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June
6, 2005
Hi Again!
Here's the third and final installment, describing a few more of our
awesome adventures in Utah.
We arrived on the DayStar Academy campus several days before graduation, so Daniel
and his classmates invited us to join them as they did "Bouldering" for P.E.
class. The kids pushed and tugged my wheelchair through the sandy
sagebrush, into deep ravines and up the mountain to the cabin-sized sandstone rock
you see below. My parents tagged along, but couldn't keep up with those energetic
kids as they quickly got me to the base of the rock. Then they began climbing it from
all sides. |
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Daniel, Lezli
& Jeremy climbed right up this easy part . . . |
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. .
. but Diana got stuck in the first notch and found it challenging to get up to where the
rest of the kids had so easily climbed! Eventually, with plenty of coaching and
help from the others, Diana made it. |
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Jeremy, Heidi and Daniel also climbed up the flat face. |
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Daniel
guards Heidi as she tackles a tough section of the boulder. That sandstone looks
like it can be rough on bare fingers and toes! |
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Daniel finds good grips and starts up . . . |
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. .
. and zips up like a spider, easily climbing this boulder from just about any angle. |
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Hooray!
He made it! Again, I feel so left out. That used to be me when I wasn't in a
wheelchair! But it's rewarding just to get up close and watch Daniel and
his friends have fun for me. |
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On
Tuesday, after the weekend graduation and our exciting day of rappelling adventures,
things became fairly quiet on campus. But before we left, Daniel had one more
goal - to get his mom to the top of Parriott Mesa! |
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From
campus they took the van to the base of the ridge and climbed the easy horse trail.
Daniel was bored - he prefers to go the short way - straight up the steep, slippery route
to the cliff base! |
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Diana
stops for a break along the ridge. There's still a LONG way to go just to get to the
base of the vertical cliffs! |
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Some
of the sandstone along the way has interesting white icing layered on it. |
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A
fascinating variety of colored stone layers are encountered along the way. |
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Here's a
colorful caterpiller they found as they climbed. |
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Another interesting flower. |
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A Sego Lily - Utah's state flower. |
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