The famous words of dad, “I know exactly where we are” needs to be remembered throughout family history as the longest hike we took as a family. I asked dad if we could hike back to camp down the other side of the mountain. Joseph said that he didn’t think we could get back that way and that’s when dad said, “I know exactly where we are.” He didn’t and we arrived back in camp around midnight, as I remember, where Wendy had spent the day tending the current baby (I believe it was Meghan at this time) and had chili waiting for us…….and it was still hot (the ending to the story of Where the Wild Things Are which is appropriate whem talking about our memories in a family of 14.
On this hike, I remember Krista and Amy. They were little tykes and it got to a point where they were falling asleep on their feet as they were walking. It must have been miserable for all of us at the end but now, I only remember the adventure of it all and the closeness and excitement of all of us in this together and the fact that we survived!!!! And I’m thinking that the trials we face in this life will be very much the same as we remember them in the next. We won’t remember the pain and it will bond us even closer because of the shared experience.
I remember the camping trip in October (after Michael was in wrestling and before the girls started playing high school volleyball.) After the initial disappointment that the showers and the Red’s Meadow campsites were closed we discovered that this upper camp site was beautiful as well. I remember the warmth of the days and the beautiful colored leaves. I wanted to hike to Thousand Island lake. It was right before Matthew’s mission and he wanted to see the lake and make the hike but we had Krista with us, so we had to turn around early. ? But we made it to the top of a ridge and saw this beautiful vista. By the time we made it to Thousand Island Lake on another camping trip (without Krista), Matthew was on his mission but I thought of him and wished he were with us. I dropped my jacket on that trip and Joseph kindly hiked back about a mile to get it for me. The entire hike was about 20 miles and I remember some lame ranger telling us we could hike it (with little children) in about 6 hours - IN YOUR DREAMS!
One of my favorite camp experiences of ALL TIME was experiencing a great dream - the kind with those great yearning feelings - actually happen. I had dreamed once that I was in Yosemite and it started to rain. Suddenly water started cascading in waterfalls off of the granite domes. I looked closely at the cracks and errosion on these huge granite cliffs and saw that they were made from the water when it rained - It was a cool dream and one I often thought about after. I mean they were the normal granite cliffs and then they became covered with gushing waterfalls. Besides being a great dream - it was a beautiful one. Well…….On the way home from this camp trip, we were driving through Yosemite when it started pouring down rain - cats & dogs worth. Amazing to me was that the water started cascading off of the granite domes in waterfalls just like in my dream. Exactly like in my dream! And although it was totally beautiful and exciting - the fact that I’d dreamed it first made it a weird, eery, exciting event that I always want to remember.
Mom, right after my dream became real
Dad, Matthew & Emily - right after my dream became real. 
Notice the fishing pole?
Your dad loves to fish and although we were on a hike to see the falls - your dad is always hoping for a fishing moment - and is prepared. I’m so happy that he got to experience fishing in Alaska! ?
One camp trip, Matthew & Krista were in great humorous form. I laughed so hard at the Carl’s Jr. restaurant in Mammoth that I thought I was going to choke on my food and die. Tears were running down my cheeks - I was laughing so hard. I don’t remember specifics but in general it was the worst food we’d ever eaten. I asked for a knife to cut a burger in half and they gave me this huge cleaver-type. Matthew and Krista started joking about having a weapon so now we could rob the place. Their jokes were hilarious and I was laughing really really hard when I tried to actually cut the burger in half. I couldn’t figure out why it was so hard to cut the burger in half and pressed on the knife even harder. Turns out that Whitney had reached under the hamburger somehow, trying to reach for some French fries, (who does that anyway?) ha ha while I was trying to cut the hamburger in two. The knife had cut through the hamburger and was pressing into the back of her hand. I don’t know how she feels about the “time when mom tried to cut her hand off” but the situation at the time it made all of us laugh all the harder - the lack of thought in her sticking her hand underneath a knife and part out of relief that she didn’t get hurt very much. The food was lousy and we took what we couldn’t eat back to camp joking that if we fed it to this bear that had been raiding our camp each night that the nasty food would scare the bear away for good. One night the bear had crawled into the back of out pick-up truck and had bit through our dish detergent….so if that didn’t drive him off……… But anyway, we joked that the food would get rid of him for sure. We left the food by this garbage dumpster near our camp and in the morning the food was gone and it was funny because we truly never did see the bear again. So we made up a commercial about Carl’s Jr. being so bad that it’ll scare bears away. “Try a Carl’s Jr. Value Meal. It’ll eliminate all your bear worries………”
Wendy and Meghan at Red’s Meadow: 
Our first trip to Red’s Meadow
The trip our car broke down & Saddlebag was closed.
Dad Aaron and Matthew on top of Conness. Michael is taking the picture. The bottom picture is about the time that dad, Aaron, Matthew & Michael were climbing Conness when Matthew fell through the snow into a lake and got scared to death cause he thought he was about to meet his doom. Aaron & Michael are reenacting Matthew’s experience for the photograph. 
Below is our first trip to hot creek when I was afraid that we were all going to get arsenic or cyanide poisoning because of the government’s warning signs all over.
… and how we always stop at this vista to look at the view cause it’s so worth seeing again and again.
And a memory that should be forever a part of our family history is how Meghan climbed North Peak all by herself when she was only 3 ½ years-old. And I couldn’t find the pictures of her climbing up so instead is a picture of Joseph on the top of North Peak and a picture of Emily (at another time) who is all sunburned from another climb up North peak when she was carried along.
The Swimming Hole
And the swimming hole!
What memories!
What a place!
I think I spent most of my time Worrying that someone was going To get hurt … But I guess that’s what mothers do. Most of you have jumped from these rocks but it’s Matthew jumping in This picture ?
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