"Truly it may be said that the outside of a mountain is good for the inside of a man." ~George Wherry, Alpine Notes and the Climbing Foot, 1896
Some Favorite Past Trips
Fun Adventures, Treasured Memories
For a look at more recent family trips and adventures check out the Rule Sojo website
Eagle Cap Wilderness, Joseph, Oregon
Summer 1998
When Jenny and I lived in Pullman, WA (where I attended graduate school at WSU) we enjoyed exploring the region a great deal. One of our favorite places we discovered was near Joseph, Oregon - the Wallowa Mtns and the ECW area. Joseph is about 125 miles south of Pullman, but the roads to the area crisscrossed through some beautiful country and the ride took over 3 hours. In Sept. of '98, we strapped on our backpacks and hiked the interior for a few days. We enjoyed the trip so much we returned a month later with Jenny's dad, Fred, and her sister Susan with plans to introduce them to backpacking. At the start of the trip the weather was ideal, but as it is prone to do in the mountains it quickly changed. The temp dropped 50 degrees and we were greeted by a snowstorm! We made camp for the night at a national forest campground with dozens of other campers who had similar plans to hike in the ECW. Being among the pines and spruce it was beautiful and had the look of Christmas, but dealing with winter-like cold was not what we had in mind. In the morning, we packed up and made our way back to Joseph for a hot breakfast and then home to Pullman where the temps were more seasonal and in the 60s.
Olympic National Park, Washington
September 2007
This may have been the first time Jenny and I took our boys to a national park. J & I had not been back to the state of Washington since 1999. We returned (plus two) for Jenny's brother Paul and Cindy's wedding. Arriving a few days early we took a day to jump on a ferry to cross the Puget Sound and visit Olympic National Park. Our stay was short, but memorable. Wish we could have stayed longer to explore more of the park's trails, but getting a taste of the scenic beauty and lungs full of fresh air was a delight. From the rolling Palouse on Washington's eastern side and across the Cascades to the Pacific Ocean, the Evergreen State has much to experience, so be sure to make a trip there one day!
Yellowstone River, Montana
July 1998
This trip was part of a University of Idaho (Moscow) outdoor recreation class that was taught and led by Mike Kinziger, Ph.D. Jenny and I became friends with Mike shortly after we arrived to the Palouse (a region in southeastern Washington and northwestern Idaho characterized by countless rolling hills covered with wheat fields). By chance we joined the same softball team (we were undefeated). Wisconsin and fan of the Green Bay Packers were a common denominator. Mike taught at UW - La Crosse before coming to Idaho. Another deeper connection was while he was at La Crosse one of his students was Steve "Hoops" Huhn (a friend and PLYC staff alum). For the trip, we put in on the Yellowstone about 30 miles south of Livingston, MT and pulled out 5 days later at Reedpoint, MT. We enjoyed fantastic weather, but the river was at flood stage and the water ran swift (my guess is 6 - 7 mph). The group consisted of mostly novice canoe paddlers which resulted in a couple of hairy incidents, but we managed and made it home safely. Mike K. (In the photo before the group raft pic he is the one with the mustache) took the lead canoe and I stayed back at the tail. A personal highlight on the trip was finding an almost new bent-shaft canoe paddle that was lodged in a riverbank a bit downstream from a stretch of crazy class four rapids. I thank whoever lost it and hope they fared well. I've put the paddle to good use many times since that day. To read a journal I kept of the trip click this link: Yellowstone River Trip.
Misty Moon Trail, Cloud Peak Wilderness, Big Horn Mountains, Wyoming
September 1995
Fozzie and I ventured to the Big Horn Mountains to scout the area for a future PAC backpacking trip. With many trails to choose from we elected to hike the Misty Moon Trail in the southern region of the forest. Unfortunately, our hike was cut short because of the unexpected arrival of a hail & snow thunderstorm. Imagine sunny and 80 degrees one day then 30 degrees and 6 inches of snow the next! We survived the night and hiked out without too much trouble. Near the trailhead parking area we were treated by an encounter of a moose. On the drive across Wyoming we spied many of one of my favorite animals, pronghorn antelope, playing in the snow. Though the hike was shorter than we hoped we enjoyed our visit to the Big Horns a great deal.
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"Yep, I said it before and I'll say it again. Life moves pretty fast. You don't stop and look around once in a while you could miss it."
