2 Hike Saturday

Last Saturday we ended up at Stacie's house. Shelby went with Stacy and her daughters to dance class Matthew and I went on one hike then we meet Lana and liberty and went on a 2nd one together. The first hike was a 5 mile round trip up to a nice lake. We got there just and the sun was coming over the Mt.

Matthew took this great shot of the sun coming up

The 2nd hike was to some Ice caves. They are at the bottom of some large cliffs that the winter avalanches fill with snow. In the summer they melt to form Ice caves. They sometimes collapse so we did not go very far in.
You can see from this photo how big the Ice caves are. It would hurt if they collapsed with you in them. But that does not stop the brave or foolish from going in very deep.

If you look at the photo you can see Lana is wet. The bridge over the river washed out and you had to walk across a log. She slipped and fell in but kept on walking up the trail even thought is was only about 50 degrees outside. She thought it was a bit cold inside the ICE caves.

The TRIP

You may have noticed that the GA Wards have not been posting very much these past few days. That is because we have been on our annual backpacking trip. This is the second year we have done this hike and I love it. We hike to the top of Blood Mountain. The hike is two miles long and has an elevation gain of 1500 feet. The kids all carried their own packs all the way up and were troopers. This year the weather was absolutely perfect. The hike up was nice and warm and it wasn't too cold overnight. The sunset was absolutely incredible. It must have lasted for 45 minutes. After the sun went down the five of us laid on a rock on top of a mountain we had conquered together and watched the stars come out. It may have been the first time my kids have seen the milky way and they were really excited. We slept in an Appalachian Trail shelter built by the CCC in the 30s.
I love to go backpacking. It is 'simple' camping and in a lot of ways is less work than car camping. The food is simple, camp generally gets setup in a hurry and the views are usually great. Some of the most amazing and memorable experiences I have had have been on backpacking trips. As a scout I went into the windriver mountains for a week. The beauty of that place is something I will never forget. I also walked past a bear with a pack on my back and have watched the sun set from the saddle of the Grand. When you go into the backcountry, you leave civilization behind. The hustle and bustle of life just fades away and I find myself appreciating what I am seeing much more than I usually do. There is all the time in the world to watch a sunset, talk or listen to a bird. It is hard to remember your problems out in in the woods. I have been waiting for the kids to get big enough to go for a long time. As the kids get bigger I hope our annual trip gets bigger and better as well.

The pictures from our trip can be found in these two galleries:

http://crystal-images.smugmug.com/gallery/3657321#208794276

http://crystal-images.smugmug.com/gallery/3659278#208977733

New England in the Fall

All of the sudden last week the colors just began to POP! I just thought I would share some of the beautiful fall colors I am seeing here.

Uncle Brent is Moving to Arizona

Uncle Brent is moving to Phoenix, AZ into an assisted living care center. Grandma has been a wonderful loving care-giver to Brent but he now needs more assistance than she's able to provide. This move allows Uncle Brent to be closer to his son, daughter-in-law and grand kids ... which he's excited about.
He will be living at "The Stratford" care center.
His address is: 1739 West Myrtle - room 211 - Phoenix, AZ 85021.
I know he will enjoy receiving cards and letters from you wishing him well. This is a big change for both Brent and Grandma (notes and calls to her will be appreciated as well). Brent will have 120 neighbors, a movie theater a 100' away, an activity center across the hall, a beautiful aquarium to share with his visitors, 3-meals/day (if you miss a meal or you're hungry they'll make a snack) and a very professional supportive staff.
Good luck Uncle Brent!

ME to MD and back again

I'm flying out tomorrow morning and with a brief layover at the ATL airport ("HI GA WARDS!") I'll be at BWI and seeing the Anderson Clan before heading up the coast with DEB to see KATE. YEA!

I'm very excited to spend some time with the girls, but hope the rest of the sibs can do something similar sometime next year. Still working on that DOG?

This trip will mark 7 states off my "must see" list... actually only six because New Jersey isn't on any of my lists... although it will be good to sleep for a few hours of a 26 hour drive. EEK! I'm going to need a vacatione from this vacation!

Happy Birthday DAN

Too many more candles and Dan the Man won't be able to stand this close to his cake. Fun was had by all celebrating his birthday. This post is a little late but the sentiment remains the same ...
Happy Birthday Dan!

19th Anniversary of my 50th Birthday

It took 10 days but I finally got to open my birthday presents. Mom cooked a great meal and as you can see in the pictures, I had a very festive cake but alas it had the wrong numbers on the candles ... they should have been 50+ not, egad "69". Guess who had as much fun as anyone!

Thanks to everyone for remembering.

Love,

Dad/Grandpa/Great Grandpa

Siblings in AZ

Charlie is helping me learn how to post a blog. This is a picture from 2006 when my siblings came to AZ. We always have so much fun together--we just wish we would have started years ago!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY

It is a happy day in Maryland!! Happy Birthday to both Josh (13th) and Deborah (14th)!!! October is a busy month for the wards! Hope you guys have/had a great day!

Chas' Pig

A Pig. By Chas Ward

I think this fits in nicely with the family blog. Don't you?

Green Belts!

A green belt might be a fashion no no but Emma is proud to be wearing hers!

Emma and Crystal earned their green belts in Tae Kwon Do on thursday night. The first picture is of the ceremony where the belts get tied on. Emma has worked very hard and had to wait a long to time to get to this level. We are proud of her!