Where was the sign that read...

"Danger, No Exit."

Mt. St Helens

Karsten and I

Yesterday I met up with my brother-in-law Theron, his dad, and my 6-year-old nephew Karsten. They were up in Seattle visiting Theron's dad and decided to venture down my direction to see Mt. St Helen's. First we went to the Johnson Observatory to see the north side where the blast took place in 1980. It was incredible. The mountain floor surrounding it is still barren, from what it once was, but there was this green covering that was brilliant against the dark backdrop of the mountain and the cloudy, gray skies.

Our next stop was the Ape Caves, a lava tube created during the eruption, on the south side of the mountain. Theron had told me about these caves when David and I first moved here and I have wanted to go for awhile. So, I was excited to finally go. When we arrived we started out on the lower cave which is an easy 3/4 mile walk to the end. We did that for a short while and decided to venture back to the upper caves which is quite a bit more difficult and 1 1/2 miles long. Neither of us had read much about the upper caves, so we didn't know how long it would take. But 1 1/2 miles can't take that long and then there was supposed to be an opening at the end that met a surface trail that we would take back to the beginning. Easy, right?

Karsteroni... at the beginning of our trip.

Theron and Karsten. Karsten did awesome and was so brave.

We had been in the cave for about an hour and a half and I admit I was getting a bit nervous. Obviously we weren't going to get stuck in there, we could always turn around and walk back out, but I was having visions of the miners trapped in Brazil. And a bit of claustrophobia was setting in. Nevertheless, we forged ahead scrambling over rocks, up lava created waterfalls. Theron did mention that we didn't see bones anywhere which was a good sign.

Every so often I would turn my flashlight off to see if I could see any light up ahead indicating an exit, but I did this several times to no avail. Then after about two hours I started to feel a breeze and knew we must be close. Then finally, I saw the sky! As much as this was a relief, I looked up out of this hole in the top of the cave and wondered, how the heck are we going to get up out of this thing. It was fairly high and it looked like we would have to do a little bit of rock climbing. I've done a bit of rock climbing, but generally I am hooked in and am not attempting to bring a six year old along.

Theron working on hoisting Karsten up to me.

I mustered up my courage and went first. Then stopped in a pocket to the side and Theron boosted Karsten up to me. I tucked Karsten back in the pocket behind me and scooted in myself so that Theron could come up. As we were sitting there and Theron was figuring out how to come up, Karsten calming said several times, "We might die here". For thinking he might die, he was remarkably calm. And how tragic that he thought this was a possibility.

View of the skylight from halfway up.

Basically we did this climb out in segments to get Karsten up as we went. Now, came the tricking part, the next climb up wasn't quite as easy, even to the point where we wondered if we should just head back out to the beginning. But, I knew I saw the daylight and was ready to be in the fresh air, so I examined the cliff edge in front of me and figured I had to just go for it. So, I did. Next we did some manuevering and I pulled Karsten up with me next. As we watched Theron figure out how to get up this next little bit, Karsten and I said a little prayer that we could do it. The last part was the easiest so I got Karsten up out of the cave and had him get far back from the opening and wait for us. Next we had to get Theron up to the middle level. I would guide him to where there were hand holds that he could grip to pull himself up. I saw a rock hanging down behind his back and thought he might be able to use this to push against. So, I told him he would have to kick his leg back behind himself. He did this and then was finally able to get up over the ledge. I then scrambled out the rest of the way. While Karsten and I waited the last little bit for Theron to get out, we said a prayer thanking Heavenly Father for helping us.

Then we headed back to the parking lot where Theron's poor dad had been waiting for us for the last 3 hours or so. Gaylord told us that there was a sign on the map that said only use exits that have a ladder. Ummmm, this exit definitely did not have a ladder, so when we got back to my place in Portland we did some research on the Upper Ape Caves. To our surprise, there happens to be a SKYLIGHT before you reach the actual exit, with a nice set of stairs, leading right up to the trail. We also learned that several people have been injured attempting to exit the cave through the skylight.

Theron and Karsten after the journey.

I guess we learned our lesson.

Family

After our trip to Lake Powell we visited family and friends in Utah. We saw my sister Ashley down in Provo as well as David's friend, Rob and his wife Jamie. Then of course we had to head up to Pleasantview to hang out with my brother's family. Remember how much I love seeing my nieces and nephews?!

Jackson turned 5 while we were there, so we got to celebrate.

We went out for lunch at Sonora Grill.

I guess food tastes better when your shades are on.

Then we finished up with some ice cream at this super cute old school ice cream shop. Not sure why, but I have been on a licorice ice cream kick ever since I tried it at Seaside Beach. Sophie wanted to try it. Not so surprising, but her and Jackson were not fans.

On our way out of town we met David's brother, Clint, downtown. We toured the conference center and temple square.

David and Clint

Lake Powell

Last week we met up with David's mission companion, Dave and his wife Linsey, at Lake Powell for a long weekend on their houseboat. It was my first trip to Lake Powell and hopefully not my last. It was so beautiful and the group was a blast. It has been a long time since I have laughed that hard for multiple days in a row.

David and I at Hole in the Rock

Shanna, Mindy, Linsey and I

David's companion skiing. I just loved these pictures so I included them and I don't have any good ones of us wakeboarding or surfing.

Dave wakeboarding.

David was our official history guide through Lake Powell.

I loved the reflections that the cliffs made in the water. Some of my pics literally looked like I had taken the picture upside down.

Rainbow Bridge
Mindy, Cam, Shanna, Cody, Linsey, Dave, David and I

On our way back from the trip a tire blew off the boat trailer. While the guys were getting scavenging the small town of Green River to find the parts they needed, we entertained ourselves on the side of the road with a game of dominoes.

This trip actually made David wish he were done with training so that he had more time to play.
Thanks Linsey and Dave!

Triple Falls Hike

Labor Day David and I went out to the Gorge with our friends Todd and Cary. We hiked to Triple Falls. What makes this hike so wonderful? Well, you start off the hike with a waterfall, Ponytail Falls. Then you see a another waterfall midway to the turn around point at Triple Falls where you actually see the creek break into three waterfalls. It's a pretty easy hike and doesn't take all day.

Boston

While David was in Boston working and had a place to stay that was being paid for by his program, I figured this was the best opportunity to get to see my husband, and of course get to see Boston. So, I flew out to Boston for David's last week of work there.
I decided, if we end up in Boston for a few years, I wouldn't mind a bit. What an awesome city! There is soooo much to do. I think I walked the entire city during my trip which is probably a good thing since I also enjoyed a lot of great food. Since David was working during the days, I went out exploring by myself. I'll just include a few highlights from the trip that include fun, lots of history and delicious food.