Van goes down

Our van (Big Red) quit on us yesterday. After a diagnosis of bad battery and failure to recharge, we have an appointment for a new alternator tomorrow morning. Just glad it didn't happen in South Dakota.

Our eagerness for bloggin has truly gone by the wayside. Facebook seems to fit us better. Our trip is winding down and we are getting ready to re-enter VA.

Thanks to all who have prayed for us. We look forward to sharing our stories.

the big tree sighting

Friends,

We are well into Oregon and I am still thinking about the Redwood forest. What I thought was cool was that we stopped at the visitor center and began asking about the big trees. The topic of the National Geographic came up and the ranger told us that if we hike this particular trail, we will come to a rotary monument. If we would then stand beside the monument with our left hand at 9:00 we would be looking at the tree at the 11:00 position. We then got to another visitor center and started asking about the National Geographic tree and everyone at this center treated the topic with secrecy. They didn't want anyone to know which tree it was. So we started hiking and as we walked through this particular part of the forest, we discovered a rotary monument. Annette then remembered the instructions of the ranger and bang, we were looking at the big one! As we concluded our hike, we met up with the original ranger and she confirmed our sighting. I will attach the live footage from my flip. Two days later and I am still pumped. This tree is known to have the most complex crown of any tree that has been mapped. Also, in this part of the forest, there is more bio mass per something than any other place in the world including the rain forest in South America. The only thing about the Redwood Forest that I didn't like was the cold and lack of sun. Kind of dreary and chilly.

Yosemite

On our way to Yosemite, we passed the bus tour that our friends Roy and Lovina Yoder were on. The next day when we arrived at the Park, we saw Roy and Lovina walking down the road. We pulled over for a quick chat and Roy confirmed that he saw us on the road as well. We have visited 3 Parks on 3 days and traveled one day and saw these people on all four days in a row. How strange is this? We are now in San Fransisco where we will be touring the city, going to 6 Flags and then enjoying a bit of down time in the confines of a nice hotel suite that comes with a kitchen, pool and wireless internet. It will feel good to get out of the tent and to ease our hike weary bones.

Pondering thoughts from the magnificent Mariah

Woo-Hoo, chilly-Willy!!!through the narrows the Martins went forward with one goal in mind...there was no goal in mind except to go as far as we could and then turn around.:)well we were soo excited about hiking the treacherous white water narrows. before we started we ate some energy snack that gave us strength to go on. while we were eating some of us kids went to feel the water. well lets just say the most encouraging words that were spoke were "i'm sure we will get used to it"(with wincing faces). well the martins went forward through the narrows. Olivia tripped a couple of times falling into the river, there were rapids that walking sticks were really helpful for,and of course the one last fall of the day. it was one of the last stretches of the hike when dad suddenly fell into the rapid river. falling scraping his knee....we were all in fear will he be OK?(we all knew he would be OK):) then the very scariest of all falls. it was when it was just Mom, me(Mariah), Nerel and Olivia.We were walking through this very rapid part of the river when Nerel slipped, falling into the river. she grabbed on to Moms leg before she headed down river. the only thing that escaped her hands was her walking stick that she was very attached to. well the rest of the trip was pretty much a cinch. we were going with the current so it was really easy. what a fun day!!(my favorite hike of all times)well i hope you enjoyed the low down of June 20th. i will now leave you with these last few words.

ADIOS AMIGOS EN LA V.A!!-MARIAH MARTIN-

reflections from Mariah the Magnificent on june the 15th

tsk,tsk,tsk,tsk. The first 4 words that come to my mind when i ponder on June 15, 2010. we were on a hike through arches when we look up to see an older man with his Nikon in his hand shaking his head at something we could not figure out. As we got closer we found out that he was not too happy about a plastic pipe coming out of a rock. we then asked him what is so wrong about a plastic pipe?he said "i work at a national park and at the place where i work this plastic pipe would not be acceptable. tsk,tisk,tsk,tsk." at that point we thought that that was a little over the top. our family would not have even noticed it. but that all changed when we really got to know him. we went on a couple of little trails and kept meeting up with him. so we started having conversations with him. we came to a point in the hike when we had the choice weather or not to go on a long hike or not. we chose to go on the primitive hike. about 5 minutes into the hike this man looking at a map started to pass us. the man was Wayne!!!!!!! so for a long time on the hike he was known as our tour guide. he guided us through the narrow paths and the wide paths up the rocks and down the rocks.by then we had pictures with him and we considered him as a very good friend. we came to a point in the path that was flooded. our family decided to take that time to climb a rock...but not Wayne!!! before we know it Wayne has his shoes off and up to his shorts in water. our whole family was cheering for him. r he made it across that way but our family went over this huge rock. then it happened Wayne knew his limitations he knew that he could not make it over this next rock. we were devastated. for the rest of the hike the story of Wayne constantly came up and tears were in our eyes. And from then on Wayne has always been in our conversations. we miss him so much. he will forever be called friend in our family and maybe some day we will meet again with Wayne whether we are climbing mt. Everest or shopping in Wal-Mart (its a small world who knows if we will see him again?)well if Wayne is reading this (we love you Wayne!!) thank you for your time to read this.-Mariah Annette Martin-

A note from Nerel about our friend Denver

Denver... We actually did not know his name but we called him Denver because he was from Denver. I felt bad for him because he was taking a big trip all by himself.:( he was going around Colorado on his motorcycle. We met him at Mesa Verde .Our ranger Shannon asked us if we had family almost everybody raised their hands and he was one of the people that didn't rise there hands.:( Right then and there, I wanted to take him on our own trip because I felt so bad for him. All he had was a little bag on his motorcycle.

We then met Wayne in Arches National Park on a primitive hike we took. Mariah will tell you the story about him. When he had to leave, I had tears coming out of my eyes. And while I am writing this, I continue to feel tears within me.

Whenever we see metal or plastic in nature, I think of the words Wayne said to us tsk, tsk, tsk, tsk. Mariah the rest.

So far the trip has been great. See you soon

Nerel

A note from Nerel about our friend Denver

Denver... We actually did not know his name but we called him Denver because he was from Denver. I felt bad for him because he was taking a big trip all by himself.:( he was going around Colorado on his motorcycle. We met him at Mesa Verde .Our ranger Shannon asked us if we had family almost everybody raised their hands and he was one of the people that didn't rise there hands.:( Right then and there, I wanted to take him on our own trip because I felt so bad for him. All he had was a little bag on his motorcycle.

We then met Wayne in Arches National Park on a primitive hike we took. Mariah will tell you the story about him. When he had to leave, I had tears coming out of my eyes. And while I am writing this, I continue to feel tears within me.

Whenever we see metal or plastic in nature, I think of the words Wayne said to us tsk, tsk, tsk, tsk. Mariah the rest.

So far the trip has been great. See you soon

Nerel