Cold Mountain

Next week we will go to Visit my son Zach at his Summer Job up at Mt. Rainier in Washington State. I can not wait! He has been there since May. We miss him terribly around here. Though he is having a great time!

Those of you who follow us on Twitter & Facebook knew a little bit about what was going on with his roommate & I just want to say Thank You for all the Prayers. Here is what we know . . . Zach texted us early last week saying his roommate (the one he's had since the beginning of the summer, a man in his 40's I believe, he's had other roommates that have came & gone) had gone out hiking the day before, alone & never came back. They had rescue teams out looking for him. The Ranger interviewed Zach, to ask him if the roommate had said which way he was going, if he seemed depressed, etc.

They had rescue teams out through the night and all the next day. They came & got some of his clothing for search dogs to get his scent. Finally after two and a half days they found him. Injured but Alive! I guess that (I think anyone who hikes for real, knows this, but of course I didn't) When your hiking in packed snow, you shouldn't step too close to the trees, because I guess the way the roots of the trees absorb the moisture from below, if you step too close to a tree, you can fall into a sink hole. Well that's what happened. He had hiked up into the snow, stepped too close to a tree & fell into a sink hole. Not far, yet broke his ankle in two places & broke a rib. He climbed out & found a patch a dirt (as opposed to snow) to sit on & wait, he spent two whole nights out there in the wilderness. He also had Hypothermia & Frost Bite. Once they found him it took them two hours to get him to an area where a Helicopter could pick him up to get him to a hospital. He is still there recovering & should return to the Mountain in a couple of days hopefully. And again thanks for the thoughts & Prayers, I'll let you know if we hear anything more. And we made sure to remind Zach never to hike alone!

Zach has made so many new & many International Friends this summer! All these pictures on this post, we stole off some Facebook pages of some of his new friends! :) Don't you just love modern technology?! I sure do! It's allowed me to see my baby! :) And he looks so much more grown up already & even has a Goatee! :) I'm afraid when we see him next week, he won't be the same kid that left home.

He's gone Hiking & Camping. Plays Ping Pong! He found a new sport he loves! It's sledding on the glacier (Ice) on Plastic bags. He has hiked to Base Camp. Today he got to take a day trip to visit Mt. St. Helen. He was very excited about that! I guess one mountain just isn't enough! :)

These picture also gave us the chance to see him in his work uniform! When he left I told him his motto for the summer was "Work Hard, Play Harder!!" I guess he's living out those words! That's my boy! :)

We are going to Mt. Rainier & will get to see where he works & lives. He wants to take us on an easy hike. (after all, this is me we're talking about!) Then he will go with us into Seattle for a couple of days! If I have to spend time on a Mountain for him, he has to spend time in a City for me! Right?! It's only fair! :)

Though one of our days in Seattle my girls & I are taking a 3 hour tour of Forks Washington! That's right, where the Twilight Books & Movies are set! We will see Bella's & The Cullins' houses. The High School, The Hospital & Police Station, Restaurants seen in the films, etc. And we will also get to go to the La Push Beach & see Jacobs house! Don't forget we are Team Jacob! :) And the only thing Zach really wanted to see was the Hoh Rain Forest! Yes, right near Forks is Olympic National Park & an honest to goodness Rain Forest. So that's what John & Zach will be doing while us girls get our Twilight fix!

We are so excited for our trip & can't wait to be with Zach again. We will download all the pictures he's taken (if he's remembered to take any! After all this is Zach we're talking about!) while we are there & we will take many pictures ourselves! And of course, I will Blog all about our trip after we get home! That is of course if we all survive the 2 days of driving it will take to get us there! :) And back! :0 We are also excited to get to see some old friends who now live in Washington while we're there as well! And you know we'll be singing "On The Road Again!"