Show & Tell

An enthusiastic thank you to everyone who decided to participate in my 3 questions post. Man, you all didn't hold anything back, did you?! LOL!! I will do my best to answer them honestly and fully. Unfortunately, I have a paper to write - so it may be a day or two before I post the Q&A session. If you have yet to submit your questions, you still have time. In the meantime, I thought I'd share some of my favorite pictures from my trip this weekend. There are a lot so I hope you are exceedingly bored. (You can see the complete photo package on my flickr account) I took this pic on our way to Dolly Sods. You'll only find a police sobriety checkpoint at 5:30pm in Western Maryland. We couldn't stop laughing which pissed the officer off a bit, "We take this very seriously!" "HA HA HA (*clears throat*). Yes, we understand." After we pulled away the laughter started all over again. I guess they get the party started early in these parts! We hiked in after dark our first night. After dinner, we smoked stogies with our trip leader; the first time in 15 years he's had all the girls join in. He was quite taken and chuckled several times about it. I guess he didn't know who he was dealing with!! I woke up in the middle of the night to go to the bathroom. I thought I would be brave & go alone. As I'm heading into the woods, I see a set of eyes glowing at me. It just stared at me and continued moving slowly. I could tell by its movement it was not a deer. I flipped the fuck out & woke up the whole camp as I ran back. Everyone thought it was funny - me not so much. The guys starting making farm animal noises. Bastards. After being escorted to the bathroom & everyone settled back in, a bear joined our camp. We all sat still and silent. Fortunately, our bear bags were properly hung and the bear gave up and left. Never a dull moment. The group voted to use tarps instead of tents to reduce impact on the land and to save on weight. There I am, sporting my school t-shirt, all ready for a day of backpacking. One of many water crossings, which I suck royally at. The area is in desperate need of rain - most of the rocky area is normally covered in water. A climbing detour had us all feeling like kids again! From the top we found an awesome view of Monongahela National Forest. Nothing like a camp fire & s'mores. I was always one of the last three to head to bed. After a 6.5 hour difficult hike, Katie & I got up early in the morning to try to freeze the pain away. I'm kicking my ass to get into shape before the next trip. I don't EVER want to feel like that again. Fortunately, my suggestion of a massage competition worked well enough to soothe my shoulders the night before. The group at the trail head just feet away from the van. You shouldn't have any trouble figuring out which one is me ;) The trip was just what I needed. I feel a great sense of accomplishment and feel like everything is back in perspective. I hope to be in great shape by the next trip; both mentally and physically. I know I have a ways to go but I have already come so far. Alright, back to my paper... Smiley for the Day: