift my arms afterward, but it was a joy.  Gliding through the cool water, watching birds flit overhead, rustling branches and birdsong; I am at peace.

Day 162: Summer Sunday

Summer days filled with swimming and gardening are finally here!  I swam 100 lengths (one half a mile)  today so I should be able to hit my goal of a mile a day by the end of the month.  Rain yesterday helped revive the hostas which were getting a bit crispy.  Their fragrant blossoms add a sweet perfume to the yard.  I filled many containers with gorgeous annuals.  Sweet potato vines curl around the begonias and geraniums while licorice and bacopa drape gracefully over the edge of the pots.  Steve will be speaking to the 8th graders about his experiences in Vietnam for the next two days, so I will have the days off!