- Ferris Bueller (John Hughes, Ferris Bueller's Day Off)
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Mount St. Helens National Volcanic Monument, Washington
22 September 1997
During the time Jenny & I were living in Pullman, Washington one of Jenny's childhood friends, Tammy Woller, was going to a chiropractic college in Portland, Oregon. Tammy invited Jenny and I to join her, her boyfriend Richard and her parents (who were visiting from Wisc.) for a hike to the top of Mt. St. Helens. It was an ideal day for an adventure such as this. The hike is challenging (I hurt my knee playing softball that summer and was not 100% yet), but not technical. My hiking stick came in handy. The top provided tremendous views that included several distant peaks. Looking down into the cone of the mountain you could see steam rising from its floor letting you know that the volcano is still active! A question to consider when hiking such a trail is: Which way, up or down, will be the more challenging? The date of this trip caught my eye. Little did Jenny and I know that Luke would be born on this day 4 years later! If you are interested in hiking there yourself check out this map of the monument and if you go be sure to wear sturdy shoes, bring extra clothing, snacks and plenty of water. Plan on the hike taking at least 8 hours!
Hawaii
November 1997
In July of 1997 Jenny and I were married in a wonderful ceremony held near Madison, Wisc. At the time Fozzie and I were living in Pullman, Wash. where I was attending graduate school and Fozzie was working for the YMCA at WSU. We opted to delay going on our honeymoon until Thanksgiving break. Our destination: the Hawaiian Islands! We spent a week in Hawaii first staying on the "Big Island" and visiting Volcanoes National Park. The latter part of the week we stayed on the "Garden Island," Kauai. Highlights at Kauai included hiking in Waimea Canyon State Park, finding Polihale State Park (where the US's western most public beach located) and taking a cruise around the island that included a stop for snorkeling over a reef where sea turtles frequented. At Polihale Beach a monster-size wave caught me by surprise, lifted me up and slammed me onto the beach. I think I still have some sand in my ear!
Boundary Waters Canoe Area, Ely, MN
August 1992
Just sit right back and enjoy some photos of a delightful trip. Originally, just a party of four guys were going: Jack, Jim, Chris and me. Fishing and exploring was on our minds. As the date approach for our trip two friends, Gina and Jenny, asked if they could join us. All of us worked at Phantom Lake YMCA Camp and the summer's program was coming to a close. Yes, was the answer, but working out the details for Jenny to rendezvous back with us were needed. She was heading to the University of Illinois - Urbana for the start of school and the dates of the trip overlapped with her first week there. Long story short, she worked it out with help of another friend (Steve). We entered the Boundary Waters at Moose Lake (Entry Point #25). Skies were cloudy with light rain. Word in town was fishing has been slow. I'm happy to say that was not the case for us. We caught many northern and smallies. Highlights of the trip included the great company, lots of stories, the visit of a large bear to our campsite on the first day, fantastic fishing and gorgeous scenery.
Australia
December 1991
Since I was in grade school I've wanted to visit Australia. I believe the Great Barrier Reef and the animals unique to the "Land Down Under" is what first captured my attention. Australia is huge and offers a great many destinations to take in. I settled on a 3-week tour of the east coast that was sure to include time for a couple of dives. I flew by way of Hawaii to the port city of Cairns (Queensland). After a day on the reef I flew down to Sydney where I joined my tour group. From Sydney the tour headed north by coach bus hugging the coastline back to Cairns (pronounced "Canz"). I enjoyed many side excursions along the way. Highlights included a stop at Cape Byron Lighthouse, meeting koalas up close, a visit to Magnetic Island (mangos!), taking a ride on the Kuranda Scenic Railway through Barron Gorge, sailing around the Whitsunday Islands, a hike in the Queensland jungle and whitewater rafting on the Tully River. I wrapped up my trip with another dive on the GBR.
Egypt
November - December 1987
My first trip overseas was to visit my friend Jeff H. in Egypt. At the time Jeff was teaching at an American School near Cairo. The trip was filled with many highlights and included: Visiting the Pyramids of Giza & the Great Sphinx, the National Egyptian Museum in Cairo, Traveling to Upper Egypt to visit Luxor, Karnak, Valley of the Kings, King Tutankhamun’s Tomb, and the Valley of the Queens. A favorite excursion was over Thanksgiving break - a night time drive across the Sinai Peninsula to (at the time) a budding new resort town, Sharm el Sheikh, where we boarded a cabin dive boat for several days of SCUBA diving in the Red Sea.
Travels with Charlie Bike Trip Around the Top of Lake Michigan with an Assist from Jill
September 1986
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Visiting Colorado and the Rocky Mountains with "Dirty Harry"
May 1980
