Good Bye Garage

When we were in Hawaii in December, we were inspired by the ramp in Corban & Meg's carport. So, we built on of our own. It was more work than we anticipated. Wood was donated, pulled off job sites, and purchased for a total ramp cost of $187. Not bad.

No major injuries to date.

Aloha Christmas

This year Christmas in the Loveridge household came a little bit early. We tend to do things a lot more off the beaten path than most people, and this is how we like it. We had such a blast last year in Hawaii that we couldn’t resist going back. I think everyone in our family agrees that this might be a tradition that will stick. Forget all of the holiday madness that most people deal with; we have opted to do away with gifts (for the most part) and spend time hanging out somewhere awesome, with family instead!

We spent eleven days in Hawaii, and if anyone thought there would be time to sleep in, or lie around and be lazy….they would be sorely mistaken. We had things to see and do from the minute we stepped out of the airport, starting with Costco dogs. For anyone who knows Mike and Dan Loveridge, they would know that these two brothers have a special talent for building great adventure plans and finding the unknown hidden treasures, when it comes to entertainment and finding original and memorable things to do.

A lot of our time was spent watching surf competitions, one of which is the rare, BIG wave, Eddie Aikau competition. This is rare because the conditions have to be perfect, and the waves have to be monstrous for this event to even go down. On average, these stellar conditions only occur about every seven years or so in Waimea bay, and this year it was on! Soooo for the first two days of our “vacation”, we were up at 4:45am to witness the Eddie, and it was well worth it! It is awe inspiring to see men on surfboards drop off of 40 foot waves, some even in the 60 foot range.

After the Eddie, which lasted one day (the first day was a no go), the Pipe Masters was on. More big waves, and more jaw dropping action. A huge part of Pipe Masters is seeing how much free schwag we come away with, and this year it wasn’t easy but Creighton and Karac rocked it. 60+ cans of Rock Star (for Dan of course), 30 Rock Star and Vans hats, 10 pairs of sunglasses, shirts, wallets, stickers, and the list goes on! Each of the boys even brought home half of a broken surf board from pro’s surfing in the competition. The best part of it was knowing that while we were on the beach in about 85 degree weather, it was a bone chilling 9 degrees at home.

We also got to go on a few amazing hikes, and hiking in jungle has such a different flavor than what we are used to, which made it all the more adventurous. Mike, Jonna, and I did the infamous Stairway to Heaven which consists of somewhere around 3,992 steps up the side of one of Hawaii’s steep mountains. It is a little bit of a rush because it is not open for public use because of the dangerous conditions, so you have to sneak in early before the guard gets there, and you do some serious bush whacking and scaling tall fences topped with barbed wire, that stand atop a very good sized ledge (some may call it a cliff), just to start the ascent.

"The stairway was originally built for the U.S. Coast Guard to allow access to the LORAN radio antenna on the top of the mountain. But the later termination of Omega Station operations also led to the cessation of stair maintenance. Because of this, the stairs became terribly worn and dangerous. So the state later officially closed the stairs to the public in 1987."

We spent some time snorkeling at Sharks Cove, swimming in some smaller waves at Waimea bay (which is the boys favorite swim spot). We also had to pay our respects to the buffet at the PC along with seeing the IMAX and catching a couple of mini shows that are put on during the day. The PC (Polynesian Cultural Center) and Pearl Harbor, ended up being about the only touristy thing we did. We didn’t leave the North Shore but once, and we didn’t regret it.

Hawaii is always a good time, but hanging out with Dan, Jonna, and little B, made it that much better. They made sure we had everything we needed, to have the best time possible, and that we did. B worked especially hard making sure we were constantly entertained when we were at the house or in the car. She is a riot, and we really miss her sweet little smile and silly personality. We covered so much ground in the span of our eleven days in Oahu that writing every detail would take pages, so I will let the pictures tell the rest of the story.

Whiplash

We have been back from Alaska for about a month and a half now and since the minute we set foot on Utah soil, up until not too long ago, life had been hectic, to say the least. We had quite a few first priorities, from the moment we got back and one was to find a house in Cedar Hills for rent. It took awhile to find exactly what we were looking for, but after some patience and persistence we found the right home, in the right spot, for the right price.

Between a move, Mike working 40+ hours a week, me in school full time and working at the hospital again every other weekend, kids in school, and a dog that seems to always be starved for attention, we have been swamped. Swamped=no time to do anything cool. ;( I definitely miss the days when Mike and I had such flexible schedules that we could take off whenever we wanted, do things like go camping any day of the week, ski three times a week…..well anyway we did find some time for a couple of cool activities this last week.

We went on a quick overnight camping trip, and got to enjoy the beauty of the fall leaves. It was good to get away for the night and be out in nature again, everything in the mountains is so colorful right now. Friday we had another great opportunity, and that was to do the human sling shot, at a friend of Mike’s who lives up Hobble Creek Canyon. I’m not sure I have the words to describe it; all I know is that when we got there and saw the contraption, my heart sank into my stomach. I had to go first, and as it turns out, it was such a rush and soooo much fun!

Yeeeehaaaa!

It has been a while since we have done anything cool enough to share with anyone, or even had any reason to bust out the camera. Now thanks to a couple of days off from work and school, we have had a chance to do some fun things that are worthy of a spot on our blog! The pic's aren't ready yet, and the story would mean nothing without any visual, so stay tuned, you won't want to miss this one.....I really wonder if anyone reads our blog, but for the sake of imagination, i'll share it anyway because this was just way too fun!

Kennicott Ghost Town

I love ghost towns. There is something about the odor of decaying wood, rusty tools, and the damp musty scents of Mother Nature creeping in and reclaiming a space that man once thought he had conquered. Kennicott ghost town in Alaska is my favorite because it’s grand in scope, (the mill building is 14 stories high), and it is remote.

We faced a few obstacles getting there: Caiya ripped off a toe nail chasing a rabbit on the drive up. The road into Kennicott starts in the middle of nowhere, the pavement ends, and the road continues even further into nowhere on dirt thrown on top of old railroad tracks into the heart of the monstrous Wrangell / St. Elias range. Several forest fires raged nearby. The weather decided to rain, because we were camping. I forgot the Cola. And, there was plenty of fresh bear scat on the trail to our camp spot overlooking the massive Root Glacier. (We know how scared Kristen is of running into a bear.)

The beauty of this place is that one can get hit with obstacle after obstacle, but the magic of old Kennicott is turned up so loud that nothing can come close to drowning it out. This magic held true for the first settlers of the town as it does today.

The buildings in Kennicott seem to be falling apart rapidly. This place won’t be around forever.

See it while you can.

Below, is a snippet on the history of Kennicott, AK, from the state park website…
“Few stories in the history of commerce can compare: In the summer of 1900, two prospectors exploring deep in the wilderness see magnificent green cliffs perched high on a mountainside. Climbing closer, they stumble upon the richest copper vein ever found.

“It doesn't take long for two of America's wealthiest families, the Morgans and Guggenheims, to sniff out the wealth potential. They buy the rights and build 196 miles of private railroad to get the copper out. When the mine opens in 1911, they employ 600 miners and build a wilderness city, complete with a hospital, general store, schoolhouse, baseball field, skating rink, tennis court, recreation hall, and dairy.

“The mine buzzes with activity for 37 years, when the Depression hits and the price of copper crashes. One November day in 1938, the last trainload of miners chugs away for good, leaving the Kennicott mine standing quietly in the wilderness. Over the next half-century, more and more visitors find their way to the ghost town where buildings still stand, complete with the miners' work papers and tools. But it wasn't until 1998 that the National Park Service purchased the property and made it officially open for visitors.”