Plains and Peaks

We built out a Sprinter Van. We bought this van at the end of summer last year. We started using it immediately, by putting an air mattress in the back and sleeping on the floor! 

But, we started tackling things chunk by chunk. If we had some time in the evenings after work, we’d work on it. If we had time over the weekend, we’d work on it. When the kitchen galley made it in, that’s when things really started to accelerate. Here’s a list of a few things our van includes:

- Kitchen Galley with sink, running water, portable stove, and fridge

- Espar Diesel Heater to keep us warm in the winter!

- Power, Solar Panels, fan, and lighting and switches throughout

- Alpine swivel seats to give us more room in the main space

- “Garage” for storing bikes, skis, and gear... along with a 22 gallon water tank!

- Cabinets and overhead cab shelf to store all the things

- Privacy curtains and magnetic window shades to keep out the light when we sleep

There’s a super bloom in the Pacific Northwest right now. In fact, it’s not only in the PNW, but across the entire West.

We had a chance to get out and hike the high divide loop: A 19 mile up and around trek that boasted river canyons, and explosion of wildflowers, and Mt. Olympus keeping a watchful eye.

Seth had a chance to hike the high divide loop nearly 10 years ago, and this time Tana also got to experience the “Enchantments of the Olympic Peninsula.” 10 years later, we traded wildflower sightings for bear sightings (Seth must have seen a dozen 10 years ago). 

When we signed up to climb Ruth Mountain and Icy Peak, we knew there would be glacier travel, excellent views, and tired legs to follow. 

This was our first “official” summer climb with the Mountaineers. We have to bag 3 of them in order to graduate from our year long alpine climbing course. 

It’s pretty amazing that humans are able to get to the top of some of these peaks... fairly safe at that. Huge crevasses linger in glaciers, and our route across them aimed to avoid. Steep peaks that seem impossible to climb from a distance, somehow were summited. And vast distances with 25% of our body weight on our backs were travelled by foot.

Graduation.

It’s a symbol of self-reliance. It’s a joyous occasion. It’s a marker of growth and progress. It’s empowerment.

This was the marquee event and primarily the biggest reason we came to Uganda in the first place. Before we came on our trip, the staff at Krochet Kids reminded us this was a big deal. “If you are considering a tie, it wouldn’t be out of place and this day would definitely be the day to wear it” were just some of the instructions and expectations passed along to us.

It (of course) began with some dancing, the national anthem, and the Krochet Kids special tune (which is still stuck in our heads, love it!). This was followed by speeches from the staff and a very special guest, a government official who spoke directly for and with the president of the country. After a few skits (and more dancing), a couple of the ladies had the opportunity to share where they had come from, what they had learned, and where they were going. You could feel the optimism in their voices, the passion of what they were about to take on, the confidence that nothing would stand in their way. It was a powerful moment.

3 hours or so must have passed, but it went by so quickly! The ladies were then called by name as they graduated. Dressed in their finest, adorned with a special banner, and awarded with a diploma and special gift, they were sent off as graduands (how they refer to graduates).

Next, we all got in the buffet line, and ate local food to our hearts’ content. There was SOOO much food. And, Seth finally thinks he found someone who can eat more than him. He was de-throned by what must have been a 6-7 year old boy who ate everything on his stacked plate (No kidding, he literally ate the bones from the chicken... apparently that’s a thing here).

The celebrations continued with more dancing (of course), photos, and joy overflowing from our hearts. This was worth the nearly 40 hours on planes, pot-hole infested roads, sun screen, sweat, and bug spray that came along with the ride.

Early on graduation day, we took our first “break” from the philanthropic portion of the trip and decided to go have some fun. But, graduation is primarily the whole reason we came. So, we had to wake up before 5 to ensure we would go “play” and make it back in plenty of time to still attend the big show.

After a sunrise drive on rather crappy roads for an hour and a half, we arrived at a “secret” waterfall. Seriously, this place isn’t really discovered. The locals at Krochet Kids hadn’t even heard of it until recently.

The water flow was incredibly high, this was probably the most dangerous portion of our entire trip. We walked on the “trail” which was covered in 2-3 feed of rushing water at parts. It was somewhat “chill” to walk on, but had we been swept away, there was nothing stopping us from going through a grass tunnel, and plunging to who knows where.

But, eventually we made it to some pools, jumped off some falls, and probably will get the parasite Bilharzia because of it. (Don’t worry, mom. We got the pills to kill it 4 weeks in before it even takes effect.)

This past weekend, we visited the one corner of the State we've not yet been. Write up coming soon. But, in the meantime, here are a few clips of Southeastern Washington from the air. 

Shots: Palouse Falls, Blue Mountains, and Walla Walla farmland.

Song: These Limbs (Brandon Zedaker Remix) - Urban Rescue